Apartment Guide and Penske Truck Rental today announced that people who follow @aptguide on Twitter have a chance at winning a Grand Prize of “Free Rent for a Year” ($15,000 in cash) and a credit of up to $1,000 to be used for a consumer Penske Truck Rental. Four Runner Ups will each receive an 8GB iPod® touch.

“Summer is the peak moving season and thus the perfect time to reward our brand loyalists by giving someone the opportunity to win free rent and a moving truck rental,” said Arlene Mayfield, president, Apartment Guide. “Twitter is a great way to facilitate the sweepstakes since many people who are looking for apartments for rent also use Twitter to catch-up on news, converse online and network.”

To enter the sweepstakes, which began at 10:00 a.m. ET on July 15, 2009, login to your Twitter account (or establish an account) and follow Apartment Guide, which has a Twitter username of @aptguide. Followers will receive a direct message with a link to the sweepstakes home page. To finalize your entry, simply retweet the provided message - “Enter for chance to win $15,000 (free rent for year): follow @aptguide and tweet this msg. http://tr.im/freerent #freerent.”

“We’re excited to be a part of this promotion and to collaborate with Apartment Guide,” said Art Vallely, senior vice president, Rental, Penske. “Moving can be a stressful time, but Penske helps make it smooth and easy with clean, well-maintained trucks and a staff who really cares about your big move. Give Penske Truck Rental a try for your next move and experience the difference in service and vehicle quality we have to offer.”

The deadline to enter the sweepstakes is 11:59 p.m. ET on August 31, 2009. Winners will be notified via direct message on Twitter.

To see the official rules and restrictions that apply visit www.apartmentguide.com/win-free-apartment-rent/rules.

WHAT: Young Entrepreneurs will have a chance to beef up their social marketing knowledge by attending this online event, hosted by Intuit. Hear from three panelists on how they are utilizing social marketing for their businesses, and get tips and best practices from other young entrepreneurs on how they are making the most of social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to get customers.

WHEN: July 15, 2009

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. PT

WHERE: Join the interactive session online by clicking this link.

**The event is limited to 300, so make sure you arrive on time!**

WHO: Young Entrepreneur panelists are:

§        Alice Shin, creative director of Kogi BBQ, a Korean BBQ taco truck restaurant in Los Angeles (also a Small Business United Grant Competition Finalist).

§        Caanan Meagher, owner of KwickCart, the instant and friendly taxi service on three wheels based in Silicon Valley.

§        Ryan Paugh, head of marketing at Wisconsin Relic, the maker of trendy premium apparel, and co-founder of BrazenCareerist,  an  community site for Gen Y thought leaders.

RESOURCE LINKS: Questions will be taken live during the event.

§        Follow on Twitter by searching #yecram

§        See the free Word-of-Mouth Marketing Toolkit

§        Check out the Small Business United Blog

Click to join.

ORLANDO, Fla. — When actor Ashton Kutcher and CNN were racing last month to see who could amass 1 million followers first on Twitter, many people tracked the race at Twitterholic.com, a site started as a joke by two Florida Web developers. Alex Rudloff of Satellite Beach and Gavin Hall of Orlando built the site in a couple of hours back in early 2007, when Twitter was new and the only people using it were the tech-savvy set. The two University of Central Florida graduates thought it would be funny to quantify just how addicted people were to the micro-blogging site.

“It adds a high-school mentality to Twitter,” Hall (3,971 followers), 28, said of Twitterholic. “You take all these people that were geeks — the early adopters were the geeks — who weren’t the most popular people in high school necessarily, and all of a sudden now we are ranking them.”

But as Twitter’s popularity surged and as celebrities such as Oprah (1,019,191 followers) started joining the service, Twitterholic became an easy way to keep track of the most popular users and a go-to source for publications including The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to quantify popularity on Twitter.
“Somewhere in the process it became a great tool to find local people,” Hall said.

Twitterholic includes a list of the top 1,000 users by followers as well as lists of the top users in a particular city. The service is not foolproof, however, because not all users indicate a city in their profile.

Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard, a relative newcomer to Twitter, ranks as the champ locally, with more than 45,000 followers, according to Twitterholic.

Howard, who likes to use Twitter to rev fans up and promote his blog, is a good example of how easy it is for celebrities or other people with public profiles to amass followers simply by mentioning Twitter on TV or other public appearances.

Others amass large followers by finding lots of other people to follow, since many users will return the favor of following someone who starts following them.

“You can get a lot of followers by following a lot of people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are interesting,” said, Rudloff (6,042 followers), who is No. 12 on Twitterholic’s list of top Orlando Twitter users.
For this reason, other sites, such as Twitter Grader (twitter.grader.com), look at more than the number of followers to determine someone’s ranking, including how often that person is quoted or “retweeted” by other users and how often people reply to that user.

The Magic’s Howard, for example, isn’t even in Twitter Grader’s top 50 users in Orlando.

Other local users with lots of followers are the official accounts of businesses or organizations, such as Know Cancer, (7,347 followers) an Orlando-based Web site that provides support and information to those affected by cancer, which launched in the fall. Nicole LaTesta, the company’s social-media director, said Twitter has helped Know Cancer easily find people who want to know more about the disease and other issues, such as healthy living.

“I’ll come across a profile that says ’sitting in the chemo chair’ or ‘just got diagnosed’ — very personal things that you wouldn’t see if it wasn’t for Twitter,” LaTesta said. “Then I’ll send them an inspirational quote or a resource for more information, such as what question to ask if you are going through chemo.”

Since Rudloff and Hall, who also run a resume-building site called emurse.com (which they recently sold to AOL), started Twitterholic as a joke, they never intended to make money off the service. It’s free of advertising and they’ve turned down offers to buy it, though they are open to the possibility.

Now that athletes, politicians and celebrities have flocked to Twitter, Rudloff and Hall often get e-mails from people who want their stats on Twitterholic to be updated more often, such as representatives for rocker Lenny Kravitz (248,853 followers).

And although the top of Twitterholic instructs visitors to follow Rudloff and Hall on Twitter so they can make their own list of top users, that isn’t the case anymore.

“We’re not going to be able to compete against Britney (Spears) or Oprah,” Rudloff said.
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What is it?
Twitter.com is a free micro-blogging service where users answer the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less and send their updates on the Web for their network of “followers” to read. Updates can include descriptions of something they’ve just done, opinions on books or movies and links to interesting articles. Unlike other social-networking sites, someone can choose to “follow” your Twitter updates without you having to follow them.
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(c) 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (www.mctcampus.com).
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Q: When it is time to take an exam, I get very tense and try to prepare myself by studying for hours on end. When I take the exam I still feel tense and don’t always perform as well as I would like to. Do you have any suggestions?

A: When we overwhelm ourselves we never perform to our best potential. I would suggest blocking out smaller time periods for the concentrated studying. Maybe block out an hour or two in your schedule to focus on your studies. Then create some activities that you enjoy after you study. Physical activity releases stress and boosts your energy. You could also go to a movie to get your mind off of the intensity of preparing for the exam. Keep in mind your fun activities should be in small blocks as well. Repeat this process a few times throughout the day and see what the results are for you.

Alternating between small blocks of studying and small blocks of enjoyable activities will reduce your stress level and help your focus. Why? Your mind won’t be wondering to things you want do because you’ve allowed yourself to do them! It does take some discipline to keep to this schedule, but it will create a healthier balance which may allow you to perform at your best during exam time.

Do you have a question for Laura? Email her at:Laura@corelifedesign.com

Laura Tirello is a Life and Career Coach.  Her company, Core Life Design, works with people who are looking to find their highest potential both in their careers and personal lives. She helps her clients develop a life plan for success and create a balanced life. For more information about Laura and her life coaching business, visit corelifedesign.com or email Laura at Laura@corelifedesign.com.

Beginning in early childhood, we are told to be ourselves. It’s the solution for everything from meeting new friends to getting a job. The ironic thing is that very few of us are actually being ourselves. A large portion of people in the United States are all about keeping up with the Jones’. Simply look at the mortgage crisis and bankruptcy rates—many people wallow in debt just to seem like they have what everyone else has. Our children compete to get the same grades, get into the same schools, and get the same jobs. We have been good little students, following others for so long that we have forgotten what we already have learned and know as unique individuals.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of listening to Michele Woodward, Master Certified Coach and owner of Life Frame Works, talk about this very concept. She was discussing how some of us tend to get into the role of seekers and are hesitant to take the step to accepting what we already know. As a seeker, we grasp for more knowledge, more accreditations, and more titles to show that we know our field. By doing this we often fall into the trap of imitating the moves of the successful people who have become before us. And though this may work to a certain degree, you can’t move fully ahead into success if you are waiting for the next accolade. People are looking to follow a leader, not a seeker. Woodward said once we accept where we are and what we have to offer; that is when a true shift happens in our business, careers, and life endeavors. She mentioned the phrase “Be Your Own Buddha”, meaning: follow your own path.

When starting a business or a new career, remember to stay clear of idol worship. Those who precede you may offer a lot of guidance, but you need to be clear about your own knowledge, worth, and individuality. This puts you on solid ground. Everyone is seeking something, but they want to see leadership in others; a distinction between seeing the value in others’ work and just blindly following it.

Once I looked at the world from this seeker vs. accepter viewpoint, I could see how it played out all around us. Most recently it made me think of Michael Jackson. Though he may have been wildly eccentric at times, he really did become his own Buddha. As the youngest in his family he could have followed his older siblings and molded himself solely in their image. But, through his gift and desire to achieve, he stood out. When his producers tried to tell him how to make an instant hit, he resisted those ideas and created a style of music and video that changed the world. He began to follow his own way, a path that led to a worldwide following.

In a clip shown on TV after he passed away, I heard him say that “the problem with artists is that they try to make the art happen. That’s not the way it is, the art happens on its own, but you have to be there and open to it when it comes.” So while others were seeking, he had the confidence to know that when it came he would know exactly what to do with it.

This technique doesn’t just work with rock stars; it works with anyone who becomes clear about their knowledge. I was coaching a client last week—there are times when you just know where a client needs to go to find the greatest relief and breakthrough. Sometimes it may not be the most comfortable place as a coach because the technique may not be your preferred method. But as a coach, it’s not about you it’s about them. When I was faced with this situation and could clearly see what a client needed, I knew I had to be my own Buddha and use the knowledge I already had to maneuver though this particular method. I had to free myself from how I thought it should be done or my perception of the right way. By freeing myself, I became my own Buddha and this gave my client the space to create her own path. In the end, she came to a great place of enlightenment. Had I just followed the prescribed version of the technique or fell back on how someone else might have done it, I would have lost the client in the process and in turn she may not have found relief.

Start looking at how you are approaching your career and life endeavors. Are you being your own Buddha and celebrating the wealth of knowledge that you already have?

Do you have a question for Laura? Email her at:Laura@corelifedesign.com

Laura Tirello is a Life and Career Coach.  Her company, Core Life Design, works with people who are looking to find their highest potential both in their careers and personal lives. She helps her clients develop a life plan for success and create a balanced life. For more information about Laura and her life coaching business, visit corelifedesign.com or email Laura at Laura@corelifedesign.com.

If you’re heading to a movie theater this weekend, perhaps to see the new Disney-Pixar film, there’s a Web site that could help you know when to get “Up” and go to the bathroom.

Runpee.com was launched in August by Los Angeles-based freelance Flash developer Dan Florio. It touts itself as “helping your bladder enjoy going to the movies as much as you do” by telling moviegoers the best spots during films to go relieve themselves without missing any of the action.

Florio cites Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” remake as his inspiration.

“It’s a three-hour movie. By the end of it, I had to go to the bathroom really badly,” Florio said. “When I got out of the theater, there was a huge queue of people in line for the next showing.

“I wanted to go up to them and say, ‘Hey, there’s this scene with a lot of bugs, and it’s totally irrelevant, so when that happens, just go to the bathroom.”

And his site was born.

“There are more than 2,000 sites now linking to my site,” said Florio, 32, who lives with his wife, Jill, in an RV as he travels the country for different projects.

The site is a wiki, so registered users can submit their recommended break times for movies, which can be listed by most recent release date, alphabetically or by running time.

“Not all movies have pee times, because not all have had pee times submitted,” said Florio.

“Right now, I am trying to go out and see all the summer blockbuster movies, because people will be seeing those and I want to keep the site useful.”

As for that unusual name? It was the first thing that came to mind, says Florio, “the site is meant to tell you when to run and pee.”

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(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (/www.mctcampus.com)

I received a lot of positive responses to last week’s blog that focused on leaving your comfort zone. It seems that most people recognize their comfort zone and feel an internal struggle of whether to stay in it or venture to the unknown. The people who leave that comfort zone are typically the most successful. It’s hard to believe that risk and all the fear involved can be freeing. It almost feels counter intuitive, but it’s actually not. It’s actually about intuitively realizing that your comfort protects you, but doesn’t promote you.

I was working with a client recently who gave me tons of evidence that she could be successful in her career. She had already done workshops, written articles, and had a following that appreciated her work. However, she was afraid to take the huge step of turning it into a thriving business. Everything that she felt she needed to do: create a business name, website, blog, and marketing plan, seemed so uncomfortable. As she put it “then I would actually have to do it and put myself out there.” This is ironic because the fact is she is already out in the world doing it. She started some workshops for a few interested friends and with only word of mouth referrals, these workshops were packed.

The fact is that we look for evidence of why we can’t do something. This evidence is typically coming from our comfort zone, telling us to play it safe. What we should do is look at the evidence that shows we can do it. My client was far ahead in her business, she was naturally attracting people who wanted to hear her message. Her thoughts and beliefs about success and potential failure were holding her hostage and weren’t allowing her to see all of the evidence pointing to her natural ability to succeed with her business. The tasks that she needed to complete in order to develop the business were not the issue, her thoughts around it were.

Look at some projects where procrastination and overall avoidance come up frequently for you. Is it really that you can’t do it or is it your thoughts about doing it? When clients are stuck in this place and can’t find the precise thought that is creating the suffering, I prescribe some action. Taking action, creating movement, allows them to experience the fear and realize that the outcome wasn’t as awful as they had initially imagined. It helps them to question their thoughts and make a connection to how their thoughts have been controlling their outcome. It doesn’t have to be a huge step. For the client I mentioned earlier, I asked her to just write about an idea she had and not call it a blog, article, or anything else. Just write it. I am certain when she sees it on paper; she’ll know exactly where and how it fits into her business. Her continual “analysis/paralysis” of following the “right way” to create her business was keeping her safe, but not happy, fulfilled, and successful. Look at your thoughts; what outcome are they creating for you?

Do you have a question for Laura? Email her at:Laura@corelifedesign.com

Laura Tirello is a Life and Career Coach.  Her company, Core Life Design, works with people who are looking to find their highest potential both in their careers and personal lives. She helps her clients develop a life plan for success and create a balanced life. For more information about Laura and her life coaching business, visit corelifedesign.com or email Laura at Laura@corelifedesign.com.

Enter the Young Money/Core Life Design CONTEST! WIN A FREE SESSION WITH LAURA!

Life & Career Coach Laura Tirello has generously offered Young Money readers the chance to win a free life coaching session. All you have to do is answer this question: What is the craziest thing you’ve done to reach a goal?* Email your answer to Laura@corelifedesign.comand she will choose one random winner at the end of the month.

The winner will receive a 60 minute coaching session from Life and Career Coach, Laura Tirello of Core Life Design. The session will be conducted by telephone at a time agreed upon by the winner. The session will focus on an area in the client’s personal or professional life in which they are seeking improvement. The client will be coached through their particular issue and given tools that may help them continue to create successful outcomes in their personal and/or professional life. The winner will also receive an email summary of the session from Laura Tirello.

You have until July 1 to enter. Winners will be notified by email by July 5. Include a working email address with your answer.

*YoungMoney.com reserves the right to publish your answer. You may request to be kept anonymous.

Dear Melissa,

Frank J.

Dear Frank,

I wish that I could give you the magic date that companies turn items over to collection agencies so that you have it paid before then.  Unfortunately, it does not work like that.  Each company is different and therefore treats each account to their own standards.

But we can try to figure it out based on the average amount of time most companies follow and also the state of the economy.  First, most creditors will turn over a delinquent account to a collection agency between 90-180 days.  Since your due date was March 25th, that would put you in the June 25th – September 25th range.  However, this equation is used when a consumer does not make any payments or respond to letters or phone calls.

In addition, since you are making payments, and ones that would only extend your account six months after the date due, it is unlikely they will turn you over at all.  Right now, creditors are trying to get as much of their money as possible.  If they were to turn you over to a collection agency, they would have to give up a percentage to the collection agency.  And since you are making payments, I really would not worry.  Chances are, their only contact will be to send you a bill each month to make your payments.

By Scott Kleinberg
Chicago Tribune (MCT)

Why does everyone know about that thing you did last night with your best friend’s wife?

Probably because you tweeted about it.

How did I find out? Read it on oversharers.com. It’s a site that searches Twitter for all things embarrassing.
And it’s good.

Ever since the birth of the Internet, the same rule has applied: If you don’t want anyone to know about it, don’t type it. And whatever you do, don’t post it.

Of course, some people don’t mind their tweets ending up on oversharers.com, broadcasting delicate information “accidentally.” You can imagine their “surprise”: What’s that? It’s not private? My Twitter name is attached and now millions know what I did? Bummer.

At least at lamebook.com, basically the same idea applied to Facebook status updates, most of the names and photos are blurred out, somewhat limiting the embarrassment. Maybe that’s more your style.

Whether you’re featured on the sites or just browsing, both are worth checking out.

Moral of this story? You can’t ask the Internet to keep a secret.
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(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (mctcampus.com)

Dear Melissa,

Michael D.

Dear Michael,

The amount on wrong information on the Internet always amazes me!  I have heard about this “extension” of collection items on credit reports from many people.  But I can tell you with the utmost certainty, it is most definitely false.

A collection item will remain on a consumer’s credit report 7 years from the date it was reported.  This does not vary by state but is universal.  When a collection item is paid, no matter how many years after the item was first reported, it would still only remain on a person’s credit report up until the original 7-year date.  It is easier to think of in this way.

Delinquent accounts by the masses are sent to collection agencies every year.  Some people are unable to pay; others are unable to be found.  Three and a half years later plus one day, these consumers are able to pay or have been found.  Since it is one day closer to the 7 years, what is the incentive to pay?  Why would they want to prolong this for 7 more years?  This is why this urban myth is not true.  The incentive is that by paying the item, for the remaining three and a half years, the item will be seen as paid and their score will increase.

In your case, the hospital has no incentive to work with you and have this removed from your credit report, because you have already paid the bill.  You can certainly try without fear that the item will remain for another 7 years, but the chances are very unlikely.  The good news is that in three years, the item will fall off, and it will be as if it was never there.

Do YOU have a question for Melissa? Email her at melissa@dovcocs.com.

Melissa Douros
Dovco Collection Solutions, Inc.

As the owner of Dovco Collection Solutions, Inc., Melissa Douros uses her eight years of being a collections specialists to offer advice and answer questions pertaining to debt collection.  With running her own successful collection agency, she seeks to keep debt collectors accountable for their actions and in line with the law.