I was under the impression Google doesn’t index Session IDs. :-)
A session ID is a unique number that a Web site’s server assigns to identify a specific user for the duration of that user’s visit.
Because session id are temporary, Google [is not supposed to] index temporary pages, so how come the first position here contains the session id parameter?

Its rare that you find creative banners that really catch your eye.
These Apple ads have apparently been around for some time, but while visiting NYTime.com over the weekend, they caught my eye.

Simple can be really creative, as both Apple and Google have both proved, this Apple banner which takes a small swing at its competitor Microsoft uses some clever interaction between the top banner and the right column skyscraper. I refreshed the page a few times just to see it work so nicely. They run almost like a short commercial.
you can find the working ones here.

These Facebook ads that starting running over the weekend inside the feeds also perhaps try to take a light stab at Google :-)
Very Nice.

Ron

The pie will increase next year to about 160 million dollars going to online advertising.
At least according to some industry leaders in Israel.
Google will finish the year with revenues of 50million Dollars.
While Walla 25 million dollars, mmmm… would like to know how they came up with those numbers.
Prices increased in 2007 about 15 to 20 percent, with more of the cash going towards search engine sponsored results, this momentum should continue into 2008.

Having a busy schedule sometimes leaves me little time to do my actual trip planning.
Having a secretary is great for work trips, she takes care of all our bookings and is relentless in getting us the best deals and verifying everything.
But for my upcoming [and short] vacation to Argentina, which includes a one night stop in Amsterdam and meeting up with my brother in Sao Paulo, Brazil, I needed to rely on my travel agent to take care of things.
Now it would be naïve to think that her objectives are 100% aligned with mine, she wants me to take a hotel fast, so I don’t waste too much of her time, she would prefer it wouldn’t be cheap, cause she works on commissions, and she doesn’t always know if the place she is suggesting is actually worth staying at.
This is where search comes along, while on the phone with her, she reads me some options she got from her booking system, my initial request was CHEAP for Amsterdam, I am only there for 12 hours (an over night stay) for a short meeting, and this is a busy time in Amsterdam with many conferences taking place making room availability low.
I search for the hotels she gives me and quickly get Trip Advisor as top spot for that hotel name…
Not getting the hotel’s website signals that this hotel did not really understand the importance of search marketing.
Secondly, the review from Trip Advisor was horrible, some of the cynics left some comments that leave little room for consideration, in short “DON’T GO THERE”.
Next…
My agent (on the phone) gives me another hotel, I search and find TripAdvisor.com again at first place (The actual hotel had an AdWords Ad), but I decided ill read the review first.
Review looks good, highly recommended, a bit pricey, but my agent is pushing now, cause she doesn’t think ill get a room elsewhere.
Trip Advisor does not give me the option for this hotel of reserving online, and there is no link to the hotel website…
So I am back to Google for the link to the hotel… Hotel looks nice but no online reservation system, so I cant check room price.
I tell my agent on the phone to book.

Now I am sure someone is going to develop a virtual agent that does that for us, in the meanwhile…. Guess ill need both my agent and search.

As of this week Facebook profiles will be included in Google Search Results, similar to linkedin and other social networks, letting in traffic from search.
From Facebook blog post:

Starting today, we are making limited public search listings available to people who are not logged in to Facebook. We’re expanding search so that people can see which of their friends are on Facebook more easily. The public search listing contains less information than someone could find right after signing up anyway, so we’re not exposing any new information, and you have complete control over your public search listing.

In a few weeks, we will allow these Public Search listings (depending on users’ individual privacy settings) to be found by search engines like Google, MSN Live, Yahoo, etc. We think this will help more people connect and find value from Facebook without exposing any actual profile information or data.