It's interesting to me the backlash against commercial America when it tries a little too hard.

Now if you'll pardon me, I'd better get going before the lines get too long.

I love the Internet.
iPod's Dirty Secret

I'm cautiously encouraged by this news of congress passing another anti-spam bill.

I say cautiously because in our zeal to eliminate spam, we need to be careful not to throw the proverbial baby out too. The baby being legitimate permission-based email lists.

At this point, I'm so sick and fetching tired of spam I'm ready to undertake anything drastic enough to actually curb it. And I hope this is it. I also hope that we do it with prudence. Email marketing is a powerful business advantage for both customers and businesses and any attempts to outlaw spam, should also have a sharp eye toward preserving the ability for legitimate use -- even at a commercial level.

In short: I don't want Williams-Sonoma or Lockergnome to have to stop sending me email newsletters because the potential costs of law-suit defense are too high.

I also re-iterate my strong (and tired) endorsement of RSS. Keep an eye on that one!

So - have you picked up your RSS reader yet?

If not, get with it! :)

I use SharpReader.

If you need a hand getting it set up, let me know, I'm happy to help.

Once you are all installed, make sure you check out these great RSS feeds.

And don't forget to subscribe to this here fine blog (look right for the XML thingy).

This isn't exactly a surprise, but it reminds us of the importance of having your online presence integrated into your normal business process.

"Five percent of all online sales last year were picked up in store."

And that percentage is expected to increase according to Forrester Research.

Like this: I buy my new video camera from Best Buy, the go into the store to pick it up.

We like no shipping cost, immediate pickup and easy returns.

Retailers love it too - REI claims that a third of those coming in to pick up items in store spend another $90.00 before they leave.

Make sure your website is geared to serve your organizational goals, and that it is integrated into your every day business processes. Anything else is inefficient, and a recipe for failure.

Story here.

The Webby Awards winners were just announced.

Perhaps it's just my strong personal shift toward the pragmatic, but I'm not sure these winners are all that great. Some incredible talent at work, no doubt. But are they really useful? Do they have a clear business purpose? Are they accomplishing it?

It is my humble prediction that RSS is going to be a very important and widely used means of communication on the Internet, and soon. Like the web and email -- that big.

It is still a bit hard to understand, but that soon will ebb. Here's a gentle introduction for the un-introduced. Get a leg up.

RSS for the Real World

This too.

So... a little background.

Dell goofed. They listed a big old hard drive (200GB) for sale at $222.00. Which was fine. But they also messed up and allowed 2 $100 rebates to be used when purchasing the hard drive.

This meant the drive would effectively sell for $22. $200 off the regular price.

News of this quickly spread on the Internet.

Many ordered, hoping to score the great deal.

Dell figured out what they had done and then had a decision to make.
1) We screw our customers, let them know we made a mistake, save the money and make our customers pay for our mistake.
2) We honor the deals. Make a good PR move, build credibility with our customers and pay for our own mistake.

I can assure you they made the decision that they thought would bode the best for their business and their bottom line.

Read on to see what they decided to do and the reaction it garnered.

Let's all learn from the best.

A great little article on Wegmans. A grocer who, while other grocers are shutting down in the face of WalMart pressure, is expanding.

Read why.

This week a client of mine sent out their regular email blast and both of my spam filters caught and trashed the email. Disappointment ensued.

This is happening more and more. The ardent detest for spam is causing the baby, bathwater and tub to be tossed out in an attempt to salvage email as a viable communication tool.

So legit companies with email lists are being left with dwindling options.

The first step is to make sure you are respecting your email list.
This article offers some additional insight.

The next move is to look at alternatives. RSS chief among them.