Gadget Girl Tips

Have you met Bob Smith?

2012-02-22T18:59:00.003-06:00

Sometimes things on Facebook make me laugh. A neighbor posted that she received a voicemail for a Bob Smith from a lady, who was extremely apologetic that it has taken so long in responding to his interest in becoming an Avon Representative. Having two creative boys, she asked her 12 year old son if he knew anything about the Avon message for Bob Smith. With a little hesitation, he admitted that Bob Smith was the name he was using to fill out surveys and the more he filled out the more points he got. Not only did it give me a good laugh, I also thought it would be a suitable topic for Gadget Girl Tips.

That’s brings us to today’s topic on earning money online through surveys and reading junk mail. You won’t get rich but this project may help build the Christmas fund. I’ve been doing online surveys off and on for three years and it supports my e-book addiction.

Online survey companies like My Points, Big Spot, and InBox Dollars will send you emails that you can earn points for reading the emails. Once you earn enough points you can redeem points for them gift cards for places such as Amazon, Starbucks, etc. Some companies will even pay you money, with the time length and type of survey determining the value of a completed survey.

Here some tips.

1. Set up a junk email account. Use a Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail email services, one you don’t already use. I recommend using these email accounts as they all have their own apps for accessing your mail on your smartphone. Plus, they are pretty easy to delete if you decide you don’t want to participate anymore. You will also want to access this mail through a webmail (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail are all webmail). Remember this is junk mail, so you don’t want to take chances with a virus. Once you have the email set up, go ahead and access the email app and sign in.

2. Limit yourself to one-two sites. Sign up for the survey companies using the email you created in step one. To get started just sign up for one or two websites. Once you start participating with one company, other companies will invite you to receive their emails.

3. Download RoboForm and install. You will want to put a fake name, street, city, state and phone number on your form unless, you don’t mind getting voicemails for Bob Smith. RoboForm is automatic form filler. Why waste your time typing all the information on every form you submit?

4. Be patient when waiting for emails. It will take a couple of days to receive your first email but they will increase to 2-3 a day once you start to participate.

You may be asking “But I don’t have time to check Facebook, how am I going to find the time?”

Great question!

As I wait in lines at Wal-Mart, the Post Office, or waiting for a meeting to start I click and read my “junk” mail. Yes, I use that wasted time to make money. I leave the surveys for when I get home and have RoboForm do the work for me when filling out the online forms.

Not interested in looking at junk mail? Take a look at Swagbucks, a search engine that rewards you for searching! This has actually become a contest among my family members and who is leading in Swagbucks. If you were wonder, my Dad has been in the lead for quite a while now. Just replace your current search engine with Swagbucks, search like normal, and earn Swagbucks that can be redeemed for gift cards. One year, I paid for most of my Christmas budgets utilizing gift cards redeemed from the Swagbucks I earned while doing everyday searches.

Good Luck!

Good Morning Sunshine!

2012-02-20T15:18:00.001-06:00

In a perfect world, I would wake slowly from my deep slumber to the birds singing a morning melody and to the smell of coffee dancing the air. Although my reality is more like, the cat stretched across my body like I’m her own personal pillow, the dog is snoring, and then POW! A nuclear siren of an alarm goes off, I jump; the cat falls onto the dog, the dog jumps off the bed and is now in attack mode barking at the alarm (aka my iPhone).

Oh, I am so glad to see you 4 A.M., Saturday morning.

Since I’m not a fan of having a repeat performance of this morning, I go off in search of a new alarm app for my iPhone.

Although, the iPhone is n impressive phone it lacks the capability to run third party applications such as an alarm in the background like the Android operating system. In order for the alarm to work on an iPhone, the alarm app must be actively running, which is ok unless until you fall asleep reading an e-book and forget to start the alarm app. I would fall asleep with my Android without having the paranoid feeling that I was going to wake up late the next morning.

So here’s my pick alarm pick for Iphone and Android. Click the app name for a direct link to the apple store or Android Market.

Nightstand Central (iPhone, iPhone, iTouch)
Free

With music alarms, a built-in sleep timer, weather, customizable photo backgrounds, and even an included shake-on/shake-off flashlight, Nightstand Central turns your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad into the ultimate bedside hub. I favorite feature is the fade in music. Now I awake to church bells that slowly bring me out of my slumber.

Alarm Clock Plus (Andoird)
Feee with Ads or 99 cents without ads

Alarm Clock Plus combines built-in reliability with a slick, customizable interface. Personalize your alarm sounds using ringtones, songs, playlists, and even apps like Pandora. Enable the math setting and you will have to solve a math problem to turn off the alarm. With features like snooze duration, alarm fade-in and vibration delay, the customization options are virtually limitless. I used this app when I had an Android phone.

Caught Red Handed

2012-02-17T10:06:00.000-06:00

I was buying a new gift card today for my iTunes account and remembered why I started loading the pre-paid cards onto my account. A few years back I was checking my bank account online and notice that there were three charges of $100 each to my debit card from iTunes. At that time, I thought it was strange since I had been using Amazon for downloading my music. I quickly grabbed my cell phone and called the bank while at the same time logging into iTunes and changed my password. The bank disputed the charges and restored the charged amounts to my account. Apple locked the account from any future purchases while I merged to a new Apple account.

Luckily I caught the mistake before more damage was done to my checking account.

Since then I load iTunes pre-paid gift cards to my account without linking a credit card. This way if someone hacks into my account I am only out the amount of the gift card and I don’t have to mess with restoring my credit with the banks. (Under my Apple ID, I have none selected as the payment option.)

The iconic thing about this whole thing is that all the songs the hacker purchased can be found under the purchased tab on my old account.

Let’s Break it Down Barney Style: What do to if you are hacked.

- Call the bank/credit card company to report the theft
- Change your password immediately. The password should have 1 capital letter, 1 lowercase letter, and at least one number. To make a more difficult password, consider using a pattern on your keyboard. For example you could use the pattern !@34QWer on your keyboard.

The perfect man isn't on my calendar.

2012-02-12T16:37:00.000-06:00

In preparing for Valentine’s Day, or what I like to call "Single Awareness Day", I was playing with my cell phone. I asked Siri, the interactive personal assistant on my iPhone4s, "Where to find the perfect man?"
She responded with what I think was a slight hint of attitude – “I don’t see the perfect man on your calendar.”

Great!

Now my phone is telling me that I can’t find the perfect man! So what do I do?

I dip my toes into the pond of online dating to find the perfect frog to kiss and turn into a prince.

Whoopee!

We all wish that online dating was as easy as the commercials make it look and secretly wish that all the people look like our favorite celebrity but let’s join reality. Although it may not be like the commercials, online dating can be an interesting experience and will hopefully keep the parents at bay about “finding someone special” for a couple of months.
Here are several types of online dating “ponds” that you might want to check into as you look for your frog.

1. Limited matches based on questions. One website in particular will ask you thousands of questions in order to match you with the perfect mate based on your answers. If you make it to the end of the list of questions and still want to try online dating then continue on soldier! You are presented with profiles that are compatible with your answers. You don't see any other profiles expect for the profiles that the website wants you to see.

2. Ten questions to your match. Other website focus on questions such as your wants and must haves in the future soul mate. The site will give you matches based on your date criteria but you can view anyone profile from anywhere in the country. I find this a little creepy that people from across the country can see my profile and “poke” me. What are we in kindergarden again, where the boy hits the girl to let her know he likes her.

3. Window Shopping Sites. Open profile sites allow you to view profile like window shopping for a date. I know several people who have met their significant other on this site. Just be aware of these sites, they usually have more men than women ratio. Most men on these sites are going after a booty call than instead of a long term a relationship.

I’ll admit it; I once met a long term boyfriend through online dating service. Unfortunately, the relationship came to a screeching end when I discovered he wasn't being very truthful. It probably worked out for the best though; he was too much like my ex-husband.

Keep in mind these tips when looking for your fog in the ponds on online dating.

1. Use a different email address. Have one email account that does not list your full name in the email address or in the display. I use a childhood nickname that is common as the display name since I have such an unusual first name.

2. Check to make sure your phone number is private. It’s unbelievable how much information you can find on a reverse look up on a cell number. You can check with your phone company on disabling the caller id for your phone number. Dating sites have now start adding calling features where you can use their site as the middle man to protect your phone number.

3. Backgrounds checks are your friend. Getting serious about someone? Spend the $20-30 on a background check. This will quickly tell you if you have a toad and not a frog. My thought is that it’s worth the money for my own security to know if I’m dating someone who is a serial killer. This is what tipped me off that something wasn’t quite right with the long-term boyfriend after I discovered he had an apartment in Miami for three years but didn’t really live there.

4. Schedule a Meet’n Greet. A meet’n greet is an excellent way to meet someone for a cup of coffee and skip out easily if it doesn’t work out. After spending four hours on a date with a guy who didn’t look anything like his photo and admitted he still lived with his mother, I learned this tip the hard way. Sometimes I like to take my dog on meet’n greets, because let’s be honest; if my dog doesn’t like you I probably won’t like you either.

5. Lock Down Social Networking Sites. You don't want a crazy cyber stalker you met on an online dating site knowing where you work, who your friends are, and other personal information about you.
Just remember if you don’t find your soul mate in one pond there are a lot of other ponds.

Find, Pin, Share.

2012-02-09T20:10:00.002-06:00

When my sister got married in 2001, she carried around a large three ring binder filled to the brim with fabric samples, ideas, and other random thoughts. Fast forward ten years and the three ring wedding binder has been replaced with Pinterest, a social media outlet for pinning your collection of ideas to virtual pinboards. A virtual pinboard for bridesmaid dresses, flowers, dresses, and food become the new standard for brides to be. The wedding party can leave comments about the dresses, flowers, and ties brides pin up on their virtual pinboards. Don’t forget to keep tabs on what the wedding experts of the world are pinning to their boards. The Knot and Style Me Pretty are getting in on the Pinterest trend, pinning hundreds of creative and artistic ideas.

Not getting married, not a problem! People use pinboards to share their personal style, decorate their homes, and manage their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can view pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards are a fun way to learn new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. Not sure what to get your sister for her Birthday? Check out her board for ideas!

Pinterest can be used to pull your thoughts into one place. From the wedding planning to the new home owner collecting decorating ideas, it’s up to you how you manage your pinboards and what you pin.

I have pinboards in these categories:

NWNH – No Way, No How will I ever consider making these ideas! (very true)
Funny but True Sayings (things you want to say to people but won't)
Fabulous Food (recipes to look at but not try)
Wish List (don't need, but want)
The Bucket List.
Wish I was there (Travel Ideas)

Pinterest is currently requesting invitations to become a member. If you would like an invitation, send me an email at gadgetgirl@gadgetgirltips.com. You will need a Facebook or Twitter account to log in once you receive an invitation.

Organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web with Pinterest.

As Martha Stewart would say – “It’s a good thing!”

The Game of the Job Search

2012-02-06T21:21:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I wish the job search was like playing a game of monopoly. You roll dice and BAM! You have a new occupation; pass go and collect $200. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way, and it’s a painful, time consuming processing.

The cycle of searching online job posting, networking, customizing resumes and cover letters continues until you find that perfect position. Below are several tips that can save time and ease the pain during the job search.

1. Google Yourself. Before you start your job search, Google your name and see what comes up for your name. Companies are now checking social media websites to find more information about their potential employees. Your Facebook profile should be at the highest privacy setting and uncheck the “make searchable” option. Do you have a common name like John Smith? Add the city where you live or work behind the name in the search box. Ask yourself, “Would I hire myself based on the information I found online?”

2. Set up Automatic Email Notices of New Job Postings: Websites such as USAJobs.gov, Monster.com, and Indeed.com offer email notices on saved searches. I’ve also seen many company websites that now offered the same feature on their company positions. Let the website do the work for you alerting you by email on new job openings based on your search criteria.

3. Network on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a social networking website designed for business professionals. It allows you to share work-related information with other users and keep an online list of professional contacts. Similar to Facebook, users can create profiles within LinkedIn that are business-oriented rather than personal. For example, a LinkedIn profile highlights education and past work experience, which makes it appear similar to a resume. I have found this to be an excellent resource for networking with recruiters and land the interview.

4. Find the Niche sites. Does your profession have a dedicated website for job postings? To find these niche sites, type your profession then job posting (nursing job posting).

5. Hire a Professional Resume Writer. Not getting any hits on your resume? You might want to check into having your resume professional re-written. There are several companies out there, and they are not cheap, but utilizing the service might speed up the job search.

Good luck on your search for the perfect position.

Turn Old Gadgets into Money!

2012-02-02T06:17:00.000-06:00

A few years ago, a boyfriend gave me a new IPod Touch for Christmas. With my search hat on and armed with my laptop, I went off in search of a website to sell my old iPod Classic. After a few moments, I stumbled upon Gazelle.com, a reCommerce service helps you sell and recycle your used electronics. I answered a few questions regarding the condition and hit the magic calculate button. I was offered $150 for my old iPod Classic. SCORE!

After confirming the sell, I printed off my prepaid UPS slip and then restored the iPod to factory setting to erase my data. Next I packed my iPod Classic in a box and dropped the package of at the Post Office. A few days later, I received an email confirming the condition of the iPod and my money was on its way!

Interested in selling you used iPhone3 when the iPhone 5 comes out? You will get more money for your used iPhone3 if you answer the product condition questions and confirmed your order before the Apple press conference is over. The longer you wait, the less money you will be offered for your iPhone3. The offer from Gazelle is valid for 30 days from the day you confirm the buy back amount in case you change your mind on selling the item.

Occasionally Gazelle will run a bonus code worth between 5-10% of the buy back amount. You can also get paid in an Amazon Gift Card and get another 5-10% of the buy back amount. These two offers can typically be used together. Gazelle will also buy back DVDs, gaming systems, games, phones, e-readers, and mp3 players. If you gadget is too old or they no longer offer a buy back on that product, Gazelle will offer to recycle the product for free.

Why have old gadgets gather dust when make money by recycling them?

It’s not the end of the world.

2012-01-30T11:59:00.005-06:00

Recently, I was unfriended on Facebook. I know, what a travesty. Why would someone want to unfriend me? That’s what a lot of people think when trying to figure out why they were dropped.

In today’s social media,when someone unfriends you, it's a shock, and and you might feel an explanation is needed. There are many reasons someone might unfriend you on Facebook and don’t take it personally if you fall into one of these categories.

The High School Friend: It’s now 20 years later and you discovered you actually have nothing in common with each other and honestly don't care either.

The Double Poster: These are the people who post everything on their business fan page and then the same post on the personal page. Do I need to be a friend and a fan of your business?

The Oversharing Parent: These people have to share every little thing about their growing family including what color their poop is ...really, TMI (too much information).

The Serial Poster: These people share every moment of their day like we all want to hear what they had for breakfast, followed by a trip to Wal-Mart, etc. Honestly, I don’t care what you did every second of your day just give us the highlight reel.

If you do get unfriend don’t forget it’s not the end of the world, it’s just Facebook.

Let’s break it down: How to Unfriend Someone
1. Click the name of the friend you want to unfriend.
2. In the top right corner under your name, there will be a friends button. Move your mouse of the button
3. At the bottom of the list is an unfriend button. Click the button and confirm.

You don’t want to claim me as your mother?

2012-01-27T07:31:00.000-06:00

Recently, I got an invitation from my mom on Facebook to list her as my mother through the Family Tree App. I declined the request then got an email with the subject – “You don’t want to claim me as your mother on Facebook?” So I scrabble to find my cell phone, hit the speed dial to my mom armed with my shovel to start digging myself out of a hole. I explained that by identifying her as my mother on Facebook I was holding up a sign in big letters providing an answer to the most commonly used security question – What is your mother’s maiden name? Not to say I don’t trust the people I’m friends with on Facebook, but how do I know they are friends and not some secret crazy hacker. To make matters worse, I’m also giving the company running the app through Facebook the same information.

So, I am sorry to say this, but yes, mom, I don’t want to claim you as my mother on Facebook (via an app).

Let’s break it down Barney style: How to remo
ve an application

Follow the directions below.

Click the little arrow right of the Home button on the top right of any Facebook page then click Account Setting.
Next, click the apps button from the menu on the left. This will bring up an entire list of applications with an edit and X (for delete) for each application.
Click the X to remove the application from your profile or edit to edit the access of the application to your Facebook profile.
Most applications require a certain amount of information to be require but other information can be edited such as the time of day the application accesses your information.

The smart woman’s way of sending greeting cards.

2012-01-24T20:37:00.000-06:00

People are always surprised when they hear that I send out 4-10 greeting cards a week to extended family. I’m going to share my secret for a smart woman’s way to send greeting cards. Here’s the secret but sshh..don’t tell the family.

I make one card online and mail everyone the same card. Crazy right!?!

How do I do it?

I use subscription based Send Out Cards to send all my cards but Hallmark, American Greetings, and Shutterfly also provide similar services without subscriptions. Typically I sit down Sunday evenings while catching up on the DVR and make the weekly card. I also schedule birthday and anniversary cards for the next couple of weeks. I cheat and schedule the cards to be mailed on specific dates so I don’t forget a birthday or anniversary. Sometimes I even download pictures from Facebook to use in the card if a friend has had a baby or buys a new home. It’s a great way to personalize a greeting card! As I send greeting cards to new people I add their name to the address book so I only have to enter their address once! No more hunting for addresses for me!
Just the other day I read that Selena Gomez has invested in Postcards on the Run, a mobile postcard making service. I see this as a great app for moms on the run, the business traveler, or the vacationer.

Let’s say that your son just got braces, you snap a picture at the dentist office, click a couple of buttons and bang! The grandparents now have a mailed postcard of little Johnny with a mouth full of braces to put on their fridge! This would also be a great application for the traveler. Snap a picture of your world travels, add the words “Having a blast in (insert location here)!” and click! You now let your great-grandma know you had a blast on your awesome vacation or how boring your business trip really is!

Now some people may ask, “Why don’t you just text, email, or post the pictures to Facebook?” For one reason, my 89 year old great aunt doesn’t own a computer or a cell phone, so this allows me to include her in my life is through snail mail cards.

And isn’t it exciting to get mail in the mailbox that isn’t a bill?

- GG

When the unexpected happens to your stuff…

2012-01-22T21:42:00.001-06:00

There are times when the unexpected happens to your household items. This is a true story that happened to my family during a military move from Germany to Kansas in 1992. In what we didn’t know would be our last move for the Army, it was the move that most impacted our lives for years.

As the packers started unhinging the giant wooden crates we quickly realized that something was not right and a lot of our items were missing. We started making lists by going through old photographs and home movies of items that were stolen. It wasn’t until months later and hours of my mother’s time assembling the final home inventory list that we discovered that we had $40,000 worth of items stolen.

With today’s technology, we can avoid having to go through so much pain and delay in home insurance claims by utilizing home inventory software programs. Although, I’m not moving with the military anymore, I am still concerned about recording my home contents. I use Collectify Home Inventory to record my home contents while attaching pictures and serial numbers to each item. When I don’t have time to enter each detail of the item, I take a picture of the serial number and attach that picture to the item. After I enter a new item, I run a digital report and place the report in my lock box.

There are also apps on mobile devices that can be used to quickly add items to different rooms via a cell phone or tablet. You will want to check that the inventory list can be exported in a report form from your phone or tablet. Search for “home inventory” in the Android Market or the Apple App Store to read reviews of each app before downloading.

Some people may just find using an excel spreadsheet will work just fine for them. But whatever program you choose, just ensure you have all the important information recorded and stored in a safe place. You never know when the next natural disaster may effect your home.

Three questions when buying an iPad

2012-01-20T06:41:00.001-06:00

The past couple of days I have been approached with questions regarding what size of an iPad to purchase. Here are three considerations to consider when looking at purchasing a new iPad.

The first decision you will need to make is whether you want a Wifi iPad or an iPad with a data plan. I have a Wifi IPad because I'm not a fan of having duplicate services with two data plans- one for my cell phone and one for my iPad. When I first purchased my iPad I had a hotspot on my phone which turned my phone into an instant internet hub for Wifi devices. Just keep in mind that Wifi hotspots from your phone will be slower than with a normal data plan.

Next, you need to look at the iPad memory sizes and decide which size fits your budget. To give you an idea of usage, a movie downloaded from iTunes will use 2GB. I like to compare buying iPads to buying children's shoes, you will want to buy enough memory to start but you will want enough extra memory to grow with your iPad. Most people will naturally choose the cheapest model with the lowest memory, but you can double the size of the memory for an additional $100. Check out my list below with the memory size and who falls into each group.

16GB - The Wannabe User: You just want to check email, watch YouTube and check Facebook - the important stuff in life. Having an Ipad will make you look tech savvy with all your friends.
32GB - The I Know Enough to Be Dangerous User: You want to check news, watch movies, read ebooks, update twitter and Facebook. Danger is your middle name and your not afraid to max your iPad with 10 different versions of Angry Birds.
64GB - The Tech Geek User : You eat, live and dream Apple products and never let your iPad from your side. Some people may suggestion you attend a 12 step program for your iPad addiction.

The last decision to make is when you will make an iPad purchase. If you are not in a hurry to purchase an iPad, you might want to wait a couple of months. Rumor out in the Tech world is that Apple will be announcing the iPad3 in Feb with a release date in March. This will follow the same timeline as last year. If you decide to wait for the iPad3, you will want to place an order the first day Apple allows orders. It would be disappointing to spend that much money for a new iPad only for it to be back ordered for weeks.

I want my Facebook back!

2012-01-11T21:03:00.002-06:00

Missing Facebook Updates? Here’s how to get them back!

Like most people, I saw the new highlighted stories feature that came out a few months ago and immediately screamed “I want my old Facebook back!” with my feet stomping like I was a four year old. It’s funny how quickly you turn into a four year old when things change when you want them to stay the same. So like any person desperate to hit the undo button on the new feature, I went out looking for a solution. And ta da! I found one in customs lists!
What is custom list you ask? Think of it as a series of books on a book shelf and each book contains different friends or page you add to the book. For instance, I have a book, or custom list, for my high school friends, one for the pages, and one for a news feed. The news feed list contains all my friends and all their activity and tad da! I have my old news feed back! Just remember that when you log into Facebook to click on their news feed list on the left menu.

Let’s break it down Barney style:
To make a custom list, click on the Facebook icon on the top left of any page. On the left side you will see a section called List. You will need to move your mouse over list for the word “More” to appear. Click the More link next to the word List. At the top of the page you will see Create List. A pop up box will ask you to name your new list. Once you give your list a name, a new page will appear with Add Friends in the middle of the page. Your new list will appear in the list section. To make a list a Favorite and appear in the same list as the news feed, click more under the List section and click the little pencil on the left of list name. This will bring up a list of options for the list such as add to favorites, hide list, and delete list.

Welcome!

2012-01-11T08:27:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Gadget Girl Tips! I’m so excited (with the help of a little caffeine), that you’ve stop by to read my little stories about technology.

In David Letterman’s style, here are the 10 top reasons you should read Gadget Girl Tips:

10. I post funny and sometime embarrassing technology stories. Like the time I told my Mom I wouldn’t claim her as my mother on Facebook…yes, it’s a true story, but you’ll have to read the post to see if I got disowned.

9. I play with all sorts of apps, computers, phones, tablets, well pretty much anything that has an off/on button….I like to call this “research”.

8. Have a problem or question, leave a comment and I’ll take my best shot of answering your questions/problems. Be warned that I occasionally resort to my magic 8 ball for answers.

7. I too sometimes want to throw the computer out the window, but together hopefully we won’t have too many more of those moments. Be honest you know you have those moments too.

6. I try to put everything in plain, simple English so you won’t feel like your reading an alphabet soup of strange, cryptic words also known as techie speak.

5. Own a small business? Guess what? I do too and I have tips to make your life easier! Because we all know it’s always a one (or two) person show when running a small business.

4. Repeat after me….technology can be my friend.

3. I don’t make any money from any of my posts. Yes, it’s true. I just do this for fun. Crazy I know.

2. You may not agree with me, but that’s ok…we’ll just agree to disagree and I’ll get my voodoo doll out. (Just kidding.)

1. You might learn something new or at least a shortcut…because don’t we all need those in our life once in awhile?

Thanks for stopping by!