Google have confirmed a pilot project to "open up communications" with webmasters they feel are breaking their guidelines. Emails are being sent to selected websites flagged for removal from the Google index. In the comments of this post, Google's Matt Cutts said "Google is trying out a pilot program to alert site owners when we're removing their site for violating our guidelines. JavaScript redirects are the first trial, but we've also sent a few emails about hidden text, I believe.". He went on to add "Personally, I think opening up a line of communication to let webmasters know when we're taking action is a really good thing--a site owner doesn't have to guess about what happened".

Discuss in the Search Engine Forums


Read more about Google's Pilot Program

If this is legit, and I believe it is, it could go a long way to getting rid of the unethical search engine optimization (SEO) tactics that many business owners don't know their SEO company is doing. More posted as news is available.

First Point Incorporated’s new website makes finding new and used communications equipment easier for Telcos and dealers

RUCKERSVILLE, VA,
September 8, 2005 – First Point Inc. is pleased to announce the launch
of their redesigned website offering telecommunications equipment and
networking hardware. The new site, located at http://www.firstpointinc.com,
provides expanded search functionality and regularly updated equipment
specials and price breaks. First Point hopes new and repeat customers
find the site to be a helpful tool when purchasing telecom equipment
and computer networking hardware. “Our new site will better serve our
Telco customers as well as dealers. It will allow everyone to search
for the parts they need and review our special pricing on equipment,”
explains Mike Fielding, vice president of First Point.

First
Point is a comprehensive source for voice and data communication
systems, stocking over 110 manufacturers. With such a large inventory,
it is important to give customers several ways to search on the website
for the product they require. Customers should find the Part Number
Search helpful as it will allow customers to enter in a part number to
view the part’s description and quantity in stock. And Fielding adds,
“The new site is not meant to cut down on our customer’s ability to
talk with our outstanding customer service representatives; they are
still available by phone. So whether the customer is looking for one
part, 10 parts or a complete system, our customer service reps are
there to answer any questions”

The new website also features
selected manufacturers such as ADC, ADTRAN, Carrier Access, Cisco,
Kentrox, Lucent, Nortel and Tellabs (AFC); these companies represent
First Point’s most popular product manufacturers. First Point actively
pursues partnerships and strategic alliances with their manufactures.
They are an ADTRAN Connectivity Partner and a value-added reseller for
several manufacturers, most notably Tellabs, Kentrox and Telco Systems.
And, as always, First Point provides products from these and many other
telecommunications and networking hardware manufacturers at outstanding
prices.

About First Point Inc.:

First Point Incorporated
is a leading value-added reseller of new and used communication
equipment and networking hardware. With a wide variety of parts in
stock, First Point sells equipment from ADC, ADTRAN, Carrier Access,
Cisco, Kentrox, Lucent, Nortel and Tellabs (AFC) as well as many
others.  New parts carry the manufacturer’s warranty and
refurbished telecom equipment is backed by First Point’s
no-questions-asked, one-year warranty. First Point is also a surplus
telecom distributor helping customers recover revenue from surplus
telecom equipment through trade-in, consignment and purchasing.

Company Contact:
Mike Fielding
http://www.firstpointinc.com

Press Release Contact:
Alyssa Duvall
http://www.bigoakinc.com

DMOZ in 2005

By Search Engine Articles and Press Releases - September 12, 2005

by Phil Craven - WebWorkshop

The original concept of DMOZ was excellent for its time. The DMOZ site's "About" page makes these statements about the concept, and about the reasons for the directory's creation:

"Automated search engines are increasingly unable to turn up useful results to search queries. The small paid editorial staffs at commercial directory sites can't keep up with submissions, and the quality and comprehensiveness of their directories has suffered. Link rot is setting in and they can't keep pace with the growth of the Internet."

"The Open Directory follows in the footsteps of some of the most important editor/contributor projects of the 20th century. Just as the Oxford English Dictionary became the definitive word on words through the efforts of volunteers, the Open Directory follows in its footsteps to become the definitive catalog of the Web."

But things have changed a lot since DMOZ began in the mid 1990s. Since then, Google came along with very relevant search results, and they were kind enough to show the other engines how to produce such relevant results. That caused dramatic improvements, to the extent that top search engines have been able to provide very relevant search results for some time, and they provide a lot more of them than DMOZ is able to do.

The small paid editorial staffs at commercial directory sites still can't keep up with submissions, but their backlogs are small when compared with DMOZ's massive backlog. According to reports, there are over a million site submissions that are waiting to be reviewed, and delays of several years between submitting a site and it being reviewed are not uncommon. The backlog problem is so huge that many editors have redefined the problem so that it no longer exists. To them there is no backlog, because the submitted sites are not there to be reviewed. They are merely a low priority pool of sites that they can dip into if they want to, and some of them prefer to find sites on their own.
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