I will miss our late night phone conversations. We would be talking and I could hear the clickity clack of his keyboard in the background. How he wrote about one thing and talked about another at the same time is now going to forever be a mystery.

I know this sounds really selfish but I wish I had known Ken longer and could have gleaned more knowledge from that beautiful mind of his.

I’m proud to have known Ken and sad that he’s gone.

Other “adults” at the seminars would talk
about who is making more money, or which
market is better, or who is a good guy
and who is not. Ken was never into
politics or jealousy.

Ken’s approach to life was very fresh
and elegant. His lectures were always
eye opening. When I’ve heard the news
about his death – my first reaction
was a sense of deep loss. And I believe
this was a common feeling for everybody
who knew him.

The world was definitely an exciting
place with Ken in it.

At lunch I truely found out that his knowledge was out of this world. He put an additional spark under me that I will always be thankful for. To sit down with a complete stranger and spend over an hour during his break to give me what I consider a priceless education in internet marketing.

This was my very first time seeing what everyone talks about regarding how the networking can be just as good as the seminar itself.

Ken will be surely missed.

Mark Garcia

When I first heard Ken speak, he was so down to earth and would relate Internet information so everyone would benefit from the new person to the pro. I really felt right off that Ken was that special kind of person that helped make this world a better place to live! The next System meeting in Chicago, it was great to see him again. He shared so much from his latest testing methods and results to some words on his passions in life! I always looked forward to seeing Ken at the System meetings as he was so kind and his smile would light up the room as he shared his wisdom!

I was shocked to hear of his death. It was hard to believe that I wouldn’t see him at the System meetings anymore. Such a loss to our group. I then realized that although Ken wouldn’t be in physical form at the next System meeting, he would be there in spirit! I really feel grateful to the “System” club for having giving me the opportunity to meet a man the likes of Ken Giddens!

I’m Bob Lang – the World of Watches guy. Nick Lecy at Luggage Pros forwarded your excellent summation of Ken Giddens to me.

Yes, Ken was truly a remarkable individual – the real deal in all the ways that matter. After we sold World of Watches (WOW for short) I helped to connect Ken with 3 other on-line retail wannabes. He created successes all three times. His success ratio in this regard is amazing. Yes, Ken was technically excellent and brilliantly creative. But his main contribution came in the role of Professor Giddens. Every discussion, debate and argument (yea, we argued – never meanly) was a learning experience for me. I feel like I earned a Ph. D. from the Ken Giddens University of Internet Success.

Unlike a lot of smart guys Ken always kept himself open to learning. He was never shy to admit he had been wrong. That’s why he was able to continue his mastery of the internet from the earliest days.

I first met Ken at a seminar in Boulder in March 1998. Perhaps you were there? I went with one goal in mind – to find a guru. WOW had been online for 15 months and we (I had 2 partners) were pleased with the results. But I felt we could do better. Our webmaster at the time would blanch every time I wanted to talk about Search Engine placement. So in Boulder I went to the opening cocktail hour and just walked the room listening to conversations. People were clustered in small groups. Discussion in most of the groups centered around 2 or 3 loud people (it was the cocktail hour) who were making expansive gestures, talking about all the money they made last month and generally patting themselves on the back. Not close to what I was looking for. Then I saw a group of 5 or 6 people huddled in a corner of the room. As I approached, the group seemed silent. I wondered what was going on. Then I realized there was one guy talking; the others were listening intently. When there was an opportunity I introduced myself to Ken Giddens and started a friendship that I won’t ever forget.

I invited Ken to dinner and in 5 minutes knew I had found someone qualified to help us take WOW to the next level. The question was – could I convince this smart guy to work for us? Well Ken was always approachable and a month later we worked out a deal. Ken not only helped us get to the next level, but 2 or 3 levels beyond.

Ken, I could easily go into the details of some of the astounding results this man produced. But to anyone who knew Ken well or worked with him, that isn’t necessary.

You wrote “Original, creative, honest, and generous to a fault” and were 100% correct in that assessment. I would add one more core trait – grace. Grace is one of those words whose meaning I know but would be hard pressed to define. Here are 3 definitions of “grace” from dictionary.com.

1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.

2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.

3. A sense of fitness or propriety.

Sounds like Ken Giddens to me.

I will sadly miss him…

-Christina Hills

I knew Ken Giddens from the System seminar where we both gave a speech about Search Engine Optimization.

I really liked Ken Giddens a Lot because we shared the same passion about Internet Marketing and because he had a great sense of humor.

I totally enjoyed his company during the times we spent together and I was truly very saddened to learn of his untimely passing.

The first time I had the fortune to meet Ken was in San Francisco a few years ago at a seminar. During one of the breaks, Ken was in a “hallway huddle” dispensing priceless information to anyone who cared to listen and more fool those who did not.

Apart from his profound knowledge, what impressed me about Ken was his apparent “addiction” to testing. You could be sure that if Ken said he had tested something and it didn’t work, then it definitely did not. Having said that, if he had found something which did work, you had better put that strategy to work as soon as possible!!

One of Ken’s priceless gems, which he passed on at the time was his link strategy on Google. All those years ago he was using “keyword/keyphrase links” on web sites linking to his web sites, when most other people were still putting their business name or domain name in the inbound link.

Ken contested from his testing, that Google would give your web site better ranking and/or relevance if you did your links his way. All those years on, he proved to be right.

Ken impressed me so much the first time I met him, in the years since, everything he appeared on – DVD, CD or MP3 became required listening to me and I always learnt something new.

Once again this year, we have lost another giant in this industry.

I will always remember Ken for his sense of humour, generosity and boundless desire to help others get along.

Peter Finch