Black Board Friday: Walk This Way

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Where were you when Run-DMC and Aerosmith destroyed all previous conceived ideas of what Rock and Hip-Hop music should be? What did you think when you heard the boom of the kick drum, slap of the snare and the classic Rock guitar riff that makes “Walk This Way” an instant classic? And how does this tie into Search? Stick with me an you will find out!

This Black Board Friday is dedicated to a very specific and easy lesson I learned about taking a chance and walking a certain fine line that very few people ever attempt and having a bit of respect for those who came before me.

People that I personally know in this industry who are successful at what they do be it SEO, SEM or Affiliate Marketing have taken the time to find out just how far the envelope can be pushed and stretched in their industry.

For example when I was at WebGuerrilla/3DogMedia working for Greg Boser I saw first hand how Greg not only walked to the very edge of the SEO line but sometimes took huge leaps over the line and redefined new boundaries. People who are not experienced enough would see this as high-risk and are quick to label as “black hat” strategies what is in reality a very calculated strategy based on years of experience. How do I know this? I have been on the loosing end to many times when betting against Greg Boser’s ability to calculate not only what day but the hour of which a specific client would hit the front page of Google.

Several other people in the industry like Graywolf, Rae Hoffman and Shoemoney are all successful examples of individuals who understand where the line is drawn and when they can at times set a new boundary. Although on their blogs they explain what they do in a funny, humble or controversial way, make no mistake that what they decide to share with their blog readers comes from putting in a ton of work hours, experience and is most likely only the tip of the iceberg.

Personally I enjoy walking the line, testing new ideas and reading posts from the people mentioned above along with a couple of others like Eli at BlueHatSeo.com and 5ubliminal at Tellinya.com. Both of these blogs not only are great resources for describing methods that push boundaries but also provide great code snippets to test for yourself.

Constantly learning about new strategies and applying them in one way, shape or form is the only way to stay on top of your field. Knowledge is like having a ticket for a roller coaster but experience is having gone on the ride and walking away knowing every twist and turn on the track. The question to ask yourself is once you have your ticket, can you stomach the ride?

Aerosmith and Run-DMC made history by pushing the first Hip-Hop song to the Top 10 on the Billboard singles chart that revived Aerosmiths popularity and pushed Run-DMC to the mainstream. They had put egos aside and with an open mind combined two styles to create a tremendous success of which nobody dared to try previously and was consistently copied afterwards.

In closing here are a few questions to ask yourself with an open mind. Are you willing to “Walk This Way” when it comes to your industry or profession? Are you willing to gain knowledge and experience first hand and push the limits, drawing new boundaries in your space? Or will you sit idle pretending to be a professional in your industry trying to mimic what 99 percent of what everyone else is doing hoping for success?