Don’t Try This At Home – Do You Know How To Run a Business?
Folks,
I know the economy is in a bit of a pickle right now. And while so many would LOVE to believe the sales pitches that you can make income from home – I have to warn you.
Working online is like running any kind of business. You should go in with an idea of what kind of business you would run – if the internet did not exist. Yep – you are essentially running a home business.
There is no one system or method – there is only what is within you.
Online marketing is the same as offline marketing. You have to sell stuff. And if you don’t know diddly about what you are selling you are not going to be very good at it.
I can’t tell you what niche to follow – but I can tell you with any business you will need a plan. I can also tell you there are a LOT of ways to sell stuff online. If you have not seen it, I have a silly report in the upper right corner of this site right now. Sign up – really. It will show you just a few different ways to make money.
And you know what? That report will probably leave you with more questions than answers. And that is GOOD. You need to ask questions. You need to know what your options are.
I can suggest things, tell you what I like and what I don’t – but ultimately it is up to each of us to do our due diligence when looking up programs to promote, which are hopefully something you believe in and things that will compliment your personal business.
Kimkins Notice – Opt Out Option
Filed under: Diet, Legal Stuff, kimkins, paid memberships
The following notice is presented for those who may need information on how to not participate in the Class Action Lawsuit against Kimkins.
Why would you want to do this?
Well, for one thing, maybe you like taking diet advice from someone who lied about their weight and used fake pictures from Russian Brides sites to promote her site.
A better reason might be that you did suffer some serious physical consequences and you will need to sue Heidi personally. Just know, if this would be your reason I am truly sorry for ailments you have faced and hope you are well or getting well.
Ok, so here is the information if you wish to duck out the back door:
NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION
TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.
INTRODUCTION
1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.
2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.
3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.
THE LITIGATION
The Plaintiffs’ Claims
5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.
6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:
• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”
• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lied about “Drake’s” purported weight loss
• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Women’s World magazine
• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published on the Kimkins.com Web
• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements
• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships, when in fact Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim
• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.
The Defendants’ Position
7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.
THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER
8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.
9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.
THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONS
REGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS
10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS
11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.
OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.
WHERE TO GO & WHOM TO CONTACT
SHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION
13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:
• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.
• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and whom the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:
John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879
Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017
Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232
If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing. To make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond, however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.
There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class. So please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.
DATE: ___________________________, 2009
____________________________________
Hon. _________________________,
Presiding Judge
Why I Am Having A Hard Time with CPA
I want to begin by sharing not all CPA is bad, but the example video below will alert you to some online dangers with some of these programs.
Always be sure to read the fine print.
Free Video Reveals #1 Secret to Your IM Success – The War Room UNCUT
Are you spending money on one plan to the next only to find your still not finding the answers you seek? Does your bank account echo when you yodel into it? This may be the most important video you will ever watch.
No Affiliate links here – Come on over!
http://www.warriorforum.com/test-forum/132005-free-video-reveals-1-secret-your-im-success-war-room-uncut.html#post1256057
Which Sidewiki Video Do You Like?
Yesterday I went hunting around Youtube to see what everyone is doing on Sidewiki. Well, of course Google has the number one video on the subject – here’s their video:
But are they really telling you the whole story here? I thought they might be missing some things, so here is my version:
You can get more information by clicking this link here on the sidewiki blocker.
Third Voice Redux Sidewiki
Nothing is really new these days, just reinvented in some other form. I discovered this morning Third Voice, an application launched back in 1999 was an annotation software one could install on their computer and make notes on any site while browsing. It provided an online inline commenting system for it’s user (sound familiar?).
Third Voice failed:
But the seemingly innocuous “sticky notes” gained enemies quicker than users. Launching a grassroots campaign called Say No to TV, some 400 independent Web hosts banded together to gag Third Voice, which they likened to “Web graffiti.”
Quote appears on wired.
According to sources from Wired, owners of the software were unable to finance their venture for the free application and lack of funding was the ultimate downfall of the project. Unfortunately, it may be some time before Google is seeing some financial trouble.
Upon the exit of Third Voice, the application saw a couple hundred thousand users of the application. Of course, you are looking at a time when the internet boom was in it’s real infancy. Many suggest sidewiki will not be used by many, yet if you compare the reach of Google today and the explosive growth rate of those joining the world wide web, I’d be willing to bet sidewiki is well beyond 200,000 users already and probably won’t see a slowdown for quite some time.
Original supporters of the Third Voice seemed hopeful this type of application would reemerge in the future allowing free speech anywhere on the internet and it would seem as though their wishes have come true.
Be careful what you ask for.
Sidewiki, Get Off My Lawn!
While the term is very new and not everyone has installed the latest Google toolbar, Sidewiki is here and has taken root on every site. Like a sprout of crabgrass on your yard, it is there on the front of your website – whether you realize it or not. If you are thinking just because you can’t see it that it is of no importance or danger to you, think again.
This new application created to launch from a Google toolbar is not to be confused with a social bookmark. No, this beast actually reveals it’s head directly on your site creating a large comments column down the left side of your browser and taking up nearly a third of your virtual real estate and stealing your web. Anyone and his brother with a Gmail account can post comments using the sidewiki, which will stay on your site unless Google or the original poster decides to edit them out. Google has been gracious enough to allow web masters to post the top comment to appear in the sidewiki, but other than that it’s a wild west land grab for anyone to make their mark.
While this sounds all fun and innocent, there are nefarious characters about the web (this former scam victim is well aware of this) who will no doubt find ways to abuse this new technology to no end. As a website owner, you have no control over which comments are left and who leaves them. In addition, other media can be left behind such as web video. Links directing YOUR VISITORS can whisk them away to another domain whose intentions for the end user may not be so kind. If you have a dispute with a neighbor let’s say, there is no stopping them from airing out the laundry on your business for the world to see. While you could just post a whole lot of text on your own sidewiki in an effort to bury the bad stuff under the rug, this will not prevent comments from happening to show in the search engine results.
On Your Site
Sidewiki uses something resembling an iframe where the window is available on your site and on every page. Webmasters with hundreds or even thousands of pages will find it near impossible to check what is being said on and about their sites as they would need to explore every page of the site.
A newly discovered loophole could provide some relief, but if you are managing tens of sites this could become a burden of additional maintenance to put out the fires.
You may be thinking, “So what, people can leave lousy comments about you on facebook or other forums already so what is the big deal?” The big deal is that instead of these things appearing on an external site which you don’t control, these kinds of happenings will display directly on your web pages associating them more firmly with you and your business. One of the primary reasons for purchase of your own hosting and domain is so you control exactly what is seen on the page.
Let’s talk about advertising. There is speculation that the direction of the sidewiki will lead to Google adding their ads into the Pandoras box sitting on your site. If you are someone who relies on making money by running adsense on your site and G has ads appearing in the side, you could be at great risk of seeing your ad revenue drop. Already spotted are suggestions on the sidewiki for others to get the toolbar. While the toolbar is free, this is already advertising by Google that can draw your readers away from your site.
Current Bandaids
Some Grassroots efforts are currently in discussion, but the best solution to date is the addition of a sidewiki blocker to your sites. It is a bit of code that will dump comments left into a sandbox where they will not appear to other visitors coming to your site. It can not avoid comments from indexing in the SERPS or actually delete the comments, but it can keep visitors on your site more focused on what you are offering as opposed to what others may be spamming on the side.
Petition
If you would like to voice your opinions on the matter, a petition has been started at Kill Sidewiki Before it Kills You .
Yes, sounds dramatic but honestly none of us know just how far this thing can go. If there were perhaps a way for webmasters to bow out of the sidewiki participation it could be enough to rest our already weary heads.
Sidewiki Alert! Urgent!
The following article is borrowed courtesy Steven Wagenheim.
URGENT – Sidewiki Can KILL Your Business
The war has started and it’s going to be an ugly one. I can see the lawsuits a mile away. I am writing this, knowing full well that it may not even get published at any article directories for fear of repercussions from Google, to warn you that your site, your business, is at SERIOUS risk. I am talking about the new Sidewiki toolbar which has already been responsible for vicious attacks on several sites.
If you’re not familiar with Sidewiki, it is essentially a simple application. The web surfer downloads the Sidewiki toolbar. After they do, any site they visit, the toolbar will appear on the left hand side of the site itself in the same window. On this toolbar, visitors to your site can post their comments. Then, anybody who goes to visit your site can see those comments posted.
On the surface, this would seem innocuous enough. But in the wrong hands, this could become a deadly tool, as I have already witnessed. There is nothing from stopping a competitor from viewing your site and leaving a comment such as, “This person is a scam artist. Do not buy anything from them.” Then, any visitor who has the toolbar installed will see that comment. This can potentially destroy a person’s business if a mass attack is coordinated.
The problem I have with this whole application is that it is essentially giving Google the right to display adds and opinions DIRECTLY on your site WITHOUT your approval. It’s one thing if somebody goes to a forum or discussion group and makes a comment about your site. It’s another one for somebody to come to YOUR site and see such comments.
This should NOT be tolerated. I am thereby asking every Internet marketer and home business owner to write to Google and tell them that you are against Sidewiki. Contact some of the major online companies, such as Amazon and explain to them what kind of damage this toolbar can do to THEIR business. With enough muscle behind us, we can put a stop to Sidewiki.
Please do not take this lightly. This is as serious as it gets. It is no different from somebody coming to your restaurant and spraying graffiti all over your walls telling people not to eat there.
In my signature, you will find a link where you can contact Google about Sidewiki.
To YOUR Success,
Steven Wagenheim
Don’t want to see your business destroyed? Go to http://www.google.com/support/toolbar/bin/request.py?contact_type=feedback and tell Google what you think of Sidewiki and that you want it taken down.
I have to agree whole heartedly. Sidewiki is a pandoras box that Google has just opened.
Please visit this PETITION TO KILL SIDEWIKI as well.
This blog has installed a Sidewiki Blocker.
To learn more, please join in on the discussion at The Warrior Forum.
Kimkins, Your Time is Going to Come
I LOVE Led Zepplin. What a perfect song as we rapidly approach the summary judgement this month.
Word on the street is that there are people looking for me and will be talking with me soon. That is news to me. They will need to get in line and make an appointment as I am extremely busy these days.
This 2 year anniversary is very symbolic for me. I have been through a lot in the past 2 years, but have made the most dramatic changes in just this past month. I have been spending some time weeding out the things that are not important to me, and should we get the results we hope to see from the Kimkins case I will be excited to unload that from the list of things to tidy up and finish off.
I’ve been working on a new internet marketing plan and overall life plan. I am not sure whether this has come as a result of a seven year itch or some midlife thing, but the unloading feels good.
My new goals will be completed by August of 2011. 2 years sounds like a long time for a plan, but I am looking for some long term results – not just a quick fix. We all learned from KK that the quick fix can actually make things worse in the long run.
While I had gained back nearly all the weight I lost, it has been dropping off this past month without even trying. I have found if I just keep busy and stay away from car rides it is a no brainer. I think the addition of dropping some unnecessary stress and things that just were not working has been an important factor.
I’ve been asking myself, “what would really make me happy?” I think people fall into slumps of thinking they are happy or spending too much time trying to make others happy. The next couple of years will be all on making myself as happy as possible.
I would suggest to people who are overweight to ask themselves the same question before even starting a diet. Not the ones with medical issues, but those who have just let things slide. The right answer should have nothing to do with weight – meaning your answer should not be “If I lost 100lbs I would be really happy.” Losing weight is not as hard a battle when other negative issues have been removed. I have personally evaluated for myself that my weight is a reflection of the other issues surrounding me. Right now, food is not important other than for nourishment. As a total “foodie” I am suprised I have finally come to this.
I have dropped a pant size in a week. I have not obsessed with counting calories, or deprived myself when I felt hungry. I’ll be monitoring myself weekly and keeping track of my happiness level. Should things keep going in the right direction, I’ll be relieved to have finally found what really “works.” 
Proposed Notice of Pendency of Class Action – Kimkins
This is NOT an official notice regarding Kimkins. This notice is proposed to the court by plaintiffs’ counsel June 26, 2009. If you choose to duplicate this notice on any blog or website, this notice MUST be included.
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Smoke This
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Sign by Dealighted - Coupons and Deals
Sign by Dealighted - Coupons and DealsDid you visit while I was away?
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