• by Rob Garner , June 4, 2008

Since its inception, I've been a fairly regular reader of Sphinn, the social news site for search engine marketers.  For those not familiar with how social news sites like digg or Sphinn work, headlines are posted on the front page based on their ability to hit popular critical mass, as determined by their respective community.  So theoretically, the most popular, interesting, newsworthy, and buzziest stories get the most visibility. 

Recently, there was an interesting analysis on Sphinn revealing that there are over 12,000 members, of which about 750 active users are driving most of the headlines.  The threshold for a front-page news story is about 25 to 30 votes in the course of a 48-hour period.  Here is a sampling of what was at the top of Sphinn yesterday evening:

Are SEO Forums Still Needed? 22 sphinns.

Developing Tactical Knowledge on Social Media Websites: A Three-Part Strategy for DIY Marketers 35 sphinns.

Top 3 Unsung SEO Heroes of 2008. 45 sphinns.

Press Releases: Which Of These Rookie Mistakes Are You Making?.  37 sphinns.

How Search Engine Marketing Can Save the Economy. 36 sphinns.

What If SEO / Search Had Action Figures - Part Deux.  50 sphinns.

While the more popular items are generally skewed toward a member's own content (which is often good content that might otherwise be missed in the sea of available SEM content), I think there is a missed opportunity at Sphinn to provide more emphasis on stories important to the entire SEM community at large -- a one-stop hub for the most important search stories of the day, if you will.    

Lately I've started a few threads for stories I think should be on my ideal search headline page.  But "what I like" and what I think is important are usually distinctly different from the stories that end up on the home page;  unless I get in to promote the story, it won't make the front page.  But I'm not Paul Revere for major news publications, so I won't go out requesting votes from other members. 

If a peer-based news community is truly going to thrive as a quality news source, then the cream has to naturally rise to the top, as it reflects the interest of its members, without promotion.  There are many, many smart and active SEMs on Sphinn, and that's why I think it has as much of a shot as any social news site on the planet for setting the standard of social news in a specific vertical.

So here are a few stories that didn't make the front page of Sphinn, but ones that I found to be interesting, relevant and informative to a variety search engine marketing interests (all links go directly to the Sphinn story page featuring the article link). 

First preview of Google's Android phone.  Big news from the Google folks.  Source story at timesonline.co.uk. 

Google tweaked search 450 times in 2007.  Proof positive of why natural search optimizers should always be on their toes.  From CNET. 

comScore: Google Gets High Again In US Search Share.  Danny Sullivan's analysis of Google's increase in share, via comScore data, which puts them  at 61.6%, Yahoo at 20.4%, Microsoft at 9.1%, AOL at 4.6%, and Ask at 4.3%.  Search Engine Land. 

Internet Users Read with a Grain of Salt.  Emarketer makes it official.  Don't go getting a big head just because you have a blog. 

Google Surpasses Supercomputer Community, Unnoticed?.  Google is not getting the respect it deserves from the Supercomputing Community.  Nice write-up at Circle ID on a story I did not find anywhere else. 

Support Google's drive for disaster relief in Myanmar.   I still think this one deserves a front-page hit, and for a good cause.  Links to the Google Checkout donation page, which sends funds directly to UNICEF and Direct Relief International. 

Getting The Most Out Of A Search Marketing Conference. Good article by Carfax SEM manager Andrea Harris on how to gain extra value from attending a search marketing conference, published at Sphinn's sister site, Search Engine Land. 

Surprisingly, the quality commentary by all of the writers at Search Insider and MediaPost is all but ignored at Sphinn.  Perhaps you, the readers, and the editors at MediaPost can change that by enabling voting features, and getting active in the community.