| Spam nuisance 'can be combated'
Consumers are becoming increasingly angry about rampant SMS and email spam, but what they do not know is that the law is on their side and that there are ways to stop and even prosecute persistent spammers. This was the message from Cape Town-based privacy lawyer Brendan Hughes, of Michalson and Associates, in a presentation on data privacy legislation to Durban businesses last week. Hughes, a member of the appeals panel that adjudicates complaints for the Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (Waspa), said that direct marketing using consumers' personal information was "big business". However, Hughes said businesses that continued to send marketing material or spam to consumers who had asked to be removed from mailing lists could be criminally prosecuted under Section 45 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002.
Guerrilla Marketing Guru Al Lautenslager Provides Small-Business Owners With Tips on How to Market Their Business
REDMOND, Wash. (Map) - What: Many small-business owners do not have enough money to promote themselves effectively. If budget is an issue, some proven nontraditional marketing methods such as guerilla marketing can help get the word out. The author of "Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days," Al Lautenslager recently offered small businesses advice on marketing to maximize profits and increase customers as part of a free Microsoft(R) Office Live Web seminar series. Lautenslager uses his own practical experience of running and managing a small-business print shop to provide small-business owners with helpful advice and insight on topics critical to success and to nontraditional forms of marketing and word of mouth. The seminar can be found at http://www.officelive.com. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO ) For small businesses that seek to market themselves on a budget, Lautenslager provides the following tips: .
Sustainable Ballard hears about legislative environmental record
Local non-profit Sustainable Ballard celebrated its fourth birthday recently by reviewing several energy and environmental successes of the past state legislative session.Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, was the key speaker at the event held at the Sunset Hill Community Club. She applauded the organization for its grassroots efforts in promoting a more sustainable community.Though Kohl-Welles hasn't served on any environmental committees since the mid-1990s, she said it was still an issue she paid a lot of attention to."I'm not an authority on this," she warned the audience, "but I love these issues. I feel passionate about the environment in this state, country and the world and I want to do everything I can."When Democrats took over the majority in the House last November, it did more than anything else to advance environmental legislation, Kohl-Welles said.
'Turn to West Memphis,' City Urges Logistics World
Ward Wimbish has a message for companies thinking about moving part or all of their logistics and distribution operations to the area: West Memphis is open for business. Bolstered by a slick new Web site (www.westmemphis.com), robust infrastructure and competitive incentives, the city has launched a full-scale campaign to lure the type of commerce that helped its much larger neighbor across the river earn the tagline "America's Distribution Center." Leading the charge is Wimbish, who has served as director of West Memphis' Office of Economic Development since October. His position had been vacant for a year and half, which Wimbish said he believes hindered the city's chances of becoming a key distribution link in the global supply chain. "We've been out of the market for a while," he said.
Auto insurance without car
You might not have a car, but that doesn't mean you don't need auto insurance. Take Sandy, a Baltimore resident who occasionally rents a car but finds insurance from rental agencies cost-prohibitive. She writes in an e-mail: "I usually rent a car about twice a month for a day or a weekend, sometimes longer. The loss damage waiver offered by the car rental companies often costs as much as the rental fee - and sometimes even more. I know that many credit card agreements provide insurance coverage for car rentals, but this does not always mean full coverage. Is there a policy available from any insurance company that would provide coverage on a yearly basis for people in this situation?" .
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