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July 31, 2005

Coping With Information Overload

It's been said that the average New York Times Sunday edition contains more information than a person in 15th century England was exposed to during their entire lifetime. In the information age, our minds get bombarded daily with so much data that we start filtering it out as a self-defense mechanism.

On the Internet, the information overload gets so severe that it seems to bring out the ADD (attention deficit disorder) in all of us.

To make things worse, expect the avalanche of information we must all deal with online to start coming faster and harder and to never, ever stop.

Unlimited amounts of information available online represents a truly double-edged mental sword.

On the good side, you can find out virtually anything you want about any person, place, thing, fact, problem and more. On the bad side, since you can find anything, many people get lost and caught up in "everything" and never accomplish much.

In fact, most people end up drowning in a sea of information when all they wanted was a simple drink of water.

To help you effectively deal with the never-ending torrent of online information, let me offer 3 simple solutions that will profoundly affect your ability to get things done.

First, operate with a clear purpose for what you plan to accomplish online.

Many people start out with a vague idea of what they want to accomplish on the Web and end up wasting hours surfing aimlessly.

One simple solution: write down your purpose for going online on a sticky note and put it on the side of your monitor.

Simple purpose statements like "Check email" or "Find map to Detroit" or "Research where to advertise my blog" can save countless hours by reminding you of your true purpose for sitting down at the keyboard (and keep you from wandering off to explore Britney Spears or The Simpsons).

Next, if you do want to go off on a sidetrack away from your original purpose, set a time limit.

Kind of like recess in kindergarten, give yourself a set amount of time to run free, but then get back in the classroom and get back to business.

Typically, I give myself anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to roam, but only if I think it will bear fruit for my purpose in the end.

I also force myself to honestly answer the question, "Does this really fit with my purpose for being online right now?"

If not, then I goof off for about 5 minutes and then write down the idea, website, or topic for future investigation.

By the way, a simple egg timer works great for this.

Finally, if you ever find yourself online without a purpose, but can't seem to stop surfing or searching, simply get up from your computer and walk away for a few minutes to clear your head.

Often this represents the fastest way to stop yourself wasting countless hours in meaningless activity online.

Bottom line, implementing simple strategies for dealing with information overload online now will pay huge dividends in peace of mind and time savings in the future.

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...

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July 30, 2005

We Are the Web

If you (like me) become slightly jaded by the Internet from time to time, take heart! We haven't even scratched the surface according to this stunning article by Kevin Kelly, read on and stay focused!

The Netscape IPO wasn't really about dot-commerce. At its heart was a new cultural force based on mass collaboration. Blogs, Wikipedia, open source, peer-to-peer - behold the power of the people.

By Kevin Kelly

10 Years That Changed the World from Wired

Ten years ago, Netscape's explosive IPO ignited huge piles of money. The brilliant flash revealed what had been invisible only a moment before: the World Wide Web. As Eric Schmidt (then at Sun, now at Google) noted, the day before the IPO, nothing about the Web; the day after, everything.

Computing pioneer Vannevar Bush outlined the Web's core idea - hyperlinked pages - in 1945, but the first person to try to build out the concept was a freethinker named Ted Nelson who envisioned his own scheme in 1965. However, he had little success connecting digital bits on a useful scale, and his efforts were known only to an isolated group of disciples. Few of the hackers writing code for the emerging Web in the 1990s knew about Nelson or his hyperlinked dream machine.

At the suggestion of a computer-savvy friend, I got in touch with Nelson in 1984, a decade before Netscape. We met in a dark dockside bar in Sausalito, California. He was renting a houseboat nearby and had the air of someone with time on his hands. Folded notes erupted from his pockets, and long strips of paper slipped from overstuffed notebooks. Wearing a ballpoint pen on a string around his neck, he told me - way too earnestly for a bar at 4 o'clock in the afternoon - about his scheme for organizing all the knowledge of humanity. Salvation lay in cutting up 3 x 5 cards, of which he had plenty.

Although Nelson was polite, charming, and smooth, I was too slow for his fast talk. But I got an aha! from his marvelous notion of hypertext. He was certain that every document in the world should be a footnote to some other document, and computers could make the links between them visible and permanent. But that was just the beginning! Scribbling on index cards, he sketched out complicated notions of transferring authorship back to creators and tracking payments as readers hopped along networks of documents, what he called the docuverse. He spoke of "transclusion" and "intertwingularity" as he described the grand utopian benefits of his embedded structure. It was going to save the world from stupidity.

I believed him. Despite his quirks, it was clear to me that a hyperlinked world was inevitable - someday. But looking back now, after 10 years of living online, what surprises me about the genesis of the Web is how much was missing from Vannevar Bush's vision, Nelson's docuverse, and my own expectations. We all missed the big story. The revolution launched by Netscape's IPO was only marginally about hypertext and human knowledge. At its heart was a new kind of participation that has since developed into an emerging culture based on sharing. And the ways of participating unleashed by hyperlinks are creating a new type of thinking - part human and part machine - found nowhere else on the planet or in history.

Not only did we fail to imagine what the Web would become, we still don't see it today! We are blind to the miracle it has blossomed into. And as a result of ignoring what the Web really is, we are likely to miss what it will grow into over the next 10 years. Any hope of discerning the state of the Web in 2015 requires that we own up to how wrong we were 10 years ago.

1995

Before the Netscape browser illuminated the Web, the Internet did not exist for most people. If it was acknowledged at all, it was mischaracterized as either corporate email (as exciting as a necktie) or a clubhouse for adolescent males (read: pimply nerds). It was hard to use. On the Internet, even dogs had to type. Who wanted to waste time on something so boring?

The memories of an early enthusiast like myself can be unreliable, so I recently spent a few weeks reading stacks of old magazines and newspapers. Any promising new invention will have its naysayers, and the bigger the promises, the louder the nays. It's not hard to find smart people saying stupid things about the Internet on the morning of its birth. In late 1994, Time magazine explained why the Internet would never go mainstream: "It was not designed for doing commerce, and it does not gracefully accommodate new arrivals." Newsweek put the doubts more bluntly in a February 1995 headline: "THE INTERNET? BAH!" The article was written by astrophysicist and Net maven Cliff Stoll, who captured the prevailing skepticism of virtual communities and online shopping with one word: "baloney."

This dismissive attitude pervaded a meeting I had with the top leaders of ABC in 1989. I was there to make a presentation to the corner office crowd about this "Internet stuff." To their credit, they realized something was happening. Still, nothing I could tell them would convince them that the Internet was not marginal, not just typing, and, most emphatically, not just teenage boys. Stephen Weiswasser, a senior VP, delivered the ultimate putdown: "The Internet will be the CB radio of the '90s," he told me, a charge he later repeated to the press. Weiswasser summed up ABC's argument for ignoring the new medium: "You aren't going to turn passive consumers into active trollers on the Internet."

I was shown the door. But I offered one tip before I left. "Look," I said. "I happen to know that the address www.abc.com has not been registered. Go down to your basement, find your most technical computer guy, and have him register www.abc.com immediately. Don't even think about it. It will be a good thing to do." They thanked me vacantly. I checked a week later. The domain was still unregistered.

While it is easy to smile at the dodos in TV land, they were not the only ones who had trouble imagining an alternative to couch potatoes. Wired did, too. When I examine issues of Wired from before the Netscape IPO (issues that I proudly edited), I am surprised to see them touting a future of high production-value content - 5,000 always-on channels and virtual reality, with a side order of email sprinkled with bits of the Library of Congress. In fact, Wired offered a vision nearly identical to that of Internet wannabes in the broadcast, publishing, software, and movie industries: basically, TV that worked. The question was who would program the box. Wired looked forward to a constellation of new media upstarts like Nintendo and Yahoo!, not old-media dinosaurs like ABC.

Problem was, content was expensive to produce, and 5,000 channels of it would be 5,000 times as costly. No company was rich enough, no industry large enough, to carry off such an enterprise. The great telecom companies, which were supposed to wire up the digital revolution, were paralyzed by the uncertainties of funding the Net. In June 1994, David Quinn of British Telecom admitted to a conference of software publishers, "I'm not sure how you'd make money out of it."

The immense sums of money supposedly required to fill the Net with content sent many technocritics into a tizzy. They were deeply concerned that cyberspace would become cyburbia - privately owned and operated. Writing in Electronic Engineering Times in 1995, Jeff Johnson worried: "Ideally, individuals and small businesses would use the information highway to communicate, but it is more likely that the information highway will be controlled by Fortune 500 companies in 10 years." The impact would be more than commercial. "Speech in cyberspace will not be free if we allow big business to control every square inch of the Net," wrote Andrew Shapiro in The Nation in July 1995.

The fear of commercialization was strongest among hardcore programmers: the coders, Unix weenies, TCP/IP fans, and selfless volunteer IT folk who kept the ad hoc network running. The major administrators thought of their work as noble, a gift to humanity. They saw the Internet as an open commons, not to be undone by greed or commercialization. It's hard to believe now, but until 1991, commercial enterprise on the Internet was strictly prohibited. Even then, the rules favored public institutions and forbade "extensive use for private or personal business."

In the mid-1980s, when I was involved in the WELL, an early nonprofit online system, we struggled to connect it to the emerging Internet but were thwarted, in part, by the "acceptable use" policy of the National Science Foundation (which ran the Internet backbone). In the eyes of the NSF, the Internet was funded for research, not commerce. At first this restriction wasn't a problem for online services, because most providers, the WELL included, were isolated from one another. Paying customers could send email within the system - but not outside it. In 1987, the WELL fudged a way to forward outside email through the Net without confronting the acceptable use policy, which our organization's own techies were reluctant to break. The NSF rule reflected a lingering sentiment that the Internet would be devalued, if not trashed, by opening it up to commercial interests. Spam was already a problem (one every week!).

This attitude prevailed even in the offices of Wired. In 1994, during the first design meetings for Wired's embryonic Web site, HotWired, programmers were upset that the innovation we were cooking up - what are now called clickthrough ad banners - subverted the great social potential of this new territory. The Web was hardly out of diapers, and already they were being asked to blight it with billboards and commercials. Only in May 1995, after the NSF finally opened the floodgates to ecommerce, did the geek elite begin to relax.

Three months later, Netscape's public offering took off, and in a blink a world of DIY possibilities was born. Suddenly it became clear that ordinary people could create material anyone with a connection could view. The burgeoning online audience no longer needed ABC for content. Netscape's stock peaked at $75 on its first day of trading, and the world gasped in awe. Was this insanity, or the start of something new?

2005

The scope of the Web today is hard to fathom. The total number of Web pages, including those that are dynamically created upon request and document files available through links, exceeds 600 billion. That's 100 pages per person alive.

How could we create so much, so fast, so well? In fewer than 4,000 days, we have encoded half a trillion versions of our collective story and put them in front of 1 billion people, or one-sixth of the world's population. That remarkable achievement was not in anyone's 10-year plan.

The accretion of tiny marvels can numb us to the arrival of the stupendous. Today, at any Net terminal, you can get: an amazing variety of music and video, an evolving encyclopedia, weather forecasts, help wanted ads, satellite images of anyplace on Earth, up-to-the-minute news from around the globe, tax forms, TV guides, road maps with driving directions, real-time stock quotes, telephone numbers, real estate listings with virtual walk-throughs, pictures of just about anything, sports scores, places to buy almost anything, records of political contributions, library catalogs, appliance manuals, live traffic reports, archives to major newspapers - all wrapped up in an interactive index that really works.

This view is spookily godlike. You can switch your gaze of a spot in the world from map to satellite to 3-D just by clicking. Recall the past? It's there. Or listen to the daily complaints and travails of almost anyone who blogs (and doesn't everyone?). I doubt angels have a better view of humanity.

Why aren't we more amazed by this fullness? Kings of old would have gone to war to win such abilities. Only small children would have dreamed such a magic window could be real. I have reviewed the expectations of waking adults and wise experts, and I can affirm that this comprehensive wealth of material, available on demand and free of charge, was not in anyone's scenario. Ten years ago, anyone silly enough to trumpet the above list as a vision of the near future would have been confronted by the evidence: There wasn't enough money in all the investment firms in the entire world to fund such a cornucopia. The success of the Web at this scale was impossible.

But if we have learned anything in the past decade, it is the plausibility of the impossible.

Take eBay. In some 4,000 days, eBay has gone from marginal Bay Area experiment in community markets to the most profitable spinoff of hypertext. At any one moment, 50 million auctions race through the site. An estimated half a million folks make their living selling through Internet auctions. Ten years ago I heard skeptics swear nobody would ever buy a car on the Web. Last year eBay Motors sold $11 billion worth of vehicles. EBay's 2001 auction of a $4.9 million private jet would have shocked anyone in 1995 - and still smells implausible today.

Nowhere in Ted Nelson's convoluted sketches of hypertext transclusion did the fantasy of a global flea market appear. Especially as the ultimate business model! He hoped to franchise his Xanadu hypertext systems in the physical world at the scale of a copy shop or café - you would go to a store to do your hypertexting. Xanadu would take a cut of the action.

Instead, we have an open global flea market that handles 1.4 billion auctions every year and operates from your bedroom. Users do most of the work; they photograph, catalog, post, and manage their own auctions. And they police themselves; while eBay and other auction sites do call in the authorities to arrest serial abusers, the chief method of ensuring fairness is a system of user-generated ratings. Three billion feedback comments can work wonders.

What we all failed to see was how much of this new world would be manufactured by users, not corporate interests. Amazon.com customers rushed with surprising speed and intelligence to write the reviews that made the site's long-tail selection usable. Owners of Adobe, Apple, and most major software products offer help and advice on the developer's forum Web pages, serving as high-quality customer support for new buyers. And in the greatest leverage of the common user, Google turns traffic and link patterns generated by 2 billion searches a month into the organizing intelligence for a new economy. This bottom-up takeover was not in anyone's 10-year vision.

No Web phenomenon is more confounding than blogging. Everything media experts knew about audiences - and they knew a lot - confirmed the focus group belief that audiences would never get off their butts and start making their own entertainment. Everyone knew writing and reading were dead; music was too much trouble to make when you could sit back and listen; video production was simply out of reach of amateurs. Blogs and other participant media would never happen, or if they happened they would not draw an audience, or if they drew an audience they would not matter. What a shock, then, to witness the near-instantaneous rise of 50 million blogs, with a new one appearing every two seconds. There - another new blog! One more person doing what AOL and ABC - and almost everyone else - expected only AOL and ABC to be doing. These user-created channels make no sense economically. Where are the time, energy, and resources coming from?

The audience.

I run a blog about cool tools. I write it for my own delight and for the benefit of friends. The Web extends my passion to a far wider group for no extra cost or effort. In this way, my site is part of a vast and growing gift economy, a visible underground of valuable creations - text, music, film, software, tools, and services - all given away for free. This gift economy fuels an abundance of choices. It spurs the grateful to reciprocate. It permits easy modification and reuse, and thus promotes consumers into producers.

The open source software movement is another example. Key ingredients of collaborative programming - swapping code, updating instantly, recruiting globally - didn't work on a large scale until the Web was woven. Then software became something you could join, either as a beta tester or as a coder on an open source project. The clever "view source" browser option let the average Web surfer in on the act. And anyone could rustle up a link - which, it turns out, is the most powerful invention of the decade.

Linking unleashes involvement and interactivity at levels once thought unfashionable or impossible. It transforms reading into navigating and enlarges small actions into powerful forces. For instance, hyperlinks made it much easier to create a seamless, scrolling street map of every town. They made it easier for people to refer to those maps. And hyperlinks made it possible for almost anyone to annotate, amend, and improve any map embedded in the Web. Cartography has gone from spectator art to participatory democracy.

The electricity of participation nudges ordinary folks to invest huge hunks of energy and time into making free encyclopedias, creating public tutorials for changing a flat tire, or cataloging the votes in the Senate. More and more of the Web runs in this mode. One study found that only 40 percent of the Web is commercial. The rest runs on duty or passion.

Coming out of the industrial age, when mass-produced goods outclassed anything you could make yourself, this sudden tilt toward consumer involvement is a complete Lazarus move: "We thought that died long ago." The deep enthusiasm for making things, for interacting more deeply than just choosing options, is the great force not reckoned 10 years ago. This impulse for participation has upended the economy and is steadily turning the sphere of social networking - smart mobs, hive minds, and collaborative action - into the main event.

When a company opens its databases to users, as Amazon, Google, and eBay have done with their Web services, it is encouraging participation at new levels. The corporation's data becomes part of the commons and an invitation to participate. People who take advantage of these capabilities are no longer customers; they're the company's developers, vendors, skunk works, and fan base.

A little over a decade ago, a phone survey by Macworld asked a few hundred people what they thought would be worth $10 per month on the information superhighway. The participants started with uplifting services: educational courses, reference books, electronic voting, and library information. The bottom of the list ended with sports statistics, role-playing games, gambling, and dating. Ten years later what folks actually use the Internet for is inverted. According to a 2004 Stanford study, people use the Internet for (in order): playing games, "just surfing," shopping the list ends with responsible activities like politics and banking. (Some even admitted to porn.) Remember, shopping wasn't supposed to happen. Where's Cliff Stoll, the guy who said the Internet was baloney and online catalogs humbug? He has a little online store where he sells handcrafted Klein bottles.

The public's fantasy, revealed in that 1994 survey, began reasonably with the conventional notions of a downloadable world. These assumptions were wired into the infrastructure. The bandwidth on cable and phone lines was asymmetrical: Download rates far exceeded upload rates. The dogma of the age held that ordinary people had no need to upload; they were consumers, not producers. Fast-forward to today, and the poster child of the new Internet regime is BitTorrent. The brilliance of BitTorrent is in its exploitation of near-symmetrical communication rates. Users upload stuff while they are downloading. It assumes participation, not mere consumption. Our communication infrastructure has taken only the first steps in this great shift from audience to participants, but that is where it will go in the next decade.

With the steady advance of new ways to share, the Web has embedded itself into every class, occupation, and region. Indeed, people's anxiety about the Internet being out of the mainstream seems quaint now. In part because of the ease of creation and dissemination, online culture is the culture. Likewise, the worry about the Internet being 100 percent male was entirely misplaced. Everyone missed the party celebrating the 2002 flip-point when women online first outnumbered men. Today, 52 percent of netizens are female. And, of course, the Internet is not and has never been a teenage realm. In 2005, the average user is a bone-creaking 41 years old.

What could be a better mark of irreversible acceptance than adoption by the Amish? I was visiting some Amish farmers recently. They fit the archetype perfectly: straw hats, scraggly beards, wives with bonnets, no electricity, no phones or TVs, horse and buggy outside. They have an undeserved reputation for resisting all technology, when actually they are just very late adopters. Still, I was amazed to hear them mention their Web sites.

"Amish Web sites?" I asked.

"For advertising our family business. We weld barbecue grills in our shop."

"Yes, but "

"Oh, we use the Internet terminal at the public library. And Yahoo!"

I knew then the battle was over.

2015

The Web continues to evolve from a world ruled by mass media and mass audiences to one ruled by messy media and messy participation. How far can this frenzy of creativity go? Encouraged by Web-enabled sales, 175,000 books were published and more than 30,000 music albums were released in the US last year. At the same time, 14 million blogs launched worldwide. All these numbers are escalating. A simple extrapolation suggests that in the near future, everyone alive will (on average) write a song, author a book, make a video, craft a weblog, and code a program. This idea is less outrageous than the notion 150 years ago that someday everyone would write a letter or take a photograph.

What happens when the data flow is asymmetrical - but in favor of creators? What happens when everyone is uploading far more than they download? If everyone is busy making, altering, mixing, and mashing, who will have time to sit back and veg out? Who will be a consumer?

No one. And that's just fine. A world where production outpaces consumption should not be sustainable; that's a lesson from Economics 101. But online, where many ideas that don't work in theory succeed in practice, the audience increasingly doesn't matter. What matters is the network of social creation, the community of collaborative interaction that futurist Alvin Toffler called prosumption. As with blogging and BitTorrent, prosumers produce and consume at once. The producers are the audience, the act of making is the act of watching, and every link is both a point of departure and a destination.

But if a roiling mess of participation is all we think the Web will become, we are likely to miss the big news, again. The experts are certainly missing it. The Pew Internet & American Life Project surveyed more than 1,200 professionals in 2004, asking them to predict the Net's next decade. One scenario earned agreement from two-thirds of the respondents: "As computing devices become embedded in everything from clothes to appliances to cars to phones, these networked devices will allow greater surveillance by governments and businesses." Another was affirmed by one-third: "By 2014, use of the Internet will increase the size of people's social networks far beyond what has traditionally been the case."

These are safe bets, but they fail to capture the Web's disruptive trajectory. The real transformation under way is more akin to what Sun's John Gage had in mind in 1988 when he famously said, "The network is the computer." He was talking about the company's vision of the thin-client desktop, but his phrase neatly sums up the destiny of the Web: As the OS for a megacomputer that encompasses the Internet, all its services, all peripheral chips and affiliated devices from scanners to satellites, and the billions of human minds entangled in this global network. This gargantuan Machine already exists in a primitive form. In the coming decade, it will evolve into an integral extension not only of our senses and bodies but our minds.

Today, the Machine acts like a very large computer with top-level functions that operate at approximately the clock speed of an early PC. It processes 1 million emails each second, which essentially means network email runs at 1 megahertz. Same with Web searches. Instant messaging runs at 100 kilohertz, SMS at 1 kilohertz. The Machine's total external RAM is about 200 terabytes. In any one second, 10 terabits can be coursing through its backbone, and each year it generates nearly 20 exabytes of data. Its distributed "chip" spans 1 billion active PCs, which is approximately the number of transistors in one PC.

This planet-sized computer is comparable in complexity to a human brain. Both the brain and the Web have hundreds of billions of neurons (or Web pages). Each biological neuron sprouts synaptic links to thousands of other neurons, while each Web page branches into dozens of hyperlinks. That adds up to a trillion "synapses" between the static pages on the Web. The human brain has about 100 times that number - but brains are not doubling in size every few years. The Machine is.

Since each of its "transistors" is itself a personal computer with a billion transistors running lower functions, the Machine is fractal. In total, it harnesses a quintillion transistors, expanding its complexity beyond that of a biological brain. It has already surpassed the 20-petahertz threshold for potential intelligence as calculated by Ray Kurzweil. For this reason some researchers pursuing artificial intelligence have switched their bets to the Net as the computer most likely to think first. Danny Hillis, a computer scientist who once claimed he wanted to make an AI "that would be proud of me," has invented massively parallel supercomputers in part to advance us in that direction. He now believes the first real AI will emerge not in a stand-alone supercomputer like IBM's proposed 23-teraflop Blue Brain, but in the vast digital tangle of the global Machine.

In 10 years, the system will contain hundreds of millions of miles of fiber-optic neurons linking the billions of ant-smart chips embedded into manufactured products, buried in environmental sensors, staring out from satellite cameras, guiding cars, and saturating our world with enough complexity to begin to learn. We will live inside this thing.

Today the nascent Machine routes packets around disturbances in its lines; by 2015 it will anticipate disturbances and avoid them. It will have a robust immune system, weeding spam from its trunk lines, eliminating viruses and denial-of-service attacks the moment they are launched, and dissuading malefactors from injuring it again. The patterns of the Machine's internal workings will be so complex they won't be repeatable; you won't always get the same answer to a given question. It will take intuition to maximize what the global network has to offer. The most obvious development birthed by this platform will be the absorption of routine. The Machine will take on anything we do more than twice. It will be the Anticipation Machine.

One great advantage the Machine holds in this regard: It's always on. It is very hard to learn if you keep getting turned off, which is the fate of most computers. AI researchers rejoice when an adaptive learning program runs for days without crashing. The fetal Machine has been running continuously for at least 10 years (30 if you want to be picky). I am aware of no other machine - of any type - that has run that long with zero downtime. While portions may spin down due to power outages or cascading infections, the entire thing is unlikely to go quiet in the coming decade. It will be the most reliable gadget we have.

And the most universal. By 2015, desktop operating systems will be largely irrelevant. The Web will be the only OS worth coding for. It won't matter what device you use, as long as it runs on the Web OS. You will reach the same distributed computer whether you log on via phone, PDA, laptop, or HDTV.

In the 1990s, the big players called that convergence. They peddled the image of multiple kinds of signals entering our lives through one box - a box they hoped to control. By 2015 this image will be turned inside out. In reality, each device is a differently shaped window that peers into the global computer. Nothing converges. The Machine is an unbounded thing that will take a billion windows to glimpse even part of. It is what you'll see on the other side of any screen.

And who will write the software that makes this contraption useful and productive? We will. In fact, we're already doing it, each of us, every day. When we post and then tag pictures on the community photo album Flickr, we are teaching the Machine to give names to images. The thickening links between caption and picture form a neural net that can learn. Think of the 100 billion times per day humans click on a Web page as a way of teaching the Machine what we think is important. Each time we forge a link between words, we teach it an idea. Wikipedia encourages its citizen authors to link each fact in an article to a reference citation. Over time, a Wikipedia article becomes totally underlined in blue as ideas are cross-referenced. That massive cross-referencing is how brains think and remember. It is how neural nets answer questions. It is how our global skin of neurons will adapt autonomously and acquire a higher level of knowledge.

The human brain has no department full of programming cells that configure the mind. Rather, brain cells program themselves simply by being used. Likewise, our questions program the Machine to answer questions. We think we are merely wasting time when we surf mindlessly or blog an item, but each time we click a link we strengthen a node somewhere in the Web OS, thereby programming the Machine by using it.

What will most surprise us is how dependent we will be on what the Machine knows - about us and about what we want to know. We already find it easier to Google something a second or third time rather than remember it ourselves. The more we teach this megacomputer, the more it will assume responsibility for our knowing. It will become our memory. Then it will become our identity. In 2015 many people, when divorced from the Machine, won't feel like themselves - as if they'd had a lobotomy.

Legend has it that Ted Nelson invented Xanadu as a remedy for his poor memory and attention deficit disorder. In this light, the Web as memory bank should be no surprise. Still, the birth of a machine that subsumes all other machines so that in effect there is only one Machine, which penetrates our lives to such a degree that it becomes essential to our identity - this will be full of surprises. Especially since it is only the beginning.

There is only one time in the history of each planet when its inhabitants first wire up its innumerable parts to make one large Machine. Later that Machine may run faster, but there is only one time when it is born.

You and I are alive at this moment.

We should marvel, but people alive at such times usually don't. Every few centuries, the steady march of change meets a discontinuity, and history hinges on that moment. We look back on those pivotal eras and wonder what it would have been like to be alive then. Confucius, Zoroaster, Buddha, and the latter Jewish patriarchs lived in the same historical era, an inflection point known as the axial age of religion. Few world religions were born after this time. Similarly, the great personalities converging upon the American Revolution and the geniuses who commingled during the invention of modern science in the 17th century mark additional axial phases in the short history of our civilization.

Three thousand years from now, when keen minds review the past, I believe that our ancient time, here at the cusp of the third millennium, will be seen as another such era. In the years roughly coincidental with the Netscape IPO, humans began animating inert objects with tiny slivers of intelligence, connecting them into a global field, and linking their own minds into a single thing. This will be recognized as the largest, most complex, and most surprising event on the planet. Weaving nerves out of glass and radio waves, our species began wiring up all regions, all processes, all facts and notions into a grand network. From this embryonic neural net was born a collaborative interface for our civilization, a sensing, cognitive device with power that exceeded any previous invention. The Machine provided a new way of thinking (perfect search, total recall) and a new mind for an old species. It was the Beginning.

In retrospect, the Netscape IPO was a puny rocket to herald such a moment. The product and the company quickly withered into irrelevance, and the excessive exuberance of its IPO was downright tame compared with the dotcoms that followed. First moments are often like that. After the hysteria has died down, after the millions of dollars have been gained and lost, after the strands of mind, once achingly isolated, have started to come together - the only thing we can say is: Our Machine is born. It's on.

10 Years That Changed the World from Wired

Posted by OneWebCo at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 29, 2005

Is "Spyware" Watching You?

- by Jim Edwards

Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call from a friend who told me he'd been the victim of a "spyware" attack that left him shaking at his loss of privacy.

I listened to his horror story with a sympathetic ear, but I felt secure since I carry anti-virus software and a firewall (both by Norton).

At his suggestion - and to my surprise - I ran a program called "Spy Sweeper" and found a veritable minefield of dangerous and harmful programs lurking on my computer.

"Spyware" is software that gets onto your computer and literally "spies" on your activities.

The spying can range from relatively harmless use of cookies tracking you across multiple websites... to extremely dangerous "keystroke loggers" which record passwords, credit cards, and other personal data. That data then gets relayed to the person who put the
software on your computer.

Three primary types of spyware exist to complicate your online life, including:

1. "cookies" 2. "adware" 3. malicious programs like "keystroke loggers"

Cookies represent mostly a danger of lost privacy.

In theory, someone could use a "cookie" to track you across multiple sites, combine that data with several databases, and figure out a lot more information about you than would make you comfortable.

"Adware" tracks more than just your movement across sites, it spies on your installed software and computer habits to then serve up advertising, modify websites before you see them, and generally do things without your knowledge with the intention of trying to get you to buy things.

"Keystroke loggers" and other malicious programs exist for one purpose: to cause personal mayhem and financial damage.

Spyware gets on your computer in one of several different ways.

First, it rides along with software you download from the 'Net and install on your system.

Second, they come as email attachments (much like viruses) and automatically install themselves on your computer when you open the email message.

Third, hackers find an open port on your computer and use the "back door" to install basically anything they want.

And fourth, the more malicious types, like keystroke loggers, can even get installed by someone with direct physical access to your computer such as an employer, suspicious spouse, business competitor, or someone who wants to know exactly what you're doing.

Now, suppose you carry an up-to-date anti-virus program and a firewall - shouldn't that represent potent protection?

In a word: NO!

I can personally attest that even the most up-to-date anti-virus programs and firewalls will not (repeat, WILL NOT) catch all the spyware that can infest your computer.

You need a program that specifically scans your system for the tens- of-thousands of existing spyware programs along with the new ones appearing daily.

Check out "Spy Sweeper" from webroot.com - this is the program I used to discover the spyware on my computer.

One thing I noticed, however, is that this program is a memory hog, so once I scanned, I turned it off and then use it 2-3 times a week... not the best strategy, but I want to give you the "whole" picture.

I also got the following recommendations from numerous subscribers about 2 programs to specifically help identify and remove spyware from your system (PC):

1. "Ad Aware" from lavasoft.de 2. "Spybot Search & Destroy" from safer-networking.org

The overwhelmingly recommended firewall suggested by readers was Zone Alarm Pro from Zone Labs

The bottom line seems pretty simple (but lengthy) if you want to protect yourself against this growing threat.

~ Keep your anti-virus program current ~ Install a firewall ~ Carefully screen software before installing it ~ Scan for specifically for spyware weekly ~ Stay current on this growing threat.

Posted by OneWebCo at 08:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 28, 2005

Sometimes things change...

Sometimes things change and are never the same again. Learn how to read the handwriting on the wall, know when changes are coming, and cash in on them before anyone else.

Do you pity the old guy standing in the line up at the bank, just to pay his phone bill? He probably has a twenty minute wait, simply because he doesn't, "get it."

Yes, when banks started allowing you to pay utility bills, it was a great leap forward. Then came the ATM (automated teller machines). Suddenly there were a lot more people paying at the machine and a lot less tellers.

Hot on the heals of the ATM was paying bills by phone. In the last couple of years, paying the bills via online banking. Even fewer tellers were required, because fewer people were standing in line.

But if you didn't adapt to the ATM, or paying by phone, or to internet banking, you still need to go to the bank and stand in line. That's the core of the digital revolution and evolution. Things change. You either "get it" or stand in line.

Think about your job, your company, what you provide for a second. Can it be automated, digitized, made wireless, done by remote control, or put on the internet using broadband technologies? If it can, you have two choices. Either adapt or become extinct.

Considering the thousands of years of human history, it was only 101 years ago, that the first Ford Model A rolled off the assembly line. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903, and started trading on July 13th. On that day, the first three motor cars were sold. Now its a billion dollar industry. You don't see many horses on the road anymore.

In the same year, Wilber and Orville flew the world's first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk on Dec 17 1903. Orville flew the Wright Flyer about 120 feet, in about 12 seconds. Think about that, next time you sit in a multi million dollar jet, flown and totally controlled by computers. It was only 101 years ago. Now its a billion dollar industry.

If you ask Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, "The Wright Brothers created the single greatest cultural force since the invention of writing. The airplane became the first world wide web, bringing people, languages, ideas, and values together."

Gee, imagine that, in just a few years, we've learned that the earth is not flat, how to fly, build and drive cars, and compress billions of transistors on the head of a pin.

I know the feeling of change. They laughed at me in 1988, when I told them the computer would revolutionize the graphic industry. They laughed at me in 1993, when I told them the internet was the most important communications tool since the printing press. They laughed at me in 1995, when I told them PDF would change the face of publishing forever.

As you can see, I get laughed at a lot. I'm always on the leading edge or leaping ledge as some people call it. But they're not laughing now. Especially those who lost their jobs, because they refused to adapt and change.

To people who say, "That's the way we've always done it around here. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. My granddaddy was a blank, my father was a blank, and I'm gonna be a... " What??? Unemployed? Untrainable? Unemployable?

Sorry, you either embrace technology or get left behind. (At the very least, you'll be standing in a very, very, very long line up of other people that don't "get it" either.) Or better yet, ask yourself the question, "What will happen, if I don't change?" Hmmm, something to ponder.

Now before you go saying, "Yea it's easy for you Campbell." No way dude! Computers didn't exist when I graduated high school. The ones that did used punch cards and filled entire floors of office buildings. Canada - where I live - switched to the metric system, throwing pounds, miles and gallons out the window. But I went back and learned computers and the metric system on my own. So what I'm trying to say is...

More and more, the quality our lives, and how much leisure time we have, will depend on how quickly we adapt and learn new technologies, to grow into them, and integrate them as part of our lives.

We will need to "wear" the technology, as information flows through and around us, from our homes, to our portables, to our cars, into the office, and as we freely walk about. (I just hope they have a good manual with plenty of pictures. ;-)

Look at all this amazing stuff in our lives; computers, remote control everything, robotics, digitizers, PVRs, wireless networks, camera phones, webcams, MP3 players, GPS systems, online banking, streaming video on demand.... my life is totally digital and there's no end in sight. I've read more user manuals in the past year, than I've read in the previous ten. I choose to adapt, rather than become extinct.

According to George F. Colony, CEO of Forrester Research, "In the future there will be no medium -- a piece of plastic or a spool of tape that will contain film or music content. The DVD is the last digital medium for film -- beyond it lies no medium.

Music or film will be just another pile of bits sitting undifferentiated alongside bank account statements, credit card information, voice mail, email, and other data that will freely slosh around in a consumer's life. There's no "there" there in the future."

Well, what about those people who don't want to learn new things, or are lazy, or think it's too hard? According to the IBM TV commercials. "Get it, or get in line." Sound familiar by now?

According to Dr. Spencer Johnston, "If you do not change, you can become extinct. Get out of your comfort zone and adapt to change sooner. Take control, rather than let things happen to you."

According to Forrester, "Stop the denial. Get over it, get on with it, figure it out. Or end up in the dustbin of history with sheet music publishers."

And speaking of music, everyone's heard about Apple's Music Store. For only a buck a song (you don't need to buy the whole CD) you can download only what you like, and immediately play it on your computer, or iPod MP3 player. With instant downloadable music and video on demand, could this be the end of the "record store" and "video rental store" as we know it?

And speaking of video, according to Forrester, nearly 1 billion internet users will have video by the end of 2005. Are you getting a head start on the competition? Can you grab even 1% of that market (10 million customers) if you start now?

Let me repeat something you've already read, "Stop the denial. Get over it, get on with it, figure it out. Or end up in the dustbin of history."

So am I telling you this to scare you, or make you nervous? Heavens no. I hope to inspire you. To look to the future for opportunities that other people will miss. Here is a metaphor that will explain what I'm talking about.

Is there a festival being planned in that park - down the road - near your home? I'll bet you could sell a lot of hot dogs and soda, if you got there first and set up your stand early. Sounds a little like what Mark Twain tried to tell us over 100 years ago, "Find out where the people are going, and get there first."

With all this new technology coming out, it's a wonderful time we live in, and the opportunities are everywhere. Heard about any new stuff coming out? Is that what your website is about? Are there affiliate programs you can join? Are you going to provide information and help people make their buying decision?

Hmm, helping people for a commission, sounds like a heck of a sustainable business model. Want to know whats coming? Start reading the news feeds. Particularly the technology and science ones. It's simple...

Go to your favorite search engine and look for an RSS newsreader. Download one and install it on your computer.

Then go to newsisfree.com and start subscribing to services like Forbes, Red Herring, CNET News & Personal Tech, ACM Tech, New Scientist, Business Week, Internetnews, Slashdot and Wired. You are about to discover the future and everything that is yet to come.

My advice is to spend your freshest time of the day, in the morning or whatever works for you, reading the headlines and any groundbreaking stories you are interested in.

Keep careful attention while reading the news. Be aware of what's happening around you. Take note of small changes and recurring stories. They're often a tell tale sign of things to come.

Change happens. And as I said at the beginning. Sometimes things change and are never the same again. Will you be ready? Will you learn how to read the handwriting on the wall, know when changes are coming, and cash in on them before anyone else. I bet you will now.

by Michael Campbell

Author of....

Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced search engine linking strategies and diagrams for increased revenue.

Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home business training system for new affiliates.

Nothing but 'Net... Simple internet marketing strategy that made $750,000 in less than a year. Get a free copy of this breakthrough
best seller now simply by subscribing to Michaels newsletter:
Internet Marketing Secrets Newsletter... Learn how to harness the money making power of multiple internet revenue streams like search engines, affiliate programs, paid advertising, opt-in email, newsletters, ebooks and lot more in internet marketing secrets. Subscribe now and get a free lifetime membership.

Posted by OneWebCo at 07:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 27, 2005

3 Better Ways To Search Online

- by Jim Edwards

Nothing creates a more frustrating online experience than pulling up your favorite search engine to find something simple and coming away empty handed after an hour of searching.

Search engines - those sites that allegedly help you find what you want online - can cause no end of grief if you don't know some simple tricks that will vastly improve your search results.

Suppose you wanted to find information regarding 1954 Ford truck parts. Most people would search this subject by going to their favorite search engine and typing in 1954 Ford truck parts. The search engine would hopefully return results for sites that matched those keywords.

However, search engines usually also return results including sites containing only some of the words in your search. So in this example you would also get sites not only about 1954 Ford truck parts, but on 1954 Fords, Ford trucks, truck parts, and trucks.

Virtually everyone knows the frustration of typing keywords (the topic of your search) into a search engine, clicking the search button, and then facing the prospect of sorting through a million pages (literally) to find what you want.

For everyone experiencing search engine frustration, these suggestions should quickly improve your results.

Tip #1 - To aid you in searching more efficiently, most search engines allow surfers to perform "Boolean" searches.

This feature narrows the results to only those websites containing all the words specified, but not necessarily in the exact order.

Those searching for 1954 Ford truck parts would enter 1954 AND Ford AND truck AND parts into the search box to find sites containing all of those words.

Tip #2 - Using quotation marks around keyword sets yields even more specific results.

"1954 Ford truck parts" should produce only those websites containing this exact phrase somewhere in the website.

Tip #3 - The more specific you get right up front, the better.

If you want to look for antique car parts for your 1954 Ford truck, start your search with "1954 Ford truck parts" and work from there.

Don't start with "1954 Ford" because you'll probably just waste time sorting through everything from cars to magazines to collector clubs.

It would also help if you searched by the model and any other specific information.

If refining your searches doesn't get you where you want to go, several programs exist to help you search more quickly and effectively.

Copernic (www.copernic.com) examines multiple search engines then compares each engine's results against the rest to determine the best sites.

The program then ranks the resulting sites and displays them for the user. Copernic's free version allows users unlimited searches for websites.

Web Ferret (www.ferretsoft.com) also offers a free program that queries multiple search engines and displays the ranked results in the user's web browser for easy surfing.

With the addition of millions of web pages every week, continuously honing your search skills represents one of the smartest investments of time and energy any serious web surfer can make.

Posted by OneWebCo at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 26, 2005

2 PC Annoyances and How To Solve Them!

- by Jim Edwards

I have a love-hate relationship with my computer.

In fact, often I love to hate my computer!

It will do things I know even the great Mr. Gates didn't intend, and it usually does them at the least convenient time (like when I'm on a deadline or in a hurry).

Rather than the usual whining and doing nothing about it, I've decided to share a couple of things that previously annoyed the heck out of me and the solutions I found to help you avoid these same problems.

Disappearing Internet Explorer Status Bar

The status bar at the bottom of the Internet Explorer web browser serves many purposes.

It allows you to hold your mouse over a link to see where the link will take you.

It enables you to see a page's loading progress as you wait for it to download.

Most importantly, the status bar allows you to see the little gold "lock" symbol that lets you know you've made a connection to a secure server (very important to know before you input credit card data).

For some inexplicable reason, from time to time, this status bar disappears from my browser.

Also, the toolbars at the top tend to move periodically and mess up my "system" for surfing the Internet.

Now, it's not the end of the world, but it really ticks me off when things change and I didn't change them! If this ever happens to you, here's how to literally "lock" the toolbars and status bar in place so they don't disappear or move again.

First, close all your Internet Explorer web browser windows except for one. If the status bar doesn't already appear in the window, go to "View" and then click "status bar."

Also, make sure you have all the toolbars arranged the way you want them.

Next, place your mouse over a blank spot on one of the tool bars at the top of the Internet Explorer browser window.

Right-mouse-click and a menu will appear where you should check the option "Lock the Toolbars."

Then, while holding down the key, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the window to close it. This will set your selection.

If you ever need to change your toolbars in the future, simply right-mouse-click on the toolbar and uncheck the "Lock the Toolbars" option, make the changes, and then re-lock the toolbars to keep them from moving or disappearing.

Missing File Extensions

One of the biggest pains in the neck involves opening Windows Explorer, viewing a list of files, and not being able to see the file extension (.doc, .txt, .html, etc.) for each file.

For some reason, Windows considers this classified information!

To make the file extensions show up, click "Start" then "Control Panel." Double-click "Folder Options" then click the "View" tab. Scroll down the list and uncheck the box that says "Hide extensions for known file types."

You will now see the file extensions any time you open up Windows Explorer.

Posted by OneWebCo at 10:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 25, 2005

Improving Productivity

If you have employees, here are three great productivity enhancers.

1) Free coffee. When coffee is provided for free, staff rarely "go for coffee" or take breaks. If they have to take a break to "get coffee," they are likely to take the full time allotted.

If the coffee is provided for free, they simply walk to the coffee machine, pour a fresh cup and return to work, not taking a formal break, greatly increasing productivity.

(I've seen companies take this a step further and provide things like instant noodles, soups, crackers, or even microwave pizza. Rather than go for lunch, staff will rise to the occasion when required, and continue working when a quick "hunger stopper" is provided.)

2) It's not about the money. Money satisfies needs, but does not motivate people to work harder. If you give someone a raise, they are likely to work harder, but usually for less than a week.

Praise and recognition for achievements are the greatest motivators, and most likely to increase productivity. They'll be remembered for weeks or even years, especially if you give the praise in front of the rest of the staff, or have an event, like a special award.

(The exception to this rule, is a sales person earning a percentage of gross sales. Money is in direct correlation to the effort.)

3) Outdated equipment like slow computers. People using fast computers (two years old or less) are able to get their jobs done, and move on to the next task much faster.

Modern software and the files they generate are huge, way bigger than they used to be a couple of years ago. They require more RAM, hard drive space and computing power.

So if your staff are singing while they work, they might not be as happy as you think. They might just be trying to stay awake, waiting for their five year old computer to finish its task.

So what are you going to do next year to improve productivity? Pay your staff more or hire more people? Chances are... neither will won't work.

Praise and recognize your staff's achievements (even the small ones), provide them with snacks, coffee and decent equipment, and your office will be a whole lot happier and productive, without paying more wages or hiring more people.

by Michael Campbell

Author of....

Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced search engine linking strategies and diagrams for increased revenue.

Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home business training system for new affiliates.

Posted by OneWebCo at 09:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 24, 2005

Why You Should Only Follow One "Guru" At A Time

By Michael Green

If you are out there trying to make money via Internet Marketing then you are not by any means alone. There are now tens-of-thousands of folks working part-time, trying to generate enough income to leave their 9-5 and live off their online income for good.

But sadly, for most of these people, the reality is that they will probably scrape by month-by-month, earning the odd commission check, but never really breaking thru' to the "Online Big Time"!

Now as someone who has been fortunate enough to translate that ultimate dream of making enough money 'while I sleep', to give up my day job (if I chose to), I've been troubled about why others work just as hard as me (or harder) online - but never seem to make it to the holy grail of internet profits.

So eventually I conducted a piece of research using the responses from people who have taken my internet marketing mini-course.

And the results were most revealing...

Too Many Experts - Too Little Time!

Something that I had long suspected and have even experienced for myself, turns out to be absolutely true.

There is a lot of excellent help and advice available out there for online marketers.

In fact you don't need to look very far and you'll soon be stumbling across internet marketing experts that'll tell you much about important subjects like:

- product creation

- autoresponders

- opt-in lists

- follow-up marketing

- choosing the right pricing

- running affiliate programs

- and so on...and so forth...

But, confusingly each and every one of these "experts" sets themselves up to be an authoritative "guru".

And now suddenly (for the average Joe trying to make a good living online) the marketplace in advice is overcrowded and very confusing.

Sure, a lot of the available information seems to be very good, but where should you start and who should you believe?

Worse still...one expert seems to be contradicting the next and everyone is SHOUTING so loud that you just don't know what to do for the best (or first).

And the result of all this?

Complete Paralysis!

Your online work lacks direction. One minute you're following guru "A", next you're dipping into guru "B's" advice, but then an email pops through from guru "S" and what they have to say looks simply irresistible. Suddenly you are being pulled in so many directions that you just can't think where to start!

One "Guru" at a time please!

So what should you be doing to build your own successful online business?

For me (and for those who I have tutored), the answer has been to select one 'all round expert' to follow. Find a marketing "guru" who you feel comfortable with. Someone who you've read a little about and believe can educate you in the rights and wrongs of online product creation and marketing.

Most importantly, take a look at the writing style of the "guru" you are thinking of learning from. And ask yourself?

- Is this a writing style that I can understand?

- Does this "guru" have a natural ability to put a lot of information across to me in a clear and readable fashion?

And most importantly of all...

- Has this so called "guru" really done this for themselves? Or to put it another way - do they know what they're talking about?

Now Focus On This One Person Until You've Achieved Online Success

Having answered the above questions and chosen your expert - follow them until you have become successful yourself.

If you've chosen wisely, then having purchased some of your gurus information, they won't mind when you come back to ask the occasional direct question.

For example, I frequently receive emails like:

"Michael, I read what you said about XYZ, but could you point me in the right direction to achieve this other important challenge?"

Follow a knowledgeable expert and they won't mind sharing a little extra information with you.

But, best of all if you concentrate on one person's advice at a time, you are far more likely to make a success of your own online business - if only because you won't waste loads of your time trying out a little bit from everyone, and being pulled in so many directions that you end up achieving nothing.

To your online marketing success!

Michael Green Developer of the "Create & Sell Products Online" toolkit.

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You can develop your own online business by following the step-by step advice of the above author, Michael Green. He has created a toolkit for anyone wanting to create their own successful online business. Michael's own range of online products are in the top 10 on ClickBank's marketplace, proving that he is a top online marketer himself. His latest toolkit shows you exactly how to follow in his footsteps, to create your own online business.
Click here to find out more
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Posted by OneWebCo at 12:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 23, 2005

Selling Techniques

Is fear of selling keeping you from converting your prospects into buyers?

Here are my top 10 techniques for squashing fear and transferring your confidence to create happy lifetime customers. Selling... probably one of the most feared words in the English language, right up there with public speaking. But if you've ever persuaded someone to see things from your point of view, you're already a salesperson. Here's how to nip the fear of selling in the bud.

What are you afraid of? Fear of success, fear of failure, acceptance, judgment, what everyone thinks about you, your clothes, your haircut, the car you drive?

You know what?

Forget about it.

Fear has to do with punishment. Don't worry, no one is going to punish you for having an ugly web site, or lousy selling techniques. You might not get many people converting to buyers, but how can you get good at something unless you practice?

If you think about it, fear is just an absence of love. The only cure is to add love and compassion. That's why the first newsletter I wrote in the summer of '99 was... love what you do. If you honestly add value and truly want to be of service and help people, it's a far more abundant attitude than a mere sales mentality.

If you are truly helpful, people will want to buy from you. All you need to do, is transfer your confidence to them. That's all selling is really. To make someone as comfortable about their choice as possible. But they won't be confident if you're not.

That's why, you need to know as much as possible, about what you are selling. Suppose I come to you and say, "This where I am now, but this is where I want to be."

That measure, or distance between the two, is your opportunity to make the sale. This is where it's crucial to understand, which product will best fulfill my needs. Sometimes, it's not your product. But I expect you to know that.

That's one of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make. Going after the short term, or single sale, rather than building the lifetime value or relationship with the customer. That said, here are a few rules we can apply to conquer the fear of selling, whether it's a product, service, or selling ourselves.

1) People love to buy, but hate to be sold. So sell what people want to buy, not what you want to sell. One road leads to riches, the other to poverty.

2) Believe in your product. Know the features and benefits. But also know when it's not right for a particular situation. People will respect your honesty.

3) Say the right thing on a continual basis. Stick to the truth, what you've experienced, the facts, and first hand proof. Avoid hearsay or stories you've heard others tell. In other words, keep hype to a minimum, or better yet, remove it completely. Hype doesn't work anymore, especially on customers less than 30 years old.

4a) Don't use the tired phrases and wording that everyone else is using. They don't work anymore. (Words and phrases like; skyrocket, through the roof, amazing, fantastic, incredible, outrageous, ground-breaking, special, time limited, never again, powerful, reveal, exposed, moneymaking, fortune, profit.)

4b) All of the words in the list above, should be permanently banned from your sales vocabulary - and your sales letters - if you want to reach todays buyers. Todays buyers have their hype meters on full alert, and are quick to say, "bullship" totally ignoring the rest of your message. In fact, these hype words are so associated with spam that they won't even get past most email filters.

5) Go after the long term relationship, even turning away business that's not a proper fit for you, your company, or your personality. If there's something that bothers you about a prospect, even if its a small thing, it will seem 10 times bigger down the road. Choose your clients - your relationships - carefully.

6) Don't train your customers to wait for a sale. Offer good value at a fair price at all times. Above all, offer exemplary customer service. People will always return to someone, or a place, that made them good.

7) Think service, not sales. Ask what you can give in any situation, not what you can get. Start by being compassionate towards your customer.

8) People buy on emotion and later use logic, to justify a purchase decision. If you appeal to the emotion, the end result, how something will make someone feel, focusing on benefits, or feelings, as opposed to features, your conversion rates will be much higher.

9) Sell what you know. For knowledge is certain, not mere perception. Help customers make a wise decision. Make them feel good about their decision, by transferring your confidence to them.

10) Finally, when the time is right, don't be afraid to ask for the order, with a strong call to action. Say, "Can I wrap one of those up for you?" or "Would you like to take one home with you?" On your web site do the same thing, "Click here to have it delivered to your door." or "Click here to download it to your computer immediately."

Follow these top 10 techniques to squash your fear of selling, and you'll be well on your way to more confidence, which when transferred to your prospect, will make them a happy customer. One that rewards your desire to learn, inform and serve, with a long term relationship, returning time and again, as a customer for life.

by Michael Campbell

Author of....

Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced search engine linking strategies and diagrams for increased revenue.

Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home business training system for new affiliates.

Posted by OneWebCo at 10:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 22, 2005

Surviving Tough Times Online

- by Jim Edwards

With economic problems dominating the headlines, all businesses, online and off, need to make the most of every single customer contact if they hope to stay in business!

Consumers want to hang onto every dollar and only spend money for things they feel they really "must" have. To put yourself and your business in the best position to survive and thrive in the current economy, follow these simple rules for making every website visitor count.

The first step in making every visitor count involves knowing exactly what people want from you. The vast majority of businesses never bother to ask what customers and visitors want, and therefore, they make fewer sales than they could with a little research.

Smart online business owners use surveys regularly to stay in touch with customer needs, tastes, and preferences. It costs next to nothing to ask a customer what they want and then simply give it to them. But, it may cost you everything if you don't take the time to ask first.

Next, businesses hoping to make it in these uncertain economic times must form alliances with other business owners who cater to the same audience. Other business owners have the traffic you need in order to grow your business.

For this reason, you must constantly look for creative ways to work with them. The easiest way to profit by working with other website owners involves endorsing each other's products to your own lists or, at a minimum, trading links to funnel traffic back and forth.

Creating traffic from "scratch" rates the slowest and costliest way to bring customers to your website. Persuading other people to send targeted traffic your way puts you on the fast track to profits.

The third step for triumphing in uncertain economic times entails building one-on-one relationships with your customers and prospects, even if you have thousands of them. They must feel as if you are speaking only to them in all of your communications.

The quickest way to accomplish this involves specializing in one highly specific area of concern for them. In other words, no matter what you sell, you'll never succeed as "Wal-Mart." To succeed, your online business must completely meet the needs of your customers in one, specific area.

Time to face facts: the Internet won't go away! In fact, despite the well publicized "dot bombs" of a couple of years ago, the Internet forms a more integral part of our lives than ever.

Even if you feel like your business, your job, or some other important aspect of your life doesn't depend on the Internet today, what about tomorrow?

Finally, everyone must stay current at all times with the ever-changing landscape of the Internet. At some point, virtually every one of us will find the Internet an integral part of our business lives.

As effective business people, we must develop the ability to adapt to change and give customers what they want - not in months or years -but in the space of hours or days.

Posted by OneWebCo at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 21, 2005

Management by Trust Instead of Fear

Management by trust instead of fear. How positive rewards can get people to do what you want, be part of the team and work together in a happy environment. Management is the act of directing, guiding, controlling, administrating for a purpose. How one "manages" however, is usually up to the individual.

Management of people, like teaching and training usually relies on positive or negative reinforcement for ones actions. Positive reinforcement can be thought of as building trust, whereas negative reinforcement can be thought of as spreading fear.

Fear focuses on what was done wrong, puts people down, belittles them, makes them feel unworthy. Trust focuses on what was done right, looks at how much was achieved, makes people happy and more likely to perform even better the next time.

Fear yells at the employees and makes public humiliation a weapon. People will start avoiding public contact with the manager. Trust talks quietly and never reprimands one employee in front of another. Everything that is said remains private, with one to one meetings held in a separate room.

Fear says don't do this, or you're fired, don't do that, or you're fired. Fear holds the job and never gives a sense it is truly yours. Trust leads by example and says do this, do that, gives power and decision making capability to the employee, making them feel the job is truly theirs to do.

No one likes a manager that uses fear. Employee turnover is likely to be very high. Employees probably won't care. They just punch the clock to get a paycheck. Everyone likes someone they can trust. With trust, employees are likely to put in years of service and take pride in the work they do.

Fear leads to animosity and bitterness between employees. They are not likely to develop friendships or good will towards each other. They are likely to compete against each other, rather than the true competition. Trust creates team players, employees that work together for the common good of the organization, realizing they are "in the same boat." Together - as a company - they sink or swim.

Fear leads employees to say, it wasn't me, it was like that when I found it, I don't know. Trust leads employees to be accountable for their actions, to learn from mistakes, so everyone can help each other from preventing the same mistake from happening again.

Fear destroys creativity and freezes employees into predictable mindless patterns, where they are afraid of change and self improvement. Trust spawns creativity where employees constantly think about better ways of doing their jobs, to anticipate and adapt to change, and not be afraid of failure, or trying new things.

As you can see, all behavior can be modified quite simply by using positive reinforcement. If the reinforcement happens at the same time as the action, it increases the likelihood that the positive action will happen again.

By being a positive person, setting a good example, offering encouragement, forgiving mistakes, talking quietly, people are more likely to listen to you. Especially if you reward them for a job well done. It could be a simple pat on the back, a handshake, or other little bonus like getting off early.

That's the most important thing of all, to recognize all the achievements, even the small ones. Say good catch if someone prevents a mistake. Say good job to a person in front of the other employees and supervisors. For positive reinforcement, recognition of an achievement, is the greatest motivator of all.

Remember, fear is all about punishment. It is an absence of love and compassion. It brings up painful emotions like anxiety, apprehension and dread. It is impending danger and the expectation of evil.

Trust is all about goodness. It is faith and belief in the integrity, confidence, reliance, and friendship of another person. It is certainty, dependence, assurance, an entirely positive state of mind.

What type of teacher, trainer, parent and manager will you be?

by Michael Campbell

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July 20, 2005

Crying For Help Online

- by Jim Edwards

Anyone surfing the Internet for more than a week eventually needs help from someone else. Whether regarding an online purchase, technical support on computer hardware, software support or some other type of help, sooner or later everyone needs assistance.

The way in which you ask for help has everything to do with how fast and how well you receive assistance. In the online world where email rules, the following tips will help you get what you need and get on your way quickly.

Remember the "person" on the other end

When something on your computer or a particular website doesn't function properly, irritation seems a natural reaction, especially when you have no clue why things don't work or how to fix them. A sense of helplessness often leads to feelings of frustration and anger. However, no matter how upset you get, you must always remember that a live person will receive your email communication and, in many cases, they didn't cause your problem directly.

Remember, those email "missiles" that make you feel better in the short term will almost always come back to haunt you over the long haul.

When first asking for help, never send notes with phrases such as "If you don't respond to me within two hours I'm going to contact my lawyer." or "I sure hope this isn't a scam." Rarely do such comments produce the cheerful help or assistance you actually want.

"Please" and "Thank You"

Common courtesy goes a long way towards getting what you want, especially regarding technical support. Notes with nasty comments put the person on the receiving end in a bad frame of mind. However, notes with a polite tone sprinkled generously with "please" and "thank you" will usually receive prompt and courteous attention. You can always get more severe later if you must.

Don't use ALL CAPS

Using all capital letters in an email rates the same as SHOUTING in someone's face! Ignorance of this custom online does not excuse the behavior.

Though you may think typing certain words in ALL CAPS merely shows emphasis on your part, to a "computer geek" you will seem rude and offensive. Once you have offended the person from whom you seek help, your chances of receiving that help diminish significantly.

Get to the point

Everything happens quickly online. Time ranks number one as the customer support person's scarcest resource and they don't have time to read long emails to figure out what you need.

When asking for help, always include your name, contact information, order information, specific dates and a clear description of the help or information you need.

Avoid including any extraneous information that won't contribute directly in assisting someone in giving you exactly what you need.

Though the Internet and email may seem like an instant solution to many problems, people still run the technology. If you need help from another person, don't treat the person like a machine. You'll get a lot further by doing it this way.

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July 19, 2005

Get Valuable Computer Based Training Online - Free

Educating yourself about computers and software programs represents a very expensive proposition in both time and money.

Anyone who has ever seen those Video Professor advertisements on TV knows that a simple tutorial on CD-Rom costs $59 plus shipping and handling. Most people don't realize computer and software training is readily available online, some of it as good or better than the introductory courses that can cost you a lot of money.

Would you like to learn how to set up a web page? Do you want to learn how to use your word processor for accomplishing more than just typing simple letters? How about learning to use all the great "secret" features in your email program?

Log on to http://www.findtutorials.com to find yourself in a world of learning about things that really interest you! Many of the tutorials listed come free of charge since the sites hosting the classes contain the usual advertising most of us have come to expect online.

Some categories have more available classes than others, but the site rates a serious look and even a bookmark so you can check back for new jewels of knowledge on a regular basis. Check here first before spending money on training, especially for introductory and general information instruction.

The following sites also offer free online training, however, understand that many of them use the introductory courses as a lead in to get you to purchase additional books, classes or other advanced instruction.

http://www.computertim.com Offers an extensive collection of articles to help you learn how to operate various Microsoft Office programs more efficiently, including: Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, and FrontPage.

http://www.lgta.org Land-Grant Training Alliance - teaches you how to use various software packages online and even has an interesting tutorial on how to use the Internet as a teaching tool to help others.

http://www.trainingtools.com Offers a variety of introductory training courses for software packages dealing primarily with website creation, installing scripts and making your website do cool things!

http://www.learnthat.com/courses/ Offers a variety of courses on everything from computer training and software packages to even dealing with some hardware issues and how to purchase the right digital camera.

http://www.elosoft.com/101/computer.htm Offers a wide selection of links to other sites that offer online instruction, books, classes and other learning resources. Looks like an excellent place to start your search for additional information when you need instruction or help.

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July 18, 2005

State Facts and Policies for Emails Sent or Received via the Internet

Part 3

Emails sent via the Internet are not secure - messages can be tampered with, accessed by individuals other than the intended recipients and there is no guarantee of delivery. It is important to outline this information within your Email Policy - if employees are oblivious to these facts the organization is exposing itself to a number of risks, including potential breaches of confidential information.

As well as outlining the facts regarding Internet based communications, it is important to define the organization's policies with respect to email sent to or received from external parties such as suppliers, customers and partners via the Internet.

These include:

- How employees should communicate confidential or sensitive information with third parties - it may be preferable to use other forms of communication for such material

- Procedures for how to deal with messages containing attachments from both known and unknown sources

- There is a risk of introducing viruses via attachments so employees should be aware of the organizations policy with respect to how these should be checked prior to opening

Procedures for handling SPAM emails (mass marketing or inappropriate emails sent unsolicited to a large number of email addresses) - we advise that these are simply deleted without being opened

Determine Email Retention Policy

If employees never deleted email sent or received from the corporate email system, they would expose the organization to greater risk, such as a legal threat resulting from the contents of an inappropriate email.

Additionally, the resulting storage burden on the company's IT systems would increase by an order of magnitude.

Therefore, emails need to be managed based upon their value to the business either from a commercial, legal, regulatory, or operational perspective.

Define the what `email housekeeping' is expected of staff and whether the organization will automatically delete emails more than a certain number of days old. Request emails are kept for no longer than necessary, ensuring only relevant emails are retained.

It is essential to ensure that emails are not deleted where contrary to the disclosure requirements of any legal or regulatory regime; some regulators define retention periods. You should be aware it is illegal to destroy email evidence after receipt of a notice of a lawsuit or during a trial.

In 2002, 8 US brokerage firms failed to retain and/or produce emails according to SEC regulatory guidelines and were fined $8 million.

You also need to consider the legal risks of emails which may be held on backup files but subsequently deleted from a user's personal email folder and how you can best mitigate this.

Disclose Your Organization's Monitoring Procedures

In line with appropriate privacy and data protection legislation, your organization needs to inform its staff what, if any email monitoring of either emails or usage logs takes place. The Email Policy is the most appropriate means of detailing such monitoring. Of course any monitoring must be in accordance with appropriate laws and regulations.

Introduce an Email Disclaimer

The introduction of an Email Policy will reduce the risk of the threats resulting from inappropriate use of your organization's email system. However, no matter how explicit and detailed the policy and the toughness of its implementation, a risk still remains. It is therefore prudent to introduce a legal disclaimer at the bottom of all emails outlining the terms of receipt in an attempt to limit such liability. These may include areas such:

- Whom the content of the email is intended for - i.e. addressing the confidentiality question

- The views and opinions expressed by the author may not also be that of the organization

- The transmission of email cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free.

Such a disclaimer is not guaranteed to eliminate the legal and other risks but it will at the least demonstrate in a court of law that the organization has considered the ramifications of inappropriate email use and has made an attempt by the introduction of an Email Policy and email disclaimer to take its responsibilities with respect to such matters seriously.

Incidentally the full version of CorpEmailPolcy comes complete with a special bonus containing a short and long - cut-and-past - example email disclaimers.

Define Best Practice Guidelines

Often overlooked, it is essential to outline a series of best practice guidelines around the drafting of and replying to emails to ensure the contents are professionally drafted to convey a professional image and present the impression of high-quality customer service whilst only communicating using email when really appropriate.

Outline when it may be appropriate to use a more appropriate medium for communication such as the telephone or face-to-face meeting; for example when the issue to be discussed is complex, confidential or to resolve a disagreement.

Present guidelines about how to draft an effective email to ensure the message is appropriately conveyed and ensures any action required by the recipient is clear. Detail the standards required when replying to an email, for example typical response times and the prioritization of emails received.

We hope you've enjoyed this special course on preparing your own effective email policy.

As you can see, there's a lot of detail that you need to get right. It's not just about the email policy itself, but the way that you go about implementing it within your organization.

Fortunately you can short-cut the process by picking up a copy of the professional created WorkingDocs.comTM

Michael Green
Founder HowToCorp

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July 17, 2005

Key Points To Consider When Drafting Your Own Email Policy

In Part 1 we established the necessity of an Email Policy regardless of your organization's characteristics (large, small, operating in a regulated or unregulated industry, etc.), so how do you go about drafting one?

The following sections provide a series of areas to consider.

One Policy Fits All

The policy should apply consistently to all staff regardless of seniority or tenure; you cannot assume senior or long-serving employees know what constitutes appropriate online content and conduct any better than anyone else.

Legal Authority Of Email

Ensure staff are aware that email communication is subject to the same legal obligations as other written mediums such as letters and faxes - i.e. the contents of emails are admissible in court.

Obtain Signed Declarations from All Staff

Ensure once the Email Policy has been published that all
staff explicitly acknowledge their acceptance of the terms
of email use.

Determine Whether and/or Extent of Personal Use Permitted

The Email system is a corporate asset which exists for legitimate business use. You need to consider the extent to which you will allow personal use by employees, weighing up the risks against the effect of employee morale by preventing use of this utility.

Personal use by employees may impact productivity and increase the security threat from viruses or breach of confidentiality. Additionally personal email `banter' between friends could lead to inappropriate content being sent and received via the organization's email system, presenting a possible legal threat. Finally, use of the corporate email system for personal use can affect network performance and storage capacity to the detriment of business related emails.

When weighing up the pros and cons of allowing personal use, you also need to consider whether the use of Internet-based email systems such as Hotmail and instant messaging services such as MSN Messenger should be permitted.

If you prevent use of the corporate email system but do not prohibit the use of Internet-based email or instant messaging systems, any lost productivity is highly likely to continue although the legal risk arising from use of the corporate email system for personal use is likely to be mitigated. However, be aware confidential information can still be disseminated using Internet-based email and instant messaging systems.

Typically, organizations allow employees to use the corporate email system for personal use, so long as it is limited, does not impact productivity and the employees agree to abide by the terms of the Email Policy for such use. Ensure employees recognize that the contents of emails remain the property of the organization.

Regardless of whether you decide to permit personal use, it is advisable to draft a suitable disclaimer which automatically appears at the bottom of all emails to minimize the legal risk in the event of personal or inappropriate use. Although a disclaimer does guarantee to eliminate any liability, it would show the court the organization has at least considered its legal responsibilities.

Explicitly Outline Unacceptable Use

It is essential any Email Policy clearly states the types of usage considered unacceptable. If something which the organization clearly believes to be unacceptable is not explicitly stated, it may be difficult to prevent as well as making it more difficult to discipline consistent offenders.

In the event of a legal action being brought against the organization as a result of unlawful or inappropriate use, an explicitly defined policy specifically outlawing such use will demonstrate your organization's perception of such use and desire to prevent it, especially if the Policy is also adequately policed.

Things to consider here include the distribution of pornographic or racist material, unsolicited/chain email as well as the organization's policy related to the dissemination of confidential information.

That's it for Part 2, but there are another 5 Key Points to consider, look fgor those in tomorrows post, or by all means check this out: How to Draft an Effective Email Policy.

Michael Green
Founder HowToCorp

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July 16, 2005

How to Draft an Effective Email Policy

Part 1

Why Does My Organization Need An Effective Email Policy?
First, let us recap why it's important to draft an Email Policy and implement it effectively within your organization.

It doesn't matter whether your organization employees just a single part-time worker or hundreds of thousands of full-time staff, granting access to your corporate email system places your organization's assets, reputation and even its very existence at risk.

According to the 2002 Computer Securities Institute/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, 78% of employers reported staff abusing email and the Internet systems whilst at work.

Misuse of the email system, whether it be accidental or intentional, costs money and could impact your organization's bottom line.

Why?

Regardless of how the email system is misused, a monetary impact is almost always the inevitable consequence in one form or another.

For example, a breach of confidential information is likely to result in competitive disadvantage - it could lead to the loss a specific sales contract, market share, or provide opportunities for a competitor to exploit that information at your organization's expense.

Similarly, legal action brought about as a consequence of misuse may lead to severe financial penalties imposed by a court.

Loss of productivity caused by staff using the corporate email system can, in addition to the lost work-time, also lead to increased IT network traffic and storage requirements, whilst also increasing the organizations vulnerability to the introduction of viruses to the corporate network. All these have cost implications in one form or another.

It is important to note that these risks do not always arise from direct employee misuse but from third parties sending unsolicited or other email to staff within the organization. However, if employees are not aware of how they are expected to deal with these offending emails (specifically what they should not do), the risks can still be realized, sometimes to devastating effect.

Lastly, be aware that it is not always inexperienced or disgruntled employees who expose an organization to these risks. There are numerous examples of senior professionals - including CEOs of both large and small corporations as well lawyers who should know better - who have damaged their company's reputation by sending emails of an inappropriate nature which have been leaked to the media or posted on the Internet.

The Consequences of a Real-Life CEO Email Bungle

Neal Patterson, CEO of Cerner Corporation, was upset at his employees' level of commitment to the company so he decided to email to his managers.

But what an email - it had everything: "SHOUTING" in capital letters, threats and a very crude measure of performance, how many cars were in the parking lot before and after normal working hours.

Here's an excerpt:

"Hell will freeze over before this CEO implements ANOTHER EMPLOYEE benefit in this Culture...We are getting less than 40 hours of work from a large number of our KC-based EMPLOYEES. The parking lot is sparsely used at 8 a.m.; likewise at 5 p.m. As managers - you either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing; or YOU do not CARE.... You have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you.... What you are doing, as managers, with this company makes me SICK."

Unfortunately for Mr Patterson, someone forwarded the email on, and it made international news.