Spam Eliminated?

Maybe in our dreams...

Last night I was reading an article that made a quip about Microsoft and spam. Supposedly just 2 years ago, Microsoft announced that they would eliminate spam in just 2 short years.

Really?

Well, 2 short years later and spam is still growing exponentially. Now, it's not only in emails but blogs too. Over the weekend I played cat & mouse with a spammer on one of my other blogs (yes, I'm a multi-blogger). I tried using all the tools that come with my blog--banning the IP, marketing certain words as spam, and virtual bad thoughts. The spammer just did not seem to get the message. As fast as I deleted the posts for things I'd never mention here, they were coming back. Not only was it really frustrating, but ticked me off that I had to waste my time on it.

My question for the day, what can we all do to make "spam not pay"?

Blog stealing?

You've heard me complain about blog spam, not it's time to open your eyes to "blog stealing".

What's that?
It's when some other site takes your content and passes it off as their own.

Why do it?
To get free copy to increase search engine rankings. It has nothing usually to do with adding information to a quality site.

What's being done?
Oh, the usual "task force" by private companies and the government. Blogs really are so new that issues like this will come up. That's one of the risks of being an early adopter. However, the benefits I believe do outweigh the risks, which is why I continue to blog and encourage others to do the same.

Where can I find out more info?
US Blog Copyright law: http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/faq-ip.php
Copyright site info: http://www.copyright.gov
Site that tracks copying on the web: http://www.copyscape.com

Too much email; not enough rss

I get complaints all the time from clients, "where do I find the time to take care of a blog" they ask.

My answer, ease up on the email a bit. Both reading and sending. Instead learn how to use RSS and let technology do the sifting through information that you want.

The Truth Hurts
-53% of business users check email at least 6 times during each work day
-34% check email constantly
-On average, business users spend 49 minutes per day managing email
-Up to 80% of email is deemed unnecessary
-42% users check email even while on vacation
-23% users check email on the weekends

If you are ready to take back some of your time from email and use it for more important things in your life, take up RSS. All blogs have it (at least they should) and most larger companies are starting to offer it.

Want more info about how to start? Go here...

Size does matter!

Especially, when you are writing for your blog. Keep it simple. Keep is focused.

Blogs are made for content but readers are not made to read large blocks of information on a computer screen.

My recommendations for the best blogs:
-Use bullet points when you can
-Vary sentence length. (Use short and long)
-Don't let paragraphs get over 3-4 sentences if you can.
-Block your information and use titles.

Have any tips to add yourself? Go ahead, post them here...

Dare to be Different

It surprises me how easy it is sometimes to see other people's problems. Of course, since that's what we get paid to do, I guess I'm in the right business.

I was talking to a business owner this morning. He was complaining about the success of some of his competitors compared to his company. He said he couldn't understand what the difference was. He did EVERYTHING the same way they did. Yet they seemed to get more business than he did.

I listened for awhile and finally asked the question that kept running through my mind, "If you do everything like they do, why would I as a customer choose you?" It stopped him for a few minutes. I told him my point was not to be disrespectful, just to point out the obvious--

Build your business on what your customers want, not what your competitors are doing. Yes, staying in-tune with them is important. But, if they are already doing something, it's too late for you! You need to go and find out what your customers need that no one is addressing.

Which of course brings me back to blogs. Just because few others in your industry may be blogging, doesn't mean you should ignore it. On the contrary, you should embrace it!

We all have choices. We can choose to be the mouse that stayed behind (Where's my Cheese book reference) or the mouse that starved but eventually made it, or the one that accepted the situation and decided to do something about it.

Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Samantha

101 Dumbest Moments in Business

Just when I thought I had short-comings...I stumbled upon this great article from CNN, (or is that Money, or Business 2.0?) If you visit the site you'll see that there's so many names on the page I can't quite tell who's in charge.

Anyway, they've done a great job at picking some of the dumbest moments that have passed into history. Remember some of these great blunders that just made you wonder (just a few of my favorites):

-General Mills launches a new marketing campaign touting the "healthiness" of Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms and Count Chocula. That's the way to fight obesity!

-Talk about bad timing! Starbucks releases a new coffee called the "Black Apron Exclusives Aged Sumatra Lot 523 coffee", just days after the tsunami killed tens of thousands on the Indonesian island.

-Even too expensive for Vail? People have complained for years that housing was so outrageous in Vail that few can even live there anymore. I guess including the ones who started the whole thing...unable to buy office space in a community where the average home price recently headed north of $4 million, the Aspen Board of Realtors heads north too -- to Basalt, Colo., a town of 3,000 residents 20 miles away.

-A bit more than they bargained for. Looks like this contest didn't work out quite as the airline planned. The winner of the American Airlines "We Know Why You Fly" contest, which promised to award 24 round-trip tickets to the traveler who submitted the best video about his airborne experiences, turns down the grand prize. Why? Because American fails to cover the winner's federal, state, and local income taxes, which amount to about $19,000, or $800 per ticket.

You may ask yourself. Self? How does this relate to blogs? Well, it's been mostly blogs that have brought these stories out into the public. As you can imagine, an organization's goal is to down play negative publicity as much as possible. So, the only way most of us would ever know that all is not "perfect" in the corporate world is thanks to blogs.

Have you thanked a blogger today?

Go ahead and do it, then go read the 101 Dumbest moments. You'll either laugh until you cry or be horrified, or both. But either way you'll know what not to do on your next marketing campaign.