Revolution 2.0

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“The first duty of an American citizen is that he shall work in politics.”
—Theodore Roosevelt

 

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Left, right or center, many of us spend too much time griping about what we think is wrong with America. Independence Day is a day to celebrate all that is right with it—but it’s also a day to consider where our republic has been in the past, where we want to take it in the future, and how we want to get there.                               

 

Our founders rode the crest of a wave of intellectual reformation and revolution called the Enlightenment, and at great peril to their lives put into motion what others in the Old World could only dare dream of. Today, a new wave is cresting, an electronic wave, energized by the voices of the 172-plus million Americans now online, that promises to shake the nature of politics and government to their cores.
 

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

 

We can quibble ad nauseam—and we will—over what words like “men,” “happiness,” and “rights” meant to the Founding Fathers as opposed to what they mean to us today, recognizing that it took nearly two centuries, a civil war and a civil rights struggle before the dream evoked by the words was realized, and even then, only in part.

 

Sure, we’ve got a ways to go. But we ought to be thankful that we have inherited the inspiring doctrines on this parchment, because without them, this republic, this nation, would be just another accident of geography.

 

Fathers of Invention
Our nation’s founders were also fathers of invention. Thomas Jefferson invented an encoding machine for protecting state secrets, a portable copying machine, automatic doors and a bookstand. He also made improvements on the plow and the swivel chair. Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals, the lightning rod, the Franklin stove and an odometer.

 

Surely, Tom, Ben and the rest would be dazzled by how far we’ve progressed in our ability to store, reproduce, publish and share knowledge, and they would immediately recognize the impact for society and democracy. (It took me less than five minutes on the Web to find lists of the founders’ inventions, a task that might have taken me several hours or more in my high school library, 25 years ago.) But they would also, I think, be pretty miffed about how much we take what they handed down to us for granted. (Between 1960 and 1996, voter turnout in presidential elections dropped from 69 percent to 49 percent.)

 

The e-Merican Revolution
But a second American revolution is in full swing. Call it the e-Merican Revolution…

Read the rest of this entry »

Extend your reach

 

If you’re a frequent visitor to the blog, you’ve probably already figured out that Yahoo! offers a full range of services to help publishers be successful on the Web. Heck, we’re pimpin’ them all the time and we don’t mind admitting it—because they’re quality products.

 

Last week in this space we posted a short primer on two free Yahoo! services that can help ensure your site and individual pages get indexed: Yahoo! Submit Your Site and Yahoo! Site Explorer. 

 

This week we explore Yahoo!’s paid Search Marketing and Directory services. While publishers currently in the beta program can access all these services and more via the new Publisher Services tab in the secure account interface, those not yet in the beta can also access them using links provided below.

 

Life in the Fast Lane
As mentioned last week, submitting your site to Yahoo! Search is free. But to expedite the process and ensure that the most up-to-date information appears in Yahoo! AltaVista, AlltheWeb and other search results, you might want to try Yahoo!’s Search Submit Express.
For an annual fee and a tiered cost-per-click, URLs that meet the program’s editorial quality standards will be crawled every 48 hours, and you will be able to monitor your results via a special reporting interface.

 

Up, Up and Away
Another option is Yahoo! Sponsored Search, which prominently displays your site in Sponsored Search results on the pages of Yahoo! and leading sites across the Web:

 

 

Yahoo! Sponsored Search delivers highly targeted customer leads to your business by allowing you to control placement within paid search results across the Web. It connects your business with customers searching online for precisely what you sell, delivering highly targeted customer leads at a high ROI. And it’s easy to get started: Just pick your keywords, write your ad listings, make your bids, and you’re off and running. You pay only when your listing is clicked upon.

 

(Larger business with advertising budgets of $10,000 or more per month should call the nice folks at the Yahoo! Search Marketing Direct Sales team at (866) 250-7572.)

 

But wait, there’s more
In addition to submitting your site to Yahoo! Search, you may also want to consider a listing in the Yahoo! Directory. Where Yahoo! Search is organized by keyword, the Yahoo! Directory is organized by subject. It allows users to narrow down their results by specific interests. For example:

 

Business & Economy
      Business to Business
                             Auctions
                                    Automotive

 

This narrows down all the auctioneers that deal with automobiles that appear in the Yahoo! Directory.

 

To submit your site for consideration in the Directory, visit Yahoo! Directory Submit. The base cost for Yahoo! Directory Submit is $299 per listing per year.

 

Different sites have different needs and budgets, so you’ll want to read all the material carefully before you decide which path is best for you. Visit Yahoo! Search Marketing for a complete look at all of our SEM services.

 

If you’re not yet in the Yahoo! Publisher Network, be sure to bookmark these links so that you can return to them easily.

 

—Michael Mattis, Blog Editor

 

** Site implementation may vary.

Gnome more books . . .

 

Loyal readers take note: Several of us Yahoos are off to Seattle for Gnomedex 6.0, this year’s installment of the always-interesting conversation among industry influencers, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and generally engaged Web folks (yes, we hope to live up to at least one of those roles). And now, Gnomedex features the “best conference t-shirt ever.” While that’s self-proclaimed, it’s an assertion that’s pretty hard to argue with—even if the (CC-licensed) theme song scares the bejeezus out of us leaves something to be desired.

 

Among other treats, this year’s agenda features a keynote by U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), who will hopefully bring some fresh energy to the question of technology and society, a topic that is always relevant, but has become newly significant with the emergence of the blogosphere as a force in public discourse. I can’t think of a better way to kick off our 4th of July weekend!
 
If you’re going to be there, please come say hello.

 

—Greg Cohn, Sr. Manager, Emerging Publishers 

 

 

Tell us what you want to hear

 

The Yahoo! Publisher Network blog will only be successful if we’re helping you to be successful. To help reach that goal, today we’re asking for feedback on how the blog can better help you.

 

In addition to the poll at right, we invite you to leave your comments. Below is a list of some of the types of posts we’ve published thus far. Have a particular topic you’d like us to explore in a given category? Let us know about it, as well as any suggestions for new categories. If you’d prefer not to leave your comments publicly, drop us a line. All ideas welcome.

 

Announcements
Yahoo! Publisher Network and Yahoo! news, policies and policy changes; planned outages, etc.

 

Product updates & enhancements
News about new features, system upgrades, interface changes and so forth

 

How-to’s
How to use and get the most out of Yahoo! Publisher Network features, Yahoo! products and services, and third-party offerings

 

Publisher spotlights and interviews
Highlighting successful publishers who illustrate how you may achieve similar goals

 

Did you know?
Tips on Yahoo! Publisher Network features and Yahoo! services you might not know about

 

Guest columns
Industry leaders both from inside Yahoo! and from outside the company share their know-how

 

Industry news
Yahoo! and outside news and links of interest to publishers from around the media and the blogosphere

 

Industry events
Upcoming industry event news, as well as reports from current and past events

 

—The Team

 

 

Suggest your site to Yahoo! and get noticed

 

Hey, Publishers: To get the maximum benefit from the ads you display on your site, you’ll need to get as many of the right visitors there as possible. Surprisingly, some publishers and bloggers don’t know that when they create new sites, it’s important to let Yahoo! know they’re there, so that they may show up in search results.

 

Last week, we announced our new Publisher Services hub. Here, we brought together all kinds of Yahoo! search submission and other traffic-building services, both free and paid. But you don’t need to have a Yahoo! Publisher Network account to take advantage of these services.

 

Today we offer a short primer of free services that can help you get your content noticed, whether you’re a publisher in our network or not.

 

Submit to Yahoo! (resistance is futile)
To submit your site or single web page to Yahoo! Search, visit Yahoo! Submit Your Site and follow the simple instructions. You can also submit mobile sites, RSS feeds and multimedia RSS feeds.

 

Explore the undiscovered country—your own site
Explore all the web pages indexed by Yahoo! Search, including your own, using the new Yahoo! Site Explorer (beta) . You can view the most popular pages from any site, dive into a comprehensive site map, and find pages that link to that site or any page you choose. Use Site Explorer to learn which of your pages are indexed and which aren’t. If you find pages that aren’t indexed, you can submit them using Submit Your Site, described above. In addition, you can use Site Explorer APIs to get a good grasp of who is linking to you without using easily spammed trackbacks.

 

Be sure to revisit this blog next week, when we’ll discuss paid Yahoo! search-related services. In the meantime, check out the blog’s Create Cool Experiences page to discover some other Yahoo! services that can help you enhance your site.
 

 

—Michael Mattis, Blog Editor

 

 

Jeremy Shoemaker
Publisher, ShoeMoney.com
Host, Net Income on Webmaster Radio

 

Serendipity’s like this. One day you you’re an appliance salesman at Sears and another you’re a web-celeb making bank on the Internet and helping others do the same. Well, there’s usually a little more to it than that, but as Jeremy Shoemaker explains, it’s taking the initiative that makes the difference.
 

“Procrastination,” he says, “is a five-syllable word for fear.”

 

Those of you who attend conferences like Webmaster World probably know, or at least, know of, Jeremy. His boundless enthusiasm for doing successful business on the Web is infectious. In addition to his consulting firm ShoeMoney Media Group, Inc., Jeremy shares his experiences through his blog Shoemoney.com, is an editor at Threadwatch.com, a contributor to SERoundtable.com, and the host of his own radio show, Net Income, on Webmaster Radio. He’s been on both the advertising and the publishing sides of the SEM world.

 

I recently spoke with Jeremy from his home, the “ShoeMoneyPlex,” in Lincoln, Nebraska,  to find out how a little chance, ingenuity and know-how, combined with a lot of perseverance, translates to success.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: So give me the quick low-down on ShoeMoney.com and your Webmaster Radio program, Net Income. What are your goals?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: My goal on Shoemoney.com is to write about my experiences, with the idea that they may help others earn money online. We all have frustrations and need help from time to time, and I just started sharing some of the things I have learned with others. I do this through my radio show as well; in addition to listening to my interviews and hearing ideas, people can call in and ask me questions.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: How did you get started in all this?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: While working as an appliance salesman at Sears, a customer offered me a job at an ISP. The customer had heard I was known to have computer skills. At that time, those skills consisted mostly of playing video games. But I learned everything I could about Linux, Web server management and mail system management. Eventually I ended up doing security administration for large financial institutions. My first web site experience was with MacOsRumors.com. I hosted it and helped in finding advertisers.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: How important were those job experiences for what you’re doing now?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: Very. The MOSR experience showed me the power of the numbers. I could see the statistics and analysis. After all, that’s what Search Engine Marketing (“SEM”) is all about; the numbers and how you make them work for you. And the security administration jobs in the big banks showed me that I didn’t want to be a corporate number all my life. (Editor’s Note: We resent that last remark :-)) So I took the leap and started doing my own thing.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: How do you enhance your technical skills?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: By this time you might get the impression that I am fairly action-orientated. I find a lot of solutions just by trying to work problems out. I do have a huge library of programming language books, but I only scan them for clues. I just jump in there and start trying stuff that leads me to a solution.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: How did you get started with contextual advertising?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: My business really took off two-and-half years ago. What really got me interested me in it was that it’s basically “fire and forget.” You just fire off a simple line of code and let advertisers choose the best product to advertise on your web site based on context.

 

I got interested in it because it makes money. I can instantly deploy advertising on five million pages like I did it by hand. What more can I say? Contextual advertising; it’s quick; it’s easy, it makes money. Win, win, win.

 

MICHAEL MATTIS: If there were three things that you would tell other publishers to help them be successful, what would they be?

 

JEREMY SHOEMAKER: Number One: Just do it! If you have an idea, go with it. Get a site up and running. Procrastination is a five-syllable word for fear. Don’t be afraid to fail or that your site isn’t a work of art. Get it going and tweak it later. Believe me; you will learn so much stuff just by doing it.

 

Number Two: Don’t overplan. You can get yourself into a state of paralysis by analysis. No kidding, I get guys sending me 12-page business plans almost every day. And that’s fine, but it won’t get your site up and running. I truly believe in this business, but structure has to come after the money starts coming in.

 

Number Three: Prioritize Potentially Profitable Projects. Take an honest look at your ideas. Then work on the idea that has the most potential for profit. The goal here is to make money, not to be entertained. I love what I do, but the thing I love most about it is the money it makes me. I love keeping score with dollars.

 

—Michael Mattis, Blog Editor

 

 

 

Yahoo! Publisher Network
“Most Money” Award: Yahoo! Hack Day Competition

 

We’re bursting with pride down here in Burbank to report that the Yahoo! Publisher Network Development and Product team entered Yahoo! Hack Day and won a trophy in the category “Most Money” for a hack titled… well, we can’t tell you, as this sort of thing is considered “top secret.”

 

Hack Day is kind of like that scene in the movie, “Apollo 13,” when NASA engineers have to remotely determine what’s wrong with the moon-bound space capsule and then, using only the materials on-board, figure out a way to solve the problem and get the astronauts home safe—except, thankfully, without the life and death part.

 

It’s a semi-regular competition in which Yahoo! developers crank out a hack that is: outside their usual sphere of work, valuable to the company, and can be taken from concept to working prototype in 24 hours. This last Hack Day started at Noon last Thursday and ended at Noon on the 16th.

 

Congrats go to the team of developers and supporters behind the winning hack: Josh Rangsikitpho, Aaron Stein, Sumit Chachra, Steve Spencer, Yu Shan Chuang, Dave Zito and Cody Simms.

 

Why should you care?

Two reasons: Though we can’t tell you the specifics right now, there’s a good chance that a version of this hack may become part of our offerings in the future, one that will enhance your site’s user experience, as well as its performance.

 

In addition, getting a group of hackers together in a room to work exclusively toward a single goal, under deadline pressure and without interruption, is a great way to spur innovation and creativity while developing comradeship. We highly recommend it.

 

To find out more about our Hack Day, visit these blogs:

• Chad Dickerson
• Dav Glass
• Jeremy Zawodny
• TechCrunch

 —The Team

 

 

 

Terra Cognita: Yahoo! Local and Maps Blog launches

 

Not to be left in dust the by the Yahoo! Publisher Network blog, the Yahoo! Local team has launched a blog especially for Local and Maps. Says Local and Maps General Manager, Paul Levine:

 

Whether you’re a user, merchant, publisher or developer, if you’re interested in Local or Maps, this is the place for you. Big things are happening with Yahoo! Local and Maps, and we’re continually adding items that don’t always get a big announcement. Here, we’ll point out both big and small new features in our product and APIs. We’d also love to make this a place to spotlight you—highlighting activities and gathering input from some of our favorite contributors, merchants and developers.

 

If you think maps are cool—and we certainly do—be sure to subscribe via RSS or Add to My Yahoo! Congrats to the Maps and Local team!

 

—The Team
 

 

This and other burning questions answered at “Ask the Planet 2006″

 

 

Yahoo! Answers Tuesday kicked off its “Ask the Planet 2006″ campaign by unveiling the World’s Biggest Brain in Times Square. Users and celebrities alike will ask and answer some of the world’s biggest—and smallest—questions during the four-week event. Celebrity askers include: Donald Trump, Suze Orman, Arianna Huffington, Bono, Al Gore and Stephen Hawking. To see a live webcast of the Times Square kickoff and view the calendar of askers and events, check out the Ask the Planet 2000 website. 

 

 

And to find out how you can use Yahoo! Answers on your own site, check out the Enhance Your Site section under the new Publisher Services tab on the secure account interface.

 

—Michael Mattis, Blog Editor 

 

 

New Help Center and Publisher Services

 

It’s kind of like the Hegelian dialectic. Hegel, you’ll recall from your Philosophy 101 class, was a German philosopher who claimed there are three elements that make progress possible: thesis, antithesis and synthesis. In the Yahoo! world, that means that we create a product, you critique it, and then we improve it based on your feedback.

 

We’ve completely overhauled two sections of your secure publisher interface, the “Help Center” and “Publisher Services” (the tab formerly known as “Content Setup”)

 

More company, more options, more services 

We understand that effectively publishing a quality web site is a deeply involved task.  Driving revenue is just one of the many operational functions that a successful publisher must manage on a daily basis.  For years, Yahoo! has helped publishers do just this with essential services enabling publishers to build, enhance and drive traffic to web sites.  For our publishers we’ve created a hub for all these services right at your fingertips under the new Publisher Services tab within the secure account interface. Publisher Services is designed to help you: 

• Drive Traffic: Bring more visitors to your web site, social media experience or blog with offerings from Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Search Marketing, My Yahoo! and more.
• Enhance Your Site: Differentiate your site from everyone else’s with content and services from Yahoo! including plug-and-play badges for your site, APIs from Yahoo! Developer Network, functionality from Yahoo! Search and more.
• Build Your Site: Host and build-out your site with easy-to-use tools that get you up and running—and keep you there…

 

 

Beyond FAQs: Help Center

 

We’ve created a whole new suite of help sections to help you take better advantage of all of the features and services available within the Yahoo! Publisher Network account management system. Beyond basic FAQs, we have a full-service portal that offers detailed how-to’s in a variety of categories, all with the goal of reducing your effort and helping you achieve success in the beta program. We’ll continue to make enhancements to the Help Center as we garner more feedback from you via our Customer Solutions team, as well as through the blog. Take a look at the new Help Center and How To Guide.

 

 

But wait, there’s more

 

In addition, we’ve added to your secure account interface:

• Info on Average Revenue per Click (Avg. RPC) to your Performance Reports.
• The ability to upload up to 100 active Reporting URLs in bulk (i.e., all at once).

Access to all these Yahoo! services and instructional content should, we think, help you make progress as a publisher, creating more attractive experiences that can bring in new users, get them hooked, and keep them coming back for more.

 

For the time being, this hub of services is available only to publishers in our beta network. Not in the beta? Don’t fret: As we roll out more and more services and features to our beta publishers, we’ll also release more to the public. Whether you’re in the beta or not, we’re confident that you will find these services useful. So keep your eye on the blog for all the latest news and updates about everything that Yahoo!, and Yahoo! Publisher Network, have to offer. 

 

Congrats to everyone who made this work and continue to make our network stronger. And thanks to you, our publishers, for giving us constructive feedback.

 

—Cody Simms, Product Manager

—Tom Furukawa, Director, Product Management