Is it ethical to steal a WiFi connection? Let’s begin by first defining what WiFi means. According to the WiFi Alliance, WiFi refers to:

A term developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to describe wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) 802.11 standards.

And according to Wikipedia, the main aims of WiFi are:

• make access to information easier
• ensure compatibility and co-existence of devices
• eliminate cabling and wiring
• eliminate switches, adapters, plugs, pins and connectors.

But I always thought that WiFi was a free service? Earlier this year, Ars Technica featured a post that talked about the ethics behind using WiFi connections illegally. Some might remember the incident in May of 2007 when a Michigan man was arrested for “piggybacking” or using someone’s WiFi connection without their permission. According to the news story, customers would regularly go into a local coffee shop that had WiFi and check their email, etc. while they enjoyed their favorite coffee beverage. The article goes on:

Sam Peterson II did the same thing. “I knew that the Union Street had WiFi,” he told 24 Hour News 8. “I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn’t see a problem with that.”

The only difference is is that he would drive up to the parking lot of the coffee shop on a daily basis and surf the net from his car. A police officer figured out what he was doing, and the gentleman ended up having to pay a $400 fine in addition to completing 40 hours of community service. Seems a little harsh for someone who didn’t appear to be doing anything other than what the other patrons were doing: surfing the Internet and checking email.

So, now comes the question, “Is it really a crime to ’steal’ a WiFi connection?” What’s the difference if you go into a coffee shop that has a WiFi connection versus parking in the parking lot? If I parked in the parking lot of the library and used their free wireless Internet connection, would I be placing myself at risk for being arrested as well?

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Tags: Marketing, Social Media, Social Media News, Social Networking by Janelle - 1 Comment »

When we think about social media, the first thing that often comes to mind are popular social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook. While there are plenty of people who use these social networking sites to connect to people they know, there are also plenty of others who use it to meet new people. But, how do you know who you’re talking to. Even with sites such as mybloglog.com and stumbleupon.com, anyone can throw a profile together real quick with the help of some Google images and a couple of smart sentences.

Things to Be Aware Of

For those of you who are trying to make an honest living by blogging or who simply want to increase exposure to your personal blog or web site, there are plenty of organic ways to increase your popularity. The following are some ways in which people push the ethical limits to increase traffic via social networks as well as things to be aware of:

1. Sex: Unfortunately, there are people out there who think nothing of showing a little skin in order to entice other viewers to take a second look at their page.
2. SEOs: If you’re new to the wonderful world of blogs and other things that relate to the web, and you really want to focus on driving traffic to your site, you may enlist the help of an SEO expert for a small fee.
3. PPC: PPC (aka: pay-per-click) are those Google ads that you see on the sides of web sites sometimes. By paying to have your web site advertised, this can be a great way to direct traffic back to your site.
4. Networking: Networking is perhaps the best way to build up credibility among your peers when it comes to making a name for yourself. Many bloggers will join more than one social networking site with the hopes of meeting more people who share similar interests as them and who can help market their product and/or services. But watch out for those people who cheat the system by inflating their page view numbers as well as those who leave poor quality comments on your message boards.
5. Stat Counter (and similar sites): StatCounter.com is just one example of a way in which you can monitor the type of traffic that is coming to your site. It offers graphs and charts and keyword analyses to let you know how people are searching for you. This is a great (and free) tool that can help you figure out where to direct your efforts when it comes to social media-type stuff.

Paige Filler also offers some great advice and information about Social Media. Check out her site here.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Business Building, Business Networking, Social Media, Social Networking by Janelle - 3 Comments »

If you are a business in the 919 area code, you may wonder where on-line to network. Of course linkedin.com is worth having a profile on, but I want to talk about a new one– http://www.inside919.com/ (they also have ones for all US area codes — http://www.insideareacodes.com/ — but you need to really work or live in the title-designated area code ).

It is free to join, allows you to form local discussion groups like “Triangle Business Blogger” or “Podcasting.” It lets you list calendar events, have a blog so you can contribute useful articles, have a profile stating your business and it offers an RSS feed so you can keep up with it in your Blog Reader. By requiring you to live or work in the 919 area code and asking that people make at least one contribution a month, it keeps it smaller then the big guys offering a local connection. It was started by Pat Howlett who moved from a small town to the RTP NC area and wanted to create a small town business networking feel on-line.

My networking advice for using Inside919 is to take a little time to join it, fill out the basic profile, maybe join a few groups that are of interest and connect to some people you know. Next just check in once a week or even once a month based on your time demands and the importance of a web presence. When you check in, look for ways to help others or contribute to a conversation that is occurring in a Forum or group. If you use a blog reader then add the RSS feed to that so you can keep track of it.

I do recommend a picture and if you don’t have one you like, pay a photographer for one good one. The good photographers can offer Photoshop touch ups if that makes you more comfortable. You can find one in InSide919.com as well.

Next share the site with good local businesses you know to help them connect to others.

I like this group since Pat is a local person who truly wants to help the local business professionals and make it easy to participate. To me this can be one of the important pieces of your on-line presence and marketing plan.

Pat Howlett also is creating groups for other area codes and here is a website to find all the groups: http://www.insideareacodes.com/

If you join http://www.inside919.com/ , look me up and say hello!

By Martin Brossman - www.coachingsupport.com - Martin@CoachingSupport.com (919) 847-4757 - Podcast: www.InquireOnline.info

Tags: Business Building, Business Networking, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Social Media News, Social Networking, Using Technology by Martin Brossman - No Comments »

With the growing popularity of social media and web 2.0, if you’re thinking of creating a web site and want to know what kind of audience to target, you should start thinking about women. When it comes to conducting business online and using the Internet, many people naturally assume that it’s a man’s world due to the whole “technology” thing. However, this is not always the case. A recent study conducted by Rapleaf showed that men tend to be more transactional and less relationship building when it comes to their friends on social networks. On average, women tend to have more friends than men and do a better job at keeping relationships going. Now, who would’ve thought that would happen?

The Study

The study looked at over 30 million people by examining social networking information that had been put on a graph for some of the following social networking sites: Bebo, Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, LiveJournal, Myspace, Flickr and more. Of the 30 million people sampled, the only qualifier was that they have at least one friend. Based on this, Rapleaf found that of the people who had at least one friend, 53.57% were female while 46.43% were male.

The study concluded that women spend more time on social networks and are more likely to be social networkers and connectors versus men, who are more likely than women to be super connectors and uber connectors. For the full results of the study, click here. So, what do you think? In your opinion, do women use social networking more than men?

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Internet Marketing, Social Media by Janelle - No Comments »