Hopefully, someone will agree with me that there are some internet marketing techniques that are really annoying. Here is my top 10 list of hates:

The Rolling One time offer. This is the one time offer that seems to go on forever. You skip one offer only to be met with a further offer. This time it is either an upsell or a downsell. By the time you get to the page to download your product you have forgotten what you ordered in the first place.

I will give you three reasons that I really hate the rolling one time offer. Firstly, they are time wasting. Surprisingly, I really do have better things to do than spend 10 minutes scrolling through the pages and clicking over. If I want to buy your product don’t make me jump through hoops to get it! Secondly, if the one time offer is really a product that enhances the original offer why not try selling a complete product rather than making an assembly line production.

The final reason that I hate some one time offers is that the offer lacks value or relevance. For example, if I have bought a product on creating your own products do I really want a package of ebooks on Bad Breath? The answer is no. When I see these offers I am always reminded of when you receive an unexpected but welcome guest at Christmas. In order to ensure that they know you care and haven’t been forgotten gift wise you rummage through the pantry looking for anything that can be packaged up and given as a gift.

The patronising sales letter. I am really fed up of being told that it is a “no brainer” not to buy some product. Whatever happened to customer relations and common courtesy? If my accountant spoke to me like that in the offline world he wouldn’t be my accountant for any longer. The job of the internet marketer is to educate and promote while building customer relations. Being rude is not in the job description.

The copycat product. Often you will see a product that you desire from the pre-launch stage. Everything about the product you can envisage making your business bigger, better and more efficient. It is the answer to your prayers. The only problem it is too much money. A few weeks later out comes the cheap copycat product. It has less features but the price is right. Out comes the wallet. From then on it is only disappointment. If only the copycat product worked as well as you imagine the real deal worked you could be lying in a hammock on a beach living the internet marketers dream.

The try hard marketers. These are the marketers that have provided no social proof that they are earning an income online but have decided to go into the make money niche. Every newsletter contains an affiliate link to products they are promoting and not once do they offer any advice, information or content that they have actually thought of and tested themselves.

Autoresponders. Most auto responders come with pretty simple instructions - and a help desk to assist you if you can’t get your auto responder messages working properly. Why then, do I receive so many emails in my inbox that start: “Dear {firstname}”. What always makes me smile is that these messages are generally from the internet marketing gurus that implore everybody to test everything! Obviously, no-one is testing the auto responder sign up system.

Too many ads. Once you have negotiated a maze of one time offers to get to your download page you are then confronted by an even more promotions. Sometimes, I think that I need a magnifying glass to find the download link in amongst the ads for hosting, domains, autoresponders and anything else that has an affiliate program.

The unadvertised bonus. A bonus should be something relevant to the product and of some real value. Most of the unadvertised bonuses I have been on the receiving end lately are like road kill. Best left for someone else to clean up. To make matters worse most marketers can’t write a simple sentence of what the bonus is, but prefer the lazy “click here for unadvertised bonus”. Has it ever occurred to a marketer that their bonus is not unique, it is probably gathering dust on hard drives around the world and I might like to have a choice whether I download it or not. But before I “click here” I would like to know what it is!

The overuse of the butterfly marketing manuscript and the viral friend generator. Don’t get me wrong, I love both of these products but they are over used in the market place and often inappropriately used.

The upsell. When you have finished wrestling with the decision to buy a product and budgeted accordingly. You decide to take the plunge and get out the wallet. You have justifed the expense because you have been told that it will be $X. You didn’t want to spend $X but if you cut back on the essentials of life like chocolate and wine you can buy it. Just. And then you are confronted with the upsell.

The upsells that have really torn me lately are for the tutorial products. The videos that guide you through the process that forms part of the package. According to whoever is launching the product while you could certainly get results with the basic package if you really wanted to copy their methods you will need the upsell. I have only one thing to say…. if you are selling a “system” of doing something - sell the system not part of it. Now, how about some honesty in marketing?

My all time hate is the pop ad up that hovers on half of the page. I am convinced that the reason this pop up is used that the marketer couldn’t afford to hire a copyrighter and there is, in fact, nothing under that pop up worthwhile reading.

That’s my top 10 of things I hate about internet marketers. Think carefully when you use any of the above marketing techniques they may just be causing your visitors to hit “unsubscribe”.

Popularity: 6% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The issue about global warming rages around us and blankets our lives with its facts and fiction. It is influenced through propaganda from both sides. Why? Each side has an agenda that seems to be backed up by facts. There is some extremely laughable information available on the internet and there is also plausible information. It is up to us to understand what applies to our daily actions and what we can do about global warming.

It is all around us. It is on the weather stations. It faces us when we decide to purchase a new car or even a cleaning product. The real issues come when trying to learn about global warming. There is a lot of conflicting information on the internet and there is not one group that can agree on all aspects of the global warming debate.

Over the past century, with out a doubt, global temperatures have risen. While the rise in temperature has been only a degree or so, the concern is whether the Earth’s temperatures will continue to rise and what impact that will have on the environment. The controversy about the warming of the earth is a result of conflicting evidence.

The fact that global warming also occurred in the prehistoric era is a scientific point. Some think a large meteor hitting the planet caused an big change in the earth’s temperature. Is that what killed the dinosaurs? Science cannot prove this conclusively yet. The political and industrial lobbies further complicate conversations about global warming. The contention of these groups is that, we currently do not know enough about the effects of global warming to limit industrial emissions.

When will we know the full facts about global warming and will the global warming issue be resolved anytime soon? Unfortunately the answer is no. There will continue to be studies performed and there will always be a measure of doubt clouding the minds of citizens around the world. Perhaps, when enough data comes through, we will be able to make a determination based on scientific fact rather than theory. Until then we can continue to monitor the progress of scientists and try to do our part in conserving the environment.

Popularity: 9% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Many automobile companies have spend millions of dollars each year in research and development of more efficient fuel consumption for cars. Each year more and more cars are rolled out the production plants and there is an urgent call by consumers and environmental groups to reduce the fuel consumption of automobiles.

With the increasing cost of fuel and the environmental concerns regarding harmful emissions of toxic gases into our atmosphere, automobile companies are forced to developed radically different types of cars. One of which is the hybrid car

A hybrid is powered by conventional fuel as well as uses electric energy. Hybrid cars have lower fuel consumption and are more environmentally friendly.

All hybrid cars are powered by two engines : a gasoline engine and a electric engine. Typically, they work in tandem with each other. The gasoline engine is used during starting and stopping the car. Once the car is travelling at a certain speed, the electric engine will take over automatically.

In the current market, there are 2 types of hybrid car. The first type is the series. Typically, the gasoline engine is used to start and stop the car. Once the hybrid car has attained a certain speed, the electric engine will take over. The gasoline engine is also used to charge the electric engine’s batteries. As you can see, both engines are used in tandem with each other but never together.

The second type is called the parallels. It has the same physical configuration of the series hybrid however the operation is quite different. Both the electric engine and the gasoline engine can be used to start and stop the car. The electric engine is used to boost the power of the car when required. Parallel hybrid cars are more suited for long distance travelling.

Usually, hybrid cars are built using very lightweight materials in order to reduce the load on the hybrid car when travelling. This help to save fuel by requiring less energy to move the vehicle. The tires are made more rigid than conventional vehicles with higher tire pressure to increase fuel efficiency.

In on whole, a hybrid car consumes 50 to 60 percent less fuel than a conventional car. The only obstacle is the high cost at the present moment but I am sure as consumers start to recognize the benefits of hybrid car, the prices will start falling and become more affordable.

Popularity: 5% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

A gadget gift is something novel yet useful. Usually when you buy someone a gadget gift, you think it would be cool if someone had gotten you the exact same thing. We’ve put together a list, in no particular order, to show you what’s out there for this season:

1. The iPod Touch: This perfect gadget gift has a 3.5″ widescreen display on the multi-touch surface. It’s just beautiful. You can download straight from iTunes, as well as surf the web with Wi-Fi, so it will fit seamlessly into your life. It comes in 8GB and 16GB.

2. The Venus by LG: Another great gadget gift from LG, made even more attractive with its recent price drop. You’ve got a phone, an mp3 player and an internet browser in one groovy little package. It also comes with the awesome multi-touch surface.

3. Nintendo Wii: The crafty console maker is at it again with the Nintendo Wii. This time around, you’ll be swinging, slashing, and attacking with your own two hands with the Wii’s intuitive motion sensitive controller. Great for getting some exercise while enjoying a video game or twelve.

4. Sleeptracker Watch: We love this watch! If you need to wake up refreshed and alert, then you need a sleeptracker. They wake you up when you’re ready within a window of time that you specify. This gadget gift has been around since 2005… why don’t you own one?

5. Solio: If you have a wanderer on your list who frequently finds himself slightly off the beaten path, with no place to charge his electronics, then this is the perfect gadget gift. It charges a wide array of devices using the power of the sun. So unless they’re going spelunking, they can use it anywhere.

6. The Samsung Flash SSD: This is the gadget gift for someone who absolutely positively has to have the latest cutting edge computer memory technology. Data acquisition is super fast because it’s solid state. There are no moving parts, which in turn means there’s no chance of mechanical failure. This looks like “the next Big Thing” in computers.

7. The Micro Stainless Steel Digital Camcorder: Small, compact and shiny, this gadget gift is packed with awesome features. How about DVD quality video and 5.4 megapixel photos? It has a built in flash as well as a slick interface on a 2.5 inch LCD screen and a rechargeable battery.

8. The Ion USB Turntable: The perfect gadget gift for every audiophile on your list who still has lots of LPs, especially if they were never released on CD. Now they can rip their rare LPs directly to MP3 or WAV format and enjoy them any time they want. The turntable is professional quality, and it comes complete with the necessary software.

9. Sun and Moon Jar Lamps: Take a frosted glass jar, low energy LEDs, a high efficiency solar cell and a rechargeable battery, and what do you get? You get the beautiful sun and moon jar lamps! Completely portable and waterproof, they can be used to decorate anywhere inside or outside the home. All they need is direct sunlight to charge.

10. USB Rechargeable AA Batteries: A gadget gift to help you enjoy other gadget gifts you already have! Everything seems to run on AA batteries so this will help you save the environment as well, because you’re not throwing away batteries all the time. Simply flip the top and plug right into your USB to charge them up.

Here’s our list of our favorite things for the Holiday season this year. We hope it helps, because if we can save just one shopper from holiday overload, then it will have been worth it. And who among us doesn’t have someone who would appreciate a gadget gift?

Popularity: 10% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

As everyone knows by now, Rock Band Video Game is out and taking the nation by storm. At least for those who have been able to get their hands on the game thus far. Well, the question that everyone has been dying to have answered follows. Rock Band Video Game vs Guitar Hero 3 … who wins?

MTV’s Boston-based Harmonix thrilled players of the music/rhythm genre when they first came out with their Guitar Hero game. It was so unlike anything that was then available. It was so popular that there have been two subsequent versions, with the latest version just released as Guitar Hero 3.

Well, Harmonix has now gone and outdone themselves with their latest creation, Rock Band the game. Developers wanted to not just come up with another game: they wanted to come up with a way for people to actually play music … and boy, did they!

Guitar Hero originally came with only a guitar player option, but a slew of tracks to play. It has taken this third version for Guitar Hero developers to finally get around to offering a drum kit. Something that already comes standard with every Rock Band game. Rock Band does another “one upper” by not only including the guitar; it also comes with a microphone kit.

If you were to do a side by side comparison, there are special features each of these games offer. Guitar Hero may offer more songs to shred with the guitar right now (a bit over seventy titles at last count), but Rock Band will be adding new tracks every week. Rock Band also has a better quality soundtrack than Guitar Hero and even though Rock Band video game costs a bit more, it just blows the door off Guitar Hero in overall capabilities. Its multi-player feature looks to be a bit more challenging (and fun) than Guitar Hero’s battle mode which pits a player against just the computer. There is also a Tour Mode for Rock Band being set up to run online that Guitar Hero just can’t compare with.

There was an actual “Cyber Battle of the Bands” held between both these games at this year’s EA gaming convention. The final conclusion, after a four song play-off was that Guitar Hero 3 was hard put just playing catch up to the newest contender on the video gaming block: Rock Band won, hands down!

The ultimate “Battle of the Bands” will actually be played out in the retail arena. With the upcoming holidays, it should be interesting to see if Rock Band continues to outdo Guitar Hero.

Popularity: 4% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!