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Better Public Speaking Podcast

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Better Public Speaking EpisodeAre you interested in public speaking? Listen as I discuss how to be a better public speaker with featured guest Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich and the Spinsucks blog.

Listen

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Summary

In this episode you will learn some actionable tips on how to be a better public speaker.

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 1/26/2012.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Business, Interviews, Podcasts, Public Speaking Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

2 Things Everyone Needs to Know about the WPS Vulnerability

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I Promise Not to Own your WifiYou may have heard recently that there is a vulnerability affecting many wireless access points. It has to do with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) which is supposed to make it easier to configure devices to use your wireless network. The problem is the WPS system is vulnerable to a brute force attack that will allow a malicious attempt within range of your wireless signal to access and change settings on your device. Once the foot is in the door there are many other things that can be done, especially if you have un-protected devices on your network.

The two things you should know if you own or are responsible for any wireless access points are:

  1. There is no practical universal solution to the problem.
  2. You may have to use the hacking tools themselves to be 100% certain you are not vulnerable.

If you feel you have anything someone might want to steal, the smartest thing might be to just disconnect the wireless access point or turn it off. Then live without it until the manufacturer has clear information on your make and model of wireless device. Of course if your wireless access point is also your Internet Router this could be problematic.

There are more questions than answers right now and while you can’t tell with certainty if you are not vulnerable a list is being compiled of devices that have been confirmed to be vulnerable. You can access the WPS Vulnerability Testing Document to find devices that have been confirmed.

Known and potential solutions

Solutions to this issue will be updated here as they become available

Belkin (Does not note if this fully disables WPS!)

Netgear (Home Routers)

Additional Resources

Vulnerability Note VU#723755 (US-Cert)

Special thanks to @Shonali for sharing the Bart Simpson Chalkboard Generator.

This article originally appeared on my business blog on 1/6/2012.

Filed Under: Business, News, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Fixing our Broken System with Carol Roth [Podcast]

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been engaging in more discussions about the issues our country faces and the gridlock in our political system lately. Today a friend and past guest of the Podcast Carol Roth was tweeting something that Gerri Willis from Fox Business Network had asked on Twitter.

“Who’s to blame for Washington gridlock? Rebublicans, Democrats or Both?” -Gerri Willis

This was a hot button issue for me so I quickly responded to Carol to invite her to discuss it on my podcast today.

Listen

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Podcast - Our Broken System

Summary

My answer to this question was that we are all to blame. We’re not coming together to work on what we agree on and we’re being manipulated based on interests. Carol had quite a bit of perspective to share on the issue, listen in to learn about how we can simplify this process.

Quotable

“People are blaming the symptoms instead of looking at the disease” – Carol Roth

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 12/21/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Business, Interviews, Podcasts, Politics, Serious Topics Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Finding Airline Flights with Google Flight Search [Video]

December 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Google Flight SearchGoogle has so many properties, most of us will never try them all. I stumbled onto an interesting tool last week that you may find useful for researching airline flights. The Google Flight Search application lets you do what most fare search sites let you do and a couple of things they don’t:

  • See at a glance based on where you are now what it would cost to fly to different locations.
  • Check alternative source and destination routes.
  • Filter down by pricing and flight time.
Like many Google tools Flight Search has that simple look and feel you’ve become familiar with over time. Check out the video for more insight and a demonstration of the features.

Don’t see the video or browser doesn’t support Flash? Watch the video here.

Filed Under: Productivity, Technology, Tools, Video Tagged With: , ,

Interview Irene Koehler of Almost Savvy [Podcast]

December 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Irene Koehler Interview GraphicOn this weeks podcast I caught up with the San Francisco Bay Area’s own “Almost Savvy” Irene Koehler. Irene has a knack for educating and empowering people to get started using Social Media.

Listen

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Summary

Our discussion while somewhat broad overall was generally focused on:

  • Google+
  • Facebook
  • the bay area tech scene

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 12/7/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

Want to see a full list of past episodes? Check out my Podcast page. You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Google +, Interviews, Podcasts, Social Media Strategy, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Ins and Outs of Blogging: Episode 3 Developing Content [Podcast]

December 1, 2011 By 1 Comment

Ins and Outs of Blogging LogoThinking about starting a blog? Want to get more out of your current one? Check out episode 3 of 3 “Developing Content” on the ins and outs of blogging with my featured guest Gini Dietrich of Arment Dietrich and the Spinsucks blog.

Listen

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Summary

In this episode you will learn about developing content for your blog and other social networks. One of the key aspects discussed is the importance of creating original content and avoiding the pitfall of providing un-original thoughts and ideas. You may also want to review this article written by Tim Otis, it was mentioned during the podcast.

See also:

Episode 1: “Getting Started”

Episode 2: “Building Community”

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 11/30/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Interviews, Podcasts, Social Media Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

What is Content Marketing? [Podcast]

November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Content Marketing Panel Graphic

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I connected with a excellent panel to discuss content marketing. The three panelists brought a breadth of knowledge about content marketing:

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Summary

The three experienced content marketers in this panel helped explain what content marketing is. You can also expect to learn about:

  • The importance of compelling content.
  • The importance of being conversational.
  • What branded journalism is and why people use this method.
  • Re-purposing your content.
  • Creative ways to produce content from non-bloggers/writers.

Quotable

“Compelling content is like porn, you know it when you see it.” – Steve Farnesworth

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 11/23/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Interviews, Podcasts, Social Media Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Online Influence and Klout Panel [Podcast]

November 17, 2011 By 1 Comment

Online Influence and KloutThree great guests joined me  for a discussion about online influence about Klout:

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Summary

We covered a lot of questions, concerns and comments about privacy, influence and some of the recent situations with Klout.

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 11/16/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Business, Interviews, Podcasts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Social Media and Search with Sean McGinnis [Podcast]

November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Social Media and Search
On this weeks podcast I had the distinct pleasure of discussing the world of SEO, Search and Social Media with Sean McGinnis of 312 Digital Media. Sean brings together a very unique background to his 10 year+ career in marketing.

Listen

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Summary

Sean brought technical knowledge and a practical approach to being found and marketing your brand, website or content while making it easier to be found by the search engines. You can anticipate to learn:

  • basic background on the evolution of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  • how some concepts in the legal industry play a role in how Search Engines rank content.
  • what the link economy and link rings are.
  • an introduction to the concept of Author Rank.
  • the value of quality content above all other factors.

Quotable

“A search engine cares about bringing to the user the best possible answer as quickly as possible.” – Sean McGinnis

This episode was live on Blog Talk Radio on 11/9/2011.

Browser or RSS Reader doesn’t support flash? Download/Listen to this episode 

You can also signup to be notified when I have new Podcasts scheduled by clicking the “follow” button for my show on Blog Talk Radio.

Filed Under: Blogging, Business, Interviews, Podcasts, SEO, Social Media Strategy, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How Netflix could solve their price increase debacle

November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What the heck Netflix?

This was originally a guest post on WaxingUnlyrical 7/14/2011

If you’re a Netflix subscriber you’ve probably already received a notice indicating the pricing and plan changes. If you haven’t it can be summarized as a discount for streaming only customers and a huge price hike (up to 60%) for people who like to get DVD’s from them in addition to the streaming. Our family happens to enjoy both, and evidently we’re not alone.

Since the Emails started rolling out Netflix has been taking a beating of “Dear Netflix – “ tweets, comments (38,007 as of this writing) on their fan page and overall really bad sentiment across blogosphere and social media.

Netflix Fan Page Announcement

A Solution to the Problem

The best argument that I’ve seen for Netflix is that the studios are squeezing them for more money. As early as 2009 there was an indication that Studios were going to be squeezing more out of their DVD products. The only problem is that is a relatively weak argument, why is that you ask? There is absolutely no reason why Netflix couldn’t honor their current customers pricing and raise the prices for new subscribers. This would prevent the loyal subscribers from feeling like they are being gouged.

A Real Test

If Netflix were to honor their current pricing with subscribers and was unable to win new subscribers with the higher pricing model then they would know that the new pricing model would also not work for their current customers. They could achieve this without alienating their loyal customers. You know those people who helped put their local Blockbuster out of business by loyally ordering their DVD rentals from Netflix the last few years? Yep, those “valued customers”. A relatively strong brand has been tarnished and that is unfortunate but it is a self inflicted wound.

What would you do if you were Netflix?

Filed Under: Business, Public Relations
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