http://www.bondiya.com

In mid-April, I signed up for a contest that AOL was hosting on the site, About.me, and out of the hundreds that applied for the TechCrunch position with AOL tech.. I got it! It was honestly one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. You can see my campaign on their site here!

When I received a phone call in early June about my status, I had no idea what kind of internship awaited me this summer.

All I can say is that my initial hopes and expectations were just a fragment of the dream internship the TechCrunch & Aol team had so graciously presented to me.

Here are a few photos that basically sum up my first day (aka the best day of my life):

If you can’t see from the photos (sorry for the quality!)/want to hear me brag about it, you’re the best follower to ever exist.

I used PicJoiner on the iPad to put together these jumbled collages, but I will be downloading more pics later to come. I had a photo shoot one night with my goodies but the lighting was horrible. However, I did dedicate about 30 minutes of my time trying to take pictures of apple products that I put together piece by piece, so it’s worth the upload in my mind.

The first picture above shows a few of the brand-new, plastic wrapped boxed gifts I received:

The new iPad (the retina display is very impressive) & a top of the line cover

A Macbook Air & SuperDrive(I absolutely love this laptop– but I did get the chance to see the new Macbook Pro a few days ago and I can’t wait to upgrade my own)

A mouse, keyboard and mouse pad for my desktop screen to use when working at the office (plus the mini drive required to join my laptop and desktop screen together)

A work telephone & my own line (it really is exciting you know)

& an AOL notebook, AOL coffeecup, TechCrunch tee, carrying case, access card for the office, and AOL branded bag.

It felt like Christmas, except every big gift combined.

Oh, another amazing perk, I get unlimited remote software downloads from the AOL company’s never ending library.

I also get discounts! -something I just found out today..

A few of my favorites are: 30% off dell products, 17% off apple products and best buy exclusive offers.

I guess to put it shortly, I’m really glad I participated in the contest. I’m also so grateful for my social network friends, and the wordpress community because without the support I would have never made it to the finalist board.

Even though SF is one of the most beautiful cities to live in right now, I had to e-mail about 400 people to find a legit studio in a safe area.

<refer to my MOVE IN DAY post to see websites that I used to help me browse housing options>

I ended up finding a small, but quaint place in Noe Valley.

Here are a few pics from my first few days here:

& random happiness for the road:

That’s Lennon

My beautiful sister (right) & me(left) celebrating her official nurse pinning. I’m so proud to announce that my sister, Alyssa Swope, is now a registered nurse!!!!!! You’re amazing.

Information sharing about products and services also thrive offline, at friends or group discuss forum. The end result of offline information sharing of common interest issue, lead to exchange of address (e-mail or website). Membership sign-on is a common feature on most websites, being a strategy to enlist as many as possible loyal customers for viral effect purpose. These website members are the potential instrument of information spread about website with unique contents. All the instances mentioned, are attributes of Invite A Friend scheme.

This feature also called, “Tell A Friend” or “Share with Friend” is targeted at patrons of product, service or lovers of social website, by webmasters to attract more visitors traffic through these loyal customers. Facebook, Twitter and other social network websites uses this method approach to build their vast network of membership. Recommendation of products or services by people with first-hand knowledge adds value, because it is a testimony of an experienced consumers. This make the feature, one sure way of converting new customers that merchants can reliably capitalize on for good returns on investment.

Merchants apt of the importance of the viral effect of information spread, are quick to appreciate their customers value, and readily reward loyal customers for recommending their products or service. Invite a friend can be looked at as, an extension of Affiliate Program in the sense that, a product value is share with friends or an acquaintance of similar interest. Information spread through this medium, quickly result to conversion of targeted audience because, they will arrive at the product website with a mind-set to purchase without hesitation.

Invite a friend is a piece of prepared short message script, send to friends e-mail address by a consumer, affirming product usage and recommendation of its trial by the recipients. The patrons only enter the e-mail address of receiving friend, that the message is meant for. The message contains a web-link that take the recipients to the recommended product website by clicking-through the link.

As mark of appreciation and to stimulate participation, compensations are awarded referrals in the promotion campaign scheme. When referred visitors purchase, coupon or percentage discount, are some of the alternate compensations awarded the referral loyal patrons in their subsequent future purchases.

After I began thinking about it, as I’m entering my e-mail address to change my password, I consider the number of instances that I’ve subconsciously handed over my e-mail address.  Some of you may be asking why that matters – any spam attacks  will be filtered through a firewall or an anti-virus.  You’ve already BVR’d your business, right?  Do me a favor, check your inbox right now.  Spam free?  Didn’t think so…AV and firewalls are simply put, NOT bullet-proof and neither are your users in the sense that one reckless open could take down your entire network and expose all your confidential information.

My personal account easily sees more spam than my professional account. Why?  Because 90% of the time I’m offering up my personal address to purchase things online or handing it out to people who, “promise they don’t sell your information.”  The sad thing is today – and after realizing this observation, I’ve found myself using my professional e-mail more and more often because I’m connected more so to it than I am my personal account.  The reason?  I don’t want to deal with the spam, and I’m not alone.

I’ve had this conversation with many of my colleagues and believe it or not there is a pretty sweet solution to assist our spam-fighting Watchguard and Symantec friends.  It’s called Reflexion and it has no doubt become many business owners, including ours, new best friend.

You can find out more about Reflexion HERE but really it’s another line of defense to protect your users and your business from individuals who have nothing better to do than corrupt the business world we live in.  It also has elements that make it a next-level product.  I’m not going to list the elements out – that’s the purpose of the link, BUT I am going to single out one feature that users can’t get enough of and that plays perfectly into today’s blog.

Reflexion gives your users the ability to change their e-mail extensions – whenever and however they’d like.  No joke.  To the scammers who sell your e-mail…better luck next time because bvonroden@takethat.com is nothing more than my way of saying, well, take that! No, but really it’s been quite enjoyable listening to the folks that have utilize this feature clamor over it.  Need an e-mail but don’t want to risk your work or Gmail accounts – make one up!  Get creative.

With that said, I guess my biggest and only Tech Tip for today:  Your e-mail isn’t just string of letters with .com attached to the end of it – it’s a gateway to lots of destructive opportunities IF you let it be.  Be cautious about where and who you are sharing your information with.  Saying one thing and doing another are two very different and very scary things.  If your users are as connected to their work life as I am, it might be smart to rally the troops and let them in on your little secret as well.  Oh, and – you are NEVER allowed to use this on me or any of my marketing activities!

Chat later,

BVR

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“….. energy, when it has always been freely available. It is ironic that whilst you are saddled with the costs of oil-based products, there are secret military bases that enjoy all of the benefits of new technologies.” - – - – - - SaLuSa, 12th January 2011

Here are some examples of the FREE or environmentally-friendly energy sources which may be powering all electrical generators in the very near future (i.e. when suppression of information comes to an end) and energy-saving procedures in various fields.Cosmic enenrgy will be the initial power source followed later by dodeca energy.

BREAKING NEWS – 2012 0528

“Free energy zones will be areas of designation that are provided to supply clean and free without charge or cost energy to those in these areas willing to participate in these projects. What we would like to do is put aside your current means of supplying your households with energy and installing a new technology that will better improve the efficiency and the supply of clean energy into your home. These projects will be performed on a worldwide level and there will come a time when each and every household on your planet will be furnished this technological advancement that will supply clean energy without a cost to the subscriber of this technology.To participate in this program, we ask those of you who are willing to make certain changes in your household to make their names available to us either telepathically or through posting or commenting throughout your online social networks and we will enter your name into our database for consideration for this advancement in your home.”To enter your name for consideration write to:- GF Free Energy Program - Give your name and address, e-mail address to be used -

MIT Professor Dan Nocera believes he can solve the world’s energy problems with an Olympic-sized pool of water. Nocera and his research team have identified a simple technique for powering the Earth inexpensively – by using the sun to split water and store energy – making the large-scale deployment of personalized solar energy possible.HOME-MADE ELECTRICITY

Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.

Connect to the Internet through Lightbulbs
Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb
This is a related subject and is on the background to the OIL and GAS businees.
The information is old, but many may not be acquainted with it. For educational purposes
it is repeated! I introduced Lindsey to Canada in September 1987 – on “Black Friday” ….
this is the title of just one of many books he has written.The Energy Non-Crisis
by Lindsey Williams – Part 1 of 8
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/NbakN7SLdbk?version=3&hl=en_US

SOURCE from NESARA INTERNATIONAL

Have a comment, question or correction?  Be sure to include your name, phone number and e-mail address so we can get back to you.  Please E-mail Us At: TallahasseeO@hotmail.com.

Send TallahasseeO.com A Hot Tip!

Got a hot news tip about Tallahassee’s Public Corruption?  Have photos or video of a breaking story?  Be sure to include the following information: Your name, phone number, e-mail address, and a short caption that describes what is happening in your video/photo/audio and where and when it was taken.  Please E-mail Us At:  TallahasseeO@hotmail.com.

I made a list of traveling websites that I found useful. And then I decided to make one for jobs/internships, google help and other misc. sites I found interesting.

Rather than list them out, I categorized them on my ListThing browser bar. Now they are colorfully, and neatly displayed for readers! Make sure to check out some of these pages because they are crazy cool (and extremely helpful).

Hope this helps guys! If you have any questions then please comment below and I’ll make sure to get back to you ASAP.

To report allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, misconduct or other misconduct abuses in state government, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Chief Inspector General.

You can contact them at (850) 717-9264 or submit your concerns in writing to:

Office of the Chief Inspector General

2103 The Capitol

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001

(800) 543-5353  toll-free

(850) 921-0817 by facsimile

cig@eog.myflorida.com

Waste, Fraud and Abuse Form

You may also file your complaint directly with the Agency Inspector General of the state agency involved.   Click here to contact the applicable state agency directly.

Complaints may be made anonymously; however, be aware that we can only provide you information or request additional information if you include your contact information.

For more information on how to file a Whistle Blower complaint, please click HERE

NOTE:  Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not file your complaint by electronic mail. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

En Español

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to File a Whistle-Blower Complaint

If you want to report serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of a public employer or independent contractor who is under contract with the State and you are also a State employee, former State employee, or applicant for State employment, you may qualify for protection including confidentiality of your name and identity in accordance with the Whistle-blower’s Act.  For more information about the  provisions of the Whistle-blower’s Act, click on the Whistle-Blower’s Hotline Brochure.

***En Español***

In order to request whistle-blower protection, you must report your information to the Chief Inspector General or the applicable Agency Inspector General.  You may use the electronic Whistle-blower’s Complaint Form below. 

You may also call our Whistle-blower’s Hotline or send your written complaints to:

Whistle-blower’s Hotline Office of the Governor

P.O. Box  151

Tallahassee, FL 32302

Agency Whistle-Blower’s Complaint Form

THE MOST USEFUL, RESOURCEFUL & EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES OF THE WEB

• http://programming-motherfucker.com/become.html

This site’s layout matches its name very well. If you click it, you’ll see what I mean. Basically if you want to learn a computer language, this is a good site to start. You can choose between a variety of languages, so it isn’t limited to just C++, for example.

• http://www.eternalcode.com/100-google-tricks-that-will-save-you-time-in-school

Okay, this site doesn’t look legitimate when the page first loads, but don’t judge yet. Google tricks aren’t necessary to learn, but they are very, very helpful. I mean just typing in a few phrases in Google for your every day what-nots works fine, but what if you have a research paper due? Your teacher expects, no..requires, that you find scholarly journals about very specific topics. When you learn these google searching tips, it makes the process way less strenuous.

• http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/15/12-dozen-places-to-self-educate-yourself-online/

This site doesn’t have educational resources on it, but it lists numerous OTHER sites where you can find great FREE course material. For example, MIT lecture you tube videos are one of the sites they have listed.

• http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0

Codeacademy is one of the only programming websites that presents you a step by step tutorial to learn java. The great thing about it, in my opinion, is the way the tutorial feels like a game. Check it out if you are interested in java, but have no experiencing using it.

• http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/best-websites

This page lists useful websites but they are organized in categories. For example, there is a music section, news section, educational section and you get the picture.

• http://www.academicearth.org/

I’m sure many of you already use this site and that’s because it’s awesome. Academic Earth include Khan Academy videos but basically allows users to search any subject and find lecture videos suiting his or her desired subject.

• http://gauravjoshi.lefora.com/2010/03/01/every-thing-u-need-to-start-up-on-hacking-must-rea/

This site offers noobs the ability to become a real hacker. All the resources that one needs to officially be hack ready is on this site, according to them. Not me.

• http://www.cometdocs.com/ccn/

Bookmark this now. Believe me, you will need it at some point in the early future. It’s an online conversion resource for pdf, documents, xlr, ppt, html. You can input any format and convert it to the format you need.

• http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/

A computer & electrical engineering website from MIT, lists every course required for computer and electrical engineers AND each course has a link to all the lectures pertaining to that specific course. Pretty cool.

• http://fulltextarchive.com/

If you have an e-reader, you know that books are cheap. But, they aren’t FREE. Before buying another book on Amazon, try searching for your book on this site first.

• http://www.khanacademy.org/

#1 website for learning anything important. If you want to know how to do any theory, mathematical transformations, science problems, et cetera Khan academy has a video for you.

• http://ifttt.com/

One of my favorite websites. I wrote an article on HackCollege about this site because I really want others to know about it. Ifttt stands for “if then, then that”. Every social media outlet, blogging site, even GMAIL can be used by the user to create a “recipe”. For example, IF [you take a photo on instagram] THEN [that photo will be uploaded to Evernote]. That’s just one example, but there are so many more you can browse or create. It makes life easier to manage.

• http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~nieh/teaching/e6998/lectures/

The “Mobile computing with iPhone and Android” course at Colombia. All the lectures are available so if you want to take this class, you can!

• http://www.oercommons.org/

Open Educational Resources, from a variety of countries.

• http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Physics/Education/Interactive_Animations/

I love this site and I used it while taking the Physics 9 series at Davis. It lists a ton of physics sites that contain animations dedicated to any concept you need to know.

• http://stackoverflow.com/

If you need computer or programming help, try posting you question on this site’s forum.

• http://www.studyblue.com/

This site encourages students “learning together”. It is kind of like a flash card library that students have made and uploaded to the site. Feel free to contribute your own cards, and use any of the others you may need that are already created.

• http://popurls.com/

Popular URLs. It’s not like bestofyoutube.com haha, this site is good to look at every few days. You can get updated on what sort of internet fad or news you should be hearing about.

• http://news.ycombinator.com/

I love this site! Not only is it a great tech news forum, but it was a startup created by college students. If you want to know what’s going on right now in technology, go to this site.

• http://www.labnol.org/internet/101-useful-websites/18078/

Bookmark NOW. This blog has created what I am creating for you now (except all their sites are different, and they have way more). Some awesome sites listed, actually every site listed is awesome.

• http://www.ghostery.com/

What to find out who is tracking you online when you’re on different sites? Start using ghostery to keep you online whereabouts private. You can go to this site or download the Chrome widget.

• http://www.peters1.dk/webtools/conversion.php?sprog=en

Literally offers EVERY conversion chart for math and science.

• http://nickciske.com/tools/binary.php

Binary codes get tricky. Rather than converting a word or sentence on your own, this site does it for you.

• http://www.marktaw.com/reviews/MyFavoriteSmallware.html

Lists a bunch of small programs to use to make your computer’s life easier and they are easy to install.

• http://stereopsis.com/flux/

If you tend to use your computer a lot (at night especially), go to this site and download f.lux! It adapts your screen with the time of the day. So if you are starting at the screen at 3 am, your eyes won’t burn in the morning.

• http://www.aagneyam.com/blog/?p=466

70 things every computer geek needs to know. The list seems accurate and there are links to almost every entry listed.

• http://www.learnerstv.com/Free-Engineering-video-lecture-courses.htm

Free engineering videos for ANY field. Basically any engineering course is available at this site and free.

• http://blog.ted.com/2007/08/03/100_websites_yo/

You know when TED makes a list of 100 useful websites, EVERY ONE of the websites they list will be great. Take advantage of their advice.

• http://itools.com/

Any tools you may need to search online, edit pictures, etc. can be found on this organized site.

• http://www.lumosity.com/

Lumosity trains you to become, well.. smarter. It helps your brain develop critical thinking skills and memory skills. The games are really fun (trust me, it’s not like Kumon). Oh, and Stanford developed the site so that’s how you know it’s legit.

• http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Hack-Wifi-and-how-to-avoid-being-hacked-/step3/Hack-WPAWPA2/

An article that explains how to hack Wifi

• http://keybr.com

Want to learn more typing skills to become a faster typist? This site’s fun about it.

• http://samizdat.mines.edu/howto/HowToBeAProgrammer.html

If you want or are on your way towards becoming a programmer, this site tells you what you need to know. There are blue links galore.

• http://phras.in/

If you are wondering whether you should say [ THIS ] or [ THAT ], this site tells you which way is the better option.

• http://www.kgbpeople.com/

A great directory to find information about practically anyone.

• http://www.vlib.org/

A virtual database offering free books for ANY subject. It’s insane.

• http://www.datsi.fi.upm.es/~frosal/docs/25mdq.html

Nervous about an upcoming job interview? Here are the 25 tips about how to handle yourself, how to answer frequently used questions and bunch of other stuff.

• http://darkcopy.com/

A text editor online, that’s it. Claims to make your programming more focused since you’re online? I think? Looks cool though.

• http://www.pixelbeat.org/docs/linux_commands.html

A linux command cheat sheet. That’s it.

• http://neuskool.com/

Every search engine for any topic cleanly presented together on one page.

• http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/introduction-to-computer-science/id341597455

If you aren’t into watching lectures, then try listening to them instead. iTunes offers a podcast for every MIT introduction to computer science course lecture.

• http://www.lifelearning.utexas.edu/l_handouts.html

Time and goal planning sheets, strategic planning sheets, test and problem-solving strategies listed. PDF format too!

• http://mixergy.com/hi/

Allows you to simply enter your e-mail address to have access to founder’s advice from companies like LinkedIn, Groupon and many more.

• http://10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail/index.html

Every site asks for your e-mail these days, so why give them the email address you use? So you can have it filled with spam? No. Ten minute mail gives you a random e-mail address that last ten minutes. Allows you to register on the sites you need to with privacy.

• http://www.quora.com/

Great online forum to post questions to and to also answer them and help members out!

• http://www.showme.com/

This site has thousands of videos offered to those who want to learn something, or to those who want to teach others about something! So, if you have a unique skill, upload your video and help the site’s library grow.

• https://www.slice.com/logmein#home

Do you like online shopping? I wish I didn’t but I can’t help myself sometimes! Anyway, if you’re an avid online shopaholic then this site will be great for you. Tracks literally every online order you make and tracks those packages for you. All it one place.

• http://www.poppin.com/

I don’t know whether this site is for everyone. Depends if you are one of those people who can deal with using 1 pencil for the entire year. I can’t. I LOVE having new pens, paper, notebads, and other school necessities. Especially cheap ones! This site offers some great pens, pencils and notepads for low prices.

• http://computer.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm?parent=c.htm&url=http://www.desy.de/gna/html/cc/Tutorial/tutorial.html

Introduction to Object Oriented C++ course website. Outlines every section and topic covered, and all are linked to the resources you’ll need to understand each step.

• http://see.stanford.edu/see/materials/icspmcs106a/assignments.aspx

One of Stanford’s sites, but for computer science students. Offers EVERY assignment and programming assignment handed out to the computer science department at Stanford. Try using some of them.

• http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/introduction-to-algorithms/id341597754

Another course iTunes is offering (free) with all lectures in audio format. This page is for the course “Introduction to Learning Algorithms”, something you need to understand to program

• http://computer.howstuffworks.com/c23.htm

Intro to C programming. Outlines the concepts you’ll need to know with helpful explainations.

• http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/comphelp/v8v101/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.xlcpp8a.doc/language/ref/cplr233.htm

IBM’s site that offers a programming guide for C/C++, language and compiler references, and standard C++ library reference.

• http://www.mathtools.net/

Tools for MATLAB, Excel, C/C++, Java and Visual basic

• http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

Girl site only. DIY craft, décor, styles, and treats explained with pictures and descriptions. It a cute blog.

• http://www.lonnymag.com/decorate/

An organized site, offers pictures of tons of cool room ideas and just room layouts in general. Practically every houseroom listed with a lot of pictures to reference. I used this while decorating my bedroom (way easier than google)

• http://www.rockmelt.com/p/sp

Rockmelt browser download

• http://www.mynextmove.org/

Career help online. You can search careers, browse them by industry, and if you aren’t sure what you want to do simply list your interests and mynextmove will suggest compatible career choices.

• http://blog.resumebear.com/

Lists a bunch of resume and cover letter tips, as well as interview tips.

• http://hackcollege.com

I guess I’m a little biased by posting this since I write for this site, but honestly great articles and tips can be found here for college students.

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• Yahoo’s Delicious adds a little Twitter (news.cnet.com)
• The New Social Bookmarking Service (prweb.com)
• Fav Links Bookmark Manager (harriernet.wordpress.com)
• Social Bookmarking: Delicious or Diigo? (evamelody.wordpress.com)
• Wireless Wednesday: 10 “Geeky” Websites Everybody Should Bookmark (929dave.radio.com)
• Social Bookmarking: Sweeping Traffic With Social Bookmarking! (1socialmediaservice.com)
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• Is This The World’s Most Expensive Bookmark? (gizmodo.com.au)

You Personal Brand

In the world of social media, and especially the use of social media for business purposes, your Personal Brand is important.  So what exactly is a Personal Brand.

Well, in simple terms a Personal brand is what your online presence tells the world about you.  Your Facebook Page, Your LinkedIn profile, your Google+ profile etc. all add up to your Personal Brand.

It is the stuff you post, the photographs you put online, and the comments you make. In short it’s everything online.

In addition if you run a business then also included in this is your website, the domain you use (www.yourdomain.com as opposed to www.clicpix.yourdomain.com) and of course your e-mail address.

A business e-mail address

If you are running a business then it is important that your personal brand is consistent and looks professional.  After all, how many e-mails come from Nigeria using somesillyname@hotmail.com asking you for money? Or perhaps from Russia iloveyou@gmail.com suggesting you marry them?

A ‘professional’ e-mail address is something that ties your Personal Brand together along with a professional domain name.

Excuses Excuses Excuses

Why don’t business owners take this small step? Procrastination!

• “I’ve just started my business and cash flow is really tight”
  • Too tight to purchase a .co.uk domain name for £10 per year?
• “I can’t afford the hosting” – can’t afford maybe £35 a year?
  • But you can afford to pay maybe ClickPix £35 per year?
• “I can’t afford a web designer” – Do it yourself using a WordPress blog!
  • If you can write on Facebook or type a MS Word document you can write a WordPress blog and make it look like a website.
  • Outsource the writing to India / S.E Asia etc. Cheaper than using designers from UK and Western Europe
• I want to use loads of galleries on my website and I need a designer to write those pages
  • Really? I bet that if you are a professional photographer you use Adobe Bridge or Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture?  All come with the ability to design web galleries!
• I really want a top end web site designed so that it looks really professional and that does cost loads.
  • Then why start out looking cheap and nasty in the first place?
  • Start off by looking professional first then looking more professional as you develop.
• I’m only doing this as a hobby so I don’t see the point
  • You are telling HMRC about your extra income… aren’t you?
  • You are telling your clients (those brides and grooms) you’re just a hobbyist doing it for some extra pocket money?
  • You do have full Personal Indemnity and Professional Liability insurance?
  • You do have a minimum of two camera bodies… just in case?
  • You do have a full back-up routine so none of your images are lost?
  • Etc etc etc

Do you care?      

Anytime I and many other people see a business using a hotmail /Gmail / yahoo / freeserve / etc e-mail address to run a business run a mile it just screams lazy amateur.

1. It says you don’t care about your personal image so probably don’t care about your products and customers.
2. It says you’re not prepared to look at the little details.
3. It says you don’t care about yourself as a business.

It’s business 101 folks. It doesn’t take time, it doesn’t cost the earth and yet gives you and your business and your Personal Brand a massive boost.

Quotes

Some quotes for you from online forums…

Linked In 

Training & Development forum

“I generally view as looking rather unsophisticated and a little unprofessional. There are countless places you can go to buy a domain name and email very inexpensively. Personally I’ve used Yahoo Business Services; the downside to them is when using an IOS device it is going to send from your yahoo address, but it well through yahoo mail. Hover.com, their prices are ok, easy enough to set up the email but they don’t offer web hosting if you want build a website; I like them because they are easy to use and a small company. Godaddy is the one stop shop for everything. Message me if want to sign up for one of these and I’ll look to see if I can find a promo code.”

“To answer Andrew – no on either count!“

Solo  / Lone Trainer forum

“er….. no!”

“No way. Get a proper domain name. I would expect any professional organisation to uses a domain name, and the same one on its website URL.”

 Digital Photography School

“In my opinion, no. That makes no business sense whatsoever.

First of all, I would NEVER use a Hotmail account as a business email account. Ever since Hotmail came out — just the name of it made people think of porn at first thought. Not exactly the first image you wish to portray.

Yahoo has a lot of security issues. Again the name is not suited toward business.

If you are running a business you should use your business branding. Given the technology that is available you really have no excuse not to. Some folks may say they use Gmail because it has the best spam filtration out there, or because they like the convenience of accessing their mail, calendar, etc…from any web accessible computer.

With the advent of Google Apps for Business you really don’t have any excuses NOT to brand your business email. Since you should already have a website with your own domain you can get branded email along with access to several other business apps for FREE. Why wouldn’t you?”

Photography Industry Professionals forum

“Definitely not! There is a lot more on this topic in this book.
http://www.marketinginsomniac.com“

“Definitely not! Websites are very cheap now so you can buy your own domain name and website hosting for about $100 which means you will get your own domain name and own email address. You can build your own website or pay someone a few hundred dollars for a simple site with your pictures and contact details, and as you grow the business then look at paying for more content and search engine optimisation (getting to the top of the search results in Google) but that can be quite expensive.”

“NO!! I agree totally with xxxxxx, above.”

“I would not engage ANY business that uses a hotmail account. Not sure why anyone does, especially when they already have a domain name for the website. “

Facebook page (selection)

• There is no excuse…my email is through Google but it is xxxxx@xxxxx.co.uk (Google can do this for you

• Why, what’s the problem with them…been using one for 16yrs, and never done me any harm?

1. NOTE FROM EDITOR.  If you collect e-mail address like this and do not have a privacy policy you may be breaking the law.  Please see the ICO website for more details.

• Agreed xxxxx. I’ve never met a bride who had it on her list of criteria, but maybe they’re all just going elsewhere?? – “love your work, your price is right, you’re available for my date, and I think we’d get on….. but your email address is crap, so I won’t be booking you!”

• The upshot to say a Gmail is its security as opposed to self hosted which is easy to hack. You can have the best as both by sending your Gmail as if it was from your business email, its easy to set up and you don’t have to worry about looking “unprofessional” – if your getting work keep doing it whatever the email address

1. NOTE FROM EDITOR.  There is a world of difference in security between a ‘self hosted’ email account and your e-mail hosted by your hosting company.

• Hi Guys, I am new to this group so just catching up with posts & finding it really informative.. however, I feel I need to add my two penneth in. I have both a hotmail email address & an ‘official’ email address. The hotmail one I use for products, sign ups, certain company special offers etc. & the ‘official’ one for business & enquiries. I have been a photographer for many years but set up my business last year & began the networking etc. I am amazed at the snobbism I encounter & this post is a great example, hence the reason why I posted. To me, the quality of images you produce & your customer service is the key to a great business. All this nit picking about email addresses, the type of camera you use, whether you use Lightroom or Photoshop etc etc. REALLY? Maybe I am from the ‘old school’ but whenever I meet a fellow creative I love the connection, inspiration & support. I don’t check whether they have a Gmail, Hotmail, Snailmail or ‘Go to Jail’ email address. LOL Just sayin

• All I have to say is if Brett Harkness can get away with it then what is the problem? After all, when people go to your website to look at your work it’s the photos they look at and not the quality of your email address.

• It bugs me people like you thing you are better then anyone else.. Also if I really said how I feel about people like u I would be banned.

• In the world we live, dog eat dog I believe that image is very important and the right email address might effectively give the impression that your business is very important to you. As both a hobbyist and a mother who will have to pay a wedding photographer for my kids in the not too distant future I would more look at the website and first impressions meeting with photographers than email address!!! (I want to add that my kids will choose who they like not me!!!) I see your comment as a way of encouraging others to think likewise maybe your wording did not quite achieve that. But we could also go the whole way and say that photographers turning up at weddings should have their cars with personalized number plates and by the way is your business address reflecting how much you care for your business. I would not want you banned from the group that would defeat the learning process that this group was set up for. I wish you well in all you do and keep those comments coming…

Summary

As this was not by any means a ‘scientific’ straw poll I will let you all make your minds up. B2B forums the consensus is to use a professional e-mail address. B2C the consensus seems to be “who cares” as long as they buy me.

I know that I, for the several business I run, will continue to use professional email address for clients and personal contacts and my hotmail / Gmail accounts for subscribing to stuff that I may get spammed from.

Thanks

Andrew

Cardiff Wedding Photographer

Important Stuff

Remember Pintrest? Yes, the site that creates more online traffic than Twitter and Facebook. You have to apply to become a member, invitees only.

Evertale had the same thing going on, so I didn’t really think much about it. I just added it to my list of sites that I’ve bookmarked on mySocialCloud (another awesome site).

Last night, I finally got the invite! So, what did I register for this time?

Evertale is like an online scrapbook. After creating a unique username and ID, users are prompted to give their social information (Facebook, phone number, etc) to the site.

I mean I guess some people think that’s sketchy, but at least their upfront about it haha. There are so many sites now that are tracking your internet activity and you don’t even know! To find ghosts like these, use the site: Ghostery.

Online scrapbook was a bit vague. Basically, Evertale uses the information you submit while creating your account to keep a personal journal for you. The formatting of the page is super clean, organized with a twist of fun. I think it’s a creative idea that everyone should try!

PROBLEM: The site requires you to download the Android app to begin…… if you have an Android device, that’s great. I don’t so this is a problem.

I sent an e-mail to Evertale’s admin and a few hours later, I received a helpful reply. Here’s the conversation:

From: “Natalie Swope” <natalieswope@yahoo.com>

Date: Mar 20, 2012 4:13 AM

Subject: Evertale

To: <matteo@evertale.com>

 

Hi,

 

I don’t have an Android device. I only have the iPhone and Macbook Pro. I would like to use evertale, is there any way I can still do this?

Hi Natalie,

Thanks for your message.

Not yet! But we are working on it. This isn’t just an empty promise, the guys are quite literally developing for iOS as I write this. Sorry if some of this communication doesn’t relate directly to you at the moment (you’re not alone!), but please do bear with us. We’ve got big plans for the iPhone app. I’ll let you know as soon as a prototype is ready, if you’d like to be an iPhone app alpha tester?

Thanks,

Sam

So, since the iPhone app sounds promising, get started on Evertale today!

Fewer people are filing for unemployment claims. Companies are reportedly adding more jobs each month. The government says the statistics show the hiring situation is getting better.

But is that true here in Chester County?

In a series titled, “Time to get to work,” the Daily Local News over the next two months will look at the job environment in Chester County and the real impact it is having.

We are looking for Chester County residents who have been unsuccessful in finding work and are willing to share their stories. Has your line of employment been hit especially hard? Have you seen an improvement? Do you have a kid out of college who is now back at home with no job?

Share your stories here with us and the rest of the community. Lets have an open discussion on what is going on not just in the United States, but in our own back yard.

You tell us your story and we will utilize out tools — Facebook, Twitter, our online and print classified ads to get you matched up to a potential employer in the hope of getting you hired.

Together we hope to help you find a job and either get you into the workforce for the first time or back into it after a layoff.

It’s time to help you get to work!

How to sign up

One of the tools is a blog called, “Time to get to work.”

Feel free via our Facebook page to send us your information including your e-mail address. We will then send you an invitation to participate in the blog where others can share their stories as well. The more you share, the better chance we have of making something happen.

If you’d like to commission a picture, or if you have a question/enquiry, then our e-mail is
immy@bongoboo.co.uk

Also our 100 likers giveaway is still running on our facebook page! -

Pet Portraits by BongoBoo facebook fanpage

we’re steadily getting closer – with only 10 more likers to go!! If you can like & share our page I’d be really grateful & to show our gratitude, if we get 100 likes I’ll do a draw & the winner will get either, a felted cat picture – or £15 off a portrait good luck & thanks again everyone for all your support!

There is a good reason that so many people detest pop ups. They’re frustrating. They intrude on what you happen to be attempting to do. If they play audio they can get you in trouble with your workplace (or anybody else in the room). They make extravagant claims. If you wish to close them you usually have to give up your personal information. Some of them sometimes put in malware and cookies into your personal machine. There are very few individuals who really enjoy being confronted by these irritating things and yet, so many Internet Marketers use them. Why?

The sad truth is that IMers continue using pop up banner ads because they actually work. They get the viewers attention. They aid marketers make e-mail marketing directories. It’s been proven again and again that pop-up ads get more opt ins than a regular opt in box put into the sidebar or even into the body of a site. They oftentimes even bring about direct sales. Unfortunately, these stupid web pests really get the job done and, until somebody thinks of something better, most IMers are going to keep using them.

Of course it does not mean that those same IMers ought to keep using them. What is the real benefit of an e-mail address that you have only obtained through force? Usually what the results are is the person just opts back out of your list as soon as they get the first e-mail from you or your company. Can your traffic be of high quality when the majority of it clicks out of your website because they are offended by the pop ups assaulting them? Obviously you want to generate income, but is this really your best option? Couldn’t there be an additional option available to those who want to develop an e-mail list and sell things?

Simply put, here is the genuine truth: if your solution is worth the money, it’ll sell simply by the copy on your site. Work hard at setting up a good product or service so that you won’t have to deal with the frustrating pop ups to do your job for you. Write an awesome sales or splash page. Make your written content and copy so powerful that it can grab your reader’s attention so hard that it never has to let go. The simple fact is that an Internet Marketer will only find success and profit online if he or she creates something that someone else finds valuable. No pop up banner ad will ever be able to upgrade the true value of a product.

By Laura L. Torres Combination Microwave Ovens

Sometimes you gotta bend the rules. And when it comes to technology, some rules are begging to get bent.

You might do it to gain access to features or functionality that your gadget/service provider should offer but doesn’t. Or maybe you just want to avoid something you prefer not to do–like coughing up your e-mail address just to gain access to a site’s content, or (ahem) paying for stuff you’d rather get for free.

And sometimes you do it because, well, it’s awesome.

But awesomeness has a price, and every activity described below carries a risk. Potential fallout ranges from violating terms of service or voiding a warranty, to bricking your favorite gadgets or having a clutch of copyright attorneys descend upon you from a great height.

So these are things you really shouldn’t do. Really. And if you tell anyone where you heard about them, we’ll deny everything.

1. Jailbreak Your iPhone

Apple iPhone owners fall neatly into two groups. Members of the first group suffer under the yoke of tyranny, endure arbitrary rules over what they can and can’t do, and put up with crappy reception (be careful how you hold that thing).

Members of the other group have jailbroken their phones, hacking iOS whatever to get to features, apps, and carriers that are otherwise verboten. There are many ways to unlock the uber phone, but by far the easiest is with Jailbreakme. Simply visit the site jailbreakme.com from your iPhone’s Safari browser, and you’re done. It also works on the iPod Touch and the iPad–but only if your hardware uses iOS 4.01 or an earlier operating system.

Why this is awesome: Let us count the ways: (1) No more AT&T. You may be able to use your iPhone with other GSM-based telecoms such as T-Mobile. (2) No restrictions on the apps you can use. The Cydia store features dozens of apps that work exclusively on jailbroken iPhones. (3) Have we mentioned no more AT&T?

Why you shouldn’t do it: It’s a constant game of cat and mouse between Apple and the jailbreakers, and Apple is the cat. Eventually the cat will win and your jailbreak will fail, possibly leaving you with a pretty paperweight (and no warranty). Also, you’ll make Steve Jobs sad.

2. Let Pandora Out of Her Box

My personal history is divided into two parts: BP (Before Pandora) and AP (After Pandora). That’s how much this streaming music service has changed my life. Unlike normal radio, it plays songs I’ve never heard before yet instantly love.

Orbit captures streaming audio from your browser and saves it to your hard drive.Problem? Pandora won’t necessarily stream the tune you need to hear right now. One solution: Orbit Downloader, which lets you capture tunes as they’re playing in Firefox or IE and download them to your hard drive–and which works on lots of streaming sites in addition to Pandora. Orbit is free, but you’ll have to fight off optional installs of toolbars and attempts to switch your default search engine. (Or you could simply click the Buy button on Pandora and pay the 99 cents, you tightwad.)

Why this is awesome: Great music for free.

Why you shouldn’t do it: Pandora’s terms of service forbid copying, storing, altering, or otherwise stealing the music tracks it streams. Also, if you do anything that ends up getting Pandora shut down, I will personally come to your house and pummel you. And I’ll bring Chuck Norris.

3. Maintain Multiple Facebook Identities

A Fakebook persona is good for more than just stalking your ex or posting nasty things about your boss; you can use it to say or “like” things without repercussions, or play FarmVille and other obnoxious Facebook apps without risking your personal information and annoying your real friends. All you really need is an e-mail address, a pretty picture, and some bogus details–and you’re off to the races.

Another benefit: You can do what my son did and create a second G-rated Facebook account to deceive your parents and other adult relatives while saving the real one for your peeps. (Kids, if you do try this at home, remember: Don’t log into the real account from dad’s computer and then forget to log out. That will not go so well for you.)

Why this is awesome: No privacy risk and very little chance that your employer or loved ones will know it’s you (unless, of course, you log in and forget to log out).

Why you shouldn’t do it: It violates Facebook’s terms of service, which means real you and fake you could both get the boot. Of course, Facebook often fails to follow its own rules, so why should you treat them as sacrosanct?

4. Get Creative With Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a valuable social resource built on the notion that people can be trusted to share information. It’s also really easy to abuse.Did you know that Little Rock recently changed its name to Bozoville, or that Lady Gaga is really Zach Galifianakis in drag? Neither does anyone else–until you add it to Wikipedia. Few things are more satisfying than adding spurious “facts” to the people’s encyclopedia just to see if anyone notices. Hours, days, or weeks later, some self-important Wikipedian will red pencil it, probably leaving a snotty comment in the page’s history. That’s where the real fun begins.

Why this is awesome: You can practically hear that Wikepedian’s sphincter tighten as you engage in an edit war over Lady Gaga’s man parts. (But seriously, has anyone ever seen Lady G. and Zach G. in the same room at the same time?)

Why you shouldn’t do it: You could be banned from editing any more entries. Also, an entire generation of 5th graders may grow up thinking that the capital of Arkansas is Bozoville.