A little over a year ago, I walked the streets of New Orleans with ten thousand other eBay convention goers. We took classes, gathered souvenirs and ate and drank to our hearts' content. Now people are dying on the very streets we strolled. I never thought I would see in a major U.S. city the despair I have seen all week on TV and the Internet.
Words can't describe how I feel for those people in a city that welcomed us all with open arms. Our hearts go out to all those affected along the Gulf Coast. While you may feel abandoned, all around the country we have been rooting for your quick and safe evacuation and recovery. In the coming months, I hope we can all be as generous as the great people of Texas who have offered their resources so generously.
I am happy to report that Lissa McGrath, who contributes articles to AuctionBytes, is fine. She's based in Florida, and has survived several vicious hurricanes. In fact, her article, "The eBay Sellers Guide to Preparing for a Hurricane," appeared in the last issue (http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y205/m08/abu0149/s05).
As business owners, we need to make sure we prepare for disasters as best we can. Give some thought to how you would react to a crisis and best protect your family and your business, including having adequate insurance.
I'm donating whole blood through the Red Cross this week and hope you will consider doing so if you are able. I know many readers have probably already donated to charities like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Remember to watch out for fake charities, scams and phishing emails.
David and I are would like to announce a new service in this, our 150th issue. Ecommwire is a free press release service (http://www.ecommwire.com). If you have an announcement about an ecommerce-related service, you can register and post your press release at Ecommwire for free. This is not to advertise individual items or stores, but rather, services that online sellers would be interested in learning about.
You can also visit Ecommwire and sign up to get a weekly summary of ecommerce-related announcements, and you can read the latest headlines from Ecommwire on the AuctionBytes home page.
Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend, and thanks for reading.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
