Spam is 30-years-old and growing stronger
Posted: 2008-05-09 Under: Industry NewsThe 30th anniversary of unsolicited e-mail passed by last week with very little fanfare, but its rise to a global multi-million dollar industry from the humble beginnings of one man’s attempt to sell electronic products is nothing less than astronomical. Experts say there no end in sight.
Although the motivation may be the same there’s now very little to relate today’s spammers to the original daddy of unsolicited e-mail, according to technology security experts.
Some 30 years ago, Gary Thuerk, sent out what is widely credited as the first unsolicited marketing e-mail to about 400 of the more than 2,600 people using ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet.
Read the full article at IT Buisness
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They don’t use social media in my industry
Posted: 2008-05-08 Under: Online Businessvia: Duct Tape Marketing
Many small business owners still think they can take a pass on the power of online social media tools, particularly if they reside in seemingly low-tech industries like plumbing, fishing, or lawyering.
I want to share a quick interview I did with Jason Brown, 23 year old co-founder of Brown Lures. That’s right, they sell fishing lures to guys and gals that probably don’t call hanging out at Web2.0 conferences a good time. (I’m just guessing on that though.)
Brown credits his blog with changing the way people find him, he created a podcast that gives him great “fishing stories” and loyalty from guides up and down the Gulf coast, he uses RSS and content tagging to automatically produce fresh blog content, and email marketing to blow his competition away at trade shows.
Using social media in industries that are still slow to adopt it is the killer competitive advantage.
Read the full article at Duct Tape Marketing
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Newspapers are dead
Posted: 2008-05-01 Under: Online Business
At least to me.
Everyday I read the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, and the local newspaper but not on paper.
I read local news, business updates, technology news, sports headlines, as well as numerous other sources of information and news on topics ranging from productivity to design to technology. All in all, over 200 sources of news and information are sent to me and it usually arrives before ever reaching the print version. Oh and did I mention it’s free.
How do I do it?
Through something called Really Simple Syndication (or RSS for short). It sounds like technical jargon (and it is) but it’s actually simple. RSS, sometimes called a Feed, is a way for you to receive content from a website, without actually needing to visit the site. You use something called a Reader to, well, read the feed. You subscribe to a Feed right from the website your visiting and you do it anonymously. That’s right; no one knows you’re receiving the content, you don’t have to sign up, give out your email address, nothing. Wow, no more email spam!
Where do I sign up?
Most modern websites have an RSS Feed of news and information. When you visit a site you may see an icon on the website or in your browsers address bar that looks like this:
To subscribe to the Feed, just click the icon. (If you don’t see an icon, then you might need to find some text, usually at the bottom of the web page that says RSS, Feed, or XML, just click that).
So how do I Read the Feed?
As I mentioned earlier, all you need is a reader. The reader will need to be connected to the internet to get updates, but once it is updated the choice is yours. Readers come in many different formats and selection is usually based on how you intend to read the feed. You will have to ask some questions, Will you read the feed:
- from my computer while connected to the internet?
- from different computers, work/home while connected to the internet?
- from my mobile phone or blackberry?
- from my computer, but not connected to the internet?
- from a printed copy?
If you are going to read it while connected to the internet, or from multiple computers and maybe a mobile phone, you should use an online reader, like Google Reader. This is the same company that provides Google Search. As long as you have access to the internet you will have access to your reader.
If you are going to read it, but not while connected to the internet, then you should use an offline reader. These readers will connect to the internet to get updates, but store the information on your computer so you can read it later. Programs like FeedDemon for Windows, NetNewsWire for Mac, and Liferea for Linux are all excellent examples of offline readers that you can read from your computer or print out for later.
If your goal is to replace your newspaper, a reader called FeedJournal lets you read your feeds in a format that looks just like a newspaper. These personal newspapers can be saved to a PDF file for reading on a computer or printed for reading on the train.
Keeping up-to-date by using feeds and readers is easy and safe. Pick a reader and visit your favorite website to get started. We have also provided a categorized list of websites below to start you off.
News:
- CBC RSS Feeds
- The Globe and Mail Feeds
- Yahoo Headline Feeds
- CNN News Feeds
- in-Georgetown Local News Feed
Sports:
- ESPN Sports Feeds
- Fox SPorts Feeds
- CBS Sports Feeds
- CBC RSS Feeds
- The Globe and Mail Feeds
- Yahoo Headline Feeds
- NHL News Feeds
Technology:
- CBC RSS Feeds
- The Globe and Mail Feeds
- Yahoo Headline Feeds
- Engadget Feed
- Tech Stomp News Feed
- Mocoda Interactive Blog Feed
Productivity and Life:
Next up, too many feeds, how to organize for fast reading.
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PayPal Plans to Block Safari and Old Browsers
Posted: 2008-04-21 Under: Online Business
According to The New York Times PayPal, eBay Inc.‘s payment service and the frequent target of fraudsters, plans to block browsers that don’t include anti-phishing features from accessing its site.
Under PayPal’s plan, Apple Inc.‘s Safari would be banned completely, while only older versions of its rivals Microsoft Corp.‘s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Corp.‘s Firefox would be barred.
“This is a good move, if [PayPal] can get away with it,” said Avivah Litan, an analyst with Gartner Inc.
PayPal spelled out the idea in a paper released at last week’s RSA Conference. “It’s critical to not only warn users about unsafe browsers, but also to disallow older and insecure browsers,” said Michael Barrett, PayPal’s chief information security officer, in the paper. “Letting users view the PayPal site on one of these browsers is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seatbelts.”
Does this spell the end for older insecure browsers? Read the The New York Times Article.
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Should you forward that email?
Posted: 2008-04-19 Under: Just For Fun
A little fun for the weekend, courtesy of Brian at Shoebox
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British Police Use Facebook to Gather Evidence
Posted: 2008-04-18 Under: Just For Fun
According to the New York Times The Greater Manchester Police force is looking for friends on Facebook.
It has created a Facebook application to collect leads for investigations, marking the first use of the social networking site by U.K. law enforcement.
The application delivers a real-time feed of police news and appeals for information. Next to that content is a feature to share a particular story with other friends in a person’s network, as well as post comments.
One of the recent updates is an appeal asking for information about four men, one of whom was armed with an axe, who robbed a betting shop.
A “Submit Intelligence” link takes a Facebook user to the police Web site where they can anonymously submit tips. Another link leads to the videos on YouTube featuring information on the police force, ongoing investigations and other advisories.
One video contains closed-circuit TV footage of two men in hooded sweatshirts seen near the place where a 15-year-old, Jessie James, was shot and killed in Manchester in November 2006.
So far about 750 people have put the application on their profile, the police said. They estimate about seven million of the 59 million worldwide Facebook users live in the U.K.
The application has received a universally positive response. “Good thinking GMP [Greater Manchester Police]!” wrote Facebook user Sammie Jane. “This is a sure-fire way to branch out to the younger generation and also to encourage anonymous information.”
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