A Note To Readers

Dear Readers,

It had been our plan all along to convert from Blogger to WordPress in 2009. We made the conversion earlier than planned because of significant problems we began to experience with databases and website functions earlier this week.

Part of the plan also was to port hosting. We ended up carrying out both tasks this week. One of the challenges was to learn a Linux-based system different from the system to which we were accustomed. We’re still learning. :-)

A good number of you have been following our coverage of the civil forfeiture case against AdSurfDaily, a so-called autosurf company. We’ll continue to cover the story, which has affected thousands of people involved in online commerce.

We plan to build this new site a little each day. We’ll also talk about the writing life and branding. Google is one of the world’s great businesses. It indexes billions and billions of web pages. One of the challenges of launching an online business is finding a way to emerge from Google’s giant slush pile. Many entrepreneurs and hobbyists are buried under tons of electronic slush and seek ways to make their websites memorable.

This is the “experience economy.” It’ has never been more important to provide a memorable experience to website visitors. But far too often memorability gets confused with noisiness. People try to shout their way out of the slush pile, believing screaming is a virtue because “everybody is doing it.”

We do things a bit differently here. The spokesperson for this Blog, for example, is a cartoon-character “Poster Model” with trendy glasses, trendy hair, a magnificent red nose and a smile made for toothpaste commercials.

It’s our way of not screaming, of climbing up through the mountains of slush. These mountains existed before we even contemplated an online presence. Our eBooks and information products are about emerging from all that slush. Our plan is for the long-term. The traditional print media — our home for years — is facing monumental challenges. Newspapers and magazines and broadcast outlets are laying off employees.

Their fear is the fear of the blacksmith confronting the age of the automobile. Our roots are in print media. At one time the advertising pie was comprised largely of only four slices: print, radio, TV, billboards. The Internet forced a fifth slice, and has been taking an incrementally larger share of the pie. We do not believe our print share ever will increase, which is why it’s important to build the Internet share.

Well, enough for now on this subject. Just wanted you to know we appreciate your continued visits.

Regards,

Patrick

So,