Next week I'll be speaking at the Shop.org Summit in Las Vegas. The summit is a conference for online and multichannel retailers, so it's a slightly different focus than the SES and SMX shows I've attended. I'm looking forward to attending some sessions to get a better grasp of some of the issues retail sites experience and learn how to improve conversions (something I've been tasked with grappling for SEOmoz). I'll be speaking about natural search tools and tactics Tuesday, September 18, on the "Intermediate Search Strategy: Solid Ideas to Improve Your Search Performance" panel with Dana Todd, Todd Friesen, Ken Jurina, and Christopher Knoch. The session will be moderated by none other than Allan Dick, clawfoot tub aficionado. He has done a fantastic job of organizing this session and getting us all involved and excited about putting together great presentations. After the session we're all sticking around to moderate roundtable discussions about any SEO issues the audience may be having.

On Wednesday, September 19, I'll be speaking with Stephan Spencer, Eric Ward, and Neil Patel (who is flying to Vegas, speaking, and flying back in one day because he has classes to attend the next day [say it with me: "Aww, how cuuuuute!"]) on a Link Building and Social Media clinic. I'll be among a talented and intelligent group of SEOs, so I'm sure I'll learn as much as the audience will from these fine fellas (hopefully I'll be able to dispense some good advice as well).

Other odds and ends:
  • I'll be a guest blogger for Shoemoney, starting next week with some Q&A.
  • SEO songs are blowing up lately--first we have "The SEO Song" sung in tune to Jeff's favorite song (he'll kill me for saying that), "Hey There Delilah," then Todd Friesen brings us an amusing diddy about two guys who love Facebook.
  • Viral marketing at its most nostalgic! Anyone who played The Oregon Trail as a kid (you'll understand this t-shirt if you did) will love The Thule Trail game created by thuleroadtrip.com. The object of the game is to drive to a concert in California. I played for about ten minutes, and during that time I got the following random roadtrip status updates:
    • "Matt gets a small fruit candy stuck up a nostril."
    • "Jane's leg falls asleep. 'Pins and needles! Pins and needles!'"
    • "Jeff gets a hand rolled up in a window. You'll never hear the end of this. Lose 30 minutes."
  • Greg Boser talks about "why Sphinn needs a dumbass button," which I actually discussed earlier this week with Neil and Cameron during Rush Hour on WMR. I wonder if Sphinn will soon adopt a bury button or if they'll go against conventions and remain bury-free.
  • Bill Hartzer reminds us not to bid on the word "keyword" if you aren't in the keyword business. I don't know if it's the "funniest" pay per click keyword mistake, but it is a good reminder to not waste your moolah on unrelated terms.
Any other interesting tidbits you came across? Oh, and if you're attending the Shop.org Summit, be sure to introduce yourself and say hello. :)