Let's be honest, if you're not physically out the door for the Memorial weekend holiday, your brain probably hit the road 30 minutes ago. If you are still around, then today's Picks will help pass the time until 5pm: Google's Larry Page paid a visit to Washington in an attempt to convince lawmakers to free up the unused wireless spectrum known as "white spaces." If you're build a messaging tool, wouldn't you use "messaging" technology? Yeah, me to. Apparently,

If you're reading this, it's probably Friday. And that's always a reason to celebrate! A little perspective on mobile marketing from executives: they told Reuters that Mobile ads are years away from breakthrough . Be a bit reassuredthese were advertising and telecom execs, not the ones who would be authorizing payment on mobile campaigns. though I'm not sure that's a good thing. Microsoft/Live doesn't want to be left behind, though,

First launched nearly three months ago as part of Google Apps, Google Sites was Google's rebranding of JotSpot. Late yesterday, Google Sites, designed to allow users to easily create and edit websites, launches for all : Now we've made it easy for anyone to set up a website to share all types of information " team projects, company intranets, community groups, classrooms, clubs, family updates, you name it " in one place, for a few people, a group or the world.

I spend a good part of my day thinking about and advising clients about how to increase their search engine rankings. InternetRetailer reported on ways to optimize your web site . These tips come from speakers at the ACCM direct-marketing industry conference and trade show in Orlando, FL. I've also added my commentary and extra detail. Update your web site with good, new content. Search engine web crawlers constantly check for new content on your web site.

Today's Pilgrim's Picks come directly from my shared items on Google Reader. Among the great news items, you'll find many from YOU, our awesome readers ! Pilgrim's Update: Are you the next Danny Sullivan, Rand Fishkin, or Andy Beal? Enter Marketing Pilgrim's Search Engine Marketing Scholarship Contest and you could become the next big name in search!

Whenever I discuss being Radically Transparent , I refer to my "Three Simple Words" approach to remembering how to react to a reputation crisis . Sincerity, Transparency, and Consistency )see bottom of post for full explanation(. Today, I found that the guys over at Twitter are well on their way to following this approach. After suffering, what feels like, daily downtime, the Twitter team posted an open and honest explanation .

It appears Google CEO Eric Schmidt is laying the foundation early to deflect any talk of an antitrust challenge, should it form a partnership with rival Yahoo. When asked about the potential for an antitrust challenge Schmidt told the New York Times: "We would anticipate structuring a deal to address antitrust concerns." The big question isn't really whether a deal between Yahoo and Google is anticompetitive. Nope,

You love Marketing Pilgrim, right? You'd like to see us continue to bring you the latest marketing news smothered with opinion and analysis, right? Then, please consider these fantastic advertisers who help us keep the lights on each month. Freshbooks - the painless billing solution for professional invoices, time tracking, and expense tracking. Sponsored Reviews - bloggers earn cash for reviewing products and services . Advertisers build buzz and links for your web site.

Time's running out, if you want to enter our SEM writing contest and become the next big name in search engine marketing! Entries for our 3rd Annual SEM Scholarship Contest close on Friday. So, if you want to submit your article you'd better get a move on. Just 400 words is all you need to enter and you could win a prize package worth around $15,000! Full entry details and rules can be found here . Good luck!

Come on, you know you have those Facebook friends whose profile pages look like their MySpace exploded: their profile takes forever to load, their page is six "page downs" long )well, longer, but you've never actually made it to the bottom( and they never met an app they didn't like. Well, Facebook is trying to do something about that. Facebook has announced that they'll be redesigning the layout and functionality of their profile pages. The new profile pages,

Today's Picks rock! That's all the introduction they need. You asked for it and, 30+ months later, Techmeme finally delivers a search tool . Is PageRank sculpting-via nofollow-real or rumor? Myself and others weigh-in . You can now read Google News as a layer in Google Earth . Did Senator Barack Obama use online ads to help win the nomination in North Carolina's primary? Yahoo builds the world's first "petabyte" SQL database. "We are not bidding to buy Yahoo,

Over at the Official Google Blog, search quality tzar Udi Manber peels back the curtain covering Google's coveted search engine technology, and provides us a peak of what's been happening recently . It's a long post, so here are the snippets that caught my attention: We also need to understand the queries people pose, which are on average fewer than three words, and map them to our understanding of all documents PageRank is still in use today,

After failing to acquire Yahoo, and likely not to get Facebook either, Microsoft has decided to run with a search model that saw the likes of iWon.com dominate Google for all these years-incentivized search. Oh wait, we got that last part wrong. iWon probably has less market share than RedZee at this point, and pretty much proved that bribing people to use your search engine, doesn't really work. You see, if the search engine is crap, no amount of bribing will help.

Apparently, "Things continue to be busy here at Yahoo!, and not just because of any on-again/off-again courtship by a company from a rainy land." Yahoo announced yesterday a few minor adjustments in their Sponsored Search program. Among the changes: Status for offline objects )campaign, ad group, keyword, etc.( displays in red. Objects that are online are displayed in blue or black letters.

We now return to the Young and the Profitless ' Apparently Nick got tired of waiting around for Stacey to wise up and Brad to stop using their friendship, and he's going his own route. That's right, Nick News Corp is ready to take on Internet advertising on its own with the launch of its niche ad network this week. The ad network, Worthnet.Fox, is designed to appeal to "a growing class of executives who spend time in myriad global regions,

If you're on a social networking site, chances are you have less than 100 friends. If you have thousands, you're not only in the minority, but you're probably male. According to a large study of people with at least one friend on a social networking site, men have more friends than women . Men and women also seem to be motivated by different values. That's the conclusion of a study by Rapleaf of 30.74 million social networkers.

You know the drill. I link to the news that "also ran" today, while you pick and choose which to read. Sound good? Couldn't make yesterday's Google Factory Tour? Don't worry, Marissa Mayer has posted a summary of the day's announcements . Anything major announced? Google Health finally launched-complete with privacy concerns . Maybe Facebook isn't selling to Microsoft- or anyone for that matter . Google's hoping to better serve Russian searchers .

It's like I've always said. This "internet" is just a fad that will never catch on. Err, wait. Some people actually believe that? Well, if a new survey from Parks Associates , there's a huge slice of Americans that haven't embraced the web yet. Take a look at this chart' OK, so the data is slightly skewed-half of those that have never used email are over 65-but it's still kind of startling.

Have you ever thought about the enormous amount of data your broadband internet provider could collect from you? The sites you visit, your spending habits, even which products seem to catch you eye. Well, with online advertising's $45 billion yearly budget going mostly to the likes of Google, your broadband provider is getting tired of being left out of the party. What's to stop Charter Communications from monitoring all of your web activity,

Jerry Yang has just been handed a golden parachute. Don't know what a golden parachute is? Here's the Wikipedia definition: A golden parachute is a contractual agreement between a company and an employee )usually an upper executive( specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if the employee is terminated. What's different about the golden parachute handed to Yang? It didn't come from anyone at Yahoo. Nope,