Online Marketing Blog

SES San Jose is done and I mean done for good. The recent conference finished up last Thursday (with post conference training on Friday) and next year, SES will return to its roots in San Francisco. I think this is a great move for many reasons, but more about that later.

During SES  I presented a half day DMA workshop on incorporating SEO into social media efforts, moderated a ClickZ panel on real-time marketing, presented link building tips on a blog & feed SEO panel and participated on a discussion panel about white hat & black hat social media with Dave Evans as moderator and panelists:  Beth Harte, Chris Bennett and Dave Snyder.

Black hat techniques have long been criticized in search marketing. Some claim that these black hat practices have quietly been practiced in social media for years.  Others claim that black hat and white hat are meaningless terms altogether.

With the rise in popularity of social media among larger audiences, the idea of black hat practices are being called into question.  Where will the lines between white hat and black hat be drawn?  Is it even possible to do this?

There are dangers for both companies and individuals who engage the social web with unethical or black hat practices, and can include such risks as loss of reputation, banning from web services/networks and even PR backlash.