Petey's
Pipeline E-zine
Issue #12
November 27, 2003
Contents
Business
First Editorial
Center Stage with
Tom LeBlanc WinZip
Archive Utility
Guest Writer, Not Ghostwriter
jl scott, ph.d. Recognizing
the "Pro in Motion" (Part II)
Random Ramblings and Miscellaneous Musings
Readers Respond
Write Thinking A
Comedy of Errors
Preview of coming distractions
Business
First (Editorial)
The
latest iteration of the Perfect Text Web site (and of Petey's
Pipeline E-zine) features a new header graphic, artfully rendered
by Ginger Geracitano of WebWench Graphics and Design. The new
design, accompanied by a subtle change in background color,
gives the site a more professional and unified appearance. Thank
you, Ginger, for a job well done.
Despite
the best efforts of well-meaning but misguided politicians,
the spam will get through—you can count on it. How do I
know this? The fact that unsolicited commercial e-mail entering
my "in" box effectively quadrupled within days of
the Federal government's announcement that they were going to
get tough with spammers gave me my first clue.
Why
is it that blatant spam goes directly to my "in" box
and essential business communications go directly to the "trash"
box? Example: Last Friday, ads for remote-controlled cars, better
gas mileage, stock market listings and mortgage lenders found
their way into the "in" box, while a payment completion
notice from PayPal went into the trash. Go figure!
Dr.
jl scott returns with part II of her article Recognizing
the "Pro in Motion" in which she continues her
discourse on professionalism in business. There are many people
telling other people how to conduct business on the Internet,
but dr. scott is one of the few worth paying attention to.
Help
Yourself By Helping Children!
The
Third Annual Internet Toy Drive
We
are proud to be a partner with the official U.S. Marines "Toys
for Tots" program in The
Third Annual Internet Toy Drive. It's a sad fact that millions
of children in the United States will NOT have a single gift
to open on Christmas Day! We aim to change that and make sure
EVERY child has at least one present 'from Santa' under their
tree. Help a needy child in YOUR community right now:
—Phil
Center
Stage with Tom LeBlanc
The
best things in life aren't always free! Sometimes, they cost
$29.00! For instance, the WinZip
archive utility program, used for zipping and unzipping files.
Once you have WinZip, you'll be able to open and read that massive
collection of free e-reports and e-books that's been collecting
on your hard drive since the day you decided to start an on-line
business of your own.
WinZip
is easy to use and you can try the evaluation version, free,
for 21 days to prove it to yourself. A single user license for
version 8.1 costs $29.00, plus you get a free upgrade for version
9.0 when it's released. Once you've used WinZip, you'll wonder
how you got along without it.
Tom
LeBlanc is a licensed physical therapist, published author,
home entrepreneur and 'Netrepreneur. His Web sites include Home-Entrepreneurs.com
and Transition-Home.com.
Guest
Writer, Not Ghostwriter
Recognizing
The "Pro In Motion"
( Part 2)
by jl scott, ph.d.
The
"pro" takes care of business.
Taking
care of business includes such things as making refunds promptly,
meeting deadlines, and staying current on payments for overhead.
It also includes remembering (even if using some type of reminder)
when things need to be done, as well as what (and to whom) promises
have been made. Then of course, there's always the actual work
itself—whatever that might be.
Professionals
stand behind their products or services. Shoddy merchandise
and/or poor services are simply not part of a pro's business
world. A pro offers guarantees and sends out necessary refunds
promptly, accompanied by words of regret for the customer's
dissatisfaction.
When
professionals find that a company's products or services are
not up to the highest possible standards, they do whatever is
necessary to improve the situation. Or, they drop the product
or service from the line.
Professionals
do what they agree to do. And, they do it on time. When changes
are necessary, professionalism demands that all parties involved
be consulted or notified. The same rules apply if deadlines
can't be met.
Because
they keep their word, professionals can be trusted. A very old
way of doing business—on a handshake—is practically
a given on the Internet. Doing business on a handshake is merely
a matter of giving your word, and keeping it. All too often
no legal contracts are involved. A great many contracts, e.g.,
"Terms and Conditions," that you see on-line would
never stand up in court, anyway.
If
professionals—for any reason—don't produce as promised,
they don't complain if customers see fit to take their business
elsewhere. Customers are not expected to put up with incompetence,
late delivery, or failure to produce what they asked for in
the first place. The pro never attacks the client for his/her
own failures.
The
Pro doesn't say one thing and do something else. The word of
a professional truly is his or her bond. It's as good as any
contract and better than most that I've seen anywhere on the
Web.
Above
all, the true professional is ethical!
Copyright
© 1999 by jl scott, ph.d.
All Rights Reserved.
A
copy of this article is available at: pro-motion_pt2@i-Cop.org
This
article may be reprinted with permission by including the following
resource box:
============================================================
dr.
jl scott is the Founder of the International
Council of Online Professionals (iCop) and also the publisher
of "Just GOOD Business!"—the ezine that keeps
you up to date on the newest and BEST marketing, promotion and
programs on the Web.
Click here for your subscription: http://www.i-Cop.org/trade-journal.htm
============================================================
Random
Ramblings & Miscellaneous Musings
Readers
Respond
I
liked your writing tips in Pipeline #10. Have you ever thought
of writing (authoring) an ESL textbook or writing guide? Keep
up the good work.
Tom
Hi,
Tom:
Thanks!
Have you ever thought of writing (authoring) an ESL textbook
or writing guide and getting me to proofread and edit it for
you? Seems to me that that would be a better use of education,
talents and skills.
Phil
Tom
is an ESL instructor who divides his time between two Japanese
universities.
If
you have ideas, opinions or commentary of your own regarding
subjects or responses appearing in Random Ramblings & Miscellaneous
Musings, why not share them with Petey's Pipeline readers?
Submit
your thoughtful, thought-provoking comments to editor@perfecttext.com.
Write
Thinking
A
Comedy of Errors
by Phil
Hanson
Part
I
A couple of weeks ago, one of the many newsletters to which
I subscribe featured an article that was intended to instruct
readers on how to write better Web page copy. Written by one
of the Web's more prolific writers (but, obviously, not by one
of its better ones), it did offer some good advice. The problem
was that the author failed to follow it.
The
article consisted of eight or nine paragraphs, all but one of
which contained punctuation errors. However, that single exception
was so awkwardly written that no editor of good repute would
have let it pass. A couple of spelling errors further damaged
the author's credibility.
In
concluding his article, the writer cautions his readers to proofread
their material carefully and to run a spelling check before
submitting an article for publication. He warns that no piece
of writing is complete until it's been proofread and edited.
He's
right. It's good advice. What I don't understand is why he didn't
follow it.
Part
II
Last week, another writer in another newsletter wrote about
the importance of "preserverance." Preserverance?
There's no such word listed in my dictionary. Probably not in
yours, either. No! It wasn't a typo. It was spelled that way
at least three or four times.
What
we have here is yet another instance of a so-called Internet
guru giving "expert" advice on a subject he can't
even pronounce, let alone spell, correctly. What we have here
is yet another writer who allowed his credibility to be destroyed
for lack of a spelling check.
The
word in question (in case you're wondering) is perseverance.
Please, take note of the proper spelling. What does perseverance
mean?
Hang
in there, people! I'm sure it will come to you.
Copyright
© 2003 by Phil Hanson
All rights reserved.
Preview
of Coming Distractions
We
bring you part two of our article on affiliate programs, and
ponder what they'll do when the Internet grows up—coming
next in issue #13 of Petey's Pipeline E-zine.
Disclaimer
The
articles appearing in Petey's Pipeline E-zine are based on information
believed to be true at the time of publication.
Neither Perfecttext.com, Petey's Pipeline E-zine nor their publisher
assume any liability or responsibility as to the accuracy or
efficacy of any information, products or services that are submitted,
advertised or rendered by contributors to Petey's Pipeline E-zine.
While we make every effort to screen out scam artists and bogus
offers, you should still do your homework. Caveat emptor!
