The End of The Internet As We Know It

Recently a very big change has occurred on the internet. The popularity of blogs continues to rise while the use of email becomes more and more restricted.

The events of the past month have really drawn this to a head for us here at Dr Dave's Best. All was running smoothly until late January when, for no apparent reason, a large percentage of our emails stopped going through. I would not have known this were it not for the kind inquiries of our readers which started to pour in.

"Doc, are you OK? I haven't seen an email from you in a couple of days."

"Doc, is something wrong? Your emails aren't coming through anymore."

Interestingly enough, our email server, who will remain unnamed to protect the guilty, didn't say a word about it. They happily continued with their daily pop ups, telling us how much they were doing to help our on-line business with all their free teleseminars, forgetting to mention the most important fact that an on-line business needs.

The reliable delivery of its emails. The reason for the above delivery issues is not clear, but there are two possibilities that seem most likely. The first is that the server was not careful enough in policing its users and was black listed by a major internet provider, AOL. To explore this possibility, both I and my webmaster emailed the technical support crew. We got two somewhat different answers. I simply asked if there was a problem. The answer was "We are working to resolve some technical difficulties." There was no mention of black listing.

My webmaster, however, used the term black listed and received a reply that basically said "Well, err, yes, we have block listing issues."

I thought it was interesting that they did not come out and volunteer the information unless you specifically asked them. I also thought it was interesting that they euphemistically tried to soften the commonly accepted term "black list" by making it "block list".

As part of my investigation, I also communicated with other people who email through this server. None of them were aware or informed of this black listing problem and all of them were suffering because of it.

And now, into the next possibility which may have happened at the very same time.

Internet provider giant, AOL, may have been flexing its cyber muscle. You may or may not know it but the internet has become the haven of small businesses like mine. It offers world wide communications at a price you can't beat.

Up until now, it was free.

Those of us who use daily email to communicate with our customers are certainly not surprised that email is now going to be a "taxed" entity. Here is what seems to have happened. It appears that AOL decided to block emails sent out by our server which is used by the large majority of small internet businesses as a kind of bow shot warning us that the time to pony up is at hand. Here's how the deal goes down.

You pay a "white listing" fee. (Notice this is not an "unblock listing" fee. This fee is supposed to signify, along with some paperwork, that you are a legitimate on-line business. Then, you pay per volume of email you send out.

At this point, no one is sure how much this fee will be but it could easily run into thousands of dollars a month. This can only serve to discourage the growing number of entrepreneurial Americans who are trying to make ends meet via an internet business. I immediately thought of my neighbors; young, maximally extended and with three kids to put through school and college. They can ill afford thousands of dollars a year in internet tax in this new pay-to-play scheme.

Now here's the funny thing, the reason given for this registration/taxation is 'it's supposed to cut down on SPAM'. Up until now, all SPAM issues were free, so it's pretty clear this is another scheme to "tax" small business and changes the freedom of the internet for good.

In my opinion, the giant internet providers are the worst SPAM offenders ever. When you sign up and go to their homepage, you're continually bombarded with unsolicited advertisements and can get emails from people they endorse that you have no way of blocking.

Though I can't say that the taxation of the internet is a big surprise. Nor, am I surprised that they don't want to call a spade a spade.

I am a bit surprised at how slow the government has been to catch on to this scheme. Perhaps they need a little Instant Einstein.

A $10 tax per internet user by the government could yield upwards of $2 billion per year in revenues by it's users.

Next, states and municipalities could jump in as well. In my home state of Pennsylvania, a well founded rumor is circulating that says a large part of our state budget will be provided by a dramatic increase in speeding tickets.

I'd almost prefer an internet tax.

Which brings me to my final point.

Currently AOL and Yahoo are the only ones seriously entertaining "internet taxation." Once the money starts rolling in however, how long do you think it will be before other internet providers jump on the bandwagon?

All of this leads me to the final conclusion. I need to blog more and email less.

As much as I've enjoyed writing you emails every day, there are advantages to the blog. Among these are that there have been no serious attempts at taxation, censorship or filters.

Yet.

So, each day I'll be directing you to these pages where you can read "Dr Dave Unleashed" and witness the effects of Instant Einstein,
fish oil, and Instant Endurance on my creative powers.

If you thought the emails were wild, wait till you read the blogs.

I will, of course, continue to provide you with as much health-giving information and advice as I can pack in. It's just gonna have a little bit more spice.

So welcome to my blog and thanks again for your continued understanding and support.

All the best,

Doc

P.S. As you'll see, I am not new to blogging nor to writing opinionated pieces. Just a few of my original blogs are already posted for your enjoyment.