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In Today's Issue:

Quote:      Harry Emerson Fosdick
News:       National (US) Banks announce Online Billing     Venture!
Tip:      Effective Forms
Biz Sites:  I*Syndicate - add free content
      Top 12 "Spam Scams"
      I*Give - charitable donations online
Term:  "EBPP" Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment
Facts: Internet Economy annual growth rate of 174.5%!

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

**Harry Emerson Fosdick

"The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't
be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it."

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LATE BREAKING NEWS:

** National (US) Banks announce Online Billing Venture!

A trio of financial giants today said they are forming a company to
focus on online consumer billing, moving quickly before Internet portals
such as Yahoo beat them to the punch.

Launched by Chase Manhattan, First Union, and Wells Fargo, the new
company, temporarily called the Exchange, will begin operating by
October, the banks said.

The Exchange will act as hub for member banks so that they
can route electronic bills through a single connection, aiming
to ensure continuous and secure transactions between
banks and their customers.

Analysis/Comment from the CyberSisters:

Pay attention to this! Online bill presentation and payment services is
going to be a huge thing. Where are the Canadian banks??  This step in
one is a series of moves  by the large banks designed to take back some
of the momentum they've lost from the Internet  startups/transactions
companies such as CheckFree, CyberCash, etc...

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TIP:

*Creating an Effective Online Form*

One of the more common features you will find on Web sites is a form
that people can fill out to provide some sort of feedback to the site
owner.
Here's some tips about planning/designing the form and how it will work:

1.  Think about what you want to accomplish by having a feedback form.
Make a list of the types of things you'd like to know from people who
visit your site.

2.  Make another list, this one of the different types of feedback
people have given you in the past.

3.  Based on the lists you created, think about the objective of the
form you will create.  (Save this list, and refer back to it after
you've created the form).

4.  Determine the place(s) on your Web site where you think you should
place a link to your feedback form.

(that's it for now, we'll continue this topic later - as you know the
"CyberSisters" from Digital Ripple are big on site planning!)

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BIZ SITES OF THE DAY:

**I*Syndicate - Adding Free Content!

Content! Content! Content! Keep visitors coming back by providing
subject related information without a lot of work on your part.
powered by iSyndicate, your customers will visit more often, stay
The basic I*Syndicate service lets you easily integrate headline
links into your site for everything from breaking world
news to your daily horoscope.

http://www.isyndicate.com/
 

**Top 12 E-mail Spam Scams

Are you bugged by spam (unsolicited e-mail)? Well, the
Federal Trade Commission has gone through over a quarter
of a million potential e-mail scams, and come up with the
"dirty dozen." Here are the twelve categories of junk e-mail
most likely to separate you and your money.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/doznalrt.htm
 

**I*Give - the next "ripple effect" for charitable donations?

Here's something the CyberSisters found that we think could be an
 interesting trend. I*Give.com allows users to shop online and
contribute to their charity of choice at the same time. Everytime you
purchase through the iGive Mall, they send a  percentage of the purchase
price to your favourite charitable cause. It doesn't
 cost you anything to join up  or shop, but the merchants donate to the
charity of your choice.

I think it's a great way to add a new feature to your web site, as well
as helping the charity of your choice. Once this catches on, it will be
a whole new avenue for donation and charitable giving - a positive
ripple effect!

http://www.igive.com/

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TERM OF THE DAY:

Encyclopedia Of The New Economy

**What Is EBPP?

EBPP means "Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment". Watch for it as
the new  hot catch phrase in the industry. EBPP allows consumers to view
and administer statements on-line and allows businesses to better market
their offerings. For an example of how a company would implement this:

http://www.bluegill.com/BlueBell/index.html

Properly implemented, Internet based EBPP could lead to big cost savings
in printing and mailing costs, interactive marketing through interactive
invoicing/billing and better customer service. Contact
dcurrie@digitalripple.com for more information about EBPP for small/med
sized businesses.

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FACTOID OF THE DAY:

** A study conducted by the University of Texas and released by
Cisco Systems found that the Internet economy generated more
than $300 billion in the US in 1998 and was responsible for 1.2
million jobs.

According to the study, the US Internet economy grew at an estimated
compound annual growth rate of 174.5 percent from 1995 to 1998, compared
to the overall worldwide average economic growth rate of 3.8 percent. In
only five years, the Internet economy already rivals industries such as
energy ($233 billion), automobiles ($350 billion), and
telecommunications ($270 billion) in size, according to researchers.

Source: CyberAtlas (http://www.cyberatlas.com/)

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       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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      "Exploring the Ripple Effect of Digital Technology"

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