The International Telecommunication Union says damage to the undersea cables that caused Internet and phone access outages all over the Middle East could have been the result of sabotage.

One cable cut—the one off the coast of UAE and Oman—was been the result of an anchor, officials said in this report. But that seems a doubtful cause for the other four, considering the depth at which they lay on the ocean floor.

As a result, they’ve not ruled out the possibility of sabotage.

Just more evidence that our original theory was right: Terrorist sharks with frickin’ lasers attached to their heads.
 

“The function that you are currently trying to use is disabled and will be back shortly,” states one message, which Laughing Squid encountered while trying to sign in.  “We are making some minor changes to this section so please bear with us until we can get it back online.  Please do NOT email me about this.  Just wait it out.”  And sure enough, Tom’s name is signed (and/or typed) to it.

I know, I know – there are important developments taking place involving stem cells, sabotage, and the Middle East, and we’re talking about an error message on a social networking site.  It’s just that kind of week, though – a story about Facebook’s use of the word “is” made the rounds yesterday.

Also, MySpace really isn’t going to win any fans with this sort of thing; while it’s funny (MG Siegler, to whom I owe a hat tip, calls it “just hilarious”), the humor is obviously unintentional. 

Ah, well.  Maybe Tom – or whoever wrote the message on his behalf – will have a good Thanksgiving and return in a better mood.

If you cut your finger, what do you put on it. Did you say Kleenex or facial tissue? Band-Aid or adhesive bandage? These are just a couple of examples where a brand name has become so recognizable and widely used that it actually becomes a generic name for a product type.

Although this generification of brand names is not the norm, when it does happen, it can actually have an adverse impact on the company. Take for example the Band-Aid example above.

If a company other than Band-Aid accidentally sold a batch of adhesive bandages that were not sterile, the story would most likely spread quickly that you should not buy Band-Aids because they are not sterile. Now, this has gone from bad press for a competitor, to bad press for Band-Aid.

Now, with a reported 50 million units sold to date, a seemingly insurmountable lead in the portable music device market, and the Oxford English Dictionary declaring “podcast” the word of the year, it appears that Apple’s iPod may well be on its way to becoming the next brand name diving into this potentially dangerous pool. And judging by feverous attempts to trademark everything “pod” related, Apple has already recognized both the potential benefits and drawbacks this brand recognition could create.

So, the question for Apple now becomes, “How do we maintain market share without risking reputation sabotage?”

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Oneupweb is the only two-time winner of the ClickZ award for “Best Search Engine Engine Marketing Firm”. StraightUpSearchs blog authors include experts from Oneupwebs natural SEO, pay-per-click campaign management, research, marketing, design, and sales departments.

One type of sabotage has become known as “googlebombing.” By linking to your website using certain words (many, many times), an unfriendly individual could make your page the top result for that query. Imagine if people saw your company show up when searching for “moldy yogurt.” (Why someone would search for “moldy yogurt,” I can’t imagine, but you get the idea.)

Worse still, suppose someone typed in the company’s name, and all the top results were related to adult content. Unless you’re in that particular line of business, this could be disastrous. But a saboteur could pull it off by mixing the corporation’s name with adult content and auto-generating posts in blogs and forums.

Don’t despair, though. If you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself in one of these situations, there are ways to defend yourself. One of the simplest strategies is to notify search engine quality assurance teams when someone is spamming your company’s name across the Web. There are cases, though, when a legitimate countermovement to a company is able to establish a strong presence.

In this instance, it can be effective to publish pages stating your side of the story. You can hope that they will gain high rankings through natural means, or you can purchase sponsored listings.

Even with these unpleasant possibilities floating about, the positives of owning a website and a blog still far outweigh the negatives. Just keep an eye out for potential sabotage, and respond quickly when it occurs.

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Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.

He makes a good point. It used to be that if you really loved Firefox, you’d put ads for it on your site, or yes, even show messages to IE users, but it was because you loved the product. Now, the motive is passion, not profit.

Sites like Explorer Destroyer are giving tips for putting annoying messages that only IE browsers see, messages that can disable your website or push the content far down the page. If you are doing it for the love of Firefox, fine, but most people are joining some sort of Firefox referral cottage industry.

You aren’t helping anyone.

Maybe its time Google revised the Firefox referral terms of service. Just make it read:

You shall not display the Referral Event to some browsers, and not others. It must have a permanent or random placement, or none at all.

I know Google wants to promote Firefox, but I don’t think it’s good public relations if the people you want to switch start thinking of you as a nuisance.

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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

Visit the InsideGoogle blog.

• Chase after the “latest SEO tactic” – The fundamentals of good SEO have not changed that much and chasing after the latest trend can compromise months or years of solid SEO work. An example is changing a site’s dynamic urls to keyword-rich urls solely for SEO benefit. Search engines are smarter than ever at crawling urls with variables. Just because a url is database generated does NOT mean it is bad for SEO. Making a sitewide url structure change without considering the effect on current rankings, redirection strategy, site map, 404 handing etc is also problematic.
• Expect better rankings with no changes to the site – This is a good one as my SEO company continues to get inquiries from “agencies” that are stuck on all-Flash or image heavy web design and their clients want better organic rankings. A few years ago, we added language to our SEO client agreements to acknowledge the fact that changes to on page text, links and the addition of new content are required. We also indicate that SEO suggestions must be implemented in a certain timframe.
• Make major updates to the site without advising SEO firm – After hiring a SEO firm to extensively research keyword phrases, then carefully write updated title tags, meta description tags and on-page copy, nothing wrecks site optimization more than overwriting pages with old data or posting a new design without any previous SEO work included. Having said this, I would say my firm’s position is to NOT have the client reliant upon us for a SEO consultation whenever a change is made to the web site. That is why we provide best practices information. But to make a site-wide change without consulting your SEO can be disasterous.
• Test your own SEO theories on the site – A long term client had great rankings, traffic and sales when in a 30 day period of time, their results went supplemental. We noticed this before the client did as part of the monitoring of site positioning and web analytics. We discovered a robots.txt file disallowing all search engine spiders had been placed on the client site. A web developer for the client had placed the file there in order to eliminate server load as a result of search engine indexing. “Ugh” is an understatement. Get in the habit of having your IT staff, web development agency and even marketing consult your SEO firm before making such changes. Additionally, part of what you pay your SEO firm for on an onging basis is to monitor such activities – be sure they are doing so.
• Change in your marketing message without informing your SEO firm – Recently a client called to say they are no longer using a certain descriptor as an attribute for a key product. We modified the keyword glossary, reviewed the site for all instances of change (search replace would have been disasterous) and made new tag and copy recommendations for the site. This is a good example

And here is one of my favorites:

• Staff changes at client company - I read in a research study, perhaps it was something from SEMPO, that the most common reason clients drop SEO firms is when there is a staff change at the client company. I’ve seen it happen where a new marketer comes into the SEO situation feeling intimitaded by the whole idea of natural search (as opposed to paid search) and wants to revisit every edit on every page along with a specific outcome justification for every optimization recommendation ever made. Really! Such micromanagement is not productive.One of the most significant benefits of natural search optimization comes from a long term engagement. The results of long term content optimization refinement and ongoing link building should be cumulative.Dropping the current SEO vendor simply because they were hired by a predecessor is not a good business decision. Hiring a new SEO firm because the past agency did not fulfill it’s obligation is indeed a good business decision. Note to clients and SEO firms when there is a staff change: focus on the metrics and everybody wins.

Lee Odden is President and Founder of
TopRank Online Marketing, specializing in organic SEO, blog
marketing and online public relations. He’s been cited as a search
marketing expert by publications including U.S. News & World Report and
The Economist and has implemented successful search marketing programs
with top BtoB companies of all sizes. Odden shares his marketing
expertise at Online Marketing Blog offering
daily news, interviews and best practices.

Google employees push sites that only work with one browser
By scobleizer on Blog Stuff

You can learn that and lots of other things about Google on the Google Watch site.

First off, the most angry person from this post is probably Daniel Brandt, Google Watcher, who loses a very positive link from a very popular blog. Secondly, I believe Robert pulled the post because he believed he had erroneously portrayed Jason Shellen as advocating sabotage of Internet Explorer users. While Shellen’s linking to some code that breaks sites in IE and using code that encourages IE users to switch to Firefox, its not exactly on behalf of Google, and I haven’t seen anything to indicate Shellen as part of the contingent within Google that is working on the Firefox browser.

So, while Scoble’s post probably implied far too much, I think it still bears worth reading. I haven’t been blogging as long as the Scobleizer, but I haven’t pulled a post yet, and I think a simple use of the < del > tag would have been sufficient. Scoble raises some good points of the conflict of interest of a Google employee advocating anti-IE trickery, even if Google doesn’t technically own Firefox, and the employee isn’t involved in FF development.

If a Microsoft employee proposed a “Firefox sucks” banner campaign that was only hidden when the [if IE] tag was used, it would make Slashdot, and we all know it. This isn’t the same, and no one is saying that (yet), but I hope this issue gets the proper debate it deserves.

Comment Here…

Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

Visit the InsideGoogle blog.

This can’t happen, right? I mean, Google would have us believe their algorithms are not easily manipulated and that your rankings are safely under your (and their) control. But in fact there’s a chink in Google’s armor that can have massive consequences for any web business unfortunate enough to have aggressive and unethical competitors.

Here’s the loophole, explained

It all began with Google’s aggressive attempts to curb link popularity manipulation by penalizing sites that purchase site- wide text link ads to get lots of incoming links in a hurry. (eg: If the ad selling site had 1,000 pages, the advertiser’s link would instantly be on 1,000 pages.)

Google began filtering sites that indulged in this kind of linkage and either penalized or flat-out removed the site from its database. Bad news for that business. Excellent news for their competition. Can you guess what’s coming next?

Certain scoundrels began thinking: “If buying site-wide text link ads en masse will get my site into hot water with Google, why not buy them for my competitor’s site instead? Then just sit back and wait for Google to solve my number one business headache… the competition.” (Cue evil laughter sound track.)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is Google Bowling. Simple. Devious. Devastating. And not just in theory; it’s really happening out there.

Here at eTrafficJams.com, we are hearing from a lot of businesses whose sites once enjoyed great rankings (ours included) and now don’t even show up in Google for their own company name.

A small loophole has turned into a devastating black hole, sucking in and wiping out countless quality websites in the process. And it just may be their competitors sending them into the abyss.

Is your head spinning yet? I mean, it was bad enough knowing that with every Google update, your business may go up or down in the rankings depending on the whims of the Google geeks. But now add into the mix the fact that your competitors also have a hand in your search engine health and wellness… well, Houston, we have a problem.

Although this would be a fortuitous time for me to suggest that the solution to this problem is hiring a reputable SEO firm (like www.eTrafficJams.com) to watch over your rankings, I shall resist the temptation. Instead, I’d like to offer Google – as if they’re listening – a simple solution to this nasty problem.

Right now, Google hands out either rewards or harsh penalties for linking strategies – good rankings to reward good linking techniques, and penalties, such as the now-infamous sandbox, to punish un-cool, manipulative linking practices. But there isn’t any middle ground.

I say why not create a neutral response… a filter that simply ignores questionable links, neither rewarding nor punishing them?

1) Innocent victims of Google Bowling don’t get hurt.

2) If the dubious links actually were perpetrated by the business at the receiving end of them, Google would exclude those links and the site would gain nothing. It would simply be throwing ad money out the window (unless, of course, it was buying site-wide ads in vehicles that generated relevant traffic). And

3) Google’s reputation for delivering accurate and fair search results would be restored.

Google needs to do something soon to plug this loophole, not just for the immediate relief of its users but for its own credibility

Although being “Google Bowled” by a competitor and having your site removed from the database could ruin a small business, the consequences for Google could be just as dire. If chatter picks up that Google’s results are easy to manipulate and consequently inaccurate, users may be scared away to other search engines.

Fewer users = fewer clicks on ads = lower revenues. Well, I don’t have to spell that out for the financial wizards at Google.

But just think: a few stories on the big TV networks, say on MSNBC (*cough* think Bill Gates’ MSN Search, a major Google competitor), revealing how the new sport of Google Bowling is sweeping the nation… well, the average user at home may start to have doubts about Google and maybe decide to try out Yahoo! or MSN Search.

Is it really that far-fetched to speculate that someone like oh, I don’t know, Mr. Gates, might take advantage of this situation to solve his number one business headache… the competition?

So I suggest a simple solution to Google’s link bowling problem: neutralize suspicious links so they are neither helpful nor harmful. Problem solved. Sorry, Mr. Gates. 2005, Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone is the President / CEO of eTrafficJams.com, a search engine optimization and website marketing company <http://www.etrafficjams.com> located in Clearwater, Florida that specializes in getting targeted, eager-to-buy traffic to your site. You can catch him blogging at: <http://www.etrafficjams.com/blog/>.

Many entrepreneurs choose to design their own marketing materials when they launch their business, especially by creating their first business card. Or, they will have an amateur designer, friend or relative create the design. There are several reasons why this is not the best idea. An amateur logo design and business card can make your business more likely to fail because:

About half of all businesses fail within their first few years. One source of failure that’s commonly cited by experts is sloppy or ineffective marketing – if your marketing materials don’t stand out from your competitors’, your sales will suffer.

When you start a business, you need to create the quickest possible route to business success. A logo helps to create this by contributing to your business’s visibility, credibility, and memorability – three factors that will help your business to grow and achieve success. So, while putting off your logo development may seem like a prudent idea from a cash-flow point of view, it could result in your business never getting “off the ground”. It can also lead to your business folding when it would otherwise succeed – if you don’t invest in your business, who will?

If you think that you can’t afford to design a logo when starting your business, consider the outcomes – how can you afford not to?

Copyright 2005, elf design. All Rights Reserved

Erin Ferree is a logo, print and web designer who has been making it easy for small businesses to stand out and to be visible, credible and memorable for the past nine years.

http://www.elf-design.com

What is this e-mail explosion? Was there a point in time when the entire world decided to use the Internet as their business communication tool of choice? Are there rules for managing these messages and being a professional and polite user of electronic mail? There are, but not everyone has gotten the word.

Your e-mail is as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, the postal letters you write (assuming you still do), the greeting on your voice mail and the handshake you offer. If you want to impress on every front and build positive business relationships, pay attention to your e-mail and steer clear of these top twelve e-mail mistakes:

1. OMITTING THE SUBJECT LINE.

We are way past the time when we didn’t realize the significance of the subject line. It makes no sense to send a message that reads “no subject” and seems to be about nothing. Given the huge volume of e-mail that each person receives, the subject header is essential if you want your message read any time soon. The subject line has become the hook.

2. NOT MAKING YOUR SUBJECT LINE MEANINGFUL.

Your header should be pertinent to your message, not just “Hi” or “Hello.” The recipient is going to decide the order in which he reads e-mail based on who sent it and what it is about. Your e-mail will have lots of competition.

3. FAILING TO CHANGE THE HEADER TO CORRESPOND WITH THE SUBJECT.

For example, if you are writing your web publisher, your first header may be “Web site content.” However, as your site develops and you send more information, label each message for what it is, “contact info,” “graphics,” or “home page.” Don’t just hit “reply” every time. Adding more details to the header will allow the recipient to find a specific document in his/her message folder without having to search every one you sent. Start a new message if you change the subject all together.

4. NOT PERSONALIZING YOUR MESSAGE TO THE RECIPIENT.

E-mail is informal but it still needs a greeting. Begin with “Dear Mr. Broome,” “Dear Jim,” “Hello Jim,” or just “Jim.” Failure to put in the person’s name can make you and your e-mail seem cold.

5. NOT ACCOUNTING FOR TONE.

When you communicate with another person face to face, 93% of the message is non-verbal. E-mail has no body language. The reader cannot see your face or hear your tone of voice so chose your words carefully and thoughtfully. Put yourself in the other person’s place and think how your words may come across in Cyberspace.

6. FORGETTING TO CHECK FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR.

In the early days of e-mail, someone created the notion that this form of communication did not have to be letter perfect. Wrong. It does. It is a representation of you. If you don’t check to be sure e-mail is correct, people will question the caliber of other work you do. Use proper capitalization and punctuation, and always check your spelling. Remember that your spellchecker will catch misspelled words, but not misused ones. It cannot tell whether you meant to say “from” or “form,” “for” or “fro”, “he” or “the.”

7. WRITING THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.

E-mail is meant to be brief. Keep your message short. Use only a few paragraphs and a few sentences per paragraph. People skim their e-mail so a long missive is wasted. If you find yourself writing an overly long message, pick up the phone or call a meeting.

8. FORWARDING E-MAIL WITHOUT PERMISSION.

Most everyone is guilty of this one, but think about it. If the message was sent to you and only you, why would you take responsibility for passing it on? Too often confidential information has gone global because of someone’s lack of judgment. Unless you are asked or request permission, do not forward anything that was sent just to you.

9. THINKING THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER SEE YOUR E-MAIL.

Once it has left your mailbox, you have no idea where your e-mail will end up. Don’t use the Internet to send anything that you couldn’t stand to see on a billboard on your way to work the next day. Use other means to communicate personal or sensitive information.

10. LEAVING OFF YOUR SIGNATURE.

Always close with your name, even though it is included at the top of the e-mail, and add contact information such as your phone, fax and street address. The recipient may want to call to talk further or send you documents that cannot be e-mailed. Creating a formal signature block with all that data is the most professional approach.

11. EXPECTING AN INSTANT RESPONSE.

Not everyone is sitting in front of the computer with e-mail turned on. The beauty of Internet communication is that it is convenient. It is not an interruption. People can check their messages when it suits them, not you. If your communication is so important that you need to hear back right away, use the phone.

12. COMPLETING THE “TO” LINE FIRST.

The name or address of the person to whom you are writing is actually the last piece of information you should enter. Check everything else over carefully first. Proof for grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. Did you say what needed to be said? How was your “tone of voice”? If you were the least bit emotional when you wrote the e-mail, did you let it sit for a period of time? Did you include the attachment you wanted to send? If you enter the recipient’s name first, a mere slip of the finger can send a message before its’ time. You can never take it back.

E-mail makes everything easier and faster including making a powerful business impression and establishing positive professional relationships. The businessperson who uses the technology effectively and appropriately will see the results of that effort reflected in the bottom line.

(c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.

Lydia Ramsey, author of MANNERS THAT SELL, keynote speaker and seminar leader, is a leading authority on business etiquette and protocol. To sign up for more FREE business etiquette tips, click here.