I use LinkedIn quite a bit, I do my best to keep my profile updated and spend time in the groups I’m a member of.  Over the last few weeks I’ve been getting quite a few new requests to connect and normally I accept as I am a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) however I rec’d a few that were identical except for the image.  The profiles were identical:

• xxx Company
• Since January 2000 (13 years and 4 months)
• Skills & Expertise: Project Management, Marketing Strategies, Risk Management, and Human Resources
• Education: USM Bachelor’s Degree.  Human Resources Management and Services

The image is always impeccable – smart looking business man, or women.  But it got me thinking – whose image is this, really?

Quite simple to find out.

Here is one of the dozen or so I’ve received over the last few weeks for Mitchell Hunter a Team Lead at Globussoft in Malaysia who is employed in Staffing and Recruiting.  Hmmm…

Right-click on the image and select COPY IMAGE URL.

Next head on over to Google or any reverse image search engine (like TinEye.com) and search for that image – showing Google.  You want to search Google Images, once you’re at the correct page (https://www.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi) click on the CAMERA ICON in the search field and paste the URL you just copied:

Then click SEARCH BY IMAGE and you will be amazed at what you find…

So this is a very high probability that the image on LinkedIn has been “lifted” and is not Mitchell Hunter.

Next step – you could still accept the invitation knowing that some internet marketer is going to exploit your connections since many people leave their connections open to be viewed by anyone.  You could IDK them, or simply report as SPAM.

I know what I will be doing with this fake profile.

less expensive than this:

…by 100%

BB Z10 Phone Construction

Overall I like the construction of the phone.  It is solid, and it’s light.  Feels heavier than the iPhone 5 but not like I’m going to be leaving it in a shirt pocket for the entire day.  I like the edge-to-edge screen, the top half of the phone houses the ear piece and near the bottom you can see where the microphone is to speak into.  The only other things noticable behind the glass are the LED, front-facing camera and sensor and of course the BlackBerry logo at the bottom.

NO HOME BUTTON or anything else on the front that is obstructive!

Right side of the phone has volume up and down, along with a button that can be programmed – right now it is set-up to activate voice control.  I haven’t used this a lot so am not sure at how accurate it is or how well it works.  The few times that I have used it, the female voice is quite “robotic”.  These types of voice controls are great, but I’m still “old school” and don’t use them as much.

Top of the phone has the power button, along with headphone jack.

On the left side you have HDMI and mini USB for power or connecting to your PC to download data, back-up your phone, restore etc.,

The back has the flash, along with the 8mp camera all encased with a rubber back — which I initially hated, but have gotten used to now.  It is thin and feels flimsy, but you probably won’t be opening and closing the back cover often.

Open up the cover and inside you have room for a micro-SD memory card, SIM card and the LS1 battery – I’ve managed to get over 8-hours on without having to charge it.  I recharge it every night out of habit, but probably don’t need to.  I’m not a heavy phone user, so it doesn’t drain down to nothing very often unless I’m on a conference call in my car but then I’ve also got in-car Bluetooth enabled so that does end up draining the battery much quicker.

Construction wise, I’m really happy with the phone – I had the BB Torch previously (one of the first versions) and though I did not mind the slider, I like the Z10.

Using the BB Z10

Honestly I can’t keep my hands off of the phone!  I fiddle with it whenever I have the opportunity.

Once the phone has gone into standby mode, a simple swipe up awakens it or you can click the power button.

Move between screens by swiping right, or left.

Need to make some quick changes, like turn Bluetooth on/off, or WiFi on/off swipe down from the top of the screen to get access to six common functions:

1. Settings
2. Rotation Lock
3. Bluetooth on/off
4. WiFi on/off
5. Alarm
6. Notifications

The only odd swipe I found was up and to the right to put start-up another application or restart one that’s been “suspended”, but you get used to it after a while.

The screen layout is similar to iPhone or Android — all icon based with a short description underneath.  The text is very clear, and easy to read.

I like the improved Hub where you can see all your notifications on one screen and select what you want from there, I do use my BB for Facebook  and Twitter though personally I don’t check it that often on the phone, I prefer to use my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7″ tablet) for Facebook and Twitter.  It also seems like Facebook on BB does not seem to sync very well with my FB account – I can see newer posts on FB when I log in from my PC or tablet but on the BB they are about 2-3 days old.  Perhaps it is just a setting that’s not correct, but not something that really bothers me as I’m not a huge fan of accessing social media on the phone – much prefer to use my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.0 7″, an iPad or on the PC.

I also make use of Foursquare on the BB, I also used this on a regular basis on my Android phone it’s one of the few social media applications that I really enjoy using.  I have not set-up my Google account on the phone so that I can use Google+.

There are a bunch of other apps include on the BB such as Story Maker, and Docs to Go.  You’ll also find Maps and YouTube, not to mention Newsstand and the essential Adobe Reader.  You also get some of the standard items like Weather, Clock and Calculator plus Compass , File Manager.  A couple of other new items are Box and Dropbox.  There are not any junk apps loaded onto the phone – no bloatware at all!

For the most part virtually everything that I would use on a phone is included, there are some notable items missing such as Pulse Newsreader – which unfortunately may not make it to the Blackberry.

Replying to e-mails, or texts is easy and the flick keyboard is superb and works very well!  It does take some getting used to especially if you are used to simply typing out words.  The one complaint I had with my Torch was that the keys were too small and the touchscreen was not very friendly to use – on the BB Z10 I have no complaints with the virtual keyboard – it’s very responsive, and easy to work with.  I’ve got big fingers so will frequently get a D when I meant to tap S or get an S when I meant to tap A.

I’ve read that a few people have complaints with the camera but it’s worked fine for me, and I’m pretty happy with the quality of the images.  A cool feature added is time shift mode

A few complaints – battery.  I need to charge it daily, I can get through the day provided I don’t take too many calls or am not on long calls which is generally not avoidable.  If the boss wants to talk to me, I’ve got to be available.  As a result I keep charging cable everywhere (one in the car, one at work, and one at home).  The phone must be charged every night.

The other complaint I have is with the brightness control, even at the lowest setting it’s too bright at night.

Overall I really like the look and feel of the phone.  It looks much more modern than many of the other phones out there.  Sturdy construction, great looking screen that is easy to look at for long periods at a time and gesture control that actually works.

There are quite a few places to pick-up some free education right now besides the Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org), here are a few that I’ve kept to myself for some time but you can find with a simple Google search:

• http://Edx.org – courses like Introduction to Biology, Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Computation or Electricity and Magnetism, Copyright, The Challenges of Global Poverty and more
• http://Coursera.org – about 325 different university level courses from schools around the world
• http://Udacity.org – more of the same, hundreds of free university level courses
• http://Ocw.mit.edu – free lecture notes, exams and videos from MIT – NO registration required!
• http://oyc.yale.edu – free courses from Yale
• http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/
• http://webcast.berkeley.edu/
• http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/health-sciences-and-technology/
• http://itunes.duke.edu/
• http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative
• https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/search.aspx?c=free+courses
• https://www.uclaextension.edu/r/Course.aspx?reg=Y1900
• http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/
• http://alison.com/

As you noticed (or not) most of these are US or internationally based universities.  SO where are the Canadian institutions?  Your guess is as good as mine.  In fact many up here are wondering about the same:

• http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/05/12/is_canada_lagging_behind_in_online_education.html
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/online-university-for-the-masses/article4426073/
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/universities-that-educate-the-world-for-free/article4595536/

If there you know of others that should be on this list, but are not – leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

Am I EVER GLAD that I did.

I’ve been using the BB Z10 for about 2-weeks now and absolutely love the phone.  It’s got the best of Android and iOS packaged into one slick phone.  Seriously – I don’t think I want to ever go back to Android or iPhone.  My poor Android is feeling pretty neglected as of recently.

A lot of people are feeling the same:

• http://www.androidauthority.com/blackberry-z10-beats-galaxy-s3-and-iphone-5-in-canada-161748/

When I first got the phone, I wasn’t so sure about it.  The back felt cheap and plasticky, but after using it a couple of days and having it rub against my Android tablet, I’m VERY glad that it’s not a metal cover because it would have scratched my tablet pretty badly.  Also as I frequently leave it on my desk and it does get slid around, a metal or hard plastic would have been badly scratched up by now.

Initially it was a little odd to figure things out – but it has the familiar left/right slide features if iOS and Android so after about 10 or 15 minutes of playing with it I pretty much figured things out.

I especially like that there is no “home” button.  In fact the only buttons on the phone are the power (at the top), and the volume control and “quick access button” which is currently programmed to start the voice command feature (like Siri – only better).

So far I am very happy with the Z10, I would have liked to get it in white (thanks IT) but black is just as nice.

Will post more about my experiences with the Blackberry Z10 in the next few days.

Recently ordered Mr. Jim Trelivings book from Chapters/Indigo and am waiting eagerly for it to arrive.  Name of the book is Decisions: Making the Right Decisions, Righting the Wrong Ones.  Click on the links or the book to learn more.

If you have read it, would love to read your thoughts on it.

We are a three-person family, our son has no older or younger sibling and because I have a comfortable career my wife decided to stay at home and has only recently gone back to work.  Having only one child means that you can splurge on stuff that you may not normally buy if there are two, three, four or more kids in the house.  As a result he usually gets what he wants.

But that came to a screeching halt one day when we realize we were spending upwards of $100.00 per month on toys (mostly action figures) and probably more on games for his Nintendo Wii, 3DS, DS or DSiXL – add on a iPod and games from iTunes, plus an iPad and his own laptop… well you get the picture that he’s spoiled.

So we got to thinking, what can we get him to do so that he understands the value of money?  He’s young (he is now 9 years old) so a “real job” is out of the question.  My next thought was to hit Yahoo Answers to look for jobs someone that young could do — there are none.  Finally we saw a post on our community mailbox for carriers.  BINGO.  He will deliver newspapers.

So we got him a smallish route of about 130 papers, that had to be delivered two times per week and would make him between $100.00 and $150.00 per month.

It was a challenge.  For him, and for us.  As the route is not close to home we would go with him - rain or shine.  But he did well and braved it for just a little over a year.  We only pulled him from this as he’s going into Grade 4 and we want him to focus on school and participate in extracurricular activities like soccer, floor hockey and whatever else he shows an interest in.

He definitely understands the value of money now and his requests for toys has dropped.  I’m sure some of it has to do with his age, but we’re not spending like crazy after him any longer.

This then got us thinking about what types of jobs could he do online at his age, and thinking into the future what kind of online jobs for teenagers are available?

This is a pretty long post but I have done some research and provided some ideal online jobs for teenagers.  Some of these can generate pocket money for teenagers and will be hard for them to “get rich quick” and some could generate some real money for them.  All these are legitimate opportunities!  I don’t believe in “get rich quick” schemes, nor would I condone anything illegal.

Popular Online Jobs for Teenagers

Survey Websites – Quick Cash for 20 Minutes of Work

There are dozens of survey websites out there that may appeal to your teenager.  Here are fourteen sites that I found:

• fusioncash.com
• memolink.com
• surveysavvy.com
• surveyspot.com
• opinionoutpost.com
• mysurvey.com (an international company offering opportunities)
• globaltestmarket.com
• ipsos i-say.com (ipsos is a heavy hitter, one of the largest survey companies)
• cada-cabeza.com (for those that can read and understand Spanish)
• valuedopinions.com
• myview.com
• epoll.com
• mindfieldonline.com
• myopinionnow.com

These are only a few – there are hundreds out there, just go over the site with your teen.  Most of these sites will accept teens 13 and over – a great first online jobs for teenagers!

Most of these sites will pay around $2.00 for each survey taken, and normally most surveys will only take about 20 minutes time.  Yes it’s not the most lucrative but if your teen can do two surveys per day or about 60 per month that will give them around $120.00 per month for completing surveys.

Many of the sites also pay start-up bonuses of $5.00 for just signing up with them.  Others also provide point bases system where points can be used to purchase food at places like 7-11, Taco Bell, Burger King, Arbys or a host of other merchants.

I’m sure over time they will get bored and this online jobs for teenagers will go by the wayside but until then they can get paid for surveys (and save YOU some cash).

Look at the companies, do your research because there are some scary stories out there (did a 100 page survey and got $5.00 for it).  If you have used any of these sites please leave some feedback in the comments.

Article Writing and Product Reviews

Do you have an especially talented teen that loves to write?  Why don’t they make use of that talent and write articles?  Article writers can make (at minimum) $5.00 for a 500 word article and the better they get the more that they can demand.

There is no age restriction when it comes to article writing – a person of any age can do it.

One of the best places for your teen to start their article writing career is using the website FIVERR (at fiverr.com).  Here service providers (your teen would be a service provider) would advertise their offer (writing articles, posts for blogs, product reviews etc.,) for $5.00.   FIVERR keeps $1.00 and your teen gets $4.00.  Through this method the more contract your teen gets, the more they make.  They get contracts by people purchasing articles from them on specific topics.

Once they get experience and a solid reputation behind them, they can start to market their services on other freelance websites.  I know of article writers that make a full-time career just doing this – we’re talking $30k per year or more simply by writing articles, blog posts and product reviews.

Online Programming

If your teenager is a computer whiz and is scoring 100% on their programming assignments and just coded a replacement to their schools student tracking systems then perhaps its time to put their skills to good use coding for others.  Congratulations – your son or daughter is now a consultant and can probably make real good money (a lot more than article writing and taking surveys).

A lot of online programming is done using PHP, MYSQL, JAVA, JAVASCRIPT and other such languages, I’m sure they probably know all about these (and then some) if they can run circles around instructors and teachers.  In the past I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on getting custom scripts made, primarily because I just didn’t want to do it myself.

Sites like elance.com can help your teen get started.

There are a lot of online jobs for teenagers out there, simply need to put your thinking cap on – or hit Google and start searching.  I will be adding more to this post (through follow-up posts) over the next few weeks and months that will give you more ideas, research information on jobs that would be ideal for your teen.

There are online jobs for teenagers out there!

At 30,000,000+ views it’s pretty popular.

Lyrics:

I used to rule the world
Chunks would load when I gave the word
Now every night I go stow away
Hide from the mobs I used to slay

They once were terrified
Every time I looked into their eyes
Villagers would cheer my way
For a hero I was, that’s what they’d say

One minute we had it all
Next our world began to fall
Away from all that it had once become
They all cried for my help, but I stood there numb

I gaze off into the boundless skyline
Noteblock choirs playing in the sunshine
Turn ’round pick up my sword and wield
The blade that once forced evil mobs to yield
And hope one day that this chaos and
Destruction turns for the better
Never a bow in hand
And that was when I ruled the land

It was the creepers and Skeletons
Blew down the doors and boxed us in
Arrows whizzing by like streaks of light
I tried all that I could to stay and fight

As the undead roamed the street
Families broken at my feet
Life itself suspended by a thread
Oh, why is it that I wasn’t dead

I gaze off into the boundless skyline
Noteblock choirs playing in the sunshine
Turn ’round pick up my sword and wield
The blade that once forced evil mobs to yield
If this battle should leave me slain
I know that Herobrine calls my name
Better to take a stand
And that was when I ruled the land

Floating exchange rates came about in the seventies, following a protracted period of industrial redevelopment that commenced after the end of World War II.  The Bretton Woods Agreement was implemented after the war to prevent wild gyrations in the currency markets that could dampen the global rebuilding effort that was underway.  Major currencies were “pegged” to the U.S. Dollar, which in turn was “pegged” to a fixed amount of Gold, $35 per ounce, the so-called “Gold Standard”.  Trading ranges of one percent were enforced daily by the central banks, which, over time, became constrictive for many participants.

Artificial systems rarely work for extended periods of time, and neither did Bretton Woods.  The agreement did provide the necessary stability, but Gold reserves in the United States were declining rapidly, and differences were appearing in both GDP and inflation growth rates that supported greater variances in the existing rate structures.  Other artificial structures were tried that expanded the various rate fluctuation bands, but the true answer was to abandon the Gold Standard and pave the way for free floating rates.

In 1971, President Nixon suspended the Gold Standard by closing the Gold “window” to the rest of the world.  Nations were paid with U.S. Treasury Bills, backed by the strength of the U.S. Government alone.  The printing presses were activated to pay down foreign debt, but foreign governments tried to distance themselves from the Dollar by establishing regional floating arrangements.  The various processes formed the basis by the end of the decade for the floating currency markets that we have today.

The level of volatility in daily market action astonished officials, thereby leading to active forex trading by major global banks and financial institutions.  The seventies then represented the time when currencies rebalanced, producing a bear market for the Dollar that lasted until 1978.  Inflation and high interest rates immediately brought an influx of foreign capital into the States, leading to a bull market trend that continued until 1985.

Reaganomics and deficit spending began to weigh heavy on Dollar interests, yet the global community, expecting a weaker Dollar, was perplexed by the resilience of the greenback that refused to weaken.  A concerted effort by traders, banks, and industrial giants, known as the “Plaza Accord”, lead to ten years of dumping the Dollar until the desired balance was reached in 1995.

From 1995, it was “Bull Run” once again, a major strengthening trend that lasted until 2002.  The “Bear Fall” that followed lasted for six years until the recent recession stalled the downward motion.  All toll there have been five major trends for the U.S. Dollar from 1978 to 2008.  What about more current history?  For that answer, we turn to a Dollar index that is restricted to a few major currencies.

In the past three years there have been four major trends.  The “rollercoaster” continues, but on a much more quickened pace.  The era of globalization is upon us, and it is reshaping global currency markets as well.

Daniel Burkhart is a trader, writer and part owner of  air condition repair palm coast

In fact, this demand is typical of an overall increase in demand for merchant account payment options. Many business models require that the business and its employees be able to accept payments from customers in locations other than a traditional brick-and-mortar storefront. In fact, many new businesses do not have a traditional storefront that their clients can visit; making alternate merchant account payment options a necessity.

Recently, credit card reading devices and applications have become more widely available for technologies such as tablet computers and smart phones. A business using one of these credit card readers simply attaches it to their smartphone or tablet computer through the device’s data port.

Next, an application should be downloaded that both transmits the credit card data to the processor and creates a record of the transaction. There are a number of applications that can be downloaded. Some of these applications are specific to the hardware that is installed on the mobile device. Other applications, however, allow a business owner or their employee to process a credit card without any special hardware.

These types of applications are great for cases in which a business doesn’t want to attach a credit card reader to its mobile devices. With these applications, it is possible to have the business owner or an employee enter in a customer’s credit card number manually. This means that a business can process customer credit cards anywhere that it has a secure internet connection for its mobile devices.

The best cell phone credit card processors are able to handle both types of credit card payments while offering low fees and great customer service. New business owners should look for processing companies that meet these criteria.

After swiping a customer’s credit card or entering the number manually, a record of the transaction is created through the app. Next, the card number and other relevant customer information is transmitted to the payment processing company. When looking for an app to process credit cards, a business owner should make sure that both the software of the app and its transmission of data is both secure and PCI compliant.

Credit card processing apps with good customer service will typically deposit funds from the transaction into a company’s bank account within twenty-four hours. The customers of a business can opt to receive their receipt instantly through e-mail or text message, or a business can pick an app that lets it issue its own receipts.

Downloading a new app and using this new technology can be a good way for a new business to start accepting credit cards without having to pay the large upfront activation fees and initial equipment costs that new businesses have had to pay in the past.