With Search Engine Strategies and PubCon both headlining next week, in their own respective cities mind you, I figured that now was as good of a time as any to share with you my plans for the upcoming conferences.

I will be attending the Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago. Why the Windy City and not PubCon in Vegas? Well, for one it is local. With just a little over an hour drive, team All Web and I will be styling and profiling at the Hilton and Towers, home of this year's SES Chicago event. In addition, it appears Seth Godin, one of my all-time favorite authors in the marketing industry, will be doing the keynote... and of course, I'm really looking forward to that.

As far as blogging goes, I not quite sure what I'll be doing. I've been debating on whether or not to post daily recaps (as I have for past conferences), or if I should wait and write a single post which recaps the entire conference. As of now I'm leaning towards the latter of the two, but you never know. In addition, I am also planning on having a guest post sometime next week featuring a complete recap of the PubCon event in Las Vegas. That should be a real treat for those of us who aren't attending.

If by chance you're going to be attending SES next week be sure to drop me a line. That, or keep an eye for me at the hotel bar. I'll be the guy puffing on a well-lit cigar... that is, if smoking is still allowed in Chicago bars.

If you didn't catch Sunday's post, this entire week I'll be posting off topic and about me, my interests, and fun-facts about my life. My goal with these posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun. Without further ado, here's my fifth and last post:

I love to play poker. I've been a poker player since I was in High School, and enjoy the game very much. My favorite game is No Limit Texas Hold'em, but I also enjoy a variety of other poker games too.

The one problem that I'm facing now is that I don't get to play as much as I'd like to these days. Having moved a few miles away from my clique, and of course some of them being away at college, pick-up games are quite difficult to arrange. I do have plans to get a neighborhood game going one day, but I need a little more time to get to know my neighbors before I can set that up. And you never know... they might already have a weekly home game going, and I may be able to jump in to that.

When my friends and I do get together, we play on a table that my dad made for my 23rd birthday. It's nothing to extravagant like you would see on the World Series of Poker TV show, but it works. It has 8 sides, green felt, and wooden side rails with built in chip and drink holders. It's actually a very nice homemade table.

We play a straight nickel and dime game where the max any one player can loose is $5 - $10. The most anyone ever wins at our games is usually about $20 - $50... this of course is dependent on the number of players we actually have playing. It's a small home game, but we like it. It's friendly, social, and fun.

I do occasionally test my skills outside of my home game. Often at times local organizations will sponsor a multi-table poker tournament for a charitable cause. The buy-in for these games range anywhere from $25 - $250. I tend to stick with the $25 and $50 buy-ins. However, depending on how well I've been playing weeks prior to the tournament, I may dabble with lady luck and participate in some of the more costly tournaments.

My favorite part of playing poker is the strategy. Poker, for those of you who don't play, is a game where you don't necessarily play the cards, but rather the person holding the cards. It's a game of calculated odds, sociology, psychology, and lady luck all rolled into one. There's so much to think about and analyze from hand-to-hand, and developing an individual strategy for playing each player at the table is where I get my kicks.

How about you? Do you play poker? I'd love to hear some of your bad-beat or lady-luck stories.

If you didn't catch Sunday's post, this entire week I'll be posting off topic and about me, my interests, and fun-facts about my life. My goal with these posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun. Without further ado, here's my forth post:

As a search engine marketer, I for one have always found it interesting to know what other SEM's did before breaking into this industry. I mean it's not like you can graduate from college with a degree in search engine marketing... at least not yet anyway. And, so one has to wonder... with so many of us search marketers out there, how did we all break into this industry and what were our jobs / careers beforehand.

The funny thing is, everyone that I've ever talked with or interviewed has always said something to the extent of: "well, I was doing this other thing, and one thing led to another and I just sort of fell into the field." Which... if you were to ask me, is exactly what I would say.

At 24 years old, I have only had 2 jobs in my life (not counting a paper route and corn detasseling duties when I was a kid). I am currently the Project Manager at All Web Promotion where I have been for the last 4 years, and before All Web, as you no doubt already figured out from the title, I worked for Wal-Mart retail.

I applied at Wal-Mart when I was 17 and worked their every bit of 3 1/2 to 4 years. As with a lot of high school kids, I wanted a little more income than what I was able squeeze out of my parents, and so I decided to get a part-time job where I could work after school and make a little cash... oh, and I do mean a little. I was hired for a floor position in the sporting goods department, but, due to a real shortage of employees I quickly found myself occupying the sporting goods, automotive, pets, hardware, toys, and furniture departments on many occasions.

In fact, as time went on I sort of became a real go-to-guy which I'm sure sounds really cool, but really just means that I was a tool... or better yet, a Wal-Mart bitch.

I was so versatile that depending on who called off and where the store was short in employees, I was often at times forced to leave the comfort of my sporting goods counter and work elsewhere in the store. Believe me when I say I've done EVERYTHING that Wal-Mart has to offer. Besides becoming fluent in every department of the entire store, some of my real bitch projects include:

• Operating a Forklift
• Unloading Semi-Trucks
• Building Bikes
• Climbing Up to the Roof to Take Pictures
• Watering Flowers
• Assisting our In-Store Security
• Driving to Iowa in a UHaul
• Working Overnights to Replace Carpets in the store
• Working Overnights to Replace Carpets in other Wal-Mart Stores
• Filling the spot of Department Managers
• Filling the spot of Support Managers
• Filling the spot of Assistant Managers
• Interviewing New Hires

Simply put, if you name it I probably did it and without any sort of pay compensation whatsoever. In fact, now that I think of it, I have to laugh a little because it wasn't until the night I put in my 2-week notice that I was offered my first raise outside of the mandatory minimum wage increases. But, that was then, and I've definitely moved on for the better.

I'd be lying if I said that working for Wal-Mart was the worst experience of my life. While at Wal-Mart I worked with a lot of great people, met a few of my good friends there (one being my now Fiancée Jackie), and learned a lot about life, work-ethic, and responsibility (if that doesn't sound corny).

To wrap up my story, I worked at Wal-Mart through the remainder of High School and then on-through College. During college, I studied in the Graphic Design & Technology field which just so happens to be what led me All Web's doorstep. And, that's that.

What about you? I'd love to hear about your past work experience even if you're not in the search marketing field. What are some of the early jobs of your life?

If you didn't catch Sunday's post, this entire week I'll be posting off topic and about me, my interests, and fun-facts about my life. My goal with these posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun. Without further ado, here's my third post:

Simply put... I am a Grillin' Villain. What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that I very much enjoy outdoor grilling. It is one of my favorite things to do during the spring, summer, and fall months here in Illinois... in fact, so much so that I'd estimate that I grill out about 3 - 4 nights a week during those months.

My grill isn't anything too special. I own a simple Char-Broil Quickset gas grill that I purchased from my local Home Depot (thanks goes out to my friend Greg for the hook-up). It has a double rack and to give you an idea of the grill space, I'd say that it could probably grill about a dozen or so burgers at anyone time.

The picture above is currently the only photo that I have of my grill. I would have taken one tonight however I've already stored it for the winter. So instead, you get this nice picture of my brother Ken, who happens to be stepping in and grilling during mine and Jackie's house warming party this past September. In addition to special occasions such as that, Jackie and I love to host little backyard bar-b-que parties on the 4th of July, Memorial Day, and just about every other weekend during the summer.

Some of my favorite foods to grill are Johnsonville Cheddar Bratwursts and bacon and cheddar Hamburgers as well as BBQ butterfly pork chops from our local HyVee grocery store. To date I've grilled just about everything from Shish Kabobs to Chicken to Salmon steaks to vegetables... you name it and I've probably grilled it, or at least aspired to grill it.

Grilling doesn't just stop at the grill for me. Much like cigars and my other hobbies and interests, I do quite a bit to educate myself on the subject. I am subscribed to a few "Grilling" related newsletters with which provide information on the latest and greatest in grilling techniques and recipes. I also have a few magazines on hand as well as a "how-to" book on grilling.

So, how about you? Do you have an interest in grilling?

If you didn't catch Sunday's post, this entire week I'll be posting off topic and about me, my interests, and fun-facts about my life. My goal with these posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun. Without further ado, here's my second post:

I'm sure some of you are going to find the subject of this post a little... well, there really is no other way to say it but weird, but I thought it would be a great addition to this series.

As the title insists, I have a favorite fork and use that fork in nearly every meal that I eat... certainly every home meal. There's nothing special about this fork... it's not made of gold and wasn't used by the pope or anything like that. In fact, I actually stole it from TGI Friday's a few years back so who knows how many people have used it. Anyway, the reason why it's my favorite fork is simply because it fits me perfectly. It is all that I desire in a fork, and quite frankly I prefer to use whenever possible.

As you can see from the picture above, my fork is silver and has only 3 prongs. In addition to that, it also has a great handle and stem system as well as a very good weight to it which makes it unlike any of the other forks in my silverware drawer.

Now because I have claimed this as my fork, I make it quite known to my family and friends that they aren't to use it... which in its own right has caused a few tiffs here and there. Before I moved out on my own, I was always having to remove it from other people's table settings or stop someone who was using it mid-meal and switch it out. I'm not sure why it bothers me, maybe it's me being anal retentive towards my fork, but that's the way it is.

What makes this whole ordeal a tad bit more interesting is that I actually have a second favorite fork, a back-up if you will, that I use when my primary fork is in the wash. I ended up snagging this fork from an Olive Garden a few months prior to my TGI Friday's fork. My back-up fork is silver, has 4 prongs, has a longer, thicker handle and also has a great weight to it. Oh, and it too is off limits to anyone other than myself.

So what do you think... is that weird?

If you didn't catch yesterday's post, this entire week I'll be posting off topic and about me, my interests, and fun-facts about my life. My goal with these posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun. Without further ado, here's my first post:

As the title above might imply, I am a cigar smoker and have been since I was 18. Well, that's not exactly true. I guess if you count those cherry flavored Swisher Sweets, than I've probably been smoking cigars since I was 17. However, even though I started fairly young, I didn't really consume that many. In the past I'd say that I smoked a cigar once every few months, and that today I am up to one a month with a few minor exceptions such as concurring birthdays, weddings, and other special gatherings.

Smoking cigars for me is a way to unwind and relax... it really is. My absolute favorite place to enjoy my smoke is on my deck especially during the fall months when our Illinois weather is perfect... that is being on the cool side and with a little breeze. I am able to sit, relax, clear my head, and enjoy the scented air.

Some of my current favorite cigars include:

1) Natural by Drew Estate
2) CAO Moontrance
3) Sancho Panza Double Maduro
4) H. Upmann No.1 Reserve
5) Cusano 18 Double Connecticut

I own my very own humidor. It's nothing to grandiose... just a simple box that holds upwards of 200 cigars. And, for the record I've never had anymore than 50 cigars in it at any one time. When I bought it, I bought it with a capacity of 200+ in the event that I found a few styles and brands that I liked and wanted to keep readily available.

As with most cigar smokers, I have a favorite beverage that I like to drink while I'm smoking. For me, there's nothing better than puffing on a corona while sipping a glass of "Jack on the Rocks" (Jack Daniels whiskey and Ice). However, after my last few outings, I'd have to say that "Captain n' Pepsis" (Captain Morgan's Private Stock Rum and Pepsi) are becoming a very close second.

Some cigars that I'd like to try, but have not gotten around to are:

1) Rocky Patel Sun Grown
2) CAO Brasilia
3) Rocky Patel Vintage 1990
4) Gurkha Special Edition
5) Makers Mark

I've tried a variety of Cuban-made cigars, but to be honest I'm not too impressed. In my opinion, they don't quite live up to the hype... although it could also be that I have haven't tried the "right" ones.

Before I wrap this post up there is one thing I really want to touch on and that is I wanted to explain the primary differences between cigarette smoking and cigar smoking... and believe me, there's a major difference between the two. For the record, I do not smoke cigarettes. Now, I don't have a problem with those who do, but cigarette smoking is not for me. In my opinion, cigarette smoking is an addiction, while cigar smoking is a hobby.

I'm sure there are a few of you readers who disagree with me (maybe some that spit on the idea), but that's my take on the two. As a cigar smoker, I invest hours of my time reading and researching the many different brands, styles, shapes, and sizes. I will almost never buy a cigar without first doing my homework on it or at least getting someone in the know to recommend it. And, I would never purchase an entire box without first sampling one. Cigars can be expensive, and I for one hate to waste money on something I'm not going to enjoy.

Once I've purchased cigars, the next step is to store them. As I mentioned above I have humidor. Cigar storing isn't just dropping them into a box and picking them out whenever you get the urge to smoke. A humidor needs to be prepped, seasoned, and then maintained so that it keeps cigars at the appropriate humidity levels. Should the humidity drop in your box, your cigars will become very dry and crack. On the flip side, if the humidity is too high, you run the risk of over-hydrating them which in turn could cause cigar beetles to hatch (not a good thing by any means). The ideal humidity level is somewhere between 65% and 75%. A 10% drop or increase in humidity could actually lead to a ruined batch of stogies... thus a waste of money.

Another element of cigar smoking is that it's actually better for cigars if they spend a few weeks, months, or even years in a humidor. Much like wine, cigars only get better with age. The oldest cigar I currently have in my box is right around 7 months old. I actually have a few of them and so by the time I get to the last one I'm guessing that it'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 years old. In fact, my goal is to get to the point where every cigar I smoke is at least 5 years old... but that would take a lot of time and planning on my part.

Going back to my original statement on cigarettes vs. cigars, I've never once seen or heard of a cigarette smoker put in as much time, money, and effort into enhancing their smoking experience. A cigarette smoker will buy the very same carton of smokes every week, and light one up several times a day. I on the other hand will will buy a box of cigars today, only to prep them for an entire year just so that I can enjoy them on my deck next fall... and that my friends is why cigars are a hobby.

And that's that. If you happen to be one that enjoys cigars, please feel free to comment and recommend your favorite smoke. One of my favorite parts about the whole cigar smoking experience is trying other people's favorites.

As a blogger in the search marketing field, I often at times question whether or not a personal post or one that is off-topic of search marketing is appropriate for my readers. It's a tough call really. I've always read (from other industry Bloggers) that the best way to build, and thus maintain, a readership is to always post on topic. That of course makes sense, right? I mean those who've subscribed either by feed or by email are mainly interested in my thoughts on search marketing, and not so much on life, religion, politics, or anything else.

However, in that same regard and what makes this an ongoing debate for me is that a blog, by sheer nature, is a medium that empowers personality. I mean the reason you're reading this right now is because you either a) know me personally, b) want to know me personally, or c) enjoy my personal "call it as I see it" attitude towards search marketing. The common denominator thus being "personal". One could easily get their SEM fix by reading any one of the other 500 blogs currently in circulation, but my readers choose the Klog blog because of me.

I believe it's very important for authors of industry-focused blogs to understand the kinds of people reading their writing. It makes sense right... the more you know about your audience the better you can target your messages to them. However, the same can and should be applied for readers. The more information readers understand about the authors they read, the better they'll grasp the ideas and viewpoints behind each post... which leads me to this week.

Having an understanding of this, it makes perfect sense for me to include personal stories and details about my life in my writing. Not only are they accepted (because this is a blog, and again blogs are personable by nature), but they're also desired.

This week I've decided to step back from my SEM podium, and instead share with you all a series of posts regarding me, my personal interests, and a few not-so-public facts about my life. Now, just to forewarn everybody, don't expect me to expose my deepest, darkest life secrets because that's not what this is about. My goal with these next few posts is to simply provide readers with a better understanding of the kind of person I am outside of the search marketing space, and to have a little fun as well. And, just for the record, I won't be writing about my love for video games, wrestling, or my girlfriend fiancée Jackie as these areas have already been well documented throughout this blog. This will all be new stuff and hopefully a lot of fun. Stay tuned!

#### UPDATE ####

Monday: I Smoke Cigars
Tuesday: I Have A Favorite Fork
Wednesday: I am a Grillin Villain
Thursday: I Worked at Wal-Mart
Friday: I Play Poker

Much like a programmer who spends his days working out the bugs and kinks in his (or her) newest web 2.0 community or social networking site, I've been doing pretty much the same in the offline world with my 7+ year project dubbed "Jackie".

I first started project "Jackie" on October 27th of 2000 and have thus far found it to be a very rewarding experience. In fact, it's been so rewarding that after 7 years of extensive Beta-testing, I now believe it's time to move this project into the next phase. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you "Jackie Version 1.0" or, as the non-geeks of the world refer to it as... my fiancée.

A Photo of Jackie and I (Pre-Engagement)

A Photo of Jackie's Engagement Ring (so hard to photograph)

In all seriousness, words can not express how much I love Jackie or how much she really means to me. She is the perfect person for me... my counter-part if you will. She's a fun, loving, and very supportive person, and I am truly blessed to even have her in my life not to mention to be marring her. We've shared so many great experiences from birthdays and holidays to anniversaries and vacations, and I certainly look forward to a life-time of great times together.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how I "popped the question" or at least that seems to be the popular question these days from friends, family, and coworkers. Well, I can promise you it was anything as cool as say Barry's proposal on Ask.com or Rand's TV proposal during the Super Bowl / Veronica Mars, but it was certainly meaningful and special to Jackie and I. I proposed to her on the night of our 7th year anniversary at exactly (and I mean down to the foot prints) the same place I asked her to be my girlfriend. The extra added catch was that, unbenounced to her (however, she did realize it at the end); we reenacted our first few dates together the nights prior to our anniversary therefore making it a very special week for us.

As far as the wedding goes, we are still ironing out the traditional details as where and when... but I'm confident in saying that we'll have a good portion of our wedding plans put together by Thanksgiving - at least that is the game plan thus far.

Does anyone have a clue as to what's going on with Microsoft's Live Search URL Submission form? The web address is live and the page loads perfectly, but the form seems to be broken. In fact, when trying to submit a website for inclusion, the form displays the following error: "Please enter a valid URL with the format: http://www.example.com". Obviously, I've quadruple checked my submission and have ruled out the possibility of there being a URL format problem.

I just wanted to see if anyone else was experiencing this same problem. I've already checked around on a few of the forums that I participate on, but the subject doesn't appear to have a thread.