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E-Business Secrets
Brian Livingston
It's survey time -- every entrant receives a gift

I occasionally like to survey you, my readers, to help me focus on the insider secrets you want to know. In this issue, just before InfoWorld and I take a holiday publication break, I've arranged an exciting gift for everyone who responds to a simple, one-question survey. Read below for details, then click the link at the end of this issue to respond.

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THE 'E-BUSINESS SECRETS' READERS' PICKS OF THE YEAR

To set up the subject for this week's survey, I'm departing from my usual story-reviews-news format. Instead, you'll find in this issue a report on the top items of the year, as determined by reader popularity. Thanks to readers who allowed me to count their clicks, I have a representative snapshot of the news, stories, and features that received the most interest going back to issue #1 of E-Business Secrets in March 2001.

You're receiving this newsletter because you signed up with InfoWorld for news on e-business, Web development, and related topics. This topic seems clear, but looking at readers' Top 10 News Picks (see figures below), I see curious patterns on which I'd like your feedback.

For example, some traditional Web development topics -- Flash, pop-up ads, and job-finding sites -- achieved high scores in the study. The tragic events of Sept. 11 also generated very high numbers for links on the attack's origins, how the United States subsequently blocked Internet access in one entire country, and how hackers are terrorizing some Islamic Web sites.

But what's notable to me is the high scoring of News Picks on oddball and humorous topics. Into this category fall the links to Steve Ballmer's infamous "monkey boy video," NASA's "fake moon landing," and "When you die, who gets your e-mail messages?"

Do my readers want me to send out a newsletter entitled Wacky Web Week? Or, in a more serious vein, do readers prefer more information about the BUSINESS MANAGEMENT or the TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT of e-commerce sites? Or is there something else to the pattern of click-throughs shown below that I'm not discerning?

In the following list of winners, the Score for an item represents the number of readers who clicked a particular link, as a PERCENTAGE of the total number of clicks for all 10 News Picks in that issue. For example, an item with a Score of 50 was clicked 50 percent as many times as all 10 of that week's News Picks combined.

Here we go! Read through the following, then please answer my one-question survey at the end of this issue.

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THE TOP 10 NEWS PICKS OF THE YEAR

Score Item

50 When you die, who gets your e-mail messages?

http://it.mycareer.com.au@a2.tc/?40f

38 The best analysis I've seen of the attack's origins

http://www.janes.com@5a0.tc/?7f7

35 Site reveals how NASA faked moon landing (hilarious)

http://www.brainsluice.com@836.as/?bdf

32 Car-rental speeding charges via GPS are overturned

http://www.cnet.com@th.gs/?fc7

31 Ballmer's hilarious "monkey boy" video hits the Net

http://www.kuro5hin.org@a6r.ms/?13af

31 Here are the best job-finding sites and methods ...

http://www.chicagotribune.com@31.dk/?1797

31 The annoyance of pop-up ads and how to stop them

http://www.nwfusion.com@e.la/?1b7f

31 United States halts Internet access in Somalia; who's next?

http://news.bbc.co.uk@54.vg/?1f67

28 Actually interesting Flash: See your skeleton dance

http://www.vectorlounge.com@3n.be/?234f

28 Hackers attack Islamic sites, Taliban bans Internet

http://www.wirelessnewsfactor.com@1c.to/?2737

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THE TOP 3 LEAD STORIES OF THE YEAR

40 Avoiding the Top Five E-Business Mistakes

http://data.bitpipe.com@n6.be/?4e47

20 Atlas Institute Report (requires Acrobat Reader)

http://www.atlasdmt.com@836.as/?59ff

18 Norman Neilsen's E-Commerce User Experience Report

http://www.nngroup.com@e.la/?65b7

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THE TOP 3 TECH REVIEWS OF THE YEAR

26 Radio Program Recorder Kit

http://portables.about.com@54.vg/?7557

23 Tiny Desktop PC With IEEE 1394 Ports

http://direct.mwave.com@n6.be/?810f

22 World's Smallest FM Radio

http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk@th.gs/?8cc7

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THE TOP 3 E-BUSINESS BOOK REVIEWS OF THE YEAR

26 "Core Web Programming," Marty Hall & Larry Brown

http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/?d130897930

21 "Don't Send a Resume," Jeffrey J. Fox

http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/?d786865962

18 "Multiple Streams of Internet Income," Robert Allen

http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/?d471410144

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THE TOP 3 "THEY CAN'T DO THAT ON THE WEB!" PAGES OF 2001

164 Windows RG (Really Good)

http://www.deanliou.com@1c.to/?c377

67 "All Your Tourist Are Belong To Us" Flash Animation

http://www.iconsofindustry.org@n6.be/?cf2f

30 How To Make Fancy Highlighted Drop-Down Boxes

http://www.htmlgoodies.com@836.as/?dae7

(The 164 score for the first item means 64 percent MORE people clicked this link than clicked all 10 of that week's News Picks combined. Oh, it's a wacky Web ...)

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HERE'S THE SURVEY AND HOW YOU GET YOUR FREE GIFT

All you have to do is answer one question:

-- Shall I concentrate even more on WEB MANAGEMENT

(e-commerce practices, marketing skills, etc.); or

-- Shall I concentrate even more on WEB DEVELOPMENT

(HTML, CCS, Flash programming, etc.); or

-- Do you have some OTHER response for me to consider?

To vote, send an e-mail to ONE of the following:

WEB MANAGEMENT: mailto:mgmt@BrianLivingston.com

WEB DEVELOPMENT: mailto:dev@BrianLivingston.com

OTHER: mailto:other@BrianLivingston.com

You don't even need to write a subject or message body. Any blank message will do. But I promise to read all significant comments if you do write a suggestion.

Every respondent will be entitled to receive an excellent report, profusely illustrated with color graphics, on the best Web design of 2001. This gift is a product of the Nielsen Norman Group (NNGroup.com), the respected usability consultants. After your vote is received and I send you an auto confirmation, I will then delete your e-mail address, which will NEVER be used or shared for any other purpose.

All responses through Friday, Jan. 4, will be included. The results of your input (and the best comments) will be printed in my Jan. 10 issue and will influence the secrets I send you in the months and years to come.

Best wishes for a happy and safe holiday season,

Brian Livingston

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E-BUSINESS SECRETS: Our mission is to bring you such useful and thought-provoking information about the Web that you actually look forward to reading your e-mail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: E-Business Secrets is written by InfoWorld contributing editor Brian Livingston. Research director is Ben Livingston (no relation). Brian has published 10 books, including:

Windows Me Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/?0764534939

Windows 2000 Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com@isbn.at/?0764534130

Win a gift certificate good for a book, CD, or DVD of your choice if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints: mailto:Brian@SecretsPro.com


Brian Livingston , an InfoWorld contributing editor, has published 10 books, including Windows Me Secrets and Windows 2000 Secrets. Win a book free if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints. Send in your tips today, at tips@secretspro.com.


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