Creating link bait, or Web content so compelling it spreads faster than a stomach flu on a cruise ship, is a lot like developing a sense of humor – or like figuring out when its okay to use a metaphor and a simile in the same sentence.

The discussion on buying links at SES San Jose got a little more philosophical than Doug Caverly might have expected. Conference attendees were greeted with a band of Linking Jedi Knights expounding on the light and dark side of the link buying Force. Yes, on Day Four of the conference, I’m reaching.

What a busy day! Up at 4:30am to catch a flight from Raleigh to San Jose. Pick-up the rental car and head straight to Google’s offices, aka “the Googleplex”.

The Search Engine Strategies 2006 conference in San Jose begins today, and we plan to bring some inside coverage of the sessions to our readers throughout the week as a variety of noteworthy speakers deliver valuable insights to attendees.

Attending morning SES (Search Engine Strategies) sessions after a 4am wake-up, airport crowds, public transit shuffles and schlepping luggage all morning – I was a bit cranky by the time I finally arrived at the San Jose Convention Center for morning sessions.

So please forgive my mood here, but the "Leveraging Social Search" session seemed a bit lightweight and without any solid suggestions for attendees.

Our trusty Doug Caverly woke up this morning on California time and hoofed down to the Search Behavior Research track at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose. After grooving a little too much to the Radiohead intro, Doug relays insight from Yahoo’s Anne Frisbie.

Just a few short days until the Search Engine Strategies Conference in San Jose and there’s some anticipation about the various buzzing issues floating around the tech and more specifically the search community. What might some of those topics be?

WebProNews will be there to cover all the action as it happens. Our own Mike McDonald and Chris Richardson will be there attending a number of events as well as providing information for introspection to the writers back in the home office.