I got interviewed (in Dutch ;) ) on the future of Search
Category:InterviewA couple of weeks ago I spoke at the B2B Marketing Forum on the changes we are seeing with the SERPS and how we should act on it. The subject was all about the future, where are the search engines going. After that session I got interviewed by a Dutch people search engine, 123 people. You can find the interview below. They also wrote out the entire interview here. The interview is in Dutch so if you want to understand it and are not Dutch, here’s te version which is translated using Google Translate (which has its usual quality so you are warned…).
4 Comments
Barry Adams
April 21, 2010at 10:58 amThe interviewer came to that interview with a huge load of preconceptions and assumptions about SEO and search – probably because he works for one of those niche vertical search engines. Unfortunately it became painfully apparent through his questions that the interviewer really doesn’t get SEO and has a flawed grasp of how people find things online.
Your answers were great though Bas. 🙂
remco janssen
April 21, 2010at 11:31 amThe interviewer asks questions, they are marked with a questionmark. The expert answers them – Bas really did a great job. As I can tell, you Barry don’t get the concept of journalism at ALL – like most niche bloggers do… 😉
(Note: this is a funny remark. Disclosure: I work as a freelancer PR-consultant for 123people, I’m the interviewer and I have a bachelor in journalism, thank you :-).
But seriously: I’m really very curious how you can tell, Barry, that I know nothing about SEO? I will gladly admit that I’m a novice in this line of work, though. But I’m getting there!
If you state that 123people is a niche vertical, that’s totally correct. But it’s not merely ‘one of those’, I would strongly suggest you do your homework. I’m more than happy to help you do a better job, by pointing you to our impressive figures and numbers.
You, Barry, as an expert: Can you help me to learn more about how people do search online? I’m actually very interested in this specific – albeit niche – topic.
Barry Adams
April 21, 2010at 11:46 amHi Remco,
You’re right, I don’t ‘get’ journalism as I’m not a journalist – I’m an SEO expert, although I do work for a news organisation as their in-house SEO talent (The Belfast Telegraph to be specific). However I do have the assumption that journalists reporting on a certain topic are supposed to have a basic understanding of that topic. Feel free to correct me on that though. 🙂
The first indication of your lack of understanding of search came when you asked Bas if there was any work for him as ‘Google-kenner’ in the future. That’s a pretty silly question to ask, especially in light of Bas’s answer to your previous question, where it became clear Google is definitely paying attention to the changing search landscape and rolling out new features to keep people on the Google search results (social search, personalised search, embedded reviews for local businesses, etc).
Then your interpretation of Bas’s answer on your ’10 years from now’ question shed additional light on your status as novice. Bas wasn’t talking about human answer services such as Yahoo Answers, he was talking about what Bing so eloquently calls ‘decision engines’. Look in to Wolfram Alpha as a start. Search engines are no longer just gateways to deeper destinations – search engines are increasingly the end destination.
Oh, and search is not a niche topic. Play a little game and count the number of times you use a search engine every day. Search is a vital and intrinsic part of human online behaviour. We use search engines dozens of times each day. If search is niche, then so is food. You don’t call supermarkets a niche industry, do you?
If you want to learn more about search online you can go in two directions: Information Retrieval (the technological underpinnings of search engines) or antropology (the human aspects of search). A good SEO needs to understand both.
remco janssen
April 21, 2010at 12:42 pmAha, that clarify’s the matter. As a reporter, I try not to emphasize my own knowledge. A good question isn’t necesaarily an seemingly intelligent question. BTW: The (obvious) misunderstanding with the Answer-answer actually led to a the most interesting answer in the video. That has more to do with me being new to online video – I’m a print journalist and an online PR expert.