Posted by Jesse Willms on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The 4Chan group that is known as “/b/” or “Anonymous” is back to their old tricks and in the news again. This time it’s because they decided to exact vengeance on something they considered a threat to them. It seems that the U.S. Government contracted with the well-known computer security company HPGary to find out what they could about who Anonymous really is. HPGary then hired Aaron Barr to infiltrate the group. Taking that job may have been the biggest mistake of his life. Barr apparently managed to get some information about the group, which he planned to sell to the FBI. But, Anonymous was one step ahead of him. Before he had the chance to do it, they hacked his computer. First they put 50,000 of his confidential emails on the Internet. Then, they hacked his Twitter account and used it to post his Social Security Number and other private information that could be used by identity theft specialists.... more »
Posted by Jesse Willms on Wednesday, November 24, 2010
On my blogs I spend a lot of time trying to encourage people to find ways to give back to their community and help make the world a better place for everyone. I also spend a lot of space writing about worthwhile charities that I support including Samaritan’s Purse and the Breast Cancer Research Fund. Or, I talk about my volunteer work for The Mustard Seed or Habitat For Humanity.I do so in order to inspire others to follow my example. But, I often hear back from people that they simply don’t have enough free time or money to support nonprofit organizations even if they want to. I can understand that attitude. It did take me a fair amount of time to set up my volunteer work and many people are not in a financial situation where they can write checks just because it’s the right thing to do. That’s why I wanted to take some time today to point... more »
Posted by Jesse Willms on Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I have one rock solid rule for all of my Internet marketing efforts: Never use the word “free” in any ad or promotion whatsoever. I know this goes against what people think are the “rules” of marketing. Heck, any time you read a book by a so-called “marketing guru,” the first thing they tell you is that “free” is a powerful word that will motivate customers. However, I disagree. Nothing in life is free, and most potential customers know that. In fact, most people don’t want free products. It makes them feel cheap. Instead, they want to buy something they consider valuable that they can show off. Think of it this way – people perceive things based on their expectations. When someone pays $150 a ticket to see a famous band in concert, they almost always have a good time, because they expect to. After all, if the tickets are expensive and hard to get, then the band must be... more »
Posted by Jesse Willms on Thursday, October 14, 2010
Today I wanted to talk about another one of my ideals in business – always try to provide full disclosure on prices and products. Now, when it comes to products I know that full disclosure can be a tricky business. After all, we don’t always know everything about the products we sell, so it’s possible to accidentally overhype a product. Just think of Apple, one of the most honest companies in the world and what happened to them last month. They launched their iPhone 4 saying it was going to be the best iPhone yet, only to find out that when it was used in the real world there were major problems with it receiving signals. So, yeah, it’s possible to fail at full product disclosure. But, what you can do is what Apple did – they apologized for the problem and then sent people kits to fix it. Now that was great customer service! That’s what I mean about... more »
Posted by Jesse Willms on Saturday, September 25, 2010
Being ethical in all of your business dealings should be your first priority. That also should be second nature, but many people fail to grasp this basic concept – especially in the online marketplace. They’d never lie to someone in person and if they ran a brick and mortar operation; they’d be honest because they’d have to look their customers in the eye. But, the anonymity of Internet marketing seems to create a distance that makes many of us forget we are dealing with real people, and not just a bunch of electronic wallets. It can be all too easy to behave unethically online. Bad people and scoundrels have created a lot of software that makes it simple to hide IP addresses, disguise where your email is coming from or simply disappear when a customer has a complaint. But, taking advantage of any of these tactics is pure folly. Sure, you might get some short-term profits; but you will hurt... more »
Posted by Jesse Willms on Thursday, September 9, 2010
Lose 30 Pounds In 30 Days! She’ll Love You More When You Use Herbal Viagra! Start Making Six Figures A Month From Your Home Today! Do those statements sound familiar? I bet they do. I just found each one of them in less than 10 seconds simply by looking in my spam box. Cruise around the Internet for any length of time and you’ll quickly find similar statements. What do they have in common? They are all false. While I guess technically you could lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but likely no product alone could make that happen. And herbal Viagra may do what it’s supposed to do, physiologically speaking, but the description could be much clearer. And that last one is disingenuous for a variety of reasons. False advertising claims give a bad name to Internet marketing. They are unethical, and really, they are unnecessary. If you have a decent product or service, it will sell – but... more »
