Thanks to Search Engine Strategies for sponsoring [chrisbrogan.com] for January.

I’m on planes for the next several days, as a way to do business. I count on airlines to grow my business, even though the Internet is a huge part of what I do. That’s why I decided to take this particular opportunity, because it matches my own business interests, and because I think it’s a neat opportunity.

This is for US Businesses Only

(according to folks who read all the fine print)

British Airways is giving away 100 Business Opportunity Grants to people who qualify. Basically, British Airways is saying what I always say: it’s great to meet people online, but deals get made face-to-face. I agree with this.

Obviously, there’s other incentives at foot for the airline industry. Travel’s on tough times right now, and companies need any incentive they can to keep us engaged. But there is some logic behind what British Airways is giving away. Here’s what they say on their site:

We reaffirmed this belief through our collaborative research with The Harvard Business Review, that proved the great importance of conducting business in person and its direct relationship to the bottom-line. The study shows that 87% of professionals think that face-to-face meetings are essential for sealing the deal, while 95% said it’s the key to successful, long lasting business relationships. So, it’s an imperative you get quality face time with your clients, no matter how far you need to travel.

And this is what they’re giving away if you get the grant:

• British Airways airfare for 10 round-trip Club World business class flights.
• 5 free British Airways World Cargo freight shipments of up to 500 kilos to worldwide destinations
• $1000 toward accommodation at Courtyard by Marriott
• 5 Regus Businessworld Gold Cards providing access to business lounges worldwide
• Canon PIXMA MX860 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer

It’s a pretty decent deal, I think. For the snarks, yes, this is for publicity for BA, but if you can make a business advantage out of it, why wouldn’t you?

If you want to know more, apply for a Business Opportunity Grant .

Thanks for your time.

The preceding was a sponsored post for British Airways, by way of Izea

This is a sponsored post. My pledge to you is that I’ll never take a sponsorship from someone I can’t endorse, or from someone that doesn’t match the interests of this community. I also disclose every affiliation on my About page.

Do you pay your bills online? Do you do online banking? Have you ever wondered about how secure online payments are? More interestingly, are you wondering about how to NOT use credit this holiday season and pay cash instead?

I think this might be interesting to you.

When I talked with Samer Forzley from eBillMe about his product, I admit that I didn’t understand it the first time I went to the website. That’s because it’s actually a lot more clever than I thought it was when I learned what they’re doing.

eBillme is like the middle man between your online purchases. You can use it at places like Buy.com or Tiger Direct or a bunch of other places (they’re signing up new ones as fast as they can, I’m told). The site has a really simple For Her and For Him section of gift ideas for Cyber Monday and Holiday shopping, by the way, which made for some interesting browsing for me. (I ended up on Buy.com because there was more to see.)

How It Works

(and if I’m wrong, Samer will help me fix this):

You buy something from Buy.com. For a payment method, you select “eBillMe.” When filling out the form to buy whatever, the merchant gets your email address, and so does eBillMe. Then, eBillMe sends you an email with a special code.

Take that code to your online bank of choice. You know where you pay bills, like the electric bill? Go there and put in that code and make eBillMe the payee. Then, just complete your purchase that way.

Then, eBillMe pays the merchant, and you get your stuff, without much fuss, and with lots more security.

Why This is Cool

Think about this: In this model, eBillMe gets funds from your bank, but from the BANK, not your direct account. In this model, eBillMe pays the merchant, which doesn’t pass any of your banking data through for the transaction. In this model, you see a deduction on your statement that says you paid “eBillMe” some money.

Compare that with paying with your debit card, where you give the merchant your bank info. At least two bad ideas in one there, right? Now compare it with paying through PayPal. Not bad, except that you have to give PayPal all your banking info. Right?

So eBillMe has this wrapped up in a fairly neat way, from the secure and anonymous point of view, eh?

Hoping The Idea Spreads

In 2009, with the credit crunch on, and with more people looking to protect their data online, I think an idea like eBillMe is pretty clever. I hope Samer and the team can get more people to accept it as a paying option (my guess is he’ll chime in for the comments and tell us what’s up there). But for now, I plan to use it for some holiday purchases, especially the For Her one, because one can always use help finding the right things to buy. (Okay, *I* can always use the help.)

What do you think?

The preceding was a sponsored post by eBillMe. My opinions are definitely my own, and this post was written by me with no external influence.