iTechSpeak :::...

What's In an Email Address?

2008-12-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

You can tell quite a bit about a person from their email address. Email address name and case lettering may provide clues as to the type of person you will engage. If you think hiring managers, executives, recruiters and business professionals don't pay attention to email addresses, think again. Are you willing to take that risk with the competition in the job market being so fierce?

Your email address should answer the question "Am I committed to presenting a positive professional appearance, while marketing myself and my company?"

Sybil.Krill@anydomain.com is serious about her career or business. She provides an email address that presents a professional posture. A balanced amount of confidence is displayed in capitalizing the 1st letter of each part of her name. She is branding herself, because her email address reflects the same name she uses in her every day life, on her resume, business cards etc..

danny.krantos@anydomain.com almost achieves the same goal as Sybil.Krill@anydomain.com above. He may lack confidence, because the 1st letter in his first and last name is lower case.

bubbalicious@anydomain.com wants to be anonymous, whiling complaining about people not recognizing them or not responding back to their emails. Maybe they are also wondering why they are not getting calls for interviews or business meetings to present their services. This person is definitely not serious about their career or business posture. Cryptic email addresses beg for a response of "I'll get back to you, maybe".

MICHELLE.ARILLY@anydomain.com may love herself a little too much. Having confidence is one thing, but let's not go overboard. Following Internet and instant message rules, all UPPER CASE lettering is perceived as shouting. Is this person going to be high maintenance in the "attention" department?

Gary.Friptal@MyCompanyDomain.com provides the same professional posture as Sybil.Krill@anydomain.com, whiling adding that extra branding touch. Their name is branded and so is their company. Like a commercial, both are tied together. When people see the company name they think of that person. When people see the person's name there is an instant association with that company.

Amy@MyCompanyDomain.com is professional but is it memorable? If you are the only Amy in your company, that might work for a while. What happens, if you leave the company? Amy.G.Winstrom@MyCompanyDomainName.com works better. If you change companies, your personal name brand recognition still goes with you.

A single name works best, if you purchase a "vanity" domain that contains your first and last name (i.e.Amy@AmyWinstrom.com). Now you're cooking with branding gas.This can follow you no matter where your business travels take you.

Smarten Up to Fake Paypal Emails and Prevent Identity Theft

2008-07-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS
IN THIS ARTICLE. THIS VERY REAL
"PHISHING EMAIL"
IS PRESENTED STRICTLY FOR
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

Using a little common sense will go a long way in preventing identity theft. Any time you receive an email asking for sensitive information, contact your financial institution directly. NO Financial institution initiates communications with customers to request personal, account or login information via email, by phone or by letter. Let me say that again. NO Financial institution initiates communications with customers to request personal, account or login information via email, by phone or by letter. If your bank does, change banks IMMEDIATELY.

I know from personal experience Paypal is a stand up organization that takes every precaution, and then some, to protect all customers' personal information and accounts. Go directly to the Paypal web site and click on the "Security Center" link, in the top right corner, for more information on preventing identity theft. Don't even dream about saying "I don't have time to read" this valuable information. Would you rather spend endless hours, days, months or even years trying correct the damage done by someone who steals your identity?

Highlighted in red below are indications of red flags to be on the look out for, in order to quickly identify a bogus email that appears as though it's from your financial institution. Although this email is specific to Paypal, scammers use similiar approaches in the wording of a fake email, to make you think it is from your financial institution. Different variations of the domain email.paypal.com and email1.paypal.com are used in the fake "phishing" email below.
-------------FAKE PHISHING EMAIL ------------

To ensure that your PayPal emails get to your inbox, please add paypal@email.paypal.com to your email Address Book or Safe List

Safety
Tips

	Ensure a fraud-free purchase

	Don't fall for a fake email

Your Security

	Privacy: how to keep your identity private

	Protection: how to keep your purchase safe

	Prevention: how PayPal shields you from fraud

Activate your PayPal account Dear FirstName LastName, We've noticed that you haven't yet confirmed your email address. Just follow the steps below and you can start using PayPal to shop securely online at hundreds of stores, sell on eBay or even send money by texting on your mobile phone.
		Confirming your email address

Log in to your account at www.paypal.com Click the "Confirm email" subtab in the "Activate Account" section: Now follow the on-screen instructions. We will send an email to the addressregistered to your PayPal account Check your email inbox for an email from PayPal, click on the link and enter your password
Your email address will now be confirmed and your account activated. See what you can do with PayPal. Thank you for using PayPal! PayPal

Helpful Links: Forgotten Password | Help | Your Security | Contact Us

How do I know this is not a Spoof email?
Spoof or 'phishing' emails tend to have generic
greetings such as "Dear PayPal member".
Emails from PayPal will always address
you by your first and last name.
Find out more here.

This email was sent to YourEmailAddress@domain.net, because your email preferences are set to receive the PayPal Periodical newsletter and Product Updates. Unsubscribe.

© 2008 PayPal Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

Using Google Alerts to Track Your Web Presence

2008-06-22T06:36:00.001-07:00

If you're short on time, you can view a quick video on this topic.

Many people use Google Alerts as a automated tool for acquiring news stories and doing research on various topics. You can even use Google Alerts to search for job or business opportunities. Place 2 to 3 words within "quotes" for each alert. Then you automatically receive an email with results found anywhere on the Internet. You can use Google Alerts to track how your company fares in the public eye or keep up with friends, family and associates. Just create an alert with their name in quotes.

Former New York City Mayor Koch endeared himself to people with his famous line "How am I doing?". That's a question you can and should answer about yourself, using Google Alerts. What do hiring managers, human resource professionals, recruiters or business associates see when they type your name into Google or any search engine?

By creating different Google Alerts with different variations of your name spelling, you receive feedback on what type of information people are viewing about you. This also provides intelligence on whether you should make adjustments to profiles you may have on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or articles mentioning you or your company name etc.. Oh did you think that information about you was private? Think again.

Your web presence should reflect the name you use on your resume or bio. Google Alert intelligence is also valuable, if you have a similar name to someone else. Talk about a case of mistaken identity, if that person has a less than acceptable Internet web presence. Consider making your name more unique by adding a middle initial, generation qualifier or certification distinction (i.e. Al Q. Brown - Jim Smith, III - C. E. Reid, CSI).

Related article: "5 Quick Ways to Grow your Internet Web Presence"

Find Out What Others Are Saying About Your Business

Microsoft Surface Computing is the Next Technology Revolution

2008-06-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Gee. I wish I could be in on the ground floor of the next technology tsunami. Shoot. I missed that opportunity. Bugsy Segal looked out in the desert and saw opportunity that became Las Vegas. Thomas Edison found over 900+ ways not to make a light bulb, until his patience and persistence paid off. Sitting at his desk as an ordinary office worker, Rod Colon's extraordinary vision with millions of people leveraging human social networking to self empower the masses for success, has impacted many lives globally. William H. (Bill) Gates III worked in a garage to develop a piece of software that changed the fortunes and lives of every person on earth.

Microsoft's surface computing technology will revolutionize the way people live and work. Surface computing will do what the telephone did for communication and what television did for engaging the masses. Everyday input devices are history, with their selfish way of taking up precious desk space. Any mechanical object that moves will eventually break. No more computer mouse, keyboard, scanner, credit card readers etc.. Which means there is a money savings on replacements or repairs. The main input devices for surface computing are our fingers and our imagination.

Based on how surface computing works with proven technology components, it has a serious potential to create opportunities for teachers, product designers, lawyers, test engineers, building superintendents, business administrators, doctors, product managers, restaurant/office workers, program managers, travelers, software engineers, taxi drivers, people who entertain at home, recruiters, sales/marketing persons, hotel workers and many other professions.

Wake up software developers who think your skills are tight. Now is the time to get hot with developing applications for surface computing. And you too entrepreneurs that call yourself visionaries. Pick up the phone and call your investor angels that you brag about to friends, as being available in your trusted network.

Investors are not off the hook either. Is your investment portfolio complete by including surface computing? Let's talk if you're interested in exploring the potential.

Are you an Entrepreneur considering another profit center? No one is suggesting you delineate away from your core profit centers. Consider putting together a consortium of investors and/or distributors that "want in" on a sure bet. Laugh, if you will. Then those with the "show me" mindset can cry later when the surface computing market successfully saturates.

Microsoft Surface - Exclusive Review

Microsoft Surface at the Rio in Las Vegas

Affiliate Marketing Can Provide a Secondary or Even Primary Source of Income

2008-06-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

by Bruce Newman

Affiliate marketing is usually defined as the reward for each customer brought to a target website; in short, an Internet-based marketing method of driving traffic to a particular site. To clarify this further, let’s say I’m an affiliate for a website that sells pet products. For each customer who I bring to that website, I will receive some reward – usually money. (This may also require that they purchase at least one item.)

Is it worth my while?
The answer is both yes and no. It depends on the terms of the affiliate agreement and the amount of effort you are willing to expend. If it was so easy for these companies to just bring in business, they wouldn’t need an affiliate program. However, every company knows that generating new business is hard; it’s expensive, time consuming, exhausting and a slow process. They have calculated that it helps to have an unpaid (or minimally paid) sales force providing them with leads (and customers). The question for you to determine is, “Are the rewards worth my effort?”.

What is required from me?
Sometimes being an affiliate can initially be very easy and profitable. If you have a network of friends with a need for the affiliate product or service that you represent – such as pet supplies, you can easily make a few dollars. But what happens then? What is required for you to continue to provide new customers? And, how will you do it? These are questions you must be able to answer before becoming an affiliate of any program.

How much money can I make?
You can make a lot of money as an affiliate, particularly if you are an affiliate member for several websites and have an effective operating strategy. Having a solid networking tree is also quite helpful. Unfortunately, few affiliates fall into this category. Some affiliates enjoy a solid secondary income stream. However, most affiliates make little to no money, usually because of a lack of effort or difficulties with the company they are an affiliate for. We will discuss this further in another article.

Why become an affiliate?
Being an affiliate can supply you with a secondary source of income. Even if you are employed in a job, an affiliate income can make a significant difference in your total income. Possibly, as you continue to refine your strategies and affiliate agreements, it can even become a primary source of income. In any case, it requires work on your part. Just remember, money won’t come rolling in once you sign up as an affiliate without your effort.

Next week, we will discuss how to select an affiliate program(s) from the many programs currently available.

Bruce Newman is a long-term ETP Network member and Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC which matches the specific software products and services needs of companies to rated outstanding consultants who can meet those needs. It has an extensive and well-supported affiliate program that offers up to $225 for each company that registered by an affiliate which signs a contract with one of its referred consultants. Additional product and service information is available at: http://www.prodinst.com

Video Affiliate Marketing Part 1

How to Squelch Inbox Noise

2008-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I read somewhere email was supposed to save us time? At first we didn't notice it. Our email "Inbox" slowly began to receive more of our time, than we give some people in our own family. Does your "Inbox" sometimes feel like the central command center that puppeteers a good portion of your daily life?

There is much chatter within our Inbox, in the form of different communications. Email comes from coworkers, managers, family, friends, spammers, event invitations, community service messages, social networks, people wanting to connect with you, soccer moms, PTA, politicians, alumni, clubs, associations, shopping specials . . .and the different types of emails seems endless. Please make the noise stop mommy.

The noise in our "out of control Inbox" seems deafening at times. We clean out that pesky little Inbox. A little while later we peek in the Inbox. Oh nooo. It's filled up with more noise.

The paradox is, we need many of the emails we receive. The question is how to control the flow and separate emails that are important from those that are useless. There is hope. Different email systems provide various tools to squelch the noise and control the flow.

It can be as simple as color coding emails; red for coworkers - green for family - light blue for friends. Now your Inbox is a little more under control with relevant emails standing out. Outlook, Thunderbird, Lotus Notes and Incredimail allow color coding or tagging of emails.

For more sophisticated email organizing, you can use filters or rules. My favorite is creating a reverse spam filter which is explained in "Waiting Room for Spam Gives Back 2 Hours". This keeps my Inbox clean all the time.

Creating filters or rules is a 2 step process.

Create and name folders off your Inbox. Each folder will display underneath the Inbox
Set the rules or filters to automatically place incoming emails into appropriate folders

Every email system has their own unique way to create rules or filters. Send an email to CReid3005@gmail.com for assistance in setting up rules, filters or color coding incoming email. Below are videos for using Outlook to squelch your Inbox noise.

Microsoft Outlook #01: Message Rules and Automatic Sorting

MS Outlook Tips - Color Coding Email By Sender

Make Your Own Gas Fuel and Make Money

2008-06-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for this? Now you can thumb your nose at all suppliers of oil around the world. No more reliance on Mobil Oil, Exxon, Citgo, Hess, British Petroleum (BP), Venezuela, Middle East, OPEC or any other oil cartels. Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, it is a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process, and can be made from very common materials such as sugar cane, it is steadily becoming a promising alternative to gasoline throughout much of the world.

How about having your own gas pump in your own back yard or driveway? Does fuel at around $1.00 a gallon sound good? And the U.S. Treasury Department actually provides a free permit to allow small property owners to make up to 10,000 gallons of their own fuel.

Drum roll please . . . Efuel100 is taking orders for 2008 4th quarter deliveries of the first home ethanol micro fueling system. Efuel100 is also offering money making opportunities for people to become dealers or investors. The EFuel100 Microfueler apparently works by mixing table sugar with ethanol yeast mix. The MicroFueler has a distillation-only mode, which allows the consumer to convert discarded beer, wine or distilled drinks into ethanol. Any combination of discarded alcohol can be poured directly into the MicroFueler fermentation tank to be converted into ethanol.

Beyond the prospectus, do your homework before investing in any emerging technology. I will, because what Efuel100 is offering provides 3 exciting opportunities. I want in.

Make Your Own Ethanol At Home with the Efuel 100 MicroFueler

More Efuel100 Videos

Social Network Safety on MySpace and Facebook

2008-05-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

With the Internet, social networks have provided powerful platforms for business networking, making million dollar deals and accelerating your professional career into fast forward. Social networks can also be very scary places that produce unwanted devastating results that impact our everyday lives. Be proactive about protecting your business reputation, your children and your family. Spend a little time learning safety tips for being on MySpace and Facebook.

MySpace Safety at Home

MySpace Safety for Teens

MySpace Safety for Parents & Educators

MySpace Safety Videos

Questions & Answers about Internet Safety & MySpace

How to Set-up a MySpace Profile

Sophos Recommended Facebook Safety Tips

Facebook Privacy and Security Tips w/ Kris Krug

Move Over Monopoly: Business Simulation Games Povide Real Life Skills for Children, Tweens, Young and Mature Adults

2008-05-08T07:24:00.000-07:00

Introduce Your Child to Business with Hotshot Game
Forget those shoot em up, aliens and race car games. This is a fun fast paced game that gives kids skills they can use for life. Hot Shot Business is a simulation game for budding entrepreneurs, where kidscan open their own spa, skateboard factory or comic shop.

Teenagers and Young Adult Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Gazillionaire is the award-winning simulation game. Explore new worlds, build your business, and make a fortune. Gazillionaire is full of memorable characters and exotic places to visit. You'll run your own company, manage a feisty crew, and, if you're clever enough, make billions of kubars!

JA Titan
Test your skills running a business in this ultimate business simulation! As CEO, you will match wits in the competitive, technologically advanced industry of the Holo-Generator.

JA Worldwide™ (Junior Achievement) partnered with the Best Buy® Children’s Foundation to launched JA Titan. Set in the year 2035, JA Titan creates a world in which players are CEOs of their own companies. Originally conceived in the 1980s as the Management and Economic Simulation Exercise, or MESE, JA Titan is a widely recognized business simulation for high school students.

JA Titan version 3.0 incorporates the concept of charitable giving, challenges students with sub-decisions, and adds voices to the characters, among other improvements.

Cashflow Game by Robert Kiyosaki
This is a game for Tweens or Young and Mature Adults. earn how to get out of the Rat Race and onto the Fast Track where your money works for you instead of you working hard for your money. Use this game to practice real world investing with play money!

CASHFLOW® 101 is an educational board game that teaches accounting, finance, and investing at the same time - and makes learning fun.

"Move over Monopoly. A new board game that aims to teach people to be rich is gaining fans the world over." -The New York Times article on the CASHFLOW games

Adult Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Informist Business Simulation Game
Informatist is a revolutionary online multiplayer Business Simulation -- a business game with a difference. Informatist is ideal for budding entrepreneurs and veteran tycoons alike. Test your business skills against hundreds of other players running thousands of companies.

The Informatist Game will sharpen your business skills as you play to win in five different categories. Experience the ups and downs of 16 dynamic business areas. Hire employees, set salaries, set product price, manage inventory, buy and sell land, trade stock, make business deals and dominate markets by applying the right resources at the right time. Do you have what it takes to succeed against cutthroat business competition? Find out in this unique business simulation!

SimVenture
SimVenture is ideal for anyone wanting to learn about business and enterprise. The software can be used in a range of environments where people are learning about business and want to develop entrepreneurial skills.

Videos of Business Simulation Games

Cashflow Game

Mall Tycoon 2 Review

The basics of: Airline tycoon first class!

IndustryPlayer Business Simulation Game

Taxi - Tycoon (J2ME)

Capitalism

Cell Phones: Ask and You Shall Receive

2008-05-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Run your career like a business. This includes personal expenses. If you do not receive the service you pay for, tell the vendor service provider.

All cell phone service providers sincerely want to keep you as a customer. They will do whatever it takes to ensure your loyalty, month after month. This includes giving you money you are entitled to, as long as you ask for it. Your contract appears to lean more in the direction of your financial responsibilities, which makes each of us feel helpless. Get over it.

Similar to the employee hand book, there are more unwritten rules than there are written rules. As I tell my business career coaching clients "Learn the rules. Then make the rules work for you". This means you are in the driver's seat, as long as you pay attention to your monthly cell phone bill. Don't expect major money for each instance, but it can add up over a 12 month period. I received about $275 in service credits in the last 14 months, for various "no service" issues.

Every person has a different cell phone plan. Be very clear about the various services your cell phone plan covers. Write it out:

Phone service
Text message / SMS
Email
Internet Browsing
Downloading services
Unlimited plans
Being able to call people with the same service provider, at no cost
International vs. U.S. services (calling, email etc.)
Minute usage draw down on accessing voice mail

If any single one of your services do not work, start the process of getting some money back in the form of credit against current or future bills. When any part of your cell phone service fails, do the following:

Note the first date of the service failure
Keep track of all the time for the service outage
Call your cell phone service provider
Get the customer representative to create a help desk request and provide you with the help desk request number
Get the representatives name and or ID number - note it down
Call every day until the issue is resolve
Once the issue is resolved "ask for a pro-rated credit for the time the service(s) is down". It does not matter if it is 1 hour or 10 days. Ask for a credit. You might be surprised at the response.

If you receive any resistance, a suggested response is "I have not received the contractual services that I am paying for. If you cannot help me, please let me speak to a supervisor, before I send my request to the CEO of your company". Knowing the name of your cell phone provider CEO or President is a good thing to have . . . just in case.

Some real scenarios that resulted in a money credit from different cell phone service providers. . .

For 6 months 2 different people had no signal in the building where they worked. For 8 hours a day for six months they could not send or receive phone calls on their cell phone. Each month each person paid the full bill, despite not receiving full service. After I suggested they call their provider for credit, each company representative said "no problem". 1 person received a $260 credit and the other person received a $280 credit. Two different credit amounts, for the same issue, tells you each customer service representative is empowered to make "judgement calls".
Before traveling outside the U.S., I had my phone turned for being able to send/receive emails. The international fee was $19 a month. I went on vacation for a week, but 4 months later I was still paying the $19 per month. I forgot to turn the service off. I called my service provider and they credited 3 months back to my account.
How about being late with paying a bill. The cell phone company turns off outgoing call capability for whole week. Once the bill is paid for the current period outage, ask for a credit. Why? The cell phone service provider is turning your current service off, for a previous bill from a service they previously provided. Be sure to explain that logic to them. Cell phone companies make million$ just from the shear ignorance of people.
My cell phone provider was upgrading a cell tower in the neighborhood where I was working at a client site. For 8 hours a day I couldn't receive or make calls and I could not send/receive email on my Blackberry phone. I called every day and once a week I called to get a credit. Each week I received a $15 credit. Each week I was also told this is a "one time" credit. I said no problem, but I repeated the process every week any way. So that was $15 X 7 = $105. That equals a little more than 1 month of free service. 7 different representatives making excellent judgement calls.

I could go on with many profitable stories. The bottom line is the cell phone providers are not going to volunteer to give you back any money. The cell phone providers are playing the numbers game. For every credit they give, 100 people do not ask. Do you think the cell phone providers are still making money?

Ask and there is a good chance you will receive. Don't ask and you'll keep paying for service you do not receive.

2,000+ Executives Hoodwinked by Phishing (fishing) and Whaling

2008-04-17T03:55:00.000-07:00

By now you may have read John Markoff's article in the yesterday's New York Times "Larger Prey Are Targets of Phishing". Over 2,000 executives received phony, but very official looking, subpoenas to appear in court. From the email they were fooled into thinking they could download a copy of the subpoena. Instead different variants of keylogger programs were installed on each computer. Keylogger programs intercept personal or sensitive corporate information typed on the computer keyboard.

John goes on to explain "The tactic of aiming at the rich and powerful with an online scam is referred to by computer security experts as whaling. The term is a play on phishing, an approach that usually involves tricking e-mail users — in this case the big fish — into divulging personal information like credit card numbers. Phishing attacks that are directed at a particular person, rather than blasted out to millions, are also known as spear phishing."

When are these phishing and whaling horror stories going to end? Never, but there proactive steps people can take. Consider making a small investment in an excellent keylogger prevention program called GuardedID by Strikeforce Technologies. Think of it as buying insurance to protect your sensitive information and prevent identity theft.

GuardedID provides a preemptive approach to protecting your information. GuardedID works by encrypting each and every keystroke the instant that you type it. It then delivers those encrypted keystrokes directly to the browser through its own Patent Pending secure channel, circumventing all the hooks keyloggers use to steal data. This prevents any chance for key loggers to intercept the users information over the keyboard. Read more . . .

Create Passive Income with Your LinkedIn Profile

2008-04-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'd rather have 1% of the effort of 100 men than 100% of my own effort. - J. Paul Getty

Having $1.00 come from 3 different sources (CEO, Me Inc.) is far better than having $3 come from 1single source (employee). If 1 source stops paying (no job), at least 1 or 2 other sources of income still maintains basic living solvency. Our board of directors (family) still have a roof over their head, food on the table and the lights stay on and there's gas in the car. We just can't have all the extras 3 sources of income provided.

Take a look at your LinkedIn.com profile. Scroll down a little. No, not there. Right there; where LinkedIn allows you to add three (3) web site links. Those 3 web links are 3 checks with your name on it. All you have to do is "set it and forget it". This is an opportunity to create passive income. It may not be major money, but it could still be a dollar more than you had yesterday. It's still way better than adding cutsie web links that just go to favorite web sites we like. Are those sites paying you for the referral? Probably not, but they are still making money from the referral.

People are Googling you to get to your LinkedIn profile. If the searcher still does not hire you or continue a conversation, there is still a potential to make a $1 either way. If searchers trace out your links that take them to useful web sites, that works in your favor as an enterprising solution provider. Thats way better than linking to Twitter, MySpace or Facebook. The searchers will find you on those sites anyway.

There is a plethora of affiliate programs that pay for referrals to their web site. Upon registering you are provided a customized web link with a unique identifier. Every purchase from your referral web link(s) is a commission check paid directly to you.

We can provide you with some affiliate program recommendations. We are continuously developing agreements with strategic business partners that provide affiliate programs. Send an email to SavvyIntrapreneur@gmail.com for further information.

Quick Video Snippets on Ways People use Social Networks and Blogs

2008-01-24T16:44:00.000-08:00

Outside of MySpace, YouTube, Linkedin, Bebo, social networks and blogs are also being used by schools, stock traders, non-profit organizations, event planning companies and professional/trade associations.

There is a list you can scroll down to view more videos. Enjoy!!

Work Smarter, Not Harder with a RSS Reader

2008-01-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

What does Subscribe mean? has been previously covered in 2 articles posted on iTechSpeak; "RSS is a Double Edge Sword" and "Make Jobs or Clients Come to You using a RSS Reader".

Installing a RSS reader saves you much time by making information and business opportunities come to you. RSS epitomizes working smarter, not harder.

Video: RSS in Plain English by Common Craft

5 Quick tips to Grow Your Internet Web Presence

2008-01-12T04:43:00.000-08:00

It is now a given that Google and other search engines are used more often to check out people and companies. Work that to your advantage. The Internet provides an awesome fertile platform for growing your business or career. The internet allows you to always be marketing.

Become an Internet farmer. Like growing a crop, your Internet web presence must be nurtured, watered and maintained. So you have a profile on LinkedIn, Monster, Career Builder etc.. Or your business web site is featured in a couple of Internet articles and it has some reciprocal links from other web sets. As far as search engines are concerned you're still only as good as your last home run.

Search engines work against you, if no new content is added. Your name or company name slowly gets pushed down on search engine results, unless you're continuously fertilizing the Internet with your presence.

Here's 5 ways to grow and maintain your web presence:

If you have a resume posted on any job boards, make Sunday night your time to feed your web presence. Open your resume in "edit" mode. Press the space bar any where in your resume. Then press the back space key. Now save Your resume. The search engine spiders will sense the change and push your resume up for higher visibility to recruiters and hiring managers. Successful Project Manager, Terry Opalka, provided this brilliant technique at a recent ETP Network event "Sunday night I would update my resume on the job boards, by pressing the space bar and saving it. By Monday my inbox would contain emails from people contacting me about my resume."
Participate in group forums that cover topics of interest. When replying to a topic thread, insert your full name, company name, web site and contact email address, in your signature. This is referred to as your tagline.
Maximize your reading of news articles. At the bottom of each article is usually a comment section. If you agree with the reporter or have something "positive" feedback, go for it. Add your tagline.
Add "key words" to your Linked profile, resume and web site. This seeding process should include the names of companies or clients where you previously worked. Add your skill set, services or products as key words. Add the names of high profile people related to your industry in your key words.
Start a blog or comment on blog articles, with your tagline. Search engines love blogs more than web sites. Content on blogs is updated more often. This provides exponentially better results when people are searching for you or your company. Google has a dedicated search engine just for blogs http://blogsearch.google.com .

Identity Theft Prevention - What Can You Do to Protect Yourself?

2008-01-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

The video above explains the steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft.

Identity theft is a serious crime. It occurs when your personal information is stolen and used without your knowledge to commit fraud or other crimes. Identity theft can cost you time and money. It can destroy your credit and ruin your good name.

Deter identity thieves by safeguarding your information.

Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before you discard them.
Protect your Social Security number. Don't carry your Social Security card in your wallet or write your Social Security number on a check. Give it out only if absolutely necessary or ask to use another identifier.
Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you know who you are dealing with.
Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails. Instead, type in a web address you know. Use firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus software to protect your home computer; keep them up-to-date. Visit OnGuardOnline.gov for more information.
Don't use an obvious password like your birth date, your mother's maiden name, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Keep your personal information in a secure place
at home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help, or are having work done in your house. Defend against ID theft as soon as you suspect it.
Place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit reports, and review the reports carefully. The alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have toll-free numbers for placing an initial 90-day fraud alert; a call to one company is sufficient:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

A Second Life in a Virtual World with Potential Profit in Real World Dollar$

2008-01-10T15:26:00.001-08:00

Virtual Worlds Review describes a virtual world is an interactive simulated environment accessed by multiple users through an online interface. Virtual worlds are also called "digital worlds," "simulated worlds" and "MMOG's." There are many different types of virtual worlds, however there are six features all of them have in common: 1. Shared Space: the world allows many users to participate at once. 2. Graphical User Interface: the world depicts space visually, ranging in style from 2D "cartoon" imagery to more immersive 3D environments. 3. Immediacy: interaction takes place in real time. 4. Interactivity: the world allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content. 5. Persistence: the world's existence continues regardless of whether individual users are logged in. 6. Socialization / Community: the world allows and encourages the formation of in-world social groups like teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc. Read more . . .

Virtual Worlds Review Directory lists quite a few different types of virtual worlds to live by such categories as:

Children
Technocrats
Free Access
Tweens
Virtual World Newbies
20 & 30 somethings
Graphic Artists
Trend setter Ages 40+

Some of the popular virtual worlds are Second Life, There, The Sims Online. The media has been giving an extraordinary amount of coverage to Second Life. There have been reports of a young lady making $1million dollars selling real estate within this virtual world.

There was another story in the Wlall Street journal that asked the question "Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?". This is a bizzare question, because this man has a wife in real life, but has married and is playing house with his virtual wife in second Life. He has never met the actual woman in real life playing his virtual wife. He is maintaining his virtual marriage in Second Life by being on his PC up to 10 hours a day. Needless to say, his real wife is not a happy camper.

Then there is the story about the 2 young ladies who are suing a man for copyright infringement. Their supposed claim is he stole the design of avatar clothes the women make and sell within the virtual world of Second Life. That's right. You have to purchase the proper clothing for your avatar in your virtual world to keep your appearance correct. People are making a decent amount of money selling "virtual clothes in these virtual worlds.

There is plenty of business opportunities in these virtual worlds. Second Life proves free enterprise can exist anywhere, if people are willing to put in the work, be creative and be serious about providing quality. Hey, that business approach is a proven formula for success in the real world too.

To get the latest skinny on virtual worlds, you can attend Virtual Worlds 2008 (VW08) taking place April 3-4, 2008 in New York City the at the Jacob K Javits Convention Center.

Get Your Analog to Digital TV Converter Coupon Before February 17, 2009 Deadline

2008-01-07T04:39:00.000-08:00

Since the U. S. Congress ordered the switch to digital television, regular TV is going away on Februaury 17, 2009. After this deadline, anyone who wishes to continue watching TV with the basic "rabbit ear" antenna that comes with the TV, must purchase a digital converter box. This box costs between $50 - $70.

To offset the cost the U. S. National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) is providing a FREE $40 coupon to offset the cost of purchasing the digital TV converter. The limit is 2 coupons per household. Click here to apply for your FREE analog to digital converter box coupon online. Another option is calling 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009).

The digital converter box will not be available for purchase until February or March 2008. If you apply for the free converter coupon(s) now, NTIA will send you the coupon at the time when the digital converter boxes are actually in retail outlets. The coupon is good for 90 days from date of issue.

A Reuters article "Strong start for TV converter box program for TV viewers" provides a list of retailers where the coupon can be redeemed towards the digital converter box.

Replace Incandescent Bulb with Fluorescent Bulb

2007-12-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

Thousands of hours of invention tweaking, by Thomas Edison and 125 years later, the U.S. Clean Energy Act of 2007 makes the incandescent light bulb go away in 2012. This bill was introduced by the U.S. House of Representatives and pass by the U.S. Senate in June of 2007.

In 2012 the 1st phase is for 100 watt and 75 watt incandescent light bulbs to be banned. By 2014 the 60 watt and 40 watt incandescent light bulbs will be banned.

The smart way is to start replacing each incandescent bulb, as they each go out, with a flourescent bulb. Click here for information on "How to Choose Energy Star Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs"

This new trend creates an awesome opportunity for money making fund raisers. Check out Light Bulbs America for details. Through their program you make approximately 40% profit on each fluorescent light bulb sold.

Check out the Energy Star web site to see if there are cash back rebates in your U.S. state for purchasing Energy Star approved compact fluorescent light bulbs.

ENERGY STAR Qualified CFL facts:

Expenditures	ENERGY STAR Qualified Light Bulb (26-Watt CFL)	Standard Incandescent Light Bulb (100-Watt bulb
Initial Investment	$5	$0.35
Energy Cost	$20.80	$80
Replacement Cost	$0	$3.38
Total Cost	$25.80	$83.73

+Based on 8,000-hour CFL life and 750 hour incandescent life
+NOTE: When comparing incandescent or halogen bulbs to ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs or fixtures, compare the light output or lumens and not Watts. Watts equal the energy used, not the amount of light.

Flourescent light bulbs, save money, last way longer and lower energy bills for ever consumer.

Walmart has jumped into saving energy with a marketing campaign to sell 100 million fluorescent bulbs to every customer.

The videos below show different aspects in replacing an incandescent bulb with a fluorescent.

Compact Fluorescent vs. Incandescent Light bulbs

Myron Ebell Debates Energy Efficient Light Bulbs (9/13/07)

Energy Efficient Light Bulb Comparison

Microsoft and the Finishing Academy Technology Etiquette Guide

2007-08-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

The telephone has been and always be the best "high tech high touch" way of developing human relationship rapport. So how can a person effectively communicate using Email? Instant messaging? or the Telephone?

The Finishing Academy and Microsoft teamed up to develop "The Business and Communications Etiquette Guide". Mark Deakin, Unified Communications Manager, Microsoft said: “Our research and anecdotal evidence suggests that Instant Messaging is now rife amongst information workers, yet often people are using it poorly. Combined with the widespread misuse of email and an increasing aversion to the phone, it seems there is confusion over when to use which method of communication. The technology is there to help people communicate and collaborate better, and done right it can be a real boon.” Read more . . .

Carl Tyler also provides an excellent technology communication etiquette article slide show published on Forbes.

Film Festival Targets Video Gadgets

2007-07-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

Your Cell Phone Talks to Your Watch with Wibree

2007-06-13T04:37:00.000-07:00

The "Wi" in Wibree stands for wireless, while Bree is a reference to a city in the epic fantasy series "The Lord of the Rings." Go figure . . . click here for Wikipedia's Wibree history and technical details.

Nokia developed Wibree back in 2001. Today there appears to be an update as news periodicals stir up the buzz.

In AMNY, Peter Svensson 's article "Bluetooth Links Up With Rival Technology" provides a few simple incites. . . . "The technology, called Wibree, opens up the possibility of a host of small wearable gadgets, like watches, heart rate monitors, pedometers and pill boxes that communicate with Bluetooth-equipped cell phones or computers. A watch could display the user's incoming text messages, for instance, or an action figure toy could sense the presence of other toys." Read more . . .

DotGizmo states "Wibree and Bluetooth play nice Mathematically speaking, Nokia's Wibree technology is now a subset of the Bluetooth realm." Read more . . .

John Blau reports in Infoworld with his article "Nokia's Wibree joins Bluetooth": Ultra low-power technology to connect button-cell battery power devices to users

"In October 2006, Nokia's research arm announced the development of Wibree and establishment of an industry forum, including Broadcom Corp. and STMicroelectronics NV, to define a specification.

But after forming, the companies -- many of them members of Bluetooth SIG -- favored having ultra low-power devices supported in Bluetooth, according to Harri Tulimaa, head of Nokia Technology Out-Licensing. "They didn't want to complete an entirely new technology," he said. " Read more . . .

Reuters reported today: "HELSINKI, June 12 (Reuters) - Mobile handset firm Nokia's (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile , Research) ultra-low-power short-range wireless technology is to be developed as a new version of Bluetooth to connect devices such as watches and heart monitors, the company said on Tuesday.

Nokia's agreement to offer the technology as the basis for an ultra-low-power Bluetooth standard should help to speed its adoption and encourage acceptance -- rather than be a competing technology, the Bluetooth industry interest group said." Read more . . .

Eye Fi Gives Wi Fi a Major Boost

2007-06-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

As reported by Kamika Dunlap on Red Herring, Eye-Fi securing $5.5Million in funding is now positioned for the roll out of it wireless technology that automatically uploads photos from digital cameras.

Michael Kanellos, Editor at Large for CNet News.com , reports in today's New York Times . . .

In the fall, start-up Eye-Fi plans to release Secure Digital memory cards with integrated Wi-Fi chips. With the card, digital cameras will be able to automatically send photos to home PCs or to photo-sharing Web sites.

The company is negotiating with about a dozen Web sites to allow direct uploads from cameras containing the cards, Eye-Fi founder and CEO Yuval Koren said.

The card is set to cost about $100. Although he did not clarify their memory capacity, he strongly indicated that they would hold about 2 gigabytes. Many current cameras won't easily accommodate larger cards, which have a slightly different format, he said. After 2GB, people should be downloading anyway, he added.

Say Goodbye to Regular (Analog) TV

2007-03-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Circuit City has been kind enough to provide an excellent public service announcement on their web site. The Congress has now passed legislation requiring all conventional "analog" TV broadcasting to stop on February 17, 2009. After that date, your local television broadcasters will be making only "DTV" broadcasts. If received via an antenna these broadcasts will require different TV tuners. Read more . . .

As of March 1, 2007, all new TVs must include digital tuners.

The bad news is TVs manufactured before 1998 will no longer receive TV broadcasts, if only an antenna is being used to receive free (advertiser sponsored) TV shows. A digital converter will have to be purchased and attached to these older television sets.

The good news is Congress has allocated funds for households, with pre 1998 televisions, to apply for a $40 coupon. With a maximum of two (2) $40 coupons per household, the coupon can used towards the purchase of a digital converter.

The details of the digital converter coupon program will be announced later in 2007. Click here to keep up with the latest on transition to digital TV transmissions February 17, 2009.

March 11, 2007 Starts Daylight Savings and Maybe Some Technology Issues

2007-02-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you. March 11, 2007 starts daylights savings time a few weeks early.

On Monday August 8, 2005 President Bush signed into law a broad energy bill (Energy Policy Act of 2005) that will extend Daylight Saving Time by four weeks in 2007.

So turn your clocks ahead on Saturday March 10, 2007. Now you will be on time for Church.

Calm down. No reason to get all Year 2000 (Y2K) crazy, with anxiety attacks.

Edge Blog comes to the rescue with all the patches required to take care of internal clock settings for our technolgy tools, such as your Windows mobile phone. Edge Blog suggests making a list of time-dependant systems (copiers, fax machines ets.), applications, databases and devices. Prioritize the list based upon importance and impact if the device isn’t patched.

Below are some computer patches. Edge Blog has a more extensive list with a people adding more in the comments section of the same article.

Microsoft Overview - microsoft.com
Microsoft Windows Registry Hack - microsoft.com
Microsoft Windows Mobile Hack - microsoft.com
Microsoft Windows XP & 2003 - microsoft.com
Microsoft Exchange - microsoft.com
IBM Lotus Notes & Domino - ibm.com

Don't forget the Windows mobile phone patch