CW: CuteWriting

Simple Steps To Protect Precious PDF Documents

2013-04-21T10:39:00.001-07:00

There are very few things in business, education, or personal matters that are as important as protecting intellectual property. Securing intellectual property comes in many forms. When we are dealing with material in the digital age this means we must secure the electronic documents we create and distribute.

The gold standard for electronic documents is the PDF. These documents are the gold standard because they're easy to create, manipulate, and share. One of the most interesting features is that they appear identical on any device which makes them very useful for personal and business purposes. It doesn't matter what device is used to look at a PDF document, it could be a smart phone or a 10-year-old computer, everyone sees the same thing.

Creating PDF documents is easy, but it's even easier to leak sensitive information to the world through carelessness. Never forget to secure your documents! There's really no excuse in leaving PDF documents unsecured because there are so many built-in tools to lock them down that anyone should be able to do it successfully. Here's a short list on how to go about securing PDF documents.

Remove and redact

Who wants to share sensitive information? Not me! It could be information as simple as an email address, dates, or something more sinister like a credit card number, but no matter what the situation sometimes you have to share a document that contains sensitive information. You don't just want to distribute your social security number for the whole world to see. That's why you can redact all the information which might be sensitive. It essentially blacks everything sensitive out making it unreadable for any recipient of the document. You almost feel like you are playing Army security specialist blacking out sensitive parts of soldiers letters with the redact tool.

Applying passwords and permissions

There are a few ways to set passwords on PDF documents. The important take away message here is that you should never send out a PDF document which does not have password protection set. This simply means that it's locked down and no one can make changes to it unless they have the password. You alone, the PDF document creator, set the permissions you want a reader to have. For example, you may want them to be able to print and that's it, so you can set that permission as part of the document. Password secured PDF documents are easily known with the little padlock icon for everyone to see that it is secured.

Signatures and certificates

Many important documents require signatures. These might range from financial to legal documents. The sender and recipient mst understand that the document is authentic and unaltered from its origin to be able to trust in the document. Who knows what might happen in transit. In order to ensure that the authenticity of the PDF document is secure, make sure you sign your PDF documents with a certificate ID. There are a few ways to do this, you can put a signature box on the page and stamp it with your signature. The electronic signature can also be embedded in the document and verified upon delivery.

The author of this article is Jared Jaureguy. Follow him on Twitter @JaredJaureguy.

4 Effective Ways to Write About a Boring Topic

2013-03-25T22:51:00.003-07:00

With the plethora of interesting topics to write about, you’re fortunate enough to get the “boring” one. While it can be a pain for many writers to wind up with such a task, I’m telling you now there are ways to make yours more interesting than it is.

So if you find yourself stuck with the dreariest topic to fill in a blog about, don’t fret. Here are the four best ways to unburden yourself.

1. Never a boring topic, only a boring writer.

Here’s the hard fact: It’s never about the topic being boring. It’s about the writer making it boring. For instance, you’re supposed to write about aquariums. I know, how can you continuously make this topic interesting, right? Well, you’d be surprised just in how many ways you can make it an enticing read.

Start by listing down the basic “what”, “where”, “when” and “how” surrounding the topic. You can ask (and research) about “What material was first used to make aquariums?” or even “How the first aquarium was built?” or “What are the most radical accidents that occurred because of broken aquariums?” etc.

It’s all about perspective— you need to have a creative one.

2. Execute free writing.

If you can’t seem to start with a certain structure, have none. Try your knack at free writing and list down all your random thoughts, questions and even experiences you recall that relate to the topic at hand.

This allows a release of ideas and later on, the opportunity to filter them out. Think of it as mind mapping. At the end of the task, pick out the ones that you think will make for an interesting read.

Besides, this is good brain exercise to get your mind going.

3. Be where your readers are.

Even “boring” topics have readers. It’s all a matter of knowing where to find them and being there as they engage about it.

You have so many channels you can look into: Social media, online forums, other blogs and websites where people communicate. Once you’re there, see how they talk about the topic. What are their personal and professional insights? Is there anything worth quoting or mentioning? Are there any interesting points made that’s worthy of writing about?

4. Have a bit of help from a few tools.

Thanks to the braniacs of the online world, there are a lot of tools you can use to make the most out of a boring topic.

First is Quora, a Q & A site that helps to answer all of life’s mind-boggling questions. You could also check Yahoo! Answers if you’d like. Another is AllTop, an online platform that lets you in on what’s currently up with certain topics. If you’re still not satisfied, Google News is another venue for you to have a go at.

The fact is there are so many tools that can help you create interesting content about a not-so-interesting topic. You just need to know what they are and how they can aid you in your creative process.

So the next time you’re handed out a topic you deem unbearably boring, don’t make excuses. Instead, welcome it with open arms and consider these tips to make it as interesting as you possibly can.

Samantha Nicole is a Content Specialist for Webcada, a web design company in Singapore. She spends the rest of her time guest-blogging for various related websites.

Android MyTouch Q

2013-03-06T19:46:00.001-08:00

Android is mostly known for that little green alien-looking robot, but it’s actually an operating system for a touch screen mobile device. Android may be on one the world's most widely used smartphones systems because it gives users a viable choice being one of the technology companies opting for low-cost, budget -friendly high tech devices. The options for Android devices range in a wide variety of smartphones or tables with custom personalization options and ease of use when multitasking.

One of the more affordable smartphones

Take for instance the Android MyTouch Q. The MyTouch is very affordable when it comes to smartphones. It has great 4G download and upload speeds, the keyboard is comfortable to use, and it fits fingers well for typing purposes. The phone’s camera is remarkable because the flash is especially bright in order to make sure the photo you shot is crisp and clear.

While the Android MyTouch Q is a nice starter smartphone, there are a few problems that need to be addressed. If you heed some words of caution, your experience with the MyTouch Q can be a long and happy one together. After a few months of using the phone, there have been a few things I have been experienced. The battery doesn’t hold a charge for more than 3-4 hours, compared to 8-10 hours in the beginning after initial purchase so make sure you charge the phone often.

If there are too many applications, games, photos, etc. on the phone, it only takes one bad program to cause all kinds of loading problems with the phone. A few of the other issues I have noticed are dropped phone calls, stalled phone calls, and the phone shutting off on its own (spooky). This mostly happens during phone calls, after the phone call has ended, or when the line stays on not allowing the other party to hang up.

Keep those problems in check

These problems aren’t too bad, if you’re careful about what apps you download to your phone, you can avoid these types of problems. Make sure that you never download more than one program in a day. This way, if there’s an issue with a program, you know exactly which program it is and you can uninstall it bringing your phone back to its previous performance levels. If you experience any of the above issues, you should probably call your phone provider to get some necessary assistance.

Make sure the programs that you download have at least a three star rating and over 50,000 downloads. This research will help you determine if an app is worth enough risk to be downloaded to your phone. Also, it’s a good idea to turn your phone off at least once a day because it will help keep your phone running in top shape. While there are problems with everything, if you keep the problems in check on your Android MyTouch Q, things will run more smoothly.

Featured images:

License: Image author owned
License: Image author owned
License: Image author owned

Written by author Ben Tanner, sharing his interest of mobile accessories and new technology.

Organic SEO: How It Works?

2013-03-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

What really is Search Engine Optimization? (Photo credit: Go Local Search)

In order to have your blog posts reach the top of the search results, you really have to do a lot of thinking. One of these ways that you can experiment with is SEO. Search engine optimization is pretty important even if you have a regular personal blog. Who wouldn't like their stuff seen by more than ten or so people daily?

However, the posts that get seen by a hundred thousand people daily are really profitable. They are simply at the top of their search terms and are meant to be good for earnings.

If you have strong keywords in your article, they are going to rank you the best in search results. Let's look at some of the important SEO decisions you should make as a webpreneur.

1. Building A Lot of Links

If you are keen about getting maximum visits to your blog, one thing you can do is gather as many links as possible from as many sources as possible. A few of the best practices in SEO can help you rank better.

How to build links effectively? It's a pretty nasty question indeed. It is very difficult to say for sure which practice can get you top results. It is not easily available. You could go and take help from a number of SEO firms out there, but most of them are not quite recommended.

Instead, you should immediately jump into collaboration with your fellow bloggers. Build relationships. Someone recently tweeted link building is now relationship building more than link building.

2. Social Media Attention

Image via CrunchBase

If you are a big corporation, this is pretty easy. You could have all your employees, all five hundred of them tweet and like your articles on Facebook. Also, you could have them each create a blog and write some interesting stuff with links to the main site.

This is loose end of things. All the important things that you need to do is follow a great design that gives accessibility to the social media links and promotional tools.

3. Write Good Content

In fact, everything is going for a toss if your website is thin and without content. You should make your point with your content. It should not be some low quality spun article from the resources you got in the Web. It should be something that uniquely represents your opinion. You should take time in order to gather as much information as possible before writing the posts.

Conclusion

In effect, it goes without saying that important articles with outreach should be the most successful. They will gather as many links as possible and will get you there.

5 Simple Ways To Improve Your Writing

2013-01-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

As writers, we’re always pushing the envelope to express ourselves better than we did before. However there are times when we plateau, when our writing just doesn’t feel natural. Worse yet, there are times when we can’t get a good paragraph out. Those are times when we start thinking about pushing ourselves and our writing.

When you need to tweak and boost your writing up a notch, it’s always good to try something constructive. For those who could use a couple of tips, here are a few that are sure to help improve your writing and keep it from going stale.

1.Imitate Different Authors

If you read other writers for inspiration, why not actively imitate their writing? Once you walk in another writer’s shoes for a bit, writing as they write, you get an idea on how to approach writing about things in ways you normally wouldn’t. Moreover, it will force you to pay attention to what makes someone else’s writing style unique which, in turn, will help you find ways to make your own style unique as well.

2.Increase Your Vocabulary

The pay off for increasing your vocabulary is priceless. With a good vocabulary, you literally boost your reading and writing level up a notch. So whenever you come up against a word you don’t know, look it up, write down the definition, and try to remember and understand it. Re-read the entire piece without your definition list and see how quickly you can recall each word. Ideally, you want to read the word over as naturally as possible, like you already know its meaning. If you get stuck, look at the definition again, then re-read the paragraph. This method, while time consuming, will definitely help to expand your vocabulary and make your writing stronger.

3.Read, Read, And Read Some More

Everyone says that in order to write, you need to read. And it’s true. It’s the best way to inform your writing. Not only do you learn something when you read, you also unconsciously soak the writing in. If you read a lot of books from one main author, you start to gradually develop and naturally adapt to that author’s writing style—its diction, phrasing, and sentence structure. Over time, this helps you become more creative and lets you take chances at expressing yourself in different ways. So read, read, and read some more!

4.Exercise Your Writing Muscles Once A Day

The only way to keep your writing strong is to constantly write. Writing regularly is a necessity to getting yourself in top notch writing form. However, when you write, do it with a goal in mind. Give yourself a challenge. For instance, you may want to pick a different topic for each day. Whatever you choose, write freely for an hour or until you feel like you’ve exhausted all you wanted to say. This will get you in the habit of comfortably expressing your thoughts in words. Exercising your writing muscles daily like this will improve the clarity of your writing by leaps and bounds if you just keep at it.

5.Write For Yourself

If you write for the web, you’re undoubtedly writing for someone other than yourself. It can be draining and easy to forget why you love to write in the first place. The result? Writer’s block. Getting burnt out. Unproductive dry spells. Unlike the other tips, this one is focused on sustaining your writing. Keep yourself in the game by rejuvenating your love for it. Write for fun. Write for yourself. If you’re constantly doing something you love, it becomes effortless and fluid. You’re writing naturally and without any pressure.

The best part about this and the other tips is that they’re general enough so you can cater them to your specific needs. Whether you decide to read fiction or poetry, exercise your daily writing in a different language, or increase your vocabulary for a specific niche, how you improve your writing is ultimately up to you.

Bio:

Reena Cruz writes for the Investintech.com blog, where she shares tips about PDF converter technology and software in general. As a tech-geek, she enjoys learning about new tech trends and sharing productivity tool tips online.