I don’t normally talk or write about these kind of things because they can get out of hand PDQ. (That’s Pretty Darn Quick, if you didn’t know.)  It also makes me sound crazy, which may be true, but I don’t normally advertise or support that train of thought. However this issue with SOPA and PIPA , and Jimmy Wale’s stand against it really motivated and inspired me to write this.

It is amazing to me how people who make laws in this country have no idea about things work in the real world. Rather it’s amazing how we in the 99% don’t realize how the world is being created around us without our say so. And how those that do see it, are stifled and called lunatics, arrested, made fun of and treated as outsiders. To prove it, watch what happened in any city that has had an Occupy event (Oakland, New York, Washington DC) in this country, and take a peek overseas at the last years’ worth of Arab Spring uprisings all over the Middle East in the past year. What used to exist in the fringes of society is being brought full force into the center of our collective attentions.

Syria’s Al-Hassad is proof positive that you can kill people and still be king. What was happening behind closed doors is now exposed and all over the news. We already know that the rules that apply to the 99% don’t apply to the 1%. That was and is the basis of the whole Occupy movement.

Congress, Senate, the President, and the C-Level members of billion dollar corporations that put these elected officials in office all operate by a different set of rules. This is, “how it always has been,” but that doesn’t make it right. Let’s see, our elected Congressmen and Senators have their own separate health insurance programs, their own separate retirement and savings plans, and many other things that the rest of us don’t have access to. And have you noticed how they have all been successful businessmen and women first? Did you notice how they all have millions and millions of money to run for office? And that the one’s who win usually have the largest amounts of money in their campaign war chests? Hmmmm…I wonder if this is all just coincidence.  How the hell can these people make laws when they are not subject to the same rules, and programs that we are? The answer is simple: THEY CAN’T!

Do you think healthcare is a really important subject? For who? Not for the ones who can afford it, that’s for sure. The folks wanting to legislate the matter don’t use the same systems that the rest of us do. If John McCain had to go to the free clinic for meds or surgery to help him with his enlarged prostate (total example here) I wonder how he would fare? Let’s get you pre-qualified Mr. McCain so we can determine what the best form of treatment is going to be for you. And oh…that process will take a few months and will consist of loads of stress that will further weaken your desire to pursue these options, and while all of that is going on, we won’t do a thing to help you feel better. We are paying insurance companies for the pleasure of refusing our needs. Nice isn’t it?

And what about the folks who run MetLife, Humana, CIGNA, and any other insurance plan? My guess is that the C-Level folks running those organizations don’t even use the products and services that they sell to us. And why should they? They use the money we send them every month and pay top dollar for the best medicine and doctors that it can buy.

Now, the people that we have elected decide to take aim on the Internet. Wow! And along come SOPA and PIPA. Two similar pieces of proposed legislation that our government feels will make things better for us Americans? Really? Who are you listening to Senator and Congressman? It’s definitely not me, the guy who can’t even get FIOS on his block even though the people who live around me have it.

You’re listening to the corporations and lobbyists that are funded by them. After all, they greased your pockets and helped you get into office, so why not do them a favor, right? The healthcare issue is over (for now). We need something else to do to justify our existence so.….let’s go after the Internet! That way we won’t have to worry about fixing the budget. (More on that later).

Let’s see, RIAA, MPAA and so many others in the media and entertainment sector like SONY, Universal, etc., are all lobbying to get these new bills passed as law under the guise that Piracy is ruining them. Bullshit!! They are trying to create (aka, cram down our throats) new laws that favor them and their old school ways of thinking and operating step all over the 99%.

Rather than focus on being progressive and continually producing content and services that compel us to spend our hard earned money with them, they want to focus on keeping things to themselves and getting paid for them over and over again for stuff that they think is valuable, but really isn’t.

I am not opposed to paying someone for his or her efforts, and I am not opposed to people making a living by doing what they love. Everyone should be rewarded for their efforts and their contributions. It’s why I am glad that Lionel Richie gets a check from Apple (and the music label that did the deal) when I just bought his greatest hits album.

But to sit there an say we don’t need to continue to evolve, improve and enhance what we are doing, and HOW we are doing it is plain dumb. This is why I wish some company like Apple would decide that the music studios and labels suck and wanted to work with artists directly? I wonder how that would shake up the industry. Yes I know, some say that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, but it’s still fun to think about.

This recurring theme that shows up in healthcare, the Internet, and the economy is part of a greater issue that is discussed in the movie, “THRIVE.” You can check it out at www.thrivemovement.com.

The 99% of us have the opportunity to once again tell the 1% running this country that they are nuts and that they don’t understand what they are doing or talking about. That they need to stop catering to folks that line their pockets with campaign contributions and start looking out for the people that they are supposed to be taking care of.

SOPA and PIPA are bad. Period. End of Story.

Legislate my online rights and freedoms now and that is a stepping-stone to legislating my right to bear arms, my right to Freedom of Speech, and my right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Control what content I can or cannot see online just because you heard it was bad? Really? Shut down a site without due process? Seriously? I thought we lived in America. When did we become a dictatorship?

Looking back, this erosion of our rights started soon after 9/11. Government took advantage of  a huge, scary, motivating event to get people to be more scared of terrorism than the true terror of living without your right to privacy. Under the guise of terrorism, they monitor your cell phones and all other forms of communication without a warrant (Hello Carrier IQ) in the name of, “Protecting the Homeland.” Seriously? Give me a break!

They think we have a short memory. And most of us do. Go back 15 or 20 years and compare what rights and freedoms we have today vs. what we had back then. You’ll see that we <ahem> “older” Americans are slowly being reduced and phased out for a new generation that accepts these infringements as the norm, rather than the exception. And is showing up in many areas. Why and how are we allowing this to happen? We are slowly being conditioned and swallowed up by the Borg.

Let’s think about education for second. No Child left behind? It’s really every child left behind. Our education systems reached mediocrity years ago when they started teaching our future leaders how to pass a standardized test rather than teach them to think independently. And people wonder why kids are staying home until their mid to late 20’s; and why China is fast overtaking the USA in many areas of technology and innovation. Let’s let our kids become robots and parrot back what the teachers are reading from their textbooks, which are published by the very same media conglomerates that line the pockets of those legislators that I bet you already forgot about.

Let’s talk finance. First it was the European Zone, now it’s the Asian Zone. Pretty soon there will be a new zone that is currently called the North American Currency Union and will consist of Canada, the USA, and Mexico. Here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_currency_union.

Wait, that link won’t work until tomorrow. Why? Because Wikipedia founder, Mr. Jimmy Wales, has the testicular fortitude to stand up and say that these bills are (remember their names?) just plain wrong and un-American. There is a better way to protect copyright. Hint: it starts by revamping how we view and value the artists’ and their work.

Back to finances. Scholars, government representatives, and conspiracy theorists are calling this new NACU a “theoretical” model. But let me ask you this: were the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) theoretical? Heck no, those were just the first and second rounds. This live and very real, “theoretical model” will be a new and improved version that will address the mistakes made during the first (NAFTA) and second (SPP) attempts to unify our region.

Folks say that governments are opposed, but guess what? When a private institution called the Central Bank controls your debt and charges you high interest, you don’t get to be in charge and call the shots! Just look at what happens when the World Bank decides to “help” countries that are fiscally irresponsible but have great amounts of natural resources. The WB gives cash and currency, for interest, and that interest is paid in said resources, leaving the country with nothing! Bad, bad, bad.

Wake up, people. These changes are coming. History provides loads of evidence about what is really going on, and movies like Thrive are out there if you really want to get a greater view of what’s going on. We can still change the course of events.

The current economic situation is a direct reflection of the plan set forth by the 1%. What other choice is there except to start a new currency and economic system? When you can pay off your debts, what do you do? Start over. It’s called bankruptcy. We are paying more money toward interest on the American Debt than we are generating in a day.

Note: I cannot find any source to prove this statement true. Is this Big Media at work squashing access to this data? Maybe. Just the same way that are not talking about SOPA except on CSPAN. Why are they going to let the news channels that they run criticize the very things they are championing?

EVEN MORE DEBT by borrowing more money, which means that there will be even HIGHER Interest that gets paid for by our TAXES. Guess what that means? Yep, your taxes will increase! Obama is smart. Let’s give you the tax break for a few months now, and make you pay for it in the long term. This way you won’t remember what the heck happened and why. There is a reason that the US credit rating dropped from AAA to AA, people.

When the USA defaults on its debts to the US Central Bank, and a new world order is established as a result, the ones who are currently at the top will still be there again in the new system. The more things change, the more they stay the same. I just wonder what will happen when these 3 separate zones become a single zone, and there are no more boundaries separating our countries, our economies, and our lives.

In many ways, this theory that I am spouting off will have positive results. We will, literally, all be one. One world, one monetary system, one planet. It’s pretty crazy to think that all this stuff that is going on now, could actually be good for everyone in the very long term. How’s that for seeing a silver lining in all this mess. HAHA!

The times have changed, the means have changed, but the financial systems are still the same. The process of evolution means that we outgrow what used to serve us. How is it that we can go from the Stone Age, through the Dark Ages, through the Renaissance, through the Industrial Revolution, and now the Information Age, and yet still use and participate in the exact same financial system that has been around long before recorded history? Does that make sense?

Like I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. If you really want to, “be the change…” start with your own pocket book. Ask questions, study, and do your own research. Don’t let my own independent thoughts and opinions sway you. That’s not what they are intended to do. Learn, apply your own experiences, thoughts and wisdom to the situation and think independently. Don’t become a drone that the Education system, our government and our corporations want and have trained you to be.

This is what is so cool about being in the USA. I can say all of this on my own blog, share it with whomever I want, and not have be fearful of what I say. This may change over the next few decades, unless you speak up and out.

I had no intention of writing this, and then posting this to my blog, but I was really inspired. Thanks, Jimmy, for standing up and making people pay attention. This blog post is a direct result of your actions, and their impact on me. No, dear reader, you can’t blame him for my post. Instead we should be giving Jimmy a collective high-five!

Peace,
Shawn

I found a few neat, transparent WP7 wallpapers and wanted to share them here. The site also has some non-transparent WP7 wallpapers that are the same in everyway, except the backgrounds are NOT transparent. They are here.

There is also a pretty comprehensive list of WP7 specific wallpapers at the always awesome: http://wpwalls.wordpress.com/. (Note that some of the images are NSFW — Not Safe For Work).

Any who…I tried a few of them out and they weren’t working for me. Soooooo…I “borrowed” this I LOVE WP7 wallpaper from ozymandias.com, made some mods, and have this little gem as a result:

 If you like it, download it for your phone and share it. Just make sure you give credit to the folks who made it like I did above.

Here’s my high res (480*800) version for you. Just right click and Save As.…

Peace,

Shawn

wallpaper for HD7

I opted to use SlideDeck’s WordPress Plugin to slide different content across my homepage in the same area. You can read all about the benefits of SlideDeck and why I like it by going to their website. This post is all about the WordPress Plugin version of SlideDeck and not the JQuery version.

One of the things that I did not like with SlideDeck’s Smart SlideDeck feature is the inability to remove the title of the Smart SlideDeck that shows up in the content area of the slider. The option is there for regular SlideDecks, but the option doesn’t exist for Smart SlideDecks. If you try to leave it blank, the plugin will put the default “Recent Posts” title back in for you automatically.

Why do you care? For me, I don’t need to have, “Recent Posts,” in the content area of the slider. It’s meaningless to me (and to viewers as well). Add to that the fact that the title of the post is already there, and you can see that it’s just too much title in one area.   I’ll end up with a cleaner look, and can reduce the amount of space I need and more content above the fold.

You can see what I am talking about  in the before and after images in the slider below.  For visual learners, there’s a quick 5 minute screencast video to walk you through, step by step, what I did to make the change described above on the 3rd panel.

If you want to know how to set up your first SlideDeck, SlideDeck’s Support Site and forums provide alot of good info. They have a dedicated Tutorial Page as well. You can also go visit the fine folks at MakeUseOf.com. They always have good stuff, and break things down really well so that even Novice users can get started quickly. Here’s the MakeUseOf.com SlideDeck tutorial.

If you want the written steps, here they are:

Step 1 — Login to WordPress and open up the SlideDeck Settings page. Determine which SmartDeck theme you want to use or are already using. (i.e. light, dark, vertical, etc.)

Step 2 — FTP/SSH to your hosted WordPress Instance and find the Plugins folder under wp-content.

Step 3 — Open the SlideDeck Pro for WordPress Plugin folder, open the skins folder, and then open the folder that is named after your theme.

Step 4 — Copy the theme template file to your desktop. It will have a .thtml extension.

Step 5 — Make a copy of the original .thtml file you just downloaded. You want to have 2 copies of the same file. The original, and one you will modify.

Step 6 — Rename the the copied file so it has a different file name.

Step 7 — Open the original file (not the renamed one) and look for something like this: <div class=“sd-node sd-node-type sd-node-type-<?php echo $type; ?>”><?php echo $title; ?></div> (in the Light theme, it is around line 30 or 31)

Step 8 — comment out the entire line in step 7. It should look like this when done:

<!– <div class=“sd-node sd-node-type sd-node-type-<?php echo $type; ?>”><?php echo $title; ?></div> –>

Step 9 — Save the file.

Step 10 — Upload the modified and original file back to your webserver in the same folder referenced in steps 2–4.

Step 11 — If you get a prompt to rename or overwrite, choose overwrite (you have the original on your desktop.)

Step 12 — Reload the page after upload is successful.

Step 13 — Verify that that the “Recent Posts” title is now gone.

Note: Different themes may look different. Look for the “<?php echo $title; ?>” in any theme template folder and comment it out.

If this helps you, please leave a comment, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Thanks,

Shawn

P.S. Here are a couple of bonus videos for you about Standard SlideDeck for WordPress Options for standard SlideDeck, and a second one for Smart SlideDeck for WordPress Options. This slide deck scrolls vertically, so check it out.

For those who know me, I don’t just do things for the sake of doing them. Everything is an experiment and I wanted to see what the difference was between uploading a video with no audio, and then adding an audio track over the top of the video as well.

How the heck did this idea even come to me? Good question. As it turns out, when I was taking the video with my iPhone at the aquarium, a bunch of kids rolled through and made a ton of noise that I ended up recording.  These jellies are so peaceful and awesome, and I didn’t want to post the raw video with all the noise as it would have ruined your viewing experience.  I HAD NO CHOICE but to remove the offending audio.  When I did that, the idea of adding another track on top of the silent one came to me and I went with it.

The audio free version is below. Check it out and then check out the one below that.

I also know that everyone’s musical tastes differ and I’m sensitive to that.  So I searched through my music collection for some really great ambient sounds that I felt would match the tone and vibration of these beautiful creatures.  I hope it came out alright, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. (HINT…HINT…)

Do you like the video with no audio better? Or did you like how the music added another intangible dimension in the second?

 If you LIKE the post, please use the share icons down below.

Mucho Mahalos, (That’s Spanish-Hawaiian, aka: Spa-Waiian for “Many Thanks”)

Shawn

P.S. If you liked the music, you can get Origen’s stuff on iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/era-of-aquarius/id6247961. Or if you like sticking it to “da man” and want to get a great deal on all of Origen’s music, you can go here: http://www.origenmusic.com/background-music.html.

If you go halfway down the page, you will see a special offer and a PayPal button to buy direct. Nice.

P.P.S. I am making no money by mentioning Origen’s great music. I like it alot, and just want to share the goodness.

Here’s the image and quote:

The Best Fortune Cookie Ever!!!

If you can’t read the text it says, “Be willling to give the extra effort that separates the winner from the one in second place.”

What a great reminder and acknowledgement that I am doing what I need to be doing, when I need to be doing it, and how I need to be doing it.

Thanks, Universe! Message received, AND ACTED UPON!

Shawn

This is the Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait City. It is the tallest building in Kuwait and has over 70 floors of awesome. It has a unique feature that really shines at night (pun intended…You’ll see). The lights actually vary and will display different patterns over time. this is a 20 second clip and just shows what the building looks like at night.

The engineering capacity of Man is indeed impressive, when you consider all the engineering it took to create this massive building that rises almost 1400 feet  from the ground. Is there anything that we can’t do when we put our collective minds, hearts and energies into something like this together?

The video is a bit low quality, but I will upload another one later when I have more time.  I took this from the 17th floor  of my hotel, which explains why it doesn’t look so tall. Trust me, it’s freakin’ huge!

One more thing: THERE IS NO AUDIO. I hate having to listen to other people’s mashups when watching a video, and decided that nothing would be better than something.

Make it a great day!

Shawn

So to kick off  my social media experiment, I created a graphic and have attached it here. It is also on my fb page, but I believe that I will be transitioning to my FB Fan page full time. I have a few (400) followers and there’s no time like to now to cut over.

I am asking anyone who visits this site, follows  me on Twitter, is my friend on Facebook, or is someone I have connected with on LinkedIn to please go to my new fan page that is here: MY NEW FB FAN PAGE. I have a selfish reason for asking this of you, and it is a bit vain.

Here is the what the current URL looks like for my fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawn-Hank/164840633570056.

<Moans> <Groans> I know! It’s ugly, it’s way too long, and it lacks a certain…je ne sais quoi (read more about what that means at Dictionary.com)

I’d like my fan page to have the minimum required fans to customize the URL. Currently that minimum number of fans is 25. So between my 400 FB friends, my 160 Twitter followers, and my 500 or so  LinkedIn contacts, I have a fairly good chance to get 25 people to at least like the page. (I Hope <fingers crossed>) so that I can customize the URL. Yes folks, there is a reason it’s called a VANITY TAG!

So here’s the deal. I am not giving away a prize. I am not offering a freebie. I am not doing any kind of incentivizing at all. I am simply asking you, from my  center, to please like my fan page. And there in lies the social media experiment. I have just over 1000 combined followers on the major social networks. Many of whom I don’t even know or communicate with regularly. So out of the 1000, I may have 150 or so who I actually engage with and talk to via Social Media. My odds are still pretty good, I think, as I would rather have quality relationships over quantity any day.

And it helps that Brian and me already liked my own page, so I only need 23 more likes to get a custom URL! LOL!!!!!

In all seriousness though, I am curious to know how many people will:

1) Go to this link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawn-Hank/164840633570056,

2) Watch the 2 minute video that is there,

3) Click the like button, or

4) Subscribe to get updates via email.

I am giving it a week, and I will have a follow on post with some metrics to see how it all shakes out.

Have a great day!

Shawn

This order of preference has nothing to do with functionality of these apps, but the frequency of which I open and use them. Trying to compare these apps would be like comparing apples and oranges, their functions and reasons for existence are so far apart, that to compare them to each other would be ludicrous.  And since there can’t be two number ones (thanks Ricky Bobby), I had to coose.

There isn’t an hour of my day that goes by where I don’t open up the app and check for new posts that have been added to my Google Reader feed.  Sundays suck for me because there is never enough news for me to read.

I read somewhere not too long ago that RSS was dead.  Whoever said that didn’t have Feeddler.  Or want to be able to categorize content from various web pages in ways that make it easier for them to consume.

The context of that previous comment had to do with the explosion of social media as a means of spreading news and attracting traffic to your site.  Sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more are all great generators of traffic that can bring users to your site.  Post a tweet with a short link on Twitter and followers will click on it to see the content. Not a bad way to generate traffic for sure.  I personally don’t like consuming information that way.  Why?  Too many clicks to get to the data and info I want.

Imagine this: You’re on Twitter, you see a link from a friend, you open it in a new page or window, you check it out, you close it, you go back to twitter, find another link, rinse; repeat. Now add Facebook . Google+ or any other social news feed and you have really strong reason why we are so ADD in this country.

Because you have to click a link, and theñ a new browser window opens up I know you can follow the same sites on Twitter and FaceBook and Google+ (and now Google+ Pages) but it’s a bit inconvenient to have to use what ever your client is and click a link to have that content open in a new window, read it, close it, and then move to the next item.

Feeddler captures the articles and posts on sites form the sites’s RSS feeds and put it in a really nice, elegant format for users to consume. A single list of articles that i can navigate with no distractions and no need to click all over the place to get my reading on.

It integrates with Google Reader, and you can add other feeds directly to the app.  Syncing your favorite articles and sharing is easy with Feeddler. What you star and share in Feeddler, shows up in Google Reader. NICE!

Sharing couldn’t be any easier as Feeddler can integrate with Email, Facebook, Twitter,  Delicious, Tumblr and other social media channels like pinboard, ReaditLater, Instapaper and Evernote.

Navigating, saving, sharing, and favoriting articles from your favorite sites couldn’t be any easier either  just configure the supported accounts in the Feeddler app, and whey of want to share, tap the forwarding icon and select your channel of choice.

And while the app is intuitive, friendly, and easy to use, I still think there’s room for improvement.

Sharing an article in Feeddler can only be done with one service at a time. Meaning that if you of want to share with Facebook and Twitter, you have to tap each service separately. So after sharing on Twitter, you have to go through the process again and share on Facebook. Combining these tasks so that I get a menu to select from would means that I could post to multiple Channel’s at the same time.

Integration with social aggregators like HootSuite and Ping.fm doesn’t exist either.  You can send an email to the service, but that’s not as tight an integration as it is with Twitter or Facebook.  What would be really cool if (and a great time saver) if these services could be added to the mix. Perhaps then we wouldn’t needed add another layer of complexity to this really great app as we could use those services to broadcast. This will be especially interesting now that HootSuite can integrates with 3rd party services like Tumblr. Click here for more on that.

More than anything else, I use Feedler to save articles and feeds to Evernote. Evernote is great because it allows me to save any kind of data (text, files, pictures, PDFs, and many more) to the cloud. It also allows me to save different types of content to different notebooks so that I can keep my information organized.

Example: I am writing this post in Evernote, and I have captured all referenced links and images in same note in my notebook called blog posts.

What I would really like to see is the ability to extend the Evernote integration a bit further. Currently, Feeddler saves all articles you forward to Evernote into your default Evernote notebook. This is okay, but en I have to open Evernote, and then move my content to the appropriate notebook or stack of notebooks. It’s an extra step, and one that I think Feeddler could eliminate for me by giving me the option to select the notebook I want to save the article into. Then I don’t have to go back and organize, and more importantly, I won’t have to leave the app. +1 for that idea.

Of course, this could also be a limitation in the Evernote API. Other apps that integrate with Evernote only dump content to the default Evernote notebook, so I don’t think this is a Feeddler issue. In fact, based on the developer’s history, if Evernote makes this a reality, I am sure he’d add the feature to Feeddler.

Since iOS 5, there have been some instances where the app has crashed, or has had issues with reyncing data. I am speculating that it might have  something to do with the changes in iOS 5 that Marco Armament (creator of InstaPaper) wrote about recently. You can find that article on IOS Cache Clearing here.  I will further speculate that the comments in Feeddler’s release notes on the App Store will address that.

The last item I’ll bring up is a big one. There is no search function in the app itself. I have over 3000 starred articles in my Google Reader Starred items. For me to find anything, I have to open up the web app and search there. I really don’t like doing that as the web  interface for Reader on mobile devices isn’t great.  Why not let me search my saved/starred articles right inside the Feeddler app? Perhaps there’s no way to leverage the reader API to do such a thing. After all, there is no publicly available API for reader, and what integration has been done has been driven by trial and error, discovery (oh wow look at that!) and community support. I don’t fault the developer of Feeddler here at all. He’s doing the best he can with what he knows, and by his product, he knows alot.

All in all Feeddler is a very respectable app, and the support and response from the developer has always been top notch. And they have always been receptive to feedback. The app itself is polished and well thought out and I do enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who is looking for a solid Rss reader for your iOS device.

4.8 out of 5 stars for me. The .2 deduction is or the reasons I stated above, if it integrated with HootSuite, offered the ability to post to multiple services at once, and allowed me to pick what notebook I could post an article to (more of an Evernote issue), and had built in search I’d give it a 6 out of 5 stars.

This is the first of a series of posts dedicated to a technology called autoresponders. The idea here is to help you become familiar with what an autoresponder is, how they work, and how they make your life easier. On to the first post.

Before I go any further you may see autoresponder spelled differently on different sites. It can be two words (i.e., auto responder); it can be hyphenated (i.e., auto-responder); or it can be a single, compound word (i.e., autoresponder). Search Wikipedia.com for autoresponder and you will see it as a single word. Search Dictionary.com for autoresponder as as single word and you won’t get a result at all. Neither will you for auto-responder or auto responder. Regardless of how you see it spelled, we are talking about the same technology. Furthermore, I will be using it as a single compound word, because that is how most people (and companies) use it. Take a look at these Google results and you will see what I mean.

What is an auto-responder, and why should I care?

By definition, (see Wikipedia link here) an autoresponder might seem like the
easiest online technology to use. I mean, it does just what it says: responds automatically (to emails).

Besides email, autoresponders are being incorporated into websites
so website owners can easily manage subscriptions, posts, online orders, inquiries and electronic mailing lists (aka “lists” or “your list”.)

The biggest claim to fame for the autoresponder is its ability improve and increase online sales and make online marketing efforts easier to manage on many different levels.

The Autoresponder’s Early Days

Whether or not you realize it, you have encountered an autoresponder at some point. Originally, it was a system that sent notifications when an email couldn’t be sent to the electronic address specified, even after many attempts. In these early cases, the
autoresponder send a message (email) back the sender that his or her original message was not delivered. This message also included a few different reasons for the error.

Have you ever received a “kick back” error because you sent and email to a wrong email address? Then you have encountered an autoresponder message.

The Many Uses for the Autoresponder

At it’s core, the autoresponder helps tackle several tasks that used to be done manually. No one sits in front of their computer all the time (except me! lol!). So you can’t answer messages as quickly or as often as you want. Even with smartphones and our always connected nature, it’s not possible to handle all of this electronic communication manually. The autoresponder helps build and maintain your relationships with existing clients and potential clients (aka: prospects) who are interested in your company, product, or service.

Autoresponders also help answer repetitive questions. We tend to get tired quickly of answering the same question over and over. Want proof? Think about any 3 to 5 year old child that is told no to the request for ice cream or a puppy. They keep asking until they get the answer they want. Another classic example that everyone knows is, “Are we there yet?” Following where I am going with this?

An autoresponder can provide answers automatically, without you having to answer from scratch every time. It makes you more efficient. Would you rather focus on income producing activities or responding to email questions about the various colors of your widgets?

Simple and Complex Autoresponders

Some autoresponders offer emails stating that the recipient cannot answer your email (out of office responses) and will get back to you as soon as they can. This type of autoresponse is also used acknowledge that your email or message was received, though not yet answered.

Nowadays, autoresponders are much more intelligent. Timed responses time can be set and sent out at specific intervals.
It can send one message or a hundred messages in a day, week, or month after the pre-written messages are added to the queue. In fact, autoresponders can be configured with years and years worth of messages that can be sent whenever you wish.

With this level of intelligence companies can organize newsletters, responses, sales letters, and many other events far in advance and then schedule the messages to be sent at a specific time.

Many companies now offer autoresponder services. Many business owners subscribe to such a service because they are flexible and offer month to month contracts that can easily be terminated if they are not needed any more.

It’s always wise to check out a few different services before deciding on one for your needs.

Some of the more popular services are:

- Getresponse.com

- AWeber.com

- iContact.com

- ConstantContact.com

- MailChimp

These are just a few of the services that I have personally tried over the years. I have finally settled on MailChimp and AWeber for my sites, lists, and campaigns. There are many that you can choose
from, depending upon your needs. All of the above, with the exception of MailChimp are paid services that you can subscribe to. MailChimp doesn’t charge if you have no more than 2000 people on a list and are not sending more than 12,000 emails to them.

Before joining any service, make sure you try out the service and ensure that the company is credible. Be smart out there and don’t go with just any autoresponder service because there is a very real danger that they are sending out spam messages or even worse, selling your email list to other companies. So do some research, call up these companies and ask them questions.

If you have any questions about today’s lesson or need any other assistance, please feel free to contact me at anytime using my contact info below. I’m always happy to be of assistance.

There will be more to go over in the next few days about how to use your selected autoresponder effectively for your business. Scan your inbox or RSS feed in the next few days so you can start your next lesson soon. The next topic will be focused on how to choose the right type of autoresponder service for your needs.

Until then, Keep your Light shining Bright,

Shawn

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I was in the US Airways Lounge at Reagan National in Washington, DC. The lounge has an open air lobby that allows for all the sounds in the terminal below to be heard quite easily. I mention this because I was doing some work and all of a sudden the entire terminal burst in to applause, whistles, yelling and clapping. I felt like I was at a college football game. It was SO LOUD that I had to stop what I was doing and check it out.

Before I go on, Washington DC has a few incredible traditions on Veterans Day. Like many other cities, there are formal ceremonies marking the sacrifice and dedication of all Veterans who have served the USA in protecting and defending the freedoms and liberties of not just us Americans, but for other citizens in other countries the world over.  It is well deserved recognition, in my humble opinion, and the least that a grateful nation can do.

Veterans’ Day is special in DC because there are so many monuments that are dedicated to the various conflicts that we have been part of. The Vietnam War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and my personal favorite, the Korean War Memorial are all here within walking distance to the White House and the Capitol Building. Every November 11th, these hallowed places offer a sanctuary to remember the service that our brave men and women provided in all these battles. It goes without saying that the ceremonies here are pretty intense and emotional.

Back to the airport and the thunderous uproar. I got out of my seat to see what was happening, and what I saw brought tons of emotion out of me as I started tearing up. Why? World War II Veterans were deplaning and making their way out of the terminal and out to cars waiting to take them to Arlington National Cemetery and the World War II Memorial for ceremonies that were taking place throughout the day.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was cheering for them and showering them with Gratitude and Appreciation for their service and sacrifice. Man what a privilege it was to witness this. There aren’t many WWII veterans still alive, so to witness this event was very special to me. These men, with their physical bodies so old and frail that many had to be rolled around in wheel chairs, had such light and spirit in them that they filled the terminal with it. The energy changed so quickly and was absolutely palpable. So much so that it lifted up everyone that was near them as they moved through the airport, cheers, whistles and clapping following them all the way. Too bad I left my phone on the table!

After 10 minutes, the cheers died down, and I had a moment to pause and reflect on my time in the service and my dad’s time as well. My service in the Marines was uneventful (thankfully). But Dad has served for 20 years had done unaccompanied tours in Okinawa (over a year), and then another 18 months in Iraq & Kuwait during Operation Desert Shield.

While I stood there, a stream of thoughts about Mom came flooding into my memory. When Dad was gone, we all had to step up, and Mom did the most. I distinctly remember working while going to high school and spending my paycheck on a Christmas tree and presents for my sisters and my mom. I wanted to be as normal for them as possible, but without Dad, it just wasn’t the same.

I thought about how she was always glued to the TV and watching all that bad stuff on the news channesl for hours and hours on end, hoping to get some detail on how or what Dad was doing over there. I thought about how she woke up early to feed us hot breakfasts before we left for school; about how she, after working a full day, cooked us dinner, hung out with us, and then after we went to bed, worked her fingers to the bone into the wee hours of the early morning. She slept so little back then, all while taking care of me, and my two sisters. As the tears started to roll down my face, I remembered how she had given up so much to take care of us, to make things we lived as normal of a life as possible during this very trying time. And the flood gates went to full open as I remembered how she recorded messages to Dad with a tape recorder to send to Dad via snail mail. (VoIP, email, online video and social networking weren’t around back then.)  Mom would fill both sides of a cassette tape or two, by talking about what was going on back home, and would sing love songs to Dad by Bobby Vinton, Barry Manilow, John Denver and many, many more. I guess you could say that is where I learned about devotion. Like I said, a flood of memories.

I tried to regain my composure and went back to my where my bags were. As soon as my butt hit the chair, there was another round of cheering. I quickly grabbed my iPhone this time and went to find the source of the cheers and capture some of the energy these folks carried with them. I was behind a glass wall in a different part of the lounge this time and it kept most of the noise out. What you do here in the first half of the video is me breathing a bit to hold back the tears as I watched the scene unfold below.

I am really grateful to have witnessed the love, respect, admiration and appreciation that was shown to these gallant souls. I am also grateful for the reminder that Freedom is not Free, and we, as Americans are very fortunate, despite the economic and geopolitical upheavals, to live in this country: to have what we have, to do what we do, and live how we live.

So to all Veterans, I salute you! Thank you for your sacrifice and your service. And to the families of these Veterans, Thank You for all that you have done to keep things in order on the home front while they continue, in far away lands, to protect and defend the freedoms and liberties of those who aren’t able to do so themselves. If you know someone who has served or is serving in the Armed Forces today, please be sure to stop, acknowledge them, shake their hand, or give them a hug. The deserve the recognition and appreciation, and today is just as good as any other to show them.

Lastly, to all my Marine Corps brothers & sisters, I’d like to offer a special (albeit belated) Happy Birthday to you. Yesterday, marked the 236th Birthday of the Corps (10 November 1775) in Tun Tavern, Philadelphia.

Semper Fi,

Shawn