SEO critic Jason Calacanis may have to backtrack from his old opinions. After he accepted a challenge from Neil Patel over optimizing the Calacanis web site to receive more search engine traffic, Patel’s first efforts have yielded a twenty-one percent increase. Patel said on his blog that only about ten percent of the changes he wants to make have been put in place, and anticipates a fifty percent traffic boost when he is finished.

Blogger Kathy Sierra has canceled her appearance at the e-Tech conference in San Diego due to death threats. Graphic violent images and threats started appearing on her blog and another one run by people she said have been critical of her and other prominent bloggers like Robert Scoble. Sierra said, “I do not want to be part of a culture where this is done not by some random person, but by some of the most respected people in the tech blogging world.” Police are investigating.

If you need a job, you need an identity on the Web. ComputerWorld cited a pair of surveys where many recruiters and hiring managers use search engines to find out more about job candidates. Some also use social networking sites to screen people too. Marketing pro Andy Beal suggested people should buy their domain name, know what’s on Google about their names, and own their personal brands as much as possible.

Topix CEO Rich Skrenta said that although “Our entire industry is scared witless by Google’s dominance in search and advertising,” it is possible to compete with them in search as a sub-segment of the Internet market. Skrenta emphasized simplicity and said anyone battling with Google for search should “forget about asking users to do anything besides typing two words into a box.”

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