Today, Web radio stations everywhere–including WebMasterRadio.fm, home of our daily Blog Buzz podcast–are taking the day off to protest extreme royalty hikes for webcasters. The new rate hikes will be charged retroactively to 2006, making it impossible for a lot of Web radio pioneers to keep up. Regardless of your stance, the implications for webcasting and podcasting are huge.

eConsultancy.com has the proverbial CliffsNotes*, including this telling quote from AccuRadio’s Kurt Hanson:

“Under the judges’ decision, we owe $600,000 for 2006 — which…

...continue to read "Web Radio’s Day Off: Is it Over for Webcasters?"

...continue to read "Your Email Marketing Sucks!* Study Says So…"

...continue to read "“If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers”"

I found this excellent post on SEOmoz, The SEO’s Guide to Beginners. It’s written by Rand Fishkin’s soon-to-be bride.

She gives 8 pointers and starts out like this:

So naturally, if I can’t get one of the (supposedly) easiest mp3 interfaces to work, my hopes of understanding algorithms and search engines are pretty grim. But here’s the real rub – even knowing as little as I do about SEO, I’m kind of the resident expert at my company. I know quite a bit…

...continue to read "SEO for Beginners & Marketing Amateurs"

...continue to read "What Makes People Buy"

Mr. Smith (not Brad Pitt) walks into a bicycle shop asking for assistance in finding a bike for his daughter’s birthday. He quickly pipes up that he’s got a budget; he needs to find a bike under $500. This constraint would easily narrow down the options and the store clerk could continue to ask questions to help qualify which bike would work best for Mr. Smith’s daughter.

Let’s say Mr. Smith finds a bike that meets the requirements and asks, “How…

...continue to read "Why’s B2B Price Such a Big Secret?"

Seems the world isn’t waiting for anyone to catch up.

In a recent ClickZ column, long-respected SEO (define) guru Mike Grehan suggested we search Ask.com for “Spider-Man 3.”

There we glimpse into the future of search engine results. Welcome to universal search.

Mike speculates: “With the three-column approach, I can’t imagine why I’d ever scroll down the page, let alone click through to a second (did people really click through to the second page in the Fred Flintstone SEO era?).”

How’s that for a…

...continue to read "End Searcher Optimization: The New SEO"

Any marketers out there ever feel like non-business folk’s knee-jerk contempt for your profession rivals that of ambulance-chasing attorneys?*

This prejudice, although generic, is understandable. And, by the way, show me an attorney who defends her trade as much as her clients and I’ll show you the reason lawyer jokes were invented.

...continue to read "Isn’t “alli” Why People Hate Marketers?"

This thing of ours–you know, this “online” thing–is fun. Where else could I find a bunch of cool friends who are up to such interesting stuff?

Dylan Lewis launched the Web Analytics Wiki. His goal with your help is to have 300 articles in 3 months. Will you help?

Jason Ciment, Future Now’s first client, has launched a new site based on his success with search engines. Check out SEO Timetable, a 120-day plan to get great rankings.

Mike Moran, co-author of Search…

...continue to read "Links I Forgot To Share"

...continue to read "Why “Personalization” of the Web Scares Me"