Just watched the heavy weight boxing fight between David “The Tuaminator” Tua verses Friday “The Thirteenth” Ahunanya. After the full 12 rounds a unanimous decision was given to Tua.

While the fight was perhaps not as spectacular as one ending in a K.O. it had some great lessons.

Both fighters went into the fight with a good game plan and pretty much stuck to it. Ahunanya was determined to keep moving and upset the Tuaminator’s rhythm. A strategy he used to good effect.  Tua prepared to go the full 12 rounds and looked like he was fit enough to go another 5 or 6 at the end of the match.

Tua worked the body of Ahunanya and tried to wear him down to allow for the big punch finish that is his signature.  Unfortunately for Tua, Ahunanya was up to the punishment.

The lessons to learn are that good preparation is unbeatable.  Doing your homework is also essential.  Both fighters knew the weaknesses of their opponent. Fighting to the plan, even when things aren’t going the way you anticipated is the only way to succeed.

Keep a cool head and fight your own game. Do not let circumstances rattle you.

Red Tape And Regulations

Once upon a time the threat of a nuclear war was deemed most likely to destroy the world as we know it. Although that threat still exists it doesn’t elicit the same fear as it once did.

Today we are more likely to hear how global warming is going to destroy the planet, or some form of “flu” on a rampage that will wipe out a significant percentage of the population. Each new threat has to be more shocking than the last or newspapers won’t sell.

One threat that you don’t see in the newspaper headlines is that of bureaucracy gone mad.

Red tape and regulations are as dangerous as any of the other threats to the well-being life as we know it. Economies are being destroyed. Freedoms taken. And people like you and me are driven to despair.

You are not allowed to hurt yourself or you will be prosecuted. You cannot pick up a tool around your own home without being certified to use it. You cannot dig a hole, prune a tree, or plough a field without resource consent.

Or in the case of a neighbour who wanted extend a veranda around the side of her house, she was told she would need to seal the first 10 meters of her drive and put it water storage tanks to get a building permit.  The reason given was to bring the 100 year old house up to modern specifications. All she wanted to do was to protect the side of her house from the weather.

Another 10 or 20 years of the escalating bureaucratic madness will destroy life as we know it – but that is a headline we are unlikely to see any time soon.

Modern Day Gold Rush

As an excellent example of the fact that we learn nothing from history is the Make Money Online exploitation that occurs on the internet.

Thousands of people sign up to the many courses being launched every month.  Some of the courses costing hundreds of dollars and some even costing thousands of dollars.

But just as in days gone by when people rushed to the gold fields it is not the miners that get rich but the store keepers and publicans.  One or two miners strike it rich by fluke just to keep the frenzy building.

Online it is no different. Every now and then someone breaks through and makes thousands of dollars “while they sleep.”  However, for everyone that succeeds there are thousands who fail miserably.  One thing is for sure, those “store keepers” and “publicans” of the Internet Marketing world are getting rich.

It is a sad sight to behold these people flocking to their slaughter. Investing money they don’t have to buy a product that will underwhelm them by its results.  Yet they will not be deterred. They have read the advertising that clearly states they will get rich quick if they own that course.

Please, do yourself a favour and stop chasing the gold at the end of the internet rainbow.  Most people will never recover the cost of their latest course, much less make money online.

Who Are The World’s Best Negotiators?

You might think hostage negotiators, or politicians, or maybe you think lawyers?

On a pure ability per weight basis I would have to say that children are the world’s best negotiators.  At least mine are – and I don’t think they unique in this ability.

I would be the first to admit that negotiations don’t fit well with my parenting style so perhaps I am as guilty as anyone of the following sin.

If children are such naturally good negotiators how is it that once they reach early adulthood they have lost this spark?

Perhaps it because parents like myself don’t engage in negotiations. Perhaps it is our education system that grinds them down.  I am not sure of the exact cause but I would hate to think my children grow up at the expense of their natural talents.

I have been involved in some business deals recently where the other person could certainly have learned a thing or two from my kids when it comes to negotiating.

They are not afraid to make concessions if it means a potentially high reward can also be negotiated.  They understand that sometimes a gamble will pay high dividends, and they know that there are consequences when it doesn’t pay off.

I have been quite impressed to see that they do not give up with a failed negotiation tactic.  Instead they will retreat and come up with a new tactic – they know that repeating the same pitch will be classified as whining and get them nowhere.  Usually the younger one is sent to test the waters with a new pitch.

Yes, for me children are the world’s best negotiators.

We All Like To Be Recognized

I was talking to a friend tonight. She said she found it hard making the transition into a new industry. As a successful business woman, and widely respected in one market, to transition into another market where she was an unknown was proving a challenge.

People do not give us the same respect when they do not know of our achievements.  Perhaps rightly so.  After all, without good evidence to back up our claims we may be just another of the many con artists that seem to be all too prevalent in today’s society.

This does not make it any easier to bare of course.  If we have achieved success we like to have that achievement recognised. We like to be treated with respect even if we have not achieved great success.

One of the most important things you can do for your customers is show them some recognition. With out customers you do not have a business.  The cost of acquiring new customers can be very high depending on the advertising medium that you choose to use.  So it is essential that you increase the life-time of your existing customers as much as possible.  And this may mean spending a few dollars in showing your appreciation and recognising their value.

Do not send your customers emails like the following (and I quote it in its entirety)

Prompt payment as per agreement terms would be appreciated

No “Dear Sir,”  no “please pay the money you owe us,” no “lots of luv ourbusiness.”

Given that it was their accounting systems that were at fault, not my lack of payment, I found this quite an offensive way of communicating. I responded with a request for a refund, and would have followed through with that request had it not been for the commission based sales agent working over-time to retrieve their lost sale.

I may not be a major player to this company but without the support of the many little people like myself they would not have a business.

A little more thought needed in showing some recognition.

Fear Of Failure

Why do we fear failure so much?

Many of us a paralysed by the fear of failure. We don’t do anything we think there may be a possibility that we may not achieve.  Nothing is attempted unless their is a better than 98% chance we will succeed.

Is it our school system that drums into us that 98 is an “A” and anything less is a failure?  Robert Kiyosaki  teaches that schools teach us to fail by not encouraging us to learn through failures.  If we get a 98% result we celebrate the 98 instead of focusing on the 2% which is where the learning will occur.

Or perhaps it is that we think everyone is watching and waiting for us to fail so they can devour us like a bunch of piranha.  Where would we get that idea? The media that devours every little mistake made by “celebrities” perhaps?

Maybe it is the people in our lives that like to pull others down because it makes them feel better about the failure that they consider their own lives to be.

What ever the reason we fear failure, if we want to achieve our dreams the fear has to be overcome. We all make mistakes – learning from them is how we move forward.

Living in the fear of failure stops us taking any action.  No action is perhaps the greatest failure we can make in our life.

A tip from Dave Navarro The Launch Coach on his blog post How To Afford Anything:

Remember that every successful person started out with zero clients and zero sales, and many of them began with fewer credentials than you have.

Every successful person took action at one point in their life.  Just like anyone else they had to start from a position of no success at one point in their life. They took action. And probably failed. But they kept learning and moving forward until they achieved success.

Try something new today.

Dean McNamara Is My Name

I introduced myself to the gentleman who asked my name.  I watched his reaction expecting some glimmer of recognition.

Nothing.

My previous impression of the other person was only reinforced by this encounter.

I am terrible with names and could tell of any number of occasions where I had no idea what the name of the other person I was talking to was.  However, I can usually remember who you are once I know your name, if we have met before.

The gentleman I was talking to on this occasion was someone I had met a number of times before.  The fact that he could not recall any of these occasions showed he no interest in me and I lost all interest in connecting with him again.

Dale Carnegie in his book How To Win Friends And Influence People stresses the importance of remembering names, and connecting with people by listening. He gives the example of many people who have achieved beyond their eduction, beyond their station in life, and beyond their qualifications.

How did they do this?

They specialized in learning people’s names.  They listened with intent as other people spoke.  They were approachable and amiable.

Nothing has changed.  People still like to talk about themselves. They still like to be recognized.

I wonder if the gentleman who forgot me will remember me next time we meet – although I very much doubt it.

After all, I am only Dean McNamara…

Do Telemarketers Make Any Money?

I only ask this because the company that called late last night made the unfortunate mistake of calling again – this time at a more respectable hour.

The lady was from India, although now living in Australia apparently, and had a very strong accent.  The phone line was terrible.  She was losing her voice from shouting into the poor phone-line and trying to be heard over the background noise of a room full of other people doing the same.

Any way I could barely understand a word she said.  And she couldn’t understand a word I said – the word I said was NO. Well I am generally up to play the game, so I would say “no” and she would keep talking.  I did work out that she was much happier and stopped repeating the same spiel when I said “yes.”  So after a number of “no”s I began to say “yes” to see where this would take us.

Well as luck would have it, she did eventually come to the end of her pitch and seemed quite satisfied.  Then I had to write down the company name and details (again I tried saying “no thanks really” but this was not understood, so I carried on with the “yes” every time she paused, as it made her much happier.

After supposedly writing the company details down, I was then passed off to a superior.  This lady, also with an Indian accent, but much more understandable, was on a better line with less background noise.

We continued the game much the same as before.  She ignored my “no” and was much happier when I said “yes.”  After almost half an hour on the phone the second lady finally conceded to let me go.

Lessons Learned

I did learn some lessons in this exercise.  I learned that telemarketing ladies like it more when you say “yes.”

I learned the name of the first lady.  And every time she said her name I would say “hello (her name).”  This didn’t fit into the script and she had to keep starting again.  After several interruptions I figured I wasn’t allowed to say hello and let it drop.

I discovered that the second lady was also from India but was a student in Australia and this was a part time job.  I found that out by suggesting that they didn’t sound very Australian even though the company was located in Australia.

I asked if she was well paid in this job.  She didn’t understand the question even after I repeated it several times.  But she had been in the job 2 years so I deduced she probably was paid reasonably well.

She was quite well trained in her job, and used all the good sales techniques like subliminally dropping the line “this product which you are about to buy” into the conversation repeatedly.   And she had all the answers to standard objections down pat.  She even made a reasonable effort at finding my main objection so she could provide the solution.

I did learn however, that she was not at all prepared for questions that were entirely unrelated to the topic at hand.  Such questions as how well paid she was.  Where did she think would be a good holiday destination.

I think maybe she was smiling a little by the end of the conversation – her voice cracked ever so slightly.  But she refused to break from the script.

The first lady did mention that I wouldn’t need to sign any contract in her list of benefits.  I tried to question the second lady about this – as it seemed to me that this could also be a significant disadvantage as well.  But that question wasn’t on the script apparently.

Things They Could Do To Improve Their Marketing Strategy.

I realise telemarketing is a numbers game, but their conversion rate must be fairly low.  Many people would have hung up on the first lady because she really was not understandable.

They do not stop to ask me if I have any need for a holiday package (they were selling discount hotel passes).  They were not at all interested in my needs.

Instead of launching into a sales pitch as soon as I say hello, I am guessing they could double their conversions by striking up a conversation first. Ask people how often they travel, when was the time they travelled.  Do they wish hotels were cheaper, or would they stay in a better quality hotel if they could afford it.

Until they know what needs I have they are pitching blind.  And if they have not established a rapport they have no trust.  No reason for me to pull out my credit card.

Well that is my take on telemarketing.

Time Is A Curious Thing

I missed most of an online webinar today because I am in New Zealand and no one told me that yesterday was a change in daylight time in EST USA.  Which if you are in the position of hosting webinars I ask that you always a GMT time – it just makes sense!

As I write this it is currently 10pm. I was just interrupted by a phone call from some telephone marketing company selling some kind of promotional holiday package.  After listening to her initial spiel I replied “At 10 o’clock at night?”

The telemarketer started up again, and I interrupted “At 10 o’clock?”  After several of these interchanges she finally goes “Well should I call back tomorrow.”  Sorry lady, but you blew it.  If there had been any chance of me being interested in your deal, calling me at 10pm wrecked it.

You can be in time, on time, out of time. It can be almost time, past time, plenty of time, no time.  It is enough to have your mind working over time.

But there is one thing for sure, you only have so much time.  We don’t know how much time we have been allotted, but once our time is up there is no extra innings.

I have a friend whose mother recently went to hospital for a minor complaint and was told she has 3 months to live.  Another friend was playing soccer recently when his heart gave out.

Time is a curious thing.

We think and act like we have unlimited time…  Until it is too late.

We sell this limited commodity called time for a few dollars an hour, or even worse we squander it on meaningless activities. We can not buy back our time, we can not live it again.  We get one shot to use our time.

Would you spend your time any differently if you were told you only had a few weeks left?

Inside the mind of Dean McNamara.

When Did Politeness Become Redundant?

I must have missed the memo that said we no longer need to use our please and thank you vocabulary in today’s society.

My recent altercation with a property developer would never have eventuated if he had originally asked me to please sign this contract instead of sign this contract or else ….

I had an emergency phone call from a neighbour needing some help to get his hay in because it was raining.  I took my truck down and gave him a hand at a moments notice.   Perhaps a follow up phone call to say thank you is too much too ask?

I guess things are done differently today. People are too busy to be bothering with all that polite stuff.  Maybe I am expecting too much.

Or maybe … just maybe … if you make it a habit in your business to treat people with respect, to ask politely, and to follow up with a thank-you you will stand out from the crowd.

I think that is so unexpected these days that any business who really makes an effort to use good manners will be well rewarded with loyal clientèle.   Make it a part of your marketing campaign and brand yourself as a 21st century business with 19th century morality, where we treat you with the respect and dignity you deserve.   Or something to that effect.

Free marketing tip for the day.

Another of life’s disappointments.

After trying to connect privately with the developer of an apartment complex that I signed up for, I have been forced to demonstrate that I was not bluffing.

I wanted to exercise what I believe is my legal right to exit the project with my deposit.  Unfortunately the developer chose to ignore my requests, and the guy who rang me like a long lost friend when he wanted something, wouldn’t even give me the courtesy of a response.

I was forced to put up a website to show that I can draw public attention to the disgrace that the project has become.  Finally, there was a response from the developer by way of his realtor, although nothing was in writing.  And it left me feeling like I was something the developer had stepped in.

By the time the offer was put in writing he chose to deduct $2000.

Now to get my full refund it is looking like I will have to ride out the project and see if it fails before the sunset clause in my contract.  An outcome that is highly likely given that finance has not yet been raised and construction is far from starting.

It is even more likely given that I will be doing my best to let potential investors know exactly what state the project is in.

If you wish to follow along the website is Due Pensione

I am appalled at the gall of the AA petrol watch spokes person.

Recently I quit my AA (Automobile Association) membership after almost 25 years as a member because they are a gutless organization that has long since forgotten what their mandate was.

You would think they would be standing up for the NZ motorist.  Instead they are more interested in becoming a tour guide.

Now they are “speaking out” against the rising cost of fuel, and suggesting the Government should remove G.S.T (Goods and Services Tax) on fuel.  Given that it is a tax on a tax as 40% of the cost of fuel is already tax.

Where have they been since G.S.T. was introduced in 1986?

But what really ticks me off is the fact the A.A. rewards program is associated with the B.P. fuel company.   Why should that annoy me you ask?  Because B.P. is the fuel company that is invariable the leader in any price hikes.

This latest price hike saw B.P. raise the price of standard fuel by 10 cents before any of the other companies.  Not only that, they were forced to reduce their price when the other companies remained several cents lower.

If the A.A were really interested in the welfare of the NZ motorist maybe they should look at cleaning up their own house.

On the bright side it sounds like those in charge of the Hollywood trademark are going to block our local “Wellywood” sign.  It seems that the general public here also thinks it is “Tackywood” and only our officials and celebrities are delighted by the concept.

And What Are They Smoking?

Why is that ever since Watergate we can not have a political scandal that isn’t a “gate” ?

Here are a few examples:

• Wheatgate
• Wardrobegate
• Tunagate
• Troopergate 1
• Troopergate 2 (again?)
• Troopergate 3  (even)
• Tigergate   (of course)
• Camillagate (even the Royals get the gate)
• Paintergate (one of our own Down Under)

For a more comprehensive list visit Wikipedia There are dozens of cases.

And how about Hollywood.  Has that ever been knocked off before?

The most famous Hollywood knock-off is obviously Bollywood, the Indian film industry.  The cutest is perhaps Dollywood, the wonderful world of Dolly Parton.

The most recent is the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, in a bid to honour the recent successes of our film industry – particularly the creative graphics works – some bright cookie has decided to erect a Wellywood sign.

I don’t know about you, but for me, one knock off might be cute / clever but after that it has been done.  What do you call a cliché that is over-done?  I call it tacky.

I am sure our creative genius could be better celebrated than some cheap and tacky knock-off of the Hollywood name.

Of course, it is entirely possible that I am wrong.  And no doubt every scandal this century will also be a “gate.”   Everyone celebrating film success will be a “wood.”  And we all be John Smith.

So much for creativity.

Marketing Guru Over Delivers

I have experienced doing business with a number of internet marketing “gurus” and so called online education companies.  The one thing that most of them have in common is … an inane ability to underwhelm.

I have been less than impressed with most of these people and companies.   They promise the moon and fail to deliver more than a mud cake.

When I sign up to these courses and products all I am looking for is that they deliver what they say they will.

In a sea of false promises and exaggerated claims, one man has hoisted the flag of a different standard.  He has not only determined to deliver his very best stuff as promised, but he has shown a personal interest in the development of his students.

Who sends hard copy books as unannounced bonuses across the other side of the world (without even asking for postage)?  Who is this man that dares to walk a different path to his peers?

Doberman Dan is that man.

As a member of his protege training course, I am learning as much by his actions as I am by his teaching.  Imagine a teacher that actually lives the methods he is teaching – unheard of in the internet world.

I hear a lot of talk about things like “moving the free line” and to “over-deliver” but these people are saying you do that to gain trust.  Once your customer sees the value you give away, they will be happy to spend money with you: even if you have given your best value up front and the rest of what you have to offer gives little more.  Most customers feel obliged to refrain from seeking a refund if the paid product underwhelms because of the great value you gave them upfront.

Doberman Dan hasn’t short changed his members on the inside.  Even though he already has the money, he is constantly looking for ways to over deliver.  To give the more value than he promised, and more value than any of his protegee expected.

Why make this post?

Strangely enough, it is not to promote my affiliate link to Dan’s program.  The program is full so you can’t join if you want to. I don’t have an affiliate link even if you could join (which you can’t).

I am just saying most of what the “gurus” are preaching is yesterday’s strategies.  Short changing clients on the inside because you “over deliver” up front is no longer acceptable (was it ever?).  Over selling your product now warrants investigation by the FTC.  Fake testimonials, failing to disclose your relationship with products, and promoting abnormal results no longer flies.

If you are going to build a business, develop a relationship, or market a product you are going to have to connect with your customer like in the olden days.  With respect and integrity.  If you want to survive in tomorrows world.

You Never Know Who Knows Who

It has been an interesting day today.

I was working at the neighbours in my digger when a motor cyclist pulled up wanting some help to repair his bike.  As the neighbours were out, I invited the motor cyclist next door to my parents house to access some tools.

We live in the country and houses are some distance apart so Dad’s shed was much closer than mine.  Anyway, as the guy takes off his helmet at the shed, he saw my Dad and says “You never know who you are going to meet.”

It turns out they both have a holiday home in same bay and know each other.

Tonight I was in an internet marketers chat room.  It turns out I knew many of the members in the chat via different forums and online activities.  Yet I didn’t know they were all connected via this chat room.

The world is a very small place.  It was once said that all people in the world are connected by 7 levels of separation at the most.  In other words, if you expand your acquaintances, their acquaintances, their acquaintances acquaintances etc out seven times you would have connected every one.  I believe that the advances in technology since then have cut that almost in half.

The point of this post?

I guess if you had to make a point, it would be that if you are not genuine in this world you will be found out sooner or later.

Connections have connections.

What No Buy Now Button?

After starting this blog and the associated Dean McNamara dotcom site I asked some forum members what they thought about the style of my sites.

The feedback of one of the members was;

“I visited your sites but I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do.”

I have been thinking about that a little, and it occurs to me that it is a rather sad state when we can’t go to a website without expecting to have to buy something, or sign up to a list to be marketed to.

Call me a sentimentalist, but don’t you miss the good ol’ days – pre dotcom bust – when people put up websites for no other reason than they wanted to self-publish something?

I am not saying that I won’t put the occasional advert/affiliate link on my sites, but at this stage I have no intention of turning my personal sites into giant flashing billboards.

So any time you feel in the mood for a little nostalgia head over to DeanMcNamara.info

NZ Apprentices Make Mistakes

I have been watching the NZ version of The Apprentice and I am guessing the potential apprentices have all been through classical business training schools.

Two of the first three challenges have been selling challenges.  The first was hot-dogs and the third was ice-creams.  On each occasion the two teams were running around the streets trying to make the most sales.

Both times the teams showed some innovation about how they could up-sell the products, or add value to the products to entice a sale.  But I think they were making a basic mistake.

Have you seen comedy shows like “Whose Line Is It Anyway” where actors/comedians are put in a situation, or given a prop, and asked to improvise a scene?

In these situations it is never about the “prop” it is about the improvisation around the object.  The prop becomes almost immaterial as the comedian creates a new world around the object.  A toilet roll may become a telescope, a wheel, a hair roller – it doesn’t really matter.

I believe that Mr Terry Serepisos is looking for an apprentice who can create a business no matter what the “prop” is that they given.  Selling hot-dogs, or selling ice-creams is not creating a business.  It is being distracted by the prop.

So what would I do?

Instead of running around the street trying to sell the props, I would concentrate on what I really have that can generate money and make the props fit.

How would I do that?

In their situation what do they have that is most valuable?  Hint: it isn’t ice-creams.

They have a potential 5 minutes of prime time television time that they could sell.  This is the about the live time each team gets when selling their products.

So I would be ringing businesses and asking if they would like 5 minutes on air and a box of ice-cream for five times the expected return of selling ice-creams on the street.  I am sure it would be possible to work out a deal with plenty of “product placement” and talk about the product of the successful business.

This kind of outside of the box thinking would entirely transform the game and show some real entrepreneurship amongst the potential apprentices – sadly lacking to-date.

For more understanding about how to think beyond the props I highly recommend  What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World by Tina Seelig

“Any Customer Tries To Escape I Shoot!”

What lengths would you go to keep a customer?

Being in business myself I work on the philosophy that if a customer wants out the best action for me is to open the door.

I am astounded at people who think their best course of action is to hold a customer against their will – perhaps using a legal contract rather than a shotgun, but to the same effect.

Why would you want someone forced to remain connected to you when they are obviously going to be doing everything they can to cause damage to you and your business?

Isn’t the statistic something like for every negative report about your company it takes 10 good ones to compensate?  And that is just an average Joe negative report, imagine an entire media campaign of negativity …

Know when to hold’em and when to fold’em is all I am saying.

“Don’t raise your eyebrow at me”

Said a previous boss to me one day after he had explained our project for the day.

I didn’t realize it was that obvious at that time. But since then I pay more attention to my subconscious displays of disbelief.

What sparked this comment?

Glad you asked.

I got a “Dear Dean McNamara” email from Squidoo HQ today. It wasn’t sent to just anyone.  No, it was sent to the select top 3% of squidoo lens masters.

The intent of the email was suggest that if I wasn’t happy with my Squidoo income I should have a look at the linked lens of tips.

Why should that raise my eyebrow?

Well given that I make approximately $1.50 from lenses each month, sometime is a little more, sometimes a little less, and because I got the email, I must be in the “top 3%” this holds out little hope that the other 97% of Squidoo lensmasters are making much money.

I figured out very early in the game that the effort required to make a living from Squidoo would be far better invested in my own sites – after all, why split the revenue with Squidoo? So I am not too concerned if I make money or not from my lenses – they are there for other purposes.

However, there are a lot of people joining up to Squidoo on an ongoing basis thinking they are going to make money online and be able to achieve this or that. The fact is, I am supposedly in the top 3% and I make $1.50 a month.

So don’t hold your breath is all I am saying …

Alternatively, I might not be as “select” as they suggested. In which case I am thinking that tactic has the potential to backfire. After all, if the majority of people are making similar wages as I am (and I suspect they are, judging by my lens rankings) then they will now think that there is no money to be made from Squidoo and will likely give up.

I wonder which scenario is true …

I was at the library today (long story) and I came across this book in the computer section:

The Accidental Billionaires

The Accidental Billionaires

And I was intrigued as to why it was filed in the middle of all the various computer manuals so I picked it up.

Anyway, long story short, I ended up skim reading through the whole book as it was quite an entertaining read.

If you want to get an idea of what really goes on behind the scenes of these house-hold named internet companies I suggest you grab a copy. I was not surprised to learn what I did, as I have experienced the seedy side of the internet up close and personal myself.

I don’t know how much was fact and how much was embellishment in this story, but I do that nothing has changed. There are still people stealing ideas, stealing traffic, back stabbing, and outright robbing other people blind even as you read this.

Nothing much has changed, except those start-up companies are billion dollar enterprises and there are new companies fighting for global niche domination every day.

All I can advise is that you take the proper care to protect yourself from these kind of shenanigans before venturing too far out into the world wide web way of doing business.