An Ignoble Experiment: December 2008

2008/12/31

Overheard in New York - Best Weekly Quotes

The best Overheard in New York quotes from last week, by your votes:

...You'll Be Proud to Throw Them Over Your Shoulder Like a Continental Soldier

Little girl to mother: Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow?
Mother (under breath): You're laughing now, but one day...

--86th & York

Overheard by: Micaela

Wednesday One-Liners Know When to Stop

Bus driver: We should be arriving in Port Authority soon, hopefully at our schedule arrival time, but it all depends on the Lord of the tunnel.

--Port Authority Bus

Overheard by: Emily

M60 bus driver, under breath, to traffic ahead: Mush. Mush. Yeah, mule. Mush. Git along.

--106th & West End

Bus driver on PA: Madam, don't let your children swing on the hand bars...this is not a jail.

--M15 Bus

Overheard by: bonoboxoxo

Funny bus driver in soft-spoken jazz voice: This is Madison Avenue. If this is you, get out. I wish I was getting out. Does anyone know how to get out? Next is Park Avenue...or it's not. Is anyone listening? Thanks for the smile.

--M16 Crosstown Bus

Announcer on bus (waiting for someone to request a stop): Come on, my line's open. Someone dial my number. Come on, you know the number! (a passenger requests a stop) There we go! Thanks for calling! I knew you would!

--M16 Bus

Overheard by: alli

Wednesday One-Liners Fight for Their Right to Potty

Pissing guy on phone: What do you mean you're not going to have sex with me? (entire bathroom laughs hysterically) See! Even these motherfuckers agree with me!

--Bathroom, Madison Square Garden

Overheard by: Bobby

Dad to young son in bathroom stall: Aim in the bowl. Aim in the bowl. Aim in the bowl. Did you aim in the bowl? Did you aim in the bowl? (son comes out of stall) You did! But you didn't flush. One out of two ain't bad.

--Bathroom, Union Square Movie Theater

(constipation grunts and electronic sounds are heard inside next stall)
Guy in next stall, on walkie-talkie: Hey, Tony, turn the walkie-talkie off when you take a shit!

--Men's Room, Hilton Hotel

Drunk white girl: Oh my god, this bathroom is so dark. How am I supposed to see my vagina?

--East Village

Tall black British guy using the urinal, to himself: Repeat aftah me...you are a rock star! Ah! Yeah!

--5th Avenue

"Hello? Pot to Kettle Here. You're Wednesday One-Liners."

Loud, obnoxious man: I hate loud, obnoxious people!

--Nomad Restaurant

Girl with brutal Long Island twang: It's just, like, if you have a Boston accent, you sound, like, so unintelligent. Like, less intelligent than other people, even if you're smart. The accent makes you sound dumb.

--7 Train

Overheard by: IDigGraves94

Angry black woman: Fuck you! I'm a lady!

--Herald Square

Overheard by: Annearchist

Flamboyantly gay man on the phone: Mom, I hate you, stop being such a faggot!

--46th & 5th

Suit on cell: Yeah? Well, she's a bitch and deserves to die. You wanna know why? Because she's ugly and she talks bad about people.

--47th St & 9th Ave

Tourist chick carrying a Starbucks coffee and three shopping bags to friend: We are the type to visit Wall Street and say capitalism is bullshit!

--Broadway & Cedar

Overheard by: mondoman

Wednesday One-Liners Say "Toro, Toro, Taxi!"

Little girl to father, about pedestrian sign: But I don't want to be a pedestrian! I want to be famous!

--17th & Irving

(pedestrians are crossing when they aren't supposed to. One almost gets hit by a taxi)
Female traffic cop to taxi driver: Next time, just go ahead and run them over.

--Columbus Circle

Overheard by: momes

Homeless man directing traffic in middle of street: I killed 20,000 people, I ain't afraid of no car! I killed 20,000 people, I ain't afraid of no car!

--Jerry Orbach St

Gangster walking in front of Range Rover: Fuck it, if I'ma getting hit by a car, I'ma getting hit by a nice car.

--Broadway & Houston

Tourist driving car: I don't give a fuck if you own the world! I'm running your ass over!

--Financial District

Overheard by: lex

Click here to see the next 15 most popular quotes this week

These are our favorite votes, based on how Overheard readers voted - and you can vote too. Read more quotes here!

Let us know what you think (both lovemail and hatemail), and click here if you want to stop receiving these.
Team Overheard
overheardinnewyork.com

Money Rates

___________________________________
MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

MONEY RATES
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

International rates
Prime rates
Latest Wk ago
U.S.
3.25 3.25

Canada
3.50 3.50

Euro zone
2.50 2.50

Japan
1.675 1.675

Switzerland
2.02 2.02

Britain
2.00 2.00

Australia
4.25 4.25

Hong Kong
5.00 5.25

Overnight repurchase
Latest Wk ago
U.S.
0.08 0.13

U.K. (BBA)
1.908 1.767

Euro zone
2.17 2.15

U.S. government rates
Latest Wk ago
Discount
[ Effective Date: 12/16/2008 ]
0.50 0.50

Federal funds
[ Effective Date: 12/16/2008 ]
Effective rate
0.26 0.16
Target rate
0.00-0.25 0.00
High
1.0000 0.5000
Low
0.0000 0.0300
Bid
0.1250 0.0625
Offer
0.2500 0.1250

Treasury bill auction
[ Auction Date: 12/31/2008 ]
4 weeks
0.030 0.000
13 weeks
0.050 0.040
26 weeks
0.250 0.285

Secondary Market

Freddie Mac
30-year mortgage yields
Latest Wk ago
30 days
4.54 4.55
60 days
4.69 4.70
One-year ARM
3.375 3.375

Fannie Mae
30-year mortgage yields
Latest Wk ago
30 days
4.283 4.594
60 days
4.489 4.695

Constant maturity debt index
Latest Wk ago
Three months
n.a. n.a.
Six months
n.a. n.a.
One year
n.a. n.a.

Bankers acceptance
Latest Wk ago
30 days
0.75 0.65
60 days
1.00 1.25
90 days
1.33 1.50
120 days
1.50 1.50
150 days
1.50 1.50
180 days
1.75 1.75

Other short-term rates

Latest Wk ago
Call money
2.00 2.00

Commercial paper
Latest Wk ago
30 to 97 days
n.q. ...
98 to 119 days
0.10 ...
120 to 149 days
0.15 ...
150 to 165 days
0.25 ...
166 to 180 days
0.35 ...
181 to 270 days
n.q. ...

Dealer commercial paper
Latest Wk ago
30 days
0.54 0.79
60 days
0.99 1.19
90 days
1.14 1.49

Euro commercial paper
Latest Wk ago
30 day
2.35 2.38
Two month
2.51 2.51
Three month
2.62 2.62
Four month
2.71 2.89
Five month
2.72 2.90
Six month
2.75 2.93

London interbank offered rate, or Libor
Latest Wk ago
One month
0.43625 0.47125
Three month
1.42500 1.46750
Six month
1.75000 1.83000
One year
2.00375 2.09125

Libor Swaps (USD)
Latest Wk ago
Two year
1.481 1.574
Three year
1.755 1.828
Five year
2.137 2.171
Ten year
2.564 2.551
20 year
2.806 2.775
30 year
2.756 2.711

Euro Libor
Latest Wk ago
One month
2.589 2.709
Three month
2.894 2.987
Six month
2.978 3.057
One year
3.059 3.144

Euro interbank offered rate
Latest Wk ago
One month
2.603 2.711
Three month
2.892 2.991
Six month
2.971 3.061
One year
3.049 3.150

Hibor
Latest Wk ago
One month
0.299 0.300
Three month
0.951 1.000
Six month
1.450 1.550
One year
1.849 1.900

Asian dollars
Latest Wk ago
One month
0.450 0.475
Three month
1.443 1.459
Six month
1.790 1.830
One year
2.018 2.073

Certificates of Deposit
Latest Wk ago
One month
0.550 0.800
Three month
1.150 1.500
Six Month
1.700 1.900

Merrill Lynch Ready Assets Trust
Latest Wk ago
Call money
1.730 1.880

Eurodollars (mid rates)
Offer Bid
One month
0.25 1.00
Two month
0.65 1.10
Three month
0.50 1.50
Four month
1.00 1.50
Five month
1.25 1.75
Six month
1.50 2.00

Freddie Mac
Weekly survey
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Latest Wk ago
30-year fixed
5.10 5.14
15-year fixed
4.83 4.91
Five-year ARM
5.57 5.49
One-year ARM
4.85 4.95

__________________________________
Footnotes
U.S. prime rate and discount rate are effective December 16, 2008. U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest U.S. banks.; Other prime rates aren't directly comparable; lending practices vary widely by location; Discount rate is the charge on loans to depository institutions by the New York Federal Reserve Banks; Federal-funds rate is on reserves traded among commercial banks for overnight use in amounts of $1 million or more; Call money rate is the charge on loans to brokers on stock-exchange collateral; Dealer commercial paper rates are for high-grade unsecured notes sold through dealers by major corporations; Freddie Mac RNY is the required net yield for the one-year 2% rate-capped ARM. Libor is the British Bankers' Association average of interbank offered rates for dollar deposits in the London market; Libor Swaps quoted are mid-market, semi-annual swap rates and pay the floating 3-month Libor rate..

Sources: Merrill Lynch; Bureau of Labor Statistics; ICAP plc.; Reuters; General Electric Capital Corp.; Tullett Prebon Information, Ltd.

___________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

10 questions to determine if your organization is customer-centric
Find out what they are, and how your organization rates in customer-centricity.
Download this free white paper: "The Center of the Customer-Centric Enterprise."

http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;27311254;8059500;z?http://www.convergys.com/cvg_customer_centric_enterprise_request.html?CMP=OTC-14

__________________________________
ONLINE JOURNAL E-MAIL CENTER

TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, go to:
http://setup.wsj.com/EmailSubMgr/do/delete?addr=ignoble.experiment%40ARCONATI.US&id=116
Your request will take effect within 48 hours.

TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, go to the E-Mail Setup Center:
http://online.wsj.com/email
You are currently subscribed as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US

FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-369-2834
or 1-609-514-0870 between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday or e-mail onlinejournal@wsj.com.

___________________________________
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Google Friends Newsletter - December 2008

Holiday greetings and our best wishes for a wonderful new year to all
of our Google friends. We hope you enjoy this month's update on our
products and services.

------------
POWER TIP

College football in Sports OneBox

Football fans can now search for game times and scores of their
favorite college teams during the big bowl games coming up. For
example, typing [ncaaf] or [texas football] into the search box will
return game information at the top of the search results page. This is
in addition to the major U.S. leagues for a variety of sports (NFL,
NHL, MLB, MLS, and NBA) and six major European football (aka soccer)
leagues we recently added.
http://www.google.com

------------
NEW PRODUCTS & UPDATES

Ask the President-elect questions with Google Moderator

U.S. President-elect Obama's transition team is using Google Moderator
to respond to questions on the Change.gov website. You too can get
involved, either by asking a question or by voting on questions you'd
like to have answered.
http://www.change.gov/OpenForQuestions

New Gmail features

View PDF attachments sent to your Gmail account without waiting for
them to download and open in another application. Just click the
"View" link next to any .pdf attachments you receive to view them
right in your browser. Recently we also rolled out Text Messaging
(SMS) in Chat in Gmail. Try both out in your own Gmail account under
the "Labs" tab in "Settings."
http://www.gmail.com

Updates to Picasa

Picasa Web Albums offers a new "Sign-in required to view" setting,
which lets you limit access to specific individuals who have a Picasa
Web Albums account. Additionally, all user comments are now
automatically translated into the viewer's native language using
Google Translate. And if you use Picasa to organize your video
content, you will also notice that most of your videos are now high
quality.
http://picasa.google.com

Daily how-to tips

Throughout the month of December, we published daily tips to make it
easier to use a number of Google products. Visit our countdown site to
learn about search tips and product features you can continue to use
in 2009.
http://www.google.com/countdownto2009

-------------
MISCELLANY

As 2008 comes to a close, we invite you to see what was on the
collective mind as demonstrated by the aggregation of billions of
Google searches from around the globe. It was a wild year with many
momentous events, to say the least, and through it all Google users
kept pace with the U.S. elections, the Summer Games and social
networks (online, at least). Of course, we also made time for
superheroes and super-celebrity breakups, but even those diversions
couldn't take our thoughts away from the world's changing political
and economic landscapes. With so much at stake and so much uncertainty
in the year ahead, it's comforting to know that we are collectively
concerned and "in this together," search-wise. For more of the year's
highlights, take a look at our Year-End Zeitgeist website.
http://www.google.com/zeitgeist2008

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
The Google Blog offers frequent updates and insights about our technology and products, and the company at large.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com

--------------------------------------------------
Share Google Friends with a friend through Google Groups (includes subscribe/unsubscribe information).
http://groups.google.com/group/google-friends

--------------------------------------------------
Google Friends archive:
http://groups.google.com/group/google-friends/topics

Google Friends archive prior to May 2005:
http://www.google.com/googlefriends/archive.html

To unsubscribe from the Google Friends Newsletter, send an empty message to:
google-friends-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

It's All About... Katie's Haircut, Audrina's Bikini, Jennifer vs. ...

Stylewatch Newsletter: It's All About... Katie's Haircut, Audrina's Bikini, Jennifer vs. ...

__________________________________________________________________

What Was Her Best Hair?
See the cuts and color changes that rocked 2008. Vote on Katie, Jennifer, Gwyneth and more stars
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw20-8

Beach Patrol: See Who Hit the Sand in '08
Tiny bikinis, sexy suits and six-packs - Audrina, Zac, Jennifer and more put the heat on this year
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw21-8

The Year's Most Unexpected Fashion Faceoffs!
See what happens when two stars wear the same dress!
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw22-8

You Asked, We Found: Star Looks
Britney's coat! Jennifer's purse! Find out the scoop on 2008's most
talked about looks - and get the looks for less
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw23-8

Did You Wear These Trends?
Jessica, Christina, Lauren and more showed off the hottest looks this year - did you try them, too?
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw24-8

__________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to StyleWatch
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw25-8

------------------------------------------------------------------

TO UNSUBSCRIBE:
You have received this email because you are a StyleWatch newsletter subscriber. To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please use the link below:
http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw26-8

PRIVACY POLICY:
To view our online privacy policy, please go to: http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw27-8

If you have any questions about your StyleWatch newsletter or magazine subscription, please contact
Customer Service at: http://people.chtah.com/a/tBJW77gBl6FnkBojGgY$Ugxosnt/pw28-8

You may also mail inquiries to:
PEOPLE StyleWatch Customer Service
ATTENTION: PEOPLE StyleWatch Consumer Affairs
3000 University Center Drive
Tampa, FL 33612-6408
__________________________________________________________________

7000 Posts!

Wow.

Biggest Decliners - Midday

___________________________________
MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

BIGGEST DECLINERS MIDDAY SNAPSHOT
12:49 pm ET 12/31/2008

__________________________________

NYSE:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

NalcoHldg (NLC)
$11.71 -2.29 -16.36 1,293,030

4KidsEntn (KDE)
1.82 -0.22 -10.78 87,589

VerifoneHldgs (PAY)
5.04 -0.55 -9.84 1,569,984

Felcor pfA (FCHA)
6.55 -0.70 -9.66 3,900

AnthracitCap (AHR)
2.05 -0.21 -9.29 795,557

ParkwyProp pfD (PKYD)
11.10 -1.11 -9.09 2,000

ChevyChBk pf (CCXC)
14.37 -1.39 -8.79 9,700

LaZ Boy (LZB)
2.19 -0.20 -8.37 245,896

PrShUltSh Silv (ZSL)
17.83 -1.51 -7.81 28,680

Valhi (VHI)
11.68 -0.97 -7.67 26,079

HFF A (HF)
2.70 -0.22 -7.53 11,040

iStarFnl pfF (SFIF)
3.56 -0.29 -7.53 6,300

DoverDwns (DDE)
3.02 -0.24 -7.36 25,890

RobnsMyrs (RBN)
15.35 -1.15 -6.97 403,731

ReneSola (SOL)
4.53 -0.33 -6.81 1,478,355

PrShUltsAIG Oil (SCO)
36.72 -2.68 -6.80 303,206

PwrShrMtlDbShr (BOM)
71.73 -5.20 -6.76 11,575

HoraceMn (HMN)
8.44 -0.61 -6.74 185,354

PwrShrDynDev (PFA)
11.49 -0.81 -6.59 99,917

RAIT FnclTr (RAS)
2.43 -0.17 -6.54 261,874

TrinaSolar ADS (TSL)
9.46 -0.64 -6.31 706,361

ComcastHldg (CCZ)
30.00 -2.00 -6.25 17,167

IDEX Cp (IEX)
24.15 -1.60 -6.21 336,274

FstAcceptance (FAC)
2.57 -0.17 -6.20 4,629

TlcmArg ADS (TEO)
7.77 -0.50 -6.05 65,677

Nasdaq:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

AT Cross A (ATX)
$2.30 -0.47 -16.97 6,070

PacStBcp (PSBC)
2.20 -0.40 -15.38 20,871

RTI Bio (RTIX)
2.57 -0.41 -13.64 373,001

CumulusMda (CMLS)
2.20 -0.34 -13.39 91,061

TeamStaff (TSTF)
1.75 -0.25 -12.40 19,557

ChnaArchtEngrg (CAEI)
2.38 -0.31 -11.52 92,830

VirageLogic (VIRL)
2.55 -0.33 -11.46 14,750

RivrviewBcp (RVSB)
2.25 -0.29 -11.42 18,650

InnovSolSuprt (ISSC)
3.09 -0.39 -11.21 18,335

StaarSurg (STAA)
2.41 -0.27 -10.07 15,940

NovaMed (NOVA)
3.20 -0.35 -9.86 53,640

SCM Micro (SCMM)
1.88 -0.20 -9.59 11,750

EastInsHldgs (EIHI)
7.99 -0.84 -9.48 3,611

Spectranet (SPNC)
2.50 -0.24 -8.76 110,161

Audiovox (VOXX)
4.98 -0.47 -8.62 49,258

MedQuist (MEDQ)
1.95 -0.18 -8.45 28,387

LSB Cp (LSBX)
7.25 -0.65 -8.23 2,500

MAP Pharma (MAPP)
6.22 -0.54 -7.99 23,306

AmRailcarInd (ARII)
10.54 -0.91 -7.95 46,323

BassetFurn (BSET)
3.13 -0.27 -7.94 17,255

Retalix (RTLX)
5.79 -0.50 -7.91 64,854

Advanta B (ADVNB)
2.15 -0.18 -7.73 149,377

Tree.com (TREE)
2.17 -0.18 -7.66 51,178

NewStarFnl (NEWS)
3.67 -0.30 -7.56 27,045

GreenBksh (GRNB)
13.28 -1.08 -7.51 27,784

AMEX:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

EmergentGp (LZR)
$6.93 -0.84 -10.81 76,755

RivieraHldg (RIV)
2.95 -0.33 -10.06 41,620

NewConceptEngy (GBR)
3.90 -0.40 -9.30 2,700

TiensBiotchGp (TBV)
2.04 -0.16 -7.27 17,221

UtdCapital (AFP)
19.70 -1.45 -6.86 2,800

MexcoEngy (MXC)
12.75 -0.91 -6.66 3,365

ArrhythRsch (HRT)
1.93 -0.12 -5.85 10,410

RMR HospFd (RHR)
2.10 -0.13 -5.83 24,885

Graham (GHM)
10.56 -0.64 -5.71 68,156

NrthrnOilGas (NOG)
2.29 -0.09 -3.77 155,976

GreenhunterEn (GRH)
4.87 -0.18 -3.57 12,301

TrvlcntrsAmer (TA)
2.28 -0.07 -2.98 25,669

NtlHlth (NHC)
47.00 -1.21 -2.51 4,500

NuvCT (NFC)
10.50 -0.26 -2.42 6,316

NuvNJ (NXJ)
9.01 -0.22 -2.42 32,938

Barnwell (BRN)
4.10 -0.10 -2.38 34,177

FlexSolInt (FSI)
2.10 -0.05 -2.33 2,600

EngySvcs (ESA)
4.25 -0.10 -2.30 8,000

GpoSimec ADS (SIM)
4.84 -0.11 -2.22 39,570

FrnklnStProp (FSP)
14.00 -0.30 -2.10 594,009

NeubrgrBrmNY (NBO)
10.37 -0.22 -2.08 3,800

NuvMD Fd3 (NWI)
9.70 -0.20 -2.02 11,737

NuvNY Fd2 (NXK)
9.40 -0.19 -1.98 23,194

ContangoO&G (MCF)
54.93 -1.03 -1.84 105,751

NuvNC Fd2 (NNO)
10.95 -0.20 -1.79 22,778

__________________________________
Click here to See All Decliners
http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3021-losenyse-loser.html?mod=djemBDM&reflink=djemBDM
__________________________________
Footnotes
Includes stocks with prior day close of $2 a share or higher, with volume of atleast 2,000.
Source: WSJ Market Data Group

___________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;27311254;8059500;z?http://www.convergys.com/cvg_customer_centric_enterprise_request.html?CMP=OTC-14

__________________________________
ONLINE JOURNAL E-MAIL CENTER

TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, go to:
http://setup.wsj.com/EmailSubMgr/do/delete?addr=ignoble.experiment%40ARCONATI.US&id=112
Your request will take effect within 48 hours.

TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, go to the E-Mail Setup Center:
http://online.wsj.com/email
You are currently subscribed as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US

FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-369-2834
or 1-609-514-0870 between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday or e-mail onlinejournal@wsj.com.

___________________________________
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Most Actives - Midday

___________________________________
MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

MOST ACTIVE STOCKS BY VOLUME MIDDAY SNAPSHOT
12:34 pm ET 12/31/2008

__________________________________

NYSE:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

SPDR FnclSelSct (XLF)
$12.28 0.15 1.24 31,829,733

Citigroup (C)
6.78 -0.02 -0.29 27,007,571

GenElec (GE)
16.10 0.28 1.77 24,915,743

BankAm (BAC)
13.14 -0.10 -0.76 23,485,278

ProShrUltraFnl (UYG)
5.78 0.15 2.63 23,102,567

iShrRu2000 (IWM)
48.88 0.76 1.58 20,755,545

ProShrUltraS&P (SSO)
26.33 0.75 2.93 19,211,330

DowChem (DOW)
15.00 -0.55 -3.54 18,750,945

FordMotor (F)
2.26 -0.03 -1.39 17,602,357

iShrMSCIEmrgMkt (EEM)
24.82 0.18 0.73 16,505,727

PwrShrCOilDLng (DXO)
2.42 0.09 3.86 15,718,216

Alcoa (AA)
11.26 0.57 5.33 13,201,053

FannieMae (FNM)
0.72 0.03 4.45 12,377,147

iShrMSEAFE (EFA)
44.60 0.34 0.76 11,715,959

US OilFd (USO)
30.66 0.46 1.53 11,639,390

SprintNextel (S)
1.81 -0.10 -5.24 11,448,540

ExxonMobil (XOM)
79.97 1.38 1.76 11,195,617

WellsFargo (WFC)
28.69 -0.11 -0.38 10,163,922

Pfizer (PFE)
17.77 0.02 0.11 10,014,054

iShrDJUSRE (IYR)
36.16 0.62 1.74 9,655,044

JPMorgChas (JPM)
30.95 -0.06 -0.19 9,136,241

ProShrsUShrt S&P (SDS)
71.07 -1.64 -2.26 9,098,133

Motorola (MOT)
4.33 0.17 4.14 9,082,328

AmIntlGp (AIG)
1.52 -0.04 -2.56 8,903,827

iShrMSCI Jpn (EWJ)
9.54 0.04 0.42 8,887,005

Nasdaq:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

PwrShrs QQQ (QQQQ)
$29.92 0.43 1.46 35,398,012

Microsoft (MSFT)
19.62 0.28 1.45 17,607,167

SiriusXM (SIRI)
0.12 0.00 -3.40 16,247,171

CiscoSys (CSCO)
16.46 0.23 1.44 15,154,813

Intel (INTC)
14.85 0.16 1.09 13,897,227

Dryships (DRYS)
11.18 1.56 16.22 12,640,684

Dell (DELL)
10.36 0.13 1.27 9,333,568

AppleInc (AAPL)
87.18 0.89 1.03 8,991,555

RschInMotn (RIMM)
40.45 1.68 4.33 8,469,218

OracleCp (ORCL)
17.90 0.07 0.39 8,283,458

Qualcomm (QCOM)
36.02 1.08 3.09 5,864,077

Comcast A (CMCSA)
16.75 0.29 1.76 5,507,630

NVIDIA (NVDA)
8.16 0.14 1.75 4,928,244

ConstarIntl (CNST)
0.08 0.04 101.50 4,828,884

Fibertower (FTWR)
0.15 -0.01 -6.25 4,218,178

eBay (EBAY)
14.19 0.23 1.65 4,130,691

HumanGenom (HGSI)
2.12 0.21 10.85 3,960,271

MarvellTch (MRVL)
6.70 0.06 0.90 3,894,852

NetApp (NTAP)
14.11 0.72 5.38 3,683,180

ChrtrComm A (CHTR)
0.08 -0.01 -7.66 3,533,800

Yahoo (YHOO)
12.27 0.30 2.51 3,497,119

AlteraCp (ALTR)
16.71 -0.04 -0.24 3,366,245

Emcore (EMKR)
1.14 0.36 46.34 3,344,654

DirecTV (DTV)
22.50 0.09 0.40 3,252,236

SchwabC (SCHW)
15.91 0.41 2.65 3,247,596

AMEX:

Issue (symbol)
Price Chg % Chg Volume
---------------------------------

SPDR S&P 500 (SPY)
$90.05 1.08 1.21 75,672,230

SP400 Spdrs (MDY)
96.95 1.62 1.70 3,576,790

Kowabunga (KOW)
0.06 0.01 20.00 2,403,694

ApexSilvr (SIL)
0.62 -0.07 -10.14 1,783,424

DenisonMines (DNN)
1.19 0.23 23.96 1,189,132

OilsandsQuest (BQI)
0.69 -0.02 -2.82 969,213

GldnStar (GSS)
1.03 0.01 0.98 906,704

NorthgateMin (NXG)
0.83 0.01 1.22 817,622

TasekoMine (TGB)
0.60 0.03 5.09 760,539

NovaGoldRes (NG)
1.48 0.02 1.30 751,518

NovBiosrcFuel (NBF)
0.09 0.00 -3.12 737,130

CanadSupEngy (SNG)
0.99 0.00 -0.01 710,047

KodiakOilGas (KOG)
0.30 0.01 3.25 663,970

CrystllxInt (KRY)
0.16 -0.01 -5.88 646,391

Telkonet (TKO)
0.11 0.01 9.20 642,731

FrnklnStProp (FSP)
14.00 -0.30 -2.10 594,009

Eldoradogoldcp (EGO)
7.84 0.03 0.38 552,080

NovadelPharm (NVD)
0.31 -0.03 -8.76 541,113

Rentech (RTK)
0.65 -0.05 -7.07 538,054

GeneralMoly (GMO)
1.07 -0.11 -9.32 533,217

ElixirGaming (EGT)
0.11 -0.02 -12.50 499,656

AugustaRes (AZC)
0.46 0.06 14.98 482,660

AuroraOilGas (AOG)
0.07 0.00 0.00 476,029

CntlFdCan (CEF)
11.05 0.13 1.19 460,127

ProPharm (PRW)
0.09 -0.02 -19.97 455,585

__________________________________
Click here to See All Most Actives
http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3021-activnyse-actives.html?mod=djemMAM&reflink=djemMAM
__________________________________
Footnotes
Source: WSJ Market Data Group

___________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;27311254;8059500;z?http://www.convergys.com/cvg_customer_centric_enterprise_request.html?CMP=OTC-14

__________________________________
ONLINE JOURNAL E-MAIL CENTER

TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, go to:
http://setup.wsj.com/EmailSubMgr/do/delete?addr=ignoble.experiment%40ARCONATI.US&id=106
Your request will take effect within 48 hours.

TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, go to the E-Mail Setup Center:
http://online.wsj.com/email
You are currently subscribed as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US

FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-369-2834
or 1-609-514-0870 between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday or e-mail onlinejournal@wsj.com.

___________________________________
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It's Been a Great John Deere Year!


Finally! John Deere Baby Crib Set!
Click for More!

Kid's Green Fleece Sleeping Bag

90x90 Fleece Blanket-

(Finally) Back in Stock!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for Shopping with Us!

Thanks to you, 2008 was a great year!

We continue to provide the best selection of John Deere Items to our loyal customer, you!

Please browse our Christmas Category, where you can stock up on great John Deere items for 20% off!

Limited time, discount added in cart.

Don't forget to check out the new Baby Crib set, on the left. Never before has John Deere been seen on a licensed crib set!

New Items- Including the New Precision- and first glimpse at new toys already in Stock!

NEW ITEMS


John Deere Tin Beverage Bucket
$5.99
Click for More!


John Deere Galvanized Party Tub
$9.99
Click for More!


1/16 Scale Model 7020 4-Wheel Drive Precision #7
$197.99
Click for More!


John Deere Enamelware Shelf(Shelf Only)
$16.99
Click for More!


John Deere Enamelware Toothbrush Holder
$8.99
Click for More!


John Deere Enamelware Soap Dispenser
$6.99
Click for More!

Christmas Category

ALL New ITEMS

www.rungreen.com

This message was sent from info@rungreen.com to ignoble.experiment@arconati.us. It was sent from: Rungreen.com, 4098 M-40, Holland, MI 49423. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

To be removed click here

View this message in the iContact Community:

View message

Comment on this message

Receive as RSS

Share this message with others:

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

StumbleUpon

Major Indexes - Midday

___________________________________
MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

MAJOR INDEXES MIDDAY SNAPSHOT
____________________________________

Major Indexes 1:02 p.m. EST 12/31/08
Chg % Chg Last
....................................

DJIA
116.45 1.34 8784.84

DJ Transportation Average
100.83 2.93 3539.47

DJ Utility Average
5.22 1.43 369.05

Nasdaq
24.40 1.57 1575.10

Nasdaq 100
17.89 1.49 1219.23

S&P 500
11.44 1.28 902.08

S&P 400 Mid-Cap
9.78 1.86 534.40

S&P 600 Small-Cap
4.88 1.87 265.72

DJ Wilshire 5000
118.32 1.33 9047.81

NYSE Composite
53.78 0.95 5723.78

NYSE Financial
24.23 0.65 3779.84

Russell 2000
8.83 1.83 491.60

Amex Composite
11.60 0.84 1384.87

KBW Bank
0.40 0.93 43.34

PHLX Gold/Silver
1.21 1.00 122.40

PHLX Housing Sector
0.98 1.16 85.19

PHLX Oil Service
1.36 1.13 121.40

PHLX Semiconductor
1.92 0.91 213.18

* at close

Major World Indexes 1:01 p.m. EST 12/31/08
Chg % Chg Last
....................................

Global Dow
7.13 0.47 1531.00

DJ World Index
0.95 0.56 172.05

DJ World exUS
-0.13 -0.09 147.23

DJ Stoxx 50*
42.20 2.09 2065.46

UK: FTSE 100*
41.49 0.94 4434.17

Germany: DAX*
105.34 2.24 4810.20

DJ Asia-Pacific
0.13 0.14 93.64

Japan: Nikkei Average*
112.39 1.28 8859.56

Hong Kong: Hang Seng*
151.98 1.07 14387.48

DJ Americas Index
2.88 1.29 225.68

* at close

__________________________________
Footnotes
Source: WSJ Market Data Group

___________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;27311254;8059500;z?http://www.convergys.com/cvg_customer_centric_enterprise_request.html?CMP=OTC-14

__________________________________
ONLINE JOURNAL E-MAIL CENTER

TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, go to:
http://setup.wsj.com/EmailSubMgr/do/delete?addr=ignoble.experiment%40ARCONATI.US&id=108
Your request will take effect within 48 hours.

TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, go to the E-Mail Setup Center:
http://online.wsj.com/email
You are currently subscribed as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US

FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-369-2834
or 1-609-514-0870 between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday or e-mail onlinejournal@wsj.com.

Foreign Exchange - Midday

___________________________________
MARKETS DATA CENTER
from The Wall Street Journal Online

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MIDDAY SNAPSHOT
____________________________________

Major Currencies 12:42 p.m. EST 12/31/08
Last (bid) Prior Day †
....................................

Australian Dollar (in dollars)
0.7025 0.6910

Canadian Dollar
1.2146 1.2212

Denmark Krone
5.3433 5.2966

Euro (in dollars)
1.3937 1.4074

Hong Kong Dollar
7.7498 7.7498

Indian Rupee
48.580 48.100

Indonesian Rupiah
10850 10953

Japanese Yen
90.75 90.30

Malaysian Ringgit
3.4500 3.4783

Mexican Peso
13.8340 13.7665

Singapore Dollar
1.4367 1.4370

South Korean Won
1262.000 1259.600

Swedish Krona
7.8589 7.7700

Swiss Franc
1.0691 1.0582

Taiwanese Dollar
32.755 32.776

Thai Baht
34.720 34.758

U.K. Pound (in dollars)
1.4644 1.4437

† Late Tuesday in New York.

___________________________________
ADVERTISEMENT

http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;27311254;8059500;z?http://www.convergys.com/cvg_customer_centric_enterprise_request.html?CMP=OTC-14

__________________________________
ONLINE JOURNAL E-MAIL CENTER

TO UNSUBSCRIBE DIRECTLY from this list, go to:
http://setup.wsj.com/EmailSubMgr/do/delete?addr=ignoble.experiment%40ARCONATI.US&id=114
Your request will take effect within 48 hours.

TO VIEW OR CHANGE any of your e-mail settings, go to the E-Mail Setup Center:
http://online.wsj.com/email
You are currently subscribed as ignoble.experiment@ARCONATI.US

FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-369-2834
or 1-609-514-0870 between the hours of 7 am - 10 pm Monday - Friday and 8 am - 3 pm Saturday or e-mail onlinejournal@wsj.com.

Developer Shed Weekly SEO News for 2009-01-01

Trouble reading this message? Read it online.

January 01, 2009

Welcome to the first SEO Chat newsletter of the new year...or the last SEO Chat newsletter of the old year, depending upon what time it reaches your in box. Since the beginnings of new years are such a great time for looking forward and looking back, this week's item we're highlighting from eWeek focuses on 2008 as it affected one company: Microsoft. The Yahoo offer is here, plus a whole lot more. Be sure to check it out!

You'll also want to check out the articles we published for you on SEO Chat. Monday we focused on the growing importance of mobile devices. Many mobile device users surf the web from these portable helpers, but their hardware and software limitations can make it a less than fun experience. Check out the article for tips on making your mobile visitors more welcome. On Tuesday we looked at two of Google's better-known algorithms, Trustrank and Hilltop. We considered how they work, what they classify as important, and how you can turn that to your advantage in your climb to the top of the search engine results pages. On Wednesday, we explained how you can use images to help tell your story. Yes, they call for an extra step or two in the optimization department, but visitors love them; there's a reason they say that a picture is worth a thousand words.

We're not out of educational SEO material for you yet â€" not by a long shot. Have you visited Tutorialized yet? If not, you'll be delighted at the selection of SEO-related tutorials you can find there, just waiting to show you a trick or two you didn't know before. We've highlighted just a few of them in this newsletter, but rest assured, there's plenty more where those came from! And if you're feeling generous and want to share your own SEO knowledge, you can always submit a tutorial yourself.

This week's thread touches on some of the finer points of domain names. Can a little think like the last three or five letters of your domain name make a difference? What if it's a choice between a top-level and a country-code domain? And before you answer, what if you're trying to market to a specific country and nowhere else? Check out the thread for some answers, and don't forget to add a few of your own!

Our Spotlight, just for readers of our newsletter, touches on the long tail of search. The idea that outlying searches deliver as many â€" or more â€" conversions as searches for highly competitive keywords became part of the common SEO wisdom a few years ago. Now, however, many wonder if it's just hype. Who should you believe? Scroll down to the Spotlight to find our take, then click the link and check out the lively discussion in our forums!

As always, thanks for reading.

Until next time,
SEO Chat Staff

ARTICLES

	Using Images to Tell Your Story
	Google`s Trust Rank and Hilltop Algorithms
	Mobile Search Engine Optimization
	SEO on Tutorialized
	SEO Thread of The Week
	SEO Chat News Spotlight

TOOLS

	Get Our Content on Your Site with DevText!
	New Articles, Right To Your E-mail
	Developer Search

IBM eKits Make Development eAsy!
Take advantage of free e-kits from developerWorks. E-kits give you a collection of tutorials, articles, webcasts, podcasts, and demos about a particular product, task, or role. This one-stop shop of resources empowers you to maximize your enterprise investment.
Learn more.

IBM Rational Project and Portfolio Management certification training e-kit
Get free PMI training in the IBM Rational Project and Portfolio Management certification training e-kit. As a member of the Project Management Institute's (PMI's) corporate council, IBM has more than 12,000 PMI-certified project managers and has been honored for its educational programs. Now, you can learn more about the difference that IBM's project management curriculum makes with six free courses based on IBM's best-practices processes and tools.
Learn more.

Sun Offers Free Training to All Students.
Courses are available in a wide array of topics, including: *NetBeans GUI Builder, JRuby, JavaFX, and JavaME*. Also available are: Introduction to Solaris and OpenSolaris as well as an Introduction to Sun SPOTs.
Learn More!>

Sun Forums
Collaborate, communicate, and leverage the expertise of developers worldwide. As an SDN member you can participate in over 200 forums focusing on Java, Solaris, and emerging technologies.
Join Today!>

Free Download
Sun Studio software is widely used by enterprises across the globe to quickly deliver optimized, high-quality applications. Accelerate your development today with Sun Studio 12 software!
Download Now!>

top

It's edgy! It's irreverent! It's all about technology! It's News You Can't Use,
and you won't want to miss it! View this week's edition to learn the answers to these burning questions:

What's better than a brand new episode of Tech News? How about an old rehash of some of the best clips this year? Writer seen drunk in the corner, celebrating the New Year a few days early.

Watch the video!

Are you a Developer with the skill and know-how to change the way we live through the use of Windows Embedded Products? Take a moment to
"SPARK your Imagination"
and listen to this exciting opportunity to earn a $15,000 cash reward for your product idea or win other unique prizes.

Windows Embedded SPARK Contest

top

Using Images to Tell Your Story
by Terri Wells
2008-12-31

The Internet has come into its own as a visual medium, with entire sites devoted to still images and video. When searchers look for information or entertainment, they have come to want a little eye candy along with all those lines of text. What are some of the best ways to give them what they want?

Just a quick heads-up: I expect to jump back and forth between theory and practice in this article. For a long time, I did not use images in my articles at all; then I learned how to take screen shots, and realized how much they enhanced my search engine and web site reviews. I also learned just enough about taking pictures with digital cameras to get some good images for a monitor review on Dev Hardware. I still have a lot to learn, of course, but that seems to be the nature of technology in general.

I will start with something simple for those of you who might still be resistant to the idea of adding images to your blog. Maybe you have seen really crowded MySpace pages and you do not want your site to look so cluttered. Why should you use images?

Read Using Images to Tell Your Story

top

Google Trust Rank and Hilltop Algorithms
by Ivan Strouchliak
2008-12-30

PageRank is not the only algorithm Google uses to determine relevancy of pages. In this article we discuss two more publicly known algorithms, Hilltop and Trust Rank. Keep reading for some enlightenment on how the most popular search engine ranks web sites.

Both algorithms are quite old in the search engine arena (2005), but are still in use, as is the initial PageRank algorithm (though much tweaked over time). You need to be aware of both in order to understand search engines better.

In this article we discuss Hilltop and TrustRank, the reasons behind those algorithms, and how to optimize better with each algorithm in mind. We also link to the official white papers that cover each algorithm and useful resources so you can learn and become more effective in SEO game.

Read Google`s Trust Rank and Hilltop Algorithms

WINDOWS WEB HOSTING
Innovation, stability and support: Gate.com's World Class Windows ASP NET Platform. Windows Web Hosting solutions like no other.

Consider the bar raised

top

Mobile Search Engine Optimization
by Bruce Coker
2008-12-29

If there is one area of certain growth in these troubled economic times, it is the mobile communications sector. And with significant improvements having emerged over the last few years in vital areas such as data transfer speed, screens and content, mobile devices are starting to challenge the PC as an Internet access device of choice. This in turn has raised a key issue in the Mobile Internet space: that of the optimization of sites for mobile devices and search engines.

It is all very well delivering a repackaged version of a standard web site to mobile devices, and most of the presentational challenges this raises have been addressed one way or another. But the fact remains that mobile Internet usage diverges from traditional usage in a number of important ways. The failure of content publishers to understand the implications of these differences for content can only lead to sub-standard mobile sites that run the risk of providing irrelevant material and poor usability. This in turn results in an impoverished mobile Internet experience for users, which impacts take-up and slows down the whole cycle.

It is clearly very much in the interests of content publishers to optimize their sites not just for the mobile user, but also the mobile search engine. This is particularly important when the site contains information of particular relevance to the mobile sector.

Read Mobile Search Engine Optimization

Check out the amazing tutorials from IBM developerWorks and see what all the buzz is about!

WebSphere Service Registry and Repository
Manage, govern, and share services across your organization by using WebSphere Service Registry and Repository. Follow the hands-on exercises to learn how to navigate the Web interface to publish, find, reuse, and update services.

Building JavaScript applications with JSEclipse
Using JSEclipse, JavaScript programmers now have their own Eclipse plug-in that provides many important features to aid in the development of JavaScript applications. JSEclipse gives JavaScript developers the same ease of use that Eclipse has been providing in the Java language and others for years. Learn to use this tool, while creating a colony of evolving "creatures" on your page.

Learn how to install and use the Rational Asset Manager Eclipse client
In this tutorial, you can learn how to install and configure the IBM Rational Asset Manager Eclipse client, explore the different views in the Asset Management perspective, learn various search techniques, work with existing assets, and submit a new asset.

Improve your build process with IBM Rational Build Forge, Part 1: Create a continuous build and integration environment
Learn how to implement a build management system that uses and extends your existing automation technologies. This tutorial shows, step-by-step, how to install and configure IBM Rational Build Forge to manage builds for Jakarta Tomcat from source code.

Build Web services with transport-level security using Rational Application Developer V7, Part 1: Build Web services and Web services clients
Build secure Web services with transport-level security using IBM Rational Application Developer V7 and IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.1. Follow this three-part series for step-by-step instructions about how to develop Web services and clients, configure HTTP basic authentication, and configure HTTP over SSL (HTTPS). This first part of the series walks you through building a Web service for a simple calculator application. You generate and test two different types of Web services clients: a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) client and a stand-alone Java client. You also handle user-defined exceptions in Web services.

Test terminal-based applications with Rational Functional Tester
Regression testing -- in which code is thoroughly tested to ensure that changes have not produced unexpected results -- is an important part of any development process. But many testing environments neglect the terminal-based applications that still form the backbone of many industries. In this tutorial, you'll learn how the Rational Functional Tester Extension for Terminal-Based Applications works with other Rational Functional Tester to help test terminal-based applications quickly and easily.

Improve your build process with IBM Rational Build Forge,
Part 2: Automate builds for a real-world Tomcat project
Learn how Rational Build Forge can extend a simple compile and package build process by adding customization and deployment capability. Go from a manual method to automating: checking for code changes; getting the latest source; compiling and packaging; customizing; copying to and restarting a deployment server; and sending e-mail notification that a new version is available.

NEW! Application development for the OLPC laptop
The XO laptop (of the One-Laptop-Per-Child initiative) is an inexpensive laptop project intended to help educate children around the world. The XO laptop includes many innovations, such as a novel, inexpensive, and durable hardware design and the use of GNU/Linux as the underlying operating system. The XO also includes an application environment written in Python with a human interface called Sugar, accessible to everyone (including kids). Explore the Sugar APIs and learn how to develop and debug a graphical activity in Sugar using Python.

top

Tutorialized is dedicated to programming, designing, and many other
tech related tutorials.

Submit Your Tutorial Today!

Google Adword Campaign
How to build your own Google Adword Campaign. Easy to follow set of instructions.
Read the tutorial.

How to Promote Site to Increase Traffic
SEO is about promoting your site.
Read the tutorial.

Easy Search Engine Friendly URLs with mod_rewrite
Create search engine friendly URLs easily with mod_rewrite.
Read the tutorial.

How Search Engines Operate
How search engines and its spiders actually work?
Read the tutorial.

SEO and Link Building for Quality Traffic
Build quality traffic using your keywords! Here is how!
Read the tutorial.

Make Engines Read Keywords
Force search engines to read your keywords.
Read the tutorial.

How can this SEO Newsletter be better?

What do you like or dislike about this issue?
Is there a topic you want to learn more about?
What issues in search engine news are important to you? We'll consider your suggestions and ideas for improvement,
so please email us. Email us.

top

How much does your URL's extension matter? With some websites targeting local markets, a good .com.au, say, may be better than a top-level domain. Either way, what should you do if you can't get the exact domain name you want? That's the question our original poster asked in this week's thread. Check out the forum thread and share your advice!

Dart Shop

Which Domain Extension To Optimize?

My target audience is AUSTRALIA and nowhere else; I am purely targeting a local area.

The domain I want in (dot)com(dot)au is unavailable, but it is available in .net So my question is, can a .net be optimized as well as a (dot)com(dot)au?

eg blue-widget .com .au
blue-widget .net

Do you think that there would be too many drawbacks to optimizing and competing against the .com.au that is currently registered, but parked and for sale?

I have no knowledge in this area and would really appreciate some advice. I wouldn't like to invest considerable time developing the site and content, when the odds are stacked against me from the start. The domain is hyphenated; I'm not keen on that, but the two key words are great and there is very little in the marketplace in this field.

Thanks in anticipation of your advice.

new_seo

In my opinion, Australian server hosting and back links from sites hosted in Australia will work for you.

onlineshine

Though you're targeting specifically a particular area, you can certainly opt for a .Net URL if the .com .au URL is not available. The reason country-related URLs are helpful is to rank your website in the targeted local search engines based on the local search engine data centers. But that works up to a certain extent only.

There are many other parameters to ranking a website at the top in the targeted search engines. If you're opting for PPC to promote your website to target the local market, there is no need to bother about the .com .au or .Net. Either of them would drive leads through PPC.

Else, if you would like to opt for organic results, it would be better if you could build good relevant high page rank with Australian back links to your website with consistency. Due to the same, your website would be ranked high for you targeted keywords.

Always make sure, the on page content of your website is well optimized based on your targeted keywords and perform ethical link building to rank high in your targeted search engines

Posts from this thread may have been abridged or removed. Forum members are responsible for the content of these posts.
Read the full thread.

SEO Writers Wanted for SEO Chat

Are you looking to write feature articles about SEO industry trends? In addition to being paid for your articles on SEO Chat you get your name in front of over 500,000 individual readers that access our site every day.
Find Out More...

top

Long Tail Keywords: Worth the Effort?

As often happens in our SEO Chat forums, a number of our members came in on various sides of a question. This one concerned long tail keywords. We all know that these are supposed to be better for conversions than their shorter, more competitive counterparts, but that didn't match the experience (and site stats) of one of our forum members at all. So he had to ask: are they really important, or just hype?

The final answer: it depends. Some posters questioned, if not the entire idea of long tail keywords, at least what should be considered as such. Is â€œcar insuranceâ€ a long tail keyword, since â€œinsuranceâ€ is the short version? What about â€œcar insurance orlando floridaâ€? Forum gadfly fathom did the math, pointing out just how many different variations you can get and how many potential conversions.

Other forum members observed that, if you're targeting more competitive key phrases, of course most of your traffic will come from those. In that case, your long tail traffic will be a bonus rather than your chief source of income. After all, if you can get traffic for â€œevent planning,â€ you should be able to get traffic for â€œevent planning and preparation,â€ right?

Possibly...but the problem is, just how do you aim for those long tail keywords? Going for the location helps, but, to paraphrase Google's Udi Manber, what do you do when up to a quarter of the queries the search engine sees on a single day are queries it has never seen before? Can you use the same strategy if you're going for long tail keywords as you would when you're trying to score with the more competitive ones? And are there times when you should try for one or the other but not both?

As you'd expect, there wasn't exactly a consensus. A number of members suggested, however, that if you've built a new web site that's trying to work its way into a competitive space, you should probably try to go for long tail keywords and â€œbootstrapâ€ yourself up, hoping the sales you get from those will help you grow.

This leaves the question of strategy and exactly how you do this. Long tail keywords are not searched for often (remember that figure from Manber) so how do you know what to target? You might not. If you're going for the long tail, you want lots of different variations on key phrases. That means lots of content. It should be good content, of course, but still, you're looking at a lot of writing. If you decide to go after the competitive phrases, on the other hand, you probably need to think more about link building and link bait. As one forum member put it, â€œYou won't get anything from traditional keyword targeting if you don't have the link weight to back you up.â€

So, if you're better at writing content, you're in a good position to get traffic from the long tail. If you're better at link building, you might want to make a play for the more competitive keywords. And â€œIf you can manage both,â€ observed forum member Joshua Watson, â€œwell...then it's a moot issue, is it not?â€ Good luck!

Read the forum thread associated with this item

Advertising
Advertise in our SEO newsletter and reach informed SEO
and search engine marketing professionals! For advertising information, contact us.

Unsubscribe
If you don't want to receive our emails, please unsubscribe.
An email will be sent with additional instructions to confirm your unsubscription.

Pages

2008/12/31

The best Overheard in New York quotes from last week, by your votes: