Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly Newsletter

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Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #36 July 26, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
FTC Makes Disclosure Recommendations To Search
Engines
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Tips for Effectively Communicating Through Email
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
FTC Makes Disclosure Recommendations To Search Engines
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor's Comments: Many people don't realize that most of
the major search engines take their results from paid
listings BEFORE listing editorial responses based on
relevancy to the search being made.
------------------------------------------------------------

Early in July, the Federal Trade Commission made an
unprecedented and landmark recommendation to the search
engine industry that the disclosure of paid content within
search results should be improved. A watchdog group known
as Commercial Alert made a complaint last year, resulting in
a study and the FTC's recommendations.

The complaint came at a time when many search engines had
recently switched or were making the switch to include paid
advertising inclusions in their search results. Overture,
the largest of the pay-per-click model search engines, has
contracted to provide results to at least half a dozen major
search engines - some of which have little or no markings to
show which results are paid for and which are "pure" search
query results.

The FTC, during its nearly one year study, categorized a
"paid" placement as "…any program in which individual Web
sites or URLs can pay for a higher ranking in a search
results list, with the result that relevancy measures alone
do not dictate their rank."

After completing the study, the letter sent to search
engines and directories on the Internet recommended that
"…if your search engine uses paid placement, you make any
changes to the presentation of your paid-ranking search
results that would be necessary to clearly delineate them as
such…" These would include making the listings appear more
prominent (using color, shading, bold text, etc.) using
clear-to-understand terms or formats that don't appear
contradictory to other statements made.

While further comments from FTC representatives on this
issue were careful not to name any search site specifically,
it did become obvious who they considered some of the more
deceptive sites: Yahoo! and AltaVista. Google was cited as
one of the best in this regard.

Currently, the FTC has not applied any specific guidelines
to the issue of disclosure on search engines and
directories. They have, however, issued a "Dot Com
Disclosures" document that is geared towards helping online
advertisers comply with consumer protection laws. The FTC
has made it clear that if the industry does not clean itself
up satisfactorily, they will step in with specific rules and
regulations - and punishments - as needed.

Most of these documents are available for reading at the
FTC's official website:
http://www.ftc.gov

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Wow what a week! While the news continues to list new
corporate accounting screwups - the latest being the
accusation that AOL-Time-Warner have cooked the books - some
funny things have happened to help lighten the day.

In a news report posted just Wednesday, CNN (www.cnn.com)
posted a story detailing how the Microsoft web device for
televisions (called MSN TV, which used to be WebTV before MS
purchased them) has been corrupted. The corruption comes
through one of many of the readily-available "add-ons" that
third-party vendors and programmers have created to
enhance the TV surf boxes. This particular one reconfigures
the dialup code to dial "911" instead of the code used to
connect to the Internet. I literally fell to the floor
laughing when I read this report!
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/07/24/msntv.prank.reut/

In other, more heartening news, the tech industry may feel a
boost soon. Microsoft has announced that it will be hiring
5,000 new employees to beef up its research and development.
Bill Gates announced the plans after unveiling the company's
plan to increase R&D budgets by 20%. Most of these new
hires will probably be working to research and create
software and hardware related to the .Net platform.

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
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"Aaron,
Fantastic job on the newsletter! It's nice to see someone
put so much effort into something they actually -know-
something about. Brava! Keep up the good work :)"
--Spidina

Editor: Thanks, Spidina! Glad you like it.

"I read your search engine article on your website and
was appalled to see how many of them take listings that are
paid for. I had no idea that the results I was getting were
probably given to the highest bidder. What a heads up!"
--Charles B.

Editor: A lot of people didn't realize this. That's part of
the reason the FTC has done what they've done (see above).

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Tips for Effectively Communicating Through Email
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

For most everyone in business, whether for themselves or
working for someone else, email has become a large
percentage of their communications. For most people, the
workday begins by logging into their email client and
retrieving email. The first few minutes of the day are
occupied drinking coffee and responding to emails received.

For some businesses, email is the most critical type of
communications - surpassing even the old standby, the phone.

No matter how often you use it, email is probably an
important part of your personal and corporate
communications. Despite this, many are not trained or do
not understand the proper "etiquette" involved in using this
powerful tool. After all, you can send and receive emails
to and from any part of the world is seconds, but if you
aren't using the medium well, you may not be communicating
effectively.

Here are a few tips to enhance your email communications
that will save you time, increase your effectiveness, and
make you appear much more professional.

1) Make your subject line actually mean something.
I'm amazed at how many people use subject lines like "Cool"
or "Good Stuff" to describe their email. These types of
messages invariably end up at the bottom of my "to read"
list in favor of more descriptive subjects such as "Project
Quote Needed" or "CGI Problem."

2) Keep your message short.
Of all the email rules, this is the one I break most often.
I am, after all, a good talker and since I type 80wpm, I can
translate this into long emails. This is not usually a good
way to communicate. I compromise by making sure the gist of
my email is inside the first few sentences and go from
there.

3) DON'T TYPE LIKE THIS
That's considered yelling and is very rude and annoying.
Enough said.

4) When you reply, include some sort of "recap" of the prior
message.
When responding (replying) to a message, make sure that at
least enough of the original message is included that the
receiver will remember what was being said. If you're an
AOL user, this is even more important since AOL's email
client does not quote the original email by default.

5) Watch your spelling
Use a spellchecker if you can, but watch your spelling.
Common typos and other "hurried" mistakes can really
undermine your professionalism. Take the extra few seconds
to re-read what you've typed at least once before you hit
the "send" button.

6) Don't use HTML email unless it's REALLY necessary.
I can't count the number of emails I receive with those
nifty "themes" included - graphical backgrounds, sidebars,
signatures, etc. Funny thing is, most of them appear as an
email with a bunch of graphic file attachments and probably
don't look anything like what the sender expected. I
usually make sure to thank the sender for sending me their
clipart, even though I really have no use for it.

7) Use the BCC tag to send your jokes, chain letters, etc.
I can't stand seeing an email that starts off with a huge
chain of "To" and "Cc" emails at the top. Not only is this
unsightly, it is also an open invitation for the one bad
apple in the bunch to gather the emails for his/her SPAM
list. Send the email to yourself and include all of those
people in the "Bcc" field (Blind Carbon Copy). This way,
each recipient sees only his or her email and yours. Much
cleaner and much safer.

8) Answer email quickly.
Obviously, this needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Don't ruin your productivity by jumping every time the email
sound is made on your computer. Make sure, however, that
you answer email in a timely fashion (within a working day
is best). I personally check email first thing in the
morning, mid-day, and at the end of the working day. I also
periodically check during the day as time permits or as a
distraction to freshen my mind.

9) Use a signature file.
Your email signature, which most email clients can insert
automatically, is a great way to communicate not only who
you are, but also what you do. I keep a list of rotating
signatures which include quick (one-line) marketing copy and
a link to my website. In this way, no matter who you send
email to or when, you are letting them know who you are and
even where you are.

10) Don't believe anything that someone forwards to you.
In my experience, 99.99% of the stuff you receive in your
email announcing that some big company is giving money to
people who forward the email for a test; announcing that
some guy in any country starting with "N" needs you to
"store" millions of dollars for him; or that if you send
this email to 100 people, you'll have good luck, love, or
whatever else - is B.S. Save the rest of the world (and
your friends) from this crap and just delete it when you
receive it.

These tips should get you on your way towards more effective
communication. Email is a great tool, but is generally not
used very well. By streamlining your use of it, you can
make your corner of the 'Net less cluttered and much more
useful!

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #35 July 19, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Reporting SPAM To SpamCop.net
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
How To Market Yourself And Your Business On A
"Shoestring Budget"... OR EVEN FOR FREE!
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Reporting SPAM To SpamCop.net
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor: This is an article about using the reporting system
at SpamCop.net (http://www.spamcop.net)
------------------------------------------------------------

The number of unsolicited emails I receive seems to increase
by the day. This is apparently a part of the job when
you're doing business online. After all, I have over a
dozen email accounts for various things and each of them
will get on someone's UCE or SPAM list eventually. The
question is what to do with this SPAM once it's been
received.

Most people already know the conventional wisdom:
* Don't respond to SPAM, if the return email address does
actually work, the sender is more than likely to ad you to
his or her "good emails" list and send you even more
stuff.
* If there is an "opt-out" link in the email, click it and
try to unsubscribe. Beware that this can sometimes be a
more elaborate version of the above ruse, but at least you
tried.
* Use "filters" on commonalities in the SPAM you receive to
automatically trash or move potential SPAM to another
folder and out of sight until you're ready to wade into
them. Common words and phrases like "MAKE MONEY" or "!!!"
and especially "viagra" should be flagged as potential
SPAM. I recommend setting up filters based on SPAM you
already receive. Don't bother with email addresses (they
change all the time), just focus on subject lines and/or
message bodies.

Now I'm going to show you another way to report this SPAM
and possibly get the SPAMmer shut down by his or her ISP for
sending it. If enough complaints are made, most ISPs will
shut down the offender for fear of losing their own
connections to the Internet. Loss of a connection or the
addition of their network to "blockades" or "blacklists"
means the ISP will lose money as customers realize they
can't send email to certain places and are not allowed
access to some websites.

The SPAMmer will probably just move on to another ISP and
set up shop again, but for the time being, you've shut down
their operation and caused an interruption. You've also hit
them where it hurts: it costs money to move your operation
on the fly and the SPAMmer has also lost "hits" to the
website they were advertising. All of this ads up to
dollars lost and dollars are what make the SPAMmer do what
he or she is doing.

So who do you report your SPAM to and how do you go about
it? The most respected anti-SPAM operation on the Internet
today is SpamCop. Started by a college student who got
tired of seeing his inbox fill with unsolicited email every
day, it has grown to be a respected and powerful cornerstone
on the Internet. Thousands of ISPs subscribe to the
"blacklists" that SpamCop publishes and updates regularly -
which contain IP addresses and website addresses for known
SPAMmers and the ISPs who allow them to operate. These
lists are used to "filter" incoming email and sometimes to
block users from visiting certain areas of the Internet.

For regular users, signing up at SpamCop is free. For those
with a high volume of email or who wish to subscribe to the
blacklists SpamCop offers, there is a cost involved. You'll
be surprised how small it is, though!

The first thing you'll need to do is sign onto the SpamCop
site and open an account. Obviously, for a site like this,
keeping your information safe is a priority. Signup is
quick and painless. Once you've signed up, you'll receive
an email with a website link and email address personalized
for you. Using these two tools, you can report SPAM that
you receive. There are also options for filtering your
incoming email using SpamCop's built-in filters for about $5
a year.

Now on to reporting your SPAM to the SpamCop system: when
you receive an email that qualifies as Unsolicited
Commercial Email (check SpamCop's rules, they're fairly
strict about what qualifies), you will need to report it.
I generally collect all of them throughout the day and then
report them all at once by forwarding them through my email
to my personal SpamCop reporting address. You can do them
one-at-a-time as well, though. Just forward the email (hit
your "Forward" button) or send it as an attachment (Outlook:
Message >> Forward As Attachment - most other email clients
are similar). Either way, you'll need to send it to your
personal SpamCop reporting address. I suggest putting that
into your contacts list as "SpamCop" or something similar
for easy use.

Once you've forwarded the email, you'll receive an auto-
response from the SpamCop system asking you to follow a
special link, which will take you to a page that contains a
bunch of information about the email you reported. Included
in that information are checkboxes for the ISPs the email
traveled through and the originator of the email (if known).
Usually, the checked boxes by default are all you need to
use and you can leave the other boxes unchecked. Press the
"Send Spam Report(s) Now" button and you're finished. The
report is added to the database and, if enough people
complain about the same email or the same source of that
email, that source will be added to the blacklist.

From an ISP's perspective, each complaint (without your
contact information or email) is sent to the administrator
or administrator account on the particular server in
question. This person gets an email from SpamCop indicating
a complaint has been made and gives them a chance to follow
a link to the website and try to defend themselves. Before
a site is added to the blacklist, a SpamCop reviewer will
look these reports over and decide whether the complaints
are faulty (based on the emails sent to the system) or the
ISP should be banned. Once on the blacklist, it is very
difficult to be removed. Most are on the list for at least
six months.

There are some other great resources on the SpamCop site you
might also be interested in - especially if you're an email
list administrator, newsletter publisher, or other bulk-
mail-related business. If you are serious about slowing
down or culling the amount of SPAM proliferating around the
Internet, if you are tired of receiving SPAM and want to do
something about it, or even if you just wish you had
somewhere to send it other than just your computer's trash
bin, I would suggest joining SpamCop. Here's another hint
to do something about the junk mail you receive in your
postal mailbox as well: open all of them and take the ones
that include a return envelope (postage paid) and stuff all
of their crap back into that and send it back to them -
they're paying the postage! Try it; it'll make you feel
better.

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Another fast week here at Aaronz WebWorkz. I can honestly
say I'm out of things to talk about right now. :)

If you have an article idea or one that's already written
that you'd like to see included in our newsletter, please
send it in!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"In Issue #34 Greg G. said:
'[Customer service] is also the department that is least
likely to show any income for the company.'

"I would suggest that although it is the least traceable
income, the income is indeed there. It comes in the form
of repeat business and word of mouth advertising. A
satisfied customer is a repeat customer who continues to
deal with that company. They will also tell everyone else
about the product/service which generates income that is
sometimes either counted to other sources or not tracked at
all. It is this phenomenon that causes customer service to
be looked down upon as a non-producer.

"I saw this sign in a car dealer’s repair department:
'The sales department sells the first car. The service
department sells every one after that.' I believe this to be
very true in many other industries as well."
--Jim S. (http://www.KingdomUnlimited.com)

Editor: Good point and thanks, Jim!

"Great article on fraud, Aaron! You covered a lot of
territory and it was well worth the time taken to read it! I
do not yet have a website and have been thinking about
putting my business online but because of your article and
after reviewing my merchant agreement, I will have to
reconsider my 'online strategy.' I still plan to put up a
website but I do not think it will be as complex as I
thought it would be."
--Melissa C.

Editor: Thanks, Melissa, I'm glad you like the article. I
didn't mean to discourage anyone with it, I just wanted to
inform. However, a lot of people I quote website projects
to scoff at my "inflated price" for adding e-commerce to
their site. I've had one or two come back after getting
further quotes from other developers that changed their
attitude. Most people just don't realize how much is
involved in setting up a truly functional e-commerce site
with their existing or future merchant account.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
How To Market Yourself And Your Business On A "Shoestring
Budget"... OR EVEN FOR FREE!

by Craig Lock
The "original" Online Creative Writing Course
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/creative.html
http://www.bridgeniche.com/CLOCK/zaniestbooks.htm

Editor's Comments: This is a good article on a great way to
market yourself. I've been doing this since this newsletter
started last year and it's a great way to establish your
expertise and spread your name (and URL!) around.
------------------------------------------------------------

Me write an article! Yes, you can, because you know more
about YOUR business than anyone else on this planet.
And most importantly, I don't believe that you have to be a
"pro" writer to write good articles.

HOW TO GET STARTED?

To "kick off"...
Firstly pick a subject that YOU KNOW - a topic
that pertains (nice word that!) to your area of
business. You are the "expert" in it. Then write to
HELP others by sharing your unique knowledge or
experiences. I believe, it's the BEST MARKETING TOOL
available.

And (can I begin a sentence with "an and" - yes)...
You DON'T have to be a good writer to write articles.


My advice is just find your "natural style" by writing
as you speak; as practicing writing in your "natural
style" breeds confidence. Then submit your articles
to ezines and announcement lists, like Article Announce
Free Content, Publisher Network, Article Xpress,
TheWriteArticles and Article Publish.

We find this marketing method by far the most effective
means of getting traffic to our various sites (and one thing
then leads to another)... and best of all the form of
BRANDING your busines in cyberspace costs nothing,
but a little time and effort!

Lately, all our marketing has been done through
writing articles (on internet marketing, writing,
money and self help) and submitting them to
the above-mentioned article announcement lists.

Often from there they get picked up by ezines with
large readerships - from 10000 ...to even ones with
millions of subscribers. True! These big ezine publishers
are continually looking for new and quality content,
particularly ORIGINAL material that can help others.

My advice is...
Write about what you KNOW - your areas of
knowledge and expertise, based on your
experiences. We find this strategy of SHARING
relevant and practical information most effective
of all in drawing traffic to our various web sites...
and best of all, it helps others "out there in the
vast void/realm of cyberspace". That is one of
the reasons why I write my various articles.

Here are some other points in writing articles for
the www:

Firstly,

* Identify your target audience.

* Keep your title reasonably short* *.

* Keep your paragraphs short.

* Get to the point quickly (enough waffle with
maple syrup, Craig!).

* Target your article to your audience with
"focussed information".

* Use the occasional exclamation mark (!) to
get your readers attention.

* Make sure your article flows properly. Re-read
and re-read.

* Try to be concise in your wording. Brevity is
the hall-mark of good writing...or so say many
of the teachers of writing!

* Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times. I try
to write my articles in a "conversational style
with dashes of my funny humour".

* Put some thought and effort into your heading -
again to get your reader's immediate attention.

* Use bullets in your articles - its makes the
points easy to follow (as I've used in this section).

* Conclude with a strong message. The final
paragraph should contain a message that
summarises your article, or gets your reader to
take further action.

* Offer a free report with your article - this is
an easy way to collect a list of adresses for
marketing your product(s). An instant target
market.

* Finally, make sure your layout is good (not
one of my strong points!), as this greatly enhances
your prospects of getting published

Some prominent article writers say one should
write differently to one's natural style, when
writing for the web . I say , DON'T. Just write
what comes naturally...and BE YOURSELF.
Though you may have to be briefer than usual,
if you are a "waffler", like this writer. People want
immediate information online and have limited
time usually - it's the "instant coffee, er sorry,
generation.

The internet is such an amazing medium for
communication. I've just submitted this article
and it's been published almost instaneously (big
word!) in a few places. So YOU TOO can write
articles on your chosen subject in your internet
marketing efforts.
MORE TRAFFIC = INCREASED SALES

Your writing will improve with confidence...
so just take that FIRST STEP and watch what happens

Writers and internet marketers - Grab this
moment in history well.

"Carpe diem" (seize the moment!).

Happy writing and...

Just GO FOR IT

Craig Lock
http://www.craiglockbooks.com/

P.S:
As the ancient Chinese philosopher said so well,

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a ...
broken fan belt and a flat tyre"...
er sorry...

a single step.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin
it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
- Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German
philosopher)

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #34 July 12, 2001
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Preventing Fraud On Your Website
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
HYPE Makes The World Go 'Round!
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Preventing Fraud On Your Website
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor's Comments: This is a lengthy article, but it covers
a LOT of information regarding merchant accounts and
e-commerce-related questions about fraud.
------------------------------------------------------------

The explosion of online commerce presents new opportunities
and challenges for both the web merchant and the web thief.
The special properties of the Internet, including the
anonymity, reach and speed it affords, make it an especially
tempting place to do business as a thief. All merchants,
online or off, must take steps to prevent fraud from
happening to them, but merchants online must be more
vigilant. This guide will show you how your online presence
can and why it should include risk management and fraud
prevention tactics.

Current statistics show the instances of fraud in
traditional "face-to-face" transactions to be around .06% of
the whole. Online, however, they are much higher: 1.14% as
of late 2001. [Gartner Group IT Advisory, November 2001]
The most common form of fraud is what's known as the
"fraudulent chargeback."

How It's Done
In order to combat fraud, one must first know how it is
committed. Usually, the thief requires only a valid credit
card number. These are gained in several ways, but rarely
are they stolen from cyberspace. The most common ways to
procure credit card numbers include mundane and traditional
methods: theft of the card itself or theft of card receipts/
imprints. Another, newer method of stealing card data is to
"skim" it using a small machine made for the task. These
can be used by employees who, given the opportunity, can
swipe the card through their machine, which then stores the
data for later retrieval to a PC or printer.

Once the data is obtained, a receiving mailbox or address
is required. This is usually an abandoned house, a mailbox
store, or even a Post Office Box. Once a shipping address
is gained, the card can be used to purchase items on the
Internet and have them shipped to the address.

Another way to steal from online merchants is the
"chargeback" (as mentioned above). The customer buys the
item from the online merchant (usually requesting a fast
form of shipping), waits for it to arrive, and then
complains to his or her card-issuing bank that the charge
for the item is bogus. The bank, usually operating on a no-
questions-asked policy, immediately credits the customer's
account and cancels the payment to the merchant bank.

What It Costs
Besides the usually higher cost of processing for Card-Not-
Present transactions (including higher interchange rates),
the merchant usually bears full liability for losses due to
fraud. Because the card-issuing bank usually has a no-
questions-asked policy towards Internet chargebacks, your
merchant bank usually does the same. Once a chargeback to
the customer has been made, it is nearly impossible for the
merchant to reverse it to regain their money. So not only
has the merchant lost the goods sold, but also the shipping,
card transaction fees, etc. They also may incur merchant
chargeback fees and manpower costs associated with it (for
research and processing). This can easily reach several
hundred dollars per case.

Technologies For Fraud Detection
As with most security issues, the techniques and sophis-
tication of both the defenders and attackers continue to
compound one another. Obviously, there is no sure way to
completely prevent fraud on your website, but there are
numerous ways to lower your risk and thwart most efforts.
The methods listed below are the most commonly used and
thoroughly tested of the tools for prevention. Most likely,
your strategy will include several of these together.

AVS - Address Verification System
When mail order companies began to proliferate in force and
the card-not-present transactions they produced began to
raise the number of fraudulent transactions in credit card
processing, several banks got together and established the
Address Verification System (AVS). The idea behind it is
simple: all credit cards are billed to the customer's
address, which is usually on the form or can be asked for
during the transaction. If the information given by the
customer can be matched against the information included in
the issuing bank's records, there is a higher chance the
card and transaction are legitimate. Since the checks are
made by a computer, most of the matches are made against the
numbers in the address rather than the address as a whole.
So the ZIP code, street numbers, etc. are what are actually
compared.

While this is a good method and is employed by many
merchants, it is not required and the decision to use the
information is left up to the merchant. Since the merchant
is ultimately responsible for the costs involved with
chargebacks, this is a fair system. There are several
drawbacks to the system as well: 1) the shipping address
and billing address are not always the same; 2) this is only
available for cards issued in the U.S.; and 3) many orders
that fail this check are still valid orders (estimated 98%
of AVS failures are legitimate transactions).

CVM - Card Verification Methods
Although relatively new, this method is gaining momentum for
one reason: it almost guarantees the person using the card
has the card in his or her hand at the time of use. In
other words, it removes many of the doubts associated with
CNP transactions. It works simply: on the credit card is
printed a short number (usually three or four characters in
length). This number is not embossed or stored on the strip
of the card itself, but is usually printed on the back in
ink - generally on the signature strip. When prompted for
this number, the cardholder enters it by physically looking
at the card, and the merchant verifies it with the bank for
a match/no-match response.

This method makes it harder for a stolen card NUMBER to be
used, but is not a 100% foolproof way to verify a credit
card. If the card was physically stolen or if the buyer
intends to commit a chargeback anyway, it offers no
protection. It should be noted, however, that in studies,
cards with a verified CVM code are much less likely to be
than those without (reportedly 80% lower). Also be aware
that as this is a relatively new technology, it has not been
fully standardized. Different card issuers give it
different names including CVC2, CCV2, and CID.

Lockout and Refusal Systems
One of the more common ways for the less-sophisticated thief
to gain valid credit card numbers is through brute trial-
and-error. Using an automatic card number generator
(available all over the Web for free) and a simple script or
program to fill out a form for them, a would-be thief can
generate and test thousands of credit card numbers in
minutes. The idea is fairly simple and works like the "lock
picks" for electronic locks that you see in the movies: the
generator produces a 14 or 16 digit sequence which will
comply with a MOD10 check (a standards consistency check
used by issuing banks to initially verify that a card is
theirs); the number is then fed into an automatically-filled
form on a website (website scouted and the automatic form
filler has been previously set up by the thief), and
processed for the transaction. If the bank refuses the
card, an error page appears and the program continues from
the beginning. If the number stumbled upon is legitimate,
the account is charged and the merchandise is set to be
shipped while the program stores the number as valid in a
list with other validated numbers. Later, the thief can go
back to these valid numbers and begin using them around the
Web until they are maxed out or locked down by the bank.

This is by far the easiest form of attack to prevent. Since
they follow an obvious and difficult-to-modify series of
events, software can be put into place to detect these types
of attacks. The easiest form is to reject more than X
number of transactions from a certain IP address (whether
they fail or not) in X amount of time (day, week, month).
These attacks will also fail to pass an AVS and CVM check as
well.

"Bad Customer" Lists
Most brick-and-mortar businesses have a list of customers
they will not accept checks, credit cards, etc. from because
of past experience with that customer. A similar list can
be created for a web-based merchant as well. As each bad
transaction takes place, it is recorded for future
reference. When a new order is placed, the name/address/
card number/etc. are checked against this "bad" list and
rejected if a match is found. If done before any other
processing takes place, this can flatly refuse any customer
who has a history of fraud.

While this is a must-have for any business that accepts
credit cards online, it does not prevent fraud from
happening, but rather stops it from coming from the same
source multiple times. For several obvious reasons,
including the likelihood the customer has multiple cards
and/or addresses, it is not foolproof, but is generally
effective in dealing with repeat offenses.

Risk Scoring and Refusal Rules
These are the best methods to include in your strategy, as
they are usually a strategy within themselves. Utilizing
combinations of the above methods plus specifics about the
order itself, these "scores" are assessed based on the type
of risk believed to be involved. For example, a transaction
may be for more than $500 dollars (+3 to risk), include more
than three of any item (+1 for each item higher than three),
the card failed the AVS check (+3 to risk), and the shipping
address is in the same state as, but different than the
billing address for the card (+1 to risk). The total risk
for this transaction is 8. On a risk scale of 1-15, it is
considered to be medium-high risk and therefore is flagged
for checking by a human employee, but is processed without
pause. A risk factor of, say, 17 would mean the order would
be flagged for definite review by an employee (who can call
the phone number associated, double-check information given,
etc.) and will not be processed until the employee gives it
the OK. Whether the customer is alerted or not is usually
up to the merchant.

This type of system uses several fraud prevention
techniques, thereby significantly lowering the risk of
fraud. It also allows the merchant to set standards for the
characteristics of what he or she considers a good or bad
transaction. The better the rules, the less the chance of
theft. Over time, a risk-based system can become very good
at its job and virtually eliminate most fraudulent
transactions.

Recommended Fraud Prevention Strategy
Although I cannot recommend something specifically for your
needs, on a broad scale, I can recommend a strategy that
anyone doing business online should include in their overall
scheme to prevent theft. Almost all fraudulent orders have
certain characteristics that should raise a red flag should
they appear. Using these and the tools listed above, you
can put together a system to significantly lower your
chances of being victimized.

The first thing your system should do is compare the order
against your existing "Bad Customer" List. If it passes
that check, then the following flags should be included in
your rule-based risk scoring system:
* Larger-Than-Normal-Orders: any order that seems larger
than would normally be placed, especially for multiples of
the same item, should have a high-risk score.
* Fast-Shipping/Overnight-Shipping: any order that is
shipped overnight should have a moderate risk score
attached to it (at the very least, it should be shipped
using a carrier which can verify a signature).
* Orders-To-An-Out-Of-State-Address: any order that is
shipped to an address in a different state than the
billing address of the credit card should be given a high-
risk score.
* Failed-AVS-Verification: an order that fails this check
should be given a moderate risk score.
* Failed-CVM: an order that fails this check should be given
a moderate-high risk score.
* "Free"-Email-Address: an order which includes an anonymous
email address such as Hotmail.com or Yahoo.com should be
given a moderate risk score as many thieves use these
addresses so that they can dump them easily.
* Multiple-Orders-From-The-Same-Card/IP/Shipping-Address:
more than one or two orders from the same credit card or
the same IP address, especially if the second order is
significantly higher than the first, should be flagged
with a high-risk score. More than two orders from either
source should be rejected out of hand (it's recommended
you store IP/credit card numbers SECURELY for at least an
hour for this check).

Reporting Fraud
While there is little incentive, monetarily, for a merchant
to report fraud, it should be done. It is a sad fact that
most thieves who use Internet fraud are rarely caught and
most stolen items are rarely returned to the merchant (not
to mention costs reimbursed). However, a policy of
reporting these instances can prove salvation should a thief
be caught with records on file. After all, if you don't
report it, no one will know about it except you and the
thief - a scenario unlikely to get you anywhere in court.

The basics needed are simple: a solid policy that is hard to
screw up internally, detailed information kept on file to
support investigations or prosecution (including what was
taken and how much was lost in money and time), consistent
reporting, helpful and timely response, and a policy for
direct negotiation with the thief. These will help any
investigation, whether internal or external. You will need
to know who you should report fraud to (usually local law
enforcement will direct you to the correct bureau and you
should also include your merchant bank as a contact), what
information they require, and who is the primary contact
person at your business for these investigations.

Preventing fraud online is the responsibility of everyone
who does business on the Internet. Obviously, the merchant
has more reason to do so than not to since the merchant is
the one who loses money when fraud takes place. Utilizing
the tools available and building a strategy to fit your
needs, you can reduce the number of fraudulent transactions
for your business and save significant amounts of money.

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, another great week goes by! Lots of exciting things in
the world of the Internet. eBay and PayPal announced Monday
that eBay has put a buyout offer on the table (reportedly
worth about 1.6 billion dollars - the amount of business
PayPal is expected to transact this year and about half of
eBay's expected transactions this year). PayPal, it
appears, may go along with it. I guess eBay figured that if
you can't beat the horse, race it yourself.

I have been using a free, open-source office suite to see
how well it works called OpenOffice.org. Someone pointed me
to it and asked if I had tried it. It's about a 40 megabyte
download, so if you aren't on a high-speed connection, you
could literally wait days to get it. I'm very impressed
with it thus far and have found that it is compatable with
most Microsoft Office products (excepting Power Point) as
well! I will write a review on this software soon.

I don't know about you, but lately my email inbox has been
seeing a steady increase in the number of email SPAM
messages I receive every day. Next week, I plan to run an
article on how to use a service called SpamCop to combat
the SPAMmers.

See you then!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey Aaron, your article on ecommerce was great! It really
cleared up a lot of questions for me as I consider putting
my business forward to the next step."
-- Marybel J. (no website listed)

"I agree with Roy's article on corporate indifference to
consumers. I have worked for a company in a similar
situation and can tell you that, when you are the only kid
on the block, you tend to be pretty cocky. I left them for
my own long ago."
--Arda O. (www.xyzsoftware.com)

"I have to contend with Roy Troxel's article on hiding
behind logos. I know that large companies can seem to not
care about the "little guy" who is their customer, but if
you look at it from their perspective, they are really in a
budget crunch to stay ahead and one of the top money drains
on any company is their customer service department. It is
also the department that is least likely to show any
income for the company. Keeping up with a large number of
customers is a trying task that is easily done incorrectly."
--Greg G. (no website listed)

"Another great issue, Aaron!"
--Mom

Editor: Gee, thanks! :)

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
HYPE Makes The World Go 'Round!

Written by Joe Bingham of the NetPlay Newsletter
Sick of Internet Marketing HYPE? Sick of people who say
they are sick of Internet marketing hype just so they can
hype you anyway? Me too! The NetPlay Newsletter is
guaranteed to be the most HYPE busting Internet marketing
ezine around. Find out for yourself. Visit
http://www.netplaynewsletters.com
and subscribe.

Editor's Comments: Another GREAT article from Joe Bingham!
------------------------------------------------------------

Human beings are a fickle species. We're always looking for
the next new and exciting thing to do, eat, see, work at, or
whatever.

We never have been satisfied with leaving things as they
are. I'm sure you'll agree to that, but have you ever
thought about why that is?

Is it a lust for experimentation, a thirst for knowledge, or
an unending curiosity in exploring the world around us?

Well, while those explanations certainly are more romantic,
I'm afraid that's not really it.

Nope, it's all because of HYPE!

That's right, HYPE makes the world go 'round!

Think about it. Was the infamous voyage of Christopher
Columbus to the New World a pleasure cruise? Of course not!
There were endless days on the open water, there was talk of
mutiny, there was uncertainty, and even death! (I think,
anyway. I actually haven't studied history for a while, but
that's beside the point).

It was a hard trip, just as were all the trips taken by the
great explorers. Yet, how do you think Columbus went about
hiring his crew -- with the truth?

"Now Hiring: Suffer dehydration on the open seas. Endure
endless days in the burning sun, uncertainty, pain, and
potential death. Get paid only if we make it home before
our employer dies or forgets about us."

I don't think so. I'm sure it was more like this:

"Now Hiring: Sail the uncharted seas! Explore new routes!
Be the first to find new riches! Glory is yours for the
taking! Sign up to sail with Columbus today!"

I mean come on, really. How much would have happened in
this world if there wasn't some good thrilling HYPE being
told to get people excited?

Would any of us ever buy anything new without HYPE? Would
we have as many products in our possession as we do today?
Would we brave new worlds, try new things, or expand our
visions?

Or would we just stick to that which we already know?

HYPE is world changing, and it ALL relates to someone
wanting to sell or accomplish something. The world today is
a product of sales HYPE, plain and simple.

Need an example? Fine, let's pick on Pepsi. How many of
you actually like the taste of Pepsi and why?

Is it because of it's high nutritional value? (Ha, ha, ha!
What is the Recommended Daily Allowance for caffeine
anyway?)

Is it because of it's thirst quenching nature? (it actually
depletes water from your body, you know.)

Or is it because of the incessant marketing HYPE we've all
been exposed to for our entire lives?

If you were to take a baby that had never seen Pepsi before,
and had never seen others drinking it, talking about it, or
anything, do you think the kid would give up milk, water,
and juice and drink Pepsi?

I doubt it! Really, I don't think it would happen. Pepsi
is a market driven, socially acquired taste.

Oh, and by the way, do you know why Pepsi always looks so
thirst quenching and good in the pictures on the vending
machines?

Because of the WATER droplets on the outside of the can!
It's not the Pepsi that looks appealing, it's the WATER!
Same for when they pour it over ICE!

Anyway, do you see what I'm getting at here? Life is all
about HYPE, and you must HYPE in order to survive. We all
depend on HYPE of some form for our livelihoods. Literally,
everyday is an ongoing struggle between us all to HYPE or be
HYPED.

We ALL want life to be grand and exciting, and we ALL play
on each other's natures in order to make our own way in the
world.

You know what, though, that's ok because the truth is we
enjoy HYPE. It adds to the excitement of being alive, and
there's nothing wrong with that.

Besides, if it wasn't for HYPE driving us humans on, we
would have never progressed. Nope, we'd all still be
dressed in fig leaves, living in caves, and running around
herding sheep.

Which, I don't know about you, but I hate sheep (and
Pepsi!).

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
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This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
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questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #33 July 5, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
How e-Commerce Works
=> From The Webmaster
=> Spotlight On: Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Scams
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Hiding Behind The Logo
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
How e-Commerce Works
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor's Comments: Easily the most common question an
Internet professional will be asked involves e-commerce.
For most, it is their reason for being online - after all, a
business exists to make money. The question is...how do you
get that money from the customer to you? That is what e-com
is all about.
------------------------------------------------------------

When you're trying to go online with your business, the most
confusing part comes when you have to decide how to receive
money once your customers have decided to buy.

Merchant accounts, gateways, shopping carts, security
issues, authorization services, third-party verification,
SSL…the list of things to consider is staggering. This is
a brief outline of how you can throw out your shingle on the
Internet and the options you have for receiving money.

Mail/Fax Orders
This is the easiest way to get set up online. You simply
put together a website with your products (with or without a
shopping cart program) - an online catalogue, if you will -
and you accept orders only by fax or postal mail. Many
small businesses start out this way, but most will
eventually upgrade. This method does not require a merchant
account or any of the trappings of credit card acceptance
online. The down side is that if you don't accept credit
cards, you are essentially turning away the majority of your
would-be customers.

What you need: All you need to run this method is a website
and something to sell. The shopping cart program is
optional and all orders are emailed, faxed, or postal mailed
to you.

3rd Party Acceptance Site
This is the next best thing to receiving credit cards
yourself. For most small enterprises, this is the best way
to get started online. First you put together your website
and shopping cart program and then tie it all into a third-
party credit card processor (such as PayPal, CCNow, etc.).
Some of them even supply the shopping cart for you!
Although some of these services are somewhat unprofessional-
looking when compared to actually accepting the cards
yourself, they work well and are all that is needed for most
small businesses.

What you need: A website with something to sell and an
account (usually free) at any 3rd party processor. A
shopping cart program may be required as well.

Offline Processing
Many already-established businesses have a merchant account
for accepting credit cards. Most of these, however, are not
useable online. They are considered "CP" or Card Present
merchants (which carry smaller risk than CNP or Card Not
Present transactions - which includes online and mail order)
and therefore are at lower risk. In order to process cards
online with an offline merchant account, you may be required
to change the terms of your account or use a gateway
processor or authorization service as a go-between from your
website to your bank. This translates to more money per
transaction since someone has to pay the middleman.

To avoid this, some businesses accept the information online
and then receive it and actually process the credit card
offline through their merchant account. From the customer's
perspective, the order was processed immediately, but from
the merchant's perspective, the card is processed by hand
when the order is received (usually via email or fax,
depending on how it is set up on the website). Before using
this method, you should make sure your merchant bank is
kosher with it as you can get into hot water if you break
your merchant agreement.

What you need: A website with product to sell, a merchant
account, a shopping cart which will accept all of the
information and either send it via encrypted/secure email or
by fax. Most likely you'll need an experienced web
developer or Webmaster to put this system together for you.

Full Online Order Processing
This is the dream of all webmasters and online merchants:
the 24/7 automatic order processing system, which requires
minimal input or maintenance from the owner. It includes
real-time credit card processing, approval, and acceptance.
It's very convenient and timesaving. The downside is the
extra money you'll no doubt pay for this. For many
businesses (especially the mid- and large-sized ones) this
extra money spent is offset by the savings in man-hours. It
is complicated to get all of the required pieces put
together and working properly, but once in place, it is
generally self-propelled and requires little or no tinkering
to keep afloat.

What you need: A website with product to sell, a merchant
account, a shopping cart system, and a gateway or
authorization service to link the cart and the merchant
account. You will need an experienced web developer and/or
Webmaster to put all of these pieces together in working
order.

Glossary
Most of these terms are probably new to the average person
on the Internet. This glossary will help define some of
them.

Shopping Cart: software that acts as an interactive
catalogue of merchandise. The user can usually select
multiple items, shipping methods, and even options such as
colors or sizes.

3rd Party Acceptance Site: These go under many different
names, but are usually referred to as payment processors or
third party processors. They include sites such as PayPal,
Billpoint, etc.

Merchant Account: an account with a merchant bank which
allows one or more types of credit card to be processed and
the funds transferred from the credit account to the
merchant's account with the bank.

Authorization Service or Gateway (API): a "middle-man"
service which acts as a buffer zone or common interface
between the merchant's website/shopping cart and the
merchant bank which will actually process the credit card.
Most APIs include credit card authorization and
verification as a part of their service.

Hopefully this little glimpse into the options commonly
available for businesses that wish to go online to accept
payment has proven informative. Good luck!

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

I hope all of you had a great 4th of July, whether it was a
holiday for you or not. :)

I started the article above ("How e-Commerce Works") as a
reference to point new or potential clients towards when the
inevitable question of e-commerce comes up. It turned out
fairly well and I thought it would fit in the newsletter
this week too. It coincides with the article below, which
is about new crackdowns on scam artists online and off.
These will tie in with a pair of articles about fraud and
how you can prevent it from happening to you on your
e-commerce site. The first of those will be published in
here next week.

If you're using Thawte (http://www.thawte.com) as your 3rd
party verifier for your SSL certificate, you'll want to know
that they recently (I received notice on the 3rd) sent
notice that their prices will be going up for certificates.
I'll have full details next week, but I can't imagine they
won't be posting a FAQ on their site as well.

For those of you who have anything to do with eBay, they had
their first ever live event a couple of weeks ago in
California. I didn't go, but have heard from some who did.
It was apparently pretty eye-opening for some. At any rate,
it might have been fun just to show up wearing a PayPal
t-shirt to stir up trouble. :)

------------------------------------------------------------
Spotlight On : Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Scams
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

On June 20, the United States Department of Justice
announced that several coordinated attacks (or "stings")
were made against "business opportunity" and "work-at-home"
fraud. The Federal Trade Commission, the Department of
Justice, and 17 state law enforcement agencies launched a
sting against 77 operations which are charged with several
violations of federal and state laws.

The campaign, part of a consumer education crackdown,
targets those who use deceptive tactics and earnings claims
while paying "shills" to promote their scams with
misrepresented customer satisfaction testimonies and other
scams.

J. Howard Beales, III, Director of the Federal Trade
Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection said, "Business
opportunity scams and work-at-home schemes are frauds that
can cost consumers their life savings and destroy their
dream of owning a successful small business. That's why we
launched Project Busted Opportunity…"

The plan used undercover investigators and special computer
tools against business opportunity advertisements that made
earnings claims without including cautionary language, which
is required by the FTC's Franchise Rule. During their
investigations, they were given "references" who turned out
to be paid actors ("shills"), one of which worked for three
of the scams and another of which had previously testified
in an earlier case that "I was paid to lie."

In most of the cases, the prosecutors are requesting
consumer redress, civil penalties, a permanent halt to
activities, and more. At least one of the defendants has
been previously found guilty of similar activities and is
currently in violation of a court order from that previous
case. Many of the defendants could face jail time, fines,
and more.

Several states, including California, Florida, Wyoming,
Michigan, and others participated in the sweep and many more
are continuing investigations. Scam artists beware!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"i write this game for fun.
try it out."
--Klez E.

Editor: Gee, thanks. Yet another Klez attatchment. :)

"Subscribe"
--Kim

Editor: I love seeing that!

Obviously there wasn't much for reader comments this week,
so I improvised.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Hiding Behind The Logo
by Roy Troxel
http://www.cyber-routes.com

Editor's Comments: Another great article from one of our
subscribers. Roy has a great website as well which he's
packed full of useful information and articles such as this
one.
------------------------------------------------------------

Let us return now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, in
the late 1990s, when dot-coms were arising from every
basement, when startup loans were easier to get than a cold,
and when a 1-day seminar made you an Internet guru.

It was also when many large corporations, hitherto excluded
from the information highway, spent millions of dollars to
become Internet savvy.

"After all," they would say with authority, "we are a
prestigious and time-honored firm whose name is a household
word. If we can't manage the information highway, who really
can?"

I call this "Hiding Behind the Logo." Sure, it was a famous
company that had been around for 75 years, but they had no
infrastructure for running a web site, much less an
e-business operation. So they hired contractors and
consultants to do the job for them. Naturally, the
consultants were often at odds with the corporate
management, who did little more than toss money at their
problems.

Proprietary Privileges
For example, the managers where I worked didn't care about
customer service. In fact, they didn't really care about
their franchisees at all. Once the ink dried on the
contract, the deal was done. If the franchisees didn't like
the deal they got, they could go elsewhere. The only problem
was, in most cases, there was nowhere else to go, because
the company had a near-monopoly on the particular service
they were offering.

Because they could treat their franchisees any way they
wanted to, within the law, their customer service was
incredibly lax. Therefore, the trouble-ticket queue usually
had several hundred calls in it at any one time. Their
company software was proprietary and the new help desk
technicians were expected to learn it on their own. As you
might guess, there was a considerable learning curve for
anyone involved in troubleshooting.
Service, Schmervice!

They would send people with no computer experience whatever
to locations to do things like upgrade Novell operating
systems. My first night on the desk, a field tech called up
saying that a modem didn't work. I asked him if he had
checked the serial cable. "What's that?" he replied.

When we had a question for the customer service manager, he
would tell us "That's a known issue", which was his way of
saying, "Add it to the queue and go on to the next one." If
we asked him too many times, he would look at us sternly
and say, "You don't understand how things are run around
here, do you?"

So how did the company make money? The company made its
money by devising schemes for putting their rivals out of
business. Because of their huge market share and name
recognition, they had the cash reserves, and if necessary,
they could get a loan. If it meant putting a new store
across the street from a rival store, they could afford
that. If it meant lowering prices, they could afford to do
that. Their software product was rarely updated; in fact it
was 16-bit DOS software that ran in a Windows environment.
So their development costs were as low as their help desk
costs.

My purpose for relating all of this is to show how IT
departments should not be run. In this case, project
management, with its defined goals, quantified tracking of
progress, scheduling, etc, was non-existent. The result?
Both the service and product were second-rate, and there
were plenty of smaller companies offering better deals, but
the consumer had to take the time to find them.

Many businesses perceive IT as a necessity, but not a
moneymaker.

In today's uncertain economy, companies are looking for a
new kind of IT professional: One that they think is bringing
in money for them. Most companies don't want to be on the
cutting edge. They aren't necessarily looking for someone
who turns their economic slump around. What they want is
some clever character who will think up methods so that they
can make a few extra bucks that they wouldn't have made
otherwise.

The Open Source Alternative?
For example, it might be cheaper for a company to hire an
Open Source Systems Administrator. This person can download
software for free. This way you don't pay Microsoft or
whomever for thousands of dollars of software. An open
source developer can write programs cheaper than buying them
from people like Microsoft.
In Conclusion:
The dot-com upstarts are gone, but there are still plenty of
companies out there with inefficient IT departments. So, at
this time there are two options for the IT person: 1.) Join
a company that is producing new hardware and software, with
the assumption that you can create a better product than the
competitor's, or 2.) Simply show that you can operate IT so
efficiently, that your company (law firm, hospital,
whatever) can save money.

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