Allow me to introduce you to my nephew, Jordan Benker. I know him as Jordy, and he is a very talented young musician. Why am I writing about Jordan today? Obviously, I care about him and I want to see him succeed. But I've got another angle. This past week I observed something very interesting happening with Jordan while following his Facebook posts. There was a discussion saying that his name trended worldwide on Twitter... Continue Reading

Failure. The word is laced with negative connotations. That's why I think failure gets a bum rap. Failing at something is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means you are trying. And it means you have found a way to not succeed. Thomas Edison went through thousands of experiments before his first lightbulb was illuminated. Ben Franklin is quoted as stating, "I didn't fail the test, I just found one hundred ways to do... Continue Reading

You've come up with a business idea you believe will rock the world. You have built your website... it's so beautiful it brings a tear to your eye. You are the expert in your field and you've got something to say. Now you just need someone to say it to! It's no surprise that the best way to become recognized is to be interviewed by others who want to leverage your expertise for a newspaper... Continue Reading

From the creator of the world-famous iFart Mobile comes a new hilarious app that you'll want to download for your iPhone or iPod Touch right away! Sergeant Gun combines the best of custom photos, artillery and social media to provide an entertaining and personal experience that iPhone users are sure to love. Simply take a photo or select one from your existing album, apply a number of weaponry and gear from an artillery of stickers... Continue Reading

Last week we talked about the importance of typography and some things to think about when choosing and using type on the Web. This week we'll talk about various aspects of using type for print pieces. Continue Reading

I few months ago I came up with the idea of creating a simple app that entrepreneurs would enjoy. Being a big fan of buttons that make sounds (eg: The Easy Button), I thought a bit about what that app would be. Since I've got a book called "KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays" coming out in the Summer, why not create a digital KaChing Button? That's exactly what I... Continue Reading

The French call people who use the Internet "Internautes." I like that. It makes us sound like explorers seeking out new life and new civilizations in cyberspace. When I open my browser, I half-expect to bump into a French Captain Kirk. It's certainly a better term than any of the words we have in English. "Users" makes our readers sound like drug addicts. "Surfers" makes them sound like Californian beach bums. And "readers" doesn't work... Continue Reading

Every Internet business -- every business of any sort in fact -- starts in the same place. In the future. Most entrepreneurs think first of how they want their business to look when it's all set up. They imagine the products prepared, the marketing streams in place and the revenue flowing in while they relax and cash the checks. Continue Reading

Wow, what an incredible day! Wait until you hear this. I thought it was going to be a day like every other day. But you never know what kind of curve balls life is going to toss your way. Here's how it started... First of all I wake up and find this email in my box from a producer at a MAJOR cable network ... "Congratulations on your show, 'The Next Internet Millionaire.' We've reviewed... Continue Reading

On Sunday at Affiliate Summit, I bumped into Shawn Collins in the hallway. He had rented a Segway scooter for the day and I had an opportunity to take it for a test drive. It's really an amazing device! It takes just a few seconds to find your balance the first time and then to get a handle on how to make it move. But in just a matter of moments, the Segway becomes an... Continue Reading

The Pink Floyd classic album, Dark Side of the Moon, is though to be the greatest rock album of all time. I might support that assertion. If you listen all the way to the end of the album, Roger Waters says, "There is no dark side of the moon. Actually, it's all dark." I know, it's profound. Still, the album is an absolute classic and one for every music-lover's collection. And speaking of the moon... Continue Reading

I love to write my own newsletter. It gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings with you in a very personal way. However, my friend Eric Holmlund has written such a brilliant piece that I have asked him if I can reproduce it in its entirity. Being a great guy, Eric said no problem. With no further ado, here is Eric's post... ---------------------- I want to tell you about a young woman... Continue Reading

Building a successful website doesn’t happen overnight. You have to create the pages, write the content, optimize your ads, drive traffic. You can be up and running within minutes but to earn the sort of revenues that make the whole thing worthwhile (and more) you’re going to have to invest time. And much of that time is going to be spent troubleshooting. A poorly-designed, badly-optimized site might make a little bit of money. A site... Continue Reading

I'm in San Francisco, which is over 1000 miles from home. I'm attending Harlan Kilstein's Six-Figure Copywriting conference (which I am scheduled to speak at tomorrow and Sunday). The conference is taking place at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. I had a serendipitous event take place around 10 am. Continue Reading