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As business owners- sure gas prices effect how we do business.

• Do you take the meeting for a probable project knowing the likelihood could be 50:50 and it will cost a tank of gas?
• Do you expect the client to always make the trip??
  Would they??
• Now who would blame them if they dont?

So what to do?

For Starters- Make your customers know (or re-enforce) they can do business with you online or atleast give them enough information regarding you and your services to be able to make a good decision.

Yes, OK I know you are already doing this…. but it cant hurt to refresh the message.  Especially now- keeping your site fresh and relevant is more important than ever.

Would you  buy a stale loaf of bread from a reputable baker? or would you expect them to have the freshest in town.  If not- then  go to the next one down the street- sometimes sacrificing quality over “value”.

This doesnt take alot of effort, but some.

IF you can- offer incentives or specials to entice them to “come-in” or log-in.  Anything that makes sense is something to consider-  Just don’t give things away.

Marketing is the last thing to cut when times are difficult- same with your web presence-  keep it fresh- and drive more people to it any way you can!  The more the merrier.  Right!?

A Side Note!

Twice this week two of our clients experienced undesired domain expiration syndrome (domainus_expiridius latin).  This is where the client does not own their own domain and allows their hosting provider or marketing company register the domains in their own name. Then through a series of events- the domain is allowed to expire and the related website stops serving….  This could be terminal!

If you are not referenced on the domain record as the registrant…Admin Contact… then YOU DONT OWN THE DOMAIN.

Unscroupulous organizations can use that as a means to hijack your domain or in this case- allow it to expire due to lack of response regarding a renewal notice, then buy it and try to “Sell” it back to you.

Dont let this happen to you.  Make sure YOU are the named contact as the ADMIN contact on the domains you own; and that the email address associated with it is current.  Your hosting provider can be the Billing and Tech contact- but you should be the admin contact.  Also see if your provider can set it to automatically renew.  We do!   This way- it should never end up in the bit-bucket!

There are exceptions to every rule- so just because your provider does register in their name- doesnt mean they are bad or wrong-  it could have a valid reason.

But-  did you lose a domain?   How much did you spend to get it back??

Ask yourself that.  Can you afford to lose your domain?

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Thanks to the world wide web, we’re at liberty to transact business and form and dissolve strategic business alliances at any time and with anyone on earth. It’s never been easier to identify potential partners to team up with on proposals and deals, or to share the information critical to a project’s success. With so many choices, how do we define “community”, “affiliation”, “loyalty” ? Very carefully, I think.

The world has become a small town where information travels fast and reputations are built or irreparably tarnished and there’s no place to hide. In what direction will this transparency lead us over the next couple decades? Will we become increasingly indifferent to what is known about us and our business practices, or will we become collectively better behaved? I hope for and believe in the latter.

Sally A. Bates, Principal

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“The Ghost is in the Machine!” The simple truth about those weird emails:

You don’t know anybody in Nigeria, you don’t want a rolex watch! It is easy to wonder why people continue to send out these emails, even though “nobody” responds to them.

First of all, some people do respond to these emails, but the term “respond” does not always mean hitting the REPLY button. Did you know that you can be responding to the email just by looking at it?

Imbedded Links and images are a SPAMMERS delight! If you click or display on either of these, it actually is almost as if you answered the email. The SPAMMER gets what it wants — CONFIRMATION that it went to your VALID email address, which is what they are looking for.

Here is how it works: They take your valid email address, sometimes even going through your address book and and use it for launching viruses, or other ploys. Like when you receive those messages from banks you have never heard of or that Pay Pal account you don’t have. These are sent all in the hope that you will click on the link, give them your personal information. And you never even see it happen, there is a script that is running inside your computer “The Ghost is in the Machine” while you are going about your business.

SPAM isn’t just annoying it is dangerous. There are server based solutions like “Postini” that Sephone is offering now and there are software products you can buy just for your own PC, like Norton and others that are encryption services that protect your every keystroke.

The Federal Trade Commission has a terrific and easy to use web site that is very helpful:

You can visit it here by clicking this link. This site covers all kinds of Identity Theft, it is a good thing to bookmark so you can keep up with the latest “tricks” that are happening!

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The Legendary Rock Band - The Who, definitely weren’t thinking of the Internet when they penned the classic tune. And if you are not careful when clicking around in email to what you  ‘ASSUME‘  is a legitimate inquiry from trusted sites, vendors, etc;  You may find yourself singing a similar tune.

By now you are asking yourself- “WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT”? , Am I right??

OK- here it is. Phishing. (pronounced fishing) And it ain’t going to the river for smelts. The parties that are on this trip are out for suckers.

Here is an example… A normal looking email from Google.com regarding an Adwords account with a reasonable looking request - Account Reactivation appears in your in box. Well like some of you - I have an Adwords account, so OK- this sounds legit.

And it looks legit too! Even the URL ‘Appears’ to be as well. (Live URL purposely not linked)

Dear Google AdWords Customer,
Please sign in to your account at http: //adwords.google.com/select/login , and update your billing information.
Your account will be reactivated as soon as you update your payment information.
Your ads will show immediately if you decide to pay for clicks via credit
or debit card. If you decide to pay by direct debit, we may need to receive
your signed debit authorization before your ads start running,
depending on your location.
If you choose bank transfer, your ads will show as soon as we receive your
first payment.

We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,
———————————————————————————-
The Google AdWords Team

But if you think about it,

• WHY would Google send me an email regarding my account?
• When I signed up, didn’t they tell me they would NEVER do that?
• If I am an Adwords user, I would know if there was a problem with my account, so …
• WHY did I get this email?

Now put on your CSI hat and right click on that URL… Horatio Cane would be proud of you; as the link reveals its true purpose…

‘http ://adwords.google.com.selectlogin.cn/select/Login/’
^^

Some party in China, and that isn’t the town in Maine, is hoping for an unsuspecting person to click on that link and happily attempt to log in to their Goggle account where they could ‘re-Activate the account’ that is in need of reactivation. Sounds reasonable.

Instead of going to the real google.com site, you will be directed to a VERY well forged version of the Adwords site just waiting for unsuspecting individuals to try to login.

Let me tell you… You won’t!!!
But ‘they’ will use that info to log into the REAL google site; where ‘they’ would have access to your banking and credit card info. To Steal from you!!

And you would end the session thinking, yup, I have a problem… But- it would be days before you would know if you have a REAL problem.

So unless you have a very smart browser that protects you from these situations, then BE CAREFUL and BEWARE.

In this sometimes cruel world, its nice to know that someone is watching your back! But Don’t Get Fooled. When in doubt- Don’t fill it out!

NEVER EVER use a link in an unsolicited email to access your Bank Account or any other account where you have personal information attached. The key is unsolicited- If you call or go online to your CreditCard provider, Insurance Company or Bank and they send you an email- that is ok. Usually.

So Won’t Get Fooled Again- is a great tune- but lean the lesson here- Don’t get fooled the first time-
When in doubt- Don’t fill it out!

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Last night we performed a large move of servers at our main datacenter. While we were moving, we noticed that one of our primary mail servers (Cyclops, or mail.sephone.com) required a server rebuild before it could be moved to the new location.

If you use mail.sephone.com as your address to check mail (either as the address you use to access webmail or your incoming server), you were one of the domains affected by this rebuild.

If you’re not sure which mail server your site uses, please use our new MyServer tool to check. Your domain is on Cyclops if the name next to “Your mail server:” is “Cyclops.”

One important change for Cyclops users: you must use your primary domain and primary e-mail to log into your account. If you have a primary account of robert.smith@example.com, for instance, but you also have an alias or forward (an email address that automatically forwards to a primary account) at robert@example.com, you must log in with the robert.smith@example.com address. Also, if your business uses multiple domain names (for example: example-site.com, example-company.com, and example.com) you must use the primary domain name, instead of the aliases or forwards. If you’re unsure which domain is your primary domain, give us a call.

We apologize for any inconvenience that results from this move. Please keep in mind that this server rebuild will provide faster mail connectivity in the future for your domain.

We’ve provided additional information for webmail (by going to http://mail.sephone.com or http://mail.yourdomain) and a POP (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) users below.

Additional information for webmail users

If you normally view your mail by logging into http://mail.sephone.com or http://mail.yourdomain, you will notice a new version of webmail. Most of the features of the new webmail match those of the old webmail, but you may notice a couple of differences after you log in.

Please remember that we provide webmail as a courtesy to our users. If possible, please use a POP program like Outlook or Outlook Express to check your mail. If you need a POP program, Thunderbird is a great option that is free to download.

Please give us a call at (207) 262-5040 or send an e-mail to support@sephone.com if you’re having trouble logging in, checking your mail, or if you need to administer the users in your system.

Additional information for POP (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) users

If you use Outlook, Thunderbird, or another program to check your mail, you may need to check your account settings to make sure that they are correct. Most importantly, make sure that your incoming mail server is mail.yourdomain (the incoming mail server for datavenger.com, for example, would be mail.datavenger.com). Also make sure you are using your primary email address as well as your primary domain name in your email address and incoming mail server.

For assistance with changing your mail settings, please consult the instructions for Outlook or Outlook Express, using the settings found in the MyServer tool.

Please give us a call at (207) 262-5040 or send an e-mail to support@sephone.com if you’re having trouble connecting, checking your mail, or if you need to administer the users in your system.

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“The truth, George. Always tell the truth. It’s the easiest thing to remember.”
–David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross

One of the services I provide as a media developer is producing audio — commercials, on-hold messages, and more recently, podcasts. I’d like to recommend one of the latter.

Dean Brenner is President and Founder of The Latimer Group, a company that focuses on helping executives and professionals develop powerful and persuasive communication skills. I recently finished work on one of Dean’s podcasts, called “The Key to Delivering a Powerful Message,” in which he discusses the importance of authenticity in delivering your message. When delivering any message, Dean explains, simply be yourself: “It’s more honest. It’s more real… The last thing we should attempt to do… is to sound the same.” Dean goes on to say that “being authentic when you speak is a form of telling the truth.” In addition to their importance in public speaking, those two statements alone almost entirely define what make up a successful advertising campaign, because after all, what is advertising but persuasion in thirty seconds?

One key to having your ads work as effectively as possible is to have them be remembered. And the best way to fail at that is to have your ads look or sound like “all the other ads out there.” This month, as you know, is the NCAA Basketball tournament. Have you noticed how many advertisers are having “March Madness” sales? It happens to be that the phrase “March Madness” is copyrighted, and thus, illegal to use without consent from the NCAA… However, it doesn’t stop the phrase from being bandied about the newspapers and the airwaves by virtually every car, furniture, and RV dealer across the country. I have colleagues in the radio business who are upset because “Joe’s Furniture is using ‘March Madness’ in their ads. So why can’t my client use it in his?” Legal issues aside, if someone else is saying it, why do you want to? That doesn’t make you stand out. It makes you blend in. It makes you part of the crowd. It makes you forgettable.

Honesty in your advertising is as important. More and more nowadays, the public’s “BS radar” is up, and very finely tuned. Consumers rely on other consumers for information, rather than ads, which are often discounted as “them just trying to sell me something.” Instead, people consult blogs, online user reviews, friends and “regular people” in a fervent search for honest feedback about their purchases. This is why it’s imperative that what you say in your ads, you deliver in your business. If your ads talk about “top-notch auto repair, a clean, comfortable waiting area, and a friendly staff that greets you with a smile,”* then your customers had better get all those things when they come in. Otherwise, you’re perceived as trying to put one over on ‘em. And your customers share those experiences… right after they stop coming to your store.

Thanks to Dean Brenner of the Latimer Group for inspiring this post. For more info on The Latimer Group, please visit TheLatimerGroup.com

* Ordinarily, I would never condone such blatant abuse of advertising clichés in my ads. I only use them here to make a point.

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Whether your company is a business or a non-profit organization, if it has been around for 200 years or 2 days, there is a threat to your organization that the majority of owners, CEO’s and board members are reluctant to confront.

In reality, this threat has made the headlines repeatedly, whether you’re in Bangor, Maine or Seattle, Washington, the stories are hauntingly similar. At times it can bankrupt an organization, other times it cripples them, destroying lives and the livelihood of the employees, owners and their families. What could be so devastating and yet so misunderstood? That one word which escapes a label on a balance sheet and is not identified on a profit and loss statement is “Fraud”.

Think back over the past couple of months. How often did you read or hear the word “Embezzlement” (which is a type of fraud) in the local news? I am willing to bet that it’s popped up several times. As a mini, non scientific experiment, pay attention to the news for the next few weeks, chances are you will be shocked at the organizations that are victimized.

You may be shocked, but that is nothing compared to how shocked the victimized organization was. Right up until the scheme came to light the organization had no clue that they were being taken advantage of. Read the quotes of the business owner or Executive Director, many go something like they “never thought it could happen to them” or “She (or he) has been with us for years.”

Unfortunately, it is this very thought process that allows an organization to fall prey to employee fraud.

Now that we’ve established that it does happen, especially to those companies who are positive that it couldn’t happen to them, let’s jump right into why it happens. For this we will need to understand something called the fraud triangle.

The fraud triangle was model developed by criminologist, Dr. Donald Cressey. He indicated that three separate factors needed to be present in order for an ordinary person to commit fraud:

• Pressure
• Opportunity
• Rationalization

Let’s take a quick look at each one of these factors to see how it applies to the typical fraudster.

Pressure – Sure we all have some form of it, but this pressure is actually the motivator. This is the point whereby the feeling of no way out, for example a financial situation due to family illness, addiction or divorce.

Opportunity - Pay attention to this one. Of the three sides to this triangle this is the one an organization may have the most control over. Why? Because it enables a person to feel they can use their trusted position within the organization along with poor internal controls to commit the fraud with very little risk of being caught.

Rationalization – This is where desperate people sometimes do desperate things. In order to commit the fraud an ordinary person needs to reason with their conscience. Often, the person believes they are only borrowing the funds, fully intending to pay them back. Perhaps they are dealing with an ill child or parent and they see no other way out. Feeling that they are underpaid or underappreciated and basically owed the money is another example of rationalization.

By now I hope you are starting to realize that under the right (or wrong) circumstances it is easy to see how some people begin their walk down a very slippery slope. But of course, it couldn’t happen in your organization, right?

Join me in the near future when we will take a walk deeper into the world of fraud and provide insight into various fraud schemes, how they are accomplished and the best ways to prevent them.

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What is a Podcast?

A podcast is a way to subscribe to an audio or video show and automatically receive new episodes. For example, I listen to the NPR morning stories. When they publish a new one, I want it to automatically be placed on my iPod. That’s exactly what a podcast does. In my media player, I have subscribed to the NPR morning stories podcast, and at night I plug my iPod into my computer. As I sleep at night, my media player will download the new episode from NPR and place it on my iPod so I have it in the morning, automatically.

Become a Podcaster

Do you have audio content that you wish to podcast? All you need is some MP3’s and a RSS feed. QuickTime Pro, GarageBand, and iWeb on a Mac would get you on your way. If that is a bit over your head, give us a call or send us an email, and we would be glad to help you out.

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Last night, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of marketing students about YouTube, and its viability as a marketing vehicle for your brand, or for yourself. We talked about the importance of becoming involved in the growing communities fostered by YouTube, and other social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Participation in these kinds of sites, as well as blogs, gives you the opportunity to either meet others who do what you do, or who need what you offer.

Many of the students I spoke with hadn’t realized the impact of YouTube. A few numbers, courtesy of Wikipedia.org:

• In June of 2006, people watched an estimated 2.5 billion videos on YouTube.
• In May of ’06, about 50,000 videos per day were uploaded, a number which increased to 65,000 by July 2006.
• There are currently an estimated 72 million videos on YouTube, and over five million user accounts (which doesn’t include the number of YouTube visitors without accounts)
• In November 2006, Google acquired YouTube for the cool sum of $1.65 billion in Google stock.

And those numbers are growing.

Of course, the reasons people watch online video are numerous. Oh, sure, if you want to watch cute videos of bulldogs skateboarding, or otters holding hands, you certainly can, and millions do. However, as a Brand, or as a Marketer, you must know two immutable facts: First, online video is RAPIDLY becoming an information source – a place to learn about politics (Remember the CNN YouTube debates?), keep up with current events, discover new music, and so on. Second, it’s still pretty young. It’s a new idea for many, who don’t yet see the possibilities it presents as a bona fide medium.

YouTube’s slogan is “Broadcast Yourself.” So, if you’re selling yourself, or you’re selling a product or service, why not? It’s free, it’s pretty easy, and you don’t have to be a professional videographer to post your own videos, comment, interact with the community, and be visible to millions. But you don’t have to reach millions. You don’t have to be worldwide. You can post a video to YouTube, and very easily embed it onto your own website, or your company’s, or your MySpace or Facebook page, where your customers, contacts, or colleagues already are. You can post a video, and link to it when you blog, or when you comment on other blogs. In fact, if your laptop has one of those little video cameras, create and post your vlog (video blog). You can be more visible for free.

Best of all, that increased visibility can be targeted to the people you want to reach. Say you’re a hotelier in a New England resort town, interested in attracting vacationers. You can produce a short video* about your hotel or your town, post it on YouTube, and then put that video on your website, maybe the town’s Chamber of Commerce website, as well as link to it through travel blogs, and so on. Plus, YouTube allows you to add searchable keywords to your video so that viewers who are searching for, say, “Maine vacations” can find your video more easily. In short, your product, your service, your Brand, can be placed online where it’s easy for people who are looking can find you. Compared to ad campaigns through traditional media, it’s an extremely cost-effective way to add a facet to your marketing, and “fish where the fish are.”

To see what a YouTube “channel” looks like, I invite you to visit my SlatersGarage channel: Try it. Explore. You can set up a free YouTube account without having to upload videos. You can simply watch, comment, add favorites, and participate within the community. If you’re a business owner, search YouTube for similar businesses, and see what others are doing. As you read blogs, notice how many have YouTube videos embedded in order to augment content.

I’ll sum up with the same words I spoke to those students last night: Get involved online. If you’re marketing a business, blog about your own, and contribute to others. If you’re marketing yourself, do the same. Your YouTube, MySpace, or Facebook pages are like living, breathing resumes that are always visible to future employers and future colleagues. It’s interactive marketing in an interactive medium.

So, interact.

* Look for future posts soon on how to inexpensively produce your own videos, as well as more on consumer-generated advertising, viral marketing, and online video concepts and strategies

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