SEO Headlines 06/17/2008

Quoting The A.P.? That will cost you $12.50, please.

As a follow up to our story yesterday, I guess I should mention that the A.P. has decided in order for you to quote 5 words of their content, it’s going to cost you $12.50. If you could go ahead and figure out how much you owe them, let them know where it’s going to be published, and then send them a check I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

And before you go getting any snarky ideas, know that you’re only allowed to quote the A.P. in a positive light. You see, not only does the A.P. reserve the right to take away your right of fair use, but they also reserve the right to terminate your licensing agreement if you use their content in a way that they find offensive or damaging to their reputation. Free press what?

I’m really confused as to what the A.P. thinks they’re doing here. I’ll never understand why the mainstream media continues to declare war on the blogosphere and search engines instead of embracing them and looking at us as a new distribution partner. Links from blogs generate new visitors and a better conversation. Stop ageing yourself and participate. All these stupid new “standards” you’re fruitlessly trying to create simply make you look silly and like you’re new to these Internetz. Get a clue, A.P.

Making Light had my favorite comment on the lunacy that is the A.P. turning to a Web form asking people to pay for something they have the right to do anyway:

“In this spirit, I will shortly be putting up my own Web form through which people can PayPal me money in exchange for my promise to not blow up the moon.”

Hee. See, now that’s an excerpt I would gladly pay $12.50 for. :)

YouTube, Are You Watching Hulu?

Last week Google CEO Eric Schmidt commented that they just haven’t found a way to make money off YouTube yet. The potential is there and even with all the smart folks they have working behind the scenes, but they can’t figure out how to make it work. Today Mark Cuban practically pulled his knee jumping up and down for Hulu, a start up video service that has been able to turn a profit.

Mark points out how Hulu has been able to piggyback off YouTube to gain traffic and revenue, while also doing a great job at monetizing the videos on their own site. And Mark’s right, Hulu has been doing a stellar job to rave reviews, but you can’t exactly compare it to YouTube. Hulu is about finding licensed professional content, while YouTube is trying to monetize user content. They’re worlds apart.

Mark may have been one of the very vocal objectors to Google purchasing YouTube back when the deal was simply rumored, but he shouldn’t take Google’s initial difficulty trying to monetize as a clear sign that he was right. All it shows is that Google has a great challenge ahead of them. Let’s be honest, no one has a clear game plan for monetizing video right now. Not even the awesome Hulu.

Careful with all the jumping up and down you’re doing, Mark. You may hurt yourself.

Fun Finds

David Mihm released the totally and utterly impressive Local Search Ranking Factors. You’re going to want to bookmark that and read it a couple of times. It is truly a goldmine of information.

My buddy Eric Lander offered up Confessions of a Boston Celtic Fan and says that the series will end tonight in Boston. Hell yeah, it will! Go Celtics! (Our entire SoCal office would kill me for saying that.) [I still don’t understand why it’s not pronounced with a hard C. –Susan]

Andy Merchant asks if you’re branding your company or your personal brand on Twitter.

And in case you didn’t know, today is Firefox Day. Go download it. If the site’s stable by now, that is.

Lisa Barone is a writer, content marketer & VP of strategy at Overit Media. She's also a very active Twitterer, much to the dismay of the rest of the world.

See Lisa's author page for links to connect on social media.