Jen noticed that Google’s Kim Malone announced that in the next couple months AdWords will start displaying content targeted ad locations.

Google AdSense pays most publishers crumbs for their ad space. People who are running AdSense ads are willing to sell ads. And sites that have AdSense ads on them are probably actively managed.

Is there a better way to get a list of relevant pages to acquire links from than to run a content targeted AdSense ad campaign and ping those webmasters?

The Adobe Engage event is already proving interesting. Ryan Stewart wins the first report to come through Google Blog Search.

Takeaway? Adobe is indeed coming after developers. It’s interesting to hear their positioning vs. Microsoft. My post last week pretty much nailed it. Adobe’s Kevin Lynch says they try to extend the Web where Microsoft looks, he says, to extend Windows.

About a month ago a friend said the following before a hockey game (yeah – our team has very geeky locker room talk):

“Is IBM not making enough money these days? I hear they’re providing services for some online world”

Hitwise and comScore have been the main sources cited for search engine market share from month to month; Compete has made some changes on its reports that they believe give them a solid alternative to numbers from the other firms.

Have you have seen Google’s Gmail theater videos? They’re short instructional videos using characters/puppets made out of office supplies extolling the virtues and features of Gmail. They’re whimsical and fun… you know, typical Google. Now they’re showing up in AdSense spots.

According to recent reports, Google is preparing to invade Singapore (in a friendly, build-a-research-and-development-center kind of way). This center would be the company’s first such establishment in Southeast Asia, although Google has yet to officially confirm the reports.

There is a new online resource that is focused on providing useful information to small business owners and entrepreneurs. The Biz Info Library launched today providing access to information, ideas and insights on owning a company.

“There’s too much information about entrepreneurship out there, so it’s difficult and time-consuming to determine what, and who to believe,” said venture capitalist and blogger Guy Kawasaki.” What’s needed is a vertical search engine for entrepreneurs and The Biz Info Library delivers on this need.”

Less than a month ago, a Google pen ran out of ink while Scott Grieder, a Group Product Manager at Ask.com, was trying to take notes with it. Ask pointed this out in a witty (and somewhat disparaging) blog post, and now Google has sent its competitor at least one more pen, along with an amusing note of its own.

There’s been a lot of soul-searching that’s been going on in the world of SEM lately and it’s good for everybody. Some of this introspection has doubtless been stimulated by the comments of my boss, Dave Pasternack, when he noted that "SEO is Not Rocket Science," but as pointed out by others, including Danny Sullivan and Gord Hotchkiss, both the SEO and Paid Search components of what we call SEM are on the cusp of a paradigm change.

With the increased emphasis by Google on quality score these days, advertisers simply can’t afford to stay in the dark when it comes to best practices – especially when minimum bids are at stake.

Ah yes, yet another rousing article on the importance of quality score.

The InformationWeek cover story is Enterprise 2.0, based on a survey of engagement:

 Despite the risks and problems, a solid minority of the 250 business technology pros surveyed by InformationWeek are behind this IT strategy push that has come to be known as Enterprise 2.0 (even if the overplayed 2.0 terminology makes some people wince). Nearly a third, 32%, describe their Web 2.0 strategies as fully engaged, our survey finds.

It’s no secret, those with the scoop have a tendency to get all the traffic. If a newspaper gets an inside story, they sell more copies. If a news channel has that one special interview, then they get the viewers. With blogging it’s no different.

Is search engine optimization a waste of time? According to one man in the UK it is.

Anthony Fallon, CEO of Warrington Web Works, a UK Web Publishing company says that search engine optimization is both a waste of time and money to businesses and he can support his argument with proof.

The company that recently won the rights to the GMail trademark in the UK has taken its case Stateside. And if Independent International Investment Research (IIIR) is successful claiming its stake to GMail in the US as well, your @gmail.com address could change to @googlemail.com instead.

No, I’m not going to give you a list of most searched or most clicked keywords or whatever. Instead I’m going to talk about how to determine which keywords will be the best for you.

Rex Sorgatz writes:

Sometimes you just have to put aside the world of search engines and ad campaigns to read, or write, something a little more fulfilling.

The verdict is in: Google, or any other search engine, does not have to accept all advertisements submitted, officially giving search engines editorial control over the content of ads appearing in their network. The judge cited the First Amendment as the biggest reason.

The robots.txt file.

Nothing can be more confusing to a website owner as the robots.txt file. Born out of technology in the programming world, the robot.txt file is nothing more than a server command for search engines. Unfortunately, while search engines understand the file, humans have a difficult time understanding machine language.

Veoh Networks, an Internet Television broadcaster and Senator John McCain have teamed to launch the Senator John McCain Channel. The channel will feature a video diary from the campaign trail, including speeches, tour stops and messages to his supporters.

The channel will also have videos detailing the Senator’s position on issues ranging from government spending to the war in Iraq, along with a biographical look at the Senator. The McCain campaign plans to upload full speeches and videos to the channel that will be in DVD-quality.

For something that was created by legendary Netscape founder Marc Andreessen — the Blake Ross of his day, for you Firefox fans — the social-media “engine” called Ning has kind of been flying under the radar for awhile.

Linden Lab, creators of the Second Life online world, announced plans to enable residents to voice chat with one another in real time. This initiative is geared toward improving the collaborative efforts of educators, non-profits, and businesses that run their operations within the virtual environment.

To invoke a recurring motif from the Star Wars saga…

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

In the past I’ve written about the content versus links debate where SEOs seem to fall on one side or the other when assigning the majority of importance for search engine rankings. What’s missing from that conversation is the need for a distribution network.