Sven's Biz Talk

Dust Bunnies Kill!

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:36:00 +0000

Twice this week I've had people come to me with PCs that have been damaged by overheating. It's not something people tend to think about, but heat is a real killer when it comes to computers. When a modern computer gets too hot it is designed to simply shut itself off. This is an attempt to protect the delicate innards from permanent damage. But a sudden shutdown can cost you any unsaved work and may damage your operating system. Repeated shutdowns increase the change of file system damage. And any time your computer gets too hot you run the risk of blowing a circuit or chip inside.

Here are some tips:

Check for dust! Whether you have a laptop or a desktop, check the vents for dust from time to time. If you see dust, turn off your computer and use compressed air or a soft brush to remove the dust.
If you work in a particularly dusty or dirty environment, consider having your computer professionally cleaned once or twice a year. Check with your tech person or local computer shop for details.
Let it breathe! So-called computer desks with little cubbyholes for your PC can actually trap the heat and make things worse. Leave a few inches on all sides for air to circulate.
Laptops really shouldn't be used on your lap. Laptops tend to radiate heat from the bottom of the computer and have vents in the back or sides. Using the laptop on a soft surface can prevent the heat from dissipating. Placing the laptop on a pillow or blanket is even worse. Consider getting a lap desk with a hard surface. You can use the laptop on any surface and still let it breathe.
Finally, don't pile stuff on top of your laptop. Heat radiates through the keyboard as well. Just ask my cat...,

iOS5 and iCloud

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Well, it's been two weeks since Apple released its new iOS5. Hopefully the servers have had time to settle down as millions of users have downloaded this update.

Now let's take a look at some of the features of iOS5. I'd like to start with my most anticipated feature, iCloud. iCloud was billed as a new service allowig you to synchronize your contacts, calendars e-mail and more between multiple iOS5 devices such as your iPad, iPhone, iPod and Mac or PC.
When Apple announced iCloud it was implied that you would be able to easily sync contacts, calendar events and documents between devices simply by saving changes. Well it doesn't appear to work quite that way. I've had little success in synchronizing my contacts between my iPad and my MacBook. I've had no success syncing my contacts, calendars, etc. with any of my PCs. It appears that you have to connect your iPad or other device to your computer in order to turn on sharing of contacts, calendars, etc.

Documents are an entirely different matter. Simply saving a document will not synchroniz it across devices. You have two actually save the document to a folder on the iCloud server. Then on the other device you need to open the document from that folder. Not exactly what I was expecting. The presentation announcing iCloud (see video) made it seem like you could save a document on your computer and then simply grab your iPad, take the presentation to the clients office, and open it with no extra steps.

Overall, though, I really like the new operating system. It has many new features that are both fun and useful. We"ll take a look at some of those in the coming days. In the meantime please feel free to add your thoughts about iCloud and let's have a lively discussion.

Mac's Latest Mobile OS

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Last week Apple released its latest mobile operating system, iOS5, which is designed to power iPads, and newer iPhones and iPods. This new OS claims to have more than 200 enhancements. I plan to dig deeply into this claim and report my findings here. I'd love to get your input as well.

Le's take a look at the upgrade process. This is the last upgrade that is supposed to require a connection to a computer. I connected my iPad 1 to my Mac and kicked off the upgrade. I needed to upgrade my iTunes to the latest version, which added some time to what became a rather lengthy process.

Once I had upgraded iTunes, the system insisted on backing up my current iPad configuration, even though I had done so just a couple of hours earlier. The backup is horribly slow (a fact noted many times in Apple's support forums). I admit, my 64GB iPad is more than 2/3 full of books, music, magazines and apps, but still...

After more than four hours the backup finished and the iOS5 install began. It took about an hour for the software itself to download. Then the installer reformatted my device and installed a bare-bones version of the operating system.

Once the operating system was installed, it went on to restore my original configuration - settings, apps, etc. Again, this was a time-intensive process, but my only interaction was to keep checking to see if this process had completed. Finally, after another couple of hours the process was finished. Anxious to check out all the new features I picked up my and found -

Virtually all my apps had been restored to my desktop, not the original folders. I'm sporting a couple hundred apps, so it was a real PITA to have to go through eight or nine screens of icons and drag them back to their proper folders.

Total time for the upgrade: about seven hours (not counting the shuffling of the icons). Was it worth it? Cautiously yes. The Apple servers have been really slow (inundated no doubt by millions of people upgrading). Some of the cool new features like online backup iCloud and Newsstand are undoubtedly suffering due to the crazy amount of traffic. Hopefully things will ease up as the majority of people looking to upgrade complete the process.

Check back over the next few weeks to get some updates on the hottest features and find out what others are saying. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences as well.

Wardriving and Wireless Security

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:05:00 +0000

I just saw a report on KOMO news about three local businesses who were victims of "wardriving.". Wardriving is a fancy term for driving around with a car full of computer equipment searching for unsecured or poorly secured wireless networks. In and of itself wardriving isn't malicious. I know of delivery and service drivers how note and share locations of unsecured WiFi networks so they can check email, surf the Web on breaks, etc. There's no harm done and no one's the wiser. Unless they start downloading/uploading child porn or sending death threats. If someone wants to steal your stuff, though, an unsecured wireless network provides the bad guys with the equivalent of a seat at a computer in your home or office. If that computer is also unsecured, you may find your bank accounts and/or credit cards compromised and personal information stolen. How do you protect yourself? First and foremost you secure your WiFi network. If you're using a consumer-grade wireless router that's more than a couple of years old, buy a new one. Newer routers include easy setup utilities that will give you a decent level of security. Many of these newer routers even offer a separate connection for guests. Some things to consider when setting up your router, though. Don't name your network after your business. This is like leaving the box for your new HDTV in front of your house on trash day. Hackers are more likely to spend time cracking an obvious business network. Give your network an innocuous name or, better yet, hide your network's name (called an SSID). Secondly, use a strong password for people who access your network. Random letters and numbers are they way to go. Hackers have programs that use dictionaries to attempt to decipher passwords. People who regularly connect to your network should only have to enter this password once. And don't be shy about changing this password regularly. A dismissed employee or disgruntled customer with access to your network is a big security risk. Finally, use the most secure level of password protection. For example, WPA is a more secure form of encryption than WEP-128. WEP-128 is more secure than WEP-64. A simple Google search can answer most questions about security levels. Or you can call a trusted IT provider for advice. Check back tomorrow for the sequel to this article: how to keep your data safe if your wireless network is compromised.

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:19:00 +0000

So Netflix is finally waking up to the fact customers don't appreciate a significant price hike - like double - as a bolt from the blue. Sure, it was announced in June that they were going to start charging separate fees for DVD delivery and for streaming. If consumers wanted to use both services, it was going to go from roughly $8/mo. to about $16/mo.

I get the fact it costs money to provide these services, but that's something these folks should have known from the get-go. Doubling the price, even with 90 days notice, is crazy. And customers spoke loudly by bailing on Netflix in droves. It didn't help that Netflix announced it is losing the Starz library (Disney and Sony movies) in February of 2012.

I admit I have been using Netflix streaming for most of my streaming content on TV, but I'm finding their content is rather limited. I've enjoyed some of the harder to find stuff, but first-run movies and top-tier content is lacking, in my opinion.

So Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announces the DVD service will spin off into a new company called Qwixter. He's pretty blunt about the fact the new pricing will stand. But the did apologize for not doing a better job of announcing it. That doesn't improve my opinion of this move one whit. I'll keep my streaming for now, will dump my DVD plan. We'll see what happens.

I'll be using my iPad to stream content from Hulu+ and other sources, though. If Netflix doesn't pony up with highly improved streaming service it will be time for a change. It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the year...

What is your streaming pleasure?

Online Shopping Tips #1

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Many of us are tightening our belts this holiday season. Luckily there are many ways to save money when you're shopping on line this year. Retailers understand that many shoppers pared down their budgets for 2010 and are reaching out by offering significant discounts and promotions.

Our first tip is to search out online promotional codes. Promo codes, also called coupon codes are often overlooked as a way to save money. Almost every online store has a box for promo codes at checkout. The right promo code can get you free shipping, a percentage off or a specific dollar amount in savings.

Finding a coupon code can be as simple as typing the retailer's name plus the words "coupon code" into your favorite search engine. You can also visit sites such as RetailMeNot.com, CouponWinner.com and CouponCabin.com to name just a few. Be wary, though. Don't be taken in by offers to join coupon clubs or spend money for bigger discounts.

This is a test...

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:19:00 +0000

This is a test of recording a blog using my new bluetooth headset and dial2go software. I'm interested in seeing how it end.
Powered by . Mp3

It's Incredible

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:56:00 +0000

The folks at Verizon have been kind enough to let me play with one of their new HTC Incredible phones. And I'm loving it! They may have a hard time taking it back when the trial period it over :-)

First off, the touch screen interface is gorgeous! There are several themes, but the default screen offers animations for the current weather and a large digital clock. This phone by Google runs the Android 2.o operating system. This version offers quick processing and quick graphics. Like the iPhone, it offers multi-touch screen navigations. In other words you can "pinch" the screen to zoom in or spread your fingers apart to zoom out. There are other gesture that allow users to navigate other features and screens.

The voice recognition for search and even entering text is extremely accurate - perfect for use in the car. Speaking of the car, there's a Car Panel app that provides the top six most useful apps for your car, including maps, voice search and navigation.

The Android market offers a wide variety of free and inexpensive apps that download and install probably 10 times faster than on my old T-Mobile G1. Some of my favorites include GPS Essentials (speed, altitude, lat/long and bearing to destination), UrbanSpoon (easily find local restaurants using a variety of criteria) and Key Ring which scans all the barcodes on those little plastic tabs on your key ring. Retailers can then scan the code from your phone.

So far, this rates way up there. I think it surpasses the third generation iPhone and will most likely hold its own agains the fourth generation iPhone.

More to come! We'll look at upload/download speeds around town, signal strength and more.

AT&T Changes Data Plan Rules

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:28:00 +0000

According to an MSNBC article AT&T is doing away with its unlimited data plan just in time for the release of the new iPhone. There is some good news: if you currently have an "all you can eat" plan for $30/month you'll be able to keep it. The bad news is that if you're a new subscriber you'll be paying for the amount of data you transfer. If you just check email and don't watch video or download lots of apps you'll probably save some money. But power users beware. You could find a BIG surprise in your bills this summer!

Business Blastoff on a Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:42:00 +0000

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Business Blastoff on a Budget

View more presentations from Byte Slaves Computing.

My Favorite Hobby

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:08:00 +0000

I enjoy lots of things outside of work, but one of the things tat I always enjoy is flying. I can't afford a real plane (yet) so I use Microsoft Flight Simulator X and planes downloaded from Fly Away Simulations to see the world. It's fun to play with different aircraft - most are modeled on real planes and handle like their real-world counterparts. I can start from any airport in the world and choose to fly in real-time weather conditions or choose my weather. If you enjoy flying I suggest you check it out!

Watch Your Phone Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Sat, 01 May 2010 18:04:00 +0000

Word to the wise: make sure someone checks your phone bill from front to back every month. There may well be unexpected and unauthorized charges hiding on there.

Last week I got a call from the folks at Verizon. Somehow the change of address notice I sent out in October didn't get processed. I expected a big hassle, but I only had to explain myself to two people with one transfer in between. Quite a pleasant surprise.

The second person I talked to, Gina, asks me a bunch of qualifying questions. But she was friendly and professional. Finally, she asked if I knew my bill was over $50 a month. I said no, I should only have the charge for forwarding my number to my AccessLine - about $20 a month.

Gina explained that there's a company who has added it's Web hosting services to my bill at a cost of $50 plus tax per month. Seems this happens frequently, and the charge shows up on the back of the last page of the bill. Obviously this slipped by us. Seems that's what these scamsters count on. Gina worked on my account for about half an hour, then called me back with the good news that I now have a $568 credit on my bill. Great work. Great service.

"Valuable" Service

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:28:00 +0000

I've had my Capital One VISA card since I opened my business eight years ago. Always paid on time. Always kept the balance reasonable. I've got a credit score over 750. So I was flabbergasted to receive a notice yesterday that "due to extraordinary changes" in the economy they are adjusting the interest rate on my card. They're pretty much doubling my interest rate from 8.9% to 17.9% effective 1/28/2009 (notice I got this yesterday 2/18.2009). Gotta love it. Even if I could do it, I can't imagine doing something like this. I guess they really don't need my business. I understand there's a bill out there somewhere that's supposed to curb this kind of nonsense. But in the mean time I guess greed is the top priority for these folks. Good thing they left me the right to cancel my card. The good news is my shredder accepts VISA.

What's your take?

Facebook - It's Not All Fun & Games

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:05:00 +0000

With the popularity of social networking (and particularly Facebook) it was oinly a matter of time before the chain letters started appearing. I was doing some research for an upcoming workshop and ran across some interesting info. This is one hilarious article. It's also a bit scary because it's 100% true. I'm not going to suggest it should be forwarded to 25 of your friends, but it may be worth if. You be the judge.

I also read a story about Facebook's new data policies that isn't quite as funny. I've always encouraged people to be careful with the information they share on the Internet. This article is a sobering reminder that you can't "un-ring" a bell. Once you share something in cyberspace it takes on the half-life of plutonium.

Just When You Thought it Was Safe

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Last week I told you that the issues with our OfficeLive account were finally resolved. I actually got a call from a technician and got a general explanation of what went wrong. (see the details here). I thought to myself that the folks in Redmond were starting to grasp the importance of happy customers. There were a couple of things that we wanted to resolve - duplicate entries (LOTS of duplicate entries) in the "synchronized" contact info, and the inability to create new documents in our Workspaces. So I figured I'd get with the support folks once I got caught up from all the time I wasted trying to get them to resolve the main problem.

This morning I got a call from a girl who seemed to have a very tenuous grasp of the English language. She had extreme difficulty reading the script (and even more trouble with my name), but she finally managed to tell me she was welcoming me to OfficeLive and wanted to know if I had any questions or needed any help. So I mentioned my problems. She puts me on hold for a couple of minutes and then comes back to tell me that OfficeLive doesn't support these features. She tells me I need to go to the microsoft.com site for help/

Excuse me? Isn't OfficeLive all about synchronizing contacts and sharing documents? And shouldn't the person calling me to welcome me be a little more familiar with the product?

Maybe I just need to lower my expectations when it comes to customer service. I heard a quote today that perhaps the non-existant Customer Service Manager for OfficeLive could take to heart: If I can't do great things, let me do small things in a great way. They did such a poor job in a big way when this thing tanked last week. I would have hoped a simple welcome call would be handled a little more professionally.

So who has some great sories about support successes? I'd like to see if we can turn this tide around and tell some happy stories. After all, we want to do business with people who get it. Don't we?

A Chip of Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:08:00 +0000

I've been having some real issues with customer service (or lack thereof) at Microsoft all week. Major problems. I haven't been able to access my OfficeLive account - or any account that requires me to log in with my Windows Live password. No one seems to be able to tell me why. And the response I'm getting from the support team has been largely "just relax and quit calling us - we'll get back to you at some point." Most of the people I've spoken to even tell me that there's no one I can even call or write to if I want to complain! That's just so wrong.

There's a local guy, Brad Worthley, that gives great seminars on customer service. He's a sharp guy who could really inspire this group to make customers happy, not angry and posting angry blogs. I was really hoping I could talk to a manager when I called yesterday. But then a funnt thing happened: I talked to someone who got it!

I called for my daily update and gripe and got a young woman named Carrie. I explained my problem for the umpteenth time and she said "I can help you with that!" I just about fell out of my chair! Brad would have been so proud! That was the first time in probably a dozen calls to this group that someone has said "I can" without the word NOT behind it. I just wish I could tell her manager how refreshing that was. Of course, that might get her fired. And, like Derek tols me, there is no manager to talk to.

Best of all,she did get me logged in! Something no one else has been able to do since I got locked out this past Sunday. Unfortunately this didn't last. I was locked out again this morning. And my call to tech support got me the usual response: "I can't help you with that - you'll need to wait to hear from our escalation department." tick tick tick

Microsoft - you need another Carrie!

Screwed by the Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Here's a true story that illustrates how today's financial climate can affect any small business. Even yours.

A business owner I know owes his primary vendor about $3,000. He wants to stay on good terms with this vendor, but cash is tight. He's got receivables over $6,000, but people are slow to pay. So he makes use of one of those nasty little checks your credit card company sends you from time to time. You know the ones - high interest, last of the balance to get paid off. He writes the check knowing he can pay it off as soon as he collects on his outstanding A/R.

Fast forward two weeks. A letter arrives from American Express saying the check he wrote his vendor was not honored. Not because he didn't have the available credit. Not because his payment history was poor. Not even because of a bad credit score. No, it was not honored because "other customers making similar purchases have a poor repayment history." The business owner quickly contacts his vendor and writes a personal check to cover the one AMEX chose not to honor. But the damage is done.

The vendor has now blacklisted the business owner for writing a bad check. Not only that, the vendor assessed a bad check charge. The vendor also bounced a couple of checks to their suppliers and an employee's paycheck bounced. So now the vendor has issues with suppliers and additional costs incurred for the bounced checks. The vendor's employee bounces checks and perhaps is one of the folks on the original business man's list of people who don't seem to be paying in a timeley manner.

And the cycle continues. I just want to know when the government is going to contact me about buying MY bad debt. What do you think?

Is It Geek to You

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:59:00 +0000

I read a great article on Biznik (my favorite social networking site for business) where the auhtor talks about how to talk to techies. While we try to hire folks who can translate techie to normal speak, this might come in handy...

Hot New Networking Ideas!

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:39:00 +0000

First, let me tell about a new online networking site I found. It's called Biznik. I've got dozens (or more) contacts in Linkedin and Pulse. But this one is different. It's a true business networking site. Meet new people, trade referrals, post articles and promotions. You can even use tags to up your search engine ratings. There's so much to see that I can't really do it justice here. You can join for free and get cool stuff. There are also two higher levels of membership you can try. But don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself!

Now let me tell you about one of the great ideas one of the women that's in my network came up with. It's called Pay It Forward. Several of us are going to meet for lunch at a restaurant. We're going to pick a table of unsuspecting folks and buy their lunch. They'll get an envelope with our business cards and a note telling their lunch has been paid for by us and all we ask is that they look at the cards and see if they - or anyone they know - can use our services. If so please contact us. Brilliant! Even if we don't get any direct business, the recipients will have a better day. And they will remember us. Find out more about Lisa's wonderful plan!

Customer "Dis" Service

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:38:00 +0000

It was the last straw for me - literally. I don't know if you've noticed, but McDonald's has started wrapping their straws a lot tighter than they used to. Used to be you could just give the wrapper a quick tug and it would release the straw ready to go and leave you with two big hunks of paper you could easily toss in the trash. But the other day the paper was so tightly wrapped around the straw that I actually had to pull over and peel it off in little pieces that are now all over my car.

I'm sure someone somewhere in McDonald's land figured saving a fraction of an inch on the paper wrappers on the millions of straws given out would save a few bucks, and this person probably got a certificate or something for being so thrifty. But as a customer I was ticked off. It made my life just a little more difficult. And that got me thinking - and paying more attention. I went back through the MickeyD's drive through yesterday and noticed a couple of signs. The first said "no cell phone calls while in line." The next said "have your cash out and ready for the cashier." Neither of these are there to help make my experience better. These "rules" are there to make sure they can pump out as many burgers as possible.

If you think about it, more and more businesses seem to be focusing on how we the customer can make it easier for them to sell product to us. Centralized checkout stations with long lines; self-service soda fountains and whatnot, telephone and Web queues that make it virtually impossible to talk to a live person without jumping through a bunch of hoops, etc.

The pinnacle of this idiocy came last week when I went to a popular online retailer to purchase a couple of laptops. There was a great special advertised, so I ordered two. The next day I get an email saying I was only allowed to order one, so one had been removed from my order. My blood pressure went up a bit, but I found a good deal on a different laptop and moved ahead with the order. It was really easy to order - I had entered mt credit card and address information on the previous order, so I just clicked a box saying "use my existing info." Cool!

The next day I opened my email and found a message from this retailer stating there was a problem with my address. Huh? My first order was already halfway here. I called their Customer Service number (which was answered on the third ring by a live person - I thought this was a good sign). I told the person about the email and figured she could fix it right there on the phone. Here's the shocker: she said there was nothing she could do. Said I'd have to call American Express and add my shipping address to the card. I told her about the previous order, but she didn't think it was odd that they'd just shipped an order to the same address with the same card just two days before. She insisted I'd have to call AMEX and, once the change took effect in a few days, resubmit my order. She did think it was odd when I canceled my order on the spot. But I did get the free laptop bags that came with canceled orders. How odd. And I found a laptop elsewhere that was better and cost less - and it arrived on the same day as the first one I ordered.

My point is this: as consumers we have to do whatever we can to remind businesses big and small that they exist because of us. Anything that makes it harder to do business with them will (hopefully) inspire us to look elsewhere for products and services. I for one prefer to spend money with businesses that seem to be glad I'm there ratehr than an annoyance that gets in they way of their process and procedure.

As business owners we have to have empathy for our customers. I'd love to see the CEO of Verizon try to find out what a charge is on his bill.

Process and procedure are important for sure, but not nearly as important as our customers' experience when they do business with us.

When Everyone is Gone

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:49:00 +0000

The week of January 7th 2008 is one that I won't soon forget. It was the week that I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee. That kept me out most of the week. But that wasn't was so bad. What was really bad is that both of my technicians - my revenue producers - had surgery too. What are the odds?

My office manager was not very happy that all three people capable of handling service calls were either in the hospital or recovering at home. Luckily I know a guy who is doing the same thing we are, is good at what he does, and trustworthy to boot. So he was able to cover for us. But it's not likely we'll be on the plus side of that equation once the invoices are settled. But the customers were covered and my office manager was able to keep from pulling her hair out for the most part.

So what would you do if most - or all - of your work force were out of the office? Whether is was illness, natural disaster or even a strike, you could be down for days. Does your business have a plan to deal with a situation like this? Believe me, I'm thinking hard on this one.

Before You Forward That E-mail

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:53:00 +0000

You’ve probably gotten a few emails in your time marked “Urgent!” or “Please Read!” Intrigued by what the message is about, you choose to open the email your friend sent to you. After you scroll through two or three pages of email addresses from folks you don’t know, who have forwarded it to dozens of other strangers, you finally get to the actual message – only to find the message is a hoax or something you’ve seen a half-dozen times before. Don’t do this to your friends and family!

There are some basic rules of etiquette to follow when forwarding email. By following these simple rules you won't risk having your emails deleted without being read, and you'll be a whole lot less likely to tick off your friends.

Before you click the send button to forward that funny joke, or the plea to help find the missing girl, or the petition to adopt the puppies, and certainly before you start deleting files the email warns you about from your computer, take a moment and ask yourself the following:

First - Is It Real? Many of the calls to action you get via e-mail are simply hoaxes. These usually cite seemingly impeccable sources, yet are vague on details. These messages will ask you to forward them to “everyone you know” or some similar wording. If the message sounds iffy, check these Web sites:

Snopes Rumor Has It
Symantec Hoax Page
Scam Busters

Any of these sites can be used to check the current scams being circulated. They also allow you search for key words so you confirm that your email is truthful before you hit that forward key.

If the e-mail still seems legitimate and you want to forward it, read on.

Remove The Names Of Everyone Who Has Forwarded or Received This Email Before You! Nothing is worse than forcing the recipient to scroll through page after page of names and e-mail addresses of people they don’t know. Not only that, it’s simply rude to send the names and/or e-mail addresses of others without their permission. Instead, once you have clicked “Forward” simply left-click and drag to highlight all those names and addresses and press the delete button. Now you are only sending the message that you feel is important or interesting.

Hide Your Distribution List! Your friends will appreciate it if you hide their names from the people you forward the message to. And they will appreciate it if you don’t have a lengthy list of names they have to scroll through before reading what you sent them. This is very easy to do. Most e-mail programs allow you to create distribution lists (check your e-mail program’s “Help” file to find out how). Once you have created a distribution list, you send the mail to yourself with a Blind Copy (BCC) to your distribution list (again, if you don’t know how to use this feature, consult the “Help” file for your e-mail program).

Get an OK to Use the Address You Have! Employers are starting to crack down on personal employees who receive personal email at work. Employees can even be fired for receiving mails with questionable content. And don't just assume it's OK to send messages to a personal address. Many people share their email accounts with the whole family. Recy material could cause some embarrassment for everyone.

Bottom Line: Be judicious when it comes to forwarding e-mail. If it’s been forwarded many times before it gets to you, chances are good that most of the people you are sending it to have already seen it – or soon will. Be selective when it comes to choosing the recipients. Some people get more of these e-mails than others. Some people don’t want to get this kind of e-mail at work; others don’t want to get them at all. (A good rule of thumb - if you wouldn't send it to your grandmother, don't send it to anyone witout checking first). So if you are in doubt about forwarding that e-mail, don’t do it.

Phone Support Hell

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:13:00 +0000

So here I sit, listening to bad American music from a phone system in New Delhi as Rohit from Microsoft waits on hold for another vendor's support desk. I've been on the phone for about two hours this morning and a total of over five hours yesterday. All because a previous vendor that installed my customers server apparently didn't do the job properly.

It's ironic that my new-found friend has to wait on hold for support. That seems to be the rule rather the exception any more. I commend Microsoft for getting to me with a minimum of wait time. I did have to listen to lots of plattitudes from several different people who were concerned about pronouncing me name properly (nice, but they almost immediately transferred me to someone who asked the same thing). Each person was obviously reading from ascript, though, so their concern didn't really come across as genuine.

I'm now waiting for Rohit to call me back - he said the queue was pretty long over at Symantec and didn't want to keep me waiting (he even called and asked if I had a direct support number for them that bypassed the queue - as if). Nice. So now I'm stuck waiting here unable to make calls for fear of missing him. Can't leave to take care of other customers. Might was well be sitting on hold listening to crappy music.

I think that's what so many businesses don't grasp. Their efforts to "help" us so often simply waste our time. Call the cable company or phone company when your Internet connection is down. Even after you described your problem to the perky robot answering lady or navigated an endless phone tree to report your Internet outage, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be treated to a long-winded recording inviting you to visit their Web site for answers to commonly asked questions. Does no one at the other end of the phone line see the idocy of that?

To make matters worse, what's usually the first question the live body asks you when you finally get through? Yep, the same one you provided to robot at the beginning of your call: "may I have your phone number/account number?"

I think it should be mandatory that managers and executives of any company be required to call in to their "service centers" at least once a week and try to reach a live person or get the answer to any question other than "how much is my bill and when is it due?" Chances are good you'll get that question answered whether you asked it or not.

When I was a frequent traveler I always wanted to see the CEO of United or Delta fly from New York to L.A. on an overbooked flight. In coach. I figured that would dramatically improve airline performace. Obviously that never happened. And I doubt the CEO of either Comcast or Verizon will be picking up the phone any time soon. But maybe we can collect some of your real-live "support" stories to share with them.

Post your support story from hell here. I'll personally send the best ones to the head of the appropriate company.

Who's Your Mail Host?

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:36:00 +0000

There's nothing that drives me up a wall farther and faster than getting a business card from someone whose email address ends in aol.com, hotmail.com or yahoo.com. I'm lukewarm on gmail.com, but you get the idea.

If you're serious about your business you can spend less than $10 a month to register your own domain name. Not having a branded email address is just screaming that you are only in this business as a hobby. In my humble opinion you might as well hand paint a sign and nail it on a tree if you're going to promote yourself with anything other than a branded email address.

Once you've got the domain name registered, why not put up a basic Web site? You can do it yourself using a wide array of free or inexpensive Web design tools. All you need is to have our business name and contact information on there. You can add more (or hire someone to do it for you) as your business grows. Companies like Innuity offer inexpensive packages to help you put up a professional-quality Web site complete with Internet publicity (called SEO for Search Engine Optimization). Usually for less than $500.

So get out there and register your own domain name. Find a .com address that works for your business (a .net or .biz or .whatever only drive traffic to the .coms).

Making Money on the Web

noreply@blogger.com (Sven Mogelgaard) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 20:41:00 +0000

I went to an interesting seminar yesterday. The presenter was Fred Gleek. He seemed like a pretty sharp guy. His message was ow to make money using the Internet. He offered up a Website that sets you up with everything you need to start marketing information products on the Web. It includes a shopping cart, client database, client database system that you can use to send out email newsletters and campaigns (double opt-in required). It's got more features than I care to type in right now. The bottom line is that this site has got everything an entrepreneur needs to start selling on the Internet. Even better, you can test drive this incredible system for 30 days for only $3.95. But I believe that once you see all the features you get for only $30 or so you'll sign up on the spot.

Do I sound like I'm trying to sell you something? Well, I am. Fred's message was that you can make a substantial amount of money by providing other people with access to things they need on the Internet. Things like domain name registration and Web hosting. You can even give visitors a chance to become resellers themselves by offering your own affiliate programs. This is just one of many opportunities open to anyone who is willing and able to invest a small amount of money and a little bit of time to get started.

I'm not going to give away all the secrets. You'll need to attend one of Fred's seminars or do ome research of your own to make the big bucks. But as far as I'm concerned there is a lot of potential here. Stay tuned to find out if I'm right.

Do you have any experiences with this kind of marketing?