The other day I was at the local fun-land amusement park with my kids. I bought a few things while I was there, like Cokes and a few hotdogs. Everytime I bought something I got a nice little paper receipt that I promptly threw away. Later in the day I had to make a credit card purchase and then I had to sign a piece of paper, which I was then given a copy of...and I threw away.
What is the point of all of this?
It's not security, that's for sure. I suppose my receipt is evidence of a purchase so that I can sue for food poisoning if I choke on a piece of glass. Paper receipts, they're not worth the paper they are printed on. Okay, forget the basic paper receipts (but if you ever achieve total omniscience please let me know what the average annual cost of the paper used in those receipts is).
Let's talk about the credit card receipts and why I have to sign them. If I call a merchant by phone then I don't have to sign (because I can't I suppose) but if I appear in person then I have to sign. If sellers are really concerned about security then why not ask to see my drivers license? I sign for the sake of ritual. It's just another little useless exercise that creates a little delay in the transaction, but the delay is so small (most of the time) that we never ask whether it's really worth the trouble.
Now we have the E-signature law, and thank God for that. Except no one really uses it. I wondered about that today when I was at Best Buy and then made me sign a computer input screen. Is that a digital signature? And didn't they have those signature machines in place before the E-signature law was passed?
Well, if you become omniscient could you tell me one more thing? How much did it cost to pass the E-Signature law?
8:32:49 PM
Law firms need to reassess their Internet presence
"In the digital age, firms that want to stay on the cutting edge must continuously reassess whether their Internet presence allows their messages to be seen, noticed, and, most important, retained...'Pushing' news out to audiences through e-mail news alerts and electronic newsletters can be another effective element of a marketing package." [Law.com]
I agree that most law firms are behind the curve with their websites as far as providing fresh content. Denise and I have talked about whether law firms will use blogs to help "push" fresh legal news out to their potential clients. RSS feeds would be good, but the clients would have to be able to receive them, and we're definitely not there yet. I really think that more effort should be focused on the Internet and less on things like mail-out newsletters.
8:20:53 PM
Pop up ads? Take this....
I wish I had a gun. The pop ups have invaded my life in a really big way. I've been meaning to do something about it and I have now done so. Is there any reason not to block pop ups?
The latest PC World seems to go through some handwringing about how pop up ads help pay for the free stuff on the Internet (they even ask the reader to drop them a line at eddir@pcworld.com to let them know what you think). Hey I'm all for free stuff, but even if the mere annoyance of pop ups isn't enough consider the slow down of commerce. For example, I use my computer (a laptop) at home and at work. It's always hooked to the Internet, and I use the Internet to research and to find information. Let's say I want to make a presentation at work (which I do sometimes) and access the Internet to do it. Should everyone in the room have to deal with the pops? I can't hit ALT + F4 fast enough anymore, and I don't have time to deal with pop up ads. I just loaded AdSubtract and installed it. Pop ups? See ya....
7:47:22 PM
