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While doing some research on the net I came across two topics that I really want to comment on.

The first is not really about computers or Internet marketing but both topics do highlight important trends both of which are quite worrying.

First, When Senator Kerry was speaking at a university recently, he was asked why he conceded the 2004 election without a fight (remember him, he ran against Bush in the 2004 Presidential election, won it and then gave back it to Bush). However before Kerry could answer him, the questioner, Andrew Meyer, was arrested and sudued by police using a Taser gun.

Yes I did say arrested, Taser gun and America, home of the free, all in one sentence. If you would like to see a video of this event go to http://www.bacnetwork.com.au/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=67

Even if the guy is a regular prankster and his question was not PC (in America today) I can see no reason after watching this video for the police to take such a heavy handed approach and quite frankly, find it very worrying. America is supposed to be the leader of the democratic world and the values of free spee (ops I almost choked) ch. I'm sure many a totalitarian dictator would take heart in seeing how these values are being implemented under George Bush and his cronies, I mean cabinet.

The worry of course is that once they sudue the people on terra firma they will start on us cyber citizens. Zap that blog. "Don't taser me bro" may become the bloggers bye line. (pun intended).

Secondly, there has been quite a lot of publicity recently about the sale of hacking tools on the Internet and the rise of organised crime using these tools.

If you are thinking it can't or won't happen to you, I want to quash that thought immediately. We host a lot of web sites and every week between 3 and 6 of our clients are attacked. Sometimes they just try to use the web site to send spam or promote pornography by posting messages to your blog or forum but the number of bad orders where the supposed client uses a stolen or non existant credit card is also rising.

I advise you never send an order until the money is in your account and check the buyers email address, in cases of fraud they are usually false. Free email accounts are also a problem and if the order is substantial or for real goods that you have to mail, it is advisable to contact the client first.

The good news is that Internet purchases are up and this is becoming a viable option for small business, but don't just stand on the dock and wave goodbye to your products or money, be proactive and build in to your costs, the cost of a phone call before you send the goods.

Obviously digital products are not such a worry and this is really a great business to be in.

Warning! This is not about Internet Marketing or anything to do with business - this is personal.

One of the few times I think having four kids was a good idea is Father's day. Birthdays and Christmas make up the troika. Maybe that’s not really true but having kids is no kindergarten (excuse the pun).

Anyway, I always look forward to my re supply of underpants and socks which bye the way, is exactly what we used to get for my dad. But today was different, and I think it means that they are coming of age and starting to think for themselves. My daughter rang me from the shops and said “Dad do you really need any more underpants or would you like something different for a change?”

Wow, a real present, it has only been the last few years since I stopped buying them myself and giving them to the kids to give to me. Now I get a choice and I don’t even have to contribute the last 90%.

I know it’s childish but I love getting a present and I love it when they call me something else besides dinosaur. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and I hope all the other Dad’s who read this are too. (Although I suspect I’m the only one, reading this that is).

One last little story about the kids. When they were really young and we used to watch TV together, every time we watched an old movie they would turn to me and ask, “ Was it really like that Dad” one day we were watching Camelot and they turned to me but before they could open their mouth I said “Exactly how old do you think I am?”

That’s how I got the nickname Dinosaur.

I bought a great book recently, "Corps Business" by David H Freedman, subtitled "The 30 Management Principles of the US Marine Corps.

It was published in 2001 but the principles are timeless.

Many of the points it makes are particularly relevant to aspiring webpreneurs but I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone that manages a business, large or small.

Hope is not a Course of Action

I don't think there is a business that is more competitive or faster moving than the Internet. It doesn't matter what you sell, product or service; there are always heaps of competitors on the net and probably new ones starting up daily. This has caused webpreneurs to learn to adopt new ideas fast before they become outdated. 

Freedman says a few years ago companies were said to be operating in "Netscape Time" which was a reference to the way they continually updated the features in their browser in response to the rapid fluctuations in the Internet software market. Then Netscape itself was surprised by competitive manoeuvres from Microsoft and couldn't respond quickly enough - now Netscape Communications Corporation is defunct. Apparently Netscape time was too slow.

Their mistake was to become so involved in what they were doing, they didn't notice the market had moved on. If they had stopped working in their business and spent some time working on their business, they would have noticed that the real value of the company had shifted away from the browser and toward the web site.

What's my point? Well it makes you realise (I hope) that creating a web site and publishing it on the net is not the end of the project, it is the beginning. And if you become too enamoured "in" what you are doing you may forget "why" you are doing it.

I don't know what the actual percentage is but the number of web sites on the Internet that are static, i.e. never change must be huge and I guess for small business, it could be in the vicinity of 90% or MORE.

I often tell my clients that web surfers are more expert than most web site owners and when they go to a web site that is obviously never updated and these days, which does not include many of the features they like such as blogs, video, audio and forums for example, then they are going to leave faster than a kid can spend $10.

What's more Important Web Design or Internet Marketing?

I think the most important issue for someone starting out or for a current web site owner, is "What business am I in?" I frequently meet people who are so busy trying to learn how to build a web site they have no time left to promote it.

If they only realised that as soon as it is built it is either outdated or soon will be they would be shocked and disheartened. But you don't need to be. The key is to ask yourself "Why am I building this web site?" and focus on that.

Once you understand what your real goal is, you will soon realise the web site is a means to an end, i.e. achieving your goal e.g. to generate leads or sell product. It is not for you to become a great web designer (unless of course, that is your business).

The next logical step is to ask "Do I need to learn how to use Dream weaver or FrontPage or some other web development tool and then learn how to ftp my site. Sure they might be interesting skills to learn and while you're doing that you can fool yourself that you are doing something important that will one day make you some money.

But if your goal is to use the web site to promote your business or sell product, you really want to be doing that as soon as possible. Second, if we accept that the content needs to be updated regularly, you need to make sure that it is easy to do.

Finally, if you accept that your web site will need to change and evolve with the latest trends then you have to build it on a platform that allows you to make such changes, easily, without you having to continually learn new skills that take up most or all of your time.

That's why I am a great fan of the new CMS platforms. CMS stands for content management systems and the underlying software can be found for free. But does this mean that you should find it and learn how to use it? Absolutely not!

Installing a CMS based web site is not easy but using it, once it is installed, is a piece of cake. In fact you will never have to learn about html, ftp and lots more. And you can easily add blogs, forums, a web shop, a membership programme, a newsletter module, videos, audio and anything else the web throws up next week or next month.

In my next blog I will discuss what a CMS web site is and looks like and give you a link to one where you can have a play around and see for your self. In my opinion, a CMS based web site truly lets you concentrate on what you should be focused on, making sales or generating leads not learning how to become a web designer.

Best Wishes

Ric Vatner.

Ric Vatner is running an Internet seminar on Tuesday 28th August at 6pm at Waverley RSL Club Gray St, Bondi Junction in the Bill Johnson Room.

This month is devoted to how to add content to your CMS web site. Cost is Free to BAC Network clients, $35 for non clients or mention this blog to get in for free.

Book in by emailing ric@bacnetwork.com.au

This is a huge topic, it's a bit like having a blog called "All about life" and in a way it is because the Internet mirrors the real world. The difference is in the real world you start as a baby and learn your "life skills' as you go by just doing it.

I think the biggest problem most people have getting started on the net is, they don't know where to start. It is definately the case that the less you know initially the easier it is to get started. So rule number one is, don't worry about what you don't know, just get started and rule number two is, don't worry about doing things right or wrong.

In fact there is no right or wrong, there is just better and better. The most important thing is to start. 

I was going to say, if you don't have a web site you're not even in the game but of course that's not true any more. You could start with a blog or a podcast (which we will cover in the future) or you could sign up for My Space or Facebook or Flikr or Technorati or any of hundreds of other easy ways to start your Internet career.

There are basically two approaches that you can take when you decide to go online. The first is the citizen journalist approach.

This is where you use the net to publish your own view of the world, either for family and friends or for the public in general. You may have a hobby or hobby horse you want to promote, or maybe you feel that it is easier to write one blog for all your family and friends instead of writing numerous emails which are all going to be much the same.

If you want your web site or blog to be private, you can password protect your web site or get a blog that enables you to do the same thing and then send the password to people you want to be able to access it.

The benefit of having a blog / web site rather than just emailing everyone is that your readers can also leave comments and your blog / web site will become the hub of a thriving community. You can also use audio and video and pictures to make it more interesting; that's what makes My Space and similar sites so powerful and successful.

The second approach is to use the internet for business. Theoretically, this is just as easy but in practice there is a lot more to being successful as a business whether you actually sell anything from the web site or just use it to generate leads.

My main interest is to help people use the Internet for business but because many of the techniques are the same for both, don't be put off if you just want to play, you will still learn a lot and you are also welcome to ask questions and post comments.

Finally, for this post, you may be wondering if this blog is directed to people who don't have a web site but want one or to those who have one and want to improve their results. Well the answer is both. That way I get to jump around and cover all the interesting things. If it gets to big or complicated we can look at breaking it up later but remember rule number one, just get started.

Once you are up and running you can determine which way you want to go later. Also as per rule two, there is no right or wrong, you can always do things better. But if you are up and running, you are in the race and that is by far the hardest challenge to overcome. After that it just gets easier.

So if you haven't got a web site or a blog yet, I hope this will encourage you to get started. If you do have one, I will show you how to increase your traffic, get more leads and make more sales. Please let me know how you are going by posting a comment and feel free to ask questions, I'll do my best to answer them.