10 ways to prevent identity theft

1. Watch the watchers: Whenever in public you enter a card PIN or a credit card number on a screen or keyboard, make sure that no one is paying close attention to what you are doing.
2. Shred it!: Before you toss into the trash important printed documents, specifically ones that contain personal financial information about yourself and/or your family or business, make sure those documents are shredded. It is not impossible someone could dig through your trash to find important information that could be used.
3. Check those statements: At least once a week you should check the balances on all your bank and credit card accounts. Better yet, check them once a day. This way you will stay informed about all charges on your accounts, and this will help you watch for anyone using your accounts without your permission.
4. Check your mail: Every day you should empty your mailbox. Do not let mail build up in your mailbox, nor sit there for very long. Often your mail, even that which is unsolicited, will contain financial or personal information about you. The longer that mail sits in your mailbox, the more chance there is someone will come along and take your mail. You do not want that to happen.
5. Don't leave receipts: Paper receipts from gas stations, stores, restaurants and other establishments often times contain information about your credit card for bank accounts. Don't leave those receipts behind at the stores or restaurants, and don't just haphazardly drop them into a public trash can. Even if full information is not available on those receipts, slick crooks can take partial information and use it to their benefit.
6. Keep an eye on your cards: When you are using your credit, debit and bank cards in public, try to keep a watch on your card at all times. Sometimes you have to hand over your card to a clerk or server, but try to watch where they take the card and what they do with it. More than likely they are an honest person, but some identity thieves only need a card for a few seconds to make use of it; they could either quickly write down the information on the card, or they could skim it into a machine which will record the information.
7. Pay in cash: Yes, paying in cash might seem old fashioned, but it is one of the best deterrents against identity theft. There are no numbers to steal, no information to grab. Cash is the safest. Remember it.
8. Check your credit report: At least once a year, make sure to get a copy of your credit report and look it over quite well. Your credit report will reveal a lot of information, so make sure what you know about your finances matches your report.
9. No phones: Do not ever give out personal or financial information about yourself over the phone. You do not know for sure who you are talking to. Just because a person on a call tells you they are a representative of a company does not make it true. Also, there are a lot of scammers who work over phones nowadays, so be careful.
10. Cancel and cut: If your purse or wallet contains old credit or bank cards or cards that you never use, get rid of those cards. They are just sitting there waiting for someone to steal them or use the information off of them. Take those old cards and shred them before trashing them.

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Dear online video advertisers, have you learned nothing?

We've all gone over to YouTube to check out some new hot video, then been caught up short by some advertisement we have to watch at the beginning of the video. Many of us have tried to watch television programs online, and again right there are the beginning is a rather lengthy video advertisement, and often other ads spread throughout the program.

Now, right up front, let me say I'm not complaining about advertising in general. Those ads pay for what we get to watch, so advertising itself doesn't bother me.

No, but I still have multiple complaints about today's online video advertising. Listen up, ad producers, because it's time you caught up with today's consumers and customers and stopped living in the television era.

What are my complaints? Here we go:

Repetition

I've seen some of the same video advertisements way too many times. I'm betting you have, too. With television advertising, the same ad can run again and again without frustrating the viewer because that ad might only be seen a couple of times a day because the ads are spaced out. Online video advertising hasn't seemed to catch onto this, often showing the exact same video ad over and over again all over the place. Enough! It's dull, and it's ineffective. After viewers have seen the same ad multiple times, especially during one sitting, they are likely to just stop watching videos or at least switching to another video.

Length

A short three to ten second advertisement at the start of a video or show isn't bad. Viewers can tolerate that. But when you're psyched up to watch your favorite show or something funny on YouTube, you don't like suddenly being pulled up short by watching a thirty-second or longer advertisement. Length isn't quite as jarring in the middle of a longer show, mainly because viewers are more used to that from television. But the person who can come up with online fast-forward software that will blur you past the advertisements is likely to make billions. And it will happen. It'll just take time. And fighting it won't do any good.

Compatibility

Ever sit down to watch a video online and suddenly get slammed with a Viagra ad? What, am I sixty here? Well, maybe you are, but the majority of folks out there aren't, at least not yet. I mean to point out this as just one example of how online advertisers still don't seem to know their market. Sure, there'll be a different demographic for different shows, channels and videos, but so far it doesn't seem the advertisers are paying attention to those demographics very much.

Placement

I'll repeat, a very short advertisement at the start of a video is okay. A long advertisement sucks, and often will just make me go to another website. So, ads right at the beginning of a show or video are fine. Viewers expect that. Another ad at the end of a video is also fine, because viewers also expect that, and since we've watched the video we can go on about our day if we wish. The three to four or more video ads stuffed into the middle of a viewing are a slightly different case. They are jarring, to say the least. One or two wouldn't be so bad, say one every 15 minutes. But beyond that, it's getting annoying. And annoyed viewers are annoyed customers. And oh yes, they'll remember your advertised product. With vehemence.

Creativity

Far too many online video advertisements are boring. There, I've said it flat out. Too many of these ads are just pulled from TV and slapped onto some online video. Sorry, but that doesn't work. Demographics for online viewing are different from those of TV viewing, and the expectations are definitely different. Call it high expectations if you will, but online viewers are here to be entertained. If they want to want some boring old ads, they'll go watch television. Online advertisers need to spice things up a little. Have some fun with advertising projects. Don't do the same old boring stuff we see on TV all the time. Pay attention to the most mocking of bad advertisements as portrayed on Saturday Night Live, because many online ads are really that bad.

Variety of advertisers

This one can be a little tough for video producers. It seems advertisers like to buy ad space on shows or longer videos in whole, meaning they seem to like only their ad videos to appear on a particular show or video. This makes sense in some ways. It inundates the viewer with image after image of the advertiser's product, firmly planting that product in the viewer's mind. But it can also have the opposite effect, causing the viewer to hate your product because they are sick to death of hearing about it. Suggestion: Break it up a little. If the same product has to be advertised over and over again, at least have the decency to have different ads. Better yet, have different style ads that vary widely in their design. This will help keep viewer attention and, more importantly, help them from becoming bored. If a viewer is bored, they might just stop watching the video anyway.

Want your own social bookmarking site? Try Pligg

If you're like many online writers who are always seeking a new place for sharing your links, a new option is Blingmyfaves.

Much like other social bookmarking sites, such as Reddit or Digg or StumbleUpon, Blingmyfaves allows you to post links of all sorts. Sure, you can post links to your own articles, but the fun here is to add links from all kinds of different sites from your favorites to oddities and beyond.

One of the most interesting aspects of Blingmyfaves is that it's a Pliggs oftware site. What is Pligg? To take it straight from the official website, Pligg is "an open source content management system that lets you create your own social network."

So, what does all that corporate-speak really mean? It means you can have your very own social bookmarking site. In fact, in case you haven't noticed the similarity in names, Pligg software is based upon the popular Digg. And just like Digg, viewers of a Pligg page get to vote and leave comments about the articles there.

That's right. You can have your very own site similar to Digg. You could potentially have hundreds or even thousands of viewers perusing your site looking for the latest interesting links.

Besides the fun aspects, is there a way to make money from running your own social bookmarking site? I'm sure there is, but I'm no business guru. To find out more, contact the folks at Pligg.

One more thing: Guess what's best about Pligg? The software is free. Yes, free. Of course you'd still have to pay for a website, but that's usually not too expensive.

10 ways to annoy a telemarketer

1. Ask questions: Turn the conversation around quickly by asking questions. But not just any question. No, no, you want to ask questions that will lead the conversation away from whatever it is the telemarketer is trying to get you to buy or do. Get personal. Ask their name. Ask how to spell it. Ask them how many kids they have, are they married, where did they go to school. Stuff like that. And don't forget to ask for their address, personal phone number, social security number and credit card numbers.
2. Bait and switch: What do you do for a living? Do you make something or sell something? Make sure to let the telemarketer know about it, and then try to sell them your product!
3. Lovey dovey: Wait to hear the telemarketer's opening spiel, then ask them out on a date. Or better yet, ask them to marry you. This will work best if they are the same sex as you.
4. Waiting ... waiting: When you answer the phone, tell the telemarketer that you are in the middle of something and ask them to give you just a few seconds. Once they agree, set the phone down and then go on your merry way and do whatever it is you were going to do anyway. Check the phone in an hour and see if they are still there. They won't be.
5. Act drunk: That's right. Act drunk. Act a fool. Call the telemarketer by another name, any name, just not the one they gave you. Slur your words. Drop the phone a couple of times. Curse at imaginary people. Talk to yourself. Ask the telemarketer to hurry up and come over and bring another case of beer.
6. Keeping it in house: Once the telemarketer tells you what company they are calling for, inform them that you work for the exact same company. Oh joy! What a coincidence! Now the two of you can talk shop!
7. Can you hear me now?: TALK IN A VERY LOUD VOICE! If they ask you to speak lower, tell the telemarketer that you can't hear a word that they're saying, and ask them to speak louder.
8. Kids today: Use a slightly high voice and inform the telemarketer that you are a child and that your parents won't be home until later. If the telemarketer asks for a time to call back, give them a time in which you know for sure you will not be home.
9. Pizza, anyone?: When a telemarketer calls, act like they are the pizza delivery driver calling to get directions. Just make sure not to give them real directions. No matter what the telemarketer says to you, act as if you can't hear them real well and keep talking as if they are from the pizza company.
10. Turn it up: When you realize you've got a telemarketer on the phone, turn on a near television or radio REALLY LOUDLY and just set the phone down in front of the speakers. Leave it there. Come back in a few minutes and your phone line will be cleared.

Other annoying links

10 ways to annoy people at the office

10 ways to annoy people in the drive- thru

100 ways to annoy your boss

10 sites to buy groceries online

1. Amazon: Yes, believe it or not, you can do a lot of your grocery shopping online from Amazon. You're not going to find fresh produce and fresh meats here, but there are still plenty of boxed and canned items for purchase, some of in it bulk and some individual items.
2. AULSuperStore: This site delivers to the lower 48 states in 1 to 5 days. This site has a little bit of everything, but again, no fresh perishables. They have a fair amount of specials, so check this site out to save some money.
3. Netgrocer.com: This site has a little bit of everything, and it does include some fresh meats and produce and dairy. They also have kosher items and deliver to military zip code addresses. Check out the weekly specials for savings.
4. MyBrands: MyBrands focuses upon difficult-to-find items. Do you have a favorite juice from Ocean Spray that you can no longer find in stores? Is there a Ghirardelli cake mix that seems impossible to find? Well, if the product is still being made, MyBrands will most likely have it. According to the site, "95 percent of all U.S. products can not be found in your local store," which is where My Brands comes in.
5. ShopFoodEx: One nice thing about ShopFoodEx is that the site accepts Paypal for payments. They have a little bit of everything here, but unfortunately not fresh goods. Still, groceries delivered to your front door and paying with Paypal can make this site worth it. Plus they offer several different types of savings; basically, the more you spend, the more you save.
6. UK-GROCERIES: Are you from the UK? Or maybe you just like many of the excellent food and grocery items from the UK? If so, this is your site. From Jelly Babies to Twinings Tea to Walker Crisps and more, this is the site for those with a love of the British Isles. They also deliver to anywhere in the world, including to remote islands.
7. eFoodDepot.com: This site has a little bit of everything, but its focus is upon "hard-to-find Asian, African, Middle Eastern and Eastern European" food. One great thing is this site has international shipping, reaching out to more than 190 counties. Another great thing about this site is that it is available for reading in many different languages.
8. ExpatExpress: Maybe you are from the U.S. but living overseas, or maybe you just have a love for many grocery items from the U.S. market, but either way, you should probably check out this site. It offers international shipping of more than 13,000 items from the U.S. market. And not only does the site have groceries, but there's even a "mall" area to check out.
9. MexGrocer: If you are north of the Rio Grande and wishing for a taste of home, or if you just love the authentic taste of food from Mexico, this could be your site. Sorry, they only ship to the U.S., but at least there is plenty of variety of foods and goods from Mexico.
10. GoBIO: Organic foods is the focus of GoBIO, specifically GoBIO brand organic foods. They ship to at least the U.S. and Canada, but their website does not specify about international shipping.

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