Taxi drivers can be interesting people. I've been driven by an ex-prizefighter, a mystic with ideas about Atlantis, and a Turkish immigrant who loved everything about Britain except the weather.
Tonight I was driven home by a techno-cabbie. He had a super-compact mobile phone and a bluetooth device permanently attached to one ear.
At an age where most people are settling down to a retirement of nostalgia and complaining about the youth of today, this fellow was voraciously devouring software, computer languages, miniature wireless devices and applications. And playing music from Blade Runner on his car CD system.
We swapped opinions on Windows Vista (it won't sell because it offers nothing new), the earliest days of computing (when programmers were electricians) and how it's difficult to learn new stuff when you're old enough to value education.
And he gave me a URL. Of a site promoting a free ebook - "Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online". It promises to tell you (and I quote):
*How to use expired domains to skyrocket your traffic
*How to set up back-end and cross-selling campaigns to explode your profits
*How to launch a profit-pulling reciprocal links campaign
*How to attract super-affiliates and earn auto-pilot profits online
*How to build a massive opt-in mailing list... and profit from it like crazy
*Why having a positive mental attitude is your greatest online business asset
...and my personal favourite:
*How to publish your own best-selling book even if you hate writing
Good eh? Just a few questions that spring to mind, in no particular order:
* Why is there a picture of Einstein on the front cover?
* Why do some people think the more words you throw at the reader the more persuasive you're being?
* Just how many people who email gushing testimonials of success to the author attach pictures of themselves to the message? Judging from this site, all of them.
* Why do they all write in the same style as the book's author?
* Do I really have to read the whole book to find out where the scam is?
* If the book contains the secret of unlimited wealth for zero work, why is this man driving a taxi for a living and asking passengers how to fix his second-hand computer?
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Yep, another how to become a millionaire book. The only way to actually achieve it is to write a 'how to become a millionaire' book.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's milage in a book on how to write "How To Become A Millionare" books that look even vaguely plausible. I mean, con artists can be gullible too, right?
ReplyDeleteThough there are books I might for a moment be tempted by:
* How to Get Rid of a Cold
* How to Magically Tidy Your Room Like Mary Poppins Did
* How to Make Your Computer Work Properly Forever
If the book contains the secret of unlimited wealth for zero work, why is this man driving a taxi for a living and asking passengers how to fix his second-hand computer?
ReplyDeleteQuite.
... «Even if you hate writing»... That would be the day! Unless... «Memoirs from the Global Madhouse», I'd say...
ReplyDelete* How to Magically Tidy Your Room Like Mary Poppins Did
ReplyDeleteI definitely want this one. Her carpet bag was waaaay cool (dude) too.
* How to Make Your Computer Work Properly Forever
Obvious. Linux ... and free. I'm having a go with Ubuntu.