Have any of your sites been sent to the sand box or not converting? I know some of mine have completely drop in search results and page rank is moving all over almost weekly.

This could be why site are being sand boxed. On August 11, 2009 CNET’s Tom Kratzs wrote a article about how Google will be updating the search engine. “One of the largest behind-the-scenes updates to Google’s search technology in three years is under way, as the company reworks its computing muscle”.
The reasons are unknown but we can guess they are trying to stay ahead of the competition. Google hasn’t stayed number one this long for nothing. With the launch of Google Wave and Chrome, Elements and more the search company is moving towards a more socialized experience for users.
Google is always changing search algorithms and infrastructure. This update appears to be a atempt to bring better results to users who are becoming accustom to fresh up to date content.
What does this mean for us (webmasters)? Who knows Google hasn’t published anything official that I could find.
We can assume that if we follow trends we will be OK. Why you ask? Google and other search Engines follow trends so why wouldn’t I. What I’m going to do is test. And test again.
I am in the process of building some sites using the N1WAY method. So what I’m thinking is build 2 sites to test.
One site I will use a static front page that will update a few times a week with fresh relevant content. I will use the wordpress N1WAY Method and a custom theme. This site will be set to ping all the major social networks along with publishing RSS Feeds.
The second method is kind of up in the air, but I think it will more of a strait up e commerce type site with guides on the front page.
Testing during a search update will be touch and go. Results are sure to be all over the map. No matter what happens during this update it is imperative to stay updated on this. In Tom’s article he shows a example of how some high ranking  sites have already sent to the sand box.

As for some who say The Google Monster is just flexing its muscle to bullying webmaster, I submit that the search engines are not built for us. They are built for the people doing the searches. Thus we really can’t complain. It is our job to stay updated and watch the sites we build for changing statistics then update as needed.

With that said this has been a problem from the beginning of computer use. People have built software and programs for the Internet and computers and there work lost because a big company decided to change something. When you build on top of someone elses platform you are taking a risk. You could loose lots of hard work. If you relize this you stand a chance of recovering enough to adapt.