The Lounge
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Junior Achievement in Bradenton, Florida
JA Worldwide reaches approximately 7.5 million students annually worldwide. Through age-appropriate curricula, JA programs begin at the elementary school level, teaching children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers. JA programs continue through the middle grades and high school, focusing on the key content areas of entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy. Copyright © JA Worldwide™ 2007
For several years Webtivity Designs has supported this phenomenal organization through JA's volunteer program in Manatee County schools. Recently JA offered 6 weeks of business training at a Bayshore Elementary 5th grade class. The class was divided into three types of businesses: one corporation, one franchise, and one sole ownership company. We discussed marketing, sales, job interviews, and had a blast making jewelry for our businesses.
I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, the young people for the interruption of my weekly visits or myself. Their enthusiasm, interest and questions were constant and I was able to bring that attitude back with me to the office every day. One of the funniest questions was, “Are you rich?” I may not be rich financially, but I am definitely richer through this and every other experience that brings me into contact with the enthusiasm of the youth and their future.
Thank you to all of Ms. Nonell and Ms. Jones class for your participation. It truly was a pleasure.
Priscilla Rhoades
Webtivity Design Solutions
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B2B Spotlight
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Name: Robin Miller (aka, "Roblimo")
Occupation: Owner of Internet Video Promotion Inc.
How do your company's services benefit the general public?
We give small merchants a chance to compete head-to-head with large companies by giving them the power of TV-style advertising for much less than the cost of even the lowest cable TV ad campaign. This helps local, owner-operated, businesses thrive and grow, thereby saving us all from a future filled with nothing but "Big Box" blandness -- a future without chef-owned restaurants, idiosyncratic bookstores, and other cool little shops.
But wait! That's not all! The reason I started Internet Video Promotion Inc. was to help independent citizen journalists earn a living. Our main objective isn't to get rich, but to create enough income to buy decent video equipment and use it to cover events, stories and people that the corporate-owned media crowd overlook. In fact, if you have an idea for a story you think we should cover either in the Bradenton/Sarasota area or in Miami -- where we just started our second local operation -- please contact us. We're interested.
We're really about doing innovative news and feature stories. Our business is a way to support that passion, not an end in itself.
Greatest achievement to date?
Personally? Getting my wife, Debbie, to marry me. Professionally, I suppose my greatest achievement is helping to start what is now called "citizen journalism."
Some of the old media people seem to think that there's a conspiracy made up of Slashdot editors (including me), academics including Jay Rosen at NYU and the J-Lab people at U of Maryland, Craig Newmark of Craigslist and his coworkers, J.D. Lasica and the OurMedia crowd, and some of the nonprofit types at Pew Center and the Knight Brothers Foundation. You know what? They're right! We all know each other at least a little, and we're all working to make news gathering and dissemination less centralized and corporate, and more local and people-oriented, than it's been for many years.
Character trait you most admire?
Perseverance, AKA "Being too dumb to know when to quit."
When are you the most productive?
Hard to say. I go into obsessive, almost trance-like work frenzies -- usually but not always when I have a tight deadline staring me in the face. But some of my most productive time is when I seem to be doing nothing; when I'm looking at my fish pond or sitting on the beach. Much of my "work" is mental, and I do it almost on a subconscious level.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and make notes or run to my office to type a paragraph before I forget it.
Back when I wrote freelance for most of my income, and editors would ask me how I was coming with an assignment, one of my great lines was, "I'm just about done writing it. Now all that's left is the typing." Some editors thought I was joking, but the smart ones knew what I meant. :)
When are you the most bored?
When I'm editing long and tedious stories -- I'm nearly done editing (essentially rewriting) a badly-written book right now, and I'm only cranking through it at this point because I am keeping a promise, not because this book has any real merit to it or interests me in any way -- or when I'm editing an overly-long video for a client who refuses to understand that three good minutes will get his or her point across better than 30 minutes of tedium.
How do you define success?
Living a decent life and making at least a little bit of the world a little better. Accumulating piles of cash doesn't impress me. I've met both Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, and I consider Woz more successful than Jobs in the ways that really count. I've met Bill Gates and Linus Torvalds, and I'd personally rather have Linus's kind of success than Bill's. Note that both Woz and Linus are "rich" by most people's standards, but that they have -- as the old saying goes -- "done well by doing good," which to me is a lot more admirable than "succeeding" by stepping on or exploiting others.
Are you involved in, or have you had any experiences/extra activities that you would recommend to our clients?
I like to sail, but what with the waterfront being so crowded nowadays, I recommend golf or tennis or another land-bound activity for everyone else. :)
I also enjoy cuddling with my wife.... but I don't recommend that for others, either.
My life is basically boring. I read some novels, cuddle with my wife, go sailing (but not often enough), play guitar badly, walk my dog around the neighborhood, and go down to the beach to watch sunsets or splash in the waves. And that's about it. Everything else I do is work-related.
For instance, if I go to Miami Beach and hang out in a hot club late at night, it's because I'm doing a video shoot. If I go to Key West to drink, which I will before long, it's because I'm writing a story about Key West writers, not because I enjoy hanging out in cool little bars and chatting with interesting characters.
Could it be that my work and my hobbies are mostly the same? Maybe
*that's* the trick!
From your experience/expertise, do you have any suggestions for small to medium sized business owners just starting out?
Hire Internet Video Promotion to make online sales videos for you! And TV spots, too, if you have budget for TV. And *you* should star in those spots and videos instead of hiring a narrator, because your natural enthusiasm for your business will come through every time. If you stumble over a couple of words, that's fine. Your passion and expertise are more important to potential customers than verbal slickness.
Now that I'm gotten past that gratuitous plug, I think the real secret is to make sure your work is also your hobby. That'll make long days enjoyable instead of drudgery.
Another suggestion for starting a small business that a friend once gave me was, "Make sure your parents are really, really rich so you don't have to worry about money." I can't say from personal experience whether this advice is valid, but I know at least a few people for whom it seems to have worked. :)
If you were granted one wish, what would it be?
That we could all become a little less self-centered and start thinking
a little more about how we can help each other.
For more information about Rob Limo or Internet Video Promotion Inc. please visit internetvideopromotion.com |
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The Tech Report
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Changing Password
How often is not often enough?
Why password protection is important
With more services moving online such as shopping, news subscriptions, and banking it's important to remember that all of your information is usually only protected by the password you create for it.
Although hacking and spyware are more often related to identity theft, low tech methods are more common . For instance, people looking through your trash for your passwords or personal information. This is why you should never write down your passwords; but if you must, don't label what the password is connected to.
Never use a master password. It is convenient to have 1 password for everything, but this can lead to many problems. For instance, when signing up to a portal site, you may want to use the same password for your email account and the portal site. But now you've given out access to your email, which means this information is no longer secure.
How to stay protected
When creating a password you should have 3 elements to help make it secure…
- At least 1 number
- At least 1 capital letter
- Use symbols (@#$, etc.)
- 8 or more characters
* Don't forget to change your passwords every 3 months. This will help keep your Internet experience an enjoyable one.
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In the business day, we all forget to be thankful for all of the small things. I am most guilty of that.
So….
I wanted to personally post this note of thanks to everyone that is here at Webtivity Designs.
To Troy, who goes above and beyond, by opening and closing the gate every day, and for always lending an ear?
To Amanda, who follows thru on everyone's work and is always smiling, no matter how stressed it gets.
To Cory, The unflappable…the rock…the go to guy …the… well you get it…from the bottom of my heart thank you!
To Kodi, how the young bring new insight….your flash is rocking.
To, Mike, with humor and a kilt he makes the Fix it Fridays bearable.
To Meena, and Bob….thank you both for working while learning and adding new dimensions to our world.
To Keith, he has brought clear thought, quick thinking, and fast completion and he can read the deer in the headlight look.
Thank you,
Priscilla
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the funny
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The Lounge:
Are you ready for Hurricane season?
B2B Spotlight:
Jerry Soloman, owner of Computer
Corp of Florida
The Tech Report:
Firewall's and Virus protection:
How secure is your personal computer?
Max Media:
Making Your Site
Search Engine Friendly - Spiderability
By John Buchanan (c) 2007
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