Blogosphere Techies Hit Geneva By Storm

As a sold out crowd hit the LIFT convention which took place in Geneva, there were a few people who were hit by storm wishing they could get in for a peak at the new technology conference with Blogging. I'm not sure why Switzerland always is pick for some of the best conferences in the world, but it just so happens the blogging world had a treat too.

Some attendees of the Lift 06 conference include Stephanie Booth (a fellow blogger from Switzerland who started blogging way back in 2001 or so), Robert Scoble (a Microsoft WA techie), Anina ( a super model turned tech blogger), and Ben, (a comp sci techie in Switzerland).

I guess one hit was the women's panel which was composed of some not so techie "stereotypes". If your interested in meme's and spimes, along with being able to travel with your laptop, then maybe the LIFT conference is something to check out. Mind you that a ticket to the convention isn't exactly possible.

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What's Up in the Blogosphere

Blogs have come a long way in the few short years of it's existence. Somehow these "popularity" votes remind me of search engines that just don't have it all right, just yet. Although some blogs actually do have great content, I believe some of them just don't know what they are talking about. These blogs are just out there to gain popularity and hopefully make a bit of quick cash along the way. I see wanting to gain attention just fine, as long as it doesn't look like a search I did on google this weekend...

I did a google search for "unfinished furniture" in Vancouver. I'm not really sure what you need to do to actually get up a site that isn't a complete ad, but that was the case over the weekend. Falling way short of my "ok" rating, I went directly to the yellow pages to get a better search.

I'm not sure what it will take to get on par for searches but there surely is a link between bad content and bad blogs. People are still abusing the system to be popular instead of winning fans from what they are really talking about. Hopefully this problem will be ironed out in time, but for now I'm not a fan of either...

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Blackberry Loosing Battle

Blackberry looks like it might have seen better days. As for the people who use their Blackberries daily, this might be in fact the worst news yet because the Supreme court has rejected Blackberry's appeal for patent infringements.

Blackberry is the Canadian maker of the popular wireless e-mail device has been locked in litigation against NTP Inc. The McLean-based patent-holding company holds the licenses for the technology which is just plain bad news for Blackberry. Previously in December, I had announced it was looking bad for Blackberry users.

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Bloggers of Today Change The Internet

Reflecting on the past, can get you somewhere in the future. That future makes me reflect on the internet. It's amazing how different the internet was ten years ago. Blogs didn't exist and certainly were not a topic at school. Most of my friends didn't have a clue about the internet or were just getting introduced to it. Blogging has changed lifestyles. Teens might even have better ideas than most adults on starting a business. Alex Tew's million dollar pixel site was certainly one of those relevations. I must admit, since we have started our own pixel we have picked up traffic ten fold. It's one idea many have run with. What else is out there to try?

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Swiss Dispute Over Domains

The Swiss government claims it has the right to take over a few controversial domain names which have to do with Switzerland. The Swiss entrepreneur who has had the domains since 1995 says the government has no right in taking over what he owns. The government currently has the domain of http://www.ch.ch and thinks it has full reign on other languages to say Switzerland.

Personally I think the Swiss entrepreneur is in the right because there are many other websites which fit this bill too. In fact, I think it's a waste to simply just redirect the website, like http://www.switzerland.ch which goes to the dot.com of the address.

By using proper marketing to let others know of the domain, would simply curb this problem. If you knew you would redirect yourself to the proper website. I'm for the Swiss entrepreneur in this case hands down. It's his right to free speech, to have his own domain and he beat the government to the punch by over 5 years. The government is in the loss and well if they would have hired someone earlier, maybe they wouldn't be pouting about this entire ordeal in the first place. The Swiss entrepreneur has a million dollar domain and he's making it work for him.

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Freebies -- Good Deal or a Waste of Time?

There are a great number of "free" things available on the Internet. Some of the offers are real and some aren't. There are legitimate reasons for free offers. Sellers give away free samples, for instance. That's why there are wine-tasting rooms, test-drives for cars and the opportunity to try on shoes before you buy them! Sellers want you to buy their products and are willing to let you try them out to some extent to convince you to buy. And so there are promotions of various types out there, which can be a good deal for the participants. But tread carefully! There ARE nuggets to be found, but all that glitters is not necessarily gold!

For example, a search on "free antivirus" at www.dogpile.com, yields 100+ hits. They run the usual spectrum of most free offers, from genuine giveaways to outright "sucker traps" that just want your address so they can drown you in spam!

They can be categorized as :

1. Genuine
2. Free but donation requested
3. Time Based
4. Free but paid for by others
5. Free Sample
6. Marketing key word tricks
7. Bait and Switch address thieves.

Let's look at each of these categories.

1. Genuine. For anti-virus software there are some programs out there that are really free, just for the downloading. Some perform very well against the well-known annual-fee offerings, even beating them in various ways.

They give good advice, "...when picking out your antivirus solution...first of all you want to make sure you get an antivirus program from a trusted source. Doing a little research on the internet(websites like this) will help you identify who the trusted providers of antivirus software are. Always find multiple sources of information, that way you are more than likely to find a software product you can get help with and that won't be filled with spyware and adware."

2. Free but donation requested. These are free, but they ask you to make voluntary donations. Also in this category are those that offer a limited capacity version, such as do Note Tab (text manager) and Zone Alarm (firewalls) for free, then try to get you to upgrade to the paid version. These are legitimate marketing ploys, and maybe the free version will be all you really need.

3. Time Based. Free to try for 30 days, $30.00 if you decide to keep it! Not unreasonable. Like a test drive. Many software products use this approach. Some will just not work after the trial period; others will periodically degrade their capacities, encouraging you to buy. For example, www.goodsol.com has a solitaire program that starts degrading after 30 days. After 60 days or so they shut down the take-back-the-last-move feature! Maybe by that time you are addicted to the game and go ahead and buy the full-capacity version. Or maybe you just play VERY carefully!

4. Free but paid for by others. Paid by advertising (like yahoo mail and hotmail) is legit. Like commercials on free TV. Somebody's got to pay the cost of providing the service! Spyware and adware are not O.K. Their purpose is to track your Internet movements for marketing survey purposes or deliver pop-up ads to you at random unexpected times. If you download any program of which you are at all suspicious, run your anti-spyware program(s) after using them.

Spyware and adware must "call home" to report and get new ads, so you should severely restrict which of your programs you allow to access the Internet.

5. Free Sample. Fair enough if it is legit, but remember the fisherman offers the fish free worms! In anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, many vendors offer a free online checkout of your system to see if it has viruses or spyware on it. Most are honest. Some will "plant" a few of what they are supposed to protect you against, and then "find" them, to great fanfare, just to prove that THEY are finding things that your current program can't!

6. Marketing key word tricks. The word "Free" sells! Marketers know this and put the word "Free" in their headings and where search engines will look. So when you search on "free anti-virus download" a marketer's "Download a free scan" offer will match on two words, free and download. The majority of hits on your search will probably be from this type of word trick site.

7. Bait and Switch address thieves. The Internet is cracking down on spam. Pushy salesmen are getting desperate for email addresses to which they can "legitimately" mail offers. To get addresses they offer all sorts of outrageous (and some almost reasonable) free offers. "Congratulations you have just won a Sony laptop computer!", followed by a request for your home and email address so they can send it to you (sounds reasonable enough, to get your Sony laptop). This is followed by requests to answer a "survey", then questions about your interests, occupation, etc. etc. What is really happening is that they are getting a profile of you to help them sell your address to their customers! Finally, it turns out that to "finish qualifying" for your gift, you have to buy something, then something else, etc. The free laptop (the bait) has been switched to being required to buy junk you don't need that ends up costing you more than it would to go out and buy the laptop!

And the next day there are 40 or 50 new emails in your inbox offering things that they claim that YOU asked about!

In summary, with a little research you can find worthwhile free items on the Internet. Using common sense you can avoid most of the problems. Ask yourself, what's in this for the seller? How can he give it to me for free? And remember, that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true. Even a fish wouldn't get caught if he looked, and avoided worms that had a line going from them up to the surface!

Otherwise, use caution and enjoy the many GOOD freebies that are out there!

Resource Box - Jennifer Schilling is a home business entrepreneur. Come get your free subscription at http://www.internet-business-success.biz

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FireFox Keeps Moving up

It looks like Internet Explorer has a fight on its hands for the top position. Firefox is now considered as competition for IE and they won't be going away any time soon. For me personally, I prefer Firefox hands down. What does that say about the Internet community? We had better focus on curtailing to more Firefox users. The days of IE are looking slim as there are better choices for users regardless of the operating system they are using. It's definitely a victory in my eyes for Firefox, but I guess only time will tell.

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15 Years of World Wide Web

It's hard to believe that the commercial web has been in existence for a full 15 years. What harder for me to believe is that I've been using the internet for about 13 of those years. I was one of the first people to start "surfing the net". I personally remember using AOL since 1993 or around that time.

There's a poll on CNN currently asking what the most significant part of history on the world wide web. Personally I don't think anything is significant enough to be listed in this poll but I think the dot com bust certainly brought to life a lot of what has shaped the internet since 1998. Since then, almost all of what has happened including Napster being shut down and Google gaining popularity has happened as a result. If this were a Multiple choice answer, many people would probably be voting wrong.

Here are some of the results of the poll and a bit better understanding of where the writer of the article really went wrong. I highly agree with their feedback more than the article. And personally, although Google is popular, it certainly didn't revoluntionalize the Internet.

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BlackBerry and Email Mix

The Blackberry and Email may be in jeapardy in the US because of one small firm and the case the might infringe on its patents for wireless communication. Right now an injunction is forming where Blackberry might not be working on anyone's email anymore.

If you ask me, I'm thinking this is a lose lose case for everyone. There won't be much to gain if you stop something that has gotten popular and works well with people on the move. Instead, I think people will use programs on phones which will have to make up for the lack of Blackberries. Looks more like a million dollar idea slipping down the drain. However, this ruling is only in US and there is a world out there of other people who don't have to follow what American's do.

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Can You Get a .EU Address?

Getting an .EU address might be a little harder than first inspecting. One of the rules behind getting an address is that you need to live in an EU country. The rules are outlined on the EURid website but can be summarized by the following.

Registration for these addresses begins on December 7th. To obtain an ".eu" address, a person or institution must have a postal address in one of the 25 EU member countries. But only two internet firms in Switzerland are even accredited to sell these addresses.

I'm a bit curious to see how easily one could manipulate the system by using an old address but still qualifying. I guess I'll have to read a bit more to find that answer out since I have lived in an EU country before.

It's certainly a bit different than logging onto a website and getting your desired .com address on the spot. The registration will take place in three stages with public bodies and trademark holders having the first registration ability. After that comes recognizable businesses and artistic identifiers. After every one of these assoications are finished, then the public will have a go at the registration.

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Yahoo Ads New Blogging Service

Yahoo Inc. announced it will be adding five popular blogs in the form of daily feeds to its website. The move has been sparked at an attempt to spice up the news and entertainment offerings with blogging content as they deal with rival Google around the corner.

With tens of millions of viewers, the potential to expand to the blogging audience would be a great way to gain more loyal readers. Yahoo's attempt might just work if they get the right mix of readers and bloging sites. We will just have to see if this move is a profitable venture.

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Google's Just Getting Bigger

If you thought Google had enough it already deals with, then you had better think again because Google is expanding it's services even more. The new service offers the ability to upload information onto the world wide web. It finally makes sense why they would want to do such a wacky thing given that Google's stated mission is organizing the world's information.

Launched as a "beta test" early Wednesday, Google Base has the potential to make instantly available a vast sea of content including _ but not limited to _ recipes, job ads, photos, DNA sequences, real estate listings and individual standalone databases.

Google's nifty new tool will make locating anything uploaded by users on the web nearly instantaneous. I guess we'll just have to wait around and see how this beta project turns out.

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Googling Your Genes

And you didn't think it was possible. Maybe it is...

An excerpt from the new Google Story: Googling Your Genes chapter reveals all.

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Atari Flashback 2

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Atari has given the good old video game a second chance. I must be a bit out of the loop since one gamer found out this new back in July for an October release. But I'm glad I'm not the only one out of the loop either.

The first two versions of the Atari sold over 500,000 consoles and I was one of those families who had an Atari. I'm thinking the Flashback 2 will definitely have a great appeal for stores this Christmas. Flackback 2 is actually affordable at $30 and has 40 pre-programmed games that come inside the console.

I'd say Atari is bold coming out with such an issue, but as with Air Jordans, people came flocking to get more of what they already had. Seeing that there are a lot of older people out there (yeah I have to admit I'm not such a kid anymore too) who would really love playing Atari. This might just not be another crazy idea after all, and more of a hit, especially for the price. I'd like to see how well Atari does with their Flashback to the 80's.

The big question is Will they market their product in such a way to get those customers back?

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Recipes At Your Fingertips

I don't think too many of us would have imagined we could just sit down and look up what we wanted to make for dinner on the Internet some 15 years ago. Technology these days can make something so extravagant so easy.

After reading the directions off the Washington Post Google Recipe, I went to work. Imagine - just click onto Google, type in your dinner plans, add "recipe" and hit return. Wow - Wonton soup is that easy to find, plus it's FREE. And it's a great way to get noticed on the Internet. In fact, these days many people are getting noticed from the Internet. If you are one of those people, you know you are a success story in the making. Many people have even landed writing or books deals this way.

Who knows what other searches might bring. But I have to admit, I like what Google is offering in this search. I'm curious to see how well they will do with other searches on the Internet.

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Tamiflu a Model In Overpriced In Switzerland

Tamiflu is starting to get it's recognition since the start of the bird flu emmerged in Asia. But I'm not so sure Roche's first intent was to really market their overpriced product to unsuspecting needy people.

But A federal price supervisor has uncovered a price mark up of Tamiflu in Switzerland. My thoughts just after reading that line is it's a marketing ploy to benefit from the sole patent and take advantage of customers in Switzerland. I also see this as something the Swiss tend to do regularly as you can buy a certain camera for a much cheaper price in another country. They shared the reasons for the mark up was from the pharmacists retail margin. But a double price mark up within Europe. Hmm - something might be a bit strange there.

As I understand it, by marketing something that is sold in Switzerland as being more expensive is because of the cost for those higher paying jobs. Ah now I get it!!! Shouldn't we all start doing that? I mean wedding photographers do that on a regular basis, so why shouldn't everyone else?

There is a lot to be uncovered from just one report. I know I certainly look at price hikes a bit differently. I'm positive Tamiflu isn't the only one benefiting from a sudden need for something - Just look at the Oil industry and their profits. Start looking at where the millionaires lurk, maybe there is a way to create a need for a product with hidden motives too.

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Getting Noticed Isn't So Bad

Sometimes being single and female has it's advantage. Or at least for 53 year old Washington Post columist, it has only been a life full of advantages. Maureen Dowd saw her soft spoken self being noticed more than ever once she started writing for the Washington Post. She notes in the most recent article that Men seem to nice her more than ever.

Dowd's tallents stem off her ability to get noticed by important men in politics. Seeing that she writes about criticizing men in her column for nearly a decade, she lures men into noticing what she is saying. Often times scared that she will not offer anything original in her column, I don't think her readership is going down hill. This is one successful woman who represents a model for the rest of us, and meanwhile keeps on ticking. And from the sounds of things, Maureen is definitely getting noticed.

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Amazon Selling Book Pages

When I first looked at Amazon Pages Service new pitch, I knew it wasn't for me. But maybe selling a book by pages is for more than just me out there. But a second program called Amazon Upgrade will offer full online access when a traditional text is purchased. I can definitely see this type of upgrade selling truly taking off and making millions more in the future.

What all of this boils down to is basically paying to see a book for a nominal fee. Personally I'd rather go to the book store and browse the book for free before I buy it. I'm sure there will be many suckers who get out their credit card to buy. But that's the difference between one successful person and someone who might just have trouble staying afloat. I'm not one to be the judge of that so why not just get the entire scoop for yourself.

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Facing Spam Head On

I'm not too sure the Washington Post is up on what's happening with spamming these days. Maybe they are but are out there to alert their readers about this big problem. They certainly are more up on the terms for blogging spam, "a splog".

I'm sure if you are a blogger, you would have already figured out that spamming is rampant with blogs. There are a few measures to escape this ordeal. I'm not so sure they are aware blogging has existed for some 4 plus years now. And even since I started, I declare myself as such a late comer.

What the article speaks about which is in my mind great is about the different types of spam in blogs. Some spam is in the form of comments while others are in the form of horrible blogs that actually get into the search engines. Why? Because search engines just haven't figured out blogs yet.

I certainly think the article has good merit because the post writer points out a lot of the bad things which are happening with free blogs. I'd have to agree with one lawyer who said it's up to the creators to be responsible in helping fight spam.

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Copyright Disputes Reach New Heights

Webcasting copyrights may have reached new proportions according to the Washington Post. Unfortunately it might be more of a detriment more than anything. Battles over copying of video from television to internet could literally put some websites out of business. The problem is that most of these video casts have been considered as available for free to the public.

Basically broadcasters don't want anything shown via the web. They are pushing for 50 year rights to anything broadcasted on a television. That's quite a statement if nobody even owns those rights.

So, for example, say ABC or Yahoo offers a broadcast or webcast of a movie no longer under copyright protection, historical footage of a news event or a live feed of a breaking story -- no one could make a copy of that program and rebroadcast it to others.

This isn't exactly good news for the webcasting industry. The one fallacy I see is that the laws probably only hold true in the US. People will find ways to get around what is trying to be enforced.

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