A Software Industry and Software Development Blog. Software marketing news, search engine information, software awards information and general tips and tricks for marketing online.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html en-us Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:45:47 -0400 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.0.4) http://www.feedforall.com http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/smr_button3.gif http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com software marketing news and information for software developers 90 33 Dave Collins has been managing Shareware Promotions' Google AdWords accounts for as long as the AdWords scheme has been up and running, and at the time of writing this page is handling accounts with monthly budgets in the region of $80,000. Dave will review your adwords account and provide a detailed and comprehensive 75 point checklist covering your account setup, campaigns, campaign settings, ad group structure and names, budget, targeting, number of clicks, impressions, average position, click through rates, behavioural patterns, use of reporting facilities, change history, ad texts, keywords, matching options and more. <br /> <br /> Dave will then then write-up his findings in a clear, detailed and well-illustrated report. The report is not generated from a template or boilerplate. Nor is it a general Google AdWords report, adapted to be relevant to your account. Every single item and recommendation is created based on your account and situation. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.sharewarepromotions.com/google-adwords-report.html" target="_blank" >Google Adwords Report</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v537 v537 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Convert MySQL databases to RSS feeds using a new php script - <a href="http://www.feedforall.com/sql2rss.htm" target="_blank" >sql2rss</a>. The new script currently supports the conversion of MySQL databases to RSS feeds. <br /> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v536 v536 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Fruit, trees and the forest

There are times when I feel as though I live in a slightly different reality.

(1) Knocking imagination on the head.

One of the companies that we work with sells Windows Automation Software. It’s a great piece of software that’s been around since 1997, but they’re always looking at new ideas. Recently they decided to post a job resume for the product itself - titled “I work 24×7 for no pay. Got a job for me?”

It’s obviously not designed to be taken too seriously, and struck me as quite an imaginative experiment.

Fruit, trees and the forest]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v535 v535 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The old adage, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer", is applicable not only to personal relationships but business relationships as well. While I'm not suggesting that you befriend your competitors, it is important that you are cognizant of your competitors' business ventures and methods. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/spy-on-competitors.htm" target="_blank" >Spy on the Competition</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v534 v534 Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Computer software wizards from near and far will camp at the Silicon Valley headquarters of Internet search titan Yahoo next week for an overnight "hack-a-thon" in the spirit of innovation.


Yahoo heralded the 24-hour programming free-for-all as its first public "Hack Day" and said it was an extension of no-holds-barred software tinkering events that the company's engineers take part in internally.

The gathering was meant to inspire new twists on Yahoo services as well as reclaim "hacker" as a name for those adept at manipulating software in creative, not malicious, ways, said Yahoo network developer director Chad Dickerson.

Complete Article]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v533 v533 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has said it is dedicating a single hotline for the reporting of software piracy in the Philippines.

The organization said the new toll-free number, 1-800-1-888-8787, will be available to all residents of the Philippines. Reports may also be filed online.]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v532 v532 Sun, 24 Sep 2006 07:56:53 -0400 Dozens of game industry women gather to talk about how to balance work and life.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.womeningamesinternational.org/" target="_blank" >Women in Games</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v531 v531 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The Tucows Blog has a new home at <a href="http://www.tucowsblog.com" target="_blank" >http://www.tucowsblog.com</a>/. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v530 v530 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>From unforgettable flame-outs to some of the most popular destinations around, no one is safe from our look at the world's dumbest dot-coms and silliest sites.</i><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127116-page,8-c,sites/article.html" target="_blank" >PC World's 25 Worst Websites</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v529 v529 Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 I interviewed Michael Halls about his acquisition of the AISIP.The AISIP is an independent organization for software industry professionals. The group was started by Sue Piccotta just over a year ago. Michael and David Halls recently purchased the organization. They have plans and shared some details in the interview..... <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/aisip-michael-interview.htm" target="_blank" >AISIP Interview</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v528 v528 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 It is rare that I post personal thoughts in my blog posts, but I really cannot go without commenting on this weekend. I spent 3 days walking 50 miles for Multiple Sclerosis. I walked with my new hero, my youngest son, Ricky. <br /> <br /> For me September 11th has become a day of giving, and I felt reflecting about my three days in todays blog post appropriate. Ricky and I raised $ 3,000 for MS, and we felt every step of the 50 miles. The level support we received during the walk was truly amazing. I have come to believe, that you get what you give. <br /> <br /> While the walk was grueling, I feel richer for having endured, and seeing how my son, urged me on, when I knew how he was hurting showed me his incredible depth of character.&nbsp;&nbsp;I feel richer for it. <br /> <br /> Sharon Housley http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v527 v527 Mon, 11 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Tucows aquired Kiko a web based calendar. Kiko was sold as a Web 2.0 company on eBay and went for $ 258,000. <a href="http://www.tucowsblog.com/blog/_archives/2006/9/5/2297315.html" target="_blank" >Read the details.</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v526 v526 Thu, 7 Sep 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The History of ID Software:

The theme over the course of these recent "A Short History of..." pieces, for those who have been following, is independence: the struggle to achieve it for one's self or for others, or simply its presence in places where you'd never expect to find it. It is that cooperative struggle for individuality, for the assertion of our humanity, that leads us to all grace.

The other articles on the bottom are also interesting and not terribly different from the Software Success Series.]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v525 v525 Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400
During a presentation at the 2006 InfraGard National Conference -- which is focused on protecting U.S. critical infrastructure -- Wendi Whitmore, a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, urged companies that are victims of cybercrime to report the problems to law enforcement agencies. Even though many cybercriminals don't get caught, the sharing of information between law enforcement and private businesses can help both groups develop better defenses, she said.

Report Crime]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v524 v524 Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 A Florida man who made millions of dollars selling illegal copies of computer programs was sentenced Friday to six years in prison in one of the nation's largest software piracy cases.

Danny Ferrer, of Lakeland, Fla., pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy and copyright infringement charges after an FBI investigation of his Web site, BuysUSA.com. Ferrer also was ordered to pay more than $4.1 million in restitution to software makers Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk, and Macromedia Inc.

Complete Article]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v523 v523 Sun, 27 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Ok so this women purchased a bunch of googlesomething.com domains and attempted to sell them to Google for a large sum of cash, thinking she would make millions. When the Google trademark lawyers came calling you would think, like many of those before her she would back down and turn tail. She did counter-offer the domains at a discounted rate, these offers could have been her demise, because when she actually went to court her actual defense was ingenious. <br /> <br /> The domain poacher told the court she had been planning a dating site and the domain was intended as "<b>Go Ogle</b>" rather than "Google". Because she had offered to sell the domains the court ruled in Google's favor. Still her ingenuity was rather impressive! http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v522 v522 Thu, 24 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Articles are excellent tools to generate web traffic and product interest. Writing articles, may sound easy enough, but it is important that you write the proper types of articles to attract interested readers. Follow these simple steps to create compelling and interesting content. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/articles-for-content.htm" target="_blank" >Compelling Articles Make Great Content</a> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v521 v521 Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Software entrepreneur Phill Ryu has announced <a href="http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/software_dreams_launches_my_dream_app_contest/" target="_blank" >“My Dream App</a>” a new competition that invites participants to submit their best ideas for a killer app. Contestants will compete for a chance to have their idea turned into a Mac shareware application and earn royalties on software sales, as well as take home prizes that include Macs and iPods. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v520 v520 Mon, 21 Aug 2006 12:26:56 -0400 So the holidays are approaching. As hard as it is to believe, now is the time developers should be gearing up for holiday sales, if they target a consumer audience. <br> <br> Do something different and consider reaching a new audience, Amazon sales spike in the holidays, it is easy for customers toss something "extra" in their cart, so if you products are not listed on Amazon it is time to think about getting them listed. How? Well that is easy, <a href="http://www.greatmindsoftware.com/" target="_blank" >Great Mind Software</a> provide a listing and publishing service for software developers interested in listing products on Amazon. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v519 v519 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 06:50:29 -0400 My graphical expertise is not quite what it could be, and on some of our smaller projects I do the graphic design in-house. In any event, I started playing around with <a href="http://www.studio-v5.com/greenbox/index.htm" target="_blank" >Greenbox Logo Maker .</a> This is one very cool piece of software. You can whip up logo in minutes! Really very versatile and well done. <br> <img alt="""" border="0" src="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/test-logo.gif"> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v518 v518 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://blog.swrus.com/swrus/news/idx_306/swrus-kiev.html" target="_blank" >SWRUS Kiev</a> has been announced! The mini conference will be held the day before the <a href="http://www.isdef.org" target="_blank" >ISDEF conference</a> (scheduled for Moscow Russia). http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v517 v517 Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400
The Santas on Amazon may soon know if intended gift recipients have been not only naughty or nice, but also whether they're Muslim, Gay and Unemployed.


Amazon.com filed a patent application on Aug. 10 for a process that would allow Amazon customers to use the retail Web site to gather information on other customers, including "birthday, interests, occupation, education level, income level, location, race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation."

Complete Article

I think Amazon is off their rocker! This type of information should not be made widely available to anyone.]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v516 v516 Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://www.gameconference.com" target="_blank" >Austin Game Conference</a> scheduled for September 6-7-8, 2006 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas.<br> <br> The Austin Game Conference is produced by The Game Initiative, the leading producer of conferences and events for game industry professionals. Game Initiative, events attracted almost 4,000 game industry professionals from around the world as speakers, attendees, sponsors and exhibitors in 2005. The Game Initiative serves the needs of companies and people involved in producing interactive entertainment software and hardware for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v515 v515 Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 For the people who create Mac software, there's nothing quite as exciting as a Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that previews the features slated to appear in an upcoming OS X overhaul. And there's nothing as terrifying for those same developers as waiting to see if those new features do similar things to the software they're already selling.


Such is the nature of third-party software: meet an unfulfilled need with your software one day, watch that same need get addressed by an operating system update the next.

Article about Apple Development]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v514 v514 Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:56:14 -0400 The <a href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/" target="_blank" >Google Webmaster Central</a> is very cool!&nbsp;&nbsp;You can determine what pages are being crawled where there is a problem or if a website is having "issues" with Google. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v513 v513 Thu, 10 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Notepage, Inc. has just developed a <a href="http://www.feedforall.com/social-bookmarks.htm" target="_blank" >social bookmarking tool</a> that will help web designers create bookmarking chicklets with ease. This tool allows users to enter the title, description and URL of their website and it creates bookmark chicklets that can be inserted into their website. <br> <br> Social bookmarking has quickly become a popular way for frequent internet users to share their favorite websites with the public. Having a website added to a bookmark directory can increase traffic significantly. Bookmark chicklets are a newer creation that help remind those viewing a website to add it to the social bookmarking directories. It makes the bookmarking process easier for those who have found a website that is a good source of information or services. Another advantage of the tool is that the website description that goes into the bookmark is written into the script, allowing creators of the chicklet to choose how their website will be described in the directory. <br> <br> The tool is easy to use for even novice web designers. It can also be used to add chicklets to blogs. Creating the chicklets is instantaneous when using this tool. It is a free service available to anyone. For more information or to use the tool visit <a href="http://www.feedforall.com/social-bookmarks.htm" target="_blank" >http://www.feedforall.com/social-bookmarks.htm</a>. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v512 v512 Tue, 8 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 I'm curious why the <a href="http://www.sharewarestarterkit.com/" target="_blank" >Shareware Starter Kit</a> does not get more play. I would love to hear from developers that have used it and how effective it has been. <br> <br> <i>The Shareware Starter Kit (SSK) enables you to integrate important shareware management features into most .NET applications. By providing highly customizable source code for client and server components, the SSK can be tailored to meet your specific needs. </i> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v511 v511 Fri, 4 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/author-resource-newsletter69.html" target="_blank" >latest issue of SMR is on line</a>. This issue is a recap of the Shareware Industry Conference, it includes conference overview, session recaps and more. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v510 v510 Wed, 2 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400
Top 5 Tools For Generating Sales Leads
1. Free Trials -- Business software marketers ranked free trials extremely highly, with 54% calling trials very effective.

2. Webcast -- At 41% this was another favorite for software marketers, however technology services and related hardware firms also ranked webinars at 33% and 31% respectively.

3. White paper -- All business technology marketers rated white papers fairly evenly, giving white paper offers ratings ranging from 31-36% 'very effective.'

4. Blog -- 35% of software and ASP marketers rated their blog as very effective, as did 33% of technology services firms. However, just 19% of hardware companies felt that a corporate blog was effective. This may be because general business executives are more likely to read a blog, while IT staffers may not.

5. Podcast -- Last year the concept of a podcast was barely on the technology marketing map. By June 2006, 22% of software marketers who'd given a podcast called them 'very effective' lead generation tools. Perhaps IT professionals are more likely to be in an early adopter community that might listen to a podcast.

Review]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v509 v509 Wed, 2 Aug 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Most developers have children so I thought they would find this article helpful. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/keep-children-safe-online.htm" target="_blank" >Tips to Keeping Children Safe Online </a><br> <br> <i>There was once a time when you only had to worry about children when they were outside or not at home. Those times have changed. Strangers can now enter your home, without a key or coming through a door. How you may ask? These strangers enter your home using a keyboard. These strangers can befriend your children online. </i> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v508 v508 Tue, 1 Aug 2006 09:03:11 -0400 Agnitum a few years ago at ISDEF. This was an interesting article in the Register.

Recently introduced security measures by Microsoft will make it more difficult to integrate third-party security tools with Windows, according to a rival personal firewall firm.

Agnitum reckons that the introduction of Kernel Patch Protection by Microsoft will force independent security software vendors to adopt the same tactics as hackers in order to get their code to work.

Complete Article]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v507 v507 Sun, 30 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 According to the quarterly <a href="http://internet.seekingalpha.com/article/14512" target="_blank" >Digital River conference call transcript</a> eSellerate was purchased for 25 million dollars.<br> <br> <i>"As Joel noted, late in the second quarter, we acquired MindVision, Inc., the parent company of eSellerate, a provider of outsourced e-commerce services for $25 million in cash. There is no earn out under the agreement. The acquisition contributed approximately $270,000 of revenue to the second quarter. We expect the acquisition to be slightly dilutive to both GAAP and non-GAAP results in the third and fourth quarters but accretive in 2007."</i><br> <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v506 v506 Fri, 28 Jul 2006 10:41:48 -0400 Web analytics company OneStat.com <a href="http://www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressbox45-search-phrases.html" target="_blank" >released a report</a>that states more than 50 percent of searchers query 2 word and 3 word phrases. Four word phrases came in third at 17.11 percent and one word phrases came in a rather surprising fourth with only 11.43 percent.<br> <br> Really interesting information as many people optomize for only single keywords. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v505 v505 Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://www.isdef.org" target="_blank" >ISDEF</a> - The Independent Software Forum conference will be held in Moscow Russia on October 5 & 6th, 2006.&nbsp;&nbsp;A pre-conference event will be held in October 4th in Kiev, Ukraine.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.euroconference.org" target="_blank" >EWSC</a> - The European Shareware Conference will be held in Cambridge England on November 5 & 6th, 2006. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v504 v504 Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 SIA Award Winners have been announced.

Best Overall Utility
Beyond Compare by Scooter Software
TuneUp Utilities 2006 by TuneUp Software GmbH
WinRAR by WinRAR  
WinZip by WinZip Computing  Winner!!

Best Application
Boxer Text Editor by Boxer Software Winner!!
TextPad by Helios Software
UltraEdit by IDM Computer Solutions, Inc.

Best Graphics Program or Utility
Adobe PhotoShop by Adobe, Inc.
Corel Paint Shop Pro by Corel Corporation
IrfanView by Irfan Skiljan Winner!!

Best Desktop Enhancement
MaxiVista by Bartels Media - Info - Download
Microangelo Toolset by Eclipsit, Inc.  Winner!!
Window Blinds by Stardock - Info - Download

Best Photo Program or Utility
ACDSee Pro Photo Manager by ACD Systems
Life Poster Maker by Lincoln Beach Software  Winner!!
Picasa by Google
PMView Pro by Blueprint Software Works

Best Application Using .Net
Guitar and Drum Trainer by Renegade Minds Winner!!
IDAutomation Barcode Label Software by IDAutomation.com, Inc.  
InstallAware by InstallAware Software Corporation

Best Utility Using .Net
Doppler by Cindy De Smet and Erwin van Hunen
IDAutomation Barcode Image Generator by IDAutomation.com, Inc.  
ShareAlarmPro by NsaSoft Winner!!

Best Sound Program or Utility
Audio Record Wizard by NowSmart Studio
Blaze Media Pro by Mystik Media  Winner!!
D'Accord Personal Guitarist by D'Accord Music Software
Microsoft Media Player by Microsoft Corporation

Best Vertical Market Program or Utility
Auction Sentry by Auction-Sentry.Com
Tarma ExpertInstall by Tarma Software Research Winner!!
TextFromPDF by Salty Brine Software

Best Business Application or Utility
Contact Plus Professional by Contact Plus Corporation
Personal Knowbase by Bitsmith Software
PayWindow Payroll 2006 by ZPay Payroll Systems, Inc.
Microsoft OneNote by Microsoft Corporation  Winner!!

Best Educational Program or Game
AceReader Pro by Stepware, Inc.
Google Earth by Google  Winner!!
WinFlash Educator by Open Window Software

Best Hobby or Personal Interest
Everything I Own by Mycroft Computing
Remind-Me by Beiley Software  
Vacation Designer 2006 by Meliovation Winner!!

Best Internet Enhancement
FeedDemon by Bradbury Software  
FTP Voyager by RhinoSoft  Winner!!
Paessler Site Inspector by Paessler AG

Best Internet Communication
GroupMail by Infacta Ltd.
Trillian by Cerulean Studios  
PocoMail by Poco Systems
Yahoo Messenger by Yahoo  Winner!!

Best Web Enhancement
AI RoboForm by Siber Systems  
HTML Match by Salty Brine Software
Mozilla Firefox by The Mozilla Foundation  Winner!!

Best Non-Action Game
Pretty Good Solitaire by Goodsol  Winner!!
SudokuMeister by byteplant GmbH  
Sudoku Works by Oak Systems

Best Action/Arcade Game
Commando Xenidis by Magic Storm
Tomb Climber by Magic Storm
Unreal Tournament by Epic Games  Winner!!

Best Program for PDA's
Documents To Go by DataViz
Journal Bar by Omega One  
Spb Diary by Spb Software House  Winner!! ]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v503 v503 Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Peoples Choice Software Awards have been announced.

The winners are:

Best Overall Utility
WinRAR by win.rar GmbH

Best Application
Acronis True Image by Acronis, Inc.

Best Graphics Program or Utility
ACDSee Pro Photo Manager by ACDSee Systems International, Inc.

Best Sound Program or Utility
Microsoft Media Player by Microsoft Corporation

Best Vertical Market Program or Utility
WindowBlinds by Stardock Corporation

Best Bussiness Application or Utility
Adobe Acrobat Reader by Adobe Systems, Inc.

Best Educational Program or Game
Google Earth by Google, Inc.

Best Hobby or Personal Interest
Roboform by Siber Systems, Inc.

Best Internet Enhancement
GetRight by Headlight Software

Best Internet Communication
Skype by Skype Limited

Best Web Enhancement
ZoneAlarm Pro by Zone Labs

Best Non-Action Game
Bejeweled 2 by Astraware Limited

Best Program for PDA’s
FlexMail 2006 by Web Information Solutions, Inc.

CNET “Most Votes”
RealPlayer by Real Networks, Inc.

Simtel “Most Votes”
Registry Mechanic by PC Tools

Tucows “Most Votes”
Spyware Doctor by PC Tools

PC World “Most Votes”
Ad-Aware SE by Lavasoft Sweden]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v502 v502 Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 We are proud to announce that nominations for the Epsilon can now be submitted", says David Boventer, Founder and Executive Director of the European Shareware Conference e.V. ,,

There are many good and hard-working programmers in the software market, using the marketing  method of ShareWare that deserve extra support for what they do for all of us. So we believe that we should honor one of them each year within our annual European Shareware Conference. This honor will be
accompanied by actual material support to further the programmer`s  standing on the market.

The prizes will include a statue of recognition, 300 Euro and Press coverage of their product by a professional Press service. The Epsilon Award will mean the solemn entry into our hall of fame, which means a life-long free entry to future conferences of the ESWC e.V. and other benefits by sponsors which are gradually going to be announced.

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v501 v501 Mon, 24 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Credibility online is becoming more and more of an issue. Anyone can have a blog or post to a forum and anyone can edit wiki entries. Web surfers are beginning to comprehend that just because it is in print does not necessarily mean that it is true. In fact, in today's online world, the collective truth might be the closest thing we can get to the real truth. Peer policing and social bookmarking have become common in the online world. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/credibility-online.htm" target="blank">Take a Closer Look at Online Credibility</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v500 v500 Wed, 19 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 report:

Microsoft announced that nearly 1000 global independent software vendors (ISVs) will offer a range when the new operating system will be launched early next year. Among the group of ISVs are 15 of the top 25 software companies, the Redmond-based firm said at its Worldwide Partner Conference 2006 in Boston.

A handful of the applications under development for Vista are on display at http://www.seewindowsvista.com.

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v499 v499 Wed, 19 Jul 2006 07:02:34 -0400 I just posted the first round of <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/sic-2006-photos.htm" target="blank">photos from the SIC (Shareware Industry Conference)</a> . Over the next few days I will be getting caught up and providing details of the confernece.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v498 v498 Wed, 19 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Michael Lehman is inviting attendees at the <a href="http://www.sic.org">Shareware Industry Conferece</a> to be interviewed and posted to Channel 9.<br> <br> <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/mglehman/archive/2006/07/10/661577.aspx " target="blank">Additional Details</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v497 v497 Tue, 11 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Just about a year ago Sue Pichotta&nbsp;&nbsp;created <a href="http://www.aisip.com" target="blank">AISIP</a>, an organization for software developers and online marketers. The organization has blossomed into a dynamic group of developers, and Sue realizing she could not bring the organization to the next level made the decision to sell the AISIP to Michael and David Halls, founders of Emetrix and FileKicker. <br> <br> I've spoken with Sue regarding the sale and will be posting responses to an interview about the sale.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v496 v496 Fri, 7 Jul 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>Intraware, Inc, a leading provider of electronic software and license delivery and management solutions, announced today that it has signed a joint marketing agreement with Digital River, Inc., a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing. Through the marketing agreement, the companies are expanding their strategic business relationship to deliver integrated e-commerce services to enterprise software publishers. </i><a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_June_26/ai_n16498888" target="blank">full article</a><br> <br> This is interesting because I have never heard of Intraware in the space of electronic software and license delivery. I'm guessing they are aimed at enterprise delivery.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v495 v495 Thu, 6 Jul 2006 11:50:19 -0400 Software Marketing News has been posted. The latest issue includes:
Digital River Acquisition Editorial
User Group Opportunities
Various Marketing Articles
Microsoft Announcements
Tucows Contest Announcement
Web Applications
Tech Tools
Software Awards
Search Engine News

Read SMR News

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v494 v494 Thu, 6 Jul 2006 09:30:01 -0400 According to <a href="http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/14880572.htm" target="blank">TwinCities.com:</a><br> <br> <i>Digital River will receive $109,395 from a computer hacker who made fraudulent payments to bank accounts under his control after hacking into the company's computer server. The hacker, Larry McPhillips of College Park, Md., was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and must also pay $388,397 to Innuity Inc. of Redmond, Wash., from which he channeled similar fraudulent payments.</i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v493 493 Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 great write up:

When it comes to software companies, I’m all about the little guy. What these small publishers lack in capital and personnel they more than make up with energy and innovation. They just seem to try harder.

This week’s spotlight publisher, Lincoln Beach Software, is extra special because it hails from the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin. The company boasts an impressive roster of 21 software tools, divided into two categories: Webmaster solutions and desktop solutions.
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v492 v492 Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Well Microsoft just scored some major points with their announcement of their new <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-20MSRoboticsStudioPR.mspx" target="blank">Robotics Studio</a> with my young son. He recently won the Grand Prize at the Middle School Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair. His project was a robotic arm that he interfaced into the parallel port of a computer and he wrote a software application in Delphi to control the arms movement. <br> <br> I'll post his impressions of Microsoft's Robotics Studio in the next few days! <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v491 v491 Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Shareware Industry Conference. Rooms are filling up and the conference is shaping up great. The sessions include everything from Search Engine Optimization tips to the FBI and Online Fraud (click on the descriptions in the schedule to see the session details).

Protexis is sponsoring a welcome reception on the top floor that promises good company and great views. Digital River is hosting Thursday night and while the mechanical bull is taking the year off I'm sure they have something fun planned!
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v490 v490 Tue, 20 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 I found this <a href="http://www.pad-service.com/pad-service.html" target="blank">Pad Service</a> yet I am *really* struggling to see the value. Why pay $ 19.95 when you can do this for <a href="http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/" target="blank">FREE</a>? I must be missing something.... <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v489 v489 Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Microsoft has announced a summer release for <br> their commercial public beta. This release is only a few weeks away.<br> <br> Developers interested in listing their products in the Digital Locker can use <a href="http://www.esellerate.net/digitallocker/" target="blank">eSellerate</a> (DR)<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v488 v488 Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Tucows Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Mailbank.com Inc. (doing business as NetIdentity), a privately held, profitable business owning and managing a domain name portfolio that Tucows believes is one of the Internet's largest collections of surname addresses.

Consideration for the transaction will be approximately US$18 million payable in cash, promissory notes and the issue of approximately 3,603,000 shares of common stock to the stockholders of NetIdentity. Tucows expects this acquisition to add between US$3 and $4 million in cash flow in 2007. Tucows now expects cash flow from operations to be in the range of US$7-8 million for 2006 and US$10-12 million for 2007.

Complete Article]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v487 v487 Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 In the list of questions I forwarded to Brant some of those questions were for Steve Kiene. While I am still hopeful Steve will personally respond to those queries I was forwarded a copy of the following blog post:<br> <br> <i>Yes, it is true that I said I would never sell to DR. In fact, I was quite adamant when I said that. What has changed since I said that are many things. What has not changed is my loyalty to my employees or the customers of esellerate. I have always tried to provide the best environment I could for my employees- a place where they could feel at home, where they could make a different, where they had a vested interest in the success of the team, where they could make good money, and finally, a place where they could grow.</i><br> <br> <a href="http://stevekiene.blogspot.com/2006/06/yes-i-sold-mindvision-esellerate-to.html" target="blank">Read the Complete Post</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v486 v486 Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:08:21 -0400
Questions presented to Brant Pallazza of Digital River's Shareware division

Q: Did Digital River acquire eSellerate?
A: Yes.


Q: Why wasn't it announced?
A: The only announcement to date (other than this post) has been to eSellerate clients.  They are our first and foremost obligation.  The reason that no public release has been done is several reasons; First, the acquisition of eSellerate, although extremely important to DR, eSellerate and the Shareware community, is not considered to be a material event.  This determination is based on SEC guidelines relevant to acquisitions and their relevant size when compared to the acquirer.
Second, as a public company, DR's fiscal quarter ends on June 30.
Typically, we observe a self-imposed quiet period.  This means that, although we may release various information, we try not to release non-material information that might cause unnecessary confusion or questions.

Q: How much did DR pay for eSellerate?
A:  I cannot disclose the purchase price.  Additional information will be made available at our earnings call.  In the meantime, questions may be sent to our investor relations department.  A request form can be submitted from the "Contact" link at www.digitalriver.com   

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v485 v485 Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:04:43 -0400 Well apparently the adage "everyone has a price" is shown to be true again. It appears that eSellerate (Mindvision and makers of install VISE) have sold to Digital River. <br> <br> I don't yet know the price, and it doesn't appear that DR has made a public announcement, but I do have to say I'm surprised. Steve Kiene (the former owner of eSellerate) was pretty adamant that he would not ever sell to Digital River, it will be interesting to hear the details of the offer.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v484 484 Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:47:47 -0400 Microsoft on Tuesday announced it would donate a computer software package that includes advanced software-writing and Web-building technology to every public high school and college in the state.

The donation is worth roughly $800 per high school student and $2,400 per college student, according to Microsoft New England general manager Ted MacLean. It could be worth as much as $30 million, depending on participation of the state's 300,000 high school students and 125,000 college students.

Complete Article
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v483 v483 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Threadwatch Reported - Dotster named in massive cybersquatting suit.

A new federal lawsuit charges that Dotster, one of the largest domain name registrars, has unlawfully participated in a massive cybersquatting campaign targeting companies such as Cingular Wireless, Disney, Ikea, Google, Neiman Marcus, Playboy and Verizon.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by high-end retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, alleges that Dotster abused its status as a registrar by "checking out" hundreds of domain names that closely resemble the correct ones--and then keeping only the ones that were visited by Web users who couldn't spell very well. ]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v482 v482 Mon, 12 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Have a Mac game related file you'd like <a href="http://www.macgamefiles.com" target="blank">Macgamefiles.com</a> to host? Macgamefiles.com is now offering free Mac game hosting for shareware, freeware developers. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v481 v481 Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400
There is little argument from webmasters and publishers that RSS brings in traffic. So once you've made the leap and created a feed, how do you tell your visitors about the feed?

Publicize RSS Feeds
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v480 v480 Wed, 7 Jun 2006 09:06:34 -0400 PayPal this weekend plans to unveil a community site that targets developers who integrate the online payment service into third-party Web sites.

PayPal plans to launch the new developer community at the EBay Developers Conference this weekend in Las Vegas, Nev., Tim Villanueva, general manager of the PayPal Platform, said Monday.

Paypal Developer Interface
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v479 v479 Wed, 7 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The software development division Apple Computer opened this April in India is already closing down. According to The Times of India, Apple told the employees in its Apple Services India Pvt Ltd. office that it was laying everyone off as a part of a pull back of its India operations.

The division, which handled software development and support, was only about a month old.

Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling commented "We have re-evaluated our plans and have decided to put our planned support center growth in other countries."
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v478 v478 Tue, 6 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Chris Thornton of <a href="http://www.thornsoft.com/" target="blank">Thornsoft</a> added some great text to his recent <a href="http://www.clipmate.com" target="blank">ClipMate</a> newsletter reminding users about his licensing policy. It was done in a tactful, gentle way and might result in some additional sales:<br> <br> <i>While ClipMate's single-user license allows you to run the same license on up to two computers, sometimes your needs grow. Our "Household Pack" allows home users to run ClipMate on up to 5 computers. We also have multi-user discounts for workgroups and businesses of any size.&nbsp;&nbsp;</i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v477 v477 Mon, 5 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://nick.typepad.com/blog/2006/06/how_microsoft_c.html" target="blank">Nick Bradbury</a> eloquently points out another downside to Webware:<br> <br> <i>"Upon reflection, it could be argued that right now Microsoft already has the upper hand here since user data in Windows is stored on the local computer rather than on the web (where governments can access it en masse)."</i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v476 v476 Mon, 5 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 This is an organization I had not heard of - <a href="http://www.russoft.com" target="blank">Russoft Association</a> is the nation wide association of the most technically competent software developing companies from Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine. <br> <br> I wonder if they have any relationship with <a href="http://www.isdef.org/" target="blank">ISDEF</a> perhaps there is a potential for synergy between the two organizations. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v475 v475 Mon, 5 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Software Marketing News. This issue covers:

New Technology
Information on Educational Software Cooperative
European Union Update
Code Signing
What to Expect at SIC
Software Business Mag Awards
What is Fair Use
Social Networking for Business
Search Engine Optimization Tips
Websites Worth a Look
Search Engine News

Software Marketing News
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v474 v474 Fri, 2 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400 In 1983, PC World's founders had a brainstorm: Why not create an honor roll of terrific products in an array of categories? The winners span&nbsp;&nbsp;both print and online tools and services.<br> <br> <a href="http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125706,pg,14,00.asp" target="blank">PC World's Top 100 Products for 2006</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v473 v473 Fri, 2 Jun 2006 09:00:00 -0400
According to the company, Digital River's expanded self-service tool set delivers significant new functionality through an easy-to-use client interface. To more than 40 existing tools for managing e-commerce site content, catalogs and campaigns, the company has added:

- StoreBuilder - to provide merchants significant flexibility and control over the design of their online stores;

- Site Optimizer - to help merchants optimize e-commerce sales through A/B testing of pricing, promotional content, bundles, discounts, site flows, and more;

- Powerful new product set-up and listing tools - to make it easier and faster for merchants to set up and maintain products in their online stores;

- Merchandising Offer Preview - to provide a convenient online test environment where promotional offers easily can be checked and edited before they are launched on e-commerce sites;

- New reporting tools and reports - to provide online merchants greater visibility into how their e-commerce channel is performing and more flexibility in defining and scheduling custom reports; and

- More help desk and training support - to quickly address questions and provide in-depth user education.

DR Expands Services


]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v472 v472 Tue, 30 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Not only do you have just a few seconds to grab the attention of the web visitor, content developers must perform well within search engine searches so they are "found"when web surfers search on related keywords or phrases. In order to perform well, a website must have traffic. Decent traffic will result if a website ranks well in search engines, that is why strong placement in search engines for critical keywords and phrases is essential. <br> <br> When struggling with search engine optimization just go back to the basics. What do search engines want? Search engines want to return search results, that are relevant and useful to the searcher. Webmasters can help search engines discern what keywords or phrases their site relates to.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/search-engine-tips.htm" target="blank">SEO Tips</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v471 v471 Tue, 30 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400
The world's six billion people can be divided into two groups: group one, who know why every good software company ships products with known bugs; and group two, who don't. Those in group 1 tend to forget what life was like before our youthful optimism was spoiled by reality. Sometimes we encounter a person in group two, a new hire on the team or a customer, who is shocked that any software company would ship a product before every last bug is fixed.

Buggy Code
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v470 v470 Mon, 29 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The computer software industry is making modest progress in its efforts to encourage computer users in China, Russia and other developing economies to pay for their software rather than copying it illegally, according to a report published Tuesday.

The report, published by the Business Software Alliance, a trade group, said the rate of pirated software in those two countries fell four percentage points last year to 86 percent in China and to 83 percent in Russia.

Piracy Falls
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v469 v469 Mon, 29 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://www.mi6conference.com" target="blank">MI6: Game Marketing Conference</a> scheduled June 27-28, 2006 in San Francisco, California. <br> <br> The conference includes special sessions specifically for Game Developers to learn about marketing to publishers! MI6 is the premier conference for marketing, promotion and <br> design professionals in the gaming and interactive media. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v468 v468 Sun, 28 May 2006 12:29:28 -0400 The 2006 Mass Technology Leadership Awards program spotlights the companies, the people, and the technologies that exemplify the best in the Massachusetts technology community.&nbsp;&nbsp;The program builds upon the traditions of both the Massachusetts Software Council and NEBATA, of recognizing outstanding achievement in innovative development and application of information technology.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> <br> The deadline is May 24, so <a href="http://masstlc.org/eve/2006MassTechnologyLeadershipAwards.aspx" target="blank">nominate now</a>! <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v467 v467 Tue, 23 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 NewsForge:

I was told recently that Air Force bases in the San Antonio, Texas, area are blocking one or more of our sister OSTG sites, like SourceForge.net, Slashdot.org, or Freshmeat.net. After finding reports via Google of commercial mail services and liberal news sites being blocked by various components of the Department of Defense, I decided to go straight to the horse's mouth for the story. Here's what I learned.

The bottom line, courtesy of Air Force spokesperson Captain David W. Small, is that the Air Force does "block Web sites to restrict use of the Web to official business and in accordance with specific guidance in AFIs." An AFI is an Air Force Instruction, basically policy or guideline from the Air Force that must be followed.

I guess SlashDot is like pornography for geeks ;-)
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v466 v466 Sun, 21 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 this article:

"Oldversion.com, the evil-twin of sites such as VersionTracker.com or BetaNews.com. Where the latter two specialize in providing the latest, greatest versions of the programs we use on our PCs, Oldversion.com focuses on -- well -- old versions."

"You won't find copyrighted programs like Word or Excel, but you will find a plethora of outdated freeware, shareware and other titles."

What the heck are they talking about?
1. Shareware is copyrighted.
2. The site is down, hmmm, do you think they were illegally giving away free copies of old versions?
3. Why would a reputable media company, Detroit News endorse illegal file sharing?
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v465 v465 Mon, 22 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400
A Belgian company has refiled a lawsuit over search terms offered by Google's toolbar that it claims directs users to pirated software.

The suit, originally filed in February, was refiled Wednesday by ServersCheck BVBA, a small company that makes network monitoring software, over Google's "Suggest" feature, included in the latest version of its search toolbar for Web browsers. When a user types in keywords for a search, the toolbar shows a drop-down menu of guesses related to those words.

If ServersCheck is entered, Google generates suggested search terms such as "serverscheck crack," "serverscheck pro crack," and "serverscheck keygen," which lead to pirated software, said Maarten Van Laere, chief executive officer of ServersCheck.

Complete Article
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v464 v464 Sat, 20 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Yahoo A new <a href="http://forum.codecall.net/" target="blank">forum for developers</a> is available. Discussions cover everything from development languages to software marketing.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v463 v463 Fri, 19 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 CodePlex is not the name for a new wing of the ever-expanding Microsoft campus headquarters. Instead, it is Microsoft's newest code-repository site, aimed especially at shared- and open-source programmers. The <a href="http://www.codeplex.com/" target="blank">CodePlex</a> site opened yesterday and is worth the look if you are into coding. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v462 v462 Thu, 18 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 RSS Specifications Blog:

A reader pointed out something interesting regarding Google Trends.  Take a look at the following 3 trends:

Trend 1
Trend 2
Trend 3

Hmmm. All of them are for the same thing RSS, Podcasting,  Wiki and Blogs. The only difference is the order of the terms. I guess something is broken.
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v461 v461 Tue, 16 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Encourage your customers to vote for their favorite software. <a href="http://marketing.pcworld.com/peopleschoiceaward/" target="blank">People's Choice</a> voting has started on the popular download sites.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v460 v460 Mon, 15 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>Eric McCarty, a 25-year-old San Diego resident, in April was charged with hacking into the University of Southern California's computer system and accessing confidential information submitted by students applying to the school. The case, in which McCarty claims he was simply trying to warn USC of possible security flaws in its Web site, will likely be a watershed event in the area of security research, particularly if McCarty is convicted to the full extent of the law and forced to serve 10 years in a federal prison. </i><br> <br> Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=187201428" target="blank">Complete Article</a><br> <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v459 v459 Mon, 15 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>The UAE is to step up its crackdown on software piracy by strengthening its ties with the Business Software Alliance. The UAE is the only Arab country in the list of 20 global nations with the lowest rates of piracy. UAE authorities intend to organise more awareness campaigns to create a better understanding of the detrimental impact of software piracy and to rigorously enforce intellectual property laws and copyright laws.</i><br> <br> <br> AND <br> <br> <i>The SIIA is launching a campaign to target fraudsters selling software illegally on eBay. </i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v458 v458 Mon, 15 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The nominees of the best of the best Shareware Industry Awards has been announced.&nbsp;&nbsp;Congrats to all the winners!<br> <br> <a href="http://www.sic.org/2006nominees.asp" target="blank">SIA Nominees</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v457 v457 Fri, 12 May 2006 09:17:15 -0400 Associations and trade organizations are great places to meet individuals. Usually organizations have a common theme, and it is an understood implication that all members participate to improve themselves and their businesses. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/networking-for-business.htm" target="blank">Networking for Business</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v456 v456 Wed, 10 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 lessons learned about software marketing. She met with some folks at Microsoft and attended Digital River's semi-annual Summit.  #3 and #4 are of particular interest:

#3. Affiliate marketing: Only half the software marketers I met at the show had an active affiliate program. Of those, a handful ran highly sophisticated campaigns with a dedicated manager. Bear in mind the typical online sales for these software and reseller firms was $100 million a year, and you'll see how different (behind?) this space is compared to other ecommerce.   

#4. Rev Share vs. CPA: Software marketers tend to like to structure marketing partnerships on a rev share basis. However, although most online media (including affiliates) like CPA deals, rev share confuses them. Can you say culture clash? Joe Raffetto, a top affiliate I met at the show, recommends that both sides modify their stances.

Software marketers should pay flat CPC or CPA for upfront traffic and then perhaps offer an additional minimal (albeit enticing) bounty for each ecommerce conversion on the back end. That way, partners are eventually trained to begin sending you the clicks that convert better.

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v455 v455 Tue, 9 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 I was chatting with someone recently and learned about a new generation of online fraud. Basically fraudsters are stealing credit card numbers (no big surprise there) and bidding heavily on Google Adwords. They don't care about the cost per click because they don't pay the bill. So how are they earning money? <br> They are profiting from affiliate programs. The traffic is legitimate traffic (and it is "free" to them). They are making real sales and affiliates are paying them. <br> <br> This type of fraud is very difficult to track or combat. Many online marketers have recently remarked that they have seen keyword prices increasing and this might be why....<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v454 v454 Tue, 9 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400
They put filtering in place so that if you send more than 100 messages in an hour, or 500 messages in a 24 hour period, they block your IP from sending ANY email.

Needless to say after troubleshooting the problem and  intermittent sending capabilities we were able to trace the problem to Adelphia. Now for the customer service lesson:

1. Tell your support department, when you implement changes so that when customers call the support department doesn't tell them they are full of crap. Simple situation where the left hand should know what the right hand is doing.

2. Prior to changing the service you provide contact your customers, and up sell them. It is a much easier sell, than if you first cause them a business disruption.

3. Hire technical staff that understand the technology they are supporting. Tech staff reading from prescribed text are useless.
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v453 v453 Mon, 8 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Software Marketing News. The latest issue contains information about:

Tucows Chat
The Tipping Point and Malcolm Gladwell
The Long Tail
Google Juice
Web Awards
Advertising Opportunities
Shareware Industry Awards
Shareware Industry Conference
Statistical Information
Google Ads
Alexa, Microsoft and Google
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v452 v452 Fri, 5 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 While any of that information independent of other data, might be non-threatening or irrelevant to someone doing analysis, when combined with other data Google has access to, it can paint a very clear picture of how, not only individual companies are performing, but the aggregate data could possibly paint a picture of how entire business sectors or industries are performing. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/google-paranoia.htm" target="blank">Google Paranoia</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v451 v451 Wed, 3 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400
He owns a multimillion-dollar com-pany, but his customers have no idea what he looks like. Most have never heard his voice. He employs people around the world, but even they have never met him.

Complete Article
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v450 v450 Tue, 2 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Google Inc. on Thursday launched a free version of the 3D modeling software the search engine acquired last month. <br> <br> <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/" target="blank">Google SketchUp</a>, which is free for personal use, includes simple tools for creating 3D models of a variety of items, including houses, sheds, decks, home additions and woodworking projects. The software comes with a plug in for Google Earth, so items can be posted on the service, which provides satellite views of geographical locations. <br> <br> <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v449 v449 Mon, 1 May 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Chris Hoffman from Mystik Media has started a multi-media specific download site <a href="http://www.audio-video-tools.com" target="blank">http://www.audio-video-tools.com.</a><br>It is a niche multimedia software download site. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v448 v448 Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400
As a result of all I learned I'm working on a really great issue for May's Software Marketing Newsletter! If you don't currently subscribe I would encourage you to do so or simply grab the feed.

Here is one of the tips I learned. According to Matt Cutts, Google Guru, do not use underscores in urls, use hyphens. Hyphens that separate keywords in the url will be looked upon favorably by search engines. Underscores will not distinguish separate words.

Example:
BAD for SEO  - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/software_marketing.htm  

GOOD for SEO - http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/software-marketing.htm

As with any optimization don't be excessive
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v447 v447 Wed, 26 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Anti-Google sentiment is on the rise. Web pundits have tossed around monopoly theories and privacy advocates have warned of a day of reckoning. While Google has made friends on Wallstreet, it has disappointed the technical evangelists who were once its fiercest followers. Google has grown into a big scary company and web watchers are expressing their concerns about the information Google gleans from their various services. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/google-analytics.htm" target="blank">Is Google Big Brother?</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v446 v446 Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 An Oregon man will pay nearly $84,000 in fines and consumer restitution for using e-mail to market bogus anti-spyware software called Spyware Cleaner, Washington state officials said in announcing a settlement.

State Attorney General Rob McKenna said the penalties are the first under an anti-spyware law the Legislature passed last year.

"We will not tolerate those who try to profit by preying on consumers' fears of spyware and other malware,"

Spyware Lawsuit
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v445 v445 Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Apple announced an expansion of its recycling program, offering free computer take-back and recycling with the purchase of a new Macintosh system beginning in June.<br> <br> US customers who buy a new Mac through the Apple Store or Apple's retail stores will receive free shipping and environmentally friendly disposal of their old computer as part of the Apple Recycling program. <br> <br> Apple's free take-back program will extend Apple's existing US recycling program, which has recycled more than 90 percent of electronic equipment collected since 2001.<br> <br> <a href="http://apple.com/environment" target="blank">More on Apple</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v444 v444 Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:18:30 -0400 Distributing a press release to editors and news organizations is only half the battle. Writing a press release that will be published by the media is equally important. Press releases are public relations opportunities. A well written press release, can generate exposure in publications that could be worth thousands in advertising dollars, for a fraction of the cost. <br> <br> <a href="http://www.small-business-software.net/writing-pr.htm" target="blank">Critical Elements to a Good Press Release</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v443 v443 Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 There's some evidence suggesting the tax-free ride on Internet purchases maybe coming to an end. Tax authorities in the United States are taking a closer look at iTunes, which are considered <i>software downloads</i>.<br> <br> But the burden falls to the purchaser not the seller. Purchasers are going to be required to pay the little used "Use" tax.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v442 v442 Sun, 16 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>A team of three students from Russia proved their brainy prowess Wednesday, winning an academic competition in which they had just five hours to solve perplexing computing puzzles such as how to connect gears of a clock when given a specific shaft speed.</i><br> <i></i><br> <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12290688/" target="blank">Russian Programmers Win</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v441 v441 Fri, 14 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 That time has come! Submit your products for the Shareware Spotlight. The Spotlight highlights programs eligible for awards. Nominees will often review the list prior to submitting their nominations. Draw attention to your program by submitting it to the spotlight. <br> <a href="http://www.sic.org/submit.asp" target="blank">http://www.sic.org/submit.asp </a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v440 v440 Tue, 11 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 The IGDA posted an overview of the <a href="http://www.igda.org/blogs/realitypanic/archives/001191.html" target="blank">recent Game Developer Conference</a> along with a group of photos. The robot wars look pretty cool!<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v439 v439 Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Ok its at least electronics - <br> <br> <i>Digital River Inc., a provider of e-commerce outsourcing services, said Tuesday it signed an e-commerce agreement with Fisher-Price to manage the online sale and download of children's songs and stories for Fisher-Prices' new Kid Tough FP3Player.</i><br> <br> <a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/3769941.html" target="blank">Entire Article</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v438 v438 Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Corel has just disclosed the annual revenues of WinZip and Paint Shop Pro. Tom Warfield has an illuminating overview on his <a href="http://www.asharewarelife.com/2006/04/winzip_and_jasc.html" target="blank">blog</a>. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v437 v437 Fri, 7 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400 This month's <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/author-resource-newsletter65.html">software marketing news</a> has been posted! This issue contains all sorts of information related to software awards, new technology, developer advice and a lot of other information related to online marketing. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v436 v436 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 09:00:00 -0400
All,

As you may or may not recall, last year I standardized ALL
award-related dates. You can mark these on your calendar or put them in your PIM.  Should there ever be any changes, they will be posted here.

Voter Registration for participation in the Shareware Industry Awards voting begins on April 1st and ends on April 30th.  

NOTE: Once you register you do NOT have to register again unless you do not participate for two (2) years. After 2 years of inactivity you are automatically deleted from the database. So, if you've participated in the last two years please don't register again. There will be links to the voter registarion on the SIAF Web page, and also on Tucows and Simtel in their author areas.

Software submissions on the SIAF Web site at http://www.sic.org will also begin on April 1st and will end on April 30th. Once again, this is provided as a courtesy to developers. A program does NOT have to be submitted in order to be nominated.

PLEASE make sure that "siaf.org" is allowed in any SPAM filter you may be using. Emails pertaining to voting will NOT be resent if they are blocked or lost in transit.

Nominations for the Shareware Industry Awards will begin on May 1st. In order to be considered for the awards, your product must be released by May 1st! Nominations will end at 12:00 Noon MDT on May 8th! You must nominate in order to vote. Those who have registered to vote will be notified by email when the nominations begin. Nominees will be announced by May 10th.

Those who participate are asked to look at all nominated programs prior to the commencement of voting.

Shareware Industry Awards voting will be from May 24th through 12:00 Noon Mountain Daylight Time on May 31st.

SIAF People's Choice Awards voting begins on May 1st and  and ends at 12:00 Noon Mountain Daylight Time on May. 31st.

The winners will be announced at the annual Shareware Industry Awards Banquet.  

Remember that IF you are nominated you will need to fill out a form on the SIAF Web site as ALL awards will be shipped direct beginning this year.

Please make a note of these dates.
Put them in your scheduler, put them on your wall,
Put them on the ceiling, put them in the hall.
Putthem in your kitchen where everyone can see,
Put them on your elbow, or put them on your knee.
Put them up with staples, put them up with glue,
Put them up with thumb tacks, most anything will do.
Put them up securely, make sure they don't come loose,
For I won't write another note that sounds like Dr. Seuss. :-)

                   Sincerely......

                Michael E. Callahan
              aka Dr. File Finder (tm)
Shareware Industry Awards Foundation - Chairman
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v435 v435 Thu, 30 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <i>In his speech Kasparov called the new search engine technology a modern-day "hitchhiker's guide to cyberspace" and likened </i><a href="http://www.accoona.com" target="blank">Accoona's</a><i> flexible AI approach to Willi Wonka's magic elevator that defies the laws of space and time.</i><br> <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v434 v434 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 According to <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2006/tc20060324_251660.htm?chan=technology_technology%2Bindex%2Bpage_more%2Bof%2Btoday%27s%2Btop%2Bstories" target="blank">this article</a> Google's venture into print ads has been a failure.<br> <br> <i>In February, Google auctioned off ad space it had purchased in about two dozen magazines, from Martha Stewart Living to Road & Track. The auction -- the latest twist in a six-month experiment with buying and reselling print ads -- was open to thousands of advertisers. However, Google was forced to extend the auction by several days to lure more buyers.</i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v433 v433 Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Claria, formerly known as Gator, plans to sell its pop-up advertising business by June, as it seeks credibility among online publishers and privacy watchdogs. <br> <br> <a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-6052623.html?part=rss&tag=6052623&subj=news" target="blank">Full Article</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v432 v432 Tue, 28 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400
An employee of Cognitive Technologies computer company has beaten a man who was selling the company’s software illegally.

Manager of the company’s software department, Andrei Smirnov, offered to fight the dealer in a fitness center. He defeated the computer pirate 24-16 in three rounds, lasting three minutes each. The dealer’s name was not revealed, News.Ru web edition on high technologies reported on Thursday.

Complete Article

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v431 v431 Sun, 26 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400
Digital River Inc., a Web development, hosting and consulting company, said in a document filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on Wednesday that it is facing a patent infringement claim filed by DDR Holdings, a patent holding company based in Dunwoody, Ga.

The disputed patents relate to e-commerce outsourcing systems and methods.

I wonder which property or properties this relates to and am curious to know why other e-commerce companies are not affected.

Complete Article
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v430 v430 Thu, 23 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 In an effort to better serve website visitors we will be removing adsense ads from the web pages. A single 468X60 box (text or graphic) will be sold on each of the directory pages. <br> <br> Prices are very affordable and only a single slot will be available on each page. Ads are first come first serve! <br> <br> <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/advertising.htm" target="blank">Purchase Targeted Ad Space on SMR </a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v429 v429 Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Reminder! If you are planning on attending this year's <a href="http://www.sic.org">Shareware Industry Conference</a> register prior to April 1, 2006 to receive the discounted rate! (Only $ 129.00!)<br> <br> The Shareware Industry Conference (SIC) is the premier industry event for software developers and industry professionals, with educational sessions and networking opportunities. The conferences is concluded with the Shareware Industry Awards.<br> <br> Where: Denver, Colorado US<br> When: July 13-15, 2006<br> Who: All software industry professionals from Micro-ISVs to corporate project managers.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v428 v428 Wed, 22 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Both Shel Israel and Robert Scoble recently blogged about how to get the attention of A-List bloggers. <a href="http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2006/03/about_pr_blogge.html" target="blank">Shel covered PR pitching</a> in an entire blog post.<br> <br> Consider this, the whole reason developer's want the attention of the A-List bloggers is the reason that its now nearly impossible to get. With the growing popularity of blogs, its now an attractive PR vehicle, but with popularity comes competition. <br> <br> So how about starting small. Gain the attention of blogs that the A-Listers read! They often provide an OPML subscription to the blogs they read, and they often write about blogs they read. Attracting the attention of a B-List blogger might be a whole lot easier, and after-all if the&nbsp;&nbsp;actual PR is newsworthy the A-Listers might pick it up. http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v427 v427 Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 A new <a href="http://www.feedforall.com/scripts-directory.htm" target="blank">RSS Scripts Directory</a> has been launched. The RSS Scripts Directory contains helpful scripts for managing, manipulating and converting RSS feeds. The intent of the the RSS Scripts Directory is to help users fully realize the potential and functionality of the RSS specification. <br> <br> NotePage's FeedForAll division has developed a collection of tools to assist publishers interested in syndication. Current scripts contained in the directory include RSS Cache, FutureRSS, and RSSmesh. The RSS Cache script module expedites the retrieval and conversion of RSS feeds into html web pages. The FutureRSS script enables webmasters to prepare content for their RSS feeds in advance, and have it automatically appear at the desired date and time. The RSSmesh script allows for multiple RSS feeds to be merged into a single RSS feed. All of the scripts dynamically manipulate the RSS feeds, so all management occurs in realtime. <br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v426 v426 Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 What are the ICE Awards?
Once a year, Digital River formally recognizes its clients for their Internet Commerce Excellence - a.k.a. ICE Awards. The awards showcase small and large companies alike - savvy companies that are putting global e-commerce best practices to work in creative new ways to drive revenues and efficiencies through their online stores. If you have an e-commerce strategy or campaign that generated compelling results, you could be one of Digital River's next ICE Awards winners.

How does the program work?
Digital River's ICE Awards recognize clients in eight categories, including:

Best Product Launch Best Performing Promotion
Best Strategic E-Marketing Performance Best Performance by an Online Retailer
Best International
E-Commerce Strategy Best Network Sales Performance
Rookie-of-the-Year Highest Online Sales Growth

Judges will select up to two ICE Awards winners for many of the categories and recognize them at one of the DR Spring Global Network Sales Summits.

]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v425 v425 Wed, 15 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Bill apparently doesn't want an apprentice according to <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/danielfe/archive/2006/03/13/550964.aspx" target="blank">Dan Fernandez</a> isn't interested in creating an American Idol, so they have come up with a different type contest.<br> <br> The cool thing about this contest is that it is conceptual! $ 10,000 for an IDEA! <br> <br> The <a href="http://www.madeinexpress.com/" target="blank">Made In Express Contest</a> is a conceptual concept where others share ideas about a cool thing they would like to see&nbsp;&nbsp;built using Visual Studio Express and/or SQL Server Express.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v424 v424 Wed, 15 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 AdSense allows website publishers to display contextually relevant advertisements on their website. If a web visitor "clicks" on an advertisement, the web publisher will earn a percentage of the advertising revenue generated as a result of the click. Many webmasters have built content websites around the Google AdSense model. In many cases the specific intent of the webmaster is to profit from Google AdSense.<br> <br> Other webmasters use Google AdSense to supplement their revenue. Regardless of the webmaster's intent, the following tips will help webmasters looking to profit from AdSense.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/adsense-tips.htm " target="blank">AdSense Tips</a><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v423 v423 Wed, 15 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 I located a new <a href="http://www.security-port.com" target="blank">security portal</a> that shows some promise. There is a daily <a href="http://www.security-port.com/blog.htm" target="blank">security blog</a> that contains good information and filters a lot of the less relevant security news.<br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v422 v422 Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Several Web sites selling made-to-order Trojan horses to hackers have been shut down, the two cooperating security companies who led the investigation said Wednesday.
U.S.-based RSA Security and Spain's Panda Software collaborated in the effort to identify, locate, and shutter five sites. Three were marketing la carte Trojans for launching targeted identity theft attacks against users of specific financial institutions, while two were sites where the buyers

Complete Article
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v421 v421 Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 A Personal Perspective on the Responsibilities of a Cancer-surviving Software Developer" while the article focuses on dealing with Cancer the information can easily be applied to other illnesses.

There are a lot of small development firms that rely on a handful of key employees, and its worth looking at processes.

The article raises come great points:

- Make certain that source code is where it should be.
- Clearly document anything "strange" in the source code you deliver.
- Make certain you have a "buddy" developer who knows what you are doing.


]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v420 v420 Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 <a href="http://www.dailyindia.com" target="blank">DailyIndia</a> posted an article endorsing shareware marketing from CoreDownload.<br> <br> <i>Actually, shareware is an ethical solution for both vendor and buyer; the buyer is not constrained to believe product’s presentation. What he gets is the software program instead of its brilliant description and even more: he can try out all the different products of a certain kind and find which one he likes best. The vendor enjoys the direct contact with users and opportunities to develop continuously his ideas, projects and plans considering customers feedback.</i><br> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v419 v419 Fri, 10 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400 Robert Scoble, an A-List blogger linked to SMR yesterday. What does that mean? In one word traffic! Not huge traffic but enough that you see a noticeable difference.

Robert has been following Memeorandum and found that he missed the information on the smaller blogs (like SMR) :-)

Hey Robert, in the off chance that you are reading this, I have another blog you will appreciate an RSS Blog or grab the feed.

You have stayed out of the RSS Board foray and I'd love to hear what *you* think.
]]> http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v418 v418 Tue, 7 Mar 2006 09:00:00 -0400