Namin' Names Goes Both Ways


A reader sent me the following, last week:

Thanks, I take time to read this report each week. You have great advice.

I do have a beef with a lot of the email ads I get.

'Only 49.95, so easy even a 12 year old can do it. Just cut and paste, that's all. No other fees. Start making money in 15 minutes, upline help, lots of spill over.'

How many people have been falling for ads such as these?

We join and then we need to buy a domain name and buy hosting. The instructions are nowhere close to being clear. You need to be a guru to set up the site. Oh, yeah, you need to buy traffic. Maybe it's just me not understanding. I will quit ranting now.

Wayne

No, Wayne, it isn't just you not understanding! Many of these programs are designed to be like that. Get the buyers in, then dump extra fees, etc. on them.

This reminds me of a term I saw recently for the first time in years - "Cash Cow." I had really hoped I'd never see that again!

I think we have to remember some of these ads are being put out by beginners. They haven't been around long enough to spot the bogus money-making programs.

The first clue is any term like “Cash Cow.” Forget it. Cows don't give cash. Never did. If you're lucky, you might be able to get some milk. If not, you'll get “cow” patties - also known as bull sh**.


So, if you're thinking about “namin' names,” be careful. Be sure you get the person at the top of the program. Try not to blame the beginner. We've all been there and most of us learned by experience.

Even then, you should consider other factors ...

When working online (or, trying to) we work in a huge environment. You'll run into a few actual head-cases and a lot of personality disorders!

You don't want to take on the wrong person - even if you're right!

You'll find this true even if YOU don't say anything to, or about, anyone. Sooner or later, if you're in business, someone will take YOU on.

Now, you have to decide how to react. Of course, the smartest thing is to ACT - NOT to react. Cooperation will work with reasonable people.

But, sometimes, you have no choice but to fight back. And, that can get real tough if you're dealing with a head-case or personality disorder.

My own rule of thumb is to ignore the head-case completely as soon as I realize what I'm dealing with. You can't win with this one, and it could be dangerous.

But, I tend to get right up in the face of the personality disorder. You may not shut them up, but you can usually make them go away and find someone easier to bully. Operative word is “usually.”

Bottom line is this: I truly believe the hype-masters, who are ripping folks off, should be exposed to protect the innocent, but I no longer make that my life's work. Unless one gets too close to me!

Citizens are Not Helpless!


I'm going to write about a couple of things I may get some flack for. Not that I care. I've given this a LOT of thought and I'm sure I'm right in these areas. I'm also sure it affects everyone in my country - and maybe other countries, too.

Before I start, I'd like to caution you not to jump to any conclusions about my motives.

I am not a Republican
I am not a Democrat
I am not a Libertarian
I am not a “Tea Partier”

I am an Independent, and I lean towards being a Liberal - although I prefer to call it Progressive.

I once had a Philosophy professor who said I was a “pragmatic contextualist.” He said I held a worldview that based my decisions on what is practical to get the job done within the context of each individual situation.

He was right. I don't depend upon religious doctrine, political philosophies, media positions or, sometimes, even laws to decide what's the right thing to do.

When I took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), I was found to be almost perfectly, evenly divided between left-brain and right-brain.

Now, that keeps me from ever being extraordinary. You would need to lean way into left-brain operation to be a real scholar. And, you'd need to lean way into right-brain operation to be extremely creative. I am neither. But, I AM balanced.

That means, I sometimes agree with the Conservatives as well as leaning toward Liberalism. And, I believe every situation warrants its own evaluation.

Now, having said all that - I hope you'll realize, the rest of this is simply for what I see as for the good of our country, our businesses and our lives.

It has nothing to do with politics, so please spare me the bitching.


A project is afoot to take the four largest banks down to where they cannot be considered “too big to fail.” Never mind where it came from - it's a great idea!

In fact, I said it myself before I ever heard it anywhere else. But, nobody was listening to me. ;-)

I've said before, WE are the answer to this economic mess, since we can no longer depend on our governments. And, this is something only we, as the general public, can do.

We need to take to power away from Wall Street and give it to our local businesses!

The idea is to stop doing business with the following banks: Citigroup, Bank of America Corp., J. P. Morgan Chase & Company and Wells Fargo & Company. These are the banks that received the biggest taxpayer bailouts, then used them to pay enormous bonuses to their top executives.

However, the main idea is to move our money and financial business to small community banks. Just 10 banks control 90% of the market and the top three - Citibank, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase - control a whooping 63%!


It's easy enough to check your community banks' financial status. You can do that online. Better yet, stop by and pick up their printed financial statements. Grab a brochure, too, so you can compare pricing on fees.

While you're there, talk to someone. See if you can remember what it's like to know the people you do business with!

Have I done it? Yep, I have. I have one account left to yank away from one of them, but I have to make a couple of other changes, first. I am also transferring the balances away from every credit card I have with any of them.

Most community banks and credit unions also issue credit cards. We do NOT have to put up with the thieving tactics of the big banks on our credit cards! If this situation continues as is - and it appears as though it will - we have only ourselves to blame. Because we can do something to take them down!

Here's a great article to help you change banks so it isn't overwhelming if you have automatic deposits, automated payments, recurring debit card transactions, etc.

tinyurl.com/yhjv7or


Next Subject

I don't usually ask people to sign petitions to the government. In fact, when I have something to say, I usually go right to the White House website - www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/ - not that it does any good. But, I feel better!

But, I want to draw your attention to this important petition:

"Tell President Obama: Due To Economic Crisis, We Demand Rebuilding The Decaying U.S. Infrastructure Now!" (as has been promised!)

www.ipetitions.com/petition/obamarebuildnow/

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.

It's (past) time that guy did what he promised. Maybe this will push him forward - maybe not. But, again, we have no one to blame but ourselves if we continue to just sit here on our thumbs and do nothing.

Jobs will do more to bring us out of this mess than anything else. And, there is NO excuse for our country allowing bridges, levies, etc. to crumble!

Let's see, now, what was that about Nero fiddling while Rome burned? What were the people doing? Dancing?

Of course, these projects to take our power back will take many more than those reading these words. Please pass it around to everyone you know!

As soon as we recognize and act on our power, we'll take it away from the political whores and imbeciles in Washington!

Traffic Woes


This is another area where things need to pick up. A few years ago, iCop got thousands of visitors a day. Today, not so much. Why?

Same reason we used to get such a low rating on Alexa. Today, that rating is sky-high. I don't feel particularly bad about it because it has to do with the incredibly increased number of websites folks have to choose from.

Nevertheless, we all MUST have traffic. And, I have NO idea what to recommend to you on this.

I don't mind trying things. Some work - some don't. It ain't the end of the world if something doesn't work. It's just a lesson learned.

It's part of what I do here. I try things so you don't have to. And, I search for things that won't cost you much during this down time. I don't depend on the outcomes. To me, it's simply experimentation to save YOU time. And, if things work, I'll keep using them right along with you.

So, I'm going to try out a traffic program pretty quickly here. I'll pass the information along if I think it's worth you giving it a shot.


Now, About Those Blogs ...


Since iCop put up a blog, I've been looking at other blogs pretty critically. Blogs have changed over the years since they started.

Originally, they were used as something like a journal: a place to write personal thoughts, feeling and opinions. In some respects, they still are.

When a blog is strictly a personal thing, I can understand not providing contact information. Comments can be made on the blog.

However, when a blog is used as a marketing tool, the same rules apply as with a marketing website. Contact information is mandatory. A Privacy Statement in mandatory. All legal documents used on a business website also need to be used on a business blog - also mandatory.

I wonder why I need to say this! It's just a matter of common sense!

Yet, I find the blogs of some iCop members that don't display the iCop seal. Why? Well, I imagine it's because the blog doesn't follow iCop guidelines - and wouldn't get approved.

Today, MOST blogs are nothing more than a different kind of website. iCop members: please bring your blogs up to iCop standards and get the seal on them. Are you an iCop member, or not?

Any blog that sells anything needs to be treated like any other marketing website.

And, lastly, ALL blogs should have their articles dated! When I'm reading about something that's happened, I'd sure appreciate knowing whether it happened last week or five years ago. BIG difference in the readers' perception!


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To re-publish articles by jl scott from this site, please include the following byline - with live links - after each article you use.

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* dr. jl scott is the Founder of Chamber of Commerce - on the Web™ http://www.ChamberofCommerce-ontheWeb.com - and also the publisher of the Online Business Trade Journal™ - the blog that keeps you up to date with online business coming of age. Visit: http://www.OnlineBusinessTradeJournal.com

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