Throughout its existence, the SEOmoz blog has always strived to be something very different from a Search Engine Land, Marketing Pilgrim or Search Engine Journal, by providing advice, insight, and under-the-radar stories from the world of search and webmastering. However, today's offer by Microsoft to buy Yahoo! brought plenty of text messages and emails asking what I think about the deal and when SEOmoz is going to write about it. This certainly isn't the first time, either.
So, I'll ask you, the people who matter most (thanks for reminding us, Rebecca); should V4 of SEOmoz (ETA - Q3 2008) devote attention to search industry news?
If we did it - this is how I'd personally like to address the issue:
- Build a new blog/feed for news
- Anyone can submit a news story
- Stories will contain a short (1-2 paragraph explanation of events) with links to the relevant, third-party posts on the subject - which could end up looking a lot like the feed from SELand, just a bit more diverse and narrowly focused
- SEOmoz employees will be responsible for ensuring that big stories (like today's) get submitted
- SEOmoz employees will have the exclusive power to "post" a story publicly to the blog/feed
There are many reasons why I'd use this format. First, I don't want to compete with what any of the major search news bloggers do. It's not our core competency. Second, I believe that user-generated voting on stories produces an unfavorable signal to noise ratio - if we cover news, I want it to be short, sweet, accurate and highly relevant pieces only. Digging through Sphinn, Reddit, Propeller or Digg, I find a ratio of approximately 5-10% of stories to be worthwhile and I'm unwilling to waste your time, as readers, with the noise. Besides, there's no reason to compete with Sphinn - it does an admirable job and perfectly fills the role of social voting portal in search.
So here's the vote - please give your honest opinion:
Feedback is greatly appreciated. I'm anxious to know whether the SEOmoz community wants us to help fill this need, or whether you all do as I do and rely on other sources quite happily. I'm also open to suggestions of how you'd like to see it implemented if you do indeed want SEOmoz to have a search news feed.
p.s. By popular demand, I may try to do a post on MS/Y!, but I've got three posts in my queue (on session IDs & cookies, why search engines want to count linkbait and another chapter for the beginner's guide) that I'd prefer to get to first.
p.p.s. Smartest coverage I've seen on the big story comes from Danny's Q+A with Microsoft and Aaron.
I voted no.
I did so because news is already covered overly well and because there are like ten million other things that would be of higher usefulness to this community.
I think the most useful features you have implemented of late are...
1) legal issues. by having a knowlegable legal person covering the law with a search slant is perhaps the most unexpected and welcome addition for me. I was expecting Danny to start a legal column up and when you did I smiled, because it was needed.
2) the marketplace. while there were other job boards and listings in the seo field, I felt that a markeplace on SEOmoz could do naturally better than the other baords or postings simply beause of your community and the way it is chauk full of not just professional SEOs (ones with jobs) but also with "tinkerers" who are experimenting and learning and will eventually get jobs in the SEO field.
The reason I mention those two things is because they illustrate why you should not get into news.
The two things I listed were a natural fit, either because of a need (legal issues), or because of a unique community full of both seasoned SEOs and beginners (marketplace)
I do not see any "natural fit" for news.
I squeezed my brain pretty hard too, but found no fit.
News is represented well in this industry, and there is not a real angle or slan that you could provide right out of the gate that would be more useful than the other news sources in this industry.
I also do not like it because it would create more workload on your human resources with negligble pluses.
I hate to say "don't do this" without offering an alternative.
The number one thing I see SEOmoz (and this community) to be in need of is people getting back to some basic concrete "how to..." type articles.
Your top ten posts last year all shared one thing - each of them were "how to do this" or tutorial type stuff.
Most Popular Blog Posts
If you look back over you last few months, you notice that with Matt's exit, there was a vacuum left, where no such articles were really coming out of SEOmoz, and I haven''t seen it yet filled.
Things are more opiniony and cerebral of late and that is good stuff, but your foundation was laid in informative, useful posts of the "how to" variety. Clear, informative ways to do "x" by following "y" and "z" steps.
I would say that if you were to spend whatever time and effort you were gonna spend on "news" and put it into a dedicated effort to provide such "how to" articles, the return would be huge.
I agree with u buddy.
Excellent points Pat. I agree across the board. The "How To" is an area of great value.
The one thing I would really love to see here and which I believe would be of great value is a forum where SEO's and others within the search industry could share ideas, ask/answer questions, etc. There could be both open and Premium member areas.
I agree Sean.
To extend Pat's comment about the legal advice, that makes great sense for you right now because it's not only a fit to the SEOmoz audience but because you have Sarah on staff. None of you are journalists, to my knowledge; you're search marketers. I think you'd find reporting the news to be a very different beast.
Of course, that doesn't mean you can't occasionally comment on a big news item that affects the industry (like Microsoft's bid for Yahoo), but you do that as industry experts, not reporters.
Spot on... and you're raking in the thumbs.
Pat - obviously, we too feel Matt's loss, but I'm surprised that you brought up those specific posts. We certainly loved the traffic they brought from sites like Digg & Del.icio.us/Popular, but noted that our hardcore community members tended to ignore them or get less value from them. Even with the more recent and focused ones - on rules for e-commerce websites or tactics to increase blog traffic - we saw heavy criticism for creating "linkbait" rather than focusing on the core of the community (not just in comments here, but elsewhere on the web, too).
Perhaps we need another poll asking the community here about content styles and preferences - once I'm done rewriting the Beginner's Guide, there's going to be a lot more time to get creative with the blog and explore more avenues (though I feel like the Beginner's Guide itself is fairly "how-to" oriented).
Thanks for the shout out pat!
I do my best to be useful and I appreciate the validation.
Very truly yours,
Sarah
Spot on as always.
I largely agree with Pat. You should focus on providing things that are not alreaady over-saturated.
But I do think that SEOmoz is a good forum for analysis of how major news, like significant shifts in the top 3 search engines, affect search.
This morning I had to wade through about 15 posts in Google Reader, all about the Microsoft bid for Yahoo! Most of them just reposting the original press release.
In short, I don't think SEOmoz should cover news. There are plenty of sites already doing this.
Of course, if SEOmoz has an editorial opinion on a news item, this would fit perfectly as a post within the existing blog.
Agreed. Aaron's "what you need to do to prepare yourself" angle is far more useful than "MS is taking over Yahoo"
I voted no because "SEOmoz employees will be responsible for ensuring that big stories (like today's) get submitted" and "SEOmoz employees will have the exclusive power to "post" a story publicly to the blog/feed" means "I'm going to make Rebecca do it," and that cuts into my mid-workday nappin' time. ;)
(psst - you were the "human resources" I was refering to)
I voted no. There are already plenty (too many?) sites that cover news. My advice: stick to insights over news.
Wait a minute, you just got your first headline:
Matt Cutts Hates Search News
Is Matt Cutts willing to kill to protect Google? Some say he is; others say "no"...
;)
(sadly, that is a bit too close to what passes for journalism these days)
i can't believe i'm agreeing with cutts ;)
currently, there's a glut of search-related news sites in the market. the blog-o-webs are choked with regurgitated stories - essentially, it's our industry chewing it's own cud.
we're fortunate to have a few really outstanding sources that aggregate 95% of what you need to know from a news standpoint - Search Engine Land, SERoundtable, et. al.
SEOmoz - keep doing what you're doing. your position in the market as a hub for education is very valuable - both to your users and the market in general. don't duplicate effort in reporting news when your time, as a group, could be better spent educating.
Haha...I find it hilarious that Matt Cutts came and said almost verbatim what everyone else did but for some reason he gets a ton of thumbs :p
I love you matt, if thumbs were worth a dime each, you'd be 90 cents closer to the new NAS you've been looking for :)
I like SEOMoz BECAUSE I don't have to read duplicates of all the news items that I read everywhere else.
Agree with this 100%
Focus on MY bottom line... :D
Spend your time on inventive content that will earn money for ME. That content will also produce value for SEOmoz.
Your staff is actually working for me... and I would not send them to cover the news.
See how selfish I am?
Exactly! Networking aside, isn't it one of the the main reasons we keep coming back? You nailed it, EGOL.
Throughout its existance[sic], the SEOmoz blog has always strived to be something very different from a Search Engine Land, Marketing PilgrimSearch Engine Journal, by providing advice, insight, and under-the-radar stories from the world of search and webmastering.
I think your first paragraph says it all. Another newsfeed, it seems to me would be just that - another newsfeed. It makes sense to blog about a huge story like yesterday's Microsoft bid, but I would concentrate energy on what SEOmoz does best.
I voded NO.
Thursday Roundup is a good addition already.
SEOmoz is because of SEO mozzing and news story will create a buzz rather than mozz as it is right now.
I voted "depends," because I don't think it would be an inherently bad thing to get some news from SEOmoz.org as well as the other great info and community conversation we already have.
However, I think this section would need to be kept very separate from the rest of the site - if I have to dig through news stories to find blog posts I'll just be cheesed-off.
Also, if we're going to see even a single post dealing with things like this then I am not on board at all. That stuff is for the fanboys.
A definite No.
I believe that Pat said it best.
If you step back and look at the posts on SEOMoz, you can see that you already cover industry news. When an event occurs that has a direct effect on the SEO community, one of you will generate a post with a Moz-opinion of the effect or a Moz-explaination of what may have happened.
And, in my opinion, that is the way it ought to remain. No noise, no rush to see who posts a no-value link to a press release. Just a solid information resource for the SEO community.
While I agree with everyone who voted 'no' (really the way SEOMoz is doing now makes them unique) but here is one example:
there were plenty of news about RoR and domain disputes... And where did we find the best coverage? Yep, here at SEOMoz (thank you, Sarah). So really if news section was done the way that SEOMoz staff gave also their own opinion - that would be the best resource ever!
Thanks Ms. Ann! I was starting to be worried that I have been too "newsy." I aim to provide a mix of the following types of posts: 1) basic how-tos, 2) advance how-tos and 3) interesting cases happening right now. It's not always easy to get the balance right.
As a relative new-comer to SEOmoz, this thread has been really useful for me. How can I be valuable to the Moz community?
It sounds like the crowd generally prefers "how tos" and "insight pieces" over news and basic facts.
Thanks for the feedback. And thanks to those of you who PM me directly with both interesting cases and suggestions for future posts. I really do appreciate your direction.
Best Regards,
Sarah
I voted no on the news blog for all the reasons others have mentioned, but I would hate to see you, Sarah, change your style or approach based on the overwhelming "no news" feedback here.
Your posts are informative, educational, thought provoking, entertaining and completely unique in the industry! None of the other blogs I read have the kind of insight and authority you bring to legal issues in the SEO world. It's another reason that I always feel like I've learned something after coming here.
You're not too "newsy" in my opinion.
Seconded.
News = No
Your insight on HUGE stories like MS/Y!, definitely. I think it should be a video though because everyone else and their dog (well for this industry . . . their cat) already writes plenty about it. I also think the video would be better link bait and would compete less with the other bloggers that do cover the SEM/SEO headlines.
Sales 101: Differentiate or do it better than the competition . . . you'd be doing neither with your plans, so best to stay out of the news ring and focus on where you are different or better. (no offense)
Brent D. Payne
I agree with Ciaran above somewhere. I don't need to learn from SEOmoz that MSFT has bid for YHOO, but (even if it's in 3 weeks' time) I'd like your analysis / opinions on the whole shebang...
I second this (third this from Ciaran?).
I voted no - you shouldn't do a 'news' thing per se but that certainly shouldn't stop you making posts about the news. When you have something insightful to say about the news then of course say it but I don't think a dedicated news bit is worthwhile.
Anyway -you guys ARE the news a lot of the time, keep being awesome and the news sites will be forced to write about you ;-)
My two pence worth (or two cents depending on which side of the pond you're at)
I check in with SEOmoz every day because it's different from the rest. It's unique. You tend to cover stories anyway if you consider them really important (like Rip off Report, and MS Adlabs tools) so you're already doing this.
Sphinn does it's own thing as well as can be expected (essentially a free-for-all office canteen pin board that get's plastered in photocopied ads by the same people) and Aaron does a great job at selecting his own news stories.
So if you do decide to post news, then perhaps do it in a very unobtrusive way - a way that doesn't distract your time and resources from what you do best - translated roughly into "here's something cool I want to share with you all... now discuss"
Ok, now I read all the comments and want to be different so I say go for it because:
1. SEOmoz has a great reputation and having an SEO News source that could be trusted would be fantastic for the users and the industry.
2. It would could be 10 less sites I need to check on a regular basis.
3. As mentioned, I'd rather be contrary.
#2 does bring up an interesting point though. A lot of your allies could suddenly become your competitors and that may strain things.
Ultimately the question is do you want to make headlines or write them?
"Do you want to make headlines or write them?"
Epic quote, rmcarley. I don't think there's any better way to put it.
I voted No,
I think search news is covered very well within the industry.
I think when major things happen like Microsoft buying Yahoo, then a post giving an SEOmoz reaction to the news and its effects would add more benefit to the community than simply regurgutating the same stories found all over
I agree, special_k, and that's why I voted no, too. I'd like to see the reaction of people here to "big news" like this story, but I don't see the need to cover the news in general.
Yes and No.
I don´t need another search news blog. But I would like to hear your comment\opinion on important news, like the Yahoo-acquisition.
No Because News is a cheap commodity. Premium does not equal cheap.
First of all, I really appreciate you asking us first. I wish more companies would ask their customers, clients and even employees before they jump in head first.
I voted depends. I selected this answer because if you are just going to report strictly on the news, then I say no. I can get news anywhere. But if SEOmoz was going to provide commentary on how news could impact the industry, I would vote yes.
I would appreciate your opinions on major news, such as Microsoft's bid for Yahoo!. How you think an acquistion like that would affect search engine optimizers, etc.
Thank you for all of your hard work!
No. Stick to what you do well, and let the millions of other sites cover the rest, over and over and over again.
The Microsoft/Yahoo story has been submitted to Sphinn, like, umm, 40 or 50 times in the last 3 or 4 days. I don't want to read about it here as well. :-)
I vote no too. News is not what I come here for.
I'm commenting before I read anyone else's opinion (so that I don't get distracted or swayed) so if this is a "me too" just ignore it. ;)
Rand, industry news would be good though whatever you decide don't break what works. I like moz becuase it covers important issues that are glossed over or ignored elsewhere. So if you're going to interupt that I say absolutely not.
When you do cover news you should be timely for relevance sake. Putting off commenting on MSN/Y! while the story is still ramping up seems like a bad call to me... and maybe a bit ego-centric (as in "people will still want to hear what *I* think of this even if the story goes cold tomorow"). If that's how you plan to run news coverage, don't bother. That type of attitude just increases the noise.
My suggestion is to do what you do and maybe work something out with Sphinn to cover industry news. A partnership can make both companies better and I know you have a good relationship with those folks. After all, this is a social web!
Rand - I haven't voted as I'm writing this on the Crackberry.
What I will say is that I think this actually misses the point. What I, and I'd imagine lots of others, would like to see is your analysis of Mircro-hoo (and other such issues).
The industry certainly doesn't need another 'news' blog, but expert insight into what such issues might mean, is definitely a bonus.
So don't bother trying to be an aggregator, but do give your thoughts on the major topics. It's what we try to do with our blog (and I think you'd be even better placed to do it.)
I said it depends... I don't want SEOmoz to be a place for "breaking news" and headlines, but I really do enjoy the more in-depth news-type articles that you occasionally post, like the RipOff Report summary.
I think of those pieces like the longer investigative news series that newspapers sometimes run.
That being said, when something huge like the Microsoft/Yahoo story comes around, I would like to hear the moz reaction and specifically what does it mean for me as an SEO professional.
Sounds good.
If the news would be in "SEOmoz style" and different than others it is good. But not if it is the daily news which can be found elsewhere.
I voted NO because there are plenty of sites there report the news - I don't come to SEOmoz for the news. Please stick to the latest SEO information and tips that's why I'm here.
I voted yes because I think it could be useful to have in only one website (it will be cool as another section, not in the blog section) as much info of the market as possible. BUT, if you are going to keep the same staff, I would rather have them posting more insightful article as they do know. I agree with the comments above too. They all made good arguments against it. It seems that what people want is SEOmoz staff discussing the news more than just post them.
Why not - as long as it doesn't effect the amount of stuff that gets posted on here.
At first I said no, but after watching the news , I find when it comes to SEO, and other SEM info. maybe using this avenue as a tool for news may be a more informative option.
You people seem to know more about what is going on in in the world of VM, SM , etc.!!
Thanks for all the info you supply!
I voted no as well, based on the format you described. Sphinn has moved down my daily read list because of all the noise.
Matt Cutt's statement of insight over news is an important one. SEOmoz as a respected voice in the SEO/Webmaster community and should offer a review of news events, and I think will be able to provide some unique perspectives on it.
I also agree with statements above that Sarah's postings have been a welcome addition. A legal perspective on this type of 'news' would also be welcomed,
I don't miss news on the SEOmoz. But maybe you can just have a seperate section where you publish news from someone who does that for a living and we could comment on them. That might add some value for the community without demanding to much time or efffort from your staff away from doing what they do best.
Since I started coming here I have learned much more than I ever expected and SEOmoz is a now an absolute must on my reading list. But I sometimes miss forums or discussion boards where I could ask questions that pop up or discuss further something that started in comments. You have a strong society here allready and I absolutely agree with Seanmag that a forum would strenghten the community further without effecting the quality of other stuff.
I voted no, based upon the way you were proposing to handle it
There is no point in reporting news because that is just adding to the echo chamber.
Alternatively if there is a topic on which you can add some valuable insightful commentary on, which isn't being covered elsewhere, I think that is important. It is vital to cover it if you have a deeply contrasting view to general opinion.
I think it is also important to cover news items which change your perspecitve on certain aspects of advice you have given in the past.
I benefitted from a link from such a post, on the Google Paid links update back in October - I think that kind of news is important to cover, but you need to cover it in more depth than just a few links to different opinions.
I must be honest and say I voted yes, but after reading all the comments am happy to let democracy rule, and do see the very valid points you good people are making.
Really newsworthy items will filter in via the very social filter all of us make up, after all!
Randy,
keep it like you have been doing it, which is what we are looking for when reading your site, and leave the news to the other blogs and forums.
You can still comment this type of big news, with your SEO view, but that's all we would be looking for at the SEOMOZ.
Who's Randy?
I assume he misread or thinks rand is short for randy
Like many others, I would not want to see SEOmoz cover industry news in general. However, the Microsoft bid is big enough to be an "exception". I vote for Rand to give in to his urges and write what he thinks about the bid, but otherwise leave the SEO news to the other SEO sites to cover.
I'd just like to agree with most of the comments here - I don't think it would be worth repeating the work that sites such as searchengineland already do very well. I keep returning to SEOmoz specifically because your articles are well-thought out, focused pieces on a specific aspect of seo and that necessarily ties in with latest developments because you lot are reading the latest news! But these ideas for blog pieces happen organically - you don't need to be making knee-jerk reactions on every development that comes up.
Needless to say, I voted no ;)
No news! succint, targeted and original articles on SEO are what SEOmoz is good at. Let's keep it that way! thanks, richardbaxterseo
I say no need to see SEO MOZ report news.
I would rather hear comment on that news and keep the community the way it has been, a great resource over the last 18 months.
sorry I double posted so removing this one.
I voted "No". SEOmoz is a great educational source and does not need to cover news items (at least it wouldn't be of any value to me, only more clutter).
If it takes you away at all from other content then i'd say "no". Would be nice but I think SEL and SEJ have it covered pretty well.
I am definetly going for NO.
These daily news can be found everywhere in the web and as you said are covered by Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land and many many other smaller blogs, new sites and whatever.Additionally the short concept (1-2 paragraph with links) reminds me a bit of Sphinn.I love the "under the radar" stories here and that is for me one thing what makes SEOmoz so interesting and "different".
By the way it means more work for you guys :)
I'd say no, we don't really need another Sphinn at this point. Besides that most blogs already cover most industry news.
I'd recommend creating a single daily or weekly blog post which wraps up the most important blog posts / articles along with your ratings. It ought to be a bit more comprehensive then your current weekly recap though.
You might want to pop these links into a database and archive the news reports, this can give you a nice monthly and weekly report which you can generate for blog stats in SEO. You could also generate some numbers for top SEO blogs. Afterall you generate ratings for each article. This could help give you a custom directory/list type section on your site for SEO industry blogs.
I vote yes! I would use Seomoz as the source for seo-related news if it was provided with editorial opinion included all in one post.
I currently read seo-news elsewhere but given my time budget and my respect for your slant on seo, I would prefer to read it here.
I think that if you publish seo news here your readership will expand as other people consolidate their seo reading for time sake.
I voted no, but the more I think about it perhaps it would not be a bad idea to have a whole seperate section for news... as long as the blog does not get bloated with new feeds!
I also voted no as I also find the seomoz differentiates itself strongly from the many other seo type sites by its really useful how-to tutorials, tips and educational material as the main content.
Where it is now so easy to throw up a wordpress/joomla site, I find there are too many other casual seo sites that try to cover bits and pieces of everything but end up covering nothing in depth or with credibility. This is where seomoz wins out.
I also found the 'rules for e-commerce websites' and 'tactics to increase blog traffic' and similar type of articles very useful and visit this site regularly due to the quality of the articles.
This is also the reason that has lead me to seriously consider signing on as a full time member to the site soon as to get more specific tips, Q&A.
Thanks seomoz!
Any section, new section or the present blog would not be good for News, as many many sites publish the same news.
And as Matt Cutts said, posting about the insights of the news would bea brighter side of thinking ;)
i voted yes based on the guidelines you set forth. i think it can only enhance the site, and not take away from the great content that is already here.
I voted no. As many mentioned above, I think an editorial/opinion piece on how such a news item affects SEOmoz or the SEO industry is more worthwile to this community. If you do institute a news feature, I probably wouldnt read it - I get my news from other sites.
let me jump on the pile here with another 'no, don't cover news' opinion. For me, the first post in this thread summed it up. There's so much duplication in the big stories.
I voted no on the news feed b/c of dilution of the niche-ness of seomoz, etc.
I want to hear your analysis/insights/opinions but I think it will beat to death pretty soon.
It will be beat to death.
It will be beat to death.
etc.
I too think SEOMoz is unique and voted no.
There are too many news sites - This site along with Aaron Wall doesn't just publish news - I like the difference here and with AW
No.
I already have much problem with finding valuable information on that kinda sites...leave it as it is now...or just increase number of "seomoz style" posts ;)
I voted no. With that said, I'd love to hear your thoughts on certain big news in the industry. But, it is more of a back and forth watercooler discussion that I would be looking for.
When the news hit yesterday morning it was the buzz of the town. Everyone I know was asking my opinion as well (I am sure most of us got the same treatment since we are in the industry). It is great to discuss thoughts, ideas, what may happen and who predicted it first (is there anyone who did NOT predict this?), but for me I'd rather you stick with what you do best, no need for duplicate work.
Heck, I am looking for a feed reader that will cluser posts and dedupe so I can avoid scrolling through 35 posts on the Microsoft/Yahoo thing. I'd take unique topics every day of the week.
- Jim
I vote for no news, and a minimum of comedy / philosophy posts, please.
To me, the SEOmoz brand = high-quality insights, tips, data, and illustrated explorations of search marketing concepts. Everyone's time is limited, and that's where we subscribe to this site for. Every post that is promotional, an echo of news already covered, or merely entertaining dilutes the strength of the brand, for me.
I vote no, too many sites just talking and recapping the news but you guys get into the nuts and bolts and allow us to be better because of it.
I voted depends--before I read all the excellent comments.
Now, change my vote to no!
I'd rather see the SEOmoz staff doing what they do best--helping us learn about the best SEO.
However, we would love to have your insight on news that affects seo.
Guess it goes back to the old 80/20 rule. You could do all of that and do a great job, but lots of others are already.
Only you and your crew can do what you do best!
That's what we love about this site.
Thanks!
Generally speaking, I'm opposed to it. There's a lot of news coverage already; SEOmoz is reliably providing information (or at least entertainment.)
However, if the news was offered on a separate feed from the main content, that would be fine.
I don't care whether it's offered; but I don't want to have to hear it.
I don't mind if you cover the news, but perhaps you should look at it from the perspective of SEO, or the SEO industry.
This takeover/merger will surely have some important ramifications for SEO.
Tell us about those.
I voted no, because as others have said there are plenty of sources for this information. On the other hand I'd like to see articles discussing the implications of recent events. Best example of this is Aaron's post: while not covering the news (he did in a previous entry, though) he offers lots of insight from his corner. He is getting a ton of links on it and they're are all worthy.
I pretty much agree with Pat across the board too. I kind of wanted to vote "It depends" but I can't really see a case where it would be a real asset without draining resources.
However, MS bids for Yahoo! has such obvious repercussions for search I wouldn't think it at all out of place for an analysis to be posted here.
I also voted no. You guys are excellent at doing what you do (providing how-to's, insights, tips, etc). I think we all know where to find search engine related news. No need to put it here also. Don't distract yourselves from your core strengths.
Rand, adding news would dilute what we come here for.
To add to the resounding "No" that we've seen from this thread so far :
No.
I agree with Pat about everything specifically the fact that there have been a lot of pieces lately about what this person thinks about this industry-topic as opposed to the good ole' insights and informative, thorough and cutting edge pieces that convinced me to go premium in the first place.
I think that covering news would cause the site to look a lot like the other 278 seo blogs out there. Not to mention it would attract a more "general" crowd and dilute the community feel.
Just want to clarify as it seems that many people commenting didn't read the post. The idea would be to launch a new section of the site (perhaps NEWSmoz as Risa suggested) where short snippets would be posted to the important stories of the day. They wouldn't be infringing on the blog coverage, but rather, be a completely separate entity (like Marketplace or YOUmoz).
It would appear, however, that the overwhelming majority prefers to keep SEOmoz a news-free site, and it's certainly less work for us, so unless there's an outcry for it in the future, we'll most likely stay away.
Thanks for contributing, everyone!
Yeah, and it sounds like the news blurb section wouldn't help quell the text messages anyways, instead you'd need a news opinion section, and that'd definitely be more work for you.
I think you should start a new poll "what type of beer should SEOmoz serve at their next party?"
I bet that one would get a lot of comments, too ;)
No. You should stick to your knitting; not stuck in the middle. ;-)
There is a ton of news reporting & analysis resources online and offline that do a great job -well, most of them.
Depends...
I think YouMoz is a great place where news could be covered and commented. Actually I was looking at Seomoz for a quick post on MicroHoo (or is it YaSoft?), and I was kinda frustrated not to see one, so I sent a youmoz post of my own, to get things started...
I wouldn't want the main feed clutered with news but if it was in a seperate feed then I guess it's not causing any harm.
News already gets duped across 5,000 sites within minutes. Don't worry about it - stay unique!
I voted "depends":
Just covering the story itself? No. There's plenty of people doing that, like you said.
But it'd be worth reading opinion pieces on stories like Yahoo/Microsoft. Examples - Can Microhoo really compete with Google? What are the major hurdles?
SEW did a piece on the SEO implications of the deal. All speculation, but still interesting.
I've voted no - not because i think SEOmoz couldn't do it well - but because i believe it would detract from the core strength's of SEOmoz - that of educating SEO'ers - which is done amazingly well from the legal feature (which i think is amazing) to the various guides and Q&A features.
If there are BIG industy changes/news then sure an editorial piece would be welcome - but really not more than 1per month - also the weekly roundup already contains "news" of a sort, maybe a short paragraph in that linking to relevant stories elsewhere of "news of the week"
Keep up the great work and i look forward to Q3 2008!
I vote no also. This Blog is helpful for what it is, not as a "news" site.
Stay as is!
I say Yes - why not? If you want to devote employee resources to it and try it out - maybe for 2-3 months, that's great, but don't make it part of the main bloog. Make it a section like YOUmoz. Call it NEWSmoz, so it's there for the people who want it and you'll know soon enough if there's a justifiable market for it. And as for Rebecca being saddled with it, give it to your legal eagle, Sarah.
But who's going to keep mozzers out of jail and notarize stuff?!
; )
no news for seomoz :D
It depends...
SEOmoz currently offers unique contributions to the search community, and so does not need to report on news issues.
If SEOmoz offered news articles, then I could subscribe to a lot less feeds, knowing that those worthy of being written on would be found at SEOmoz.
As it stands, there are a lot of feeds out there that offer limited great content, but a lot of poor quality and repeated content along with those few great articles.
If SEOmoz offered a seperate feed for news (good idea), then I could dump my subscriptions from 3 to 5 other feeds, knowing that I would be keeping up to date with the most imporatant issues in the news, thus avoiding unneccessary repetition from many other blogs.
It would save much time, and some frustration.
So, it depends, leaning toward a yes, great idea.
same here, i voted no, here's why :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igqsz2G9GGM