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 #101 Nov. 24, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Should You Market Your Services at a Trade Show?
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Get Those Meetings Moving!
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
“Should You Market Your Services at a Trade Show?”
by Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, The EQ Coach
©Susan Dunn, MA Psychology, The Marketing Coach,
http://www.webstrategies.cc . Let us help you grow your
business. Web design, web strategies, traditional and
Internet marketing, article-writing service, ghost writing,
copy,brochures. We do it all.
Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc to subscribe to FREE ezine, put
"Checklist" for subject line.
Call 210-496-0678 for personal service.

Editor's Comments: An intersting concept that may be worth a
try for some of you.
------------------------------------------------------------

As a fundraiser for a homeless shelter, I did lots of trade
shows. It's a lazy, "attraction" method that works, but not
the way you might like if you're keen on the numbers and
speed.

Actually every time I go out, anywhere, I tend to get a
client. That's what I learned as a fundraiser. GET OUT.
Of course I had more staff and budget then, but I went to
anything I could get into - chamber luncheons, non-profit
banquets, plumbing trade shows, church anniversaries. Mix
and mingle.

Wear a name tag. Think marketing. A fundraiser should
never be in her office. Nor should you on your “marketing”
day.

If you’re a non-profit and go to a Construction Trade Show,
you will attract the curious and the bold, and those with
time on their hands, and what's not to like about that?
“Well,” they say, “what on earth is a homeless shelter doing
at a construction trade show ... let's go see!” [“Coaching?
What's that? Why are THEY here?”]

I would recommend doing it a couple of times to see if it
works for you – if you’re the kind of person who can work a
trade show. An old tradeshow trick is to hire a beautiful
young woman to staff your booth.

Maybe you are a beautiful young woman, or have a peaceful
demeanor, or a broken arm (I hope not) something that
attracts people. You have to know yourself. I have a big
charismatic smile and know how to use it though I am neither
beautiful, nor young, and I get a kick out of people and it
shows. (Also good EQ.)

If it just isn’t your cup o’ tea, hire someone through your
local Temporary Agency. In ways it’s more “professional.”

Try different things. Now, I have brought along a book and
sat there and read. I do Internet marketing. I have a book
with HTML in big letters on the cover, and that gives them a
conversation entry. I take it on plane trips and have
gotten clients that way.

Invest in some promotional stuff. I have a nice classy
t-shirt with logo on it. I have a fun one that says "I'm a
coach. I solve problems."

I've used a nametag that says "Susan Dunn. Ask me about
coaching." I wear that when I'm out and about. (Get a kit
at Office Max and make some different ones and see what
works.) Standing around in intermission at the symphony,
people get real boooooooooored.

A soft, non-threatening demeanor works well. Everyone's
timid to approach. But you learn all this experientially
-- how to work the eye contact. Get some coaching if this is
a puzzle for you.

The crowd is one thing. The other vendors are another. The
employees of the convention center are yet another. To me,
where there are people, there’s business.

Here are a few tricks if you decide to do it:
·What’s that about “no picture book album? Of course you
have things to attract people. There are small display
boards you can buy (heck, it's an INDUSTRY – here’s one
source: http://www.affordabledisplays.com ). Photos.
Your brochures and business cards. A picture
album of success stories. Be creative.

·Go to a trade show and look around. You'll get all the
ideas you can stand.

·Make a home video, bring along a t.v., and run the video
(people, faces, ADS) on a loop.

·Make a PowerPoint, or let these folks do it for you:
http://www.webstratgies.cc .

·Invest in a table display. Check out some here:
http://www.affordabledisplays.com/cust_displays_tt.htm

·My cousin does wedding videos. He has lots of free time
on the weekend and he and his wife go to anything that’s
open. He’s gotten at least one customer each time, and that
makes him over $1000 for 4 hours of sitting around gnoshing.
(How do you value your time?) He teaches 3rd graders, so to
get out and mix with adults is a kick for him.

·Have a drawing - the business card in the fish bowl thing.
If you walk out of there with 100 new email addresses for
your ezine, that’s gold.

·The candy bowl – have something people can come by and pick
up free, but be original. Maybe at a trade show what people
are really looking for is a "wipe it" packet to refresh
their grubby hands, or a pen to write with (with your name
on it), or a single rose, just 'cuz, or a booklet of
inspirational quotes, or a coupon for one of your ebooks
free .... I don't know what's current, as I haven't been in
a while, but I'd consider it a worthy challenge to figure
out something besides "candy" for heaven's sake.

·On the other hand, chocolate is chocolate.

·Staffing a booth can be learned. It’s all about eye
contact and your personality. Work with a Marketing Coach.

·I have a VA here in town and I send her around to office
buildings with my brochures. She loves it; I don’t.

·Have a notepad where they can leave their name and email.
Some people would rather do it that way.

·Take the mountain to Muhammed. Get up and walk around. A
lot. Mix and mingle.

·Wear something interesting.

·If you’re in a field like coaching, for instance, you’ll be
promoting the field, which needs to be done. There are
still lots of people who don’t know what coaching is.
Whenever we raise awareness, one of us will benefit. Your
turn will come!

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From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
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Wow, what a week. Our contest went really well. Lots of
entries, you greedy souls! :) Our winner this week was K.
Bauman! K. gets a one year subscription to PC World
magazine (print edition)!

Our next drawing in our October Fest of giveaways is for a
brand new copy of Dreamweaver 4 For Web Professionals by
Tony Arguelles. You can find out more and enter by going
here: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com/contest/

On a different note, I met a woman named Raphael who runs a
cool little company called Fleecy Feet. I thought you all
would be interested in seeing creative business ideas in
action. Check out her website: http://www.fleecyfeet.com

I also received some coffee from Richard at La Reserve
Coffee and will be writing a review on it next week. Check
out his website: http://www.lareservecoffee.com

Finally, one of my newest business ventures is beginning to
take shape. You can see its current progress and sign up
for an alerts list by going here: http://www.ezine4hire.com

See you next week!

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Readers Talk Back!
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Three separate comments from Rob K. this week:
"RE: SCO - The current figures are $3 Billion because SCO
claims that IBM's infringment was a criminal act and thus
liable for triple damages.

I'd hate for you to be found incorrect. (grin)

It's all insane."

Editor: Wow, I didn't know it was that high.

"And it wasn't 1500 vendors of Linux products - it was 1500
Corporate Users of Linux.

(An unnamed regional bank operating in the western states
was one of them - I felt like I was in Nazi Germany when
management asked me to register all my linux machines at
work)

SCO has not pushed forward on the plan to bill all these
users for the use of Linux - for now. Apparently at the end
of the year they intend to double the cost of the licensing
fees - but in the meantime they don't seem willing to really
resolve the issue.

Red Hat has apparently taken them to court and asked for
discovery - and asked some very telling questions for which
we all want answers."

Editor: My mistake there. I didn't word it right. :)

"Regarding your ports article -
If you're not on a local network - close port 135. This is
the RPC port and is the current target of most attacks. If
you are on a local network but do connect to the outside
world, make sure that 135 is blocked at your hardware fire-
wall. This will prevent your network from falling to this
horrid batch of virii that sneak in that back door.

Even the Department of Homeland Security recommended that
this be locked up:
http://support.cox.net/custsup/safety/port_135.shtml

This only really applies if you're on windows but the
important thing to know is that ANY open port - accidental
or on purpose - is a risk."
--Rob K.

"Great article on computer port security!"
--Bob C.

"Where can I find more info on those air force one chips
you talked about in this month's tech update?"
--Carl B.

Editor: All I have is a press release from the manufacturer/
research company and a short blurb in PC World, Carl. It's
currently the "top story" on their website:
http://www.broadcom.com/

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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!

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Get Those Meetings Moving!
By Arthur Cooper
(c) Copyright 2003

Arthur Cooper is a freelance writer and publisher. He
previously worked in a variety of industries and in several
countries in technical and management roles. For more of
his articles go to:
http://www.barrel-publishing.com/articles1/

Editor's Comments: I've attended six meetings this week so
far. Ugh. More people should follow this advice. :)
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How many times have you been in a meeting that has become
bogged down and was going nowhere?

Scores?

Hundreds?

Maybe even thousands, if you have been around a while.

Here are a few tips to help you put some life back into
those dreary, stagnant meetings and get things moving again.

1. Make sure you have a proper agenda.

This seems obvious. But a proper agenda not only shows the
items for discussion, but allocates a fixed amount of time
for discussion of each of those items. This ensures that you
keep moving on.

It really is no good just listing the items – you must have
the timings as well. If you are in charge of the meeting you
can make sure this is done. If you are not, then make sure
you ask for such an agenda. Make it clear that your time is
valuable and that you have to be gone by a certain time
whatever the state of the discussion.

2. Close the meeting immediately if a vital person is
missing.

If the object of the meeting is to reach a decision and the
key decision maker is absent then it is a waste of every-
one's time to continue. What is the point of discussing the
issues at length amongst those who are there if it must all
be repeated again later?

Be positive. If you are in charge, stop the meeting
immediately and reschedule it for another time. Propose its
closure if you are not in charge, giving the reason, and say
that in the circumstances you are unable to stay. You won't
be popular in the short term, but in the longer term the
others will realise that you were right.

3. Start on time.

Never allow a meeting to start late. Make it clear that you
expect punctuality. Once you do this two or three times
people will get the message.

4. Prepare.

Arrive well prepared with the facts at your fingertips. That
way you can put your case briefly but clearly. If others are
less well pepared your views will carry twice as much weight
as theirs. Push home your advantage by insisting that
decisions are taken based on the views expressed. Call for a
vote. You are likely to carry the day.

5. Force the hand of timewasters.

If someone is persistently interrupting or systematically
disagreeing with everything that is said, they may just be
trying to put off a decision. If they are not contributing
anything constructive, force their hand. Insist on your
schedule. Tell them they can have five or ten minutes to
state their case after which you will call for a vote. Call
their bluff in fact.

These are just some of the ways that you can speed up and
liven up those time consuming and inconclusive meetings. Put
these suggestions into practice and see how you get more
positive decisions in a fraction of the time!

------------------------------------------------------------
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
[{UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK}]

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 #100 Oct. 17, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Technology Update, October 2003
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Computer Ports: What You Should Know to Defend
Yourself
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Update, October 2003
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

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Lots of cool stuff going on nowadays in technology. Get
ready for some REALLY large reports next month and in
December as companies start debuting their Christmas gear!

Our first update regards the current court battle between
The SCO Group and all users of Linux kernels 2.4 and newer
(which is basically all of us). SCO is currently suing IBM
for more than $1 billion, claiming copyright infringement on
their UnixWare software. IBM, of course, is battling this.
Interestingly, SCO also sent notices to 1,500 other major
vendors of Linux products, including Red Hat, Hewlett-
Packard, and others, offering a "license" for their versions
to avoid future lawsuits. As of this date, none of those
vendors have responded or "settled" with SCO - whose owner-
ship of this Linux code is considered shaky by many experts.
Also interesting, Sun has promised to indemnify users of
their Linux-based systems should the legal battle start
hitting home for any of them.

America Online has released version 9.0. While this may be
a boon for AOL users, it's a nightmare for Web Designers and
Developers who focus on email (such as this newsletter).
Not only does the new software include some of the worst
spam-filtering available today, it also disables all hot-
links in email and will no longer render HTML-based email at
all. The good news is, the newest Mozilla browser is
included as the AOL 9.0 web browser, so pages will render
much better than they have in the past.

In gadget news, Samsung has released a new thin-panel LCD
display monitor. This fifteen-inch wonder is less than $600
and can act as a video display for TV, DVD, and VCR; is
HDTV-ready; includes picture-in-picture; and also functions
as a high-resolution computer monitor. In addition to this,
it can DO MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME! So you can watch a DVD
while checking your email in a screen window… Way cool.

A company called Broadcom Corp., which makes computer chips,
has announced a working model of their AirForce One Wi-Fi
chip. This chip is a 2.4ghz radio, amplifier, 802.11b
processor, and controller on a little bitty CMOS chip that's
about the size of a postage stamp! This means that the
company has created an all-in-one solution that could allow
things like cell phones, watches, and other small devices
pure and easy access to Wi-Fi networks. Best of all, the
wholesale price on these is only $12. You'll see these in
PDAs by the end of this year and in cell phones early next.

Hewlett-Packard has been busy researching e-book reader
devices. Their latest creation is a book reader that's
about 1cm thick and has no buttons. Instead, it uses touch-
screen technology to turn the pages and do other tasks. It
connects directly to a PC via USB and uses very little power
with its static (though not colorized) screen. Engineers
say they are working on better battery life and a colorized,
lower-power screen and expect to see these hit the streets
in about two years.

AMD 64-bit processors are now on the street and generating
rave reviews from technology magazines. All of the bigger-
name, custom PC makers like Falcon Northwest and VoodooPC
have already released models running on the AMD64. Apple,
of course, was the first to release a 64-bit-based computer
called the Apple G5, but sales have been slower than
expected.

Davis Instruments has released a new automotive gadget
called the CarChipE/X. This is available to plug into any
late-model car's computer via the ODB-II jack (usually under
the dash of 1996 and later model year cars). It can be
removed at any time and connected to a PC via a data cable.
You can view up to 23 different parameters of data about
your car's (and its driver's) performance, including
speeds, RPMs, airflow rates, etc.).

S3i Sound had released a new "speaker out of anything"
device called the Omnivox. This little gadget plugs into
most audio-out jacks and can be attached to any flat
surface, making the object it's attached to into a giant
speaker. While the gadget I mentioned a few months ago
worked best with glass and was made for music and movie
sound, this little one is made to work best on large wooden
surfaces (such as conference tables) and is best for speech.
Handy!

Finally seeing the problems with computers that are "always
on" and using hardware meant for "on again, off again" use,
IBM and Motorolla are getting together to develop a new type
of random access memory called MRAM (Magneto-resistive RAM)
for always-on systems. They will use magnetic rather than
electrical charges to store data, increasing performance and
reliability.

Ready for tactile feedback in your cell phone games? Well,
it will happen sooner than you think! Called Haptics, this
new gadget is being tested by Immersion Corp. for use in
cell phones. It's a battery-replacement that doesn't just
vibrate, it has a whole range of vibrations and will even be
able to create distinctive vibrations for individual callers
to a phone! Cool.

Into finding wireless "hotspots" around town and tired of
lugging your laptop around to detect them? Kensington has a
solution for you, the WiFi Finder. This neat little device
detects 802.11b or g networks and has three LED lights to
indicate signal strength, while filtering out cordless
phones and Bluetooth networks.

Kodak has now released a camera which snaps photos in 14
megapixels! FOURTEEN!

Speaking of digital cameras, Ritz Camera Centers has
released a new disposable digital camera that's only $11.
It features 12mb of built-in storage (about 25 snapshots),
an automatic flash, and pre-charged battery. The downer is
you can only get the photos processed at Ritz.

Well, that's it for this month's updates. Watch for large
numbers of cool gadgets coming out next month, though, just
in time for Christmas!

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

Let's not waste any time and get directly to this week's
AWESOME giveaway! In honor of this being our 100th issue
of this, the Internet's best newsletter, we're giving away a
ONE YEAR subscription to PC World Magazine!!!

Entering is easy, just respond to this email with
"Contest Entry" in the subject line or go to
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com/contest/
for more details! Enter quick!

Last week's contest was a quiz revolving around the article
we'd printed the week before (issue #98) from Raymond Siew.
The winner of that contest was Daryl I. from Iowa! Good
work, Daryl!

We had very few wrong answers entered, which tells me that
you readers are paying attention to what is in this e-zine.
That's good! That means I'm doing my job right. :)

In other late-breaking news, users of C2it from Citibank for
online payment processing will have to find a new venue.
C2it announced that it will be shutting its doors on Nov. 9.
For more information, go to
https://www.c2it.com/C2IT/details.jsp

In further news, Jupitermedia has enhanced their Wi-Fi
HotSpot Directory and relaunched it online at
http://www.Wi-FiHotSpotList.com

Finally, we turn to an article from one of my favorite
tech writers and good friend Warren Keuffel, printed in the
latest issue of Software Development. This article brings
up a good issue that I haven't thought about since getting
my Bobby certification two years ago for website design:
how people with disabilities view the Web. The article is
titled "A Blind Spot" and deals with current XML uses for
producing materials for teh disabled. You can read this
article on their website here:
http://www.sdmagazine.com/

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Readers Talk Back!
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"Sometime back I read an article, it may have been connected
to The auction academy about using different domain names
for your venture and pointing them to your web site. If you
have a major domain name that does not spell out exactly the
variety of different products you are carrying you need some
other avenue to drive traffic to the main site. As an
example, we will be marketing pet gifts and supplies,
clothing, home accessories gifts, etc.

Can you tell me where to look, or how to put this together.
I know you have to register different domain names for the
areas you are trying to drive but how do you get them
pointed to the main site."
--Gary R.

Editor: Hi, Gary. I believe it was in the OAA newsletter
that I talked about this, but since you sent it here, I'll
respond here. :)

The easiest way to do this is to register the domains at any
major registrar and have them "forward" to another domain
name/site (or even specific pages on that site) from that
domain. The other way to do this is to get hosting for each
domain and put up "forwarding pages" on them.

The first way is the easiest and is supported, free of
charge, by many major registrars. My favorite is DirectNIC,
which offers this as part of their services for domain
registration: http://www.directnic.com?3908

The second way is more complicated and could get costly if
you don't have a cheap (or free) way to host domains. I can
send you the code for a simple auto-forward page which uses
both META and JavaScript code to forward to another site.

" http://www.funnyfortune.com/photos/31leak.jpg "
--Jim D.

Editor: HAHAHAHA!

"We're now targeting release of your course for end-October,
right in time for Halloween! AND we've extended the closing
date for Sponsor Box Ad orders for your course to 25 OCTOBER
-- We'd appreciate it if you could announce these updates
to your readers, Aaron.

Here's the order link again:
http://www.emasters.info/advertiser.htm#viral "
--Shoi, eMasters

Editor: Thanks for the update, Shoi. For those of you
reading, this is a great way to virally promote yourself,
your site, or whatever using my good name! :)

------------------------------------------------------------
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!

------------------------------------------------------------
Computer Ports: What You Should Know to Defend Yourself
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor: This article is to introduce my new ebook, coming
out at the end of the month: "Hackers, Fraud, and Trust
Online: The Netpreneur's Quick & Easy Guide to Cyber-Crime
Prevention." If you would like to advertise in this much-
anticipated ebook, follow this link:
http://www.emasters.info/advertiser.htm#viral

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

Computer Ports: What You Should Know to Defend Yourself
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

The number one way a computer is exposed for nefarious uses
online is by exploiting open ports on that system.

Ports are names or "handles" given to various network
connections your computer uses to communicate with other
computers. For example, your connection to the Internet is
through a port protocol called TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol) using well-known ports such as
HTTP or "port 80." While it sounds complicated, the way all
this works is actually fairly simple.

A program (called a "daemon" in Unix or a "service" in
Windows) "listens" or watches a specific port. So, for
instance, a web server daemon will watch port 80 for queries
from outside the server. When a query comes in, the daemon
immediately responds by accepting the query and sending the
requested information.

On a home computer, many of these ports are open by default,
many for good reason, but many more for no good reason.
Trojan horse programs (software that pretends to be one
thing, but is actually another), AdWare (software that runs
using online advertising), SpyWare (software that "spies" on
your activity in order to target advertising to you, or for
other reasons), and other questionable or downright devious
programs will listen at unusual ports to send or receive
information. Information that you may not want transmitted.

There are several ways to check these ports and ensure that
they are OK. The best and easiest is to use a software
firewall such as ZoneAlarm
(http://www.qksrv.net/click-983614-9925654) to monitor your
incoming and outgoing data and alert you to anything
suspicious. I highly recommend this route for most users.

If you are a little more technical and/or more adventurous,
you can open a command window (MS-DOS window in Windows) and
type the command "netstat -an" at the prompt (no quotes) and
see a list of currently open ports and the IP addresses
associated with them.

Often overlooked, open ports are the easiest and most common
way for a hacker, virus, or worm to take advantage of your
computer or data. Learning about the open ports on your
machine and how to guard them is important.

------------------------------------------------------------
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
[{UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK}]

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 #99 Oct. 10, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Nigerian Scam
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Software to help you create a robots.txt file
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Nigerian Scam
By Nowshade Kabir, Rusbiz.com

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present
CEO of Rusbiz.com. He has Ph. D. degree in Information
Technology. Dr. Kabir has over 12 years of experience in
International Trade and has worked as an advisor to several
government projects. You can contact him at
mailto: nowshade@rusbiz.com
http://www.rusbiz.com

Editor's Comments: This is easily the most prolific and
common email scam online.
------------------------------------------------------------

Although this scam has its root from Nigeria dated a decade
back, nowadays, you receive similar scam letters from many
African countries, notably, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and even
South Africa.

The subject lines of these emails are pretty similar.
Something like: Business relationship, Urgent Assistance
needed, Soliciting for your assistance, A cry for help etc.
Most of the emails from this scam begin in the same way.
Here are two excerpts from most recent emails that we
received:

"I am Engr Moses Ekpen a director in the budget and planning
department of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Resources (FMPNR), I had a seven man Tenders Board Committee
in charge of contract award and Payment approvals. I came to
know of you in my search for a reliable and reputable person
to handle a very confidential transaction, which involves
the transfer of a huge sum of money to a foreign account."

Or

"I am Mrs. Mariam Abacha, the widow of Gen. Sani Abacha, The
Late Nigerian Military Head of State. You were introduced to
me through the Chamber of Commerce. I am presently in
distress and under House arrest while my son Mohammed is
undergoing trial in Lagos and Abuja. He is presently
detained in prison custody. The government has frozen all
the family account and auctioned all our properties.

To save the family from total bankruptcy I have managed to
ship to Europe and Asia through a Shipping company, the sum
of US 20,000,000.00 respectively kept by my late husband."

The essence of these emails are also basically the same –
the person although does not know you, thanks to your
business reputation, has decided to contact you with a very
confidential proposal to transfer a mind boggling amount of
money from his country to any foreign land.

There could be numerous stories but the bottom line is they
require your help to transfer the amount. For your service
they will promise you something from 10 to 40% of the whole
amount. There would be a telephone no or an email address to
contact the person.

You may wonder how they swindle people.

There are various ways that the crooks rip off their
victims. Some of the most commons ones of them are described
below:

They will ask you to open a bank account under their name.
On their second step, they will ask you to deposit a sum of
say US $10,000 to that account, explaining if the account
does not have any decent amount, the officials those who are
responsible for transferring the promised millions of
dollars would become suspicious and won't authorize the
transaction. Once you deposited the asked sum, they simply
withdraw it and disappear. Usually they choose a bank where
they might have some connections. So you, after losing your
money, do not get any help from the bank either.

They will ask you to send some merchandize or gifts for the
officials they need to bribe in order to make the trans-
actions of the assumed millions of dollars smoothly.
Naturally, you never hear from them once you sent the
requested gifts to their address.

We even heard stories like this one: A man was persuaded to
come to Nigeria to look after the transaction by himself.
Over there he was kept hostage until he shifted all his
liquid assets to the thugs.

Looking at the increasing quantity of scam emails that we
receive, this only convinces that many fall for this
seemingly simple trap. According to FBI these swindlers
have defrauded millions of dollars from gullible people.

There could be other variations of this scam, next time you
read an email that feels suspicious, just delete it! There
are other ways of making money!

Some words of caution! Although most of these scams
originate from African countries, please do not generalize
and consider that all companies form these countries are
bad. As usual a few people are responsible for tarnishing
the reputation of a country.

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

Things are humming along nicely. Next week will be our ONE
HUNDRETH issue for this newsletter! That's a pretty big
milestone, hitting those three-digit numbers. Even better,
the 104th issue (Nov. 14, 2003) will be the mark of our
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY with this newsleter. Wow. I'll make
sure there's something worth celebrating there!

Now, on to this week's contest:

*-----------------CONTEST------------------*
Click on the link below to enter the contest
this week. It's pretty simple and you could
win you a one pound bottle of Diotomaceous
Earth flea and tick powder for pets!
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com/contest/
*-----------------CONTEST------------------*

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Heard about this new label? http://www.magnatunes.com/

Sounds like they're getting new artists very quickly, and
they're doing things the internet-friendly way."
--Kevin F.

Editor: Cool, Kevin! Thanks. They've got some good talent
too. I've ordered a couple of CDs already and will be
visiting back for more. This is how record labels SHOULD be
using the Internet!

"Regarding your contest:

"These books are available in digital format readable on
most computer platforms capable of reading "DOS
executable" files (.exe). All Windows systems, most newer
Macintosh, and most Linux-based systems should be able to
view these files. If the files don't work, we will provide
either an Adobe PDF version or refund your money. "

What have you been smoking? Unless you're running a DOS
emulator neither a mac or a linux machine will do anything
with your exe files."
--Rob K.

Editor: OK, OK, so I wrote that at 2am. Gimme a break. :)
Most Macs include a Windoze emulator built-in now, by the
way, and most users of Linux would install one immediately.
I know I did. So I was mostly right. ;)

""Advertising That WORKS"

A damn fine article. It's amazing how many people don't
realize that just one weak area of your campaign can sink
you faster than Pauly Shore's career. Everything's got to
hit or at least not be a distraction for things to be
successful - and what was successful today might not be
successful tomorrow.

Pop-up's anyone?

It might be cheaper to do it yourself but is it worth being
*THAT* cheap? They'll smell it like a used car salesman's
aftershave."
--Rob K. (again :)

Editor: Pauly Shore had a career?

Hey, speaking of Arnold getting elected, the majority of the
SPAM I've been receiving lately has been selling Arnold
products: "The Governator" t-shirts and whatnot. Oi.

------------------------------------------------------------
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!

------------------------------------------------------------
Software to help you create a robots.txt file
By Sumantra Roy

Sumantra is one of the most respected search engine
positioning specialists on the Internet. To have Sumantra's
company place your site at the top of the search engines,
go to http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?1778 For more
advice on how you can take your web site to the top of the
search engines, subscribe to his FREE newsletter by going to
http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?1778&newsletter.htm

Editor's Comments: Another great one from our search engine
expert. Since his robots.txt article was so popular, this
seemed like a good follow-up.
------------------------------------------------------------

Robogen is a software for Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows
NT based computers which can help you create robots.txt
files without having to worry about the correct syntax of a
robots.txt file. It comes in two editions: the free Limited
edition and the Standard edition which costs $12.95. You can
get Robogen from http://www.rietta.com/robogen/.

In this article, I'll tell how you can use Robogen to
simplify the process of creating a robots.txt file. This
article assumes that you have read my article on what a
robots.txt file is and how you can manually create it. If
you missed the article, it is available at
http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?1778&robots.htm

I would recommend that you download the trial version of the
Standard Edition. The Limited edition does not support as
many search engines as the Standard Edition.

Once you have downloaded Robogen and installed it in your
hard drive, start the program. Here are the steps that you
should follow to create a robots.txt file:

Step 1: Click on the Logon FTP Server button. In the dialog
box that appears, type in the address of the FTP server for
your web site, make sure that the "This server requires me
to log in" option is checked, and then type in the username
and the password which you use to access the server in the
appropriate boxes.

Now, depending on how your web host has set up the server,
the files for your web site may be present in the root
directory of the server itself. Or, it may be present in a
sub-directory of the root directory. In the latter case,
click on the "Use specified root" option and type the
relevant sub-directory in the text box besides the option.
If you don't know in which sub-directory the files for your
web site are present, ask your web host to give it to you.

Done? Now click on OK. After a while, Robogen will display
the directories and files which are present in your site in
the right pane of the main Robogen program window. If you
find that Robogen has not displayed the files in your site,
it means that you did not enter the correct sub-directory in
which the files of your web site are present. In this case,
ask you web host to give the correct sub-directory to you.

Step 2: In the left pane of the main Robogen window, click
on the small button present to the right of the drop-down
combo box at the top. In the menu that appears, select
"Popular Search Engines".

Step 3: Now, click on the drop-down combo box and choose the
search engine that you are targeting (say, AltaVista). In
the right pane, select a page which is NOT meant for
AltaVista. Now click on the "<<<" button. You will find that
the file which you had selected in the right pane is now
present in the left pane. In this way, click on each of the
pages which are not meant for AltaVista and press the "<<<"
button.

Repeat step 3 for each of the search engines that you are
targeting. Just select the search engine that you are
targeting from the drop-down combo box, select the pages
which are not meant for the search engine one by one from
the right pane, and click on the "<<<" button after clicking
on each age. Repeat this process for all the search engines
that you are targeting.

Step 4: Upload the file to your server using the "Upload
Robots.Txt" button. If you want, you can also use the Save
menu item from the File menu to save a copy of the
robots.txt file in your hard drive.

------------------------------------------------------------
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
[{UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK}]

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 #98 Oct. 3, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Peer to Peer Networks: Politics, RIAA, and the
'Net's Future
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Advertising That WORKS
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Peer to Peer Networks: Politics, RIAA, and the 'Net's Future
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

Editor's Comments: As promised, here's my opinion on the
whole file-sharing issue. :)
------------------------------------------------------------

Politics are a sticky business. Technology is like a two
year old. Put the two together and your VCR, dog, and
laptop computer will never be the same. Hide the cell
phone!

Currently, the latest political debates center around
unsolicited email and illegal file trading. Both are hot
issues and worthy of debate, but in my opinion, the issue of
file trading will have more impact on the future of the
Internet as a whole.

Why? Because the changes could be far-reaching and affect
everything in technology from software to music to computer
systems. It could even effect how your Internet Service
Provider (ISP) allows you to connect to the Web! Everything
could change according to the outcome of this debate.

There are valid arguments on both sides of the issue. One
side says that ownership is ownership and if these record
labels (represented as the Recording Industry Association of
America, or RIAA) own the music, others shouldn't be
stealing it or giving it away without compensation to the
owner. I agree with this, since the majority of my liveli-
hood comes from intellectual property.

However, the other side of the argument is for freedom of
expression and open exchange - also called the "hacker
ethic." I also agree with this philosophy, since most of my
education in technology has been because of the openness
shared by many of the techno-geeks of the world when talking
about technology.

So how do we resolve this issue without creating a paradox?
Well, first of all, the near-fascists on the RIAA side need
to settle down with their scare tactics and over-reaching
attempts at enforcement. On the other side, the near-
socialists of the "free everything" techno-world need to
tighten up their definition of "free" and work with the for-
profit industries who provide all this stuff they want to
have for free.

The good news is that recent polls are showing that a
mutually-beneficial agreement can be made. Ad to that the
recent moves by some members of RIAA towards a little
compromise, and you have the makings of a good handshake for
all concerned.

Recent polls show that, while CD music sales have suffered a
26% decline since 1999, most of the blame probably doesn't
rest on file-sharing. In fact, 80% of those polled recently
buy as much or more music than they did before file sharing
became popular, despite being users of peer-to-peer networks
for downloading. For many, Napster and similar sharing
services actually rejuvenated interest in recorded music.

The reasons why can be varied and many theories exist. I
tend to believe that music listeners just don't really buy
as much music or can't find as much music that interests
them anymore. On top of that, artists tend to release
albums only once every three years on average. Ad to that
the fact that most music downloaded for free is of lower
quality than music purchased from a store (on CD) and you
can get an easy conclusion: buyers are more selective about
the music they buy and many are probably using file sharing
as a "try before you buy" feature, since music on CD sounds
better on the car stereo.

More good news comes from the fact that the world's second-
largest record label, Universal Music Group, has cut its CD
prices by 1/3 and many other record labels are expected to
follow suit.

I think that the recording industry has a great opportunity
here. Smart companies will start releasing free, lower-
than-CD-quality tracks from new releases onto the Internet
(full songs, not these ten-second "clips" they use now) with
free distribution rights to anyone who wants to spread them
around. These will get spread (with embedded artist, album,
and titles for easy identification) freely and will lead to
more sales of the actual album. It's a form of network
marketing, something that has been used on the 'Net for
years!

Labels could expand on this by allowing high-speed users to
download the music tracks directly and burn their own CD-Rs
- paying for each CD as they download it. They could even
include album art (to be printed onto CD-R labels). These
would vastly lower the cost to the label for producing their
own hard CDs and could be sold to the consumer cheaper as
compensation for the extra effort on their part. Win-win!!

If record labels insist on continuing their current
draconian enforcement of ownership and if they do not change
their business models to keep up with the changes in
technology, ultimately they will fail. The lawsuits alone
will probably cost them billions and, try as they might,
they'll never be able to rid the Internet of file sharing
programs: they're just to handy and prolific.

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

Holy cow what a big week this has been! eMasters has
selected me to create a new ebook for their information/how-
to program. Their author slated for October had to postpone
for personal reasons and I was asked to step in last-minute
and speed up production of mine to fill in. This is
fortuitous, since the timing is perfect for me. So I will
have a new ebook entitled "Hackers, Fraud, and Trust Online"
coming out in a couple of weeks.

Want to know the best part? You can advertise in this book
to literally millions of Internet users. Check it out!
http://www.emasters.info/free_ecourses.htm#next
Hurry, spots are limited and everything closes Oct. 15!

In addition to this ebook, I have been interviewed by well-
known online author (and publisher of many interviews of
online experts) Jim Zorn (http://www.newvisioncreative.com).
That interview will be appearing soon. Fun!

*-----------------October Contest------------------*
Here's our contest for this first week of October!
Are you ready? OK, this one's easy. This one's so
easy that I bet every one of you can win INSTANTLY!
Yeah! OK. Are you ready? Psyched? Preparado?
Good. Now quick, click on this link!
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com/contest/
*-----------------October Contest------------------*

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey good article on the p2p softwares. I use OneMX and have
had no problems getting it to work. Its beauty."
--Dave L.

Editor: Thanks, Dave. I tried twice with the same results
both times.

"Great review, Aaron. I use swapper.net for my own file
sharing and love it. Like you said it is easy and simple."
--Cathy I.

"Like you I tried a whole bunch of P2P options before I
finally settled on webmedia. You get what you pay for."
--Bob K.

Editor: Thanks, Cathy and Bob! Soon I'll be doing a review
of anti-virus software. I finally found one I like!

"Awesome on the robots.txt article! I had heard of them but
never done any research and that article answered all of the
questions I had. Guess now I have to go make one. :>"
--Ed

Editor: Thanks, Ed. Sumantra is a frikkin' search genius :)
http://www.1stSearchRanking.com/t.cgi?1778

------------------------------------------------------------
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!

------------------------------------------------------------
Advertising That WORKS "
© 2003 Raymond Siew, eMasters.info
Raymond Siew has channeled 17 years of valuable insights in
business structures, strategies and negotiations in the
international corporate arena into eMasters:
http://www.emasters.info/

Editor's Comments: Here's a great article from one of those
responsible for my new ebook!
------------------------------------------------------------

If you are already using really great ADCOPIES in your
promotions, and placing your ads in the net's best viral &
ezine ADVERTISING spots -- AND you are NOT getting the sales
ratio you want.....

Let me tell you straight off that good adcopies DO work, and
good viral & ezine advertising DO work -- But ONLY if the
*rest* of your Market'ng & Sales Processes work (and you
already have a solid Business Concept and Product in place).

This report will show you why and how.

=-= UNDERSTANDING THE PARTS *AND* THE WHOLE

When I first started out in business on my own back in the
80's, my first JV partner said to me -- "Ray," he said, "To
understand the whole, you have to first understand the
parts." Today, I'd like to add to these first words of
wisdom I received.....

" To understand the significance of the parts, you
first have to understand the whole. "

Now think on it and hold that thought.

In taking on the business development for eMasters
(http://www.emasters.info/), I've invested many hours
corresponding with our authors (as Editor for eMasters
eCourses), list members & customers as well as doing online
research. Of late, I've also been particularly aware of a
rticles on "what type of advertising works", as well as
sites/products that teach you everything you want to learn
(from market'ng, pricing, to how to design your own
fantastic webpage etc.) -- The one common thought that comes
to me is: It's hard to see the forest for the trees.

Let me share my thoughts on some typical scenarios
I've noted.....

( Use this as a checklist if you like. )

#1 You have the world's best ADCOPY --

Is it going to work if you're selling the wrong PRODUCT? At
the wrong PRICE?

#2 So you now put together the world's best ADCOPY for the
right PRODUCT at the right PRICE --

Is it going to work if your WEBSITE is badly designed (and
your customers need a certified detective to clue them in on
what you're trying to say or sell)?

#3 OK. You've now gotten your ADCOPY + PRODUCT + PRICE +
WEBSITE just right --

But is it going to work if your SALES PAGE applies all the
wrong STRATEGY and you're positioned wrongly?

( You haven't done your homework, researched your
competitors, and you do not have a unique selling
proposition. But at least you now have a great-looking site.
Think this will work? )

#4 OK. OK. So now you realise that something is wrong and
you go back and get a solid STRATEGY in place together
with the right ADCOPY + PRODUCT + PRICE + WEBSITE --

You get the idea. Now what happens? What am I really saying
here? There are too many skills to acquire before you get
that business going and *time* is of the essence. Check out
real world scenarios -- Have you met anyone who has ALL
these skills? (What happens when you are sucked into a
product or program that purports to allow you to acquire all
of these skills?)

=-= REALITY CHECK

Getting your business conceptually sound and your Market'ng
and Sales Process RIGHT seems like hard work, no? -- Yes, it
can be.

That is the reality.

Most everyone knows that it's NOT possible for ONE person to
possess all the right TALENTS (eg. web design, writing),
SKILLS (eg. organizational), and KNOWLEDGE and EXPERTISE
(eg. business concepts, product research & development,
promotions) to complete the whole business process and make
all the parts work. And yet..... Many have tried to do
*everything* by themselves with disappointing results to
show for their time & effort.

So is there a solution? YES, and here are 3 simple steps to
help you move forward:

STEP 1: Take stock of YOUR OWN talents, skills and
knowledge/expertise, and wherever possible.....

STEP 2: Team up with the RIGHT people or make "Smart
Partnerships" to complete the other parts of your whole
business process (choose your team wisely!), and last but
not least.....

STEP 3: See the value in making smart investments to get
the RIGHT expertise (or talents, skills, knowledge) for your
business -- this decision alone can turn your business
around and bring you real rewards.

=-= RECAP: GET YOUR BASICS RIGHT

To know the whole, you have to understand the parts. But to
appreciate the parts, you have to to see the whole -- AND
IF critical parts are *missing* (or not working) then
NOTHING works.

You have to have the right PRODUCT at the right PRICE with
the right STRATEGY. You cannot have a shoddy WEBSITE that
makes you look like an amateur. As for your SALES PAGE --
Angle, Angle, Angle.

Also, don't forget the gold is in your LIST, and you have
to invest time building RELATIONSHIPS. (But that's a whole
report on its own. Ditto for Affiliate Programs.)

You can't be an expert in all things and your greatest asset
is TIME and that is what will make or break you eventually
-- So get those basics right FIRST!

Then get your world's greatest ADCOPY and....
Market, Market, Market.

------------------------------------------------------------
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
[{UNSUBSCRIBE_LINK}]

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).