E-Mail Marketing: Getting Off Blacklists
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"When your website or e-mail vendor is on a blacklist, it can prevent your e-mails from being delivered to the proper inbox. This article gives two sources for seeing where you might be listed. It recommends Blacklist Monitor for explaining how to get off a blacklist. Date: Jul 6, 2005, 15:32 PST"

Site Promotion: H1, H2 Tags Give Search Engines Indexing Clues
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"Some developers, unaware of how search engine spiders index a webpage, define their own header tags in the CSS file, rather than using the H1, H2, H3 tags which spiders recognize as headers. Thus, these webpages risk not being indexed accurately. Date: Jul 6, 2005, 12:15 PST"

Site Design: What Software Runs the WilsonWeb.com Site?
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"This article mentions about 27 different software programs and vendors used to power the wilsonweb.com site. These include Article Manager, Master Syndicator, WebPosition from WebTrends, OptiLink, ClickTracks, Offermatica, Vertster, SitePal, SonicMemo, Audio Generator, DPG, Habeas, Delivery Monitor, AutoResponse Plus, Blacklist Monitor, Gammadyne Mailer, Swish-e, ShopSite Pro, Ultimate Affiliate, and Stone Edge Order Manager. Date: Jun 29, 2005, 14:52 PST"

Transactions: Review: PayPal Website Payments Pro
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"PayPal Website Payments Pro, recently offered by PayPal, now puts PayPal in direct competition with both traditional Internet payment gateways as well as merchant credit card accounts. This review is generally positive concerning pricing and services available. Date: Jun 22, 2005, 21:47 PST"

E-Mail Marketing: E-Mail Marketing Software and Services Survey of WMT Readers
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"A survey of Web Marketing Today readers in early June 2005 found that the most popular e-mail programs among respondents were Constant Contact, IntelliContact Pro, AWeber, GroupMail, 1ShoppingCart, VerticalResponse, Got Corp. Campaigner, Topica, Gammadyne, and Broadc@st HTML. Date: Jun 15, 2005, 20:53 PST"


Microsoft and IBM Reach a $775 Million Settlement
From: www.webpronews.com

"Microsoft announced that it has settled its antitrust dispute with IBM for $775 million, and a $75 million credit extension toward deployment of Microsoft software at IBM."

Mytob Tops Of The Virus Charts
From: www.webpronews.com

"June's list of reported viruses shows Mytob variants taking seven of the top ten spots in a Sophos Labs report."

Microsoft IE Subject To Exit Flaw
From: www.webpronews.com

"The Redmond-based software company disclosed a COM object issue that could make Internet Explorer exit unexpectedly."

Red Hat Tips Up On Increased Earnings
From: www.webpronews.com

"Total revenue for the Linux company's first quarter jumped by 46 percent in year to year comparison."

A New Kind of Conversation Is Needed With Microsoft
From: www.webpronews.com

"Last week Microsoft made a big step on working with the community. We saw what can happen if you put something out there, put your ear to the ground, and then refactor based on what you hear."


Pay the Super Computer
From: www.wired.com

"In a decade-long court battle Microsoft now owes IBM $775 million. Also: Phone companies team up to avoid future legal battles …. Porn sites warn search engines about sharing photos …. and more."

Video Games Get Dispersed
From: www.wired.com

"Microsoft says it will distribute Xbox software to external machines. Also: The EU plans on continent-wide music shops …. AMD files suit in Japan against arch rival Intel …. and more."

Make Way for Cheap Windows
From: www.wired.com

"Microsoft offers a stripped down operating system for Latin America. Also: India cracking down on cyber crime …. and more."

Apple Enhances iTunes Capability
From: www.wired.com

"The new iTunes supports podcasts while the iPod photo line forges ahead. Also: IBM licenses its latest chip to medical and military gadgets …. Disney and Dolby pay out of pocket for 100 digital movie theaters…. and more."

Wanted: Free iPod. Will Pay
From: www.wired.com

"Freebie sites give away stuff to people who get others to sign up for promotional offers. Budget-conscious gadget consumers get the goods by paying folks to fill out those promo forms. By Rachel Metz."


Crank Up TOTO
From: webword.com

" Any and all emails to john(at)webword(dot)com are going into a black hole right now. The resolution is probably 1-2 days off. In effect, I'm email blind.

I have other email accounts - plenty - but that doesn't mean much since john(at)webword(dot)com is my primary account. It is my Inbox and Outbox, if you catch my drift.

Think about how much you depend on email. While you probably moan and complain about spam, and the fact that the volume of email is outrageous these days, you still probably love it. It is a naughty child, the bad seed of the family.

I'm so tired of technology getting in the way. Why can't technology be enabled and then just go away? Don't answer that question. It is too stupid to merit an answer. But wouldn't that be nice? Turn it on, tune it out, and just use it. Forget about configuration, debugging, troubleshooting, repairs, and uptime - just work, please.

Some technology is more Turn On, Tune Out (TOTO) than other technology. For example on the high end of the TOTO scale we have telephones (landline, not cell) and TVs, in the middle we have staplers and motor vehicles, and at the low end we have Windows. Some technology just works, some technology is fragile.

TOTO isn't defined along a normal satisfaction curve. When technology works you don't appreciate it enough, when it breaks you're especially mad. The proportion of your anger or satifaction don't always match your experience. At the heart, this is a matter of expectations violation.

Once you turn something on and it works, and it continues to work, your satisfaction for it working drops. You think - rightly - it should just work. When something breaks, it pops the stack. Your stack. It is a double whammy since expectations are violated and you're probably being inconvenienced (e.g., can't complete that call) or literally harmed in some way (e.g., your brakes fail, you crash).

Why does technological advancement almost always amount to adding features versus improving usability and stability? You can throw the marketing answer at me, that features sell. That's pretty fair most of the time. But I'm not satisfied that is always the right answer.

I think the true root of the issue is that it is really hard to make something complex less complex whereas it is pretty easy to make something simple more complex. The flow isn't symetrical. Another way to say this is, usability is tough. Simplicity is tough.

I love the irony. It almost makes me giggle."

A unique usability technique?
From: webword.com

" "HFI developed a unique approach to streamline ARINC's intranet: an un-moderated, remote card-sorting technique using PowerPoint . HFI gathered insight from ARINC employees worldwide by using a simple test that subjects could complete on their own and e-mail back to the design team."

Is this really new or unique?

Read the press release...
"

But Does She Ride a Harley?
From: webword.com

" Yesterday I saw a woman with white wall, butched hair. She was a large mammal with tight pants and a white tee shirt, complete with rolled up sleeves. She had the look of a tough punk in 1953. She was showing off her guns. Her distinguishing feature was so simple. On the most fleshy part of her upper shoulder, she brandished a tattoo. It was nothing less than the McDonald's logo -- the Golden Arches -- on top of an American flag. Yes, I've seen America."

Tag Team: Tracking the Patterns of Supermarket Shoppers
From: webword.com

" "The results, they conclude, challenge many long-standing perceptions of shopper travel behavior within a supermarket, including ideas related to aisle traffic, special promotional displays, and perimeter shopping patterns."

Cool research.

Read the article..."

How to Make Your Blog Accessible to Blind Readers
From: webword.com

" "So you have a blog, and you're worried that it might not be accessible to people with disabilities? Don't worry! A few simple changes can increase your blog's potential readership."

Read more..."


This Is Your Blog
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"As you can tell, I haven't been posting to this blog very much. I've been too busy running my own Internet businesses, but also, it's hard to just write for the sake of writing. Especially when I really don't know..."

'Uh Oh' Here It Comes Again!
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"Another Internet Marketing shockwave will hit in the next few days... ...Are You Ready For It?..."

Thank You, Microsoft
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"I recently reported that Yahoo was in the process of launching its own AdSense type program (which is great news for web publishers). Well, it appears as if Microsoft won't be far behind... There's no news yet about Microsoft creating..."

More Yahoo 'AdSense Clone' News
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"News.com recently reported more information about Yahoo entering Google's AdSense territory. Check out the story here. Yahoo is already building an opt-in notification list for publishers that are interested in their "upcoming programs." Get on the list NOW to be..."

Good News For Us!
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"Well, it appears as if my speculation is finally coming true... Over a year ago, I predicted that Yahoo would follow Google's AdSense lead and release a similar program of their own. They'd have to in order to keep up..."