defining

Reading any of the major search engines' explanations of their paid search networks and where they will display ads is at minimum misleading.

On Wall Street, financial investors speak of CEOs improving their companies' "top line" by increasing sales volume or their "bottom line" by reducing their expenses to expand the margins from their current sales volume.

Good article in the Financial Times last week about Yahoo and what the company is doing in the face of the growing and stiff competition in the search business by the likes of Google and Microsoft.

When I began my career in search engine marketing back in 1996, there were no text books or classes, and very little in terms of comprehensive resources online from which to learn.

I'm a big fan of Doc Searls. Not just the Cluetrain Manifesto, but his blog, his input on the late, lamented Gillmor Gang, his keynotes, his other writing.

The best way to explain something new - like blogs for example (yes, they are new to most of the world) - is to compare with things people actually know.

Business intelligence solutions narrow the ever widening gap between the amount of data gathered and the methods of being able to understand that data.

1. Personal insight. Great CEOs are great leaders. They know themselves and what they stand for. They have been called on all their lives as problem solvers because others know them to be fair and impartial. People respect their opinions and look to them for guidance.