Message From jl

Hi Everyone!

The temperature was 42 degrees when I woke up yesterday! That's a HUGE brrrrrr for October in Louisiana!

I went to get ET (my pet cockatiel) out of the sleep cage in his room (yes, he has his own room), but his room was nice and warm. I brought him to the living room, and put him in front of his breakfast in the day cage.

And, so help me, that little dude looked right up at me and started whistling “Jingle Bells.” I'll never know if that was deliberate.

Decisions Need to be Made

This damn Google Sidewiki spook is taking entirely too much of my time and newsletter space. And, I was the one who didn't want this written about ad nauseum. (sigh)

Quite accidentally, I came across a page Google had set up for product suggestions on Sidewiki. They'd been VERY quiet about it - not even mentioning it on the page where everyone was complaining.

Gotta love it when they claim to provide a vote, then don't tell anyone there's an election. Guess that should have been my FIRST clue! (Even though it wasn't a “true” election.)

I wrote a suggestion: An opt-IN for website owners should be added.

I sent an email to our members asking you to go “vote.” (Click that you agreed.)

As you started voting, the suggestion quickly moved to the top of the list. Those with the most votes went to the top. Three others made the same suggestion, and they were right behind us.

And, BTW - thanks so much to those of you who rose to the occasion, jumped on your white horses, and charged in to vote. As always - y'all are the BEST!

Somewhere about 10:00 AM, PDT, Google suddenly shut down the voting and I had to spend the rest of the day answering email from those of you who could no longer vote.

They also REMOVED the top three opt-in suggestions:

iCop: 112 votes
Scamout: 86 votes
Third: 85 votes
Later I found out they dumped a FOURTH one: 30 votes
-------------------------
Total: 313 votes DUMPED

They left an opt-in suggestion - which had 38 votes. Moved it to the top, but hardly impressive.

I don't doubt they will claim they left the FIRST suggestion that was made, and the rest of us should have voted for THAT one. Well, we are busy people and I, for one, didn't have time to read through pages and pages of suggestions I didn't care about.

They know what every single user voted for (agreed with) and it would have been VERY easy for them to consolidate - at one vote each - the total number of those voting for opt-in - on ALL the suggestions.

They chose not to do it that way. Any ideas why?

Okay - So, NOW I'm Pissed!

I did everything I could think of to work with these jack-legs. I tried to engage them in a reasonable conversation. Then, I added a suggestion - which THEY asked for by providing the page (even if they DIDN'T bother to tell anyone). AND, I garnered votes for the suggestions.

All to have them give non-answers to legitimate questions, then, pull a childish stunt like throwing out "votes!" Why on Earth did I bother to treat these people like adults? Now, every nerve in my body toward Google is in my middle finger.

I've run this organization for 10 years - knocking myself out trying to bring UP the level of business ethics on the Web and trying to protect the online small business owner. WHY do I bother when the great giant, Google Goliath, may be the WORST offender I've ever seen?

All that effort they claim to put in toward caring what their users want and/or care about - appears to be nothing more than a giant C O N. Give us a place to suggest and vote, then tear it down, indeed!

I've gone off on internet marketers who Google makes look like pikers for being out of line. Compared to Google, they don't have a CLUE how to BE unethical, stupid and money-grubbing. I almost feel like I should apologize. (But, not quite.)

The Finger-Raising Ceremony

I wrote last week, I would block Sidewiki if I have any problems from it. I also wrote I realize we have to make a decision as to what Google is worth to us before blocking.

Since then, I've balanced the time needed for monitoring Sidewiki when I should be working, against losing my indexing in Google - IF they stop indexing me. I've also balanced the cost of time, reputation and, ultimately, revenue if some dirt-bag decides to trash iCop via Sidewiki.

Why do I think that might happen? Because, NOTHING is sacred in the USA these days. We live in a world of lunacy, and EVERYTHING is under attack. It's only a matter of time... When, not if.

I also remembered I wrote, right here in this newsletter a few months ago, that I had stopped dancing to Google's tune a couple of years ago. I stated that I don't have time to make a career out of keeping up with their SEO demands. And, that's very true.

Now, I'll admit, I get a large percentage of traffic from Google. But, if I don't have to waste my time with monitoring Sidewiki - and if I stop being content with what Google sends - I'm sure I can find a way to increase my traffic rather than kissing that giant butt.

Three Camps on Sidewiki

A new friend mentioned he sees three camps on the situation:

1 - Those who still like Google.

2 - Those who are willing to institute protection for their web sites.

3 - Those who, deep inside, feel Google is stepping out of bounds but depend on Google so much, they don't dare say or do anything to threaten their perceived security.

I believe #3 probably includes those who make money from Ads by Google. If this is your situation, you would need to factor that into the equation.

However, I don't think Google wants to lose income, either. And, if they kick out those displaying Google ads, they lose advertisers. They're not doing this to lose money!

And, let's not forget, the whole time we've been flapping our gums, Google has had a Sidewiki blocker right there on their website for download. So, we can take that as BEING an opt-OUT option. Otherwise, I believe they would take it down.

After seeing them take down what they didn't want - such as 351 folks agreeing we want opt-IN, I realized Sidewiki Defeat wouldn't BE on their server, right in front of God and everybody, if they didn't want it there!

That would also explain why they haven't bothered to argue with us. They know we have a way around it - which, of course, they can disable later, if they wish.

But, the point is - I believe this is as good as permission to block without penalty. THEY are offering it!

http://code.google.com/p/sidewiki-defeat/

Just be careful with that one since it isn't foolproof and does not work with all CMS platforms.

A Matter of Integrity

This has now become a matter of integrity for me. I can NOT stand for what I stand for, as the director of iCop and, at the same time, bend over for a company that has exhibited the level of ethical behavior I've observed in Google over the past three weeks.

It isn't as if they didn't have the CHANCE to play fair. They were given that chance. Twice. They simply, blatantly and arrogantly, just didn't bother! They are going to do as they damn well please with our websites, and to hell with what we, the site owners, want.

I've already seen the vile and disgusting comments on some websites. And, these people are NOT going to do that to iCop! I don't give a damn HOW big Google thinks they are.

Someone is going to have to find the cojones to stand up and say a resounding, "NO!" I guess that would be me - and I don't plan to try to hide it.

Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing."

Thomas Jefferson: "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

We can sit around and bitch about this into perpetuity. Or, we can DO something about it - at least for ourselves.

Luckily, I'm Not Alone ...

Will Bontrager is a good man. Most of you probably know, or have heard of, him. He is also a cracker-jack programmer. But, you may already know that, too. Will is also a man who gives for the greater good - a quality I greatly admire.

He has written a script he is freely giving to anyone who wishes to use it. In fact, he has two versions. One you upload to your own server. The other you link to on Will's server.

Will is completely trustworthy when it comes to using his server. It is also easier, since if changes need to be incorporated to stay ahead of the Big Grunt, Will can make them, and they'll instantly apply for everyone.

This script does MUCH more than any others I've seen so far. I won't try to describe it. We all know, I'm a techno-idiot, and Will describes how it works on the web page.

Just high-tail it on over there:

www.willmaster.com/go/sidewiki3

Yes, I AM using the one on Will's server. If I don't have it up by the time you read this, I'll be putting it up today. The cool thing is, you won't even be able to tell by looking - so the commenters will never know their comments are going to simply disappear into the ethers.

I recommend this script OVER any I've told you about before. Why? Because, of Will's reputation and expertise.

If you would like to join my Finger-Raising Ceremony - which is exactly what Google deserves - please feel free to join me. And, please let YOUR lists know this option is available - whether YOU choose to use it, or not.

BTW - I asked Will if he had thought of charging for maintaining the script and allowing it to be housed on his site. He said he prefers to simply make it available to all who want to use it. He doesn't even ask for an email address - the scripts are right on the page.

For those not willing to outright block Sidewiki, yet, Will has also created a script that will monitor your web pages for Sidewiki comments - so you don't have to. It's here:

www.willmaster.com

One Last - and Important - Thought

To my knowledge, no one, yet, has mentioned the biggest of all problems with Sidewiki. Google ain't the only big kid in the sandbox.

If THEY get away with this - anyone can do whatever they please to our websites in the future. This could be ... only the tip of a very ugly iceberg!

About the New Rules from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Once again, I don't have space for it, but it's pretty much old news, now, anyway. I'll give you a couple of links where you can read about it.

But, here's MY bottom line. Although you will probably need to make some changes to your sales pages, there's nothing in the new rules that should scare the pants off anyone who is marketing ethically in the first place. Those who aren't, may have a problem.

Someone will come up with the correct wording for the disclaimers, soon. If I can poke our legal analyst out of the bushes, I'll ask him if he has time to do it.

Both the following writers do a bang-up job on explanations. No point me doing it when they're already done a fine job.

www.clicknewz.com

www.michelfortin.com

Just remember one thing. If you have a serious question, you DO need to ask an attorney rather than taking the word of anyone online. Remember Alex!

[For those who don't know about Alex - he was my baby duckling that went to Duckling Heaven because I took the word of online duck raisers rather than calling a vet about what I should feed him - and when. ALWAYS talk to a professional when lives or careers are at stake!]

Blog Update

I'm thrilled to tell you my partner in iCopHosting.net, Chuck Mattice, is setting us up a blog. It's going to be easier to keep you up to date on things, soon.

Thanks to everyone who sent me stuff on blogs. I was overwhelmed. So, Chuck gave me CPR and took over.

Have a fabulous week and ... keep on keepin' on!

  jl

P.S. Do YOU have the iCop seal on ALL your web sites? Scammers abound in a depressed economy. You will need the credibility of your iCop membership NOW, more than ever!

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Online Business Trade Journal™ is published solely by dr. jl scott, Director of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop) and may not reflect the opinion of all iCop members.

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