Promotion, marketing and sales of new technology and e-commerce
Archive for External News
April 16, 2007 at 2:59 pm · Filed under Clients, External News, News
Google checkout has just launched in the UK and channeladvisor is not far behind. This means that on Rubbergirls Blue Boutique Adwords you will soon see the Google checkout badge as the integration seems effortless within the channeladvisor system.
Thanks to channeladvisor and our friends at Google for giving the e-commerce community an alternative to Paypal and a new marketing opportunity!
You can currently save £10 on an order over £30 with new use of Google checkout!
eBay is still not accepting Google payments though so watch out!
March 14, 2007 at 2:55 pm · Filed under External News
The Google sandbox is like the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. Evidence is apparently seen but never proven or admitted by an authoritative body. Is the ’sandbox effect’ a flaw or delay in googles algorithm? Are we talking Ghosts in the Shell? Google migrated to a new data centre in 2003, and even before the dust has settled, SEO merchants noticed some weirdness? Suddenly dropping links everywhere on a site took 30 days to ’show up’(almost too precise)
The bottom line is - it doesn’t matter if a small business has been established for decades. If they have a new website on a new domain, then they are dead in Google for competitive keyword rankings, unless they do something extraordinary. Why can’t you escape? Your fighting for googles trust and they have heard websites cry wolf before.
Is it googles fault? Should we have them flogged? No, they are just a company and ‘we’ the surfing geeky net addicted let the Googleness Monster take over our searching world. We created this creature. Now it controls our interweb (or hypernet) Skynet?
So now we have the yette in charge of our google rankings how on earth do you shake the sandbox effect in the quickest possible way?
Building links and anchor text on your own site is fine but what you do need is links from trusted third party providers. You need links from a site you can produce user generated content. The age of Web 2.0 is FOOOOOL of them.
The cheap as chips, easy winners are:
1. Link on your ebay about me page.
2. Link on your myspace account.
3. Links on your live journal account
Sounding familiar? WhAAAT? You already have these all set up and you never just slipped in your website link? Well do so.
If you are a small business, you can look into business directories (which can be pricey) and also respond to blog posts that are topical to your website and you are usually asked to provide an email addy and website address.
February 8, 2007 at 4:40 pm · Filed under External News
Free HTML editor for auction descriptions and website content! http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/
The CoffeeCup Free HTML Editor is a drag and drop HTML Editor with Built-in FTP uploading. It has wizards for tables, frames, forms and fonts and comes with all HTML 4.0 and XHTML tags. The Free version also includes wizards for images, links and a Quickstart so you can create web pages fast.
February 8, 2007 at 4:38 pm · Filed under External News
Basic communication is open & uncontrolled
Internet growth = more attacks on computers and networks
70% of organisations have experienced some form of attack (2000)
42% of organisations in 1996
But reporting has declined – why?
Negative Publicity – 52%
Fears that competitors would use it against them – 39%
Didn’t realise they could report it – 15%
Commercial financial loss is estimated at 6% of sales rev.
Variety of types of attacks – financial fraud, sabotage, data theft
unauthorised access, denial of service
Why now?
Growth in commercial transactions on the internet
Security & usability are inversely related
Security considerations are low down commercial priorities
Security depends upon the Internet as a whole
Dominance of Microsoft makes world susceptible – Melissa virus
Hacker community growing & easier to hack – script kids & micro virus
Your Business and Security:
But Business Requirements are:
Security, Privacy, Confidentiality & Integrity of transactions
Security fears are a major obstacle to e-business growth
Identity may be easily faked & signature is often required
Security Issues that may arise:
Customers’ concerns – is the web site legitimate?
Does it contain malicious code
Will private personal information be distributed to others
Company’s perspective – is the customer legitimate?
Will he/she try to alter web pages or content
Will he/she try to implement a DoS attack
Both are concerned about eavesdropping & information integrity
Security Concerns:
Confidentiality – controlling access to information
Integrity – data & programs to be free from unauthorised change or loss
Availability & Legitimate Use – continual access to authorised users
Non-Repudiation – ability to ensure that neither party can deny transaction or have anonymity
Requires a legal framework within which to punish offenders
Security = compromise – cost vs. perceived security
Difficult as security is always a cost and there is no way of measuring return on investment
Risk Management:
Authentication - of the web site or the buyer / participant
Requires some credentials, e.g.
knowledge – password
Physical – card, fob, etc
Biometric – fingerprint, retina scan, face recognition.
Authorisation - access rights to certain areas
Auditing – log files & journal files
Information Security Policy – iterative development
List all resources requiring protection – routers, firewalls, etc
Define physical access restrictions to servers, PCs etc
Define electronic access to the above
Catalogue threat for each resource and perform risk analysis
Security Threats:
Discover key elements of the network /system
Scan for vulnerabilities – network sniffers, etc
Hack system to gain access to administrator levels
Disable /remove traces from log/journal files
Steal files, source code or alter data.
Install back doors or Trojan horses to permit undetectable re-entry
Security Defences:
Growth Industry
Anti-virus software
Access Control Software /Hardware
Physical Security
Firewalls
Encryption
Intrusion Detection
Encryption & Firewalls:
Encryption
Symmetric Systems – same key to encrypt & decrypt – DES
Asymmetric Systems – also known as public key encryption
Different key to decrypt – RSA (Rivest, Shamir & Adelman)
Digital Signatures – utilise the public key of organisations
Firewalls
Packet Filtering Routers
Accept or reject packets of data
Application Level Proxies
Repackage packets between 2 network cards
Hide IP addresses of communicating internal servers
E-Payment Systems:
Credit Cards dominate the Internet
PAIN problems persist
Privacy – keep transaction details private
Authentication – prove you are who you say you are
Integrity – no alteration to transaction details without detection
Non-Repudiation – a binding agreement
E-payment system is going to require Issuer – bank or ISP
Regulatory authority – an (independent) agency
E-Payment Criteria:
Independence – of specialised facilities
Interoperability & portability – also mesh with existing systems
Security
Anonymity
Divisibility – deal with small cash sums
Ease of Use – i.e. similar to a credit card
Facilitate a transaction fee
B2B – incentives as lower costs & immediate payments
Basis for all e-payment schemes is Public Key Infrastructure (RSA)
E-Payment and Digital Certificates:
Organisations provide digital certificates authenticating organisations.
Such as Verisign, Trust-e
SSL – secure socket layer
Web browser/server takes care of everything
SET – Secure Electronic Transaction
Encrypted protocol for handling & verifying card validity, authorisation & purchase processing
February 8, 2007 at 4:33 pm · Filed under External News
A company’s customer experience can be considered as part of its brand and includes the quality of the customers’ interactions with the comapny and its products. Uniformity of the brand across the channels of all customer contact will increase brand recognition. By using online and offline advertising, email marketing and public relations you can create dominant brand awareness and increase customers confidence and loyalty.
Your brand needs to be unique, recognisable and easy to remember.
Unfortunatly also the interent makes it difficult to protect a company’s brand from misuse. Rumors and customer dissatisfaction can spread quickly through forums, message boards and chat rooms. It is also not difficult for other people to use a company’s brand on their own site or to sell products illegally.
You can surf the web for signs of brand abuse or hire companies such as www.ewatch.com or www.netcurrents.com. Such companies surf the web for news, rumours and monitor brand abuse.
February 7, 2007 at 7:16 pm · Filed under External News
Google is officially launching today its Valentine’s Day promotion and shared some interesting findings from a Harris Interactive survey it commissioned:
Among U.S. adults who typically buy Valentine’s Day gifts:
– 50% indicated that they purchase multiple Valentine’s Day gifts.
– Although men and women (both 71%) are equally likely to typically buy at least one Valentine’s Day gift, women (56%) are more likely than men (44%) to buy multiple gifts.
– 55% of men indicated that they plan to buy for spouse, compared with 44% of women.
– These adults are more likely to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets (6%) than their fathers (5%) or grandfathers (1%).
– Women (83%) are more likely than men (74%) to indicate that they typically buy a Valentine’s Day gift for at least one family member.
– 41% indicated that they plan to purchase from more than one store/website this Valentine’s Day.
– 11% indicated that they typically spend $10 or less. On average, U.S. adults spend about $70 in total on Valentine’s Day gifts.
Among U.S. adults who typically buy Valentine’s Day gifts for a significant other:
– Men (50%) are more likely than women (37%) to indicate typically buying multiple Valentine’s Day gifts for a significant other.
Valentine’s Day is another great occasion to reach out to your customers and highlight products that could make good presents (especially if they’re $70 or less) and that will ship in time. Meanwhile the above is telling me that I need to carefully scan my wife’s credit card statement …
February 7, 2007 at 7:16 pm · Filed under External News
Not one, but TWO 5p listing days coming up this weekend on eBay UK. Unfortunately, only CD and DVD categories are eligible - but still a great opportunity to boost your listings if you’re a media seller. And you get a free Gallery picture as well!
During all of Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th of February 2007 (local UK time), sellers who list an item using the Auction-style, Auction-with-Buy It Now or Buy It Now Only (Fixed Price) formats in the eligible categories (see below), will pay a reduced 5 pence (£0.05) Insertion Fee per item they list, and will be able to use the Gallery Listing Upgrade feature for free.
February 7, 2007 at 5:45 pm · Filed under External News
This Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th February you can list CDs and DVDs for just 5p each. You can also use the Gallery Listing Upgrade feature for free.
February 6, 2007 at 12:01 pm · Filed under External News
eBay is holding a a one-day 50¢ Insertion Fee sale today, February 6th, for regular auction-style and Fixed Price Parts and Accessories listings with a starting price above $9.99 on the U.S. Motors site (www.ebaymotors.com). Vehicles, international listings and a number of other products and services are not included.
Bigger news is the dealer used-vehicle subscription plan uncovered by Ina Steiner at AuctionBytes. While the official eBay Motors Pricing does not reflect this new plan, the new eBay Motors Local Market costs $1,000/month for all used cars on the lot.
eBay Motors Local Market costs $1,000/month, which covers listing fees for an unlimited amount of vehicles, with no individual insertion fee per vehicle. As with traditional eBay Motors listings, a $50 sale fee applies for vehicles that sell online. The new subscription service requires no contract or commitment.
All eBay Motors Local Market listings utilize eBay’s Best Offer format. Buyers submit their Best Offer, which the dealer can accept, reject or counter-offer to build buyer commitment and even negotiate the final price online. Buyers may also find a vehicle locally on eBay Motors and choose to go into the dealership to negotiate and close the transaction in person.
eBay is the largest online vehicle seller with over 10 million shoppers every month and this pricing is bound to put more pressure on the Autotrader’s of the world. Seeking Alpha has a great article on the positive impact this new plan is having on eBay’s inventory which in turn will attract more consumers.
But how long until eBay will have to extend this type of subscription plan to new cars or reduce fees? When you sell more then 25 used cars a month the new plan is a good deal but it’s still $1,000 more then you pay on Google Base. Search for “Used Car” in Google and you’ll find lots of Google Base listings from Cars.com, SellMyCar.com and Autoguide.com, but I couldn’t find any eBay listings for Raleigh, North Carolina among the first hundred or so cars.
February 2, 2007 at 11:53 am · Filed under External News
We are pleased to announce that we are making a number of category changes during the week beginning 12th February.
Within Collectables a number of categories have been expanded and re…
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