Yes, you Can

I've conquered a few fears. Fear of heights, fear of public speaking, to name a couple. And now I can give a speech for a rooftop!

Here's some help from from the DLM Blog:

9 Techniques to Delivering a Speech with Confidence

Posted: 03 Feb 2011 01:01 PM PST

Recently, I attended TEDxSF, a communal, multidisciplinary event (TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) whose goal is to bring thinkers together to share ideas they’re passionate about. While there, I had the pleasure of watching nearly a dozen different speakers talk to a packed auditorium. Each person had his or her own unique tactic for engaging the audience and holding us captive. A few had rehearsed presentations backed by visual aids, while others seemed to be just making it up as they went, using a lot of self-deprecating humor along the way. Some were better than others, but on the whole, everyone was confident and quite effective in grabbing the audience’s attention.

One speaker, however—a man who was reciting some poetry that he had written himself—was visibly petrified. At first, he tried to read from memory, but he repeatedly failed to remember the words. Again and again, he would apologize, then start over. When he finally broke down and pulled his notes from his pocket, his hands were shaking wildly and his voice stuttered as he struggled every second to just get through to the end of his presentation. It was painful to see him suffer. I just wanted to yell to him, “It’s going to be okay. You’re doing fine.” When he finished, a palpable sense of calm washed over the whole auditorium. Everyone was relieved it was over—for him.

Recognize a Common Fear
Before you embark upon on a self-taught path to becoming a more able presenter, it may be helpful to know that fear of public speaking is not uncommon. According to a 2001 Gallup Poll, 40 percent of Americans admit to being afraid to speak in front of an audience; in fact, this fear ranks second only to fear of snakes. Gavin de Becker, a renowned expert on the prediction and management of violence, believes that fear of public speaking is really about being afraid of losing one’s identity. If we fail to successfully deliver a speech at a wedding or a presentation in a boardroom, we’re at risk of humiliating ourselves and losing our identity. This fear can be debilitating.

Take It from the Experts
Enter Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization with a stated mission of “helping people become more competent and comfortable in front of an audience.” At Toastmasters' events, members meet for a few hours and hone their communication skills by role-playing and giving either planned or impromptu speeches in front of other members. On November 5, 2007, NPR reported on filmmaker Keva Rosenfeld’s experience when he joined his local Toastmasters club to overcome his fear of public speaking. Rosenfeld came to the conclusion that public-speaking ability is not something we are born with, but rather something everyone can learn by following the Toastmasters’ proven techniques:

1. Know your material. Pick a topic you’re interested in. Know more about it than you include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories, and conversational language—that way, you won’t easily forget what to say.

2. Practice, practice, practice! Rehearse out loud with all the equipment you plan on using. Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; practice, pause, and breathe. Practice with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.

3. Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak to a group of friends than it is to speak to strangers.

4. Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area, and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

5. Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause, smile, and count to three before saying anything. (One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand. Pause. Begin.) Transform nervous energy into enthusiasm.

6. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear, and confident. Visualize the audience clapping—it will boost your confidence.

7. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.

8. Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem—the audience probably never noticed it.

9. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.

Aside from Toastmasters, the late writer-lecturer Dale Carnegie is another longtime, trusted resource in the public-speaking arena. A few of his more popular books on the art include The Art of Public Speaking and The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking.

Unwind Your Mind
Even when you believe you’ve thoroughly prepared yourself for a public-speaking engagement, it never hurts to tap into your mind-body connection for extra courage. From a medical perspective, Livestrong.com suggests massage, yoga, and meditation to calm frayed nerves before heading into a stressful situation.

* Get a massage. Getting a massage (especially with lavender essential oil)can help improve your focus and reduce anxiety.

* Practice savasana (corpse pose). Lie flat on your back, extend your arms away from your body with your palms facing upward, and separate and extend your legs. Breathe. Stay in this position for at least five to ten minutes.

* Meditate. Sit in a quiet place and focus only on your breath. Practicing meditation will reduce anxiety and give you the ability to think more clearly and articulate your thoughts better.

Speak Up
Just as it can be distressing to watch someone struggle through a presentation, it can also be positively inspiring to watch someone nail one. No discussion of effective public speaking would be complete without mentioning Barack Obama. Arguably one the most impactful speakers of our day, Obama not only possesses exceptional linguistic skills but also knows how to present himself and get people’s attention—and can leave an audience of thousands wondering what hit them. (Granted, he has an entire team of speech writers working for him, but still …) So the next time you find yourself standing beleaguered and besieged in front of a merciless crowd, remember that the words you use can be effective and meaningful, but the real strength lies in their delivery.

Written on 2/03/2011 by DivineCaroline. DivineCaroline a place where people come together to learn from experts in the fields of health, spending, and parenting. Come discover, read, learn, laugh, and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

Photo Credit: eschipul

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

On Monday's I'm featuring Media sites for awhile. Click on Pic.

For the Bosses...

How happy are your employees?

Are they working for you because they want to, or because they haven't found a better job yet?

Harvey Mackay has advice for you:

Good bosses improve good employees

By Harvey Mackay

With so much focus on finding or keeping jobs in this economy, one significant employment factor seems to get moved down the pros and cons chart: What kind of boss will my next supervisor be?

Interviewing with a human relations specialist.... Meeting folks up and down the line... Putting your best foot forward while they are all doing the same... The process may not present a completely accurate picture of the day-to-day environment.

Bosses know the importance of a good hire. Assuming the best candidate has accepted the offer, and has shown up on time for a few weeks, does the boss realize how critical retaining that new employee is? Does the boss know how to be a good boss?

In short, will the boss be a buddy or a bully?

The late great basketball Coach John Wooden shared his coaching philosophy that works just as well in business when it comes to mentoring employees: "A coach's primary function should not be to make better players but to make better people. Lift others even with your critical analysis. This is still the best method to get the best out of someone because pride is a better motivator than fear. I never wanted to teach through fear, punishment, or intimidation."

Bosses have tremendous power over those they supervise. Whether the owner of the company or a middle manager, employees understand that the person they report to can be their biggest cheerleader or their worst nightmare.

I prefer to think that the people I have hired put me in the first category. Having made a significant investment of time in hiring them in the first place, I must have recognized the sort of talent, personality and energy that would improve our company.

I want the folks I hire to love their jobs enough to come back raring to go after a lousy day, because everybody has a lousy day once in a while. I want them to look to me for inspiration. I want them to respect my work ethic. I want them to want to get better at what they do. I want them to know that I will help them get better. I want them to learn from my example, even when I am not directly mentoring them.

Of course, none of that happens unless I know how to come back revved up after a miserable day, demonstrate a stellar work ethic, and keep improving myself. What goes around comes around.

Study after study has concluded that the most important factor in job satisfaction is a positive work environment. Praise is vital, and salary is important, but nothing ranks as high as loving what you do. Location matters, but people are willing to go great distances for a job that makes them happy. Titles aren't even near the top of the list.

The determining factor is often closely related to the boss. A truly great boss will engender loyalty before any of those other factors will. A committed boss works hardest at positive leadership and a professional environment. A perceptive boss remembers her own early challenges and draws on those experiences. A responsible boss understands that mentoring his staff and helping them develop skills reflects positively on him.

Some months back, I wrote a column about the TV program "Undercover Boss." I admire the bosses who concealed their identities and went to work on the front lines for some "real-world" lessons about their companies. They were quite courageous to expose their own weaknesses on national television. But the exercise resulted in enhanced awareness of the importance of every single employee.

If you dare, try that experiment in your organization. You likely cannot be anonymous, but working side-by-side with staff, reinforcing that you won't ask them to do anything that you wouldn't ask of yourself, demonstrates your understanding of their challenges.

If all this sounds too overwhelming, step back and examine your motives. Are you ready to let someone else have a share in the glory? Are you willing to listen to options? Are you threatened by others' successes? Can you take responsibility for failure?

Many bosses get promoted without any formal leadership training. A good boss learns quickly from employees that Coach Wooden's advice will serve them better than a superior attitude.

Now here's the most important piece of boss advice I will ever give you: Your employees don't really work for you. They work for your customers. Customers are their real bosses. And yours too.

Mackay's Moral: Be a mentor, not a tormentor.

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

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Saturday Night Classic Music Video

Yep, the Fab 4:

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

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Snow was everywhere this week...

I must remember to get the snow blower tuned up.

Haven't had it operational for the past 2 years. And this week I had to use the shovel. Again.

And then this arrived in my email today from the AOM Blog:

How to Shovel Snow Like a Man

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Simon Grey. Those of you in the perennially freezing parts of the US will know this information as well as the back of your hand, but I thought this would be a fun primer for those who got surprisingly dumped upon by this week’s big storm. Tulsa got something like 15 inches…a new record!

There are certain duties that almost invariably fall to men. Killing spiders. Opening stuck jar lids. Unclogging toilets. And especially this time of year, shoveling snow.

Snow shoveling is often a back-breaking, tiresome process. If you have a driveway that is sixty feet long by twenty feet wide, and you get six inches of snow, clearing off the driveway means moving six hundred cubic feet of snow. It is thus a task that calls for some seriously manly brawn.

Shoveling snow is generally not a particularly fun activity, although it is an excellent workout and a fine opportunity to get some crisp, fresh air. And there are a few ways to mitigate the unpleasantness of this chore, which we’ll discuss today.

Dressing for the Occasion

First, you need to dress for the job at hand. If it’s above twenty degrees outside, you will want to dress in light layers. I recommend an outfit that consists of leather boots, wool socks, jeans, an undershirt, a thermal henley, a red plaid flannel shirt, and gloves. Maybe a cap, but only if it’s really windy outside.

This outfit works best when it’s above twenty degrees outside, especially if you have a decent amount of shoveling to do. You don’t want to be dressed too warmly, because once you start getting into the swing of things, you’ll heat up fast. This makes wearing at least a couple of layers essential; you’ll want to strip one off as you get going and warm up.

Dressing in layers is encouraged...although maybe not a sweater vest.

If it’s below ten degrees, dress warmer. Add a second pair of socks and a heavier coat. If the snow is deep enough, wear snow pants. And make sure to wear thermal shirts and leggings.

Methods of Snow Removal

For Short Driveways

If you have a short driveway, a shovel will probably work best. Make sure to pick the right shovel for the job. Do not get a plastic shovel; they are poorly constructed and do not stand up to the rigors of moving any snow heavier than a light dusting. They break easily and cannot handle ice.

Also, do not get an “ergonomically designed” shovel. They do not offer any significant benefits to your lower back, at least compared to normal shovels, and they are slightly harder to scoop snow with.

Instead, opt for a shovel with a straight wooden handle and a reinforced metal blade. You will find that these are the easiest to work with and are generally pretty sturdy as well.

The process for shoveling a driveway is pretty simple: first, shovel a line along the edge of the driveway, on the side that the wind is coming from. Do not try to shovel into the wind. After that, shovel snow from that path to the opposite side of the driveway. If you need to toss snow across the driveway, you will be aided by the wind.

For Mid-Length Driveways

If you have a mid-length driveway, you should probably use a snow blower. There are a variety of different brands and types, and each will likely have its own starting process. Consult the owner’s manual for instructions.

Also, remember that snow blowers can be very dangerous. Never stick your hands in the snow chute or scoop while the snow blower is in operation.

Using a snow blower is fairly simple: plow down one side of the driveway and work your way to the other side of the driveway. Make sure to blow all the snow in the same direction. Also, make sure to blow the snow with the wind, not against it. This is a very cold lesson to learn the hard way.

For Long Driveways

If you have a long driveway, use a truck with a snow blade attached. This process is relatively simple as well: drive the truck onto the driveway, lower the blade, and clear off the snow. Make sure that you warm up the truck first, though; you don’t want to harm your engine or drive in a cold cab. If the street on which you live has already been cleared, try to push the snow either off to the side of the driveway or across the street. No one wants to have to drive through or around a pile of snow, including you.

For All Types of Driveways

This is a job to take pride in, so make sure to do it right. Have salt on hand for melting patches of snow. Make sure to clean off the entire driveway as best you can. Break up compacted snow if necessary. If you’re plowing by truck, carry a shovel to take care of snow that the truck blade can’t get to. You want your driveway to look like the snow fell around it instead of on it.

Also, it is important to remember that your family will be driving and walking on this, so you don’t want to leave ice or snow for them to slip on. Ultimately, a clean driveway isn’t simply a matter of pride; it’s a matter of safety.

Don't forget the roof!

Do Something Special

Since you’re going to be outside in the cold, you might as well make the most of it. If you have the time, you might consider shoveling snow to a particular part of the yard in order to build a snowman or snow fort.

Or you may want to pass the manly skill of snow shoveling on to your sons. Hand them another shovel or two and show them your special technique (and by special technique I mean dad watches the kids shovel snow from inside the warm house). If you have a snow blower, you can show them how to start it and use it properly. If you feel really adventurous, you might teach them how to plow the driveway with the truck and snow blade.

It's time for little Billy to start earning his keep.

And remember, a man is always looking out for others. So if you live next door to a little old lady, go over there and shovel her driveway and walkway, too.

When You’re Finished

When you come back inside, you will need to clean the snow off your boots. Be considerate of others when doing this. Don’t track snow and slush through the house and don’t leave your boots where they will be tripped over. If possible, put your wet boots and clothes in the laundry room, mudroom, or garage.

Now sit down with a good book or a newspaper and a warm cup of coffee or cocoa. Make sure to relax, because you’ve most certainly earned it!

Okay old veterans, what other snow shoveling tips can you offer?

Related posts:

1. The Uncle Buzz Workout: How to Get in Shape Without the Gym
2. How to Build an Impenetrable Snow Fort
3. How to Build the Best Snowman in the Neighborhood
4. 13 Things a Man Should Keep in His Car

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Time to ReLoad?

So it's been more than a month since you kicked off your News Years resolution.

The odds were against you.

DLM has some better ideas:

Ten Ways to Make Sure You Fail to Hit Your Goals

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 06:47 AM PST

Got any goals at the moment? Yep, me too. The problem is, a lot of big goals sound like pretty hard work – things like losing weight, getting fit, saving more money, quitting smoking ...

Perhaps it's easier just to shoot yourself in the foot before you start. So here's ten great ways to make sure that you fail to hit your goals. Manage three or four of these, and you're on the fast-track to failure. Hit all ten, and you might as well not bother getting out of bed any more.

1. Set Vague Goals
   If you don't know what "success" looks like, you're bound to fail. Instead of resolving to lose 40lbs before your next birthday, resolve to "get thin". Instead of deciding that you'll save $50/month, tell yourself that you need to "have savings".
   
   When your goals are vague and fuzzy, it's easy to put off taking action and it's impossible to quantify success or failure. If you do manage to make strides towards them, you'll never know if you've really achieved your goal.
   


2. Have a List Longer Than Your Arm
   One of the easiest ways to fail at anything is to split your attention between dozens of different things. So don't pick one or two big, life-changing goals: tackle everything at once. When you inevitably run out of energy and motivation, you'll be only a few short steps from total failure.
   
   Bonus points if several items on your list are going to clash, like "go to the gym every evening and weekend" along with "start my own side business around my day job".
   


3. Don't Tell Anyone
   When you talk about your ambitions, you feel accountable to other people. If your sister knows you're on a diet, you won't want to eat that slab of chocolate cake in front of her. If your friend knows you're going to look for a new job, he'll ask you how the search is going.
   
   By keeping totally quiet about your goals, you're free to fail without anyone knowing. Plus, you won't get any offers of help or support.
   


4. Refuse to Get Help
   Most goals have been tackled before – successfully – by other people. There are books, blogs, forums, clubs, all sorts of resources that could help you. Avoid these like the plague – they just might point you away from failure and towards success.
   
   Take on the biggest, hardest, challenges you can find, then tell yourself that you're being weak if you look for help. Be stubbornly independent, and stride as fast as you can along that path to failure.
   


5. Give Up as Soon as You Slip Up
   Ate a cookie while on a diet? Skipped one day at the gym? Splurged on a latte and donuts when you should've been saving $5/day?
   
   Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief and tell yourself that you might as well give up now. That one little slip up is a great excuse for total failure. Sure, you could shrug it off and get straight back on track – but that sounds like hard work.
   


6. Set Yourself Unreasonable Deadlines
   You know that deadlines are handy – they help you focus on your goal. Did you know that they're also a great way to push yourself towards failure?
   
   Make sure your deadlines are unreasonable. Don't be too blatant about this or you won't take them seriously enough. Instead of telling yourself that you'll write a 100,000 word novel this month, tell yourself it'll be done in six months. Instead of trying to lose 30lbs in four weeks, aim for eight weeks. Those deadlines are still unreasonable - so pretty soon, it'll be clear you can't reach them. Then you can just give up.
   


7. Assume That It'll Be Different This Time
   This isn't the first time you've decided to lose weight. You've tried before - probably multiple times. Each time, stuff happened – it was someone's birthday, there were cookies in the office, your partner wanted to get take-out...
   
   Instead of learning from what hasn't worked before, insist that this time will just be "different". Assume that you'll suddenly have tons of will power and that nothing will happen to knock your plans. Of course, in reality, you'll face the same challenges as usual – and you'll be perfectly ready to fail, again.
   


8. Set Goals That You "Should" Do
   Instead of picking goals which are meaningful to you, look for ones which society has decreed that you "should" do. You're 10lbs overweight, so you "should" lose weight (never mind that you're comfortable and happy at your current size). You haven't got a degree, so you feel you "should" go back to college. And so on...
   
   By settling on goals that you don't care about, you'll be on the track to failure before you've even begun.
   


9. Never Make an Action Plan
   You've probably heard the old adage that "failing to plan means planning to fail." It's really true! By making sure that you don't plan at all, you've got a great chance of failing.
   
   The only planning you should do is to set an unreasonable deadline (see #6). Don't break your goal into milestones, don't set yourself specific targets and actions – just let the whole thing seem huge, overwhelming and unreachable. You'll be a failure within the week.


10. Start Everything on a Monday
    The best time to start a new diet or quit smoking is on Monday, right? Of course, you'll almost certainly be tired from a busy weekend, stressed out by work, or Monday will turn out to be inconvenient for some reason ... so you'll put it off till the next week.
    
    By insisting that you must start your new diet, exercise routine, small business and reading plan on Monday, you not only set yourself up for instant failure, you also have a pretty good possibility of making life difficult for the people around you. What better way to start off another week of failing?

Have you come up with an inventive way to fail at your goals? Have you tried any of the failure tips above? Or are you planning to avoid failure this year? Let us know in the comments...

Written on 1/11/2011 by Ali Luke. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.

Photo Credit: jacobmetcalf

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

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What Does a Scam Really Look Like?

Yesterday, I wrote about how Craigslist didn't like my sense of humor and twice rejected my ads for free snowmen (assembly required). Click here to see what happened.

So what is a REAL Scam that people fall for?

Take a look at this email that arrived in my Spam folder:

Dear Lucky Winner, This is to inform you that you have won a prize money of NINE HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS ($900,000.00) for the YEAR 2011 Lottery promotion which is organized by YAHOO! LOTTERY INC for the introduction of the new YAHOO! BETA MAIL which all YAHOO! users are required to switch onto. YAHOO! & MICROSOFT WINDOWS, arrange and gather all the e-mail addresses of the people that are active online around the world, among the millions that subscribed to Yahoo and other Company's E-mails ID, we only select NINE (9) candidates per annually as our winners through Electronic Balloting System (EBS) without the candidate applying, we congratulate you for being one of the people selected. PAYMENT OF PRIZE AND CLAIM We are sorry that your Payment Approval File was sent to United Kingdom due to we have 4 lucky winners in UK so that you can be cleared and paid simultaneously there. You are to contact our UK Location Claims Agent on or before your date of Claim. Yahoo Beta Lottery Prize must be claimed not later than 14 days from date of Draw Notification after the Draw date in which Prize has won. Note: Any prize not claimed within this period (14 days) will be forfeited. These are your identification numbers: Batch number......................

YBM-EBS-390AF
Reff number.......................YBM-EBS-719AF
Winning number....................YBM-EBS-798AF


These numbers above fall within the UK agent's Location file, you are requested to contact him and send your Identification Numbers and Personal Information to him;

REV SILVERIO HENCO at his Current email:
E-mail : rev_silverio_henco51@propertybuyeragents.com
Phone: +447024074114

You are therefore advised to send the following information to him to facilitate them and process the transfer of your fund with the appointed paying bank.

Send your Identification Numbers/Your Personal Information to him immediately:

Personal Information
1. Full name...................
2. Country.....................
3. Contact Address.............
4. Telephone Number............
5. Marital Status..............
6. Occupation..................
7. Age.........................
8. Sex.........................
9Means For Transfer Or Payment.
1 International Certified Bank Draft.
2 Account Transfer.
If Account Transfer write the name of bank and your account No.
Name of Bank...................
Account No.....................
Signature......................
Date...........................
Congratulations once again.
Yours in service,

NOTE: NO ONE WILL TOUCH YOUR MONEY FOR ANY REASON AND AN AFFIDAVIT OF CLAIM WILL BE PRESENTED TO THE BANK BY THE BRITISH CROWN COURT BEFORE THE BANK CAN RELEASE YOUR MONEY.

Unfortunately, there are enough people who are either too stupid, too gullible, or too desperate and they respond to this with the hope that they are really going to be able to quit their job etc.

Do your part and warn those that might fall for these scams...

(image from bookpalace.com)

Fort Wayne Site of the Day

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Tech Tuesday Tip

Note, this is part two of a 2-parter...

Sometimes at work, my coworkers come to me if they have a problem with their computer.I don't have all the answers. But I am always looking for them.

This is from a newsletter I get each week Windows Secrets. One of the best ways to make sure your computer is functioning properly is to keep all the software up to date. I'm not talking about buying the "latest & greatest". I'm referring to the free updates and upgrades....

The best way to manage multiple app updates

Secunia's free-for-personal-use Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) Version 1 was already in my must-have security software collection. Version 2 is even better, with a new look (see Figure 5) and enhanced updating tools.

Like the original, PSI 2.0 scans your installed software and builds a database of application version numbers. It then compares what it found on your system to Secunia's central database of latest-available version numbers. (The central database contains version information on a huge range of software.)


Figure 5. Secunia Personal Software Inspector 2.0 sports an entirely new look and feel. But more important, it now can completely automate the process of keeping almost all your software up-to-date.

When PSI detects that you're running an out-of-date version, it alerts you: it tells you the risk of using the older version and gives you a ready-made link to download the latest software patch, upgrade, or update from the software's publisher (as shown in Figure 6).


Figure 6. PSI 2.0 gives you a detailed assessment of whether your software is current.

But PSI version 2 adds a new wrinkle: If you allow it (see Figure 7), PSI automatically downloads and installs the latest versions of your apps for you — fully automatically or by first giving you a chance to review what's going to be updated.


Figure 7. Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) 2.0 automatic-update option.

I heartily recommend PSI 2.0 because it eliminates the need to have lots of small, separate, auto-update programs running — you know, the Apple updater, the Adobe updater, the Java updater, and so on. Instead, this one tool makes keeping your key software up-to-date a nearly effortless task.

You'll find the download link for PSI 2.0 on its info page. Installation is easy; just follow the prompts. If you have the original PSI version installed, the 2.0's setup will automatically uninstall it for you.

Start the new year right, and get all your software updated today!

The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on the 5th Thursday of any month, the week of Thanksgiving, and the last week of December. Windows Secrets is a continuation of four merged publications: Brian's Buzz on Windows and Woody's Windows Watch in 2004, the LangaList in 2006, and the Support Alert Newsletter in 2008.

Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com, 1218 Third Ave., Suite 1515, Seattle, WA 98101 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine).

Editor in chief: Tracey Capen. Senior editors: Fred Langa, Woody Leonhard. Associate editor: Kathleen Atkins. Copyeditor: Roberta Scholz. Program director: Tony Johnston. Contributing editors: Yardena Arar, Susan Bradley, Michael Lasky, Scott Mace, Ryan Russell, Lincoln Spector, Robert Vamosi, Becky Waring. Product manager: Andy Boyd. Advertising director: Eric Gilley. Subscription manager: Revia Romberg.

Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, Support Alert, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

What's Up with Craigslist?

Just a little rant....

In the midwest, specifically Fort Wayne, Indiana where I live we have been under all kinds of severe weather warnings the last couple of days.

It started over the weekend with warnings of the biggest, baddest storm since 1978.

And sure enough, we got the first wave of snow Monday night, with the next blast starting as I write this Tuesday afternoon.

So, I go to the radio stations where I work, snap a picture and create a listing on Craigslist.

(Click on the images to view fullsize.)



Lot's of positive comments and then the dreaded email informing me that the listing had been reported as a scam and would be removed.

A friend suggested I should charge something, so I wrote a new ad an it lasted a few more hours until I got another message telling me it was going to be removed!



So tell me, is there any legitimate purpose to Craigslist?

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