Flyers come in the mail along with financial institutions that want you to sign up for their credit card, but what should you do with all of this information? Most people just throw it away along with all of their other junk mail, but this can open the door for people looking to steal your identity.
What you should remember when trying to thwart identity thieves is to make it as hard as possible for them to steal your identity. If any mail comes in that has personal information on it then you should shred it. This includes any flyers or credit card offers that list your name and address. The reason you do this is because you want to give the possible thieves as little information as possible.
When you go through you files to clean them out for the next year then you will want to shred all of your statements. It is also a good idea to invest in a cross shredder because it will make it more difficult for possible thieves. They won’t want to take the time to piece your information back together when your neighbor just throws his away.
You will also want to put the trash out just before the collector comes so that you give the possible thieves as little time as possible to go through your trash. If you are one that sets it out overnight so that you can sleep in tomorrow morning then you are making it easier to have your identity stolen.
These are just a few tips to help you stop from having your identity stolen. If you would like more information on stopping identity theft and what you can do go to the FTC. It just might save your identity.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
How to Make Meetings Work
It depends on what type of meeting you are scheduling for how strict you will have the agenda, but each meeting needs to have a basic agenda. Depending on how elaborate the meeting is will affect how detailed the agenda is and how much you can deviate from the agenda.
For basic meetings if you put together a basic agenda it will help you to keep track of the items you wanted to discuss during the meeting. It will also help everyone else determine how long the meeting will last and if they need to interject any comments. It also helps to determine if you can have a question and answer section or allow people to make general comments or suggestions. This is the type of meeting that is more flexible and is normally in a smaller setting.
A more elaborate meeting will require a detailed agenda that is completely worked out in advance to eliminate the possibility of forgetting something important. The agenda will be set and there won’t be an open discussion concerning the points of the meeting. It is normally an informational meeting that doesn’t need feedback and is normally organized into a group setting.
Once you determine how elaborate an agenda you will need then you need to determine how much interaction you want from the people attending the meeting. Once you determine this then you can set a specific area that you want to have feedback on and ask specific questions for the participants. The questions will help you get the answers you are looking for instead of having people look at you with a blank look on their face when you ask if anyone has any questions or comments.
You will also want to have a specific way you want to end the meeting so that people understand the meeting is over and don’t feel like they were left with unanswered questions or concerns. By using this basic layout for a meeting it will help you create an interactive meeting that will help all participants feel like the meeting was worth having. It is very frustrating to people to feel like they went to a meeting for absolutely no reason and they feel it is a waste of their time. So plan your meeting with an agenda and specific questions you want to address or answer then your meeting will be a success.
For basic meetings if you put together a basic agenda it will help you to keep track of the items you wanted to discuss during the meeting. It will also help everyone else determine how long the meeting will last and if they need to interject any comments. It also helps to determine if you can have a question and answer section or allow people to make general comments or suggestions. This is the type of meeting that is more flexible and is normally in a smaller setting.
A more elaborate meeting will require a detailed agenda that is completely worked out in advance to eliminate the possibility of forgetting something important. The agenda will be set and there won’t be an open discussion concerning the points of the meeting. It is normally an informational meeting that doesn’t need feedback and is normally organized into a group setting.
Once you determine how elaborate an agenda you will need then you need to determine how much interaction you want from the people attending the meeting. Once you determine this then you can set a specific area that you want to have feedback on and ask specific questions for the participants. The questions will help you get the answers you are looking for instead of having people look at you with a blank look on their face when you ask if anyone has any questions or comments.
You will also want to have a specific way you want to end the meeting so that people understand the meeting is over and don’t feel like they were left with unanswered questions or concerns. By using this basic layout for a meeting it will help you create an interactive meeting that will help all participants feel like the meeting was worth having. It is very frustrating to people to feel like they went to a meeting for absolutely no reason and they feel it is a waste of their time. So plan your meeting with an agenda and specific questions you want to address or answer then your meeting will be a success.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Considerations before switching to VoIP
A few years ago we switched to VoIP, which means Voice over Internet Protocol and haven’t had a problem with it since we switched, but before you decide if it is the right move for you, you need to take a couple of things into consideration.
The first thing you need to think about is what type of Internet access do you currently have. If you have a dial up connection then you need to decide if you want the added cost of switching to a cable modem. If you already have a cable modem then you need to determine how good of a connection do you have. If the cable company you use has quite a few outages then it wouldn’t be feasible for you to get VoIP because if your Internet connection is out then so is your phone. If you have both a cable modem and a good connection then you need to think about your current telephone provider. Do you make long distance calls? Do you have a lot of extra services? Do you want to lower your phone bill?
If you said yes to any of the above questions then you might want to look into getting VoIP because it will lower your phone bill, provide extra services and offers unlimited long distance to the United States and Canada.
Then you have to decide on a provider. The most widely known provider is Vonage and they are a good company with good service but they are having legal problems and it is iffy if they will stay in business for long, so if you decide to go with them you need to keep in mind that they might not be in business for long. Another company is Packet8 and while I don’t know very much about them, they seem similar to Vonage but don’t seem to have the same legal problems. Another company you can look at is VoIP, they are a similar company to both Vonage and Packet8 and also don’t seem to be dealing with the legal problems that Vonage is and actually have some patents pending.
You don’t want to jump into a decision concerning VoIP, but you need to think through how it will affect you. Take your time, research the different companies and then make your decision.
The first thing you need to think about is what type of Internet access do you currently have. If you have a dial up connection then you need to decide if you want the added cost of switching to a cable modem. If you already have a cable modem then you need to determine how good of a connection do you have. If the cable company you use has quite a few outages then it wouldn’t be feasible for you to get VoIP because if your Internet connection is out then so is your phone. If you have both a cable modem and a good connection then you need to think about your current telephone provider. Do you make long distance calls? Do you have a lot of extra services? Do you want to lower your phone bill?
If you said yes to any of the above questions then you might want to look into getting VoIP because it will lower your phone bill, provide extra services and offers unlimited long distance to the United States and Canada.
Then you have to decide on a provider. The most widely known provider is Vonage and they are a good company with good service but they are having legal problems and it is iffy if they will stay in business for long, so if you decide to go with them you need to keep in mind that they might not be in business for long. Another company is Packet8 and while I don’t know very much about them, they seem similar to Vonage but don’t seem to have the same legal problems. Another company you can look at is VoIP, they are a similar company to both Vonage and Packet8 and also don’t seem to be dealing with the legal problems that Vonage is and actually have some patents pending.
You don’t want to jump into a decision concerning VoIP, but you need to think through how it will affect you. Take your time, research the different companies and then make your decision.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Understanding Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is basically the Internet with more interaction. It is a people driven Internet not just on creating websites but having people interact with your website, basically you are making your website personalized for each person. This can be done through a few different methods which include blogs, videos and podcasts.
Blogs are a web journal that you put on your website or on one of the sites that have been created to host blogs. You can put anything into your blog, from a daily journal of what you do all day or night to an in-depth article on a specific subject. You decide how elaborate you want to make it. The part that makes it interactive is that you can open it to comments to have people respond to your blog and even offer suggestions on what they would like to read about.
The newest fad hitting the Internet is videos. With the success of YouTube and BlueFish it seems everyone is trying to tap into the video scene. I believe it all started with America’s Funniest Home Videos and has now moved to the Internet. We all knew the marketers wouldn’t be far behind when it came to using this new tool and people are starting to see advertisements all over the Internet instead of just on the major company websites. Companies are starting to use video ads to entice people to come to their sites while others are allowing people to create their own videos. This is just another example of the Web 2.0 phenomenon that is raging across the Internet.
Podcasts have been around for a little bit and it is a great tool for companies and private individuals to entice people to come back to their site. You can download the latest podcast from churches, financial information and television personalities which allows you to pick and choose which episode you want to listen to. People love podcasts because they can download them to their MP3 players and listen to them while they are working out or driving to work. This provides another way for marketers to continue their message away from their site or advertisement and keep their product in the forefront of people’s minds.
The easiest way to understand Web 2.0 is to think of it as a personalized Internet especially for you. It has been instrumental in making the Internet feel like it was designed with you in mind. Instead of having to sort through miles of useless information you can customize your information and how you receive it.
www.helium.com
Blogs are a web journal that you put on your website or on one of the sites that have been created to host blogs. You can put anything into your blog, from a daily journal of what you do all day or night to an in-depth article on a specific subject. You decide how elaborate you want to make it. The part that makes it interactive is that you can open it to comments to have people respond to your blog and even offer suggestions on what they would like to read about.
The newest fad hitting the Internet is videos. With the success of YouTube and BlueFish it seems everyone is trying to tap into the video scene. I believe it all started with America’s Funniest Home Videos and has now moved to the Internet. We all knew the marketers wouldn’t be far behind when it came to using this new tool and people are starting to see advertisements all over the Internet instead of just on the major company websites. Companies are starting to use video ads to entice people to come to their sites while others are allowing people to create their own videos. This is just another example of the Web 2.0 phenomenon that is raging across the Internet.
Podcasts have been around for a little bit and it is a great tool for companies and private individuals to entice people to come back to their site. You can download the latest podcast from churches, financial information and television personalities which allows you to pick and choose which episode you want to listen to. People love podcasts because they can download them to their MP3 players and listen to them while they are working out or driving to work. This provides another way for marketers to continue their message away from their site or advertisement and keep their product in the forefront of people’s minds.
The easiest way to understand Web 2.0 is to think of it as a personalized Internet especially for you. It has been instrumental in making the Internet feel like it was designed with you in mind. Instead of having to sort through miles of useless information you can customize your information and how you receive it.
www.helium.com
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