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🏠 TECH

APIcalypse

So here's what went down:

Back in March 2024, around 2,500 pages of Google's Search API documentation, containing over 14,000 attributes related to ranking factors and signals, were inadvertently exposed on a public GitHub repository. This stuff was supposed to be top-secret, but it was out there for anyone to see from March 27 until May 7.

Fast forward to May 5, when Rand Fishkin (you might know him from Moz) got an email from an anonymous person claiming to have access to these leaked docs. They said ex-Googlers had confirmed the docs were legit and even shared some juicy insider info.

Rand hopped on a video call with the anonymous source (who later turned out to be Erfan Azimi, an SEO pro) on May 24. Erfan spilled the beans and shared the leaked docs with Rand.

Rand then reached out to some ex-Google folks to double-check if these docs were the real deal. While one of them declined to comment, two others suggested the leak appeared legitimate and matched internal documentation they were familiar with.

But Rand needed more than just a gut feeling, so he called up Mike King, a technical SEO guy, on May 24. Mike said that the documents appeared to be genuine and contained a significant amount of previously unconfirmed information about Google's inner workings.

On May 27, Rand and Mike both published articles breaking down the leak and what it could mean for the SEO world.

The leaked docs suggest that Google might be using data they've previously denied using for rankings, like user clicks, dwell time, and Chrome user data.

The leak also backed up some of Google's claims, like the use of "Navboost" and "Glue" systems, which came up in the Google/DOJ antitrust case.

While the documents do not reveal the exact weight of different elements in the search algorithm, they provide insight into the data Google collects and considers when ranking websites.

On May 30, Google confirmed to The Verge that the leaked documents were authentic but cautioned against making inaccurate assumptions based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information.

This leak is big news for the SEO, marketing, and publishing industries. But we still need to dig deeper to really understand what it all means.

As more SEO pros dive into the leaked docs, we'll definitely uncover more juicy details that could shake up how we approach SEO.

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🤝 THE LATEST IN…

TECH

• This new laptop has no screen, but uses AR glasses to create a virtual workspace.

• Google teams up with Magic Leap to potentially launch a new AR wearable.

• Spotify's getting heat for discontinuing its Car Thing.

• Google admits AI search tool's failures. Now, it’s scaling back.

AI

• Siri's getting a big AI upgrade in iOS 18, letting you control apps and tasks with simple voice commands.

• The Atlantic becomes a premium news source within OpenAI.

• Perplexity will now research and write reports for you.

• Mistral launched Codestral, its first generative AI model, to help developers write, test, and complete code in 80+ languages.

SCIENCE

• Brain implant helps person speak Spanish and English after stroke, thanks to AI.

• UK's NHS is launching cancer vaccine trials using mRNA, tailored to individual patients' DNA.

• JWST discovers the distant galaxy ever observed, dating to just 300 million years after the Big Bang.

• NASA astronauts are training in Arizona to walk on the Moon's south pole in 2026.

CRYPTO

• Biden vetoed a resolution overturning the SEC's approach to banks and crypto.

• A Japanese crypto exchange, DMM Bitcoin, lost $300M in a leak.

• Semler Scientific, adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, purchasing bitcoins worth $40M.

• US judge orders SEC to pay $1.8M in legal fees to Debt Box, dismisses case without prejudice.

🏃‍♀️ QUICKIES

Raise: Valar Labs, a company developing AI diagnostic tools for cancer treatment, raised $22 million in a Series A to accelerate their first AI test for bladder cancer response, and expand to other cancers.

Stat: 125,227. That's the number of Tesla vehicles being recalled in the U.S. due to a faulty seat belt warning system.

Rabbit Hole: The Strength of Being Misunderstood (Sam Altman)

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