Some people either have too much time on their hands or no sense – AND they need a moral checkup. Here you are, a nice person going about your business, and some nasty person who threw their moral compass into the toilet one day and hasn’t seen it since does something nasty to you.
The latest cyber vandalism attacks are coming through Skype.
The first time I heard of Skype, this is how it happened. An Australian client wrote, “Do you Skype?” in an amail.
I, with my finely sharpened wit, asked, “Not yet. Is it fun?” Then of course asked him what that meant. I was instantly excited about being able to chat up anyone in the world.
Skype is a great way to talk with people all over the world without incurring long distance charges.
Naturally, although most of us use our powers for good, there are people who use this tool for nefarious purposes. (sigh) I wish it wasn’t so.
Skype is now a verb, by the way, in case you didn’t know. “Skype me.” and “He Skyped me” are both perfectly valid sentences. So Skype has now joined the ranks of other company names that have become parts of speech, notably FedEx and Xerox.
Someone I didn’t know wrote me through Skype “I send you a link ok?” He sent me a link to click. I asked why. He said “it’s for me ok?” and I blocked him. He wouldn’t say what or why, and I didn’t know him. Seems I dodged a cyber vandal attack.
Skype logo image
A savvy business owner friend of mine with a huge contact list got caught. Willie Crawford wrote about it on his blog. Apparently a friend of his known for sending cryptic messages sent him an email with a link. He, being a smart cookie, asked about it and was satisfied with the answer.
Apparently, my Skype account has been hi-jacked,
which means that my hundreds of Skype contacts
likely received a phishing message trying to get
you to click on a link, where upon you’ll be
prompted to log back into your Skype account,
and they will hijack the account
(snip)
Over the next hour or so, I got emails and phone calls
from a dozen friends telling me that they think my
Skype account has been compromised… and they based
that upon the REALLY poor English in the Skype messages
they were getting.
So even if you consider yourself smart and aware that these things happen, you could get caught. He has hundreds of contacts, so setting up a fresh account isn’t something he wants to contemplate.
here is a dark side to Skype. Hackers prey on naive online users. Last year’s hacker game was to usurp an account and initiate contact with all confirmed contacts, inviting those people to accept files. Even though I do not consider myself to be naive, I was duped into accepting and opening a file, in March 2009, when a seemingly active client offered it to me. When I lost access to my Skype account, I realized I had been hacked. It took a few days to put everything back together and it was a real headache.I haven’t accepted any spontaneously offered files or clicked on any uninvited links since that time, even if the offer is extended by a long-term contact on my list.
This year’s hacker game is to hijack an account and offer a link that looks like a Skype link to all confirmed contacts in that account. With a slight amount of scrutiny, it is obviously not a link you should follow. The link will probably ask you to login to your Skype account, at which point the hacker has your credentials. If you have a Skype subscription attached to your PayPal account, the hackers can run up huge expenses for you. Skype takes no responsibility for this. Neither does PayPal.
First, let me give a little background in case this is new to you.
A product launch, whether this is a book launch or the introduction of a home study course, event or anything else, happens when you make a big splash about introducing your newborn product into the world. Typically, you get a whole bunch of
people to promote during a certain period of time (a day, a week).
OK, now you know what this is.
Getting other people to promote your stuff is a GOOD THING. In fact, it’s a MUST. It’s leverage, and it’s powerful. But what I observe happening way too often is that people don’t start recruiting affiliates until – well… take a look at the usual series of events and you’ll see for yourself.
The Problem with Product Launches
Here’s what happens.
Phase 1: Product Creation
1. The Product: First, the product creator makes their product, and
2. All the other stuff that goes with selling a product: Creator writes (or hires out copywriting of) several webpages – partner info page, partner thank-you page, product sales page, thank-you page, download page, series of autoresponder messages (emails) –and let’s not forget graphics — and …
3. Buzz/promotion tools: Creator makes videos, audios, a acebook fan page, and whatever other promotional materials are needed.
All set
Now, the promotion MAY BE all ready to go. (and by the way most of this may not be done by the time they start seeking affiliates to promote)
Phase 2: Gathering Promo Partners
OK, now Creator has the product ready and wants people to promote it. Many book launches are set 3-6 months ahead of when someone looks for promotion partners.
Maybe Creator thinks an adrenaline rush is the way to work up a feeding frenzy, but honestly, the timeline for promotion is often WAY too short.
Here’s what happens all too often. Creator sets up a launch time that is 2-4 weeks from today.
They want “Whales” (big names) to promote.
The Whales all have their promotions lined up 3-6 months ahead.
The Dolphins (what I call mid-sized list-holding promoters) are often booked 1-2 months ahead.
The Trout can often squeeze the promotion into their schedule but don’t have a big following yet.
The Minnows have plenty of space open in their promotional calendar, and they’ll readily sign up for a launch, but they don’t have any traction in the marketplace.
the Krill only know 5 people but they’ll tweet like crazy to try making a buck.
I have been reaching out for partners on a promotion with a short-term, fixed launch time, and some of the people who have the perfect audience for the product are booked for 3-6 months ahead.
If this were a “rolling launch” – meaning there might be one early push and then people can promote anytime over the course of a few months, the launch can be wildly successful, and it will build up momentum or “steam” for a longer period of time.
The BIGGEST problem with product launches
Short-term rushed launch = smaller profits because the bigger cats don’t have enough notice- AND
Who said marketing should be done like a swimmer’s gulps of air along a race course?
How is that effective marketing? I truly do not understand.
One person I know of who had a 7-figure product launch made the mistake of buying a palatial home with a pool in the mountains. His monthly expenses are, naturally, very high. And rather than pay off the home he had been in and realize that this huge income was not going to be a continuing income, he blew a huge wad and now has monthly expenses that are more than what some people earn in a year.
So, why set yoursself up on a product launch financial roller coaster?
Would you rather have one burst of income followed by a 6-month dip…or would you rather work toward steady, sustainable income?
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