Freedom of Consumer Speech: Interview with Michael Podolsky
Before Michael Podolsky‘s session at UnGagged Las Vegas 2016 tomorrow, we sat down with him for an exclusive interview.
UnGagged: Tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in SEO.
Michael Podolsky: I received my CS degree many moons ago from Queens College, NY and have been working in different industries as a developer growing to the Director on one of the largest Wall Street firms. I started with SEO a bit over 10 years ago and have been fascinated with the field since then. Keeping track of Google, constantly changing its algo; Learning about human psychology; Improving User Experience designs… I love it.
pissedconsumer.com is the project that I have dedicated past 10 years of my life and I love it.
Throughout my SEO career, I have survived and come out stronger with Google’s Zoo Pandas and Penguins… We even survived a 9 month Google Ban.
I am HUGE fan of Freedom of Speech. Ability to speak freely is the greatest Right, Responsibility and driving force behind Free Markets.
UnGagged: What will you be speaking about at UnGagged?
Michael: At UnGagged I will be talking about Wild Wild West. Internet has been compared to Wild Wild West often and I will draw parallels between Cowboys and today’s Internet Marketers. Lack or insufficiency of laws that existed in America back then can be drawn as a parallel line to the insufficiency of regulation on the internet today. I am certainly not advocating for regulation of the internet. I am certain that this eco-system, this is what allows for the Internet to innovate and grow.
Internet today is very little regulated and we live by certain set of rules that are not written anywhere, but understandable to people in SEO trade. I will talk about bending of the rules and breaking them.
During my presentation, I will share my insights into US Legal system and how it affects internet. I will draw on examples from PissedConsumer and other popular websites from the industry of Consumer Reviews.
UnGagged: In your niche sector, what’s the most annoying SEO misconception?
Michael: I get annoyed when people in SEO believe that “Competitor will never find out”… I will speak about it at the conference.
UnGagged: What is your current favorite SEO tool or platform?
Michael: Google Analytics and Webmaster. I also like Yandex Webvisor. You can learn a lot by understanding behavior of visitors to your site
