I come into the office this morning and I see Stoney with a big grin on his face. He’s sitting straighter, chair pumped up just a bit higher (I swear his feet aren’t touching the floor) and he looks, well, bossly.
Not that he normally doesn’t look like a boss, but today, well he looks successful. Is it the shiny blue shirt he’s wearing? Is it the freshly polished shoes? Is it the fact that he just got paid in Friends and Seinfeld DVDs from his favorite people in all of search engine marketing (outside of his Reno SEO Team, of course)?
No, that last one was YESTERDAY. This is TODAY!
So what gives? What has the boss sitting so high and mighty? Ah, it didn’t take me long to find out. A quick check of my email and there it is… a link to Rand Fishkin’s Interview with Stoney.
I wonder if I’m expected to read this schlock, but then think better of it. Of course I’m expected to read it! Heck, I’ll probably be quizzed on it. “Did you think I was funny?”, “Was that a good answer?”, “Do you think I blew my chance of having Rebecca bear my love child?”
So, Stoney: Yes, you were funny; Yes, that was a good answer; and No, you didn’t blow your chance with Rebecca. YOU NEVER HAD ONE! (And you wouldn’t anyway… We all know that you love your wife!) Anyway, here are some of my favorite answers:
Q: You’re obviously extremely talented in the social media and viral content creation arena – care to show off some of your work?
A: Well, we have far more failures than successes. In fact, outside of the Brock Sampson campaign I can’t point to anything that I’d say we are really proud enough to showcase. We’re babies in this and still feeling our way through it. But I’ll give the full rundown on Brock in response to your last question below.
Q: How were you able to build up your profile in the search marketing world? Any advice for newcomers seeking to become icons like Stoney?
A: LOL. Well I have to give a shout out to Jennifer Laycock who was first to pull me from obscurity. She gave me my first real opportunity to get my stuff out there in public. I’m not a natural at self-promotion or networking so I spent many years building my business in the shadows of the SEO industry. To give you some perspective on this, I’ve been writing newsletters (and then later blogging) since 1993 and still my company blog, (EMP) E-Marketing Performance has only a few hundred subscribers. It’s only been in the last couple years that I’ve been able to break out of my self-contained island and start making friends and getting myself out there in the community. You could say I took the long way about it.
Q : What are, in your opinions, some of the most under-utilized tactics in social media? Any areas where the mainstream crowds seem to be less savvy or skilled?
A: I am completely unqualified to answer this question. Next.
Q: Which of the following blog lists are better – Technorati Top 100, Bloglines top 1000, Techmeme Leaderboard or something else?
A: Who? What? This is gonna sound really bad, but I’ve never looked at any of those lists.
Ah, yes… the stuff experts are made of.