The VA Says

Twitter Hacks - What To Do If Your Account Gets Compromised

Normally I go about my business and don't pay a lot of attention to talk of Twitter spam and hacks. Until it happened to me.

I was active on Twitter and had been noticing a number of dms and @ messages asking me to take an IQ quiz. There is an awful lot of quizzes and games out there. You can send followers this and that. Generally, I don't pay much attention--I have too much else to do. 

But I did receive a tweet from a business acquaintance asking me to view a video. She is far from frivolous and I took it as a serious request.

This is when things became interesting.

I have four different Twitter accounts focused on separate purposes (yes, unlike Facebook, you can have multiple Twitter accounts). So when I check for Twitter updates, I quickly go from one, sign out, then go to the next. 

When I tried to sign back into the account in which I had clicked, I couldn't log in. Then I saw I was being redirected to a different URL. When I manually typed in the proper URL I got in. So far so good. 

Later on, I found I was unable to access @ messages and direct messages. Meanwhile I got some email notifications of direct messages from two followers (I have my Twitter accounts set so I get notified of dms). They were telling me that my account was sending them spam messages inviting them to click on a link to take this ubiquitous IQ test.

I tried to answer them, but by that time, I could no longer tweet out.

At that point I started to feel pretty hopeless. I had put a lot of effort in to building up my followers, especially in my main account and certainly didn't want to start all over again.

After searching on Twitter's support site, I was taken to a page listing step-by-step actions you can take such as signing out of your Twitter account, emptying your cache, and changing your password to one you don't use elsewhere. The page wasn't easy to find so I listed it here. The actual URL is http://help.twitter.com/forums/10713/entries/31796

I also ran an antivirus scan and walked away from the computer for a couple hours. When I returned, Twitter was working fine. But now I have to change passwords to all of the apps linked to my Twitter account.

And that was another headache.

Sigh...

Credit Rule Changes

Credit rule changes will begin taking effect this week as a result of the recent passage of the Credit Card Act of 2009 according to Marketplace. This will impact anyone who relies on credit cards as many solo-preneurs do.

The law is aimed at preventing some of the worst abuses of the credit card industry such as mailing a bill at least 21 days before its due date (instead of the current 14) and giving 45 days notice of significant rate changes. Other changes include being given the option to avoid rate increases and paying existing debt under the expiring terms. 

Most of the changes go into effect in February 2010.

But that hasn't prevented credit card companies to get in rate increases and hikes in fees, and other changes before new laws take effect. 

One strategy being used by many companies to thwart the reforms is changing fixed interest rate cards to a variable rate.

The bottom line is that you have to watch credit card notifications like a hawk, or better yet find some way that you don't have to carry a balance.

  

Health Insurance, the Health Care System and the tight-rope walk of the Solo-preneur

If you are a solo-preneur, you walk a tightrope with no safety net, except the one you build yourself. 

That is because as an independent, you are engaging in capitalism and free enterprise in its purist form. No Unemployment Insurance for you if the economy's downturn shrinks your paying customer base. And no TARP money for you either--unlike AIG and Goldman Sachs, you're not big enough and you don't have a strong lobby working on your behalf. That's right, no corporate welfare for you.

I wonder if the CEOs of Citibank and Goldman Sachs would be equally as courageous.

But one of the dicier aspects of your decision to go it solo is that you are thrust into the individual health insurance market. That is where you go head-to-head with an insurance behemoth (the health insurance industry had undergone a great deal of consolidation so the companies left standing are by and large behemoths) to negotiate your insurance coverage.

I exaggerate here. The reality is that the insurance company probes your private health information and after subjecting you to that indignity it arbitrarily decides if they will deign to offer you coverage. Insurers will say that they have to maintain stringent underwriting guidelines because they must guard against "moral hazard."

Moral hazard takes place when a buyer of insurance stacks the deck in his favor., ie., waiting to buy flood insurance just before the hurricane hits is an example of moral hazard. Another example is waiting until you are sick to buy health insurance.

Insurance companies assume that most buyers of individual health insurance are engaging in moral hazard, because the young, healthy 20 somethings would not squander their paltry dollars on a product that would have a low likelihood of paying out.

Insurance, ideally, is the spreading of risk. If a hundred homeowners each put a $1,000 into a pot, they will have enough money to pay one homeowner for the cost of his $100,000 house if it burned down to the ground.

The problem is that health care is so expensive in this country, if you do not have good insurance, not only can you can easily go bankrupt if you develop a catastrophic health condition as many, many Americans have, often it is difficult to get into the door to be seen by a medical professional. 

The upshot is that the offerings available to solo-preneurs are scarce and expensive. The result is that we have 47 million uninsured people, many of them solo-preneurs. And of those who do have insurance, many have big holes in coverage. 

Elizabeth Warren estimated that approximately 50% of bankruptcies were caused by medical costs and of those 50%, 75% had insurance at the onset of their illness. The human cost is horrendous, see last night's episode of Bill Moyer's Journal.

Certainly I understand an insurance company's reluctance to take on a policyholder who would be likely to run up hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills as the people profiled in Bill Moyer's show. Insurance companies are a profit making enterprise and they owe a duty to their investors to maximize profit. 

But is it humane to reject coverage for someone who is or is likely to become sick, in effect barring them from the healthcare system? The larger issue, in my opinion, is whether healthcare is to e regarded as a for-profit commodity or as part of the basic social contract as it is in the rest of the first world. 

Maybe the answer isn't a job.

15 years ago, I had that sickening experience that too many people have gone through in the past several months.

My position was eliminated.

The company had been been bought and sold, bought and sold. They went through three ownership changes in the eight years I was with them. And a year or two after I left, they were sold yet again. Each time they were merged with the buyer's existing operation with a resultant churning of management and staff.

Being totally burned out, I decided to leave Corporate America and started over. As a solo-preneur-although the term used then was "self-employed."

There are many people enduring similar situations or worse. It's tough finding jobs in the current economy. And if you have other strikes against you, say age (yes, age discrimination lives), health issues, or just burned out, your chances of landing a job paying a living wage are low.

Some, like career coach, Cathy Goodwin, recommend that people in these circumstances, look to self-employment.

While many industries have taken a big hit, one area that remains strong is the internet. Making an income on the internet is simple but not easy. That is, the sequence and the steps are not particularly difficult, but making it work, is. 

If you are diligent and seek out a good mentor, you cut through confusion and stack the deck in your favor.

Most internet coaches provide teleseminars at little or no cost as a way for you to sample their content and give you a chance to get to know them. Although many tele-seminars are glorified sales pitches, a well run tele-seminar will be heavy on providing good information.

One good starting point is the webinar I will be attending later today (8 pm Eastern) by Dr. Jeanette Cates and Connie Ragen Green for $1. The tele-seminar will last two hours and they will describe a 4 step online business system for generating income. They both have solid credentials having built up successful internet businesses and they both focus on helping people with little or no internet experience.

It is worth attending because both of them offer excellent information, but you need to register right away--the teleclass begins at 9pm Eastern. You can register here.

Sure beats reinventing the wheel

The beauty of a system is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you begin again. Systems are used in all kinds of places for all kinds of things.

Whether you are a busy Mom running the household or a manager running a business, you can't function without systems. Even my cat has me on a system--he gets me up early to give him breakfast and he reminds me when I need to feed him dinner.

Michael Gerber wrote a book a number of years ago called the "E-Myth." In a nutshell, he describes the necessity for the self-employed and other small business owners to have systems that are spelled out and easily duplicated.

This is no less true for internet entrepreneurs. Most people considering starting an internet business tend to get overwhelmed by the plethora of information and technology. But the key to success is to create a system that you can duplicate over and over again.

Many people selling information products will repurpose their material. A tweet, a blogpost, an article may come from the same germ of information. And then the articles and blogposts are tweaked and teased into an ebook.

These days with the availability of private label rights products, someone else can do the heavy lifting of the writing process for you.

This Wednesday, Dr. Jeanette Cates and Connie Ragen Green will teach a webinar that will show you how to create an online business even if you have little or no online experience. The core of the information is teaching you to create a business model that you can use over and over. http://budurl.com/DCJump

Sure beats reinventing the wheel.

Private Label Rights Products: the key to passive income

One of the big hurdles for people getting started in internet marketing is creating a product. Fortunately there are many useful tools that can help even the greenest of us.

One is PLR products. PLR stands for private label rights. These are digital products: ebooks and sometimes audio downloads that are available for you to sell on your own website. The authors were paid to write them and you can usually purchase rights for less than $10. They often come complete with a sales letter and graphics--the basic work has already been done for you.

Since the name of the internet marketing game is creating passive income as the center or a supplement to an internet business, PLR products give you a easy way in.

Like most things on the internet, creating a system that you can duplicate over and over is the way to go.

Personally, creating a passive income is something that appeals a great deal to me--so I am actively looking into this. One option well worth checking out is the upcoming class taught by Dr. Jeanette Cates and Connie Ragen Green who both know their way around the internet extremely well.

I have studied with Connie and love how she breaks things down so they are easy to understand.
You can attend the preview seminar before committing to the class.

You can get details about this class on creating PLR products here.

2009 Self Employment Telesummit

One of my beefs about the business "advice" generally offered is that it is written by and created for "Big Business." We, self-employed people, generally float beneath the radar.

This has two major implications.

First, self-employed people are marginalized in the eyes of those who set policy. Perhaps the term "marginalized" exaggerates the situation. We simply don't exist. Which means that public policy does not take our needs into account and we are the recipient of unintended consequences.

Secondly, it means that most advice out there simply does not apply to us. And that leaves us on our own to figure out everything from how to handle clients to how to perform the service we set ourselves to provide. And that can leave us feeling isolated and frustrated.

It also means that services such as insurance are more expensive than they should be and it is difficult to find professionals such as lawyers and accountants who are clued into our circumstances.

So I am finally glad to see some self-employed folks banding together to help each other. In September, the 2009 Self-Employment Telesummit will take place in Seattle. There are some interesting presenters and topics. This conference is particularly helpful if you are new to self-employment or transitioning from the Corporate world. You can learn more here:  http://www.selfemploymenttelesummit.com/

Mercury turns Direct and so does Your Business

Mercury turned direct this past weekend, and Mars just entered Taurus. So how can you best use these energies in your business?

The time is ripe to plan and allocate resources to long-term activities or those that require a sustained momentum. 

After we've de-cluttered our minds during Mercury's three-and-a-half week process, our thinking is clearer. It's likely that new information will be revealed about negotiations or important communications which can have the effect of making some options more or less attractive than they were before.

Nonetheless, with Mercury still in Taurus, and Mars beginning its journey there, you are more likely to want to deliberate before taking large moves. Yet, with the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction still very close hope and optimism is still in the air. 

If you need additional resources to pull it off, consider making your case early in the week. Venus supports the conjunction on Tuesday, suggesting that if you want it badly enough, you will be able to find the resources. And Moon is in Libra then, creating a climate conducive to one-to-one cooperation.

Bargain Alert: 50% Off Internet Training

VAs and online business owners need to perform certain functions to maintain an online presence. They need to be able to build a simple sales page. Increasingly, they need to have a presence on Twitter and Facebook and perhaps some of the other social networks. 

And no one wants to be held hostage to their web designer. Especially when he (or she) goes out of town when all you need to do is make a simple change, but you need to do it sooner rather than later. 

Erin Blaskie, VA turned internet strategist, has developed a number of online trainings in a downloadable format. But I have learned to wait until a holiday before purchasing. Because Erin often steeply discounts her products during a holiday.

If you buy between May 25th and May 27th, you can save 50% from her normal price.

It's worth checking out. http://budurl.com/mderin

URL shortening services: What to look for?

Publicity hound Joan Stewart points out the following article regarding URL shorteners. 

There are more considerations to choosing a URL shortening service than just the ability to quickly and easily shorten your URLs. The ability to shorten a URL has always been important--to the average user who doesn't want to incorrectly copy long and clumsy links, to the affiliate marketer who wants to mask affiliate and tracking links, and now for Twitter users where the 140 character limit requires links be short and sweet.

Danny Sullivan points out that there are a number of criteria you may want to look at. 

First is the ability to do a 301 redirect in which the server tells the browser that the short url has "permanently" moved to the long URL. In a 301 redirect, the search engines give link credit to the short URL.

Some services offer tracking. You can get tracking stats whose depth varies by service. This is either a nice plus or critical information.

Then, you want to see link stability. A broken link is useless, but gauging link stability is difficult. You are dependent on the stability of the service--if they cease operations, say good-bye to your links. 

Twitter client support for those who use Twitter clients such as Tweetdeck. 

If using the service for Twitter links is important, then you want a service with the shortest possible domain name to use the least amount of characters. Tinyurl, for example comes in at 19 characters versus bit.ly which comes in at 13.

The complete article which compares the various URL shortening services can be found here:

http://searchengineland.com/analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-you-use-17204