Month: November 2009

Tell Me About Your “Fantastic Opportunity”

It seems that I am presented with another “fantastic opportunity” nearly every minute of my day. I receive “opportunities” by email, Twitter, Facebook, telephone, fax, Skype, postal mail, and face-to-face. The most popular way these opportunities seem to spread is by way of social media.

Since there are so many people out there sharing their latest “fantastic opportunity”, I figured my readers may want to share theirs. Before you get me wrong and assume that I am only being a smartass, I am sincerely open to hear what you have to say. Sure, your opportunity will probably not interest me in the least, and may not interest most of my readers. All the same, I am offering you this chance to share your “fantastic opportunity”. Somebody may love your idea … who knows? Plus, maybe this will give you some practice in how to present your idea with greater impact. Try to impress me … try something new … give me your best shot! If you have something to share, let me be your sounding board. Add your comments here!

I really am open for opportunity. I seek the positive side of most everything. The biggest problem I find is in the method of presentation. I mean, who really enjoys sifting through a bunch of totally irrelevant opportunities? I am sure that some people do, but I really only look for things that pertain to my interests in some way. For example, if you present an opportunity that will benefit my present business interests as a Web hosting CEO, social media consultant, and book author, I will read it and you will hear from me!

If your opportunity sounds similar to the message below … I am not interested. Maybe somebody is interested, but it is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Of course, my opinion is not the only one here.

“You only have to share this fantastic opportunity with three friends. Yeah, that is right, just three friends who will set you up for life with a huge mansion, fancy cars, fine food, world travel, and a better looking mate than the one you’ve got!”

I am just not an MLM kind of guy, but they are out there and they read my blog. To me, most things that sound like this are opportunities to part with more of my hard-earned money in trade for hope that I can find three friends to build up hype and make the same pitch to. I care about my friends too much for this kind of “opportunity”.

I am asking for your enlightenment. This may sound just a little bit snarky but with all of this opportunity, maybe I am the guy who just doesn’t quite “get it” yet. If you have a message that needs to be shared, I want to give you an opportunity to share it right here on my blog. This is your chance to reach others, and in a way that it is invited. Add your comments here!

Then maybe if you reach enough people, you can send me one fewer email or one fewer tweet about how much money people are making with your latest fantastic opportunity.

Once you have your presentation polished and ready to go, talk to me about targeting the message to the right recipients.

Cyber Bullying, Death Threats, and Other Cyber Crimes

I was prompted to write this after filing a complaint with the FBI for death threats I received here on this very blog. You may not receive death threats, but surely you have encountered people who became less-than-civilized and abusive online. For most of us, I suspect that it really shocks us how somebody can get so upset over what may seem insignificant to us.

I guess I never realized how scandalous and heated the topics of my writing can be. Apparently this humorous article that I wrote last February really got somebody’s emotions all stirred up. I cannot say a lot about the details or post the comments yet, but perhaps I will in due time.

One thing I can say is that the abuser claimed that the article “didn’t spark my interest in the least”, which I know is a lie because they spent an hour and fifty three minutes writing and re-writing their comments. That sounds like more than a “spark”, but rather a raging inferno. So how in the heck can a simple article on writing good copy inspire so much anger that the reader threatens to kill me? I will allow your guesses in the comments for this blog post. No death threats, please!

Why do some people say things online that they would never say to your face? Do I have an answer for this, yes and no. I know a good share about the Internet. After all, I have earned my living based on providing Internet services for well over a decade. As CEO of one of the top wholesale providers of Internet access and Web hosting, I have just about seen it all. I am the guy people come to with a subpoena for server logs and other evidence to prove the crime or track the criminal. I have helped to put people in jail for child pornography, terroristic threats, fraud, and other crimes. I have worked with law enforcement on many occasions, and it has often given me a huge eye-opener to the human condition.

Perceived Anonymity

The psychology of perceived anonymity is strange. It shocks me, but it is pretty common that the abuser actually believes that they are anonymous. With this feeling of being anonymous, I suppose a bully really lets out what they are all about deep-down. They can really let their misery show when they think there is no price to pay for their anger and hate. In many instances where the crime is small, their identity is never researched and revealed, but of course this is not always the case.

Hateful Bullying

It seems that a lot of people do not consider how things they write may affect other people. Some people seem to enjoy causing hurt or frustration to others. I believe this is often the person who feels very insignificant and small. The only way they can be heard and get the attention they need is to be mean. I think we have all known a bully at some point in life. Maybe you knew him or her as a child on the playground. The sad thing for this tormented soul is that they never grew up, but you did.

Bullies often go overboard just to emphasize their frustration. I have witnessed many mean-spirited comments that are quite certainly overstated. I have a good friend who is a meteorologist. It seems the weatherman is easy to blame when the weather does not go as hoped. This guy gets all kinds of hateful complaints, and not for his work or his presentation, but for the weather. Yes, he gets angry complaints for the weather that “he caused”!

I have had hate mail, mean blog articles written about me, and more than a couple of harassing comments on social networking Websites. You can say that it is simply a matter of numbers, and that if you reach enough people there are surely some who will be mean. It is true that the more people you reach, the more you will find hate. However, as social media use is more widely adopted, it is much easier to spread that hate to an even larger number of people.

Put Out Their Fire

If you encounter bullying, I ask that you remember what it is the bully seeks. They often want attention. If you give it to them, you allow them to bolster their pride to carry on. If you ignore them and snuff out their flame, you will often save yourself and those around you a lot of negativity.

Negativity spreads quickly. Consider this in how you interact with others online.

When it goes too far and it becomes criminal, it is time to contact The Internet Crime Complaint Center, your local FBI office, or other authority of proper jurisdiction.

Are You Ashamed of the Social Media Company You Keep?

Haven’t we all had a gawky friend or bizarre “Aunt Nancy” type whom we are nice to but that we kind of keep to ourselves? I think so, and I will be the first to admit it. When it comes to social media, I have found myself cringing at the thought of some people posting something awkward and out of place on my Facebook Wall or letting the public see that I have responded to something that may seem strange to some people.

What do you do about these folks? I will not say that you should go way out of bounds and get racy or scandalous in your social media space, but let’s face it: somebody likes them! Even if they seem a bit off key and you kind of wonder how it may make you look to associate with them, the fact remains that if you like them, they are just another part of your life’s tapestry. Who doesn’t know an Amway representative? I do, and one who comes to mind is a super nice guy named Rick Wright. I met him as a client when my company developed a Website for his auto dealership. Sure, I give him all kinds of grief about his “Amway Gospel”, but I like him, and I like his family. I also know a guy who puts an aluminum foil hat on and talks about all kinds of strange stuff in his Webcast. He is about as odd as a marshmallow on a turkey sandwich and often as offensive as a fart in a steam shower, but he is a very intelligent guy and sometimes talks about some interesting topics. Strangely, he also has a large and loyal following of viewers and participants of his chat.

Being yourself in social media and being responsible for only you is what matters here. It is largely accepted that we are judged by the company we keep, but on the social networking stage, the rules are different. Social media will introduce you to all kinds of people, and you may find a few with a strange attraction. Heck, there is me … the know-it-all who fears nothing, has a broken inner dialog, and keeps on promoting his all-knowing books (Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends and Living in the Storm). You still seem to find it in your heart to keep me out of your shadows. What other interesting characters make you laugh or provide an interesting point of view? Share them with the rest of us here in the comments.