Casual Articles

Can't Keep Good People? Probably Your Own Fault!
Having trouble retaining good people these days? Ever wonder why it is that just as you get someone up-to-speed on a project or position, suddenly they’re winging off to brighter horizons elsewhere?Maybe you think you’re not offering enough money, or your healthcare benefits aren’t very competitive? Perhaps available parking spaces are too far from the front door.Sorry, Bunkie: According to surveys, it’s not likely any of those things. Instead, the problem may be a lot closer to home, that is to say, you, the departing soul’s manager. It seems that the most prevalent reasons given by professionals for leaving one job for anot

Financial firms though guided by government acts, restrictions and guidelines sometimes don't appear to have concrete policies when dealing with email between client and the firm's employee. Compliance and risk officers to who manage the firm's policies must deal with nuances outlined by Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. Each of these governmental mandated policies dictate how your personal financial information (PFI) is handled digitally, but don’t delineate the best method of PFI protection.

Andy Purdy, acting director of the

Aesthetics and Web Marketing
For four years I worked in the editorial department of a major Internet directory. My job required me to search for and review thousands upon thousands of Web sites. Oh, the horror!I could tell you about the company that misspelled its own name. I could rhyme off a list of sites that had no contact information. I could even show you the university site that had a navigation button reading "Course Summery." But I won't. Instead, I want to address the less obvious and the overlooked: Web site aesthetics.With more and more people searching and using the Internet to find products and services, a strong visual literacy has

Individuals and SMBs (Small/Medium Businesses) look to the Financial Services Industry to help them invest in their economic futures. Managing funds and controlling monetary risk are what these financial professionals do, yet sharing your information with a financial specialist has an amount of risk itself.

What types of information are shared? When accounts are opened or transferred as an individual or SMB, personal identifying information is inevitably transmitted between you and your financial services representative (and sometimes their support staff). This information includes and is not limited to:

Name
Address
Social Security Number
Account Numbers (e.g. when doing a rollover or transferring banks or credit cards)
Date of Birth
Employment History and Income
Current Assets and Portfolio information

Much of this information is done in person or online via a secured website, but often SMBs and individual clients look to their brokers, account representatives and customer service personnel to answer specific questions to their accounts. More and more, these information transactions take place electronically.

How can client information be at risk if the paperwork is taken care of safely in person or via a secured web process? Personal financial information (PFI) can be compromised as a one-on-one relationship with your financial services professional grows and builds. Sometimes connecting with a financial services firm is done on the phone, other times via email. It's the security of email communication between client and firm/organization where your PFI is put at risk.

A quick question or message sent off to a financial services organization appears to instantaneously pass from your computer to the recipient's inbox. In reality, email messages make transitory stops along the way. As emails are directed by proprietary servers to their final destination, messages which arrive at each of these stops are often stored, and sometimes copied or even scanned before being sent on to their final destination. Email security goes beyond being aware of the current phishing scheme, where unscrupulous data thieves pose as someone from your trusted financial institution. Information interception isn't just about who forwards your message on, but is also about who may seize that message when it's en route.

Andy Purdy, acting director of the N

Link Exhanges - Gaining Link Popularity
Link Exchanges also known as “Reciprocal Links” are an arrangement made by two webmasters to agree to add each others link on their website. Most link exchanges are done through a text link, but they can also be done through banners. With banners being pretty much ignored on the Internet today, it is best to stick to a text link.Webmasters will participate in this form of cross promotion for the benefits of gaining link popularity with search engines and getting a significant increase in traffic to their website.Preparation:Your first step should be concentrating on having a quality website before you start a li

ed to:

Name
Address
Social Security Number
Account Numbers (e.g. when doing a rollover or transferring banks or credit cards)
Date of Birth
Employment History and Income
Current Assets and Portfolio information

Andy Purdy, acting director of the

A Guide to Business Credit Cards
Most credit card companies offer business credit cards to business owners and corporate executives. Business cards generally come with special reward programs and high credit limits. Business card holders get a free account summary and expense reports. Credit card companies work in a highly competitive environment. Each company may have different schemes to suit business executives.However, it is important to follow certain guidelines when selecting a business credit card. It is advisable to compare various credit cards on the basis of rates and benefits offered. There are a number of sites on the Internet that provide information a

onically.

Andy Purdy, acting director of the

Real Business Networking Doesn't Happen at Networking Events
Real networking isn’t about handing out business cards at a networking event, or seeing how many you can collect before the event is over. Real networking is about relationships that, when cultivated properly, will breed referrals and positive word of mouth about you and your company.Too often I hear the famous networking complaint: “networking doesn’t work for me.” There are a variety of reasons why someone might feel this way. 90% of the time it has nothing to do with them or their business; it has to do with what they think networking really is. Networking IS NOT simply going to networking events and hoping that you’ll get some n

uter to the recipient's inbox. In reality, email messages make transitory stops along the way. As emails are directed by proprietary servers to their final destination, messages which arrive at each of these stops are often stored, and sometimes copied or even scanned before being sent on to their final destination. Email security goes beyond being aware of the current phishing scheme, where unscrupulous data thieves pose as someone from your trusted financial institution. Information interception isn't just about who forwards your message on, but is also about who may seize that message when it's en route.

Andy Purdy, acting director of the

Leaders Establish Corporate Culture
What leaders of corporations and organizations say about others can play a powerful role in the culture that their company adopts. In addition to actions, policies, and communications, companies reflect what their leaders say. This can be revealing.Take Donald Trump, for example.From all appearances, Trump seems to run a successful organization. The success of his companies, just as is the case with ANY company, has as much to do with the character of its leaders as its strategy. This character, referred to as its culture, is much more powerful than its strategy. It defines who the company is.When a leader uses phr

Andy Purdy, acting director of the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security in a February 2006 interview with CNet/News.com identifies the importance in protecting PFI and other important digital assets:

"I think consumers and small businesses and large enterprises and the government are all important when trying to reduce the cyber-risk. We're trying to raise awareness with partners of the responsibility and techniques consumers can use to help secure their systems." (1)

A client's PFI is a commodity which can be bought and sold on black market data warehouses. Digital thugs look to harvesting email information in a variety of means. What can individual clients and SMBs do to ameliorate the situation while staying connected to their financial services firm? Data encryption easily facilitated process of securing sensitive information like PFI. If one of these black market digital thugs happens to intercept an encrypted message (unless they have somehow gotten the encryption keys) they will not be able to decipher the message. If the email thug attempts to break any one of the commonly used encryption algorithms, they likely wouldn't be able to do so within their lifetime.

Business owners and individual investors can work a lifetime to become financially successful and stable. Having sensitive information like one's PFI at risk via email can shatter that financial stability.

Risk in communicating with these services can be contained through being aware of email risks, phishing scams and using encryption tools to secure financial communiqu?. Though quite broad in nature, Financial Services in each of its facets as lender, investment manager or funding arm can take an additional step in their client’s economic success. Using encryption tools enables the individual client or SMB to stay in close contact with these stewards of their financial future.

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End Notes:

1.) Joris Evers, "Newsmaker: Locking down America's Net defenses" 16 February 2006, CNet New.com - http://news.com.com

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Why is having a website so gosh darn important? Surely it's not necessary, especially for a business that doesn't actually trade online. Right? RIGHT?

If you choose to do the work yourself, there is a learning curve for sure, but you are going to understand exactly how internet marketing works. I prefer to be in my own business and have a hands on approach.

Web masters especially the new ones often ask this question, how do they perform submission of web site to the search engine? It is common knowledge that a website cannot do anything to its owner if it only stands alone, on its own feet, without any external support. It is also a fact that a web site needs visitors that it can convert into actual customers for whatever product or service it provides.

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