Are You An Internet Junkie?
Take this quiz and find out!!!
Have you been spending more and more time using the Internet? Have your cheeks taken on that pasty white glow from over-exposure to your computer monitor? How do you know if you’re addicted to the Net and losing touch with reality? Take the Net Addict’s Reality Test.
Answer the following multiple choice questions and check out your score to see if you should be concerned:
What do you think are good names for children?
a) Scott and Jenny.
b) Bill Gates IV.
c) Mozilla and Dotcom.
What’s a telephone?
a) A thing with a round dial you use to talk to others.
b) A telecommunications device with 12 keys.
c) Something you plug into a modem.
Which punctuation is most correct?
a) I had a wonderful day!
b) I had a **wonderful** day!!!
c) I had a wonderful day 
You wake up at 4:00 a.m. and decide to:
a) Visit the washroom.
b) Raid the fridge.
c) Check your E-mail.
What are RAM and ROM?
a) A male sheep and a city in Italy.
b) Hulking stars of the WWF.
c) I need more of the former and should upgrade the latter.
To avoid a virus you should:
a) Stay away from people who sneeze and cough.
b) Never read E-mail titled “Good Times”.
c) Use virus scanning software every time you boot up.
When you want to buy something hard-to-find you:
a) Ask friends where to purchase it.
b) Check out the Yellow Pages.
c) Go to Yahoo!
When you don’t understand how to use a new appliance you:
a) Call the retailer.
b) Call the manufacturer’s toll-free number.
c) Visit the manufacturer’s Web site and look for the FAQ.
When you want to see all the beautiful people you:
a) Visit a club on a Saturday night.
b) Turn on the TV and tune in to Baywatch.
c) Check out the alt.binary newsgroups.
How do you introduce yourself at a party?
a) Hi, I’m Jane!
b) Hi, I’m a Taurus on the cusp.
c) Hi, I’m a 5′10″ hot blonde with a super bod.
When you’re interested in someone at a party you say:
a) Tell me more about yourself.
b) What’s your star sign?
c) What’s your Profile?
If you really like the person, you say:
a) Could you tell me your phone number?
b) What’s your E-mail address?
c) Let’s chat Private.
When I say spam, you think:
a) Ham in a can.
b) Unsolicited advertising E-mail.
c) I mailbomb all spammers!
When you receive an AOL trial diskette, you say:
a) I don’t need another mug coaster.
b) Great! I’ll reformat and use it for backups.
c) Great! I’ll sign up under a fake ID and use up the 50 hours.
When you want to research a reference you:
a) Open up a volume of your encyclopedia.
b) Slip Encarta in your CD-ROM drive.
c) Go to www.altavista.digital.com.
When you write a letter you:
a) Put pencil to paper.
b) Open Eudora.
c) Ask: What’s a letter? Is it like E-mail?
Different types of text formatting include:
a) Writing and printing.
b) Underline and double-strike.
c) Bold and italic.
You correct errors using:
a) An eraser.
b) White-out.
c) Backspace or delete.
You sign your name:
a) Best regards, John Smith.
b) See you in IRC, John_Smith.
c) Check out my home page for the cool links, johnsmith@aol.com.
To keep a copy of your letter you:
a) Insert a carbon and a second sheet.
b) Take it to the photocopier.
c) Check your Sent Mail folder.
SCORING:
Give yourself zero points for each “a” response, five for each “b” and 10 for each “c”.
If you scored 150 or higher, unplug your computer and log more hours in real life. If you scored between 50 and 145, you’re living a good mix of Net and reality. If you scored under 50, you probably didn’t read this far.
Permalink 5 CommentsI came across this article today and died laughing. While it’s very humorous, see the truth in it.
Thanks Bisi for a GREAT article!
Top 5 Reasons NOT to Hire a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are becoming extremely popular especially in the small business realm. This fast growing group of professionals often possessing a specialty in one or more of marketing, graphic design, general administration, bookkeeping, web design, event management, phone answering service… and the list goes on. Think of any segment of your business; there are probably virtual assistants out there that can provide support to you in that area. Here are a few reasons why you should not hire one.
1. You are a Jack of all trades and a master of none. You don’t care about the quality of work or service you provide to your clients or the business image you project with your unprofessional documents and work. You are happy taking on the job of 4 or 5 people even if it results in half-done projects. A virtual assistant can take a number of mundane or specialty tasks off you so that you can focus on managing your business effectively.
2. You are a glutton for stress. You thrive on stress and will rather go without vacations, downtime or quality time with your loved ones. You enjoy working when you are ill and run down. Your aim is to burn yourself out while working round the clock and you love to sweat the small stuff. Virtual assistant can take on your overflow work or cover your business during vacations or sickness. You can hire them for ongoing projects or one-shot projects.
3. Who cares about money anyway? You are a small or mid-sized business owner who would rather hire full-time staff to cover seasonal or part-time positions. You are happy to pay your staff even if the their workday activity allocation is similar to the example below:
Daydreaming – 20%
Keeping in touch with family and friends – 30%
Online shopping – 10% (20% at Christmas)
Pay personal utility bills - (5%)
Office discussion group on Survivors, American Idol or The Apprentice – 25%
Performance of duties according to job-description – 10% (75% when the boss is in the vicinity)
Virtual assistants are only paid for the work they do, not the work they don’t do.
4. You would rather use office space and equipment inefficiently. You appreciate dust-gathering office furniture and office equipment that would not operate themselves. Virtual assistants work out of their own fully furnished offices and are able to provide finished projects to you whether you are on a cruise in the Bahamas or at your home office.
5. You aspire to receive an award from your local chamber of commerce in recognition of your efforts in one or more of the above listed points.
Enjoy the humour intended in this article, but thoroughly consider and explore ways in which a virtual assistant can partner with you for success.
About the Author:
Bisi Adepo-Bassey is the owner of Business Aid, providers of business support services. http://www.mybusinessaid.com/
Permalink 6 CommentsThe Accountability Factor
“When is John going to get me that report?”
“What is going on in marketing? When are they going to finish that project?”
“I can’t believe Mary is so late in making those phone calls.”
“Okay…who dropped the ball this time?”
“Hey…that’s not MY job.”
Does this sound familiar? If so, your team and company may be faced with a very big challenge with accountability, which results in finger pointing, frustration and broken trust. Personal responsibility and accountability can put an end to the blame game, saving your company thousands if not millions of dollars by increasing productivity, customer service and job satisfaction. This article offers leaders five basic approaches to increasing accountability, which are simple, yet they require actually building a culture of accountability or even going so far to adopting accountability as one of the core values of your company.
Communicate the big picture- Accountability stands a better chance of succeeding if everyone in your company embraces a larger responsibility for the success of the entire organization. Spend time talking individually with team members about how his or her project affects the vision and mission of the company. With this communication, people can make wiser decisions from the context of the “big picture” rather than from the perspective of what may seem to be a detailed and boring task.
State clear expectations- If one person on the team does not meet your expectations, the entire team can fail. It is important from the very beginning of any new project to state the expectations clearly and repeat them over and over again until your team really “gets it.” These expectations need to be crystal clear, including dates, who is responsible for what, the details of the task and how you want the finished product delivered. If your expectations are fuzzy or confusing in any way, your team can break down, and the fine and very important details can fall through the cracks.
Accountability work groups- One of the best ways to achieve accountability is to develop shared accountability among team members. Accountability within the team can be accomplished by what Morris R. Shechtman calls “accountability groups,” groups which give team members the permission to speak and listen in a way which is frank and open. This accountability group can then serve as a small unit of people working together to confide in with struggles, weaknesses and insecurities and they relate to the goals and growth the team intends to achieve.
Move to action- In order for accountability to work, people have to know that failure of completion will come with certain consequences, including written warnings, loss of a bonus or extra hours served on a week-end to complete the project on the table. Without consequences, your employees won’t take you seriously. They will think that
Reward and recognition program- Employees need to know in a tangible way their efforts are indeed driving the company forward, and it is important for them to share in the fruits of their hard work. The offer of increased pay and benefits (vacations, time off and other perks) can keep accountability and morale high and can motivate employees to continue to strive for high levels of performance.
About the Author
Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and the President of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training. She is a Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker and author of the Five Star Leader e-course. Along with Mitch Meyerson, Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coach, she is the co-leader of the Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification program. She is the Visionary for the Teleclass Leaders Learning Program and the Personal Environments Learning Program for CoachVille, LLC.
I found this little piece of humor and thought all of us could relate!
Spell Checker
I halve a spelling checker, It came with my pea see. It plainly marks four my revue Mistakes I dew knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word And weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong oar write It shows me strait aweigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long And eye can put the era rite Its rarely ever wrong.
I’ve scent this massage threw it, And I’m shore your pleased too no Its letter prefect in every weigh; My checker tolled me sew.
Permalink 3 CommentsUse It Or Lose It
Orginially featured in the August 31st edition of Marketing Made Simple
Let’s face it…people like free stuff. You probably know people who attend Home Shows and Expos and go from table to table with a bag and gather as many freebies as they possibly can.
Because we know that people like free stuff we often try to send our own products to them as a sample so they can see what we have to offer. Many times we even take it a step further and personalize it for them. We have the mindset that just because they like free stuff, it’s an automatic in. That pen or calendar we send will last a while and, in turn, our telephone will ring off the hook with their orders.
Your customers are no different. They come to you, the distributor, to purchase promotional items to give away because they too know that people like free stuff. The next time you are at an expo take notice of how many people walk by a booth because there are no goodies on the table. It’s just the nature of the beast.
But, as a business owner, you are aware of the amount of direct mail you get each month. What sets one company apart from another? Do you think it’s a pen or a calendar? With a pen, something we all have too many of, it goes into the drawer typically never to be seen by the recipient again. In my home, they are stolen by one of my children who seem to think pens are disposable after one use.
The calendars? How many calendars do you get around the first of the year? How many calendars does one person possibly need? What makes your calendar different from the one they got from their insurance agent, their realtor, or the local dry cleaner?
While these are both inexpensive products that you can give away to your existing and potential customers, what other items do you have in your arsenal that might have a longer shelf life? This can include items that people don’t realize they need but can’t seem to live without once they have them or items that you can never have enough of.
Items that people don’t realize they need but can’t live without once they have them
Jar openers
Most everyone struggles at some point in time opening a jar lid. The average person does not know that there is a solution to the problem. So, when they go to the store, they are not looking for something to rectify the issue. They deal with it.
When they are introduced to the jar opener, they see they can easily open the lid with a flimsy piece of plastic. It becomes a necessity for them over time and when they lose it they truly realize the value in it. It becomes something they can’t live without.
Travel Alarm Clocks
How many times have you traveled for business and were so afraid that you would oversleep and miss that important meeting in the morning? When you are away from home you often feel out of your comfort zone and typically the alarm clocks in the hotels are different from the one to which you’ve grown accustomed. Rather than lugging your own alarm clock across country, wouldn’t you rather have a personal travel alarm clock that you know how to operate and you know is going to wake you up in the morning?
Zippy Letter Openers
A letter opener is a letter opener is a letter opener. Not necessarily. One of my clients recently discovered the Zippy letter openers after I recommended that she purchase them to give away at the conference she was attending with administrative professionals from all over the state.
It’s the little things that make people happy. I no sooner showed it to her and she began opening every envelope she could get her hands on. Shortly thereafter, that old point letter opener found its way to the trash can.
The average consumer would never make a special trip to the office supply store for a simple letter opener. It is one of those items that never seem to make it to the list of items needed. Before the Zippy letter opener was discovered I used my finger and oh how attractive those paper cuts were!
Items You Can Never Have Enough Of
Sticky notes
Can you imagine your life without sticky notes? They have been around since 1977 and by 1990 Post-Its were one of the top five office supply products sold in the United States. We now have computerized versions and those annoying pop-ups while surfing the internet are starting to look like them as well.
You can never have enough sticky notes! How many creative messages can you send with your sticky notes to a potential customer? Perhaps it’s a note pad in the shape of a foot with a little note that says, “Just wanted to get my foot in the door.”
Sticky notes are not going to go in the trash or into an unused drawer and more often than not will be seen by many.
Flashlights
How many times do you find yourself in need of just a little more light? There is always one place in your home, office, or vehicle that you wish you had a flashlight but always seem to forget to pick up an extra one.
For me, I wanted one in the office but never made it out to get one. When I need to plug something in to the back of the computer the extra light is always nice. A realtor gave me the one that I have now and I’ve had it for 4 years. It’s made 2 moves with me. The best part is I don’t have to traipse all over the house to find a flashlight when I need one. I’m now on a quest for a flashlight for my glove compartment.
We’re no different than anyone else. We like free things. As consumers, we are drawn to the word free. We all go to conferences and events only to slip away to see what everyone else is giving out. How many of us come home with promotional items that we didn’t bring with us? I normally come home with a big bag of goodies that I give to my children only after I’ve taken the cool gadgets out for me.
That’s right. The kids get the pens, pencils, plastic key chains and candy. Most of these items end up in the trash at some point in time. I keep the Zippy letter openers, sticky notes, travel mugs and jar openers.
Go through your inventory. Ask your friends. Determine what they use and ask them what promotional items they have in their home they just cannot live without. Make sure that what you give your potential customers will not find its way to the circular file or the bottom of a toy box.
About the Author:
Heather Jacobson is an expert in marketing and implements marketing campaigns for companies on a budget. Her favorite topic is frugal marketing, and her latest book, “Making Dollars Out of Cents: 101 Tips for the Frugal Marketer” demonstrates how to maximize your marketing budget. For more information visit www.HeatherJacobson.com
Permalink 7 Comments