December 30, 2004

Secrets

Allen posted this over at Warriors and I just had to copy paste as I couldnt agree more.

I got an email today that confirmed how ignorant and blind some people can be. This fellow was on a rant about how there really are secrets and went on to mention a previous article of mine.

If you take the statement "there are no secrets" out of context and go on a rant or begin posting in forums that "there are no secrets" then you're a moron.

Warriors with a head on their shoulders and the capacity to think for themselves knew exactly what that article was about. The whole point of the article was to stop seeking the "big" secret and get to making money now, today.

Most Warriors already know everything they need to know to make great money on the Internet, right now. Whether they do it or not is entirely up to them. It is most definitely in the slicksters benefit to keep you hanging on seeking the next big "secret" while the whole time they are doing what really makes money and has always made money:

1. Building Huge Lists
2. Creating Viral Systems
3. Doing JV's
4. Running Affiliate Programs
5. Creating Information Books, Packages & Monthly Subscriptions

Look at what they are "doing" instead of what they are "saying" you should do...

Since I pay no attention to search engines whatsoever, if someone knows something about them then, technically, it's a secret to me. However, those with secrets about search engines can take them all along with all the adsense secrets and stick them where the sun doesn't shine because I've pulled in millions of dollars from the Internet without ever once paying any attention to the search engines.

For the vast majority that are actually making money, search engines and PPC's account for very little of their income. Unless you run some of the incredibly huge sites like Freebie or Contest sites that get millions of hits per day, fooling with things like Adsense means you're playing with "tiny money" and your own checks will prove it.

That's not to say money can't be made there. But look closely, how many can actually make this money? The search engine game is almost like MLM. How many can there be at the top? How many can there be on the first page of search engine results? How high can you bid for your chosen keywords?

The fact is, virtually everyone here already knows enough to get down to business and start making money now. But many will continue holding out for that next big "PPC" or "Adsense" secret...while never snapping to the fact that the slickster pushing it just made another $300,000 selling them the book.

Now, with all that said, there are 'obviously' many secrets to be learned from others. We can't find everything on our own. My main point is to not let that blind you to the fact that you can make money "Now" with what's already known and has been known for years.

Use 90% of your time creating and 10% buying all the books and secrets you want, then you'll get somewhere, and not until then.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 4:58 PM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 29, 2004

PayPal SPAM

I have to say that I do indeed hate spammers.

But scammers are a different kettle of fish altogether! These scum are trying to steal from me and you! This morning I recieved this little email in my inbox and I have to say that I did indeed click on the link in my haste (and anger) that my paypal account had been suspended!

Click on the picture to read it :) I had to scale it down to fit!

I have been using the net for 20 years (it was called the Arpanet back then) and would consider myself to be very experienced. But couple tiredness, anger and haste together and volia even I can get fooled into clicking a link ehh!

The link actually failed but if you click it it trys to load a sexpics domain Like this..

http://www.taboosexpics.com/%20/account/login.html

Marks moral of today is to chill and slow down :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 1:31 PM | Comments (4) | Spam | TrackBack

December 28, 2004

Successfull Blogger

Chris is buying himself a Beemer then :) Im not sure I agree with him when he says...

"And folks, you can't get much better than BMW"

When he gets really successfull I`ll lend him my 550 Maranello he he!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 12:50 AM | Comments (3) | Blogging | TrackBack

December 27, 2004

Checking my Emails! Honest

Well I finally got round to installing Jay Allens MT Blacklist

Of course this is only for MT users, but a very handy script it is indeed. Mark tips his hat to Jay. Ta very muchly :)

I had been using comment moderation, but I have recently been getting hammered by the spammers and so thought I would become more agressive in my defences. Anyway if your an MT user I highly recommend you get it.

Mark...

Just checking my emails dear :)

Posted by Mark at 9:15 PM | Comments (0) | Blogging | TrackBack

December 25, 2004

Xmas and Blogging

I have been ordered by the missus to cease my Bloging activities over the xmas period :( This is a fair point I must admit!

However as the missus does not know my email program from my Movable Type application (grins) I might still get my fix over the festive season!!

Just checking my emails dear :)

Mark...

PS
A very happy xmas to all my readers no matter where you are in this world of ours..

Posted by Mark at 10:54 AM | Comments (4) | Life | TrackBack

December 24, 2004

Bank Robbery

I see that the largest bank robbery ever to grace British soil has taken place in Northern Ireland.

The reason I stuck this in funny is because when I sat and thought about it, they stole Irish pounds! Where the hell can you spend 20 million Irish pounds without drawing attention to yourself! It`s not like you can change them at your local Thomas Cook is it.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:16 AM | Comments (3) | Funny | TrackBack

December 23, 2004

Traffic

We all want traffic!

It matters not if you have a multi million pound website or just a humble Blog. We ALL want MORE traffic! More readers! But can you Blog your way into Google? The answer as to whether you can Blog your way into Googles SERPS is yes, sometimes in six weeks, often in as little as 24 hours.

A Blog is actually one of the most conducive web site mediums to attract more traffic from multiple sources quickly. The trick to getting this to work for you however is in understanding which vital conditions have to be met first.

Most people submit their websites or Blog to Google and wait six to eight weeks to see if they were included in the SERPS. Other people know that the fastest way to be spidered by Google is to leave your link at a site that is already getting spidered (if you can). But even among those people, when they don't see their site in Google exactly the way they'd like to see it, they give up, and say it didn't work for them.

So what gives here?

The place that the majority of people go wrong with SEO is in trying to trick Googlebot into thinking their site matches its standards for inclusion for their desired high traffic keyword, instead of aligning themselves with the purpose that the search engine fills. I.E. relevant content.

You may think that if you study ALL the SEO tricks, you'll have the desired traffic from the search engines and it will then follow that your`s will be the site people come to for the keyword or search phrase they type in, which in turn will hopefully lead to 2% of those people buying what's at your site.

Your not totally off thinking that! There are just easier, faster and less expensive ways to do it. Some of them only have subtle differences from the ways you may know already.

Actually you don't even need the traffic for your most desired keywords or search phrases to be successful! You just need some TARGETED traffic that converts well. Some of the most successful websites I know of generate amazing profits in the tens of thousands with a few hundred visitors every day!

The method I suggest to get the kind of search engine results that can power those kinds of sales, is aligning your site with the purpose the search engine seeks to fill. NOT trying to trick the bot that you have relevant content when you dont! You should still make sure your Blog meets all the basic SEO guidelines. However, the very nature of a Blog makes it easier to meet more of these requirements with less continual tweaking and struggle.

Let's look at the facts, and see how Blogs align themselves more closely with one of Google's purposes as a search engine.

1. If you get your site's link in the path of the search engine spider or robot of your choice, in this case Googlebot, it may well follow it.

2. The way to get it to follow the link is to make sure it can `SEE` your link.

3. If your Blog content fills a need that the search engine's database of links has, it will include your link in its database.

4. If your link fills a deficit of content better than any other site in accordance with Google's `secret` algorithm, it will rank your page well in that area.

So now, the only missing component necessary to our success is finding out how to be the best site Google finds for a category that has a deficit already. One of Googles main strengths is that it is perceived by the People that use it to be able to provide fresh accurate results based on their searches. It follows then, that the main purpose of Googles database of links is to provide this fresh, relevant up to date RELEVANT content on the topics its users desire.

We know that unless you have a news site like CNN or BBCi the closest you can come to this is with a Blog! In fact The freshest, most relevant, most topical information found on the web today is in Blogs, as well as their corresponding RSS or Atom feeds.

A Blog's very function is to contain constantly updated focused content, on one topic or field. Or in my case a broad range of subject matter from internet marketing to Robots! ahem :)

When Blogs first started out, the main topic was often a person's life. The typical Blog was more an online diary for voyeurs. Business Blogs on the other hand tend to be updated records of a certain kind of information that is relevant to their industy sector, or a topic aligned with the interests of their mainly business visitors.

So you need to know the following things in order to get your Blog included in Google's SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages).

1. Where to leave your link(s) so that it or they will get spidered by Google in the first place.

2. How to make sure Googlebot actually sees your link once you have left it.

3. How to set up your Blog so its content fills a deficit.

4. The best way to make sure your Blog does this better than other Blog sites.

As with all things internet there is a specific formula for achieving the above heady mix. I will reveal what it is in part two after Christmas :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 5:10 PM | Comments (1) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 22, 2004

Poorly Paw

Originally uploaded by 15dn.

This is my guard dog Hanns after losing his battle with our pet hamster Alan! Alan has vicious teeth and managed to get Hanns in a head lock whilst at the same time biting his paw!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 5:57 PM | Comments (2) | Funny | TrackBack

December 21, 2004

Why BUY information?

Someone was asking on a Forum board why bother to buy information products and courses when information is readily available on the internet and most of it is FREE!

On the face of it thats actually a good question. But...

I just did a test and typed the words 'Internet Marketing' into Google and do you know how many pages Google came up with...

34.100.000! Yes that 34 million :)

So the information you can get for free on Internet marketing will be right there, somewhere in the middle of that 34 million websites...

Let assume you trawled say 1000 of those website per day, it would take you 34.000 days to read them all. Sadly you havnt got 34.000 days :( If you live 3 score and ten you have around 25550 days on earth total. And even if you did have 34000 days you could devote to reading, how are you going to sort the good stuff from the rubbish?

You can't, and that's why the internet has paradoxically created an explosion in demand for 'paid for' information products and services.

You see, the internet has encouraged many millions of people (like you) to seek out information on subjects that interest them, people who previously wouldn't have bothered. While they wouldn't have visited a library or book shop, the seemingly quick and easy availability of information online has motivated them to take action.

Action which sadly more often than not has resulted in frustration and disappointment for them.

So now you have a large number of people who have had their interest piqued but not satisfied. The internet has expanded the marketplace, and alerted masses of new people to the possibility that the information they want and need is out there somewhere. They just need somebody to sift it, edit it and summarise it for them into a form they can readily access, understand and use.

This is the complete opposite of what the experts predicted at the dawn of the internet. The internet was supposed to be the death of the 'hard copy' written word. And yet there are more books, newsletters, E-zines, magazines and newspapers published today than ever before and the list is growing daily.

The demand for information in our modern age has never been higher. The amount of raw information out there has never been greater. But the capacity of the average person to turn that raw information into something usable has never been lower.

And that's why it's a Golden Age for Information Publishers and internet marketers. People who can take the important raw information on a subject, boil it down to the essentials, and then deliver it in an easy to read format.

If this interests and excites you (and if you have any interest at all in making a great deal of money in your spare time, it should) then it could be worth you re-assesing your marketing strategys for the coming year.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 12:32 PM | Comments (3) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 17, 2004

Marketing call to action?

Bob Bly has an interesting post over here
All about marketing with your Blog.

I think this shall raise some interesting discussion :)

Mark...

PS.
I think Bob is actually starting to enjoy Blogging :)

Posted by Mark at 11:14 AM | Comments (2) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

I'm turning into John Cleese!

Hi All

I am it appears I realy am turning into John Cleese in my old age :( Im not sure if thats a good or bad thing but let me relate another tale from my mad life!

Last night a friend and I decided to sample Vienna's culinary delights :) We met up at Stephansplatz and decided to try an eatery that we hadnt been to before. All was going well until it came to the desert :( Now you see I have my peculiar ways :) and I do so like pancakes with lemon and sugar mmmmm its an English thing I know!

The menu showed crepes (pancakes) BUT they come filled with icecream :( Waiter? In my best German "ick spreken keine deutsch" ok lets try in English :)

`Could I have the crepes but without the icecream please`? he looks at me a bit strange and then says "but its not on the menu" `Yes I know I say but it is a simple matter to leave the icecream out when the chef makes them up isnt it`. `let me ask he says`. I can taste them already mmm.

The manager comes over. `Can I help you sir` `Yes please I say`. `Can I have the crepes but without the icecream I say`. He looks at the waiter and they both consult the menu. "But sir its not on the menu"! Smiling. `Yes I know its not actually on the menu but can`t you tell the chef to leave the icecream out when he prepares them`? `Let me ask the chef` the manger says.

This really did happen to me!

The chef comes out. So now I have a crowd at my table and my freind is pissing himself laughing at me :( So I ask the chef? `When you make my crepes and you get to the point that you have the icecream spoon in your hand, just quickly put it down and bring them out to me without the icecream in please` (is this so hard)

He consults with the Manager as he does not speak English too well :( "It cant be done"! they all say as its not on the menu. `Yes I know its not on the menu but cant you see how simple it is to make me happy`. "Yes but its not on the menu they all say". By this time my mate has had to leave the table because he sniggering so much (git)

At this point I realised that I have turned into John Cleese because things like this always happen to me :) I actually gave up and ordered the crepes with icecream in only to scrape it all out!

Don`t get me wrong here I do like the Austrians but in the UK the customer is always right :) Apparently not in Austria or Germany for that matter :)

If your not on the list you aint coming in! or alternativly if its not on the menu you cant have it!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:35 AM | Comments (5) | Life | TrackBack

December 16, 2004

Google Wins Trademark battle

So the federal judge saw sense and decided to rule in favour of Google :)

It is now OK to bid on trademarked terms in Google adwords campaigns you just cant use them in the ad itself! Good news for smaller marketers and affiliates, bad news for large companys! or is it?

The huge insurance company Geico had sued Google over the fact that when people search for "Geico Insurance" other insurance company's ads show up on the right side of the window in adwords ads thus tempting away traffic.

Now whilst I agree it did indeed cost them a lot of money in brand name and reputation buiding to get someone to search for Geico in the first place. I dont agree that this will harm them! Far from it, all they have to do is start an affiliate program of their own and then all the little ad-words ads will be about Geico anyway :) I search for Geico insurance and bam ups pops all the adwords ads mentioning them.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 1:53 PM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 15, 2004

The Blog Awards 2004 :)

Well there's always next year I guess :)

The Blog awards are in and you can catch them All here

Congrats to all the winners. Perhaps we will get a vote next year. Must work harder on winning FLorida!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 6:43 PM | Comments (2) | Blogging | TrackBack

Are you motivated by G.R.E.E.D?

An essay concerning the origins, nature, extent and morality of this
destructive force in free market economies.

Definitions. Paradoxes and omissions in Adam Smith's original theory

permit - encourage - greed without restraint so that in a very large society over two centuries it has become an undemocratic force creating precipitous inequalities.

Divisions in this society now approach a kind of wealth apartheid, and our values are quite unlike Smith's: this is an immensely wealthy society but it is not a humane society. Wealth and poverty are connected, in fact recent sociological theory shows our institutions routinely design inequality in, but this connection is largely avoided in texts and in the media, as is the notion that greed is a moral wrong.

Problems created by greed cannot be solved by technology. We are also distracted by already-outdated environmental rhetoric, arguments that scarcities and human suffering follow from abuse of our ecology. Rather, these scarcities are the result of what people do to people. This focus opens practical solutions...

Read the entire article about GREED Here

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 4:00 PM | Comments (0) | Economy | TrackBack

December 14, 2004

To Blog or not to Blog?

That is the question Shakespeare would ask if he were alive today. I posted this over at the Warriors forum and I think it sums up the whole Bloggin thing nicely..

A blog is a collection of posts that is regualrly updated by the owner normally covering a broad range of subjects. The best blogs insert humour and candour into the blog and thus develop a rich and varied readership/following.

Blog readers tend to be very switched on and very critical.

There are not many marketers that have Blogs. So im not discouraging you from blogging. Far from it go for it, but be aware its not easy, takes constant updates and no small amount of wit and charm.

John Reese has a blog but he doesnt update often, which is actually worse than NOT having one! Unless your readership expects that and then it would be ok, say if you did it like a monthly newsletter. I have one (your reading it now). I've actually been blogging since 99 in one form or another. Mr Fire himself has a feed as does Laura Childs (she's just started a Blog I see :) Seth Godin has one that I read as does Dana van Heuval and Debbie Weil. The list is getting endless to be honest.

Most bloggers quickly burn out however. Just as not everyone is an artist so not everyone is an interesting writer. Just because technology enables one, does not make one any good at it! This is the funny thing with the net dont you think? Always amazes me how many internet marketers there are that actually have no experience in the field, but I digress :)

I would suggest that you engross yourself in other peoples blogs before embarking on your own. Then if you do decide to start blogging make it varied and rich and have an internet marketing category amongst your other categorys. Build a loyal readership and then offer them things occasionaly.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 3:45 PM | Comments (1) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 13, 2004

Blondes

A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She says she's going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.

The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there. Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest,which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled.

"While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"

The blond replies....."Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 3:54 PM | Comments (0) | Funny | TrackBack

December 10, 2004

And when I feel down

I read Ivans Diary here and realize that for the moment at least, just how lucky I am with my life, my Loves and my health.

My thoughts to you Ivan

Diary of a cancer sufferer

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 1:19 PM | Comments (0) | Life | TrackBack

The Empire Strikes back :)

Well we gave away our Empire but it appears that we have left behind the legacy of our Language!

BOOM IN ENGLISH - Sky news
Half the world will be speaking English within the next decade, says a new report.

Two billion people are expected to begin learning English and three billion will speak it, according to an estimate by the British Council.

Other languages such as French risk being marginalised as the world becomes more "linguistically globalised".

But anyone thinking that a career in teaching English will provide a job for life should note the boom will be over by 2050, says David Graddol, author of the report, The Future Of English.

Mr Graddol's conclusions are based on a computer model developed to estimate the demand for English language teaching around the world.

He looked at government education worldwide, student mobility figures and developments affecting the world population.

Mr Graddol said: "Many governments, especially in countries which have relatively recently gained independence, are introducing the teaching of English under a utilitarian banner.

"The native languages of countries such as Malaysia and Sri Lanka are often almost synonymous with their new-found independence and, as such, are closely protected.

"But English predominates in the business world and for such countries to be able to compete for work, including lucrative outsourcing contracts, English is being pushed heavily from the kindergarten on."

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 9:17 AM | Comments (0) | World Events | TrackBack

December 9, 2004

The gumball is calling me

Sex is definately my Ferrari 550 Maranello

Well I am tempted yet again to enter the Gumball in 2005, or failing that the Cannonball 8000 :) We will see.

The big question is! What car to use and who to take with me? I guess I could use my Z3M Roadster but it's a bit noisy for a long haul at 160mph! Or I could get back my old Maranello pictured above. Those were the days before I had an Animal lover for a missus with 5 horses 5 dogs and a cat called Alan!

To be honest I think King Kimble has the right idea in a CL3000 Merc! Luxury and speed at the same time :) Still it does give me an awfully good excuse to beg, borrow, steal or BUY that 575 Maranello ive always wanted :) I wonder if Foskers Ferrari in kent will rent me one he he!

Jason at Cannoball rings me on occasion to tempt me with tales of partys and supermodels ha ha We will see.

Mark...

PS
Mark wonders if the missus will actually let him do this! Not single anymore see :) Practicality and Fiat Punto's are the order of the day now :(

Posted by Mark at 8:15 PM | Comments (0) | Boy's and their Toys | TrackBack

December 8, 2004

Knowledge is king

Once Upon a Time...

In a far-away land, a young man went to the forest and said to his Spiritual master.

I want to have unlimited wealth master, and with that unlimited wealth, I want to help and heal the world.

Will you please tell me the secret to creating affluence?

And the spiritual master replied. There are two Godesses that reside in the heart of every human being. Everybody is deeply in Love with these supreme beings. But there is a secret that you need to know...

And I will tell you what it is.

Although you love both Godesses, you MUST pay more attention to one of them. She is the Goddess of Knowledge, and her name is Sarasvati.

Pursue her, love her, and give her your attention.

The other Goddess, whose name is Lakshmi, is the Goddess of wealth. When you pay more attention to Sarasvati, Lakshmi will become extremly jealous and pay more attention to you. The more you seek the Goddess of Knowledge, the more the Goddess of wealth will seek you. She will follow you wherever you go and never leave you.

And the wealth you desire will be yours forever.

There is Power in knowledge, desire, and spirit. It is this power within You that is the key to creating Affluence.

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 2:49 PM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

December 7, 2004

Pop ups ooppsss!

Check this article out over at

Jakob Neilson

That should give you pause for thought! Afterall the customer is Always right as we say in the UK!

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 2:47 PM | Comments (0) | Internet Marketing | TrackBack

A typical Englishman

On Sunday it was pointed out to me how typically English I am :) Have you seen " A fish called Wanda" Where John Cleese explains how embarrasing it is to be English! Let me relate a little story from the weekend to empahsise this point.

At the weekend I caught a flight from Stansted London to Salzburg Austria at 18.25. This flight lands in Salzburg at 21.10 and the last train to Vienna leaves at 21.35 so I knew I would be cutting it very fine (been there many times)!

Anyway at 21.08 I was still in the air just about to touch ground thinking to myself about how much I love jet setting, Not! So the plane lands and thankfully Ryan air are very speedy at getting you off so they can take off again. I ran to passport control and jumped in a taxi at 21.24.

How long to the hauptbanhhof I ask? Seven mins he says, cool that gives me 3 whole mins to get to the platform. Suffice to say I made it but with a bit of running. I plonked myself in the first carriage I came across. A lot of trains in Austria have seperate compartments with a passageway along the side. Very cozy indeed. So without really looking I dive into one that is occupied by 3 middle aged women.

The 3 women where from Tyrol :) and on their way to Vienna for shopping for a week. Being from Tyrol (A mountain region in the Alps) they were of course drinking coipious amounts of home made Schnaps. Now I dont really drink much after getting Alchoholic poisening when I was a submariner (another tale)

So it begins, "here have some schanps" she says. "Oh no thanks its ok" I say. "No no you must you must drink drink" she says. At this point I thought to myself ok just have a small sip and that will be the end of it :( So I took a small sip of what must have been 70% proof homemade aftershave!!! It was like tasting my Hugo Boss! I passed it back and it went round and came back to me within 2 mins. "No no" I said "I am perfectly fine thanks" in my most perfect Cambridge accent. "No no drink drink you must you must" they all say eagerly laughing. Oh God help me I thought how can I get out of this without offending them (typically English)

At that point the ticket man appears and is dragged in (literally) and forced to drink some. I ask him if there is a restaurent car on the train. "Oh yes he says up near first class". Perfect I think to myself. "ladys I am so sorry to leave you but I realy have to go and eat. I will be back soon". Not!

Taking my book I spent the next 3 hours of the journey firmly entrenched in the restaurent car buying one drink every 40 mins :) reading my book and smiling at how typically English I am :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | Life | TrackBack

December 6, 2004

Thomas Covenant

Well its been 20 years but Stephen Donaldson has finally got round to releasing the sequel to

"The Tales of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever"

So it looks like Lord Foul the Despiser didnt get killed off afterall eh :( I have yet to buy mine as I dont buy hardbacks :) But after waiting 20 years hell I can wait another month or so :)

I first read them when I was a submariner in the UK Royal navy way back when I was 19! Ive since re-read them no less than 5 more times and each time I have managed to get more from the story.

If your a Tolkien fan (who isnt these days) Then you'll find it to be a riveting read. I find it to be much more mature than Tolkien to be honest but if you dont cope to well with despair then you'll struggle! I would like to see them make a film from it but im not sure they could fit it all into even 10 films :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:36 AM | Comments (3) | Books | TrackBack

December 5, 2004

Function and Form

I love this little quote about design. Thanks .net

Design is about creativity and compromise. Creativity without compromise is called Art!

This is something we here at 15dn are always trying to get right "creativity and compromise"

Function and form I love it :)

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 11:19 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

December 4, 2004

How Civil Rights Are Important To Your Life

How Civil Rights Are Important To Your Life
- By A. Somers

Shortly after 9/11 I had a conversation with the apprentice editor on a film I was working on. He made the statement

" I think the government should take away our civil liberties in order to protect us".

I was so stunned by that statement I wasn't even certain how to respond.

Let's try this: He's Korean/American. We're having problems in our relationships with North Korea right now. It's not too difficult to imagine the possibility of a conflict leading to military action. Now assume that we allowed our government to do away with our civil rights, as he proposes. What will prevent the government from interning him in a camp for the Duration of the conflict with Korea? Nothing.

This is not some far-fetched conjecture. Consider the internment of over one hundred thousand Japanese Americans during World War II. Consider that today, thousands of people have been taken prisoner by the U.S. Government in the war on terror - not charged with any crime, not given access to family, or legal representation - simply imprisoned by the government. No Trial. No due process. Just freedom revoked.

Faced with a tragedy like 9/11, it's very easy to think that

"giving up civil liberties to fight the bad guys"

is a good idea. If you're an honest citizen then there's no reason for you to fear a totalitarian government, right? But that is where an important reality check is in order. If you have no civil rights, then you must rely entirely on the goodness of the government, as well as each and every person in that government, and each and every one of your neighbors.

Without civil liberties what is to prevent a racist cop from inflicting his racism on a target minority? Nothing - as innocent minorities convicted on false testimony can attest.

Without civil liberties what is to prevent your neighbor (that has a grudge against you) from "turning you in to the authorities" for some alleged crime (one you didn't commit, but that he reports anonymously that you did)? Nothing - as many have found, anonymous tips are a
great way to get back at someone you don't like.

Without civil liberties, we are all open to the gravest destruction of our private lives, even if we are the most honest and hardworking of citizens.

If you don't believe that a government unchecked by civil rights is capable of injustice then you need to review history. While it's always easy to bring up the recent past of Nazi Germany, The USSR and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the distant past points to even more serious human rights violations. In fact, it was these excesses of past governments (including the one we freed ourselves of in 1776) that resulted in our forefathers developing the Bill of Rights for our own constitution.

No society can survive and thrive when absolute power is given to the governing body. As the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Understanding this premise leads us to the realization that civil liberties are the most precious and frail of rights and must be protected at all costs. Our legacy of civil liberties in this country have been paid for by the blood of our fathers, grand fathers, and great great great great grand fathers. To throw these rights away for the misguided illusion of greater security would be a most serious
crime indeed.

Mark...

This is true in the Uk aswell! Especially as we appear to follow america in everything she does!

Posted by Mark at 3:12 PM | Comments (0) | Privacy Issues | TrackBack

December 2, 2004

Affiliate Program

Well our new affiliate program is nearing completion as I write this!!

It never ceases to amaze me how much work goes into these little projects :( Let me see...

New software
New web development
More testing
New skins.

Endless!

Still nearly done now (ish)...

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | Web Design | TrackBack

December 1, 2004

So True

"Most people prefer to believe their leaders are just and fair even in the face of evidence to the contrary, because once a citizen acknowledges that the government under which they live is lying and corrupt, the citizen has to choose what he or she will do about it.

To take action in the face of a corrupt government entails risks of harm to life and loved ones. To choose to do nothing is to surrender one's self-image of standing for principles. Most people do not have the courage to face that choice.

Hence, most propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all."

Michael Rivero

Mark...

Posted by Mark at 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | Quotes