I want to extend a warm welcome to Michael Martinez, who's agreed to join SEOmoz's blog team at my request.

I know. I know. Michael's not your typical personality in the SEO/M world - he's stirred up a good bit of trouble around the forums, built a reputation for being someone who thinks and acts differently than much of the community and, in many cases, espouses beliefs and ideas that don't go over well with everyone.

And that's exactly why I think he'll be such a great addition.

SEOmoz, particulary the blog and articles, has always been about helping SEOs to learn and build their skillsets. With Michael's voice, I believe we have someone who can help to challenge a lot of basically held assumptions, force us all to think about how and why we hold the ideas about SEO, marketing, advertising and the web that we do. As I noted to Michael in an email:

"After all, it's not until you stand up to defend your ideas that you really get a sense of how much you value and believe in them."

I myself don't always agree with Michael, but I take his words to heart and often, when I do disagree, I find out more about why I believe as I do. Michael's posts will be professional, informational and probably more grammatically accurate than some of my latest escapades. So please try not hold any lingering grudges you may have and welcome our newest blogger.