Archive for February, 2006
Paypal and eBay phishing scams have been on the rise recently.
This type of crime usually consists of two main components: a branded email message that looks like it comes from the company (in most cases eBay or Paypal) and a web based form used to steal information. The email message contains a link to the Web based form, and in some cases a form is embedded in the actual email message.
A news brief in Practical eCommerce pointed me towards some resources that might help increase your security as you read email and browse. Several companies have released toolbar plugins for Internet Explorer that claim to block these scams.
The toolbars are:
Some excellent information on phishing and pharming can be found at the Anti-Phishing Working Group Web site. Also, Core Compenence has an excellent page on Anti-Fraud Resources.
February 10th, 2006
According to a recent Business Week article, the new Adobe is using its newly acquired Macromedia expertise to meld PDF, HTML, and Flash into a new engagement platform.
While I’m not clear exactly what an engagement platform is, it is clear that the future of Adobe’s PDF technology will begin to look more like Flash, with increased interactivity. It seems that Flash will also increase its print capabilities (though Macromedia Flash Paper was a pre-exisiting print technology).
The result? Perhaps a more interactive Web that handles print capability more smoothly without the long wait as an external plugin loads. Along with a host of innovative applications that take advantage of the increased speed and interactivity offered.
Does this mean that Adobe/Macromedia will be creating a new defacto standard in Web development that will look not submit to the direction of governing bodies such as the Web Standards Project and W3C? I doubt it, but with near monopoly power, the new Adobe is poised to influence the future of Web development profoundly.
February 10th, 2006
I installed IE7 Beta and started to browse the internet. As I did, IE repeatedly dialed to connect to the internet for each item on the page. My LAN was already connected.
I told IE7 not to dial and it worked fine. Now other applications that rely in IE’s connection think they are offline. Windows Media Player will not stream because it thinks it’s offline.
It appears this is IE7’s problem because I have never experienced it before. Does anyone have a solution?
I also reported this to the good folks at the IE blog but thought I would seek an answer here as well.
Edit: A possible fix for the problem is here.
Edit: This connection problem is still preventing my error reporting agent from sending the needed reports to Microsoft. I also still have to tell IE to ignore the fact it thinks it is offline on occasion. It could be something is wrong with my connection settings, but I’m unable to find anything that should be corrected.
February 9th, 2006
A while back I was contacted by a successful retailer about the potential of eCommerce to increase their revenues and strenghten customer loyalty. Since I have a bent towards looking at things as systems rather than as components, I immediately asked questions about the store’s systems for POS and inventory management … ok, maybe I make things too complex …
Here’s where you come in. Are any of my readers using multi-channel eCommerce and bricks and morter retail outlets? What solutions have you discovered to inventory management and eCommerce that have made your job easier?
February 9th, 2006
In part 1 of the series on increasing Search Engine Rankings, I talked about an approach that some may consider a bit old fashioned. However, press releases and offline press coverage can be an effective piece of the search engine visibility puzzle.
In this post, I want to point you to a simple way search engines are trying to clean up their listings. Helping them eliminate or lower the visibility of low-quality sites will be to your advantage.
Over the last few months, Yahoo! and Google have both released or upgraded their local search capabilities. While I admit to a bit of hypothesizing here, I believe that a major goal with these tools is to provide a carefully crosschecked means of geolocation. By affixing a physical address to a Web site they can reward companies who have a good record online and actually prove themselves to be businesses that have nothing to hide.
Why is this effective? No one with something to hide wants to expose their physical location to prying eyes. By increasing the page rank of those who participate in the local search results, search engines can increase the probability of higher quality information.
Admittedly, there is a bit of conjecture here, but if you haven’t submitted your Web site to Google Local and Yahoo! Local, don’t wait too long. There’s always more benefit in being among the early adopters.
February 8th, 2006
This post was sparked by a thread on Jim Boykin’s blog where I’ve also posted a comment or two.
I resell Web services from site5.com and have found that they work quite well for many of my clients. There are always trade-offs in Web hosting, especially for those with limited budgets. Another hosting company I use is United Hosting from the UK.
My take on what to ask a Web hosting company is this: Ask them for features that you really must have (PHP/Mysql, Stats Reporting if needed). Then, of the companies that have those features, ask for uptime statistics and some referrals from hosting clients.
Usually, at the low end you either can get fairly decent stability with very few features (Hostasaurus) or many features with occasional stability problems and excellent customer support (Site5). Another notable hosting provider that has occasional stability problems but does everything they can to minimize them is 5 Dollar Hosting.
A word of caution about using returned phone calls as a barometer of reliability: Most hosing companies use email for support requests and handle them swiftly. For anything other than high-dollar hosting such as Rackspace, you will be hard pressed to speak to anyone on the telephone for support issues and really don’t need to anyway since email works so well. Of course during the inquiry phase, you are also judging the responsiveness of the sales department and not the support department.
Another way to go is with a hosting middleman like myself who handles phone calls and gets the tech support taken care of. In addition, someone like myself adds value by actively watching the servers for outages and submitting support tickets even before my clients call (though not always!).
Other recommended hosting providers are Dreamhost and Media Temple.
February 8th, 2006
Back in April of ‘05, I wrote a short post called How to Succeed in Search Engine Marketing without Trying, in which I proposed that the only viable (sustainable) way to boost search engine rankings is to create valuable content and keep it coming. What does this have to do with today?
As I mentioned earlier, I am reading Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel and a small statement caught my attention on page 29. “For now, it is clear that the shortest, cheapest, fastest, and easiest route to a prominent Google ranking is to blog often.”
I admit they said it better, but this is exactly the same point I made.
I’m validated.
Do you agree with this perspective? (Not on my being validated, but on content provision as the only viable way to boost search engine rankings!)
February 8th, 2006
I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately regarding the effectiveness of blogging lately and am doing some very informal research. To determine blog readers’ attitudes about the quality of information on Web logs and their motivation for researching the blogosphere, I’ve posted a poll in my blog’s sidebar.
Just for fun, take the poll and view the results.
February 6th, 2006
Now more than ever, online retailers need to demonstrate credibility and integrity. Public inclination seems to be leaning away from doing business online.
According to John Soat of Information Week, an IBM survey on computer security reveals that people (in this case technical people) are more afraid of online fraud than of being held up on the street.
How can small businesses demonstrate that they are legitimate and have done their best to secure their Web sites?
- Post your privacy policy
- Demonstrate that your shopping cart is secure. First, actually secure it with an SSL. Then use a badge or link to your security information.
- Post your fair, open, and generous returns policy if you deal in physical merchandise.
- Post your physical address on each page
- Post your telephone number prominently and invite customers to call if they have any problems or reservations with purchasing online.
I’m sure there are many more steps that can be taken to combat the fear of online crime. I’ll share more as I think of them.
Related Links:
February 6th, 2006
Search engines have been getting more savvy about sifting through the content on the internet and finding ways of determining if it is useful content or search engine spam. Determining that you have an active business at a certain location is a primary focus of search engines. One way this can be demonstrated is by generating press coverage.
First, create a press room (a Web repository for press releases), then write press releases, submit them to the press and archive them on your Web site.
Your press release can demonstrate credibility by discussing and linking to the businesses involved or to information regarding your initiatives. Though these news releases boost your credibility with search engines, they also boost your offline credibility by gaining your business coverage in local media. This can help increase your clients’ or customers’ trust level.
For the last few months I have used Kathy Kelly-Ori of Stellar Marketing Solutions for my press releases. She has an excellent distribution network in the Northern New York area.
Tip: Always include your business URL and any links to relevant content in your press release. This will help reporters research the activities of your business.
Related Links:
Feel free to comment with any publicity initiatives that have worked well for your online business!
February 6th, 2006
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