Google Directions now includes Street View

I'm so excited that they've integrated the two! Now when you're in a new city, you can "see" what the intersections look like. Now once this is integrated into GPS I will be truly happy.

A type of Dancing You've Never Seen Before

Here's a video of a dancer that I met at Pop!Tech who needs crutches to walk and has developed a really cool inspirational dance form.

Church of Scientology Creates a YouTube Channel

As many of you know, I'm morbidly fascinated with the dangerous cult called The Church of Scientology. It was created by a science fiction writer who is quoted as saying "I think I'll create a church, there's a lot of money in that", and they believe that they need paramilitary training to defend the earth from aliens. They also have killed many of their own church members who have tried to leave the cult. There's a great article from an ex-Scientologist on Orato.

It's COMPLETELY a cult, not a religion, and frankly I think folks should work harder to dismantle the cult just like they are doing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For more fascinating reads about truth of the cult of Scientology, you should read Operation Clambake.

Anywho, I find it fascinating that the Church has set up a YouTube Channel youtube.com/ChurchofScientology - I'm not going to link to it directly, because I don't want to be associated. Check it out though - they've dismantled all of the community sharing features and commenting. I had no idea that you could do that. Because you know that I headed over there to leave a negative comment, and alas- no dice. They are using YouTube to push their message, and to squelch any dissent. Just like they do in the courts as well.

Did you know that the cult of scientology has murdered, but has not been charged with murder for any of their former members who have died? They have an amazing amount of $ (collected from their members) to pay for legal teams...

Google now provides public transit info

Not for the DC metro area, but I suppose we have Wmata for that. However, when I'm traveling and want to take public transit, the new Google Transit tool that is integrated into Google maps is really helpful.

Why I like Search Marketing

I just had a eureka moment about why I like search marketing. I was reading an article from last year's Marketing Pilgrim's scholarship contest.

Part of the post talked about how search engines are all about people and how they are trying to create search results for what people are looking for in order of preference.

It stands to reason, then, that someone who is an expert in how people think and what motivates them would be an ideal choice for creating a campaign to build search engine ranking.

Considering I focused on social psychology and how people become persuaded during my undergrad, and a tri-focus on marketing,technology and business for my graduate work, OF course I would be drawn to search marketing!

In order to develop online partnerships and link building relationships for instance, you need to investigate that site/person's personality and motivation, and that's the part of the equation where I get to use my social psychology background.

I had to share because it was such an eye opening moment for me.

Searching for "Suicide" Turns up "how to" advice

This was so awful that I wanted to share. I'm sure it's because the suicide help line type sites aren't optimized for search engines...

PARIS (AFP) — People searching the Internet for information about suicide methods are more likely to find sites encouraging suicide than those offering help or support, according to a study released Friday.

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Manchester found that nearly half of websites showing up in queries of the four top search engines gave "how to" advice on taking one's own life.

Only 13 percent, by contrast, focused on suicide prevention or offered support, while another 12 percent actively discouraged suicide. More of the story here.

New Job, New focus

I wanted everyone to know that I have a new job. :-) I'm the Online Campaign Director at OMP Direct in DC. I'll be working with political and advocacy groups on their online campaign strategies. It's a perfect fit for my passion and my background.