If you have a web site and you want to be found, you understand how Google is currently the world’s primary search engine when it come to marketing or optimization (Search Engine Marketing or Search Engine Optimization ).

Microsoft’s search engine, MSN, is by most accounts the third man in a two man race between Google and its waaay back in second place competitor, Yahoo. You may be aware that Microsoft decided this week it didn’t want to be an also ran anymore and that MSN wasn’t going to be a player on its own. Microsoft submitted an unsolicited offer for over $44 billion to buy Yahoo. Yahoo, whose financial health isn’t the strongest, is deciding what it wants to do.

For internet users and for business people, the prospect of this type of change could be a big deal.

I have the gall to comment on such a humongous business deal not because I am so connected in the tech world or so incredibly web savvy but rather because search engines are a valued part of my voice over business. Mine is a web-based business, primarily, and as such depends in some measure on my search engine success.

So as a point of reference I shall offer up some general statistics to let you know what this proposed merger means to my business regarding search engines. And don’t worry, these will be easily relatable statistics that won’t make your eye bleed.

From January 1, 2007 – January 1, 2008, the following were the search engines that guided the most visitors to my voice over business web site, audio’connell.com

1. Google 2,833
2. Yahoo 173
3. AOL 58
4. MSN 37

Quick math will tell you that Yahoo, AOL and MSN combined don’t total even 10% of the visitors guided to my web site by Google. So what’s the near-term impact of the merger to my business (especially since I own no stock in any of these companies)?

Nothing.

It may make good business sense for Yahoo and Microsoft (or it may not) but unless they come up with some amazing search engine idea that can blow the wheels off Google, it won’t help my business. It won’t hurt it either.

I’m just one business example however and I’d love to hear your comments on how this merger would (or would not) impact your web based business based on your search engine traffic.

Tags: commentary, google, marketing, search engine marketing, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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The elephant in the room just subtly kicked off their own social network.

If it smells like competition and looks like competition, Facebook this is your new competition.

Open your Google Reader, click manage my subscriptions and click the tab marked “Friends”.

Tags: commentary, google, internet, media, social networking, social networks and links, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Though I have never met the man nor his wife I am a big fan of the Common Craft shows produced by Lee and Sachi LeFever. They’ve produced a great many of them and have become so popular that the format has been satirized on the net already (always a good sign you’ve “made it”).

Internet technology and its vast array of helpful and educational tools are still mostly ignored by the general population, in my opinion. While that will change as today’s youth transmogrify into adulthood, these Common Craft videos can be a wonderfully simple tutorial for those currently intimidated by internet technology.

Enjoy.

Tags: blogs, commentary, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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When plowing through my blog subscriptions via my Google Reader everyday, I find myself simply hitting the “Mark As Read” button on many posts. I’m not sure if its because I’m tired of reading or the post hasn’t grabbed my attention or if I’ve got a hellish day ahead (or behind me) and I just can’t be bothered.

But a trick I’ve tired to implement more regularly recently is if I see a post of interest but feel I don’t have the time to concentrate on it, I just leave it and make sure I come back to it. Sure, that sounds logical enough for most people but in my drive to accomplish things or be able to cross one more thing off my list…having the patience to hold and go back is a big deal.

What’s the payoff? This is the payoff. Thursday (Thanksgiving Day in the states) Copywriting.com had a post “The 10 ten ways to drive traffic to your blog”. Thursday was a long day for me because Air Tran Airlines had trouble managing to get a non-stop flight from Buffalo to Atlanta so my 6:20 a.m. flight didn’t leave Buffalo until 2:40 p.m. (All together now…”Air Tran sucks!”)

In the interim, I went over the US Airways Club to chill (airport benches just are not comfortable). While I was reading my Google Reader, I started to feel a bit sleepy (I hadn’t even had turkey yet but they did have football on and I’d been up since 4 a.m.). So when I came across the Copywriting.com post, I knew I would want to read it but wouldn’t be able to concentrate at that particular moment.

This morning, I read the post and it had a terrific video from Jack Humphrey (http://www.jackhumphrey.com/) on how to use Trackbacks on wordpress blogs. The video is on his blog and on Copywriting.com’s blog.

Thanks to Copywriter.com and Jack for these terrific tips, proving that my patience often will be rewarded. It also proves that the older I get, the less it takes to please me 🙂

Tags: blogs, commentary, google, internet, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Maybe you’ve given this some thought.

Maybe this has given you pause.

Maybe if it hasn’t yet, it should now.

Tags: commentary, internet, technology by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Editor’s Note: In the daily observation of life around him, the author occasionally feels the need to point out ridiculously inane behavior and general thoughtlessness. These are called “Rants” and this is one of those times.

Today is Blog Action Day , a day when bloggers across the internet have agreed to publish a post about one topic based on the concept:

“What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day? One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.”

We found out about this project in August.

My environmental hot button has always been litter: how incredibly easy it is to contain, how unnecessarily careless people are with their minor waste and how it’s grown into such a huge problem.

I’ll let the more environmentally educated in the world tackle the statistics on garbage collected and how best to recycle, etc. I want to focus on the simple everyday problem of daily litter and stopping people from littering.

Many people of a certain generation will remember in 1971 the Keep America Beautiful campaign’s TV spot for Earth Day where the actor known as Iron Eyes Cody came upon all the litter surrounding America, which made him cry.

That was 1971.

It’s not much different in 2007.

At least twice a week as I’m driving my car, I see one of the other drivers tossing some wrapper or cigarette or other refuse out of their car on to a street or expressway. Somehow the materials that got into their car “immediately” need to be expunged from the car…for some reason, it can’t be disposed of in their home’s garbage can or in a nearby trash receptacle at their next stop (there are trash cans at public places almost everywhere these days).

It’s not just cars though. Parks, streets, its everywhere!

I know Americans are lazier than ever, I know we’re less educated than ever and more disrespectful than ever. So all I think it takes is a quick reminder…a loud, public, always polite reminder that will attract attention from anyone within ear shot and embarrass the crap out of the litter bug.

(In an overly clear loud voice professional voice talent….but you can do it too>) “Hello, HELLO SIR!!!! I’m sure you dropped that wrapper on the sidewalk by accident so I just wanted to remind you to please, right now, pick up that wrapper and throw it in the garbage can you’re standing next to, great, thanks!”

Start politely humiliating the offenders, wherever possible. If we’re silent, litterbugs think we don’t mind. We mind and we need to let them know it.

I think one of the best ways to tackle a huge problem like protecting the earth’s environment is to start small. To a person, litter is a small thing, something that if we each just THINK about it, about what we are doing, how and where we are disposing our trash, we can make a huge impact.

I hope you’ll help by not littering and publicly (and politely) calling out anyone who does.

Tags: advertising, blog action day, blogs, commentary, commercials, internet, media, rants, technology, voice talent by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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