Global Digital Store – Ebooks and Softwares

Tag: business

  • SafeHarbor; eBay’s Own Scotland Yard.

    SafeHarbor; eBay's Own Scotland Yard.

    SafeHarbor are the eBay police department. If you break the rules, commit fraud or try to buy something you're not supposed to, they'll be after you.

    When You Don't Pay.

    This is the most common rule buyers break – it's all too easy to just change your mind and try to get out of the auction. eBay regards every auction as a contract, and will punish you if you don't go through with your end of the deal. If you decide not to pay then expect to get a few nasty warning emails from eBay threatening you with banning if you do it again. Not to mention, of course, that you'll get a big negative 'DID NOT PAY' feedback comment from the seller.

    So There Are Things You Can't Buy on eBay?

    Yes, there are: more things than you'd expect. It makes sense that you can't buy firearms, for example, but you also can't buy fireworks – eBay are worried about the risks of sending them in the post. Laws in many countries mean that you can't buy alcohol or tobacco. You can't buy illegal or prescription drugs, stocks and shares, or lottery tickets. No underwear, either. You can't buy any little pet puppies or kittens, as animals are banned. If items infringe on copyright, like pirate CDs or software, then they're not allowed either.

    eBay's policy is controversial, not least because it is somewhat random in its enforcement – and there have been accusations that they're more responsive to the copyright concerns of big businesses than to auctions for items that might actually be dangerous. If they do decide to go after you or the seller, though, they will cancel the auction and may also suspend your accounts.

    Fraud.

    eBay runs remarkably well considering how unregulated it is, but there are still fraudsters. If you are a victim of fraud – for example, you pay for an item that never turns up – then SafeHarbor will investigate for you. eBay's standard purchase protection will give you up to $200 back if your claim is successful. Be aware, though, that this can take a few months.

    In addition, if you paid by PayPal, then they can usually reverse the transaction relatively easily and get you more (if not all) of your money back. This is another reason why many buyers prefer to use PayPal. Some sellers are a little scared of the effectiveness of the refund system, as they can send out items in good faith only to find that their buyer was fraudulent and the transaction has been reversed. If you're worried about fraud, as a buyer, you should always use PayPal.

    What's that? You don't know how to use PayPal? Well, luckily for you, the next article is all about using PayPal to improve your eBay life.

    Views: 0

  • Affiliate Marketing

    Affiliate Marketing

    Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as 'retailer' or 'brand'), the network (that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as 'the affiliate'), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity, resulting in the emergence of a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors.

    Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid search engine marketing (PPC – Pay Per Click), e-mail marketing, content marketing and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.

    Affiliate marketing is commonly confused with referral marketing, as both forms of marketing use third parties to drive sales to the retailer. However, both are distinct forms of marketing and the main difference between them is that affiliate marketing relies purely on financial motivations to drive sales while referral marketing relies on trust and personal relationships to drive sales.

    Affiliate marketing is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail, and website syndication capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers' marketing strategies.

    Views: 0

  • Criticism on Google Copyright Issues

    Criticism on Google Copyright Issues

    Google Print, Books, and Library

    Google's ambitious plans to scan millions of books and make them readable through its search engine have been criticized for copyright infringment. The Association for Learned and Professional Society Publishers and the Association of American University Presses both issued statements strongly opposing Google Print, stating that "Google, an enormously successful company, claims a sweeping right to appropriate the property of others for its own commercial use unless it is told, case by case and instance by instance, not to."

    Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers lawsuit

    On September 20, 2005, the Authors Guild, a group that represents 8,000 U.S. authors, filed a class action suit in federal court in Manhattan against Google over its unauthorized scanning and copying of books through its Google Library program. Google responded that its use was a fair use because they were only showing "snippets" for books where they did not have permission from a rightsholder and was in compliance with all existing and historical applications of copyright laws regarding books. Google temporarily suspended scanning copyrighted works to allow for changes to its program and allow copyright owners to submit lists of books they wished to be excluded. In the Spring of 2006 the parties began negotiations in hopes of settling the lawsuit.

    On October 28, 2008, Google announced a proposed agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers in which Google would pay $125 million to settle the lawsuit. The agreement also included licensing provisions, allowing Google to sell personal and institutional subscriptions to its database of books. On November 9, 2009, the parties filed an amended settlement agreement after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief suggesting that the initial agreement may violate US anti-trust laws. Following a Fairness Hearing in February, on March 22, 2011 supervising judge Denny Chin issued a ruling rejecting the settlement. Chin urged that the settlement be revised from "opt-out" to "opt-in" and set a date for a "status conference" at which to discuss next steps.

    On November 14, 2013, Judge Chin issued a ruling dismissing the lawsuit, saying that Google's use of the works was a "fair use" under copyright law. The executive director of the Authors Guild, said in an interview that the result was "obviously disappointing" and that the authors would appeal. Google said it was "delighted" with the outcome.

    Chinese writers

    In a separate dispute in November 2009, the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS), which protects Chinese writers' copyrights, accused Google of scanning 18,000 books by 570 Chinese writers without authorization, for its Google Books library. Toward the end of 2009 representatives of the CWWCS said talks with Google about copyright issues are progressing well, that first they "want Google to admit their mistake and apologize", then talk about compensation, while at the same time they "don't want Google to give up China in its digital library project". On 20 November 2009, Google agreed to provide a list of Chinese books it had scanned, but did not admit having "infringed" copyright laws. In a 9 January 2010 statement the head of Google Books in the Asia-Pacific said "communications with Chinese writers have not been good enough" and apologized to the writers.

    Mian Mian lawsuit

    In December 2009, Chinese writer Mian Mian filed a lawsuit against the company, for scanning her entire novel without notifying her or paying her for copyright permission. Google removed Mian's work from its online library shortly after learning of the suit. In January 2013, a Chinese court ordered Google to pay Mian compensation of 5,000 yuan (US$800) for scanning her works without permission.

    Links and cached data

    Kazaa and the Church of Scientology have used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to demand that Google remove references to allegedly copyrighted material on their sites.

    Search engines such as Google's that link to sites in "good faith" fall under the safe harbor provisions of the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act which is part of DMCA. If they remove links to infringing content after receiving a take down notice, they are not liable. Google removes links to infringing content when requested, providing supporting evidence is supplied. However, it is sometimes difficult to judge whether or not certain sites are infringing and Google (and other search engines) will sometimes refuse to remove web pages from its index. To complicate matters there have been conflicting rulings from U.S. courts on whether simply linking to infringing content constitutes "contributory infringement" or not.

    The New York Times has complained that the caching of their content during a web crawl, a feature utilized by search engines including Google Web Search, violates copyright. Google observes Internet standard mechanisms for requesting that caching be disabled via the robots.txt file, which is another mechanism that allows operators of a website to request that part or all of their site not be included in search engine results, or via META tags, which allow a content editor to specify whether a document can be crawled or archived, or whether the links on the document can be followed. The U.S. District Court of Nevada ruled that Google's caches do not constitute copyright infringement under American law in Field v. Google and Parker v. Google.

    Google Map Maker

    Google Map Maker allows user contributed data to be put into the Google Maps service, similar to OpenStreetMap it includes concepts such as organising mapping parties and mapping for humanitarian efforts. It has been criticised for taking work done for free by the general public and claiming commercial ownership of it without returning any contributions back to the commons as their restrictive license makes it incompatible with most open projects by preventing commercial use or use by competitive services.

    Views: 0

  • Getting a “Buzz” On

    Getting a “Buzz” On

    Viral marketing has matured a bit over the years. There seems to have been a shift to the web not just being seen by agencies and brands as another tick box for any ad campaign, which is significant enough, but now being the medium where a campaign is launched to create a buzz before it hits TV and print. Even before a movie is released which used to be seen as the pre-launch buzz-generation activity. Big business “gets it”.

    Buzz works! It can work for small and start-up businesses, as well. The planning stage of a viral campaign will set out objectives and develop the viral theme for a buzz. There are three core components to any viral campaign and businesses of any size can use them. They are:

    1.    The creative material: the viral agent that embodies the message you want to spread in a digital format (image, video, text, etc). The trick is to put together material that people will be eager to share with their family and friends and people are much more eager to share “advertainment” and advertisement.

    2.    Seeding: distributing and placing the agent online in places that provide the greatest potential spread. Direct viral material downloads or links on specialist viral third-party web sites in order to create awareness and spread before users get to the campaign destination site.

    3.    Tracking: Measuring the spread of the campaign to provide accountability and prove success. It is absolutely vital that you know what is or is not working. The only way to get that information is to track the results of your seeding.

    Lessons have been learned, trends have been developed and there is definitely some science involved in creating a buzz successfully. The buzz technique is here to stay and, if used strategically, it can make a difference to the success of your e-business.

    Views: 0

  • Privacy and Data Protection Cases and Issues by State

    Privacy and Data Protection Cases and Issues by State

    European Union Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    European Union (EU) data protection officials (the Article 29 working party who advise the EU on privacy policy) have written to Google asking the company to justify its policy of keeping information on individuals' internet searches for up to two years. The letter questioned whether Google has "fulfilled all the necessary requirements" on the EU laws concerning data protection. As of 24 May 2007 the probe by the EU into the data protection issue is continuing. On 31 May 2007, Google agreed that its privacy policy is vague, and that they are constantly working at making it clearer to users. After Google merged its different privacy policies into a single one in March 2012, the working group of all European Union Data Protection Authorities assessed that it failed to comply with the EU legal framework. Several countries then opened cases to investigate possible breach of their privacy rules.

    Google has also been implicated in Google Spain v AEPD and Mario Costeja González, a Spanish Audiencia Nacional and European Court of Justice case that decided Google must comply with the European privacy laws (i.e., the Data Protection Directive) and allow allow users to be forgotten when operating in the European Union.

    Czech Republic Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    Starting in 2010, after more than five months of unsuccessful negotiations with Google, the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection has prevented Street View from taking pictures of new locations. The Office described Google's program as taking pictures "beyond the extent of the ordinary sight from a street", and claimed that it "disproportionately invaded citizens' privacy."

    France Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    In January 2014, the French authority, CNIL, sanctionned Google to pay its highest fee and to display on its search engine web site a banner referring to the decision. Google complied, yet will appeal to the supreme court of administrative justice, the Conseil d'Etat.

    Germany Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    In May 2010, Google was unable to meet a deadline set by Hamburg's data protection supervisor to hand over data illegally collected from unsecured home wireless networks. Google added, "We hope, given more time, to be able to resolve this difficult issue." The data was turned over to German, French, and Spanish authorities in early June 2010.

    In November 2010, vandals in Germany targeted houses that had opted out of Google's Street View.

    In April 2011, Google announced that it will not expand its Street View program in Germany, but what has already been shot–around 20 cities' worth of pictures–will remain available. This decision came in spite of an earlier Berlin State Supreme Court ruling that Google's Street View program was legal.

    Italy Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    Google vs. Vividown: In February 2010, in a complaint brought by an Italian advocacy group for people with Down's Syndrome, Vividown, and the boy's father, three Google executives were handed six-month suspended sentences for breach of the Italian Personal Data Protection Code in relation to a video, uploaded to Google Video in 2006, of a disabled boy being bullied by several classmates. In December 2012, these convictions and sentences were overturned on appeal.

    Norway Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    The Data Inspectorate of Norway (Norway is not a member of the EU) has investigated Google (and others) and has stated that the 18- to 24-month period for retaining data proposed by Google was too long.

    United States Versus Google on Privacy and Data Protection Issues

    In early 2005, the United States Department of Justice filed a motion in federal court to force Google to comply with a subpoena for "the text of each search string entered onto Google's search engine over a two-month period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query)." Google fought the subpoena, due to concerns about users' privacy. In March 2006, the court ruled partially in Google's favor, recognizing the privacy implications of turning over search terms and refusing to grant access.

    In April 2008 a Pittsburgh couple, Aaron and Christine Boring, sued Google for "invasion of privacy". They claimed that Street View made a photo of their home available online, and it diminished the value of their house, which was purchased for its privacy. They lost their case in a Pennsylvania court. "While it is easy to imagine that many whose property appears on Google's virtual maps resent the privacy implications, it is hard to believe that any – other than the most exquisitely sensitive – would suffer shame or humiliation," Judge Hay ruled; the Boring family was paid one dollar by Google for the incident.

    In May 2010, a U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon ordered Google to hand over two copies of wireless data that the company's Street View program collected as it photographed neighborhoods.

    In 2012 and 2013 Google reached two settlements over tracking consumers online without their knowledge after bypassing privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser. The first was an August 2012 settlement for $22.5 million with the Federal Trade Commission (the largest civil penalty in F.T.C. history). The second was a November 2013 settlement for $17 million with 37 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to the fines, Google agreed to avoid using software that overrides a browser's cookie-blocking settings, to avoid omitting or misrepresenting information to consumers about how they use Google products or control the ads they see, to maintain for five years a web page explaining what cookies are and how to control them, and to ensure that the cookies tied to Safari browsers expire. In both settlements Google denied any wrongdoing, but said it discontinued circumventing the settings early in 2012, after the practice was publicly reported, and stopped tracking Safari users and showing them personalized ads.

    Views: 0

  • Types Of Autoresponders For Internet Marketing

    There are several autoresponders available on the Internet, although they are divided into three main types – remotely hosted, locally hosted, and desktop hosted.  For many Internet marketers, locally and desktop hosted are far preferred over remotely hosted.  Although remote hosted are good, locally and desktop hosted autoresponders will allow you complete control – as you are running the program on your own site.

    If you have a domain name, you can use as many autoresponders as you like, all of which will match your domain name.  When you use a remotely hosted program, you won’t be able to use your domain name with the autoresponder.  Instead, you’ll receive an address from the provider that resembles their link.  This can be great for some, although many prefer to have their own domain names listed in the autoresponder.

    If you use your own domain name with your autoresponder, you can normally keep it secret that you are using an autoresponder.  When you send out emails using your autoresponder, it will display your website email, making it very hard to detect an autoresponder.  This can be a great way to use your autoresponder, especially if you don’t want your customers to know that you are using one.

    If you use a remotely hosted autoresponder, those you send messages to with notice that you are using an autoresponder.  You should think of this from their prospective – if you were their customer, you probably wouldn’t want to receive messages from an autoresponder.  Instead, you would want to receive your emails and messages from someone real, giving you complete individual attention.

    If you are just starting out with your company and happen to be on a tight budget, a remotely hosted autoresponder may very well be the best solution.  You can use it until you get more money and get back on track, although you shouldn’t use it long term.  Remotely hosted programs can get expensive very quickly; as the monthly charges will add it quick each month you use the program.

    You can find remotely hosted autoresponders all over the Internet; all you have to do is run a search through a search engine like Google or Yahoo.  One of the best on the net is www.automatic-responder.com – Once you have found a website you can read more about them and what they have to offer.  If you like what you see, all you’ll need to do is sign up and then you begin using their services with a remotely hosted autoresponder.

    Although locally hosted autoresponders are preferred, they do have disadvantages.  Some types will limit how many domains you can install them on.  If the vendor doesn’t provide free installation, you could have a problem installing the script, as most require some degree of technical experience.  Although you have complete control over the program, locally hosted programs don’t have as many features as remotely hosted programs.

    Desktop hosted autoresponders are also great, although they too have disadvantages.  Some types will limit how many copies you can install on different computers.  To get the most from them, you’ll need a computer that is always connected to the Internet.  You’ll also need some experience to set them up, and they aren’t recommended for those who have large mailing lists.

    Although there are 3 main types of autoresponders, the type you choose should depend on your website and your needs.  What’s the best idea for you may be completely useless to someone else.  When you make your final decision, you should always decide on what you need for your company – then pick an autoresponder that works best for you.

    Views: 0

  • Using Articles With Autoresponders

    It’s no secret that articles are hot right now.  Articles are a great way to promote products you are selling, helping you build your business and reach a broader audience.  Articles should be full of information, easy to read and understand, and provide readers helpful information towards their topic of interest.  In most cases, articles will include a link to a website, which is designed to sell products or services that relate to the article.

    Normally, articles are submitted to websites, article banks, directories, and sometimes used with ezines as well.  There are many uses for articles, as they are one of the best ways to promote products and services online.  Although you can find many different uses for articles, one of the best is with autoresponder.  If you combine informational articles with an autoresponder, you’ll get results that you can be proud of.  Autoresponders are very popular these days – although few think to use them in combination with articles.

    You can do this by setting up each one of your articles with your autoresponder.  You should ensure that each article has its own address, meaning that you’ll need to use an autoresponder that allows you to it.  Once you have an autoresponder that allows you to do this, you should make a master list of every article you have, putting the address of the autoresponder beside of the article title.  If you prefer, you can also add a description of the article to your master list.

    If you have a lot of articles, keeping up with them can be a tedious task.  Those who have a lot of products, normally have hundreds of thousands of articles.  If you sell articles, you probably have more than you can count.  All over the Internet, people are looking for articles.  One great source we found for PLR articles is www.articlewholesaler.com on the web. Articles contain information, information that can solve problems or describes products.  Each and every day on the Internet, millions of people around the world search for information.  This information that they search for, is normally in the form of articles.

    If you were to advertise all of articles one by one, it would take you quite a bit of time.  If you have hundreds to show, it can take you weeks – even months.  Through the use of autoresponder, you can save a lot of time.  Showing off one address with one article won’t take you long at all, as the autoresponder will do a majority of the work.  All you have to do is put the link on your website, or add it to your preset messages when you send out emails.  Autoresponders can really get your articles and information out there, all you have to do is give them a try.

    Views: 0

  • Understanding the Different eBay Auction Types.

    Understanding the Different eBay Auction Types.

    Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay. There are many people who don't like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend. Equally, there are people who have hundreds of the same item and don't want to sell them individually. This email gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and how to spot them.

    Normal Auctions.

    These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone knows: you bid, others outbid you, you outbid them, and the winner gets the item. Simple.

    Reserve Auctions.

    Reserve auctions are for sellers who don't want their items to sell for less than a certain price – a concept you'll know about if you're familiar with real auctions. They work just like normal auctions on eBay, except that you will be told if your bid has not met the reserve price set by the seller. If no-one is willing to meet this price, then the auction is cancelled, and the seller keeps the item.

    You can spot these auctions by looking out for 'Reserve not met' or 'Reserve met' written next to the current bid on an item's description page.

    Fixed Price ('Buy it Now') Auctions.

    Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. A seller might add a Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that you can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all their items at fixed price. Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the 'best offer'. This means that you can negotiate a price to someone who offers their items using Buy it Now, which could be a great way to get a bargain on things that don't seem to be selling.

    Fixed price auctions are easy to spot, as they have a little 'Buy it Now' logo either next to or instead of the current number of bids on the search listings page.

    Multiple Item ('Dutch') Auctions.

    These are auctions where a seller is selling more than one of a certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then don't worry – everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.

    What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and lists it using a combination of two auction types: a multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that they say how many they have, and offer them at a fixed price. You can enter how many you want and then just click Buy it Now to get them.

    After all this, you might find yourself facing a dilemma: when you have the option, should you bid, or should you just use Buy it Now and save yourself the hassle? That's what the next email will be about.

    Views: 0

  • Google Adsense: Dos for Using the Google Adsense Program

    Google Adsense: Dos for Using the Google Adsense Program

    Google Adsense is a fun and easy way to make extra money. It’s important to follow the rules though as Google is serious about the integrity of this program.  Not following the rules could result in your Google Adsense account being terminated. Here are a few Dos for using the program:

    DO

    Read the Terms and Conditions and Program Policies thoroughly.

    Read everything you can about Google Adsense.  Learn from others’ experiences and mistakes.

    Learn how to optimize your site for the most enjoyable and profitable Google Adsense experience.  Realize it does take some time and hard work. That’s why it’s so important that you write about something you care about.  Hard work is even harder if you don’t like what you’re doing.

    Visit other sites that are benefiting from Google Adsense. Click on the ads only if you are truly interested in the product or service being advertised.  Read other people’s blogs and comment on them. Only offer a comment though if it is truly sincere.

    Hopefully, these helpful tips will ease you into using the program and help you avoid mistakes that could possibly cost you a lot of time or money.

    Views: 0

  • Writing Follow Up Messages For Autoresponders

    When it comes to making a sell using your autoresponder, follow up messages are very important.  Most website visitors won’t buy something on the first visit; it normally takes more than 6 or 7 visits before they decide to make a purchase.  To keep them interested and eventually make the sale, you’ll need to come up with some innovative yet captivating follow up messages.

    When you start writing your message, you’ll need to come up with compelling headlines.  Compelling headlines will draw attention from readers, making them feel excited to read the rest of your message.  If you send a message with a shoddy headline, chances are that your readers will just glance over the email and not pay much attention to it at all.

    You can also grab attention from your readers by sending them personalized messages with their names and other details.  There are several autoresponders that personalize messages through the insertion of codes.  When you send a message out, the code is replaced with the personal information of the subscriber.  When receiving the email, the reader will see his or her personal information instead of the code.

    The first message that you send out is normally an introduction message. This message should be geared towards giving readers what to expect from your messages.  You can also mention information about your company and your products as well.  Your introduction message is very important, as it sets the pace for the messages that follow.

    When you send out your second message, you should inform readers about your products and services.  Make sure that you explain what your products do and how your readers can benefit from using them.  Then, in the messages that follow, you should put added emphasis on your services and products.  You should be trying to convince readers that they simply must have your products and that your products are a cut above the rest.

    To ensure that you get a sale, you should include comparisons between what you offer and what competitors offer.  This way, you’ll show potential customers that you are indeed the best, with the best features and the best prices.  Once you have a few satisfied customers, you’ll start to build up your credibility.  If a customer is satisfied, he will let you and others know.  Once a customer has praised your products, you can add it to a testimonial and send it out in a future follow up message.

    When you end a message, make sure that you leave a teaser for the next message.  This way, your customers will look forward to receiving your next message.  You should also carefully weave in messages regarding your contact and order information as well, so readers can place an order without any problems.  If you put some time and thought into your follow up messages – you’ll start racking up customers and sales in no time at all.

    Views: 0