Monday, January 26, 2004

Personal Update: Illness, doctors appointments, email overload, getting back on schedule Finally, things are starting to settle down around here. Last week I caught a nasty bug and didn't feel much like doing anything for most of the week. I managed to take Mom to her doctor's appointments and keep both of us fed, but that's about all I managed until Saturday, when I started feeling better. Mom had the same bug and we were a sorry crowd most of the week. She finished her radiation therapy last week and the skin cancer on her nose looks much better. The doctors are convinced that the radiation therapy was a success and it doesn't look like any surgery will be necessary. For the first time in weeks, we don't have to make a trip to a doctor or hospital every day, and only have one appointment for her this whole week. This means that I can start trying to whip my schedule back into shape and get back to doing what I need to be doing to grow my businesses. Saturday morning, I downloaded over 2,000 email messages and over 1,500 of them were spam. This is getting to be horrible. Because I'm involved in marketing and have wide ranging interests, creating filters for the spam hasn't been easy. What many people would prefer to block, I want to read. So, I filter my email into over 100 separate in-boxes and deal with each in-box based on its priority. I managed to get through all the most important messages by Saturday afternoon and caught up will all of them early this morning. If you've been trying to reach me over the last few days, I should have responded by now. If I didn't, please email me and put something significant in the subject line. Recently, I've stopped reading messages where the subject is blank or only says Hi or Hello. Many spam messages use these subjects. If you want to email me and get my attention, put something in the subject line that will stand out and which gives a good representation of what your message is about. I should be back on schedule with my communications by tomorrow. Sorry about the delays last week. I'm going to be opening several new websites in the next couple of weeks and I'll announce them here. This evening, I'll be making the rounds of the discussion groups that I've been neglecting over the last few weeks and get caught up there. It's going to be good having more time to get things done. All the best, JD I succeed by helping you succeed 12:44:31 PM    comment []

FBI Computer Security Expert Discusses PC Security A Visit from the FBI Scott Granneman has written "about the fact that most ordinary computer users have no idea about what security means", and as a result received a visit from Dave Thomas, a computer security expert with the FBI. Dave had this to say: "I have spent a considerable amount in the computer underground and have seen many ways in which clever individuals trick unsuspecting users. I don't think most people have a clue just how bad things are." If you use a Windows PC on the Internet, perhaps you should read his column. 11:13:27 AM    comment []

Online reference site approaches milestone Wikipedia Shows Power of Cooperation. Sometime in the next few days or weeks, one of the world's most comprehensive online reference sites will publish its 200,000th article. More accurately, one of the site's contributors will publish the article. Wikipedia, an encyclopedia created and operated by volunteers, is one of the most fascinating developments of the Digital Age. In just over three years of existence, it has become a valuable resource and an example of how the grass roots in today's interconnected world can do extraordinary things. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal] 10:31:25 AM    comment []

FCC's Abernathy Acknowledges Amateur Radio BPL Concerns FCC's Abernathy Acknowledges Amateur Radio BPL Concerns "FCC Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy this week specifically cited Amateur Radio concerns about the interference potential of Broadband Over Power Line (BPL). In remarks prepared for delivery at her alma mater, the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, Abernathy said BPL should not be widely deployed before dealing with ham radio's interference fears." [ARRLWeb] 6:29:55 AM    comment []

FCC chief frowns on VoIP regulations FCC chief frowns on VoIP regulations "The top U.S. telecom regulator said Thursday that he has no intention of setting rules for Internet telephony, which he said could have a dramatic impact on voice communications. " [CNET News.com] 6:23:44 AM    comment []

Optimizing for Inktomi (February 15, 2004. The article I originally pointed to is a reprint of another article written for a search engine optimization organization. I was contacted by the company and requested to point to their company and article, which is fair enough. However, that site requires registration before you can access the article, so I'm removing my quote from it. If I could have just pointed directly to the article, I would have been happy to do so. If you want to read the article, search on Google for 'How to Optimize for Inktomi in 2004'. -- JD) The information in this article is a basic overview of creating search engine friendly websites and everyone who builds, manages, or owns a website should be familiar with the information in this article. The information here, however, is only part of the story in how to create a website that sells. You MUST be listed in the search engines, but that's only one step. Most sites are build so that they're doomed before they start. Many small business owners follow something similar to this model: 1. Create a product or service (or decide to sell an existing product or service online). 2. Create a site to sell the product or service. 3. Add payment and fulfillment solutions. And then they... 4. Watch their sites die slow deaths of neglect, due to lack of traffic and willing buyers. 5. Wonder what went wrong. If you want your website to have a chance for success, you must follow proven strategies. Fortunately, you don't have to invent these yourself. You don't succeed by "putting up a site" and waiting. It is all about understanding how people really use the 'net and then building your site to deliver what they're looking for. Your prospective visitor may or may not be interested in buying. They ARE looking for information. The more information you can provide, the more likely you are to create a relationship with them that may one day lead to selling your product or service. You must learn to give before you can expect to receive. I've written many times about learning how others are successful in making their websites attractive to both humans and search engine spiders. I've learned much of what I know about this from Ken Evoy. I learned today that Ken has just released a free, updated version of his Netwriting Masters Course, and this free course (available as a downloadable ebook in .pdf format) addresses the vital differences betwen selling and PREselling -- a concept that Ken identified several years ago. (He discusses this concept and much more in his free Affiliate Masters Course and Service Sellers Course.) For any small business that wants to be successful online, the steps to success are exactly those that form the foundation of the highly successful SBI! product. 1. Write high quality content related to the theme or topic of your business or passion. 2. Use the quality content to draw free, targeted traffic from the search engines. 3. PREsell the traffic, use it to gain trust and confidence -- people buy from those they like and trust! 4. Convert your traffic into dollars -- whatever your business or monetization model. Once you've successfully completed steps 1 through 3, it is the time to start generating dollars from your Web site. Sure, it takes more effort and time, but the investment in your site pays off in the long run. These steps involve a different type of writing for your websites -- what can be called Netwriting. Write to deliver what humans want -- information. Write for two audiences -- humans and search engine spiders. The Netwriting Masters Course is the first and only course that shows you how to get the whole process correct. And it's free. Download your free copy of the Netwriting Masters Course today. Don't just download it. Study it. Learn from it. Implement it on your website and watch your traffic and income rise. 4:44:20 AM    comment []

Search Engines: Getting In Eurekster Getting In Eurekster "The Eurekster search engine launched recently with fanfare on all the search industry sites and a big article in Danny Sullivan's Search Engine Watch. "The buzz surrounds Eurekster's method of delivering personalized search results." [WebProWorld] 4:37:41 AM    comment []

'Exploding' cell phone battery recalled 'Exploding' cell phone battery recalled - News - ZDNet "This voluntary recall affects Kyocera Wireless model 7135 smart phones sold between September and December. The handsets use batteries manufactured by Coslight International Group of Hong Kong, and have a serial number on the underside that begins '-05'. "San Diego-based Kyocera said on Friday that it is trying to reach all 40,000 people who bought the cell phone in order to arrange for delivery of a free replacement." [ZDNet] 4:31:20 AM    comment []

Shocking the System -- Broadband over Power Lines Shocking the System "The U.S. utility industry is considering whether to beam high-speed data over power lines, raising the prospect that the likes of Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. [~] the largest cable and phone company, respectively [~] will not be the only ones controlling the last mile of wires extending to homes." [Phone+ Magazine] 4:24:53 AM    comment []