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HatBait - All For Fun, & Fun For All - We Have a Winner

By Li Evans

So after some later day votes came in, we have a winner who pulled ahead out of the 3 man race.  *Drum Rolls*

Karl Ribas with 18 votes!

I don't know how many of you know Karl, I didn't before Chicago SES, but I'm very delighted to have met him.  Karl works for allWebPromotion, and his boss Michael Reobuck is most responsible for him winning Hatbait.  Michael sent out the link to both employees and clients and encouraged them to help Karl out by voting for him.

I got to talking to Karl while at SES over the few days we were there, he's got this pretty neat blog you should all check out, he calls it the "Klog" blog.  Like those garden gnomes that go traveling and get pictures taken lots of places - the Klog does the same.  It's pretty neat to see the where the Klog's been!

I also have a quote from him .... one I got a chuckle out of.  Karl noticed who all voted for him and said this "Oh… there’s one from Lisa Barone! wooohhhiiieee!"

We had a great runner up - Neil Patel (the princess), the SMO Guru from Crazy Egg and Pronet Advertising, but I have a really special post coming up a little later on just for him.  He was just so cute with that crown and light up wand!

I'll be doing a wrap up post about all this.  There's been controversy, but I hope above all everyone had FUN with this, that was the point - FUN.  The hats were silly for a purpose - not only did it get a conversation started with each and every one of you, but it made people have a bit of fun in a really silly way and everyone one needs to be silly once and a while!  Again - congrats to Karl!!

And go learn more about him at his blog! :)

HatBait Voting - 3 Way Race!

By Li Evans

So, with a day left to go in HatBait voting - there's a three way race going on, and it can be anyone's contest to win!  Neil Patel, of Pronet Advertising started out strong (awwwh he looks so cute with his wand and crown!), but Karl Ribas of allWebPromotion has squeaked ahead by one vote (at least by my counting). Then in a late rally, Chris "Silver" Smith from Superpages.com has built up a pretty good stack of votes too!

AussieWebmaster also is quietly (maybe not so quietly) sneaking up there too.

Make sure to cast your vote for HatBait before tomorrow at 9 p.m. EST on THIS HATBAIT VOTING POST.  Remember anyone can vote!  So get your coworkers to vote, your neighbors - heck even your gramma! ;)

Here's our current top vote getters (click for a larger view):

Vote For Your Favorite HatBait Picture

By Li Evans

Alright folks - voting starts now!  I'll close out the voting at 9 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, December 13, 2006, winner announced on Friday, December 15, 2006.  Anyone can vote - it isn't just limited to the people on the list - so here's how to vote:

UPDATE:  VOTING IS NOW CLOSED - RESULTS COMING SHORTLY!

Voting is by comment (there is moderation on comments to prevent spam), please leave the following information in a comment:

• Number the picture is on the list
• Name of person
• One vote per comment, if there are two listed, only the first listed gets counted
• You can vote for yourself (but don't vote for yourself multiple times!)

There are a few people who have two, feel free to vote for either, people with two hatbait pictures will count towards the same person.  If you would like to add a comment onto your vote, feel free!  If there's enough comments on the picture, perhaps will bestow an "honorary" HatBait.com award .... like "Most Tortured HatBait Participant", or most "OxyMoronic HatBait Picture".  So now, without further delay, here's the list, vote away!

1. David Temple - SEM SEO Certification & Training & China Search Marketing Tour
2. Kim Krause Berg - Cre8pc on Usability & Holistic SEO
3. Jeremy Shoemaker - Shoemoney.com
4. Todd Malicoat - Stuntdubl Business Search Marketing Consulting
5. Cameron Othluis - Pronet Advertising & Crazy Egg
6. Neil Patel - Pronet Advertising & Crazy Egg
7. Eric Berg - Cre8pc on Usability & Holistic SEO
8. Loren Baker - Search Engine Journal
9. Removed per request
10. Rand Fishkin - SEOmoz.org
11. Andrea Shoemaker - Planet Andrea
12. Rebecca Kelley - SEOmoz.org
13. Lee Odden - TopRank Online Marketing & TopRank Blog
14. AussieWebmaster aka Frank Watson - Forex Capital Markets
15. Sara Holoubek
16. Chris Boggs - Avenue A / Razor Fish
17. David Wallace - SearchRank
18. Irma Wallace - SearchRank
19. Rob Nickell
20. Bruce Clay - Bruce Clay, Inc.
21. Lisa Barone - Bruce Clay, Inc.
22. Karl Ribas - allWebPromotion & KarlRibas.com (he's got a combination FIREFOX hat  & the jester hat)
23. Justilien Gaspard - Justilien.com
24. Cameron Othluis - Pronet Advertising & Crazy Egg
25. Jonathan Hochman - JE Hochman & Associates, LLC
26. Irrrrrma Wallace (with a Russian accent even) - SearchRank
27. Mike Grehan (that's his own authentic russian hat) - Mike Grehan says...
28. Pavel Medvedev (I didn't get his card)
29. H.L. Devore - Prudent Publishing
30. David Naylor (aka DaveN) - Dave's Blog
31. Rob Kerry (aka evilgreenmonkey) - PartyGaming & Search Market Pro
32. Dan Theis - SEO Research Labs
33. Matt McGee - Small Business SEM
34. Geoggrey Shenk - Double Click
35. Matt Bailey (pic is blurry there's a better one later on) - Web Site Accessiblity Blog
36. Barry Schwartz (pic is blurry :(  ) - Search Engine Roundtable & RustyBrick
37. Joe Dolson (pic is blurry but there's a better pic later) - JoeDolson.com
38. Eric Enge - Stone Temple Consulting
39. Andrew Rodrigues - Geary Interactive
40. Jamie Crosson - BusinessOL
41. Phil Mayer - It was hard enough getting this guy to give me his name I've got no clue who he works for!
42. Dave Reidy - MUDD Advertising (he'll donate the prize to a charity for animals)
43. Darryl King - ireckon
44. Andy Steggles - sitePRTracker
45. Rob Kerry (being tortured by many hats) - PartyGaming & Search Market Pro
46. Daron Babin - WebmasterRadio.fm
47. Joe Morin - Joe Morin Travels
48. Jill Whalen - High Rankings
49. Alan Perkins - Silver Disc
50. Ward Tongen - Ward's Moblog
51. Thomas McMahon - TopRank Online Marketing & TopRank Blog
52. Chris Allen - Life In Barcelona
53. Benjamin Lipsman -
54. Alan Rimm-Kaufman - The Rimm-Kaufman Group
55. H.L. Devore - Prudent Publishing
56. Larry Mersman - Trellian - Keyword Discovery
57. Hilton Rutgers - Trellian - Keyword Discovery
58. Paul Slack - WebDex
59. Jake Bailie - TrueLocal
60. Vince Filby - TrueLocal & vfilby's blog
61. Chris Robertson - TrueLocal
62. Rand Fishkin - SEOmoz.org
63. Eddie (sorry the pic is blurry :( ) - WebmasterRadio.fm
64. Caleb chase  (sorry the pic is blurry :( ) - eComXpo
65. Thomas Oliver - Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions
66. Jason Dujardin-Terry (yes that's a plastic frisbee as a hat!) - Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions
67. Kunal Das - Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions
68. Bernard Ablola - - Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions & Ablola
69. Jim Hedger - Markland Media
70. Matt Bailey - Web Site Accessiblity Blog
71. Andy Beal - Marketing Pilgrim
72. Shari Thurow - Grantastic Designs
73. Marilyn - Search Engine Strategies / Insicive Media
74. Stewart Queley - Search Engine Strategies / Insicive Media
75. Danny Sullivan - Search Engine Land
76. Vanessa Fox - Google Webmaster Central
77. Chris "Silver" Smith - Natural Search Blog & SuperPages.com
78. Joe Dolson - JoeDolson.com
79. Marie Howell - Bruce Clay, Inc
80. Meg - Network Solutions, Inc.
81. Amanda Watlington - Searching For Profit
82. Frank Watson (aka Aussie Webmaster) - Forex Capital Markets
83. Martin Murray - Interactive Return
84. Jeffery Rohrs - Optiem, LLC
85. Heather Frahm - Catalyst on-line
86. Michael Roebuck - allWebPromotion
87. Melissa Wagner - Webside Story
88. Todd Freisan - Oilman
89. Troy Ireland - Text Link Brokers
90. Jarrod Hunt - Text Link Brokers
91. Michael McDonad - Web Pro News
92. SEO Fan Girl(Ylayn) - Men of SEO
93. Brian Mark - ToolBarn.com
94. Ethan Griffin - Allegis Group
95. Chris Sherman - Search Engine Land & SearchWise
96. Grant Crowell - Grantastic Designs
97. Detlev Johnson - Position Technologies 
98. Christine Churchill - Key Relevance
99. Rebecaa Ryan - Trellian - Keyword Discovery
100. Rachel Farnam
101. Kevin Gottesman - Donordigital
102. Emmitt & Jennifer Laycock - Search Engine Guide

Wow There's a Lot of HatBait Pictures

By Li Evans

I didn't realize how many pictures I actually took at the conference for HatBait.  There's well over 100, and I just started on making a grid so people can understand which ones to vote for.  It's going to take me some time to get it together, so look for voting to start on Sunday.  Meanwhile enjoy the Hatbait Pictures!

Controversy In HatBait Land

By Li Evans

Apparently, I've upset Chris Hooley with my HatBait fun, for that I deeply apologize.  Some people have come up to him and said I cheapened and made his "DrinkBait" spammy.

I will admit, the name I idea I took from him.  Its easy to remember and it explains it exactly as it is.  For anyone else who'd like to know I also own SESHatProject.com and HatProject.com, because I had this idea which I thought would be FUN, I wanted something to make it easy to remember, and bounced the names off my coworkers and HatBait won.

There was no "spam" intended, there was no "copying" intended, and if people wanted to link to what I did - GREAT!  I did not ask for anything in return accept a business card so I can actually link back to  that person's blog or company.  I'm also offering up the chance to win a Gift Certificate in exchange.

I was also hoping it would help to build some steam for Chris' next fun and exciting idea - whatever that would be.  Unfortunately he did not see it that way because of the messages he got.  I guess people will be people - there was no harm intended, in fact I was only hoping to do good for Chris in the end.

By approaching everyone - not just the "well known folks", I wanted to make more people aware of the great ideas Chris comes up with.  The hats - were not his idea (if you know Chris, hats just aren't his thing) - they were mine, the contest was mine, linking back to folks was mine.  The concept - was totally and undeniable Chris Hooley's, the guy is a great out of the box thinker.  I just modified the idea to try and include everyone else and put a different spin on it to make it fun for everyone.

So, for the concept of HatBait, please thank Chris Hooley.  And again, Chris, I apologize and hope you continue with your crazy fun ideas.

SES Chicago '06 Ends, But The Memories and HATBAIT Remain!

By Li Evans

After a bit of wrangling around with flights (I saw Shoemoney at the airport too, he was having some of the same issues), canceled, delayed, waiting for those jetty walkway things to attach to the plane, waiting for the shuttle to the parking lot .... I made it home.  Philly was a bit warmer than Chicago (thankfully!), however it is flurrying here, like it was in Chicago last night.  I think the snow must like me and followed me here!

Annnnnnnnnnnnyway, I rounded out the morning with the "Meet the Crawlers" session and I'm so glad I did, I got a few more pictures and I got to meet Emmitt Laycock, Jenn's beautiful baby boy.  I added a few pictures from the panel and a few more HatBait pictures.  You know they say "save the best for last", the very last picture of the group (which is the feature picture on the HatBait link on the right) is just so cute.

I plan to do a wrap up post tomorrow about my wonderful time with all my great friends.  I met so many new people this time around, and it was a lot of fun working on HatBait.  I'm going to hopefully have a post up tomorrow night to explain the voting and who is which picture so you can vote.  I'm thinking since there was quite a few great ideas and photos I'll put together categories and have a winner for each, and then an overall winner.  The overall will win the $25.00 gift card/certificate.

I hope all of you had a great time and took away a lot of new ideas.  I know I have at least 20 things buzzing around this head of mind that I'll be even more "wired" than normal when I head into the office tomorrow.  Yes, that is possible - and it's all without caffeine! ;)

So Why is Search Marketing Gurus Doing HatBait?

By Li Evans

Hatbait has been a lot of fun so far.  I actually am having people come up to me and ask to have their pictures taken for Hatbait.  However, the question I get the most here at SES Chicago is "Why are you doing Hatbait.com?"

Girl Scout's honor - it is all for fun.  I love meeting people and this gives me a great way to introduce myself and get to meet new and interesting people I might never had had the opportunity to meet before.  By meeting people I learn so much, and then I file that information away to possible contact them for projects later in the future. 

There is the notion of "LinkBait", of course that will happen, but that's not the real reason behind this fun little project.  I noticed a long time ago that pictures are items that are highly trafficked on in websites and blogs.  The pictures I have from SES San Jose, had a lot of traffic and it also exposed people to Search Marketing Gurus, people learned about this blog and have kept coming back.

Whether there will be lasting affects, that will eventually be discovered.  It is certainly going to make for a great case study.  What I as a blogger deem as a success, might be different than a normal client.  Don't worry though, I'll make sure to share my key findings with the Search Marketing Gurus audience.

Oh and the $25.00 gift certificate - it will be one of those visa/mastercard gift cards that the winner can choose to use any where. Check out the link to the right, there's new pictures added!

SES Chicago Begins

By Li Evans

So this morning SES Chicago begins.  I caught up with a few folks last night to chat about what all we've been doing since San Jose.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of laughs were had.

I managed to kick off HatBait as well - and a lot of people are having fun with it!  We've had people invent their own hats, put a different spin on the ones I have and we even had non-conference goers supply us with homemade ones!  I'll be adding more as I get them into the HatBait photo album.  There's one person from last night who's business card I lost, so Justin (I think that's his name!  guy with reindeer and fishing hat on) email me, please!

I also have started a regular album of "Non-HatBait" photos.  I have to give a shout out to David Temple (who's a great guy!) for taking some of the pictures last night, he did a great job.  All picture links are on the right hand side go ahead and take a gander at the fun that's being had.

So if you see me wandering around with my back pack and my camera stop me and say "I want in on HatBait!"

Introducing HatBait!

By Li Evans

So I'm hear in Chicago safe and somewhat sound.  After a long exhausting dash through the Detroit airport to catch my connecting flight and a somewhat long van ride to the Hilton I'm here. 

Now you are all wondering what this "HatBait" is all about. Well along the lines of SMG's Chris Hooley's Drinkbait, instead of liquor bottles I've come to Chicago with all these different hats.... White Hats, Black Hats, Grey Hats and more.  The plan is to photograph as many people as I can with whatever hat they choose.  Trust me, there are some really funny ones in the mix!

I will post them as I get them, then come Friday after returning from SES I will put it out to the audience to vote who's got the best "HatBait Photo".  The winner (as long as I have their contact information) will win a $25 gift card courtesy of Search Marketing Gurus.

So..... if you are here at SES in Chicago and you want to get into HatBait, track me down!