Last weekend I attended my first PodCamp. I viewed this experience similiar to being involved in open source software where everyone who is interested can enhance, develop, share and leave with something better than what they started with.
That is what this PodCamp experience was like for me. I left at the end of the day feeling empowered by knowing so much more about Social Media, what twitter is, how it can work for a business, how to create a meaningful blog, how to use podcasts, and on and on. Plus I met some fabulous young and engaging minds. Everyone involved in a PodCamp is all about sharing knowledge.
A few of the hundreds of facts that surprised me from this event were:there are over 500 million searches a day online; 90 people managed President Obama's online campaign; and 394 million have watched a video online.
That got me thinking about what do we or should we do to protect ourselves and our personal information when we enter the online arena from our desktop, laptop or blackberry? How do we know we are on a safe site when we check out information about a company, a product, or going further, purchase something?
I am presently reviewing what I think is a great product to help us determine when we are on a safe site. In my next blog I will update you on my findings, how it works and how to get this free software.
In the meantime, be vigilant about protecting your personal information and documents.
Gayle White-Malloy
www.dovetailorganizer.com
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
National Organ & Tissue Awareness Week
April 19th to April 26th, 2009 is National Organ and Tissue Awareness Week. For alot of us, this is a worthwhile discussion and yet, it is hard to start the conversation with our parents, our chidren, our partners, and our friends. Why is that you might ask? Part of it is the thought that we do not want to think about death or what will happen to our body after we die. We do need to be motivated and pushed to have this conversation and we need to realize the difference we can make. Our signed donor card has the possibility of saving up to 8 lives.
I challenge you this week to start the conversation over the dinner table. Visit two sites to find out more about the impact of you signing your organ donor card.
One is Recycleme.org and the second one is OrganDonations.ca
dovetail organizer will donate $1 towards this association with each purchase of a dovetail organizer until the end of April, 09. It is all about the conversation and what better place to store your organ donor and tissue card in your dovetail and share it with your family. I challenge you to start the conversation tonight.
I challenge you this week to start the conversation over the dinner table. Visit two sites to find out more about the impact of you signing your organ donor card.
One is Recycleme.org and the second one is OrganDonations.ca
dovetail organizer will donate $1 towards this association with each purchase of a dovetail organizer until the end of April, 09. It is all about the conversation and what better place to store your organ donor and tissue card in your dovetail and share it with your family. I challenge you to start the conversation tonight.
Friday, April 17, 2009
What our customers are saying about us!
Yesterday we were cc'd on an email sent by one of our customers and we would like to share it with you. Thanks Ev.
"Hello Mr Smith,
I just heard your column on The Early Shift concerning estate planning. I am a regular CBC listener and a Professional Organizer.
There is a terrific Canadian-developed tool for exactly this purpose. dovetailorganizer.com
Developed by Londoner Gayle White-Malloy, this inexpensive piece of software allows you to record everything needed for an executor to easily deal with your estate. You can attach scanned documents in a read-only file. It's not only good for 'end of life' issues. Dovetail is an excellent tool to keep your life secure. Having it backed up on a memory stick allows you to carry your travel documents electronically, password protected, encrypted and readable on any PC computer.
As a personal story... my husband and I recently purchased dovetail and spent a couple of days rooting through our personal and financial papers. It was a good exercise for us as a couple who have been married for over 30 years. We shredded half a file cabinet drawer of outdated papers. We scanned in every important document and card in our wallets suggested in the software. dovetail helps you know what is important. When our financial advisor came to visit last week, we were able to show him and clarify our investments. We now have a backup off site and available for our children, our executors. Speaking as a woman, it was very empowering.
I urge you to check out the website. dovetailorganizer.com
I laughed when you said that pets are always a concern when closing an estate. dovetail even covers that one!
Evelyn Ward de Roo
Interior ReDesigner/Professional Organizer
(division of SoftTouch Solutions Inc)"
"Hello Mr Smith,
I just heard your column on The Early Shift concerning estate planning. I am a regular CBC listener and a Professional Organizer.
There is a terrific Canadian-developed tool for exactly this purpose. dovetailorganizer.com
Developed by Londoner Gayle White-Malloy, this inexpensive piece of software allows you to record everything needed for an executor to easily deal with your estate. You can attach scanned documents in a read-only file. It's not only good for 'end of life' issues. Dovetail is an excellent tool to keep your life secure. Having it backed up on a memory stick allows you to carry your travel documents electronically, password protected, encrypted and readable on any PC computer.
As a personal story... my husband and I recently purchased dovetail and spent a couple of days rooting through our personal and financial papers. It was a good exercise for us as a couple who have been married for over 30 years. We shredded half a file cabinet drawer of outdated papers. We scanned in every important document and card in our wallets suggested in the software. dovetail helps you know what is important. When our financial advisor came to visit last week, we were able to show him and clarify our investments. We now have a backup off site and available for our children, our executors. Speaking as a woman, it was very empowering.
I urge you to check out the website. dovetailorganizer.com
I laughed when you said that pets are always a concern when closing an estate. dovetail even covers that one!
Evelyn Ward de Roo
Interior ReDesigner/Professional Organizer
(division of SoftTouch Solutions Inc)"
Monday, April 13, 2009
dovetail organizer is on the Shopping Channel
We are excited to announce dovetail organizer is for sale on The Shopping Channel website. Their promotion for our product is fantastic and you can buy it for a mere $39.98 along with a 512 MB memory stick. Pretty sweat deal and the beauty of this package is that once you store your information such as passports, medical information, prescriptions and dosages, health care history, marriage certificate, work and education history, insurance policies, pension information, credit cards, investments, mortgages, wills, power of attorneys, letters to family and more…….all you need to do is save your dovetail information to a secure read only file on the memory stick. Now you have your life information secured with a username and password ready to give to a family member, advisor or your executor. All of the information that matters, all together in one spot.
In today’s Business Section of the London Free Press, Peter Walsh the expert in reducing clutter discusses how clutter is anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living. In addition to toys, paperwork, clothes, it is also the stuff in your head. Like bad ways of communicating.
That is how dovetail organizer was birthed. A communication tool. So take this opportunity to buy dovetail for yourself, a family friend or client to start the process of dumping what you have in your head into our software. Easy to use, secure and portable.
Send this link www.TheShoppingChannel.com to your friends so that we can illustrate to the Shopping Channel, dovetail organizer is a need to have tool in every household.
In today’s Business Section of the London Free Press, Peter Walsh the expert in reducing clutter discusses how clutter is anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living. In addition to toys, paperwork, clothes, it is also the stuff in your head. Like bad ways of communicating.
That is how dovetail organizer was birthed. A communication tool. So take this opportunity to buy dovetail for yourself, a family friend or client to start the process of dumping what you have in your head into our software. Easy to use, secure and portable.
Send this link www.TheShoppingChannel.com to your friends so that we can illustrate to the Shopping Channel, dovetail organizer is a need to have tool in every household.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Scan it- Save it- Secure it- and Tell Someone!
In today's Globe and Mail, there is an article by a young woman by the name of Karen.
She is in need of a kidney. It will be the second one for her and hopefully it will be ready when she needs it.
She talks about getting a second chance at life and what she has done with her life since receiving her first kidney transplant. She has lived life, taken chances and learnt along the way. She now is wondering did she do enough. Did she say thanks enough for the gift she received.
As Karen ponders her future, and her health situation, the essence of the message I read is to sign your organ donor card. Then tell someone you did it and if something happens to you, your family or friend know exactly what your wishes are. That way if some unforseen event takes you out, your familiy do not have to contemplate this decision for you and your organs. You already made it.
When we created dovetail, it was all about communicating your information to loved ones and this is a perfect example. Scan your organ card into the dovetail organizer along with any other pertinent health information like blood type, medical history, and prescriptions and dosages. It is now in a secure spot for you to give multiple copies of your dovetail organizer to a friend, family member or advisor on a memory stick. For those what if life situations.
Read Burden of Guilt on the Globe and Mail website: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090406.wfacts06/BNStory/lifeMain/home
www.dovetailorganizer.com
She is in need of a kidney. It will be the second one for her and hopefully it will be ready when she needs it.
She talks about getting a second chance at life and what she has done with her life since receiving her first kidney transplant. She has lived life, taken chances and learnt along the way. She now is wondering did she do enough. Did she say thanks enough for the gift she received.
As Karen ponders her future, and her health situation, the essence of the message I read is to sign your organ donor card. Then tell someone you did it and if something happens to you, your family or friend know exactly what your wishes are. That way if some unforseen event takes you out, your familiy do not have to contemplate this decision for you and your organs. You already made it.
When we created dovetail, it was all about communicating your information to loved ones and this is a perfect example. Scan your organ card into the dovetail organizer along with any other pertinent health information like blood type, medical history, and prescriptions and dosages. It is now in a secure spot for you to give multiple copies of your dovetail organizer to a friend, family member or advisor on a memory stick. For those what if life situations.
Read Burden of Guilt on the Globe and Mail website: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090406.wfacts06/BNStory/lifeMain/home
www.dovetailorganizer.com
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Identity Theft is Real!
As some of you know, when I give presentations or speak to individuals about what they can do to protect their information, dovetail organizer is one of the solutions.
Well last week, I got a call from my bank of choice, and they indicated my visa card had been compromised and put on hold until they had an opportunity to speak with me. The bank had determined that there was some suspicious activity on my card. So they suspended it.
You can imagine my surprise. I am very careful with my card, who I give it to, what sites I use for on-line purchases, and closely monitor my visa statements for activity.
What this has made me realize is how easily we can be targeted as victims. Someone somewhere had accessed my visa number without my consent. It is an unsettling feeling.
I am extremely grateful to RBC and the monitoring they do which is totally under the radar. I had no idea the bank did this as a service to us as their clients.
When I spoke to the bank representative, I needed to verify which of the recent transactions on my card were mine and which ones were suspicious. The bank removed the suspicious items from my statement.
What I learned from this, is how dead easy this type of theft can happen. I also learnt the importance of checking your statements with a fine tooth comb to ensure the transactions on your statement are all yours. If not, report it right away. Also to question each and every time you use your card: is this site safe; is there a lock symbol on the site to ensure security; who are you releasing your card number to when involved in any transaction, is it by phone or in person; and never let the card out of your site.
My advice, be vigilant, be aware and always trust your gut.
Well last week, I got a call from my bank of choice, and they indicated my visa card had been compromised and put on hold until they had an opportunity to speak with me. The bank had determined that there was some suspicious activity on my card. So they suspended it.
You can imagine my surprise. I am very careful with my card, who I give it to, what sites I use for on-line purchases, and closely monitor my visa statements for activity.
What this has made me realize is how easily we can be targeted as victims. Someone somewhere had accessed my visa number without my consent. It is an unsettling feeling.
I am extremely grateful to RBC and the monitoring they do which is totally under the radar. I had no idea the bank did this as a service to us as their clients.
When I spoke to the bank representative, I needed to verify which of the recent transactions on my card were mine and which ones were suspicious. The bank removed the suspicious items from my statement.
What I learned from this, is how dead easy this type of theft can happen. I also learnt the importance of checking your statements with a fine tooth comb to ensure the transactions on your statement are all yours. If not, report it right away. Also to question each and every time you use your card: is this site safe; is there a lock symbol on the site to ensure security; who are you releasing your card number to when involved in any transaction, is it by phone or in person; and never let the card out of your site.
My advice, be vigilant, be aware and always trust your gut.
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