James Butler's Résumé
Call 818.686.2568 or send me email

Author Chris Crum writes about a feature of Google search results where the searcher may see a result's relationship within the website structure's hierarchy, called "breadcrumbs". He pulled one of my comments, under my online alias "Stupidscript", from his article at WebProNews to illustrate the generally positive response that this feature has received from the professional SEO community:

Google's move was generally well received. This was reflected in the comments from WebProNews readers on our past coverage. For example, a commenter going by the handle Stupidscript said, "It's definitely a good time to start wrapping your head around the notion of 'providing context', because the web is heading into its 'semantic' period ... where each link will be more or less valuable based on its relationships with and context to information found behind other links."

You can view the whole blog entry here.

This piece by Charles C. Mann includes anecdotes and expert opinions and theories about the nature and extent of a form of online advertising fraud known as 'click fraud'.

One of my quotes (Page 2 online, Page 141 print) is an anecdote that illustrates the importance of protecting the integrity of the 'pay-per-click' advertising model, and my perspective on what Google is doing to help.

The other (Page 3 online, Page 149 print) concludes the primary portion of the article's commentary with my opinion about a particularly insidious future threat to the system.

You can view the online version of the article here.
(Opens in a new browser window.)

While I received no mention in this article, I spent over an hour and a half on the phone with its author educating them about the nature of 'click fraud'.

I'm a little disappointed with my absence from the text, but I think it is apparent that the author understood my explanations. I guess it's a testament to my ability to teach over the phone ...

Reference: Amanda Bronstad, Internet Advertising Fraud Places Google, Yahoo on Defensive, Los Angeles Business Journal, Volume 27, Issue 35 (Aug. 29, 2005)

Much of the footage taped during a 45-minute interview focused on the 'trust relationship' that is a big factor in online marketing. We discussed how trust is being abused by many online marketers, and its impact on Internet communications in general.

By the time the piece aired, it was about how "Hydroderm" was refusing to give refunds to its customers, the quality of its product and how deceptive its online campaign was.

You can view the entire story here. (QuickTime)
(Use your 'back' button to return here.)

When Paris Hilton's Blackberry data was compromised at its location in the online data servers, the celebrity world surrounding her got a little nervous.

This piece includes not only the shocking details contained in the data, but also some information about how such a breach of security could have happened.

My interview contained explanations of the security technology involved and my perspective on the risks a 'normal' Blackberry user might be exposed to. What made the cut were comments about why Paris received so much attention.

You can view the entire story here. (QuickTime)
(Use your 'back' button to return here.)

"Both Google and Yahoo acknowledge the perils of click fraud, but believe improved internal controls and the increased vigilance of advertisers will prevent the problem from escalating."

You can view an archived version of the article here.
(Use your 'back' button or the CNN logo or a 'Home' link to return here.)

I appeared twice with three other expert panelists
on this live, Internet-only game show.

The show's premise was to present three Internet entrepreneurs' ideas in each episode, and have those ideas commented on by the 4-expert panel. Following the idea presentations and comments, online viewers voted to select the 'best' idea.

Each episode's winner received some Internet business-related prizes and was sent on to the the final round. At the end of the 9-week run, the last show's viewers selected the big winner and awarded them cash and more prizes.

It was a lot of fun, off-the-cuff remarks with some good online business advice thrown in.

I wasn't able to record any of the streaming media live episodes, however
you can view three of my archived ZDNet web pages here.

(For this archive, I have disabled the outgoing links. The 'Home' links will take you back to this page.
The 'Meet the Host', 'Meet the Panelists' and 'Show Description' links are also functional.)

SmallBusinessBrief.com: Revamping an existing website: Feb. 3, 2006

"Remember ... people first ... How are the conversion rates from the site? Is it performing well for those visitors who manage to find it? Determine what is working well before you gut the fish. You don't want to go backwards just for the sake of some search engine theory."
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WebmasterWorld.com: The nature of a 'packet injection' hacking attempt: Jan. 25, 2006

"The nature of a packet injection attack is such that an existing packet stream and a valid connection must be established, then comes the port monitoring to view that packet stream's configuration, then comes the guessing at the next packet number in the sequence (while valid packets are flowing freely), then comes the attempt to inject the forged packet and finally the file buffer is overflowed or whatever 'crowbar' is being applied to compromise the system after a successful injection. An incorrect guess at the packet's sequence number will cause the forged packet to simply bounce off (invalid packet because it doesn't fit into the request sequence), as the original request/exchange is handled normally."
Read the complete forum thread here

OnlyTheRightAnswers.com: 'White Hat' vs. 'Black Hat': Aug. 19, 2005

"What I like about being a White Hat is that I get to do everything that a Black Hat does, and then go further and harden my systems against the things I learn. I see what the script kiddies (what ... Mauve Hats?) and Black Hats are working with, get to know the exploits, and then I get to get into the guts of the machine to figure out how to stop 'em. Plus, I spend less time in jail."
This forum thread is no longer available

SmallBusinessBrief.com: The 'Zotob' worm: Aug. 18, 2005

"A worm does not need any help. Zotob, like other worms, simply spreads itself using information about its host's network address. Zotob, in particular, installs a little independent FTP server and then sends and receives its compatriot nasty program files by reaching out to other IP addresses within the 'B-class' block (255.255.0.0) that the host address is using. When it finds a vulnerable system within those addresses, it installs its FTP program and keeps going."
This forum thread is no longer available