Rarely do I comment on political issues in this blog, but this really has more to do with business. I watch a lot of cable news and what really strikes me is how dedicated to tragedy the media seems to be these days. They have been talking down the housing market like crazy, to the point where you have to give your house away in most markets. Oil prices are through the roof, and this too leads the news because it’s more bad news for you to eat up and accept. Well, I don’t accept it. Perhaps I know something all of the talking heads don’t know. Perhaps they are so out of touch they have forgotten the golden rule of capitalism… the marketplace sets the prices. Next time you think the world is ending, and gas is going to reach $10/gallon, please remember that.

I guarantee that gas prices will not drift much pass the $5 mark, if it gets that high at all.  Ok, I can’t guarantee it, because I don’t have that much to offer you if I am wrong, but at least consider the possibility. People tend to believe that the market is manipulated by a bunch of rich dudes in a mansion on the hill. To some degree that may be true, but the market always has the last word. Eventually people will say NO to buying gas at a certain price, and the prices will come down. If your facility made widgets that were in very high demand, you would probably start to push the price up with the demand. However, if you pushed it too high, and people started buying less of your widgets, you would adjust the price. You would have to, or you would be sitting on a lot of widgets. The same rule applies to every commodity in a free market.

Now I am not denying times are tough. My wife and I have had our condo on the market for nine months, and I have a 70 mile commute each day, so I am feeling the pain too. I just am a bit more optimistic than many people out there. Unfortunately, if you’re waiting for the government to help, it’s not going to happen. Anything they could do would be superficial anyway. The answer is in the marketplace, and when the time is right, it will say “uncle”.

If you have been a regular reader of my blog you know that I don’t really promote any one product or service. I wanted to tell you about this magazine and website because I know these guys well. I wrote a customer service column for them for about a year when they first launched, and they have really grown into a great publication for ecommerce merchants.

Check out their website. They offer all of their content online free, so there is tons of articles and forums to read on a variety of business subjects.

Visit Practical Ecommerce here…

DMNews reported last week about a new round of attacks from the lovable spammers. This time Symantec was warning about a Valentine’s Day spam. Apparently the spammers are sending men (or anyone who has a pulse… no scratch that, anyone with an email address) an email with the subject line “Get your Valentine’s Gift bag from ghd”, with an image that the user should click on. These type of “retrieve your message” spams are nothing  new, but it’s nice to see they’re getting sentimental. I was beginning to think all they wanted to do was relive all of my sexual dysfunction, but apparently they’re concerned about my relationship too.

Thanks for your concern, buttheads.

Microsoft stunned the business world this week when it announced an offer to buy Yahoo, Inc in a multi-billion dollar deal. Much of the commentary I have heard or read is negative; after all, we have antitrust laws for a reason. 

The move worries the Google folks for obvious reasons. With MSN Live and Yahoo working together, the second and third largest in the search market, it brought up talk about an eventual Google takeover. Let me assure you now, it’s not going to happen. Yes, these guys might get together and become a force to be reckoned with, but they will never topple Google. The folks at Google are smart, really smart. Somehow, with almost no advertising, they have turned Google into a “Band Aid” brand. Basically, it’s a brand that becomes the word for the product itself. What Band Aid did to bandages, Google has done to search. You don’t search anymore, you Google.

I don’t love the idea of these guys joining forces but I don’t think it will have the enormous effect that the talking heads at CNBC think. I am sure Google and every other search service will continue to develop new technologies, and encourage small merchants with reasonably priced advertising opportunities. Luckily, Yahoo, MSN, and Google aren’t the only kids in town. They’re so many online marketing opportunities, that you could survive with out them… I’ll admit, it would be tough though.

For merchants, I love the shopping comparison sites, I always seem to see a better ROI. Allowing folks to see your product before clicking on your site really does make sense. For others, I would look at private websites, like industry blogs and forums. Those folks have your audience, and nothing but. If you can’t convert such highly targeted traffic, then you advertising is not the real issue. Most of these highly popular blogs and forums have reasonable advertising opportunities.