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San Francisco, CA – Terry Childs, 43, is in jail.  It seems that his employer upset him enough for him to cause a little problem on the job.

Did I forget to mention that Childs works (worked?) for the City of San Francisco as an IT Network Administrator?  Because yeah, he does/did.  It seems that after being disciplined on the job for lackluster performance, Childs felt the need to prove that he had mad skillz and proceeded  to set up a master password for the city’s FiberWAN (Wide Area Network) that only he has access to.

According to a press conference with San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris,  Terry Childs stands charged with four felony counts including improper tampering with computer systems as well as causing a denial of service that locks city admins out of the network.

After refusing to give up his own master password and reportedly giving police several fakes, he is being held on a $5 Million bond.  The network is still operational, but concern has been expressed as this network contains sensitive data ranging from confidential official email communications to police records and city employee payroll records.

It is estimated that the damage could end up costing the city millions of dollars, though the extent of the problem has yet to be revealed.

The lesson to be learned here?  Always stay on the good side of your company’s IT people.

A U.S. District Court Judge has ruled in favor of online auction site Ebay in a case brought about by jewelry retailer Tiffany in 2004.

In the suit, Tiffany claimed that Ebay was aware of and should be held responsible for site members who are selling counterfeit goods on the popular online auction web site, and that they were guilty of copyright infringement as a result.

In a comment, an Ebay representative was quoted as saying that it was a shame that Tiffany spent so much time and money on this court case when they could have been working with them to come up with a more productive resolution to the problem of counterfeit goods being sold online.

While Judge Richard Sullivan’s ruling does protect e-commerce retailers like Ebay and Amazon, it is largely seen as a victory for online consumers.

The power of the blogger is being realized and capitalized upon by companies big and small and tThe latest to jump on the bandwagon is one of the most recognizable household names in the United States.

One of Procter & Gamble’s most well known products is responsible for bringing as many as fifteen mommy bloggers to their headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio later this month.  Moms from all over the country are being flown to HQ for a special gathering to reach out to blogging mothers of young children Bryan McCleary, director of external relations for P&G baby care said.  “Mom bloggers are the new influencers," McCleary is quoted as saying.

Well, it seems to be that time of the week again – TGIF!

iPhone 3G hits the marketplace
At long last (has it really been all that long?), Apple releases that latest and greatest iPhone to the retail market today. The much-hyped updated version of the cell phone that does it all now does even more, with features including GPS and the accessibility of hundreds of other applications through Apple’s new App store.

The App Store gives iPhone users access to a tremendous variety of software in any of eighteen categories, over a hundred of which are free. I have become addicted to the Texas Hold ‘Em app, personally.

Flickr, Getty looking for the next great photographer
Online photo storage and sharing website Flickr (which is owned by Yahoo, for the record) has penned a deal with Getty Images that will make it possible for amateur photographers to have their work receive mass exposure they might never realize otherwise. Did I mention that Getty will be paying? [full story]

Gene Hoffman Jr. has written a fantastic piece over at E-Commerce Times called “Online Businesses: Recession-Proof or Just Lucky?” that discusses some of the reasons as to just how and why ecommerce businesses are not only surviving but thriving despite a struggling ecomony.

See you next week, folks!

We as Internet marketers have become accustomed to the ever-evolving ecommerce marketplace, but in light of an economy that continues to see (and find) new lows on a regular basis, it is time to start looking at the consumer and how they are changing before our very eyes.

According to an eye opening cover story in this week’s Advertising Age magazine, the average age of an American Head of Household is only six months short of 50 years old. The implications are tremendous as you might expect, but what does it mean to us as ecommerce professionals?

Well for one thing, pandering is out. Don’t even think about playing up 60 as ‘the new 40’. The article suggests playing up suggested advantages including safety, security, guarantees and experience.

Read the full article here.

How much impact do your words have? As a writer, I spend an inordinate amount of my time editing and re-editing my copy because I have always divided my writing process into two separate and distinct parts:

Part 1 is the draft copy. In simplest terms, this is when I allow myself to free associate on the topic, and I do so without editing or second-guessing what it is that I am writing. If it comes to mind, it finds itself on my page. While this can be quite liberating it is not a stopping point by any means.

After I have written on the topic at hand, I then put on my editor’s cap, grab my red pen and start hacking away at the copy. I look for tired and common words such as very (very tired, for example, could be overwhelmingly tired or simply exhausted.)

The point here is to give your web site content some serious power by making use of words that are less commonly used and therefore pack a more serious punch, especially from a search engine and marketing standpoint.

Here are 40 words that are guaranteed winners for web site content use:

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Before the Internet we were much more patient people as a whole.

Back then we got bills in the mail at the end of the month, we wrote a check and we mailed it back to the debtor so that they received it before the due date. Now we get those same bills in e-statements through email and then we use online bill pay to pay them on their due date.

If our kids needed information for a school report, we took them to the library after school. If they did what most kids do, their research required several inconvenient trips. Now they can waste the same amount of time sending Instant Messages and changing their top friends on MySpace or Facebook while researching their chosen topic online.

We have instant (or near instant) access to information of all sorts and we can handle a variety of transactions without the inconvenience of even leaving the house, and that convenience has chipped away at the patience of the average person.

While it is true that impatience is the new virtue it is important to draw a distinct line that separates you as the ecommerce business owner and them as the impatient ecommerce web site visitor. In the Internet marketing business, we as entrepreneurs cannot afford the luxury of impatience.

We must practice patience and perseverance in every way. From idea to creation, management to marketing, ecommerce marketing pros know that what sets them apart from the rest is that they carefully plan each and every step and take the time necessary to reevaluate their progress as they go.

In light of Siddhartha’s recent post about the new top level domains being made available next year, I found an excellent white paper over the weekend penned by the folks at BuyDomains, called “Five Key Things You Need To Know Before Buying a Domain Name”.  In three short pages, they had me cheering from my desk chair no less than five times.

Most e-commerce and marketing neophytes miss the boat when it comes to several of the key points covered, so I have to rate this one as a must read.  Before the marketing plans can be completed, before the ecommerce software is implemented, you have to establish your brand and your domain name (or names) are a crucial step in that process.

Go.  Read.  It is only three pages.

TGIF and Happy July 4th Weekend to everyone in the U.S.!  Here are a few of the ecommerce and Internet marketing headlines that caught my attention over the past few days:

If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.  Search engine web site Ask.com has completed their purchase of the company that owns Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com – two of the most widely used reference web sites in the world.  The cash-only deal automatically increased Ask.com’s traffic by 11 percent to 145 million visitors monthly, securing Ask.com’s place as the 9th largest web property in the world.

Playing with the big dogs.  Business Week is carrying an excellent feature story this week about how small home-based businesses are using international outsourcing to strengthen their foothold in the e-commerce marketplace.  By outsourcing his web site design, New York based auto dealer Tehrani found a Brazil-based firm to handle the work for him, why a couple in Massachusetts has folks around the world working on graphic design and e-commerce marketing materials.

And finally, one for the “you’ve got to be kidding” file:

Don’t try this at home.  The infant child of two would-be jokesters in New Zealand has been returned home after being seized when it was discovered that his parents tried to sell him on Ebay. [full story]

Have a great weekend everyone!  See you on Monday!

When you think of luxurious bath and body products, there is only one word you need to know.

Sabon (the Hebrew word for soap) has its origins in a small farming community in Israel back in 1974 when a young couple created their own soaps at home. Based on an ancient Aboriginal recipe they acquired while traveling, they adapted them to suit their personal taste and style.

I have to thank Lihi for giving me the heads up on Sabon NYC. Her description of the brick and mortar store left me wanting to schedule a flight to New York:

“I actually know Sabon from Israel, and I was happy to see the store in my neighborhood here (NYC).” She described employees handing out small soap samples much like snack or perfume samplers in supermarkets and department stores, as well as a water fountain in the center of the store for the express purpose of allowing people to wash their hands or refresh themselves in the serene atmosphere.

The website is as luxurious and delightful as the products it represents. I can’t wait to try the gentleman’s line of bath and body products. Being the metrosexual kinda guy that I am I’ll admit that I use cleanser and even the occasional lotion here and there. To tell the truth, I’m probably going to order the men’s shower oil, too.

Whether it is handmade soap, lotions, body scrubs, essential oils, even scented candles or home fragrances, you really need to give Sabon NYC a look. Three body spray fragrances grace the online shop’s shelves, under the name of “Body Dew”, with scents such as kiwi mango, citrus and patchouli lavender vanilla.

Sabon does not leave out mother and baby, either. Why not order an “Oh, Baby” basket as an elegant alternative to traditional baby gifts? Want a simpler gift for a friend or loved one? The soap stack may be just the thing! These and several more incredible gift baskets are available in the boutique at the Sabon NYC website.