I think it's going to be pretty cool.

So in the beginning there was the basic web functionality. Then came design improvements. And then again, better web design. And upgraded functionality!

Now a lot of web pages look amazing.

But I think there's something relatively new (to the average Joe) that will eventually become standard.

I think that in the future, most or all web pages will be able to update most or all of their content without reloading the page.

Sure, we've got that technology. Sure, those capabilities exist. But they haven't become widespread yet. And once that happens, they will be refined, and built into simple user interfaces as part of content management systems.

So then you'd do a tiny amount of work behind the scenes on your blog or site using a free, open-source CMS, and Presto! Your web page becomes truly dynamic. I can't wait.

To make money from their blogs, many bloggers have turned to sites like PayPerPost and accepted opportunities that paid them to post information and links about other websites. Google doesn't like this, as the links could be considered paid links. Google feels that paid links are less relevant and worthy for passing PageRank value than organic links, or links that are created due to non-financial reasons. Although Google didn't like it, many people were making a lot of money selling links through programs like PayPerPost and TextLinkAds. The higher your PageRank, the more valuable a link from your site became, so the more money you could make. Google suggested that you shouldn't sell links, but most people weren't persuaded. A couple of months ago, Google took action in an effort to reduce the paid link industry. It erased the PageRank of many blogs and sites known to get paid for links or posts.

So, imagine if you're a blogger with a PageRank of 5, and you are a member of PayPerPost. You get a lot of good-paying opportunities, because your PR of 5 is a lot better than the average blog. Then Google figures out you are selling paid posts, and erases you PR. Now you have a PR of 0, and the advertisers no longer value a paid post from you nearly as much as they did before. So you make less money.

PayPerPost had a system in the works to provide a similar metric as PageRank before Google got busy erasing PR, and it recently went active. It's called Izea RealRank.

Unlike PageRank, RealRank focuses on more than just links. It is like Alexa, in that it's really more a measure of traffic. Also unlike PageRank, RealRank is primarily for bloggers, and requires some javascript code to be placed on your blog.

Izea then calculates your RealRank based on things like unique visitors, page views per day, and visitors coming through links to your site (vs. type-in traffic). RR is to be used as an alternative to PR in the paid post marketplace. An advertiser can now say, "Oh, you've got a PR of 0, eh? Well, let's see what your RealRank is."

Some advertisers couldn't care less about RealRank, as it doesn't represent the link power that is evidenced by PageRank. However, others are more willing to consider a new system, as Google's actions with PageRank have made some people less eager to just accept PR at face value. It seems things are changing on the PageRank front, and although RealRank is considered flawed by some, it's a start in a new direction.

To get your own RealRank, you need some tracking code on your site, which you can get by creating an account at izearanks.com.

It seems that some sites have already noticed shifting PageRank values, as early as January 10th.

The last update happened in late October of last year. So maybe we'll be seeing updates continue until the end of the month.

With the changes put into effect to account for paid links, I don't think the update will hold entirely to historical trends. Paid links seem to be pretty widespread, and if every page with at least 1 paid link goes from PR whatever to PR 0, the collective PR of the entire net is likely to be affected.

Of course, going from a PR 0 to a PR 5 is like creating something from nothing. They say the more pages of content your site has, the more PR you've got. So as more pages are added to the net, the net's total PR will increase. But when Google arbitrarily changes the PR prerequisites (no paid links), it's bound to have an effect.

I see two possible outcomes. As some would say, "Paid links are here to stay," and so Google will eventually allow PR on paid link pages. On the other hand, Google is king, so perhaps the paid link, paid post, paid whatever industry will sink its claws into the ground and slowly get dragged toward an inevitable death that few want to believe is already underway.

Have you ever wondered why a search of certain sites will bring up one result up top with links throughout the domain, and then another result for a random page? Why bother showing that second result?

Today I found out. At BlogStorm, it was shared that although many people perceive this search behavior to be bug-related, it is in fact intentional. In fact, many people actually do not see the first (Sitelinks) result at all, which is why a second, different (some might say "normal") one is also available.

It would seem to make sense why some people are blind to Sitelinks results, as not all sites have them, and ads are sometimes placed in that area.

The second listing is believed to be the most recently popular (or perhaps most linked to) page in the site.

Do you sometimes unintentionally overlook that first Sitelinks result? I honestly can say that I have. I'm so ashamed. :)