The Vibe:  The crystal ballroom of the Xianglu Grand Hotel was at full attendance for Chris Sherman’s keynote at SMX China. All attendees were equipped with headphones and transmitters for live translation. It was a treat to be part of such a cross cultural event.

The Gist:  Chris’s keynote was a broad overview of the new trends we are seeing introduced to the SERP's recently. He discussed how recent developments in search (blended search, personal search, social networks) would have impacts as deep as when Google introduced link analysis to their algorithm in the late 90's.

What to focus on:  The speech urged SEO's not to fear blended search. Chris said that search marketers often fear their hard earned SEO efforts will be pushed back down the results page with the inclusion of video and news results. He said that all facets of blended search create greater opportunities for optimization and there is just as much potential for content to be made more prominent in the results as there is for it to be pushed back. As far as personal search being thrown in to the 3.0, 4.0 mix, Chris highlighted the obstacles search engines have to negotiate in terms of red tape and regulation. He referred to the EU preventing SE's from holding personal data for longer than 6 months. Personal search may be an influence, but not the primary driver of search in the near future. On the topic of social media’s role in the future of search, he expressed that it would definitely play a role in influencing search results, but not a replacement for search as we know it.

Any gossip? Several times during his speech Chris referred to Microsoft's Yahoo bid and at one stage said, "I personally believe that deal will happen," and "I don't see how they are going to be able to avoid the deal." He described the world of search after the Microsoft takeover as a flatter duopoly.

Questions from the floor:  With all this talk of recession in the media, one question that seemed to be on aspiring search marketers minds was Will I, as an SEO, be above the poverty line in the future?

Chris said he was optimistic and the future was positive: "It's possibly the best time to be in search." He described the future growth of the industry using the "hockey stick model," saying that now we are at the bottom of the curve.

Put your hockey stick away, Chris. You mean exponential.    

All in all, a positive outlook on search in the future and a great start to SMX Xiamen China 2008.