GoogleGuy has requested that I stop posting his comments on this site.

This site will continue (more info below).

I started this site about 11 months ago, to provide an easy and convenient way for people to hear comments made by an anonymous Google employee, known as GoogleGuy. GoogleGuy was posting useful information in a very busy discussion forum. At times, his comments were the only valuable ones to read, and I found myself scrolling endlessly trying to locate his comments. The search tool provided on the forums was extremely poor, not helpful at all for located the comments of a particular member. I thought about recording them privately for future reference, but I realized that others were likely in the same position as me. So I decided to post them publicly, so others could benefit. It turns out that I was right, as thousands of people from around the world began to use the site as resource for Google information.

The owner of the forums was not happy with this site. He made a number changes to the forum site to make it difficult for me. In doing so, he also made it even more difficult for forum members to find GoogleGuy's comments in the forums. Of course, these ill-advised tactics made this site the only reasonable way to locate GoogleGuy's comments, and the traffic to this site increased significantly (Thanks, Brett! :)) To this date, I don't understand why he view this site as a threat -- it provided links and traffic, enhancing the poor search and filtering features of the forums.

From the beginning, I said that I would stop if GoogleGuy made such a request. Though he certainly learned of this site days after it was launched, he did not make any reference to it in his comments, nor did I ever receive an communication directly from him or indirectly from any of his colleagues at Google. For 11 months and over 1,000 forum posts, GoogleGuy said nothing about this site. Based on this silence, I assumed he was okay with me providing an easy way for people to learn hear comments about Google. About a week ago, in a thread about "Google Under Siege", that changed. Suddenly, GoogleGuy requested that I stop posting his comments to this site. So I will live up to my word, and the format of this will change.

Why GoogleGuy suddenly make this request after 11 months and 1,000 posts? He didn't explain the reason. All I can offer is pure speculation, which may be "way off the mark", perhaps:

-my commentary was too critical of Google?
-the current pressure on Google (relating to privacy concerns) is a factor?
-he wants to silence me prior to the Google IPO

I really don't know, but he did sound "annoyed". Feel free to add you own speculation in the discussion for this entry.

If GoogleGuy changes his mind - and I hope that he does - I will begin to post his comments here again. Perhaps he was just frustrated when he posted his request. Perhaps he will decide that easier access to his comments is a good thing for Webmasters and Google alike. If you would like GoogleGuy to reconsider, please voice your opinion in the discussion for this entry, on your own sites, blogs, etc. You can also try posting your opinions in the WMW forums, but you are likely to be censored if you do.

New Format

As always, I appreciate any and all feedback. What direction do you think this site should take? What features would you like to see?

This is very cool. Here is a bookmarket that you can use to "turn on" the new Google Look that Google has been testing:

1. Drag the following link to you "Links" toolbar (IE) or add to your favorites:

toggle google look

2. Go to Google.com.

3. Click on the link on your toolbar (or access it from your favorites).

Note: This entry is not related to a quote from GoogleGuy

GoogleGuy Says has been redesigned. I hope that you will find the new design easier to read. The forums and discussion pages have been improved considerably, with wider tables for discussion threads. Let me know what you think of the new design (and if you find any bugs!).

This entry does not relate to a quote by GoogleGuy.

This is just an experiment and entry into an SEO SERPS competition. The goal is to see who can rank the highest for the search query "SERPS" (new pages only. For more information about the serps competition, click here.

Note: This message is not related to a specific quote from GoogleGuy

I returned from a two week vacation (honeymoon) a few days ago to learn that major Google Update occured soon after I left. I know that many people visitied this site looking for GoogleGuy's comments on the update, only to find messages from early November. I have now added most (but not all) of GoogleGuy's comments on the Florida update. Most of these comments occured on the first few days of the update: Nov. 15, Nov. 16, and Nov. 17 (follow the preceding links to see the comments from each day). These include all of GoogleGuy's comments from the main update thread. I know that there are messages that I have not added yet to this site - I will try to add those in the coming days.

That said, it would be a mistake to consider only GoogleGuy's comments in order to assess this update. A theory, now wide-accepted, was presented by Kackle, that Google has implemented an "over-optimization" filter that seems to be targetting a limited number of search queries, mostly commercial in nature. Basically, for these queries, highly optimized sites are subjected to a filter which drops them significantly in the rankings for those queries. To test if your targetted search queries are affected, visit Scroogle.

This message is not related to a quote from GoogleGuy

I have decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from my blogs and web sites to charity. I have sponsered Hama, a 9 year-old boy from Niger, Africa. My monthly sponsorship donation contributes to the building of wells, medical clinics, schools, and more.

I think that everyone who earns a little money from their web sites should donate a portion of that money to charity. Bloggers and webmasters can make a difference. I encourage other to do the same - and to spread the word to others. Bloggers and Webmasters have a loud collective voice. Together we can use that voice to make a difference in the world.

You can sponsor a child like Hama for about $1 a day. Can you afford $1 a day? Click here to visit Plan International and choose your country of origin in the yellow box on the right side of the page. If you are in the United States, click here. Please sponsor a child like Hama and then be sure to mention it on your blog or web site. Also, you can place a small photo of your sponsored child on the side of your page, along with information to encourage others to donate. Bloggers and webmasters can make a difference in many ways - I think that this is one of the most important ways of all.

This message is not related to a quote from GoogleGuy or AdWordsAdvisor

I have added email notifications to the discussions on this site. When posting a reply in the forum, check the "subscribe" box and you will receive subsequent replies via email.

This message is not related to a quote from GoogleGuy or AdWordsAdvisor

I have added a Guest Forum to this site. Unlike the main forum, in the guest forum, you can start your own topic threads. Of course, if you want to discuss GoogleGuy's comments, it makes most sense to reply to the entry that contains those comments.

What can you post in the Guest Forum? Whatever you want. It's a bit of an experiment - we'll see how it goes. I read a suggestion recently for a public site where webmasters can post their opinions about SERPs that they believe are spammy. If you want to use the Guest Forum for that purpose, feel free. If there is enough interest, I can create a separate area for that purpose.

You don't need to become a 'member' to post messages or replies. You can post anonymously if you want. You can use an alias or a nickname or your real name - it's up to you. Feel free to include relevant links to SERPs or to your own sites.

Try it out. To start a new topic, click here.

As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions or feedback.

This message is not related to a quote from GoogleGuy or AdWordsAdvisor

I have added a Guest Forum to this site. Unlike the main forum, in the guest forum, you can start your own topic threads. Of course, if you want to discuss GoogleGuy's comments, it makes most sense to reply to the entry that contains those comments.

What can you post in the Guest Forum? Whatever you want. It's a bit of an experiment - we'll see how it goes. I read a suggestion recently for a public site where webmasters can post their opinions about SERPs that they believe are spammy. If you want to use the Guest Forum for that purpose, feel free. If there is enough interest, I can create a separate area for that purpose.

You don't need to become a 'member' to post messages or replies. You can post anonymously if you want. You can use an alias or a nickname or your real name - it's up to you. Feel free to include relevant links to SERPs or to your own sites.

Try it out. To start a new topic, click here.

As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions or feedback.