In the UK, it seems to have been a fairly dreich summer. Loads of rain, not much sun, gloom and doom. OK, Scotland faired much better than some other areas of the UK, I can't deny that. Even so, summer seems to have skipped by at breakneck speed, leaving me wondering about Christmas presents.
My sister and my nephew have just spent a couple of weeks with us - as I write this, they're travelling back to Regensburg for the start of another school year. When Mary comes back "home", she always looks out for gifts which are different to the ones she can buy in Germany. She's got this competitive streak which makes her want to stand out from the crowd. It has been interesting watching her purchases over the years; she loves quality, good design, lovely colours. As her two sons have grown up, they have taken books, cds, music and Richmond Irish sausages back with them at the end of their holiday .... oh and some Irn Bru, Scotland's other national drink!!
Mary quite often replenishes her wardrobe in Scotland - again because she likes to find clothes which are different to what her colleagues wear. This year she's returning with some sweatshirts, some M&S underwear (well, doesn't everyone!?) and a jacket. She also treated herself to some jewellery - and I think that was what provoked my thoughts of Christmas. This year, Mary bought earrings - she's adding to a set she started to collect a couple of years ago.
Do I have a Christmas wish list?? - well, yes - I'd love someone to do a "house laundry" on me and chuck out all the things I have kept because of sentimental reasons. Perhaps I don't mean - chuck out; I really mean that they should be recycled via a charity shop or auction. But I do need to let go of a lot of stuff which is cluttering up the house, reminiscent of a Victorian parlour.
That, of course, will leave a little more room for some new jewellery! Can't let my little sister beat me, can I!
M
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Secret blogging passions: Rick Segel, Women and a Coyote
Don't you just love it when someone puts together a blog which is informative, interesting and an easy read! Well, one of my top ten bloggers is Rick Segel.
According to his web site -
I especially like this assessment of how to tackle marketing to women.
Here's a blog entry about customer service (or lack of it!)
And finally, this entry tells the story of one enterprising store owner and a coyote!
Till next time
M
According to his web site -
Wowing audiences worldwide with genuinely entertaining humor and up-to-the-minute business savvy, Rick's retail sales presentations entertain, inform, and motivate. His reputation for transforming your meeting into an exciting, insightful & highly memorable event is widely acknowledged as the best in the business.
I especially like this assessment of how to tackle marketing to women.
Here's a blog entry about customer service (or lack of it!)
And finally, this entry tells the story of one enterprising store owner and a coyote!
Till next time
M
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
When did you last change your underwear?
When did you last change your underwear?
We all have our little foibles - mine is to change underwear every day. This is part of my daily routine and I feel uncomfortable if I miss a day because of extraordinary circumstances. I don't suppose I'm alone in that. So why is it that I don't keep a closer eye on something else which is probably far more important to my own wellbeing and that of friends, families and total strangers??
"Yuck", I hear you say - "Is your hygiene routine so poor that you're allowing an epidemic to spread through the .??..."
Well, you know, I have another hygiene routine which I will have to improve on. Did you know that there are businesses being built on my lack of vigilance. .... Online businesses, that is.
How so?
Several years ago, I designed my first web page. At that time, web guest books were all the rage. I added one to my web site - and, sure enough, people started leaving lovely comments about my terrific-looking site. Over time, I forgot to check the guest book to see if it was being abused. The last time I looked, sure enough it was full of links to stuff that I wouldn't mention to .... Hugh Heffner or MataHari.
Surfing round the internet, I come across loads of web sites which have old versions of blogs, guestbooks, content management systems; I'll bet the owners of these sites wouldn't begin to imagine that there could be security holes in their sites or that someone could have found a way to add links to web sites which then re-direct to gambling or porn sites. I came across a post on a forum which claims that " Google Incapable of Eradicating OR now supporting Black-Hat ?" and continues
This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are potentially millions of old web sites with insecure scripts; there are countless other sites taking advantage of folks' irresponsible attitude to their sites. Web hosts, search engines and domain registrars try to keep abreast of this problem - but even they have limited resources to tackle problems like this. This is partly because sites taking advantage of us are run by people who may have developed scripts to search out and infect old web sites. There is enough money in the business they are generating to be able to pay people to find new sites to infect or to find new ways to infect sites they already know about.
So, why do we need a new hygiene routine? Well, if we were to remove, delete or update every single instance of out of date, insecure scripts on the internet, that would clean up some of the problems we are seeing today. Then, as a weekly routine, keeping an eye on any scripts installed on a web site (and keeping a keen eye on web logs to see what sites are bringing traffic and what error messages are showing) we will do our bit to stop people stealing our web space, our bandwidth, our reputations - and we'll maybe keep our underwear clean!
We all have our little foibles - mine is to change underwear every day. This is part of my daily routine and I feel uncomfortable if I miss a day because of extraordinary circumstances. I don't suppose I'm alone in that. So why is it that I don't keep a closer eye on something else which is probably far more important to my own wellbeing and that of friends, families and total strangers??
"Yuck", I hear you say - "Is your hygiene routine so poor that you're allowing an epidemic to spread through the .??..."
Well, you know, I have another hygiene routine which I will have to improve on. Did you know that there are businesses being built on my lack of vigilance. .... Online businesses, that is.
How so?
Several years ago, I designed my first web page. At that time, web guest books were all the rage. I added one to my web site - and, sure enough, people started leaving lovely comments about my terrific-looking site. Over time, I forgot to check the guest book to see if it was being abused. The last time I looked, sure enough it was full of links to stuff that I wouldn't mention to .... Hugh Heffner or MataHari.
Surfing round the internet, I come across loads of web sites which have old versions of blogs, guestbooks, content management systems; I'll bet the owners of these sites wouldn't begin to imagine that there could be security holes in their sites or that someone could have found a way to add links to web sites which then re-direct to gambling or porn sites. I came across a post on a forum which claims that " Google Incapable of Eradicating OR now supporting Black-Hat ?" and continues
This guy is making a mockery of Google with his illegal redirects using server NEVTAKT.INFO. All of the sites below are using this server to redirect (usually to Poker Site MANSION.COM). This spammer formerly used SEOEXP.INFO as his redirect server.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are potentially millions of old web sites with insecure scripts; there are countless other sites taking advantage of folks' irresponsible attitude to their sites. Web hosts, search engines and domain registrars try to keep abreast of this problem - but even they have limited resources to tackle problems like this. This is partly because sites taking advantage of us are run by people who may have developed scripts to search out and infect old web sites. There is enough money in the business they are generating to be able to pay people to find new sites to infect or to find new ways to infect sites they already know about.
So, why do we need a new hygiene routine? Well, if we were to remove, delete or update every single instance of out of date, insecure scripts on the internet, that would clean up some of the problems we are seeing today. Then, as a weekly routine, keeping an eye on any scripts installed on a web site (and keeping a keen eye on web logs to see what sites are bringing traffic and what error messages are showing) we will do our bit to stop people stealing our web space, our bandwidth, our reputations - and we'll maybe keep our underwear clean!
Monday, July 02, 2007
How secure are your PHP scripts?
This is a quick note to suggest that if you are running web sites using php scripts, you should regularly (weekly at least) check to see if there are any security upgrades for the scripts. This can be fairly straightforward if your script was loaded using fantastico in a hosting control panel - or fairly laborious if you uploaded the script yourself.
Why?
Well, php scripting doesn't seem to be as secure as cgi/perl scripts - and hackers use known backdoors to scripts to inject all sorts of malicious content into your site. I saw a recent example where people were being redirected from an innocent and innocuous site to sites promoting gambling - and worse.
It might not have been so bad if the redirect was to a genuine, well regulated site; however, the real problem with these redirects is that the end site might only exist to collect your credit card details.
So, please keep scripts up to date and make sure you change your web hosting passwords regularly as well. If you do install scripts on your web site, unless they go into the root directory, you should try to choose directory names which are more difficult to guess so that your site is harder to find by someone wanting to hack an insecure script.
Keep safe!
Margaret
Why?
Well, php scripting doesn't seem to be as secure as cgi/perl scripts - and hackers use known backdoors to scripts to inject all sorts of malicious content into your site. I saw a recent example where people were being redirected from an innocent and innocuous site to sites promoting gambling - and worse.
It might not have been so bad if the redirect was to a genuine, well regulated site; however, the real problem with these redirects is that the end site might only exist to collect your credit card details.
So, please keep scripts up to date and make sure you change your web hosting passwords regularly as well. If you do install scripts on your web site, unless they go into the root directory, you should try to choose directory names which are more difficult to guess so that your site is harder to find by someone wanting to hack an insecure script.
Keep safe!
Margaret
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Multiple Income Streams - the controversy
How many times do you look around and find a friend or neighbour who seems to be wallowing in cash? Do you stop and say to yourself "How did Mr XXX get that money?"
Obviously there will be some people who manage their existing income well; who spend a cent where others will spend a dollar; there are folks who will supplement their income from illegal activities; but then there are the entrepreneurs who will look at opportunities to easily earn an extra nickel or two to supplement their normal salary.
I regularly read the contributions on the Tony Blake Discussion Forum - and came across this post where Tony said that he was earning $5/day approximately from the adsense ads on his forum. That has escalated into Tony being berated by Dominic because of his admission.
When you check out the Blake Marketing Forum, though, you see that the adsense section is only a small part of how Tony uses his forum to earn money. It's well worth a look to see how he uses his forum to drive traffic to other ventures which will also earn him money.
Then, if you look around, you'll find that other discussion groups on the web are set up in the same way. Their owners quite often don't even need to make an appearance on them once they have set up the discussions - they have moderators who police the discussions for them. When you check out their sites, though, they are using them to drive traffic to their new products or affiliate products - and earn several times over from the visitors to their sites.
If you follow this business model, you'll start looking around for ways of earning an extra few dollars a day. Opportunities are all around; you just have to take action.
Best
Margaret
Obviously there will be some people who manage their existing income well; who spend a cent where others will spend a dollar; there are folks who will supplement their income from illegal activities; but then there are the entrepreneurs who will look at opportunities to easily earn an extra nickel or two to supplement their normal salary.
I regularly read the contributions on the Tony Blake Discussion Forum - and came across this post where Tony said that he was earning $5/day approximately from the adsense ads on his forum. That has escalated into Tony being berated by Dominic because of his admission.
When you check out the Blake Marketing Forum, though, you see that the adsense section is only a small part of how Tony uses his forum to earn money. It's well worth a look to see how he uses his forum to drive traffic to other ventures which will also earn him money.
Then, if you look around, you'll find that other discussion groups on the web are set up in the same way. Their owners quite often don't even need to make an appearance on them once they have set up the discussions - they have moderators who police the discussions for them. When you check out their sites, though, they are using them to drive traffic to their new products or affiliate products - and earn several times over from the visitors to their sites.
If you follow this business model, you'll start looking around for ways of earning an extra few dollars a day. Opportunities are all around; you just have to take action.
Best
Margaret
Sunday, April 01, 2007
New Google Service - Broadband Services
1st April 2007
Sick of paying for broadband?...
Introducing Google TiSP (BETA), our new FREE in-home wireless broadband service. Sign up today and we'll send you your TiSP self-installation kit, which includes setup guide, fiber-optic cable, spindle, wireless router and installation CD.
Enjoy...
http://www.google.com/tisp/
Innovative, huh!
Margaret
Sick of paying for broadband?...
Introducing Google TiSP (BETA), our new FREE in-home wireless broadband service. Sign up today and we'll send you your TiSP self-installation kit, which includes setup guide, fiber-optic cable, spindle, wireless router and installation CD.
Enjoy...
http://www.google.com/tisp/
Innovative, huh!
Margaret
Sunday, March 18, 2007
How To Monetize Your Blog More Effectively
So you've done the hard work...you've chosen the niche market that you are going to target, you've created the content that they'd be interested in, you've implemented your onpage and offpage search engine optimization and finally you've managed to establish your blog in it's market and are being rewarded by a steady flow of traffic from the search engines and other sources.
Now - Your BIG question is -
"How do you convert this steady flow of traffic into money"?
You will no doubt already be trying certain methods, an AdSense ad here and an affiliate link there, for example, but there's something new that I wanted to tell you about.
This "something new" will do three things for your blog:
1. It will instantly make it more profitable.
2. It will give it more keyword rich content pages which will give it more search engine rankings which will increase that "steady flow of traffic" and make it even more profitable.
3. It will give it another dimension further distinguishing it from its competitors whilst enhancing your visitors experience.
So what is this "something new"?
It's a clever piece of software called Build A Niche Store and what it does is enable you to instantly build an affiliate store made up of eBay's products and matched to your target niche.
This means that if you have a Golf blog, with Build A Niche Store you will be able to add all of eBay's golf products to it, and if you have an Antiques blog then you will be able to add all of eBay's antique items...you get the idea.
You simply install the script, choose your niche, press build and you automatically have your own niche specific affiliate store which updates automatically (Yes - NO data feeds!) and which:
1. Will generate money for you when one of your blog visitors buys an item through it.
2. Will give your blog hundreds or thousands (depending on your niche) content rich product pages which will get indexed in the search engines targeting keywords you would otherwise not be reaching.
3. Will add a shopping experience for your visitors.
It's truly a great piece of software and looks set to become all the rage in the coming year.
You can check out the official Build A Niche Store website where you'll find case studies and a live demo which is sure to get your creative juices flowing at the link below.
This one gets my thumbs up!
Click Here To Check Out Build A Niche Store
Now - Your BIG question is -
"How do you convert this steady flow of traffic into money"?
You will no doubt already be trying certain methods, an AdSense ad here and an affiliate link there, for example, but there's something new that I wanted to tell you about.
This "something new" will do three things for your blog:
1. It will instantly make it more profitable.
2. It will give it more keyword rich content pages which will give it more search engine rankings which will increase that "steady flow of traffic" and make it even more profitable.
3. It will give it another dimension further distinguishing it from its competitors whilst enhancing your visitors experience.
So what is this "something new"?
It's a clever piece of software called Build A Niche Store and what it does is enable you to instantly build an affiliate store made up of eBay's products and matched to your target niche.
This means that if you have a Golf blog, with Build A Niche Store you will be able to add all of eBay's golf products to it, and if you have an Antiques blog then you will be able to add all of eBay's antique items...you get the idea.
You simply install the script, choose your niche, press build and you automatically have your own niche specific affiliate store which updates automatically (Yes - NO data feeds!) and which:
1. Will generate money for you when one of your blog visitors buys an item through it.
2. Will give your blog hundreds or thousands (depending on your niche) content rich product pages which will get indexed in the search engines targeting keywords you would otherwise not be reaching.
3. Will add a shopping experience for your visitors.
It's truly a great piece of software and looks set to become all the rage in the coming year.
You can check out the official Build A Niche Store website where you'll find case studies and a live demo which is sure to get your creative juices flowing at the link below.
This one gets my thumbs up!
Click Here To Check Out Build A Niche Store
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