My 2¢ Worth

'd like to wish you all a happy April Fool's Day. No joke. It seems like all the tricksters and pranksters come out on April 1^st to celebrate this special day.

o how did April Fool's originate? There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.

he closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

ommunications being what they were in the days when news traveled by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as "fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical jokes.

his harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on the first day of April. Thus April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, was born and spread around the world.

Feature Article

One For The Money, Two For The Show

by: Bob Osgoodby Tip of the Day

We receive such a tremendous amount of unsolicited commercial email (spam) in our In-Box everyday, we can certainly understand why some people become "Anti-Spam" crusaders. Since the majority is sent with phony return addresses, it is virtually impossible to track down. While there are ways to find out where it originated, it is usually an exercise in futility, as most come from professional spam houses who own their own servers, and aren't about to shut themselves down. Most people simply delete the clutter, or create filters with their email package to automatically get rid of a lot of it.

Over 80% of all email sent is spam and the CAN-SPAM Act, signed into law by President Bush in December of last year, simply is not having any positive effect. What a waste of resources and our time! To add insult to injury most Internet Service Providers (ISPs), in their sometimes overzealous efforts to protect us from this, attempt to filter out unsolicited email and wind up deleting valid email.

There is no such thing as a perfect filter. If a certain blocking technique is installed, the spammers quickly find a way around it. Face it - this is their business. They will quickly go out of business if their email is not delivered. But, if someone sends a legitimate email that happens to trigger one of the filters of the receiving ISP, it will never be delivered. To make matters worse, neither party will ever know it wasn’t delivered, as most ISPs simply dump it into hyperspace.

They do this in two ways. The receiving ISP either blocks the Internet Service Provider (IP) address of the sender, or their actual email address. If they block the email address, and let’s assume it’s yours, this means that you can’t send any email to anyone using that ISP. This is a harsh penalty for an innocent mistake.

Last year, AOL reported it blocked over 500 billion (Yes that’s a Billion) email messages, and regularly blocks 75-80% of all incoming mail. Additionally AOL blocked all CI Host customers' IP addresses, the numeric addresses that identify a computer user on the Internet, for almost two weeks until CiHost got a restraining order against AOL. What were the consequences of this? Over 200,00 people (mostly businesses) using CiHost’s Servers could not communicate with anyone using AOL. It is reported that a class action suit for loss of business against AOL is being considered. Is this arbitrary blocking wrong? You bet your life, but it is a common practice used by ISPs to block spam.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Never - and that is a very long time - use your primary email address on the web. If you frequent chat rooms, bulletin boards or have ads for your business, do NOT use your primary email address. These places are where the spammers usually find their victims.

Before signing up with an ISP, it is a must to determine their privacy policy. One of the MAJOR ISPs, who most diligently blocks spam, actually sells their members email addresses to spammers, who then have carte blanche to send you their junk.

Keep your primary email address private. Get some free email addresses such as Hotmail for your travels throughout the web. Get another for the publications you wish to receive. Don’t think that different user names from AOL will solve this problem, as if they block an email address sent to one, it is automatically blocked for all.

If you sign up to receive a Newsletter and don't get it, or it suddenly stops arriving, one of the legitimate articles most likely triggered the Spam Filter of your Internet Service Provider. Some of the articles discuss actual offers on the web and may use some of the terms they block. For example, if an article is discussing a known scam, it has to refer to some of the words that they might use to block the actual scam. Once it is blocked, you may never get it again.

You can ask your site host to reduce the level of filtering on your Email, or to never reject something sent through the email address of the publisher. Many can do this. If your ISP cannot or will not honor your request, the solution is simple - get one that will.

The ideal solution is to get "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go". If you have multiple email addresses, from different vendors, you should be able to not only conduct your business and receive your valid email, but send the majority of the spam to addresses you won’t check anyway.

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Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday thru Friday. Instructions on how to place your ad are in the Newsletter.
Subscribe at: adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm

HEAD or BODY?

Where To Put JavaScript Code

If it will work, you should put JavaScript code in the head section of your page. Although not all JavaScript is required to be there, code in the head section is loaded and ready before the web page completes loading.

Generally, if the JavaScript must be available to the page on or before it completes loading, it must be in the head area. Otherwise, it may be in the body area at or just above the point where it will be utilized.

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for your web site, free. *

Second Article

Discover Meaningful Market Information Online

by: Scott F. Geld Marketing Blaster, Inc.

Are you using the Internet's potential to help you market your business? The phrase 'information is power' may be a cliche, but when it comes to gaining a competitive edge, truer words have never been spoken. Read on to discover out what kinds of information you can find online that will help you get those sales.

Private Information Available Publicly

It's surprising the amount of so-called 'private' information about a company that is openly public online. Many companies post online industry newsletters, information about company personnel, press releases (that never make the press), statements about competitors and more. You can sign up for online services that give you access to numerous databases and analytical programs. Some are free; some are subscribed to at a cost. You can also subscribe to media packages that send information to you daily. This information would take long periods of time to sift through from print and broadcast sources. Online it's readily available and easy to access.

Who's Buying What?

You can scan online newswires to find out who is buying what. Announcements and details of major contracts are often identified through online newswires. Reports of sales results are often available online. You can analyze these results and figure out what kinds of products and services your target customers are purchasing and why. Use this information to put together a dynamite sales plan.

Online Focus Groups

Some market research experts are conducting focus groups on line. Many online users prefer the anonymity of answering questions online rather than in person. Higher response rate, more complete responses and possibly even more honest responses make online focus groups a valuable research tool.

Use the online resources that are available to you. You can develop more powerful marketing strategies by embracing the power of information, and never before has getting information been easier.

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Scott F. Geld is the Director of Marketing for MarketingBlaster.com, a company specializing in affordable traffic (5 cents/visitor) and direct links for $5/link. For more information please visit: www.MarketingBlaster.com

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