After ten years, I’m leaving Search Engine Watch and almost certainly leaving the Search Engine Strategies conference series as well. My contracts with their owners Incisive Media are expiring, and we’ve not been able to agree on new ones.
I’ll explain more about the situation below. However, let me stress that the purpose of this post isn’t to cast blame. It’s simply to explain directly from me to those who care about why I’m leaving the site and conference series with which I’ve been associated with for so long.
Back in 1997, I sold Search Engine Watch to what became Jupitermedia. That company later started the Search Engine Strategies conference series. I had a long and prosperous association with both of those properties (USA Today recently recounted the tale here). I renegotiated my contract to provide services for both of them to Jupitermedia several times without any major issues.
Last year, Jupitermedia sold the site and the series to Incisive Media. I wasn’t unhappy with the sale and chose to let my contract be extended through the end of 2006 as part of it.
I was concerned about moving forward with Incisive, however. I’m far from the only reason behind the success of SEW and SES, but I’ve played a major role. I helped build both of those assets. Then I watched one company sell them to another without me having any formal capital stake in the sale. That left me wary of history repeating itself. I wasn’t going to help this new company grow the business out of the sheer kindness of my heart.
I explained these reservations at the very beginning of my relationship with Incisive, that I needed some long-term incentive for helping them continue to grow and strengthen the site and conferences. After over a year of talks, that’s failed to materialize. As a result, I’m departing.
I love both the site and the conference series. I hate to say goodbye to them. They’ve also been good to me. I’ve done very well financially and enjoyed plenty of personal satisfaction through them. I’ve written things that people have told me have helped them immensely. At our conferences, it’s great to hear from so many people that they’ve learned a lot or far more than they were expecting.
In terms of Search Engine Watch, I’ll be serving as editor-in-chief through November 30, 2006. As of December 1, I’m gone, except for an extremely slim chance I might do some columns for them going forward. It’s so slim that no one should be expecting that it will happen.
As for SES, I’ll still be chairing the SES Multimedia & Mobile Edition show this October in Los Angeles, then the SES Chicago show in December. After that, I’d say there’s another extremely slim chance that I might do SES events on a case-by-case basis (again so slim that I’m not expecting it will happen). At the moment, I’m not contracted for any thing beyond those named (I’m currently listed as chairing the SES NY 2007 event, and I’ve asked that I be removed from the site).
Aside from SEW and SES, it’s far more likely I’ll be doing writing and conferences elsewhere. This might be for other companies, depending on what happens in the next few weeks. I’ve also entertained the notion of simply expanding my own consulting company and going it on my own with a new site and/or conferences. We’ll see. Somewhere in there, I might even finally do that book I’ve been threatening to do.
Overall, I’m sorry to leave many of the people at Incisive, especially those I’ve worked with for such a long-time on the conference side that came from Jupitermedia. I’ll be extremely sorry to say so long to my ClickZ and Search Engine Watch friends and colleagues: Elisabeth Osmeloski my managing editor, the correspondents that have come onto the SEW Blog, the hard-working volunteer moderators in our SEW Forums, the many speakers I’ve worked with for SES events and most of all Chris Sherman, my partner in search crime for the past five years.
Whatever I do, I’ve tried to make it a hallmark to always to be inclusive of content, people, web sites or organizations that will help my readers, even if I might technically be competing with them. Whatever I end up doing, you can expect I’ll still be pointing at Search Engine Watch as appropriate and wish those that remain a part of it the very best.
To keep up on my future plans, keep checking back here to my personal blog, Daggle — or take the Daggle feed, to be notified of new postings automatically.
As for the Daily SearchCast, I’m happy to say I’ll be continuing to produce that show as I’ve been doing with WebmasterRadio.FM since it began. The site moves to a new location, the appropriately named DailySearchCast.com.
Comments, questions, concerns? I’ll be happy to address them as best I can below. Just be aware that at this time, I have no idea who will take over from me at Search Engine Watch or for the SES events that I usually do.
Postscript: I’ve also added some further thoughts in The Day After & Many Thanks!
Postscript 2: (January 2010): These days, I now write at my Search Engine Land web site and run my own conference series, SMX: Search Marketing Expo.
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This is the End of an Era!
Wow – talk about a shocker so early in the morning (at least here on the East Coast)!
I have to say, I wondered how long you would stay since the sale from Jupiter to Incisive, so in some ways it isn’t a total shock, but yet it is.
Congratulations to you Danny! I know whatever path you take you are definitely going to be at the head of the pack that will follow.
I know I’m going to miss insight and wisdom at the SES’s after Chicago. I’m sure that sentiment is going to be echoed a coulple hundred times over the next couple of months.
I think though this means there will be some kind of big party in chicago!
Danny, I wanted to say Thank You for anything you did to help this industry evolve and for letting me participate at your conferences. Good luck for your new ventures!
Godspeed, Danny.
It’s been a privilege working with you and knowing you.
Danny, sorry to hear that you’ve had these problems with Incisive Media. You will, I’m sure, be missed from SEW.
Danny, Thanks for being a clear voice for our industry and for letting me participate at your conferences.
I’d figured that something like this was coming down the pike. I’m sure there will be many of us watching to see what you do next, and wishing you luck with it.
Danny,
We understand that you have your own reasons for quitting. But that does not make us less sorry. We all at Unofficial SEO Blog have got so used your helpful postings. Post-December, we hope you will create other avenues to get back to us. However, Search Engine Watch and Danny Sullivans will remain inseparable associations. Hope to see you at SES Chicago this December. Your idea of going with your own site/conferences has our support and best wishes. Thanks for continuing with DailySearchCast.com and leaving your mark in the industry.
sad news, but – not that such an industry legend will need it – good luck for all you do in the future (including gadgets & travel hints;) ).
Good luck with whatever happens, Danny! You know all of your speakers will move forward with whatever conference you eventually set up.
Jill
I have certainly enjoyed my time as an SES speaker and working under you on the SEW blog as well. You will definitely be missed, and I look forward to seeing where you go from here, because SES conferences just won’t be the same without you. We’ll still need our Danny fix so I hope your future includes conferences!
Hey Danny, thanks for 10 years of being a lighthouse for the search marketing industry. I can’t imagine what in the world Search Engine Watch or SES will be without you.
Danny, it’s unfortunate that Incisive Media couldn’t see the value you bring to the Search Engine world. Best wishes for all you will do, I’m sure it will be a great success.
Hi Danny,
Thank you for all that you have done to help build the search marketing industry with Search Engine Watch and the Search Engine Strategies Conferences. You’ve had an incredibly positive impact on site owners across the web, and on the search industry as a whole, and I’m certain that whatever you decide to do in the future will be successful.
We met face to face only once, Danny, at a ConsumerReportsWebWatch Conference, but I’ve always had, and have, the greatest respect for your love, knowledge and respect for the Search Marketing Industry.
I’m sure you will do very well no matter which of the many options you decide upon.
Best,
Bill Kelm
Wow Danny!
What a bombshell. Thanks so much for all you have done for the industry to date. I am sure you have plenty more in store for us.
CB
Danny – Thanks for all of the help over the years. We would not have come as far as we did without you and the all the other great folks that speak and attend your conferences. Best wishes!
Allan
Good luck!
SEW & SES won’t be (the same) without the man who started it all.
I’m sure that new and thrilling challenges are yet to come, wishing you nothing but pure success.
Danny, Just want to say thanks. I’ve been reading your stuff for almost the entire 10 year period. You made Search Engine Watch and SES what they are…an enormous success. Best of luck at what ever you choose to do. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from you.
Thank you for all the help you provided with Search Engine Watch and the Search Engine Strategies Conferences. I am really surprised that Incisive would let you go, apparently they don’t realize like the rest of us that Danny Sullivan is Search Engine Watch.
I wish you every luck in the future and I am sure I’ll be attending any conference you plan on organizing should you decide to go that way.
Good luck to you Danny. SES is one of the better conferences out thare and you’re due a lot of the credit for that. I’m sure you’ll succeed whatever you end up doing. You’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and dog gone it – people like you…
This is certainly surprising to me, as it is most everyone I suppose. I remember talking to Tim Weller just after the Jupitermedia sale and asking him specifically about your contract status. Understandably, he didn’t couldn’t get into any details but described keeping you on board as a ‘primary objective’. I guess this is the difference between a primary objective and a done deal.
Wow!
Danny can i say from the bottom of my heart thanks for all that you have done at SEW for so many years – throughout my entire time online SEW and Danny Sullivan have been one of the only constants in a fast changing world.
I look forward to following whatever you do in the future and feeling even older now that i know its ten years online for me too
I have added a top10 list of things that tell you youve been online since Danny started SEW at my blog – i know you hate them but it seemed appropriate
Astounding news, Danny. I started reading you back in the 90’s on your occasional post at SearchEngineForums, and then as a member at your original Search Engine Watch site. But, while things sometimes change, I suspect that you’ll do just fine, as your success isn’t due to what *site* you own or are affiliated with, but to your knowledge of and relationships within this industry. Best wishes. ~DianeV
You’ve done so much for the industry in the last 10 years, Danny. I’m excited to see what you’ll do in the next 10.
(And 20 and so on, but thinking past 10 years makes me think of getting older, which leads to images of me whacking young whippersnappers with my cane, telling them about the good ‘ole days when we walked 5 miles uphill in the snow — both ways — for our search. So, I’ll stick to thinking about the next 10 years for now, when we both will continue to be youthful and spry.)
I’m not an insider, but I get the sense that the majority of speakers at SES are there because of Danny, and have each gained from the relationship. If I were one of them, I’d get everyone together in the back-room at SEMPO or wherever they hang out, and send Incisive a quick note explaining that they have no speakers for any upcoming events, and they have no interets in speaking at any event in which Danny holds less than a 20% equity stake.
Danny made his bed, and now he’s lying in it. People have to live with their decisions and actions. That said, he should have other assets beyond his past contracts. Depends upon the folks around him I guess.
Danny, you will be sorely missed at SEw and SES. I respect you very much and look forward to following your career and continuing to gain from your infinite wisdom.
Good luck to you!
Few industries have ever had someone sow the seeds of progress and acceptance the way you have done the past ten years. Not only is the industry as a whole indebted to your work but also you have been critical to individual livelihoods and careers. Where would I have been during the Florida update without you? Not to mention the fun I’ve had at all the SES shows and the privilege of presenting that you entrusted me with. Once again, a big thank you.
With change comes opportunity. That’s a good thing. And like a top recording artist, it doesn’t matter what record label your songs are on. Your loyal listeners will follow you wherever you go. I know there are many more songs to be sung. I can’t wait to hear them all.
I have been reading SEW for years, and have enjoyed going to SES. You have my deepest respect and best wishes… I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Thanks for everything over the past few years Danny.
Much appreciated. All the best moving forward and I’ll keep in touch.
Duane Forrester
I completely understand the reasoning behind the move, business is business and you helped build the conference. Still, I can’t say I am happy it had to come to this. The SES was the one definitive place those in our industry could get together and share knowledge. Many will follow you to the next conference scene you create *crosses fingers* and many will continue to attend SES, but I am not sure that either will be as big as SES with Danny Sullivan would be.
I can’t think this will show well for Incisive Media. Good luck on your future endeavors. I’m subscribing to your feed to see what’s coming next.
Danny, thanks for everything. SEW and SES have had a tremendous impact on the search marketing industry and in my own life. Your contributions to the search sector are too numerous to mention. Indeed, many SEOs, including myself, credit you with popularizing SEM, virtually starting the industry.
Best wishes to you in the future. Thousands of us are eagerly waiting to see what comes next.
Thanks again Danny.
Wow! What a bombshell to read this as I start my morning. All I can say is that Search Engine Watch and Search Engine Strategies will not be the same without you. Heck, I don’t know if both can even continue with the same success. Not to discredit everyone else that is involved as your staff is awesome but you are SEW and SES. We all know that and I think Incisive will learn that soon enough as well.
I can only hope that they will realize their folly and do all they can to work something out with you. However if they don’t, I know you will continue to be a major voice in search some way or another.
I’m glad to hear that you will continue to do The Daily SearchCast. What’s next for Danny Sullivan? I guess we will have to stay tuned and see.
Danny, you will be missed at both SEW and SES. I loved the SES sessions and keynotes you moderated over the years. Your hard work and industry knowledge made that conference by far the best in the search world and it definitely won’t be the same without you. Who else could bring Barry Diller, Eric Schmidt, Matt Cutts, Tim Mayer, and every other big name in search to one conference?? No one but Danny Sullivan.
Best wishes in all your future endeavors – I know whatever you do, it’ll be successful.
Melissa Mackey
Danny – I have to admit that I’m scared for the conferences, and for the industry. Whatever any of us can do – just ask and we’ll deliver. Money, time, resources, people – we’re here for you.
While I’m sad to hear that you’re leaving, I want you to be happy above all else – here’s to hoping you land in a position where you will still have the power to make this industry a great space.
Wow!
In the short time I’ve been a part of this community, I can’t think of anyone that has been more helpful in starting that process for me than one Danny Sullivan. In fact my journey started with an e-mail directly to you and you took the time to reply to me directly – a complete nobody in your community at the time. You see each new person you meet as interesting and as an opportunity to expand your and your communities’ horizions and it is one of the things I admire most about you.
Typing this is emotional for me, I can’t even begin to imagine what it is like for the people that have known you a decade. Yet is likely going to be means for celebration eventually as you start something anew. I urge people to look forward to see the wonderful possibilities that might await us all. I know I do. Talk to you soon…
That was David Dalka speaking ^^^
Thanks for the memories. A brilliant future is ahead outside SES, SEW, SEWForums and SEWBlog, anyway.
Cheers
Dr. E. Garcia
Hi Danny,
.
That’s a bummer. I will especially miss The Daily SearchCast. I was already missing it when you skipped a few days. I hope you continue to be active in the world of Search Engines and do something without Incisive Media.
The 100 people village will become boring as hell after a month or two
Hey, if the Show Title “The Daily SearchCast” is owned by Incisive Media, start your own, same guy, same thing, new Name and I bet Daron would say YES! on the spot, if you would ask him.
See ya around.
Cheers and good luck.
Carsten Cumbrowski
hi Danny thanx for all your works, much appreciated.
Cheers
Kamel Malek
I wish you luck in whatever you do next, and count me in if you have a speaking opening. Just so long as you’re not diving from a cliff, I’d follow to pretty much anywhere you’re taking the SEO Industry.
Thanks for the great conferences and for the opportunities you’ve given me. It’s meant more than you’ll ever know to everyone at our company.
Thanks for soooo many things Danny. You are a great person to learn from even though I’ve never officially met you
I look forward to learning more from you in the future and know you will find the perfect fit for your search passion in no time (have the offers already started coming in?).
Good luck in your new ventures, Danny!
You think you’re all in shock? I still am too, after knowing for months this would likely be the final outcome, dreading this very announcement, and keeping my fingers crossed that something would change in the meantime.
But, as a friend and colleague, I completely understand and fully support Danny’s decision, and know that it won’t be long until he figures out the path he needs to take. No matter what he does, we’ll all be eager to see what happens.
Yes, I am in shock after learning this news. Whatever happens to you Danny, I will follow you and wish you all the best. And thanks for all the good things at the SEW and SES.
Please keep all of us posted here.
Wow, thats a shocker. Must say its a crying shame, and from a personal perspective, the SES conferences will be the poorer without you.
Good luck in the future, and if you fancy another UK challenge feel free to drop us a line
Hi Danny,
I know you could help grow my business. How does a PR/media director position sound? I’ll give you a stake in our firm based on your assistance in growth. Seriously
Joe Griffin
Submitawebsite, Inc.
WOW – I stay off-line for half a day and get back to this.
Anyway, Danny, as you probably know you got a lot of people and old friends behind you. Anything you need or anything we can do for you just let us know.
Wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do …
- deMib
Hope you will find as soon as possible a good new position. Good Luck!
What does someone say to a pioneer? Thank you for being approachable and open minded. I didn’t go a day at work, in the 1990’s, without checking out SEW. I choose to celebrate your achievements, knowing there will be more to come.
Be well, Danny.
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