Marketing Message to Live By!

“No Excuses….Don’t Stop Living” is the message that Hector Picard lives by every day. In 1992, Hector was involved in a work related accident that left him a double amputee. He could and probably deserved to sit back and feel sorry for what had happened to him. But no! He takes his “No excuses… Don’t Stop Living” message and “I Will” attitude to heart and shares it with the world. Hector promotes himself and his organization;” No excuses….Don’t Stop Living” by using social media; his website and facebook page. He also is promoting himself by doing!

Yes, doing. Hector without arms, competes in Triathlons and has completed 3 Iron Man competitions. Hector has garnered quite a following of fans and supporters that attend Triathlons and such to cheer him on. Hector doesn’t stop there; he shares his life’s story as a motivational speaker. According to his wife Wendy, he especially likes to speak to children and show them how it is possible to overcome challenges.

In addition to sharing his life’s story, Hector is giving back to another like him. He has started a 3200 mile journey to help another; Baby Jameson. Baby Jameson was born on April 12, 2012 with no hands and forearms. Prosthetics are very expense and Jameson will need a new set every couple months. Unfortunately, insurance often doesn’t completely cover the cost. That is others such as Hector come in. Hector is on a journey to raise funds for Jameson by biking across the country from Miami, Florida to Spokane, Washington.

Hector began his journey to Washington on June 8, 2013. My husband Tony, COO of usselfstoragelocator.com and a Graphic Designer from Signature Printing and his son, TJ along with others from various cycling groups joined Hector on the leg from Markham Park in Sunrise to South Bay. I followed as a chase vehicle behind the group for safety reasons. Watching the group as speeding cars and semi-trucks go zooming by, has given me a new appreciation for cyclist and the dangers they face on the open road. It also reminds me how physically fit one must be, even with 2 arms and hands to ride those kinds of distances. But to ride without arms and hands as Hector does, just goes to show the physical strengthen and determination he has. What an inspiration he is. Along with his “No excuses” attitude, there is also an “I Will” attitude that matches his sponsor: “I Will” Foundation.

It is that “I Will” attitude and inspiration that has gotten me thinking. It is that attitude that I need to remember on my bad days. The days when I can’t get out of bed because I am so stiff and in pain. It is that “I Will” attitude that I hope to remember to help me to keep going. As a person with Rheumatoid Arthritis, there are days that I am so sore and stiff that it is very difficult to get out of bed and do normal things. I am told these “flare ups” or bad days are part of living with Rheumatoid arthritis. And I am learning to live with this disease, but realize that the physical mind often has power over the physical body. And since I cannot often control my body, I can however, control my mind and attitude.

Everyone has bad days or times in their lives; days when nothing goes right or facing some kind of obstacles that seems insurmountable. So instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, one can turn to spiritual comfort as I often do. But now, I can also think of Hector, at what he has overcome and continues to do. And the next time I start thinking “poor me, why me”. I can think of Hector’s “I Will, No excuses” attitude, snap myself out of it, get up out of bed and “Don’t Stop Living”!!!

Thank you & God Bless Hector!!!

So you’re graduating college, now what?

First let me congratulate the class of 2013, Congrats!!!! As a recent graduate myself, the hard work has finally paid off; the late hours of studying, the projects, the tests. But you’re finished; you have earned your college degree. Now what? What’s next?

You have graduated; you completed four years of higher education. If you are like most graduates, you probably have been attending some kind of school for the past 17 years and are eager to begin “living”.  Your path up until this point has been pretty well…..well, planned; school, school and more school. But what’s next? Well, what’s next can be several things; a long awaited sabbatical, graduate school or job hunting, that is unless you already have a job.

A sabbatical or a break sounds very appealing, at least to me. But unless you won the recent Power Ball drawing, a sabbatical might be out of the question. The days of college graduates back packing across America or Europe is a rare thing. A short break from school is not a bad idea/ But it’s an idea that cost moneys, and if you are like many, have student loan payments starting in a few short months. So if you are planning a trip, plan wisely.

Ok, so no trip, well how about graduate school? Graduate school is a great idea. But do your research. Not all advanced degrees are worth the cost. According to Forbes, in 2010, some Master’s degrees are worth more, way more. According to the article, Physicians Assistant is #1; job prospects are great and expected to grow. Other Master’s degree such as one in education or social work might cost as much as the new expected salary of less than $60,000. Of course, the satisfaction you gain from your new career may well be worth the cost. But if graduate school is not for you at this time, there is always a job.

If you are going to pursue employment, beware. The unemployment rate nationally is 7.5% and not much better here in Florida at 7.2%.  However, for college graduates, the unemployment rate is a little better for college graduates hovering at 3.9%. Even though the unemployment rate is more optimistic for graduates, it still might be difficult to find employment, especially in your field of study. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers businesses plan to hire only 2.1 percent more college graduates for this graduating class than they did from the class of 2012. More difficult, yes to land a great job, but not impossible. Do your homework and prepare yourself.

Where to start?  Here are some tips:

• Know what it takes to get a job in your chosen field: Research the skills and qualifications that are necessary.
• Create or update your resume: Make sure that it is professional and list any experience you have. What no experience, list any internships or volunteer work you might have done. It is a great idea to have several others read your resume and tweak it. Above all, make sure that everything is spelled correctly. Spelling errors on resumes often automatically are disqualified. So use spell check.
• Check with your schools Career Services office.  Employers looking for qualified graduates, usually start recruiting at local campuses. So sign up, create a profile and upload your resume. The Career Management Services at Florida International University has many services available to students and alumnae; resume tips, interview workshops, career fairs and more, I am sure other schools do as well.
• Join a professional networking site such as LinkedIn or set up a separate Facebook account that you can use for your professional side (and keep it professional). While you are at it, clean up your personal Facebook page. Make professional connections especially in the field, industry or in the company you are targeting.
• Create a list of companies you think you might like to work for. Research the company; identify and develop a list of anyone you know who may work there; scan their company’s job postings; touch base and develop a friendly relationship with the receptionist as they are usually the first ones to know when jobs are available. Or, seek an interview with the person who holds the targeted job to further research the job and what it takes. Often they can provide great insight and direction.

Check out these websites: www.job-hunt.org, www.wetfeet.com, and www.jobs.com they provide job tips, research, company profile information and more.

If you still can’t find work in your chosen field, internships are great for getting your foot in the door. Same goes for taking a lower level position. If those don’t work, offer to volunteer your services. All of these lets the employer get to know you, your work ethic and skills without risk. If they like you, they will find a position for you.

No matter what you decide to do following graduation; a sabbatical, graduate school or off to start a great career, it’s an exciting time to finally be finished and ready to start the next chapter, of life that is. To all in the classes of 2013, I wish you good luck and best wishes for a wonderful future.

Eva Prada
Class of 2013
Florida International University
Landon Undergraduate School

Facebook wasn’t the first, will it be the last?

Although Facebook currently is the most popular social media website with approximately 1 billion users, it was not the first one. Most folks think the first social media website was MySpace. But from the research I have gathered, Bloomberg LP was the original one. Created by Mike Bloomberg, it was originally used as a 2-way messaging service to facilitate financial trades among his clients. Eventually Bloomberg LP spread to other Wall Street firms and it’s open directory allowed anyone on Wall Street to speak directly with others on Wall Street bypassing typical gatekeepers such as receptionists and such.

Next came CompuServe in the late 1980’s which as with Bloomberg had a limited community and catered to more the technical community. Although limited to evening hours when Golden United Life Insurance’s systems were silent, it allowed members to access news and interact through the use of discussion forums.

But it wasn’t until the early 1990’s, when AOL was created that the general public got involved in social media. Many remember the saying “You Got Mail”, well I do. AOL was actually my first experience with social media. AOL was unique in that it was easy for the novice computer user and allowed the user to have email and share pictures. But the chat rooms is where AOL truly offered live interactive experience as it allowed users to chat via the web live with anyone, from anywhere. I remember chatting with people all over the United States, and even search for people that I has lost contact with. Chat rooms were fun and entertaining, even facilitating a new type of language: LOL, ROFLMAO etc. Yes, way before it was called text talk. At that time, it was very advanced technology for the public and AOL was huge.

There were a few others even before MySpace started, but MySpace was more popular. Justin Timberlake as one of the founders of MySpace had a strong musical emphasis and was the most visited social networking site in the world surpassing Google in 2006 as the most visited website in the USA. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that MySpace was losing money as well as users to something new; Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg: Founder of Facebook

By now, most have seen The Social Network and are familiar that Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook with his college roommates in 2004. Most people I know even have their own Facebook account. Even I do, although I didn’t know it at the time. My daughters thought after my divorce, that I needed to make friends and created my Facebook account. I only learned after a co-worker said she “Friended” me several times and wasn’t going to be my friend anymore, lol. At the time I thought it was childish, but now I use it to keep up to date on my grown children and see pictures and videos of my grandkids. And yes, it can be kind of addicting.

Today, Facebook has over approximately a billion users and even though has had it’s own struggles: lawsuits from Crimson members, Yahoo regarding patents, and the latest class action for loses due to the IPO of Facebook stock. The popularity and profitability of Facebook is still very strong today. But each day brings new competition Instagram, Snapchat, or the new launch of MySpace and new technology and privacy laws and issues which will continue to challenge the popularity of Facebook. Only the future knows whether Facebook will remain on top or will something better, easier, more private and fun to use come along? Only time will tell.

Happy Facebooking

Eva Prada

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Facebook

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P.

Online Privacy, Really?

Online Privacy-Really?
There are many things about the internet and the web that are great. Privacy is not one of them. Some might even wonder if there is such a thing as online privacy. Companies that we do business with like our bank, retails and even Facebook would have us believe there is such a thing as online privacy. Heck, we all “read” and “agree” to each company’s privacy policies when we are conducting business online. After all, it’s a policy and we are protected and our information is safe, right? Safe from whom?

Sure most companies go to great lengths and spend great sums of money to protect our basic information, such as social security and bank numbers etc. from hackers and outsiders. That’s great, but sometimes that is not enough and unfortunately, it is difficult for those companies to stay ahead of technology in safe guarding our information.

But on the flip side of the coin, companies generate a lot of “coin” that is money off the information we give them about ourselves. No, they don’t sell it to third parties, just their affiliates. Case in point, I recently refinanced my home. Great, right? Got a lower rate and payment. I also got a lot more. More mail, more emails, for things CitiMortgage thinks I need: everything to life insurance, home warranties, new roofing, new appliances, home improvement and who knows what else. I just can’t wait to open my mail or email each day, not to mention my mortgage statement with something new each month from one of CitiMortgage’s affiliates. But CitiMortgage didn’t sell my information to third parties, no, just to their affiliate. I know, I got the great rate and CitiMortgage is banking it well from all my information.

Now that’s just one example, the internet is set up in such a way to track where we search, what we do and purchase. You didn’t think that email account you got was really free did you? Someone has to paid for it; it costs lots of money to keep servers, technology and the infrastructures updated and running. And, yes internet companies get paid to track us. A bit creepy right? It would be like if someone is following you and watching everything you do in a store. Oh wait, that happens too, if the store has cameras, which most do. All this information on what we do online is categorized so that someone can market just the perfect products for us. It’s big business in today’s world. But that’s just the information we put out there that we don’t even think about.

What about the information we willingly and eagerly put out there. Such as the information we post on Facebook. We are so eager to share every aspect of our life, what we feel, what we do, where we go, what we find funny, even our present location. Duh, who’s bright idea was that one; Let’s tell everyone we’re on our or on vacation and our house is empty, might as well leave the door open. But that’s what we do, we put everything out there in the open for anyone to come by and take and use it for their own personal gain.

People just share too much: TMI-too much information. And often that information can come back to haunt us, get one arrested or even fired.
People forget that anything posted online, even if deleted is out there, forever. It only takes some diligent person to find it. Sometimes it is not even that hard. We just put it out there for everyone to see, even the police. Just ask the 19 year-old Florida women who took a picture of her baby with a bong that was arrested on possession of drug paraphernalia and caught the attention of Florida’s Department of Children and Families. Not too bright. Or ask Adam Bauer, 19 who posted a picture of himself holding a beer and was arrested for underage drinking. Stupid and the news is full of these types of cases.

And yes, folks have lost their jobs over Facebook posts. It has happened to one of my co-workers because of comments made. I have even heard of others who were fired over pictures posted such as the case of Georgia teacher Ashley Payne who lost her job after a vacation photo was posted.
People think that what they post on their own time, on their site is not their employer’s business. Think again and while you’re at it, better check your employer’s policy on social media and character clauses. I tell others, don’t post anything that you don’t want your grandparents or future kids to know or see. It just might still be out there.

Be Private, Really.
Eva Prada

Is “Online Privacy” the Ultimate Oxymoron?
http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/16/arrested-over-facebook-po_n_683160.html#s127052&title=Mother_Arrested_Over