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quarta-feira, setembro 16, 2015

Eckermann, Johann

Tema: Elogio
O homem reconhece e elogia apenas aquilo que é capaz de fazer

via @notiun

Chirbes, Rafael

Só sentes a felicidade quando pensas que vai chegar, é um pressentimento, mas depois ela passa ao largo, escapa-se, desaparece.

@notiun

Mandela, Nelson

Há dias felizes em que rio sozinho ao pensar nas oportunidades que tive e também nos momentos de prazer.

@notiun

Stevenson, Robert

Não há dever que subestimemos mais do que o dever de ser feliz

@notiun

Turgueniev, Ivan

Queres ser feliz? Aprende primeiro a sofrer

@notiun

Couto, Mia

A vida, para ele, era um rio comportado. A felicidade era o prenúncio da inundação.

@notiun

Einstein, Albert

Tema: Problema
Uma pessoa inteligente resolve um problema, um sábio previne-o

via @notiun

Pessoa, Fernando

Tema: Acção
Agir é não pensar.

via @notiun

La Fontaine, Jean de

Tema: Destino
Não poucas vezes esbarramos com o nosso destino pelos caminhos que escolhemos para fugir dele

via @notiun

Van Gogh, Vincent

Tema: Deus
Acredito cada vez mais que não se deve julgar o bom Deus por este mundo, pois foi um estudo dele que saiu errado

via @notiun

Cortázar, Julio

Até agora, nunca tinha amado as suas amantes; havia algo nele que o levava a tomá-las demasiado depressa para ter tempo de criar a aura, a zona necessária de mistério e desejo que lhe permitisse organizar mentalmente aquilo que poderia um dia chamar-se amor

via @notiun

Castelo Branco , Camilo

O primeiro amor: é a harpa do coração ainda não estreada, é o amor infantil, cujos vagidos não têm pronuncia. É o amor e a religião, a religião e a poesia. Não venha algum, vanglorioso do seu cinismo, desmentir-me! O relapso, desmemoriado dos tempos em que creu e esperou, não se envergonhe do respeito religioso que lhe idealisara as suas primeiras paixões. Todo o homem é poeta!

via @notiun

"And like the sea, I’m constantly changing from calm to hell."

“And like the sea, I’m constantly changing from calm to hell.”

- (via invisible-depression)

7 Struggles You and Your Roommates Don’t Need To Always Go Through

Roomates Struggles

There may be many reasons that inspire you to share a room or living space with someone during your lifetime. Perhaps you are studying and living in halls, or maybe you have just moved in with a partner and are beginning to share bills and living costs. You may even be sharing space as a way of reducing the daily cost of living, with a view to saving more and building towards a longer-term financial goal.

Living with others can take its toll over time; however, as it can create significant issues regarding finances, cleanliness and the invasion of personal space. Many of these struggles can be easily avoided, so long as you enter the arrangement with an open mind and are fully prepared for what lies ahead.

Here are some examples of common problems facing roommates.

1. You struggle to share and pay household bills

Whenever you share a living space, it is important to distribute the responsibility and payment of bills fairly. While you have the autonomy to share recurring bills in a fair way that suits each individual and takes into account their own requirements, this sudden change in your financial circumstances can cause tension and confusion in terms of repayment dates. You will therefore need to negotiate to create an arrangement that satisfies everyone involved.

Thanks to technology these days,automated tools such as Unbill can help you evenly split and pay bills automatically. This type of all-in-one payment solution comprehensively resolves the financial issues facing roommates.

2. You struggle to manage other shared responsibilities

On a similar note, you may have additional responsibilities that force you and a roommate to invest both money and time. This can also become problematic over time, especially if roles are not clearly defined and one individual believes that they are doing more than the other. Take the ownership of a pet, for example, which consumes a huge amount of time and also triggers a number of recurring annual fees.

You must therefore have a clearly defined plan for managing this responsibility, both in terms of sharing fees and distributing the workload of tasks, such as grooming and ensuring that your pet gets their daily exercise. You should also look to be proactive and ease the burden of pet ownership where possible.

3. You struggle to understand and communicate with one another

Unless you choose to share a living space with an old and trusted friend, you may struggle to fully understand and communicate with your roommate. Even with a pre-existing relationship, individuals can evolve and develop interests that you find unusual or even unappealing.

In order to maintain a prosperous friendship and harmonious living arrangement, it is therefore crucial that you look to maintain open lines of communication at all times, while looking to identify any potential issues or concerns before they have a detrimental impact on the relationship.

4. You struggle to maintain a tidy home

Cleanliness is a divisive issue at the best of times, as we each have our own individual standards and ideas of what constitutes a tidy and clean interior. It can therefore represent a major struggle between roommates, as one looks to maintain a pristine interior while the other is happy to live in a cluttered or slightly messy space. You can only avoid this issue by addressing it in a proactive manner, as you each share your expectations and the standards that you hope to be maintained over time.

This will lay the foundations for a productive cleaning rotation, which distributes tasks fairly and according to each individual’s standards. You will also need to be willing to compromise; however, as it is only fair that you should assume responsibility for the majority of the cleaning if you have more exacting standards.

5. You struggle to prevent the kitchen from becoming a war zone

House or flat sharing also requires you to share each individual room. This can create a number of potential issues in popular and communal spaces such as the kitchen. This can quickly become a battleground, especially in instances where you or one of your roommates owns the property in question. Sharing a kitchen requires patience, tolerance, and most importantly organisation, as otherwise tensions will rise while mess and chaos reign supreme.

The first step is to organise food and drink supplies, ensuring that you either contribute equally to a communal source or have your own carefully marked and separated items. You must then determine core cooking and cleaning duties, whether you use a fairly apportioned rotation or ensure that each individual has responsibility for cleaning their own mess or space. Clarity is crucial to this process, while responsibilities must be agreed upon and clearly communicated at all times.

6. You struggle to cope with external relationships

We have already discussed how evolving relationships can make it difficult for roommates, but this becomes even more challenging when sharing a living space with another couple. This type of external relationship can even pose a problem if your roommate and their partner live apart, as you are forced to deal with an outside influence that can place a strain on your friendship and arrangement.

So long as your roommate and their partner remain empathetic, this should not cause a huge issue. The main problem may well revolve around your own feelings and insecurities, especially if you feel inadequate when you are not involved in a long-term relationship. If this is the case, you must look to deal with feelings in a proactive manner, and address them prior to moving in with others.

7. You struggle to respect one another’s privacy

Maintaining privacy and personal space is a huge issue for roommates, even those who know each other well. In fact, this kind of familiarity can breed even more significant issues, as boundaries can easily be worn down and blurred over time. It therefore makes it difficult to maintain personal boundaries, which in turn makes it easier to cross these and create tension in relationships.

To avoid this, you must create a list of core rules that remain unchanged regardless of the changes in your friendship. These include not entering your house-guest’s rooms while they are not there, while you should always knock before invading their own private space. You will also need to understand each other’s tolerances and factor these into any rules.

Featured photo credit: Couple of young men talking on the stairs of an office via shutterstock.com

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4 Sites You Wish Were Around When You Were Applying To College

college application essay help

Fzzzztt!  Sparks are flying out of my computer like it’s the 4th of July, and after a few seconds the plastic around the keyboard begins to transform into a molten soup of graphite-colored pudding.

I work with high school seniors and counselors. As my laptop spirals down into an epic – and literal – meltdown, I can’t help but wonder what this sort of catastrophe would have meant for the college applicants of the past (i.e. before the year 2000). It would have been horrendous. Fortunately, the advent of cloud-based apps solved that problem.

But what about the basic challenges related to building a decent college list, finding essay requirements, finding scholarships, and preparing for standardized tests?

Those challenges have not gone unnoticed by the educational technology community, and thanks to the innovative work of a handful of enterprising organizations, the college application landscape is changing in spectacular, mind-blowing ways. So….without further ado, here are four college planning sites you wish were around when you were applying to college:

1. Zoomita

This application essay management system is truly revolutionary. Zoomita’s arrival has made the hardest part of the college application process a lot more manageable- and its free.

  • What does it do? Students create a college list. Then Zoomita reveals all of the required, optional, “sometimes required”, and program-specific essays for that list. Zoomita is also a sweet document management system that organizes all essay drafts in chronological order.  The concept of a doc management system without files or folders is….awe-inspiring.
  • Why is this important? Essays are the most time-intensive, anxiety-provoking part of college apps. Zoomita cuts through all of that like a samurai sword through tissue paper.
  • Social? Students can invite anyone to review a draft, much like Google Docs. The Zoomita team is also building a crowdsourcing system with anti-plagiarism technology that will allow students to get their essay reviewed by anyone on the app.
  • Drawbacks? We really want to see the crowdsourcing stuff. Please build that already.

2. Raise.me

Microscholarships. The coolest…thing…ever. Even better, it’s free.

  • What does it do? High school students automatically earn scholarship money for getting a good grade in a class, participating in an after-school activity, volunteering, etc. Raise.me essentially rewards students for things they are already doing, and helps incentivize students to keep up the good work. Brilliant.
  • Why is this important? The cost of college is a major roadblock for many students and families. This site lowers the price-tag for college, while incentivizing exactly the type of behavior that makes students more attractive as candidates, and helps them succeed in college. Whoever thought of this is a straight-up genius.
  • Social? Most of the app is organized around individual performance, but students can earn additional scholarship money by inviting other students to the platform.
  • Drawbacks? Hard to think of drawbacks, other than the fact that the scholarships are not actual cash in your pocket, but are deductions from the cost of attending college.

3. Khan Academy

This online course juggernaut has an entire section dedicated to standardized test prep, and another section dedicated to college admissions. There are tons of exercises and practice materials available here, free of charge.

  • What does it do? Students take classes, watch videos, and browse exercises to develop their test-taking and application-building skills.
  • Why is this important? College applications in the United States favor students with a higher socio-economic status. Khan Academy is helping to level the playing field.
  • Social? Each lesson includes a thread where students can ask questions, provide comments, vote on responses, etc.
  • Drawbacks? It’s pretty hard to complain about free, high quality test prep.

4.  Big Future (College Board)

The publisher of the SAT offers a suite of college matching, career exploration, and financial aid resources on its Big Future website, free of charge.

  • What does it do? Students can search for schools by type, location, majors, test scores, and a variety of other factors. Students can then create their own college list from the search results. The site also includes videos and articles on a range of other application-related subjects.
  • Why is this important? Applying to college is really about finding the right match. With close to four thousand U.S. colleges to choose from, it is nearly impossible for students to find all of their potential matches without the help of college-matching apps like the one on Big Future.
  • Social? Not really.
  • Drawbacks? It would be nice if the financial aid information for each college broke down average tuition by income.

It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in the last 10 years. Who knows what the next 10 years holds? I can’t wait to see.

Featured photo credit: COD Newsroom via flickr.com

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3 Easy Solutions For Hiding Your Public IP Address

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Ever Thought About Hiding Your IP Address?

The internet can be a fantastic tool, but with an option as powerful as it has become comes some great risk. Identity theft, spyware, spam, and an utter lack of privacy all come when you’re browsing from almost anywhere in the world, but you do have an option. You can hide your IP address. With a few simple steps, you can safely browse almost any site from anywhere in the world, even if you’re using a more public WiFi connection.

The Basics

Not even sure what an IP address is? IP stands for Internet Protocol, and put simply, it’s a way for one computer (or tablet or phone) to communicate with another one on the internet. It literally connects you to all of the other digital devices online right now. Your IP address is four numbers, and they contain one to three digits each. So it could be something like 76.103.2.567 or 98.102.56.32. No matter what yours actually is, though, it’s those four numbers that allows you to send and receive data online.

IP addresses are either static or dynamic, which means they either change or don’t change. Static IP address remain the same all of the time, and they always tell where you’re located. Dynamic addresses, though, are borrowed from a pool of options every time you log on.

What Your IP Reveals

If someone can gain access to your IP address, they can learn all kinds of things about you. For example, they can take a closer look at which provider you’re using to connect to the internet. They might be able to locate the city you’re in. If they’re really good at getting information online, they can track you down to your name and address, though that’s both rare and illegal.

Does It Really Matter?

The simple reality is that hiding your IP address matters quite a bit. When you hide your IP address, you’re guaranteeing that all of the data you send and receive is completely encrypted. Even if someone wanted to take a look, steal your information, or infect your computer, they couldn’t. It’s the perfect way to make certain no one is snooping around your connection if you’re out and about, but you still want the ability to shop, bank online, or connect to a network where security is a concern.

If you’re a downloader, you’ve probably already heard at least a bit about hiding your IP address. Even if you’re downloading legally, you can easily end up on some company’s bad side because you have a torrenting app installed. Hiding your IP address gives you the security you need when you’re downloading anything.

The Bottom Line

The internet should be a completely free and open space, and you have the right to make sure all of your communications are secure and encrypted within that space. An unsecured connection means that someone is reading what you say and what you do at all times. Hiding your IP address puts an end to that immediately.

I’m Convinced. What’s Next?

Ready to hide your IP address? You probably should be. Fortunately, it’s easier than you think. There are several security tools that offer you this service. Take a look at these three.

  • IPinator VPN: This service is fairly new to the security world, but the reviews are amazing. They offer a minimalist layout, and their claim is that they hold more than 2000 IPs that are continually located and cleaned, so you always get a reliable connection, no matter where you are.
  • Hide My Ass VPN: Easily one of the biggest services on the market today, this UK-based option offers three different packages as well as access to 860 servers across 190 countries, so you have a huge number of available IP addresses when you sign up with them.
  • Private Internet Access: This service has been at the top of best lists by sites like PCMag for years. It makes it simple for users to surf both online and privately. It offers both basic functionality as well as advanced options.

Stop everyone from looking over your shoulder when you hit the web next. Choose a service that will keep you as secure as possible.

Featured photo credit: IP address graffiti via flickr.com

The post 3 Easy Solutions For Hiding Your Public IP Address appeared first on Lifehack.



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14 Things To Know Before Dating A Book Addict

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Book addicts have long lists of lovers. Of course, they’re not always real. Many of our crushes are fictional, but just because they only exist in books doesn’t mean we don’t love them and need them more than our flesh-and-blood partners. We’re definitely addicted, and just because our drug of choice is books, don’t think it’s not a powerful one. If you happen to fall for one of us, there are a few things you’ll need to know in order to make the relationship work.

1. True book addicts live in their own worlds. You’re just visiting.

That’s not entirely true. We like the real world and we like you in it—we just like our ever-changing fictional world better. Don’t be surprised if we bust out with some variation of “there’s a scene for that” when you’re talking about everyday life. Literally, there’s a scene in some book that mirrors your experience and we book addicts are happy to make the comparison. After all, it’s SO obvious.

“Oh, that same thing totally happened to Hazel Grace and Augustus, minus the whole prosthetic leg/oxygen tube getting in the way thing.”

2. The good news is we are the easiest people to shop for.

Unless you’re a complete idiot, you’ll never screw up birthdays or holidays again. We’re totally smitten with gift cards, as long as it’s not from Old Navy or Sephora. Not that there’s anything wrong with those cards, but you might as well feed our book addiction and make us happy. Go for a Barnes & Noble card or an Amazon card or any card that allows us to buy books. That way we’ll know that you “get us” and you’ve been paying attention. If you’re really good, you’ll look for that one book we talk about—there’s always one—, whether it’s the new one coming out or that first edition that’s been getting us so hot and bothered. Find THAT book and you just might get a gift back.

3. Warning: We sniff books.

Get over it. It’s creepy, we know, but we’ll never, ever, stop. Books smell good. New ones, old ones, hardcover, paperback—doesn’t matter. They smell good and book addicts love the olfactory sensation. We’d rather smell books than food.

4. If you’re brave enough to see the movie version of a book, be prepared for the endless conversations afterwards.

Book addicts are notorious for hating the movie versions of books. We can’t help it. We’ve already made the movie in our heads—that’s how bookies read. We create scenes in our heads and directors just screw things up. Or they leave scenes out. Or they change scenes to make sure the movie lasts approximately one hour and forty five minutes. Don’t even get me started on the Twilight series. It’s hard enough dealing with actors who don’t live up to the characters you’ve built in your head. Just know that dating a book addict means seeing movies. Any book-to-movie date means signing up for a four-hour conversation about the differences between the book and the film. Good luck with that!

5. We won’t call you “Boo.”

That’s because we all know the original Boo is Boo Radley. If I have to explain further, you’d better not be dating a book addict or you’re in serious trouble.

6. You can never say that we have too many books.

Contrary to what it looks like—books on the floor, the side tables, the kitchen counter, the toilet—we don’t have too many books. We have a lack of shelves. Don’t ever make the mistake of saying, “You have too many books.” Instead, say this, “Honey, I noticed your wonderful collection of literature doesn’t have a proper display system. Can I fix that for you?”

Can you say grand romantic gesture? Moves like this are always rewarded.

7. Make some room in your suitcase for our books.

We bring books on vacation because, let’s face it, the whole point of vacation is to relax and the best way to relax is to settle down with a great book. When we’re not busy reading, we like to explore new areas. Some of our favorite tourist stops are off-the-grid, locals-only bookstores. Who doesn’t want copies of The Hunger Games from four different countries in four different languages? Don’t forget to pick up an adorable new carryon for the newly acquired literary gems.

8. Don’t expect us to just walk by a bookstore.

It’s not in our nature. It’s not in our blood. It’s not within our self-control. Unless we’ve taken a heavy dose of anti-anxiety medications or have a serious case of love going on, we can’t walk by a bookstore without at least stopping to stare at the window display. Looking at new releases and best sellers is like charging our renewable batteries. It’s like smelling salts after fainting. It’s what chocolate is to a chocoholic. Yes, it’s that good. There’s only one thing better than stopping to look.

9. Breakfast at Barne’s & Noble is better than Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Bonus points for anyone who watches Breakfast at Tiffany’s with a significant other as part of a night of romance. Who can forget the moment that gorgeous Audrey Hepburn hops out of the cab in the rain to search for “cat,” or how you feel inside when you finally hear that meow?

If you really want to rack up the points with your book-addicted lover, take them on an impromptu trip to the bookstore, but be willing to stick around for a while. There’s nothing better than hanging with someone who lets us get completely lost within aisles of books, wouldn’t dream of rushing us, and even points out the pretties in the store—by “pretties,” we’re ALWAYS referring to books. Don’t even think about pointing out pretty people. Ah, who are we kidding, we probably wouldn’t notice or care about any hotties in the bookstore anyway. Especially if said hot person was standing in front of something as amazing as, say, a new release of the Harry Potter series in which Harry is all grown-up—Seriously, just the thought of this makes us shake with anticipation.

Disclaimer: We would, however, care about you, because you’re our date and you thought enough to bring us to the Promised Land (otherwise known as “the bookstore”).

10. We’d go broke buying books.

Long-term savings plans are always squelched by our addiction. We can’t help it. Blame Goodreads or Twitter. Authors, publishers, and fellow addicts are enablers. They reel us in. We have access to covers, back covers, front pages, and taglines. We can participate in blog hops,  we can “talk” to authors, we can tweet publishers and editors—we’re practically authors. Heck, one click on your Amazon Prime account and and voilà! You’ve got a stack of books on your doorstep in two days. It’s the closest thing there is to magic. Book addicts would give up food if it meant buying more books. Priorities, people.

11. Do not dare to touch or rearrange our bookshelves.

This is our special place. Every book addict has their own method, but we all do it. We all arrange and rearrange the books on our shelves. It’s a constant effort because there is a constant influx of new property. Like little kids with their toys, we’ll know in an instant if one book’s been moved or misplaced. You can look. You can admire. You can’t touch, unless you ask (and even then…).

12. Moving in with your book addict means moving books, books, and more books.

The good news is moving our furniture, clothes, and other belongings will be a piece of cake.

The bad news is once you think you’re done and you’re ready for that pizza and (insert drink of choice), we’ll inform you that there are about seventeen additional boxes of books you didn’t know even existed because you thought you already moved ALL the books. We’ll grin and promise some kind of reward for your efforts.

13. Speaking of moving, if space is limited in the new digs, don’t expect us to get rid of our books.

This isn’t even an option. Obviously, you’ll be expected to pare down your belongings to make room in the newly shared home. Seriously, what were you thinking?

14. Dating a book addict is an adventure.

That’s because at any given point we’re not who we say we are, not where we say we are, and not doing what we say we’re doing. We’re other characters, with other characters, in other parts of the world, or in completely other worlds, doing all kinds of magical, mythical, miraculous, or maniacal things. Okay, that’s not entirely true. We do live in the real world and we do enjoy real relationships. If you’re willing to live with our quirky bookish selves, we just might put you before any of our fictional crushes. And hey—that’s huge!

Featured photo credit: John Nakamura Remy via flickr.com

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A Meaningful Quiz To Decide If You Should Quit Your Job

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  • Ever feel like it is a drag to go to work everyday?
    • In today’s economy, perhaps it is lucky to even have a job? Plus, the salary is much needed.
  • Have an overbearing boss who drives everyone insane?
    • Remember, there are good days and bad days.
  • Feel like getting a bigger paycheck for the work you do?
    • Is the work you do really that important?
  • Got an annoying co-worker or two?
    • Yeah, but they are only annoying every other day.
  • What about the stress load?
    • It can be handled, fires can be quickly put out one at a time.
  • Not climbing the ladder?
    • Is it necessary to climb the ladder?
  • Not learning anything new?
    • Well, it’s a stable job, why change?
  • Do you want to JUST QUIT?
    • What if the next job fares worst?

Quitting a job can be a big decision, and like every decision in life, everyone is unsure at one point or another whether they should just do it. Fear not, with today’s technology, you can access the right tools to help you think about one of life’s most simplest, yet difficult decisions.

Take this 25 questions quiz to see whether you should quit your job. You will judge each statement from a scale of 1 to 5 (which stands for how much you agree or disagree with each statement).

That’s it. You got here, so you are destined to take the quiz and share your results with others.

Go on, take the quiz now: Should You Quit Your Job or Not?

Featured photo credit: http://ift.tt/1INFVnY via cloud.addictivetips.com

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How To Operate A Worldwide Business While Staying At Home

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If you choose the Internet as the environment for your business, or if you have to cooperate with partners and customers from across the ocean and the globe, knowledge of how to operate your business worldwide while staying right where you are comes in handy. Fortunately for you, the most effective ways to deal with your international project are gathered and listed below. Each of these ideas and methods serves a particular purpose and influences a specific aspect of the business process.

1. Engaging in online conferences

First of all, if you need to negotiate with your clients, staff, or simply lead a webinar, you’ll need to choose between a modern online conferencing tool or a free app like Skype or Google Hangouts. Keep in mind that new-age features, like simultaneous chat translation or meeting analyzers, might be absent in the free versions.

Online conferences can be a substitute for face-to-face meetings. They allow you to negotiate with your customers, host product webinars, and work effectively with outsourced staff.

2. Outsourcing your business

Outsourcing is basically the contracting out of a business process to another party. What can you do to control your business on the other side of the planet? Save time and mistakes by delegating part of the work to the professionals. If you act smart, this will only bring you profit and lighten your financial burden. The trick is to spend your time doing the things that will be most effective for you and your business, and hiring others to do the other stuff.

Try outsourcing for your business and you will be amazed by how much easier it will be to manage your project when somebody else takes care of the things that may be more difficult for you and reports about results.

3. Creating special platforms for clients and businessmen

Some entrepreneurs neglect social media platforms and thus cause harm to their own projects. Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ — you have to create your business account at least on these three platforms in order to share news and updates with your customers and business partners and build the reputation of your business. Social media can lead to endless possibilities for promotion as well as for connection between an entrepreneur and their clients.

Use a B2B Social Media management platform to schedule your content and social interactions automatically and see how they translate to real business data points. Through using and implementing a solid social media strategy, you will be able to get feedback for your products and services very fast. Besides, you can also quickly neutralize the negative effects in the cases of bad reviews or respond to positive comments and earn the trust of your clients.

4. Building a website for your business

Your website is a crucial step when it comes to being able to control your business no matter where it is located. There are several ways of getting yourself a website: you can hire a programmer and a designer (remember about outsourcing), make an order from a special agency, or you can try and create the website on your own. This website should allow you to automatize the process of communication with your clients. You can also leave your contact information there so you can be more easily reached by potential business partners. Besides, no matter what service or product you provide, you will always get more trust and respect when you have a quality website.

The most effective way to run a business from anywhere is to utilize all of these ideas together. This will allow you to easily control your business come rain or shine. It is important to bear in mind that, nowadays, the most important things about business are speed of reaction, flexibility, and the possibility to communicate and interact with your customers, staff, and potential partners.

Featured photo credit: business lunch/ David Kracht via flickr.com

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Top Threats of Digital Era

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The 21st century is a fantastic time to be alive. Despite what naysayers claim, our lives are more exciting, diverse, easier, and just plain more interesting than that of our ancestors. However, all of this convenience comes with a price tag. Although we enjoy benefits of modern technology that would be unthinkable and unimaginable even a few decades before, we have to look out for threats that just didn’t exist in the past.

There are a lot of troubles caused by development of digital era. These may range from nuisances to situations that are catastrophic to life, career and financial security. Let’s talk about some of them.

1.  Identity Theft

Identity theft is nothing really new, but it is the digital age that has turned it into a constant and global threat. Why is it so? One would think that with so many security systems and identification precautions, impersonating another person should be next to impossible. However, many people have a false sense of security – we rely too much on technology and don’t make the necessary precautions.

The most widespread types of identity theft involve stolen credit cards, social security numbers, passwords, banking information and the like. With enough identifying information about a person, criminals can use these to perform a variety of crimes. For you, it can means loss of money or property, or even damage to your reputation that can ruin your life for years.

2.  Personal Information Leaks

With the pervasive use of social media, another big risk involves personal information leaking out to unintended audiences. In scope and severity, these may range from annoying (think Facebook apps giving advertisers access to your personal data) to extremely unpleasant (think something on the scale of ‘the Fappening’). Again, one of the culprits for this problem is overreliance on modern technology to protect your personal information, plus the over-eagerness to share information through social channels.

3.  Bank Fraud

Banks cannot simply sit the digital evolution out – the financial sector needs to adopt new technologies, lest they lose edge over their competitors. Progress and convenience, however, all come at a price. Recent statistics show that online banking fraud increased by whopping 71% over the previous year. Swindlers and scammers are often the first to learn the ins and outs of emerging technologies and how to exploit these. In most cases, fraud is embarrassingly simple with social engineering: crooks simply call people while posing as a bank or other trustworthy institution and ask for personal information.

4.  Websites Security Breaches

Most website visitors and even web publishers take web security for granted. However, securing a website – and the information stored at the backend – is anything but easy. Security breaches are one of the most common and least pleasant reasons for downtime. Only recently have publishers become very concerned about security and network optimization and implemented measures like load balancing, DDoS protection and other technologies on their infrastructure.

5.  Internet Trolls

As threats and dangers go, Internet trolls are more annoying than truly dangerous, especially if you know how to deal with them. However, it would be wrong to underestimate their ability to disrupt valuable communication among individuals. Trolls derive pleasure from sowing chaos and causing distress. Thus, if you are the impressionable sort, you’d better steer clear of them.

Threats in the digital world come in all types and sizes. They range from mildly annoying to those that can literally destroy your life. They have, however, one thing in common – they are far less dangerous when you know what you are dealing with, and when you have the right tools and strategies at your disposal.

Featured photo credit: ”Digital Communication”2/Mami_H via flickr.com

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What Do You Do If Your Firstborn Rejects the New Baby?

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Introducing a new baby to a family can take some adjustment time, not only for the parents but their older siblings as well. It is hard for a child to go from an only child that has all of the attention to having to share it with another child. It is important as a parent to understand that any range of emotions is perfectly normal and that every child experiences a new addition to the family differently. If you child does not warm up to a new baby right away, do not panic. As a parent, here are some things that can be done do help make the transition smoother.

Accept their feelings

It is important not to try to convince your child to try to love their younger sibling if they are resistant at first. Instead, acknowledge their feelings out loud and tell them that whatever they are feeling is completely normal. If you show frustration or irritation at their reaction, it will only make the situation worse. It is important to display patience and show you support your older child’s reactions. Showing your child you understand helps them realize they still are considered an important member of the family.

Set aside extra one-on-one time

For children who are having difficulties adjusting to a newborn sibling, one of the best things that you can do as a parent is to spend time alone with them. It will be hard to find a moment to spend with your child with a new baby in the house, but you can trade off with each parent spending time with the older child or have a friend or family member watch your baby. Something as simple as going to the playground for half an hour or going to the local cafe to have a snack will show your child that you still care about them deeply and that a new baby will not change the love you have for them.

Make them feel special about being an older sibling

It is important to make your older child feel special about their new role as an older sibling. Buy or make a t-shirt that states that they are a big brother or sister. Give them a special gift in honor of their new role and when you give it to them tell them how proud you are of them. Tell your child how great it is to be part of the “big brother/sister” club, where they have the special jobs of showing their little sibling how to do certain things later on like ride a bicycle or tie their shoe. This is also a great time for you to share your own positive experiences with a sibling. If you put a positive spin on the situation, your child will begin to see the benefits of their new role and are more likely to embrace it.

Set aside some time for your firstborn to bond with your newborn

Every day find a time where your older child is alert (not right before nap time or meal times) and supervise some time together with his younger sibling. It is important to do it in an area that is free of distractions, no TV, where you can slowly introduce your older child to his baby brother or sister. Give your older child a rattle to shake and entertain his new brother or sister with and comment on how happy this must make his baby brother/sister.

Let your toddler help out whenever they can

Include your firstborn in helping you out whenever they can with their newborn sibling. Give them a task like holding the bottle during feedings or entertaining them through diaper changes. It is important to make sure that you emphasis how important their role is as your little helper, because it will help boost their self-esteem and make them realize that they are appreciated.

Featured photo credit: Flickr via flickr.com

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