iTechSpeak :::...

DIY Identity Theft Protection Credit Freeze

2017-05-25T11:53:00.003-04:00

photo courtesy of Canva.com

by Carl E Reid,
Evernote certified consultant

This is a do it yourself (DIY) project, with 3 instructional videos. Submitting a credit freeze protects you from thieves attempting to steal your identity by creating NEW credit accounts in your name. I have tested this several times by applying for credit cards, applying for a loan and opening new bank accounts. Each time the new credit requests were submitted I consistently received those rejection letters via snail mail.

Once the credit report is frozen any legitimate requests for credit cards, loans, job background credit checks, landlord rental credit checks or mortgages will be rejected. You will submit a separate request to temporarily or permanently lift the credit freeze, if you wish open credit accounts. The reporting agency will notify you of all legitimate and fraudulent requests to access your credit report.

If you want to lock your credit reports, below are the online applications for credit reporting agencies.

Click here to Submit request for EQUIFAX Security Freeze

Click here to submit request for EXPERIAN Security Freeze

Click here to submit a TransUnion Security Freeze

Below are 3 informational videos.

_________________________________________
by Carl E Reid, Evernote certified consultant - USMC 79/80
"Deep Expertise at intersections of Business, Networking and Technology"
Click here to schedule a 15 minute call with Carl
Connect with Carl: www.CarlEReid.com | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
Other articles by Carl E. Reid
Video: 10 Fearless Strategies To Pay For College and Graduate Debt Free
Do You Have Rainmaker Complex Syndrome?
10 Powerful Linkedin Networking Tips (Part I)
Video: Future Of Work Is Not Jobs

Reminder: Beware Of Phishing Emails

2016-11-15T15:17:00.000-05:00

Clicking on ANY links in these types of emails can potentially cause irreparable damage to your computer or information stored on your computer network.

Did I mention the part about possible identity theft can be accomplished from these types of emails too?

Please familiarize yourself with the tonality, typos and poor grammar of the 3 sample phishing emails that provide clues below.

This is a reminder to be Suspicious of emails telling you to . . .

Appear in court
Update your account
You owe a debt and click on the attachment for details
Update your American Express / Credit card account

If you received a similar phishing (fishing) emails, please DELETE it immediately.
Please call American Express directly to confirm "real" account issues.

Sample #1 of Recent phishing email NOT from American Express
From: "American Express" <Americanexpress@securityserver.com>
To: YOU@YourEmailAddress.com
Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2014 8:15:52 AM
Subject: Unauthorized activity on your online account

Dear Customer:

Your account requires a complete profile update,

We have recently detected that a different computer user has attempted gaining access to your online account, and multiple wrong passwords were attempted with your user ID.

It is now necessary to re-confirm your account information to us. If this process is not completed within 24-48 hours,

we will be forced to suspend your account online access as it may have been used for fraudulent purposes.

Please update your profile immediately by downloading the attached file.

American Express is dedicated to protecting your information.

_____________________________________

Phishing Sample #2 to appear in Court
From: "Court Agent" <reference047@washingtontruckaccidentlawyers.com>
To: YOU@YourEmailAddress.com
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2014 4:44:15 PM
Subject: Illegal software use

As a defendant you have been scheduled to attend the hearing in the Court of Port St. Lucie.

Hearing date: 21 September 2014
Hearing time: 11:00 a.m.
Hearing subject: illegal use of software

Prior to the court thoroughly study the plaint note in the attachment to this mail.

Sincerely,
Court agent,
Alison Smith
_________________________________

Sample #3 from BOGUS Helpdesk
From: "HELP DESK" <markwel@zoominternet.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2014 8:56:02 AM
Subject: IT

Dear Email Account Users,

We are upgrading Email over the next several weeks We urge all urge to participate in this upgrade. With the new upgrade, you'll see new features and enhancements included

Submit your details for confirmation of account. HERE

Thanks for your Co-operation.
IT SERVICE DESK

Thank you for being a valued customer.

Kind Regards,

SafeGuards Team.

(C) 2016 American Express Company. All rights reserved.

All users of our online services subject to Privacy Statement and agree to be bound by Terms of Service. Please review.

Passphrase Smarter Than Password

2016-11-08T15:36:00.000-05:00

With the Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook passwords leaks, I thought this might be a good tutorial to share with staff, to make your technology customer support team's job easier. Modify as you feel appropriate.

How To Smartly Create Passwords

Don't re-use passwords. One ultra-secure one won't be any good if someone finds it.
While combining upper and lower case passwords with numbers to alter a memorable word - M4rsin$pace - is often advised, these are more easily cracked than you might think
The best strategy advice is to create a memorable, PASSPHRASE sentence [don't use these samples]: I$wimatTHEbeach2016 | "I am a $erious Winner in 2017" is better than "My name is John", and use the first letter of each word with punctuation: "Iaa$Wi2017"
Consider using a password manager such as 1Password, which generates and stores your secure passwords.

_____________________________________
About the Author - click here to contact Carl

With corporate travels from the mail room to the board room, Carl E. Reid knows what it takes to be successful in the business arena. He has over 46 years of business experience, including 34 years as an information technology expert, 20 years as a business startup / career coach and 23 years as a successful entrepreneur. In addition to being founder of Savvy Intrapreneur, Carl has been a professional blogger and social media expert since 2004. In addition to being a sought after speaker, he publishes Library of Congress recognized blog www.SavvyIntrapreneur.com. Carl has been published in "Network World" and "Computer Monthly" magazines, resulting in being a technology expert witness in court.
Email: IGetSmart@SavvyIntrapreneur.comWeb: www.CarlEReid.com
Tel: 201-222-5390Twitter: @CarlEReid @Intrapreneur @iTechSpeak
Click here to view Carl's Amazon Author page

10 Emergency Survival Kit Technology Tips

2014-05-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

Society lives in a different world than we did 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago. A childhood car ride to the airport included my father being able to take us right up to the boarding area just to watch planes land and take off. Today, only ticketed, ID verified, bare foot, metal detector frisked passengers are allowed to go to the airport boarding area. Airport lines are longer, no more back packs at running / marathon races, metal detectors at high school dances and the hits just keep on coming.

Aligned with our global societal issues, there is a strange phenomena that mother nature and her environmental children (weather, earth and water) appear to be willingly complicating our lives even more. Planning for natural disasters dictates having available technology so our business and personal lives can function with some semblance of normal.

Being a blessed Hurricane Sandy survivor, it was a week of deep introspection and being thankful for some technology gadgets my wife and I had in place. Beyond the batteries, snacks, a first aid kit, a generator, flashlights and tunes your children listen to until their cell phone die, I share some food for thought to consider on essential technology considerations and gadgets to have in your home survival kit . . . just in case.

1. Know whether 911 support is provided by your telephone [TRUE] land line provider, Internet phone provider and cell phone provider. Wow!! I just used the word "providers" 3 times for vendors who may or may not provide. Contact each provider TODAY [aka, before your need] to find out how or if they provide 911 service.

2. Have a battery powered AM/FM radio available. This allows you to stay informed and make INTELLIGENT DECISIONS on next steps to protect your family. (i.e. should we stay or move quickly?)

3. Back up and charged batteries for your phone, mobile devices, computer notebook.

4. Have car cigarette lighter dual USB cables to charge 2 gadgets,. This especially works well if you have an iPhone and your spouse has an Android phone or vice versa. Plan ahead for acquiring appropriate charging adapters.

5. Back up your household Internet connection with an alternate 4G service, like Clear, Freedom Pop or Netzero. They provide rechargeable routers, you will at least be able to connect your iPad or or notebook computer online to read and access necessary web sites. Downloading or uploading photos will not work well through these services, due to data speed restrictions. Having no electricity for 1 week during Hurricane Sandy, my wife I were really happy using our Clear device to run our business interests and communicate with clients. Clear is month to month service. So you can turn it ON and OFF, when it suits you.

6. A Solar charger for recharging all your mobile devices is a smart move. Using sunlight or overcast daylight is usually enough to keep your solar charger juiced. Get 2 solar chargers, so you can work on your computer, your phone can be charging and your children have their own mobile device being recharged.

7. Consider acquiring an emergency / weather scanner. This will provide additional information local to your area, which may not be provided by news reports on your AM/FM radio. Before you acquire a scanner, please read the scanner usage laws in your state. It is my understanding police scanner apps downloaded to mobile devices are illegal, once you take the device out of your house.

8. This may seem obvious, but download a battery manager onto your phone or mobile device. This works well will with conserving power, your next available charge is unknown with the electricity power out.

9. Update your ICE contacts on your cell phone address book and print them out on paper.

10. Set quarterly "To Do" reminders on your cell phone to check emergency gadgets being fully charged and have a family fire drill. Or you can use FollowUpThen.com to schedule email reminders for everyone in the family to check their back up rechargers. Although unused, over time the available power in your emergency back up charged gadgets will dissipate. Just like a fire extinguisher being periodically inspected, battery reliant electronic devices need to be checked on a scheduled basis, before you really need them.

BONUS 11. Back up your spreadsheets, word processor documents and any other essential data files you need to a key chain thumb drive. If your computer goes south permanently, al least business presentations and personal life can be referenced or modified on another computer at the library, a neighbor's house or a local hotel. You can never have too many back ups. Give your spouse a thumb drive key chain copy of files, as well.

Happiness is Firing Your Cable Company

2013-11-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I just mailed my HD box back to the cable company and canceled my service, while still being able to view TV shows and movies at a tiny fraction of the cost. My personal board of directors (my family) is happy about the new income windfall due to the yearly savings.

Unless cable TV providers upgrade their business model, they may disappear with black and white television.

4 years back I bought a Sony Play Station 3 (PS3) to entertain my grand children when they visit. I never once played a video game on my PS3 or had any personal use for it. This may be due to overdosing on playing video games, when my brother and I ran a business distributing the original floor model video games in the 1980s. We had them in pizza parlors, Coney Island and other locations. My job was business development and fixing the video games. So I played a lot of free games after each repair.

Rewind to 3 weeks ago. Out of sheer curiosity I decided to see what would happen, if I connected my PS3 between my Sony Bravia HDTV and the Internet. After a 45 minute software upgrade to the PS3 operating system, I experienced an epiphany. Without spending a dime I watched The History Channel, National Geographic, Mad Men, In Plain Sight and Burn Notice. These are the same shows I used to watch through my cable TV provider.

To help my Chief financial Officer (my wife) transition easier into this crazy idea of terminating the cable company, I purchased a $25 "TV like" remote control programmed to work specifically with the PS3. She was not about to use the PS3 game control joy sticks to watch TV. Voila, she is now a happy camper being able to watch American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Drop Dead Diva and other shows she likes.

I now get caught on the news by going to ChannelChooser.com, using the PS3 web browser.

Oh, did I mention being able to get on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is easy on the eyes when being viewed on a 48" HDTV, from my reclining chair.

Total Startup Cost (minus PS3 cost since it was bought years ago)
$25.00 one time cost for PS3 TV remote control
1st month FREE for Netflix
Total monthly cost (starting next month): 8$ per month for Netflix. Estimate just under $10 with the taxes.

I'm not suggesting you drop $200 to 300 down to buy a PS3. A $100 Roku box will work just as well or better. Cost includes a remote control.

Reach out to me, if you need a little technical advice before firing your cable company.

About the Author
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Carl E. Reid is a technology expert, social media strategist and business career coach at Savvy Intrapreneur. CReid3005[AT]gmail.com - Tel: 201-222-5390

Business Intelligence on How To Brand with Twitter

2013-03-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

Did you know Twitter engagement rates are higher on Saturday and Sunday? Below is an excellent infographic provided by Linchpin SEO, which provides the clues needed to crack the mystery of how to really engage people on Twitter.

As I mention to my clients, having a social media presence is not enough. Converting social media presence into "influence" is the challenge. Social media Influence is what really translates into sales leads or referrals for sales conversions.

People do business with people they know, like and trust. The hard question is how do we get Social media to emulate this basic human interaction. Engaging conversations with people, which makes those people share your value with others.

The question I suggest my clients ask themselves [as they look at each social media platform] is "Are we selling something or sharing something of value?" Sharing value is what people tune in to and VALUE is what people share.

The Linchpin SEO does an excellent job of teaching how, when and why engaging people builds personal and business brands.

Twitter Cheat Sheet , an infographic by Linchpin Infographic Design

Squirreling Away Incandescent Light Bulbs Steals Money and Energy

2013-03-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

Back in 2007 our article Replace Incandescent Bulb with Fluorescent Bulb talked about how the U.S. Clean Energy Act of 2007 makes the incandescent light bulb go away, saves quite a bit of money on electric bills and creates awesome opportunities as the same time. We failed to mention the bizarre things people might do to continue using those energy hogging incandescent light bulbs.

From a Business Week article, on January 1, 2013 traditional incandescent 75 watt bulbs were phased out. The phasing out of traditional 100 watt incandescent light bulbs in January 2012 ignited panic, making consumers take some wacky actions.

Home Depot reported a 20 percent spike in sales of 100 watt bulbs for 2011, as people rushed to stockpile for the future. At least one Ohio woman made sure to squirrel away enough bulbs to last 50 years. This time around, however, shoppers seem more relaxed. Bill Hamilton, president of light bulb merchandising at Home Depot, says, “Customers are beginning to embrace the new technology.”

Silver Alert vs. Amber Alert

2013-02-15T21:57:00.002-05:00

So I'm driving south on the New Jersey Turnpike for a meeting in Trenton. I passed several digital highway signs flashing a Silver Alert with a license plate number. For the life of me, I could not figure out what this Silver Alert was about.

After doing a little research [not while driving], I found out “Silver Alert” or “Senior Alert” programs help identify and locate missing seniors with cognitive impairments (i.e. Alzheimer's Disease, dementia etc.). Modeled after the United States federal Amber Alert system for abducted children, Silver Alert programs create an emergency notification system in which law enforcement agencies broadcast using radio, television and electronic highway signs. Read details on how Silver Alert legislation started.

Why the iPad2 is a Game-Changer

2011-10-04T15:24:00.000-04:00

A game-changer is a term used to describe something that has the potential to alter the outcome when brought into an activity. In business, for something to be a game-changer, it has to produce an advantage. I will show why I think Apple’s iPad2 is a game-changer that can produce such an advantage.

Much has been written on the technological prowess of the iPad2. Articles have appeared on its specific use such as point-of-sale in retail, or as a replacement for medical clipboards in hospitals where notes can be recorded and shared; as well as checked against a patient’s entire medical record. While these uses reflect increased productivity and efficiency, they are “tactical” uses. I would like to present a hypothetical example of how the iPad2 can be used strategically, thus making it a game changer.

The scenario: You and a partner are real estate investors. You’ve done your research and found a good property. From your due diligence you find out there is distress to the property, which the current owner has let run down, and on the owner himself where other obligations are forcing him to sell.

The situation: The deal will only work if you get your offer accepted; however the owner is stubborn. Time is of the essence as your investors expect you to put the deal together now, but you can’t go any higher on your offer.

The dilemma: How do you convince the owner he is better off accepting your offer?

The solution: You meet with the owner and bring your iPad2. You show him a picture taken in a room at the top of the building. It shows a wall with dark stains in the upper corner where the wall meets the ceiling. You play a video you made showing your partner tapping on the wall, an action that produces a knocking sound until he reaches the area of the stain where a squishing sound is produced. It is undeniably soggy from water damage and likely indicates major roof repair is needed; something that was heretofore undetected. You start a video conference with your partner who just happens to be on the scene at the property with his own iPad2. You bring up documents, slides, and analysis with estimates supporting your conclusions. You ask the owner if he has any questions. You express sorrow, and though still interested in the property, will have to adjust your offer down to account for necessary repairs to the newly uncovered problems.

Advantage: iPad2.

The outcome: The offer is accepted.

You can see how this dynamic can move business activity in new ways. The iPad2 inspires creativity and imagination. It’s why I find the iPad2 such an exciting and transformative product.

An accomplished Program/Project Manager with extensive experience in consulting and business development in both public and private sectors. A professional bringing direction, motivation and experience to the table with an entrepreneurial approach to business development. Accomplishment through organization and process; Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, and Continuity of Operations are his forte. A strong advocate of Enterprise Resilience and Crisis Management currently engaged in establishing the practice of Supply Chain Resiliency for JVKellyGroup, Inc., an eminent Risk Management consulting firm.

Simple Facebook Tip to Extend Personal Brand Reach

2011-05-14T02:05:00.001-04:00

Most email software (i.e. outlook, gmail etc.) has a type-ahead feature. This is also referred to as auto-complete. This function remembers and stores addresses you send to. When you start typing names of a previously stored contacts, your email software will recognize it and offer suggestions for completing the name text for you.

Facebook has a similar type ahead feature, when posting "comments", on a "wall" or in a group. As you will see in the picture above, using the "@" symbol and typing the first letter of a name triggers Facebook to present a drop down menu. You can now select friends, business pages you "Like" and calendar events you published on Facebook. Whatever selection you make from the menu (i.e. a friend's name) will be converted to a hyper link people can click on and visit that page. To complete the hyper link conversion, you must press to save a comment or click the "Share" button on a wall post.

By using the "@" symbol with a friend's name you extend your visibility. Your friend is notified on their Facebook news feed that you mentioned them. Your friend's friends also see your comment.

This is a great way to edify friends, while getting your smiling face in front of new people. You might even make some new friends.

Carl E. Reid

Social Media Strategist, Intrapreneur Coach, Author, Speaker

Tel: 201-222-5390 * Carl E. Reid.com

"Success Synergy through Intrapreneur Savvy, Human Capital and Tech Strategy"

Give Yourself A Raise Anytime You Want? "LIKE" Savvy Intrapreneur on Facebook
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Facebook Branding Window Opens at 25 Closes at 100

2011-03-25T00:01:00.015-04:00

If you just made that awfully smart move to create a Facebook business page, your opportunity to create a branded link is right around the corner. This allows for shortening that very long link Facebook assigned when you created your business page to http://Facebook.com/YourBrandName

Once 25 people "Like" your business page, Facebook opens the window so you can create a branded link.

Watch out!! Monitor your business page "Likes". Facebook closes the opportunity to create a much shorter branded link, once your page has 100 "Likes". Now you will be stuck with that ridiculously long link, which will take up every inch of space on your business card.

About the Author
---------------------
Carl E. Reid is a technology expert, social media strategist and business career coach at Savvy Intrapreneur. CReid3005[AT]gmail.com - Tel: 201-222-5390

Can Facebook be Used to Develop Meaningful Relationships

2011-03-08T00:01:00.012-05:00

Can Facebook be used as a job search, business development or networking tool for creating meaningful business relationships?

What do you think? Reply here and pick up some free job search tools while you're at it.

Social Media Team Effort for Getting the Word Out

2011-03-04T00:01:00.017-05:00

Some suggested steps to create buzz for acquiring new clients. Similar to everyone in an organization having business cards, this tandem effort by all team members will produce a synergy in results.

1. Make sure the company blog is RSS enabled. That means the little orange chicklet should be visible on the blog. This allows people to channel in/out using their RSS readers. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Having a blog with no RSS feed is like having a telephone with no dial tone. You can't communicate with the rest of the world. - Click here for RSS article details

Ask your web developer to flip the switch "On" for displaying the RSS chicklet on the blog. Once this is completed, it sets the stage for "1 button publishing". Publish a blog article. The article will automatically distribute to Twitter, Facbook and LinkedIn accounts for ALL team members.

2. In preparation for "1 button publishing", everyone on the team should have accounts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can hook your Twitter account into your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

3. Consider setting up a business page on Facebook. Here's an article for details: New Facebook Changes Provides Best of Both Worlds -

Press Enter Once: Publish to All Social Media Platforms

2011-03-02T00:01:00.038-05:00

Branding and marketing is the name of the game these days for both companies and individuals. Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. are phenomenal tools for getting the word out about you or your company.

Most social media tools are free. Although you can do it yourself, engaging a social media consulting company allows you to work ON your business, not IN your business.

Have you heard about "one button" publishing? Write something once. Then it automatically goes viral globally to your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, other social media accounts and Google (as in SEO search engine optimization). Engaging a knowledgeable social media consultant eliminates a very steep learning curve for using those free tools.

View our social media client portfolio - Tel: 201-222-5390

New Facebook Changes Provides Best of Both Worlds

2011-02-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

Just a heads up on new Facebook changes being implemented on March 1, 2011. These changes will allow for maintaining a personal social life (your personal page) and having a professional game face (LinkedIn type) posture.

Personal page changes
You may have already noticed profile settings now being displayed at the top of your personal page. It is recommended you spend time adjusting your security settings in displaying personal information. Decide how much personal information your friends vs. the general public should see.

Business page changes
The majority of the new Facebook changes will impact business pages. Here is where you might consider emulating your LinkedIn profile inside Facebook. This allows for maintaining a business posture. The really cool part is you will be able change between a personal page identity to a business identity at any time. You still use the same login ID credentials to access both pages.

For example, Jane Doe has a personal page and she has a business page called JANE DOE, INC. [or use your company name]. Now Jane can "comment", "Like" and interact with friends and family on Facebook as Jane Doe. Then Jane can change her identity when she visits other businesses or business associates on Facebook. When Jane switches her identity to XYZ Widgets Company, all her "comments", "Likes" etc. will be signed and displayed as "XYZ Widgets Company" [JANE DOE, INC.] on all Facebook posts.

I am offering a complimentary 16 minute coaching session, if you have questions on your CEO of ME, Inc. branding strategy on Facebook. Tel: 201-222-5390

How to Get People to Ignore Your Emails

2010-11-10T00:01:00.004-05:00

Email communication can be a frustrating experience by our own doing. NetM@nners explains why. "We live in a me, me, me – busy, busy, busy world. Our society is really self-centered . . . One thing is clear, you shouldn’t expect others to behave as you think they should — they are not you". Our immediate gratification based society dictates our expectation that every person we send an email should respond as soon as s/he finishes reading it. Good luck with that thought.

If we work on understanding what motivates people, responses to emails may be faster. So lets take a quick trip down the opposite lane on what encourages people to not be in a hurry to open and actually read emails received.

Establishing these bad habits is a sure fire way to make people ignore or miss emails you send them.

Not having a compelling statement in the "Subject" that makes someone want to open your email. Hi, hello and hey says nothing to the reader and may even trigger spam filtering, causing your email never to be read. Forbes writer, Kern Lewis's article How To Write A Compelling E-Mail Subject Line covers how to create a sense of urgency. Also check out 5 Tips for Writing Subject Lines that Will Get Your Emails Opened from Constant Contact.
Not changing the "Subject" line when the email topic changes. People can easily think they already read your email, because it has the same topic as a previous email you sent or they sent. Now your new topic gets deleted, without being read. Bye bye to that totally awesome idea you had.
Using email to initiate a series of back and forth conversation volleys, when a single phone call is more expeditious.
Introducing new topics in the email "Body", which are unrelated to the topic in the "Subject".
Using email as a word processor for lengthy sharing of information. Keep emails short and to the point.
Bad timing on business email sends. Since business people constantly receive email, Saturday or Sunday may not be the best time to send emails. By Monday, your email could be pushed so far down and out of sight by the 50-100 emails delivered after your email. Just because you send an email during the weekend does not mean other people read emails during the weekend. Everyone has different work habits. Send email when you know there is a good chance a person is in their office AND cleared out their "Inbox".
Not paying attention to geographic time zones. Consider your reader's local time zone, when timing an email send. Your email sent at 9AM might be 9PM to your email reader. Better to write an email in draft mode. Then send the email during your reader's local business hours
Sending email to people in different cultural work environments. Again, consider timing email sends mentioned above. In many Spanish speaking countries, work stops at 2PM and resumes at 4PM. In Europe, weekends are definitely considered mini holidays. Relaxing and spending time with family is a priority on weekends, especially in France.
Disregarding country holidays. Keep a world holiday calendar handy. Time email sends accordingly, to increase the chances of your email being opened and read.

Technology Summer Camps and Scholarships

2010-04-11T14:55:00.003-04:00

Do you worry about your child being properly positioned to compete in the work force and climb up the proverbial corporate ladder? Will s/he survive future societal and economic pressures? In the article "Global Competition: U.S. Students vs. International Peers" by Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, the chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education, Donald G. Knezek states “I don’t have to keep being pounded by the obvious facts about the dominant role technology is going to play in [students’] civic life, work and productivity, communication, and social interactions,”.

If it's true what experts say about China and India being more focused than the U.S. on developing students’ technical skills, Summer time is a perfect opportunity to combine fun with technology learning for our children.

Sure, you deserve to start planning a long overdue vacation to recharge your batteries. Is alone time only with your significant other part of your vacation planning? With some scholarships available, consider sending your child to a fun filled technology summer camp. From space exploration, to building roller coasters to crime scene investigation these camps offer social environments that make learning fun with math, science, computers, physics, biology, engineering and astronomy.

This is the time of the year when inner city youth programs focus on creating job opportunities for teenagers. What about the grammar and middle school children? Technology summer camps prepare younger children for when it's their turn to work. Let's not forget the life time skills these summer camp experiences provide. My father always said, "travel experiences are the best education a parent's money can buy". As a child I experienced "Indiana Jones" type educational adventures, including a 30 day car ride from the Bronx down to Mexico exploring the Aztec pyramid ruins, then on to Guatemala (age 11), going to school in Trinidad (age 12) and Fresh Air Fund wild life nature excursions (age 10). These are just a few of my childhood summer camp adventures that set the stage for me to compete and become an extremely successful information technology career intrapreneur and entrepreneur over the last 28 years.

Below are some technology summer camp options to explore for your child. Some scholarship deadlines may have expired. Think of it as an opportunity to better plan your child's summer education and fun next year.

Hobbs Foundation Summer Science Camp Scholarship
Spend a week exploring outer space, building roller coasters, or
experimenting with Hollywood special effects. Application deadline is May 3, 2010.

Orlando Science Center Summer Camp
Spend a week up-close to Tyrannosaurus rex, launching rockets, or exploring outer space?

EXCITE Camp - Exploring Interests in Technology and Engineering
Empowers middle school girls in the fields of math, science, and engineering. Previous sponsors have included H.B. Fuller Company Foundation, IBM Corporation, the Medtronic STAR Foundation. Application deadline is May, 2010.

U.S. Space & Rocket Center Foundation Scholarships
The ultimate 6-day experience for campers ages 9 to 11 who want to be an astronaut!

Infotonics Summer Science Camp
Using popular themes, the camp helps students discover science, math, technology and engineering. 2010 programs include
Mission to Mars, CSI: Crime Scene Investigators and Magic of Harry Potter. Application deadline is may 31, 2010

Girlsstart Summer CampEmpowers girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Scholarship application deadline is May 3rd, 2010

The Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math and Science (AHETEMS) Foundation offers Space Camp scholarships for Latino students in grades 6-8 or ages 11-14. Those awarded are able to participate in either a three or six day camp experience.

The Army Community Service Space Camp Scholarship is available to children military personnel, including those who are reserve or retired, and who live no more than 50 miles away from Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

The Bernard Curtis Brown II Memorial NASA Space Camp Scholarship allows the children of military personnel, past, present or reserve, to attend Space Camp.

What is Seen When Your Name is Typed in Google?

2010-04-05T10:18:00.006-04:00

In previous articles "Using Google Alerts to Track Your Web Presence" and "5 Quick tips to Grow Your Internet Web Presence", steps were provided on how to develop and monitor your web presence. Now we'll cover why you should even be remotely interested in developing a positive web presence.

If anyone types your name in Google, what will they see? What will be seen beyond your LinkedIn profile to separate you or your business from the competition to expedite closing the deal, getting the interview/meeting or being hired? In Keith Ferrazzi's book "Never Eat Alone" who knows you is more important than who you know.

Why is marketing and branding both on-line and off-line important to your business or career? Here are some reasons why you need to be where your target audience hangs out.

2007 - OnRec (online recruitment tool)
20% of employers use "social networking" sites. Read more . . .

2008 - Career Builder Report via article in Personal Branding Blog
One-in-Five Employers (25%) Use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates. Read more . . .

2009 - MarketWatch.com via article on Pre-Employ.com
40% of employers have searched Facebook and other social networking sites for information on potential hires. Read more . . .

2010 - 2nd to LinkedIn, Recruiters are hanging out on Twitter.
Some corporate recruitment firms use Twitter to analyze the employee’s communication skills and his work culture. According to few surveys among recruiters who use Twitter as a part of their recruitment process. Read more . . .

Online Marketing and Branding

- Ride the long tail with article comments on your favorite news sites
- Answer questions on www.LinkedIn.com
- Develop a positive web presence with upbeat questions and comments on LinkedIn and other social networks.
- Blog, Blog, Blog - Setup a free account on www.Blogger.com
- Acquire a vanity domain name - www.GoDaddy.com
- Make yourself an industry expert with articles within your knowledge space that resolve problems, improve processes or share outcome results of previous projects etc.

Offline Marketing and Branding
- Personal networking produces the best results by tuning in to each persons' WIIFM
- Remote networking using telephone and contact management database
- Use voice mail as a marketing tool
- Maintain business posture through email with proper grammar, spelling and an email signature.

Managing Personal Technology ROI

2010-04-04T13:50:00.000-04:00

Companies make staff go through gyrations analyzing implementations of new technology. What's the cost? What is the return on investment (ROI)? What is the short and long term benefit to the company, clients/customers, productivity and profitability?

You know exactly what I'm talking about, because you've been there. This also applies to entrepreneurs or small business owners running their own business. Don't you or your chief financial officer make your employees do the same types of justifications? Now ask yourself this question. Do I apply the exact same business methodologies when purchasing personal technology for myself, family or home? If not, why not?

The iPad is soon to be released (see video below). As with any new consumer technology gadget, especially when released by Apple, a buying frenzy occurs with a "got to have it" mentality. This works perfectly for the company selling the gizmo. It's a credit to the engaged marketing machine producing sales results. When done right, a perceived need is created for the consumer, when none exists. It deftly and subtly overrides a "need vs. want" analysis. Do really just want it? Or do you personally need it to be competitive with your career or business?

So back to performing return on investment analysis when making personal purchases of cell phones, computers, car gadgets, HDTV, cable TV, Internet services, FIOS, the triple play package etc...
Transferring skills you use at work into running your career as a business is a key strategy to career management survival these days. It positions you for being more valuable to clients at work. This is accomplished by reinforcing personal life technology purchases with the same business practices companies employ.

My wife and I only purchased, upgrade and continue to pay our Blackberry bill every month [or any home technology], because it provides us with much return on our $90/month investment. It answers the business acid test of providing ROI for productivity, clients [employers] and personal income profitability. Our personal monthly ROI must cover the cost, plus produce a profit into our bank accounts. Otherwise, it's just a firm grip on an empty sack.

When was the last time you beat up a vendor for hiccups in your personal cell phone service, like you do at work? That's right. Services providers for home technology are still vendors to you. No one should blindly pay a bill in full, if the FULL services have not been rendered. It doesn't make good business sense for companies. Why should it for you personally? Read more on how to get vendors to pay you when personal technology services fall short. When the weather knocks out satellite cable TV or vendors create service interruptions for hours or days with technology upgrades, that's not your problem. They owe you a credit. You pay your bill "in full" for full services every month, no matter what.

Your career is your business. Your business is your career. Anyone who runs their career as a business, extended into your personal life purchases, is the smarter person who survives these days.

Secret Communication ( marketing ) Weapon

2010-04-02T19:55:00.002-04:00

You probably know this already, but I thought I would share it anyway :-)

If you don't have an email address for a person or they don't check email that often, you can still send email to their cell phone (comes to each person as a text message on their phone). Many people in the "mature crowd" have a cell phone, but don't use email at all. Now you can reach out to them more often via email.

Keep in mind people have a limited amount of characters they can receive in each text message. So keep email messages short to about 200 characters. That's enough to send a brief reminder about upcoming events, meetings or emergency alerts to multiple cell phones as part of email sends.

As long as you know the person's cell phone provider, you can use the formats below, employing your regular email system.

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net

Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com

Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com

Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

Alltel: phonenumber@message.alltel.com

AT&T: phonenumber@mms.att.net

SunCom: phonenumber@tms.suncom.com

VoiceStream: phonenumber@voicestream.net

Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com (text only)
phonenumber@vzwpix.com (pictures and videos)

What's In an Email Address?

2008-12-10T08:27:00.001-05:00

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

2008-07-25T18:10:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-22T09:36:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-21T10:18:00.001-04:00

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

2008-06-18T08:49:00.001-04:00

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