NEVER JET HOT

Microsoft is coming out with a search engine with a different kind of algorithm which is apparently more oriented toward helping make decisions (As opposed to just looking up specific facts) They call it Bing.com - I'm sure the Crosby family is regretting having passed on that one. Wonder how long Microsoft has been sitting on that sweet and short domain name? It seems all the good domain names are taken or being sat on. This is how we wound up with TheRestlessMouse.com - It's ridiculously long. By the time people type in the domain name, they are sick of typing and too finger-pooped to order anything. But I digress. Hopefully BING* will take a large chunk out of the Google machine. They are getting to be a bit big for their britches. (* I believe that's an acronym; BING= Bill's Internet Navigation Gadget)

We finally had a google page rank of 1 for NoveltyTradingPost.com, now I see it has gone away. I have a few theories about what I may have done to cause them to punish this site, but you know what Google? You and I are through. I have a day job, I don't have to worry about making money on the novelty business, it's basically a hobby and a learning experience anyway. Getting tired of you and your little unexplained snits. Jeeves will show you the door.

I don't understand why some web stores pay to advertise keywords, but then make it hard for the customer to buy. For instance, "Magnetic dog Note Pad". I click the link (They pay maybe a quarter or fifty cents right there?) Then I am taken to a page with dog note pads, starting with Akita, but I am looking for West Highland White Terriers - guess what page Westie note pads are on? I don't know, it only shows five. So I click "show all" and wait. Now, this does not "whet my appetite", it's just annoying. Ultimately, I won't pay $19 and shipping, maybe sales tax, for this item, they don't even look like Westies, at least not like the one that is sleeping under my desk. Even still, A page with tiny pictures in an index might have worked better? We need some sort of psychic google; and don't think they aren't feverishly working on that.

I see Novelty Trading Post is #1 on the google search for "Lunchtime Spinner" However- I wonder if being #1 is a good idea - When I search for something at Google, I usually scroll down a little bit - For some reason I always suspect that the top few positions were outfits that were obsessed with SEO and more specifically, Google positioning... So they probably don't have their eye on the ball, which is great service and customer satisfaction.. What do you think? Discuss.

Gee, maybe somebody should write a book, "Easy ways out"... I way trying to find an easy way to do something or another, I forget what, the google suggestions drop-down stopped me in my tracks... "Easy ways to die"? "Easy ways to get high"? I was expecting more like "Easy ways to get better gas mileage" or "8 Easy ways to avoid Sarah Palin"... I am truly saddened that people have gone to Google in a (presumably fruitless) effort to ease their burdens... But remember folks, "this too shall pass".

Another web 2.0 service with a clever name, I installed the Lijit search on the sidebar here, what's interesting to me is that you can search this blog, but on the search results page you can expand it to search other blogs... Now, I know I'm not an expert on a lot of things, but we here at The Restless Mouse are getting good at locating novelty items... Other people are experts in their fields... When they come back to the barn you can ask them stuff. Try it! It's kind of cool!

powered by FreeFind ...We just added the FreeFind SiteSearch to this site (TheRestlessMouse.com); The search results aren't all prettied up and citified, but like the workhorse, it gets the job done with a minimum of fuss; Gets you to the products you came to see quickly, and generated keyword reports so I can see what the fickle folks out there in web-browser-land are looking for today. Google makes a similar free product, but it it doesn't tell what people are looking for. Give freefind a try, I think you will agree, it's a good tool.

Got a customer looking for a giant sized clear piggy bank, at least 12" high. I've also been unable to find for customers; noiseless smoke-eating ashtrays, and those little crates that bounce around and yell LET ME OUT. Also glow in the dark monkeys, but I'm sort of glad I can't find those. Any tips on wholesale or retail sources for those first three items would be greatly appreciated.