Our office environment can make or break us…which can sometimes be difficult because we don’t always have a say in where we work. Like many of you this week, I’m not having a say in where I work as instead of making the usual trek into my office, I am finding myself working from my home office for the near future (which resides on the second floor of my Raleigh Townhouse).

Sadly, my home office has been badly neglected over the last year, as I have often found myself working on my couch or kitchen table instead, but there’s no denying it’s a great place to go for long periods of work and with the Corona Virus spreading throughout the nation, now is a good time to spruce it up and get it back to working conditions.

Saying all that, as a fan of working from home and learning from others, I figured I’d share some of the highlights of my home office pictured above.

1. My tech set-up. Like many of you, I use a second monitor at work, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t use a second monitor at home. My current monitor setup includes an ASUS “27 VS278Q-P. I also have a wireless (travel) mouse available, which is currently a Logitech M525.
   
2. Comfort. Between nearby blankets and sunlight, my office is decorated for comfort. You’ll find at least a few childhood blankets to keep me warm during the winter months. (And for those asking my desk is a simple L-Shaped desk by Amazon Basics. )
   
3. Creativity and art. Your office should explore the creativity that is you. You’ll notice that my office has a sprinkle of Appalachian Gear(go Mountaineers!), Wordly maps, and comic book art. I encourage you to invest in local artisans or even Etsy creators to show off your own personality. (Mojoswork for the comi cbook fans out there.)
   
4. Your office should have the office materials that you need. You might not need a pillow, but you’ll need notebooks, pens, and items readily available. My office is filled with many of them and much more.

But what about you? What does your home office look like?

The post A Look at My Home Office appeared first on IDreamInTech.

At the height of its power, HQ Trivia claimed to have 2.2 million users and turned Trivia Host Scott Rogowski into a household name. Its fame grew quickly in 2017 and it quickly became the game that all of your friends played in the corner of the room. As it grew, it became a part of our multi-media culture as celebrities such as the Rock, Robert De Niro, and even John Mayer would go on to join Scott and his other cohosts at some point for a game of Trivia.

But just like technology start-up Uber, as HQ Trivia rose in popularity, things were not going well behind the scenes with stories of shenanigans, financial troubles, and even the Overdose of cofounder, Colin Knoll. Scott Rogowski who left early in 2019 would later recall management as incompetence, arrogant, and short-sighted.

What We Can Learn From HQ Trivia

Looking back at all of it, however, there are many things that we can learn as marketers and entrepreneurs from the rise and fall of HQ Trivia.

1) Remember that users are great, but money is greater. HQ Trivia rose on the scene as a hot company and trivia app that was giving money away to many across the globe but it quickly ran out of money. It always claimed to have a monetization strategy but duel-marketing with brands and TV shows couldn’t help it out.

2) Always ask yourself where is the retention plan is. After some people, and even some winners, got over the flair of HQ Trivia as an App many people stopped logging into it. It failed to keep a core audience as many people would leave it after logging into it one or two times.

3) A Failed Product is a failed product. HQ Trivia grew too fast, in the eyes of sum. One of the core failures of HQ Trivia was the technology itself. Though the Owners would constantly be on record as saying that they were “buying more servers”, users constantly complained about the product crashing and not working properly.

Ultimately HQ Trivia will be remembered as another in a long line of application failures, but it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. Just because it’s gone now, doesn’t mean it will be gone forever. As the ever-growing sphere of video and social media world continues to evolve, it’s important that we learn lessons from it unless we want to end up like it.

The post What We Can Learn from the Shutting Down of HQ Trivia appeared first on IDreamInTech.

Your identity, it’s something that we take for granted in today’s day and age. We all have a name and a number attached to us, that signifies who we are but we often don’t think about how important these items really are. We don’t think much about these items, except for when they are taken away from us or used against us.

Well as a victim of identity theft not once, not twice, but now three times I can say that these things are important things that we need to take more seriously. Our name and our social security number creates our identity, which many people can actually use against us.

My Identity Loss Story

So I’ve had my identity stolen three times in 11 years…

– The first time I had my identity stolen was in 2008. I lived in Clayton, North Carolina at the time and checked the mail one day only to find family cell phone plans created in my name for ATT, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless. Though I didn’t realize that this was going to be the first of many attempts to use my identity, this attempt was quickly remedied with a few phone calls to each cellular network. 

– The second time  I had my identity stolen was in 2014 when I got a letter in the mail from a BMW dealer in Houston Texas. BMW’s fraud department had apparently found someone who had fraudulently bought a vehicle using my name and had quickly moved to take care of the issue.

– The third time was in June(yes June 2019) was when I found out someone had created another(sigh) Verizon Wireless cell phone plan in my name as well as opened a Target gift card. This issue sadly took a few months to resolve.

In all three cases, I still don’t know who stole my identity. In a world in which we hear about data being leaked almost every day I can only imagine that my information was stolen and/or leaked online from one of the many data hacks that’s happened in recent years.

As a digital marketer, the idea that my data is so easily available is both scary and ultimately concerning. If it’s been leaked and stolen three times already, who is it to say that it won’t be stolen a fourth time.

What You Can do to Prevent Identity Loss

Now I’m not writing you this because I want you to feel sorry for me. Sadly, this stuff happens everyday and I’m sure for some of you it’s already happened regardless if you’ve been monitoring your credit or not. But I’m writing to you today, because I am hoping that if you are going through something like this, I can offer you a little bit of wisdom.

In the case that you fear you have had your identity stolen or you are going through Fraud right now, I encourage you to do the following.

1. Regularly check your mail. So many of us only check our mail weekly or monthly but in all the above cases I first received word that my identity was being used, when I received paper bills or notices in he mail.
2. Regularly check your credit. Even if it’s only once a year, keeping an eye on your credit is something that I encourage everyone to do as the credit unions not only give you your credit score but will tell you when your credit was last ran.
3. File a police report (but know it won’t do you any good). Most organizations will ask that file a police report before they can do anything. This is great and I did both in 2008 and back in July(this year), however, it’s important to note that the police will do little to nothing. Sadly cyber-security fraud is on the bottom of their list, especially when you don’t have any suspects.
4. Think about freezing your credit and contacting your bank. These are two items that people hate to do and some might not be able to do given the circumstances, but if you have been the victim of major fraud it’s important that you take precautions that people don’t continue to abuse it. (For those unaware, the major credit unions are: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.)
5. Report Your theft to the FTC. The FTC has created a great website in the Identitytheft.gov, that helps you document this entire process. It also gives you access to creating documents and educating you on your rights if need be.
6. Educate Yourself on Cyber Protection. We live in a world where just about anything can get hacked, so I encourage you to read and educate yourself about things like two-factor authentication and other resources that are available to help you.

Also above all else don’t forget too…be patient and do not try to play detective and put yourself in harm’s way. Identity fraud is tough and is an ongoing issue in today’s world, but it is something that can be overcome with patience and perseverance.

The post What I’ve Learned About Losing My Identity appeared first on IDreamInTech.

So my Mother retired this past Friday. After 20-plus years, she stepped down from CVS. A company that she’s been at, for what seems like forever (or at least since I was in middle school).

My Mother’s a rare breed. A Mid-Western Girl, she had her first daughter when she was a teenager and didn’t have a college education, but that never stopped her from succeeding. As a CVS Store Manager, she was always the talk of her district and I’ll never forget how she came home after every Christmas Party with a new gift that she won for being one of the top stores in her district.

She worked hard, but she never forgot about her kids though. There was always food on the table and she always found time to take road trips and spend time with her family.

As the year’s progress and the kids moved out though, her attention turned to helping others. Whether it was driving local friends across state for Doctors appointments or surprising friends with presents to remind them that they were loved, she always found ways to help others.

My Mother worked hard. She always did. But whatever she did, she always found happiness and success.

What Does it Take?

Want to succeed in this world? What does it take to be Soni Watts? It doesn’t take a fancy degree or being born to a rich family.

It takes…

-> Compassion
-> Hard Work
-> Humilty

We all have it in us and if one woman from Kansas can do it, we all can.

The post Hard Work Does Pay Off appeared first on IDreamInTech.

Hey guys, by now you may have seen online that I got a new bag. After my Messenger Bag got ripped, it’s nothing short of ironic that Waste Industries, my current employer, gave away new bookbags as part of an employee appreciation event the following week.

Well…as I was recently transitioned from my old bag to my new one, it got me thinking of the things that we all carry with us as tech and marketing professionals.  All of our bags are filled with items and accessories, based on our own experiences and even the Verge has a “What’s in your bag?” series. In honor of that, I figured I’d share with you guys what I carry in mine.

What’s in My Bag?

– My Machines –

Okay, I’m a bit weird on this one. Most people know me as the “two laptop guy” as I often almost carry with me two computers everywhere I go.

• My personal machine is a 2014 Macbook Air. My personal machine and something I’ve been rocking since early 2015, this Macbook has a super thin design and weight, making it my preferred machine when I’m in traveling and working remotely. It may not be the most powerful device, but it’s size and weight make up for that.
• My work machine from Waste Industries, however, is a bit different though. A Dell 5510 , my work computer isn’t as light as my MacBook but makes up for it’s lack of weight with a touchscreen, and more memory and power then I’ll probably ever use.

– The Accessories –

We all have computers, but it’s always the accessories that make the person.

• The old school Apple EarPods are what I still rock to this day.  Say what you want about having a cord or the sound quality, but Apple’s EarPods have been go-to to buds since Apple announced them with the first iPhone. As a runner and gym go’er, I can wear these things and not worry about them falling out of my ears on a track or in a forest, which is why I prefer them over cordless headphones..
• Shout-out to Daily Tech News Show’s Tom Merrit for the suggestion a few years ago, to carry your own Surge Protector. Often times we’re going to be in places that we need an extra charger or wall mount and this portable travel charger does the job. Not only does it turn one port into three, but it also gives you two USB Chargers if you need them.
• Logitech Mouse – Sometimes you’re going need a mouse, it’s just plain as that and while the portable mouse I carry may not be the preferred mouse of gamers it’s small and convenient for those who need a mouse for a photoshop project or a simple game.

– The Business Stuff –

Besides computer and electronic items, I do try to keep a few other things in my bag at all times.

• Business cards are a must of course because you never know when you’re going to need them. Though I’m on LinkedIn(connect with me if you haven’t), many people still use business cards like they are currency. I usually keep a professional collection of cards from my day job and my freelance work and then give out depending on the person’s need.
• Notebook and Pen. There are some people who swear by using moleskins notebooks and though, I don’t have a personal preference on notebook, notepads, and the such, I try to keep some kind of writing utensils with me at all times.

What about you? What do you use in your bag? Write it on your blog (or LinkedIn), send it to me at ColinWWatts@gmail.com and I’ll link to it in this post.

The post What’s in My Bag @Cole_Watts (2018 Edition)? appeared first on IDreamInTech.

What I liked:

• Watts Digital – My freelance business caught on and I learned even more of what it was like to run a business on my own.
• Triangle Marketing Club – The Triangle Marketing Club grew, grew, and grew. We had a record number of people show up and the benefits of it just keep coming.
• Online Content – A lot of my favorite online personalities finally took the plunge and started new ventures, including Justin R Young, Bill Simmons, and Joshua Topolsky.
• Oakland Raiders – My Oakland Raiders made it back into the playoffs this year. Sadly, though it doesn’t look like they will go far as star quarterback David Carr is now injured.

What I didn’t like:

• Hate speech – Whichever side of the coin you’re on, I think that you will agree that there was plenty of hate speech and mud-throwing that happened as we had another presidential election year.
• I slacked. I slacked a lot this year in terms of content creation. Here’s to a year that I do a lot more in terms of content creation and solo representation.
• Alcohol – Alcohol and Drugs had an important impact on my life this year as I had a family member go through Rehab.
• Sunrise – The rich got richer and the poor got poorer in 2016. Sadly, my favorite calendar Sunrise was one of the many technology acquisitions that happened.
• Twitter – Twitter the platform continues to get worst every day. As executive after executive leaves, I’m wondering what will happen next to my once favorite platform.

The post GoodBye 2016 appeared first on IDreamInTech.