Schleswig-Holstein’s data-protection commissioner, Thilo Weichert, says that an analysis from his office shows that Facebook builds profiles of both users and non-users with data collected by the Like button, reports the Associated Press. If true, this would violate German and European data protection laws.

In a statement, the data-protection organization urged Internet users “to keep their fingers from clicking on social plugins” like the Like button to avoid being profiled.

“We firmly reject any assertion that Facebook is not compliant with EU data protection standards,” a Facebook spokesperson said in another statement. “The Facebook Like button is such a popular feature because people have complete control over how their information is shared through it. For more than a year, the plugin has brought value to many businesses and individuals every day. We will review the materials produced by the ULD [the data protection agency], both on our own behalf and on the behalf of web users throughout Germany.”

According to Facebook, the only information that the company receives when a user who is not signed in hits the Like button is an IP address.

German regulators have clashed with Facebook before. Earlier this month, the data protection supervisor in Hamburg warned that Facebook’s new automatic photo-tagging feature could violate European privacy laws.

If you are a entrepeneur this a great opportunity to earn online income.

From the mouth of Drop Shippers South Africa:

“Drop Shippers SA is a drop shipping standardized trading platform in South Africa. Drop Shippers SA connects offline and online retailers directly with million products’ manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and craftsmen. DropShippers SA is a sophisticated drop ship platfor where Suppliers list there inventory for Retailers to place orders. Suppliers bring their unique, competitive skills and products into the market. Retailers are free from high risk stock investment and time consuming repacking and shipping. They spend all their time doing marketing and building stronger customer relationship. We do our best to build a trading platform as safe,seamless and painless as possible.”

Here are some ways you can sell online to get you started.

www.bidorbuy.co.za
is the 20th most visited website in South Africa . They only charge a small % of your sales fee and are South Africa’s biggest online market place. It can’t be any easier than selling on bid or buy. The buyer EFT’s you, you EFT Drop Shippers, the goods get delivered directly to your buyer and you make your markup.

Our own bidorbuy online store is here

www.junkmail.co.za is great place to place free ads and they are the 40th most visited site in south africa.

www.facebook.com How many friends do you have on facebook. Just post your latest hottest products on your status update. You can also create a facebook page and group to promote your business.

Google Adwords and Facebook Ads are probably the best place for paid advertising.

Create a free blog and keep people informed. You can start of like this and then you can move on to your own website.

With Joomla it is so easy to create your own online shop. If you don’t know what joomla is it is a complete content management system. Other developers have done all the work.

www.manfredk.com For affordable Joomla and other websites.

You just choose what you whant and then you put your website together!

Setup your bulk emailer and autoresponderhere

You can create email and sms campaigns aswell as surveys and keep your customers up to date on any specials you may have. The free account allows you to have 50 people in your mailing list. Once your customer base grows you can upgrade to R100 per month starter account.

Earn yourself R100.00 for every person you refer to Dropshippers.co.za. To get your account with dropshippers visit them here

Technorati Tags: drop ship, drop shipping south africa, dropshippers.co.za, dropshipping

The money is in the list. If you are not building a list of subscribers who are interested in your products and services that you can market to over and over you are wasting your advertising dollars. This is the number 1 most important tool you need for marketing on the internet period.

So which is the best autoresponder service? In my opinion it is Aweber. I was a 4 year customer of one of their main competitors when recently I switched my sign up forms for new subscribers to Aweber. I was stunned. For the same traffic I doubled my subscriber rate! I got twice as many confirmed opt in subscribers with Aweber than I did with their main competitor! I went from about 80 confirmed opt in subscribers per day to 180!!!! This means with the other service that I had for 4 years I had been losing about 100 subscribers per day. Considering that each subscriber is worth about Ten Rand that comes to about R 3000.00 per month loss by choosing the wrong autoresponder service!!

Why did the former service perform so poorly? Email deliverability. This service got themselves on some blacklists and the confirmation emails people get to confirm their subscriptions were going directly to the trash. Wasted advertising Rands, wasted time!

With Aweber ALL of my confirmation emails were getting directly to the inbox and therefore more people confirmed and joined my newsletters.

Aweber just has it together. They deliver big time. If you have another autoresponder service I would switch. I you do not then sign up below for Aweber’s free test drive and get educated directly from Aweber about how valuable autoresponder can be to your business. Do it right the first time and you could save thousands of dollars! Don’t make my mistake and choose the wrong autoresponder company.

Technorati Tags: autoresponder, aweber, email marketing

No Strings attached.
CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE 2 OPTIONS!Your Website in less than 24 HOURS!

ONLY R350.00 (ONCE OFF)Hosting Included! NO MONTHLY FEES

LIVE IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS

ANYONE CAN DO IT – NO WEB DESIGN EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

Technorati Tags: free hosting, free website hosting

1. Your Business is Open to the World 24/7, 365 Days a Year
Unlike your company’s office or shop that may be open from 8-5, Monday to Friday, your company ‘s website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are many different time zones that may affect your business, which is why being on the web makes it time convenient for everyone.

2. It’s Your Online Brochure / Catalog That Can Be Changed at Anytime
A website is easier, cheaper and quicker to update than print material. Its’ capacities are almost limitless which allows you to provide users with more comprehensive information. This will save you money on printing and distribution costs as well.

3. Reach New Markets with a Global Audience
On the Internet, you aren’t that local little business anymore. You have the potential to be seen by millions across the globe. Did you ever think your company would have the possibility of doing business around the world? Well, now you can. Without a doubt, the Internet is the most cost effective way to trade nationally and internationally.

4. Improved Customer Service
By providing answers to questions on your website, sales and information requests can be processed automatically and immediately, whether someone is in the office or not. Online forms can be used to allow customers to request quotations or ask further information. Save costs by allowing users to download invoices, proposals and important documents.

5. Present a Professional Image
For a small business, a well-designed web site is a great way of instilling confidence and looking bigger than you actually are. In this day in age, customers assume that you already have a website. By now, your primary competitors probably already have a presence on the Internet. If they do, keep up with them and find ways to make yours better.

6. Sell Your Products
Why pay expensive rent, overhead, electric bills, and all the other costs that go along with owning a bricks-n-mortar business? Selling in cyberspace is much cheaper and a good way to supplement your offline business. Providing secure online ordering is very affordable for even the smallest businesses.

7. Promote Your Services
Lawyers, doctors, financial consultants, entertainers, realtors and all service oriented businesses should let customers know that they have a choice. Millions of users are referring to the web and are using company’s websites to make major decisions when they need a specialized service.

8. Gather Information and Generate Valuable Leads
You can gather information about your customers and potential customers by using forms and surveys. Rather than going out and getting leads, let them come to you. This is a great tool for prospecting targeted customers looking to use your products and services.

9. Provides Instant Gratification
People are busy and don’t like to wait for information. Give them what they want, when they want it. If your product is suitable, offer them free samples or trials to download. This includes pictures, brochures, software, videos, Power Point slides, music and more.

10. Great Recruiting Tool
Whether you are looking for talent or posting job opportunities with your company, your website is a great recruiting tool for building your business.

More Great Tips!

The Do’s & Don’ts For Website Success!

• Do invest in a secure online ordering system.
• Do keep your audience in mind and create copy that personally speaks to them.
• Do create a clear and compelling sales message.
• Do update your site content and keep it fresh and current.
• Do anticipate and answer your visitor’s questions.
• Do check your site to ensure all forms and links are working.
• Do include a call to action on each page. You won’t get business if you don’t ask for it.
• Do include your contact information.
• Do offer links to programs like Acrobat Reader needed to view your site information.
• Do choose a Web host that provides exceptional service, minimal down time, and consistent site backups.
• Do carefully check your content for spelling and grammar mistakes. Errors are unprofessional and show a lack of attention to detail.
• Do title each page to be search engine (and bookmark) friendly.
• Do use a URL and domain name that accurately reflects your business or company name and is easy to remember.

…and

• Don’t confuse your visitor with too many topics on one page. Organize information logically.
• Don’t let your site become outdated. Your credibility will disappear if you offer Mother ‘s Day specials just in time for Father’s Day.
• Don’t include too many colors, fonts, or font sizes that distracts your visitor.
• Don’t yell at your visitor by using all capital letters.
• Don’t take your customer’s privacy for granted. Create a privacy policy and stick to it.
• Don’t insult your customer by selling his information to third parties.
• Don’t ignore or delay customer requests. Return all customer inquiries promptly because you never know whom they may recommend you to even if they don’t buy from you.
• Don’t add a “visitor count” to your site. No need to brag how many or show how few visit.
• Don’t include graphics that fail to add importance to your site.
• Don’t use silly clip art unless absolutely necessary.
• Don’t add unnecessary “extras” that will take a particularly long time to load.
• Don’t ignore customer complaints, just because you’re on the Web doesn’t mean your business won’t be affected by dissatisfied customers sharing their experience with others.

Technorati Tags: online shopping, webpresence, website design port elizabeth, websites, websites south africa, who needs a website