In the age of paperless everything, this article I came across does not surprise me. It was announced that beginning in 2011 new payees of Social Security, SSI, Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement income will be required to receive their payments through either direct deposit or debit cards. Say bye bye to the Treasury department printing checks and mailing them. Unfortunately, those that are currently receiving these mailed checks will have to change up how they receive their payments by March 31st, 2011. This is going to be a huge money savings for our Treasury department, however it creates a few questions about the inconvenience this could cause those elderly individuals who have been receiving mailed checks. Will the elderly struggle with this because they are used to getting the mailed checks? It seems that the Treasury department will make exceptions if there are consumers that still must receive the mailed checks.
The peculiar thing about this article is it goes on to point out that this sort of new payment method might create additional victims of payday loans. However, I am not sure how this is applicable to those consumers that are not working and receiving this sort of income. Payday lenders do not generally lend money to those that are not working because of the inability to set up repayment programs etc. Payday loans are short term loans that many need, however those that are retired and receiving income such as SSI, are not even eligible for these types of loans.

Otavio Good has created an iPhone app that can capture a picture of a street sign and translate it. Although the app is only currently available to translate between english and spanish, Quest Visual, run by Good, says there are plans to add other languages as well.   This app can be very helpful for travelers in need of identifying things such as stores, restaurants, and can even be used to figure out directions. Meant mainly for street signs in a different language, the app can quickly show desired results because it is done in real time. The app is currently only available for iPhones, but they are already in the works of making an Android version.

Facebook has again made adjustments to things, hopefully this time making life easier to see what you care about rather than smaller or more confusing! The news feed is now easier to sort through with filters that allow you to choose only status updates, photos, links, pages and games – depending on what you want to see ( thank goodness I don’t have to see updates on Farmville anymore!) You may also choose to sort by specific friends only. The only downfall – these settings are not permanent and they must be reset each time you login.

You may read about details for each setting and new filters here: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/12/21/design-news-feed-filters/

Apple TVs have continued to make strong sales since their launch 3 months ago. The new product sold over 250,000 units in the first six weeks of being sold. Apple TV offers people a way to instantly stream videos from their iPads or iPhones, it gives people the ability to rent movies for only .99, and it is priced at only $99. Highly due to the convenience and price, Apple TVs are expected to reach $1 million later this week, before the Christmas holiday even happens.

Exciting news for online advertisers! Online advertising spend comes in at #1 in 2010, totaling $25.8 billion, closely followed by print publications at $25.7 billion. Many advertisers have shifted offline spend to new online campaigns, some even dabbling in social networking media buys. Advertisers are shifting offline dollars to campaigns that have more measureable results such as banner ads or email campaigns. Even more stunning forecasts are that online display spend will overtake search ads by 2014.

Do you own a Smartphone? Email, text, IM clients/ colleuges from anywhere at anytime? Check out these 8 rules to Smartphone etiquette and see how badly you are misbehaving.

1. Be considerate: If you are contacting a client after hours ask if they are free to talk. Just because your friends may immediately respond to IM’s or texts doesn’t mean your client wants to. Have the same expectations as you would from an email correspondence.

2. Remember the concept of “business hours”: Follow the weekday 7am-9pm rule. Not everyone wants to speak to you late night or on weekends, you must respect that.

3. Only contact the people you talk to regularly: Texting a colleague that sits next to you is totally acceptable. Texting a client you rarely speak to is not.

4. Put your phone away during face-to-face meetings: There is nothing more annoying then having a conversation with someone who is constantly checking their cell phone. If you can’t focus during a 30min meeting what kind of impression does that give your potential clients.

5. Texts and IMs should be reserved for simple, non-critical topics: If your texts is longer then a sentence or requires deeper communication send an email or schedule a call.

6. Be wary of abbreviations and emoticons: Be aware of whom you are texting, if you would not include LOL or a smiley face in an email to them why would you via text message.

7. Never send sensitive information: Hackers can easily obtain this information and cause severe damage.

8. Stay professional: Be sure to still use spell check and write professionally via text as you would by email. Remember you are still conducting business.

If social networking hasn’t already dominated the news enough lately, it now has some more NEW news. Time Magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg as their PERSON OF THE YEAR! Interesting enough Facebook is being run by Zuckerberg and other management in a way that seems to be a little unique (and catching the attention of the outside world) from every other business. For instance, the Facebook office is one big space with no cubicles, no offices and no walls. All management and even Zuckerberg, do not have an office. This brilliant concept called Facebook was started in a dorm room back in 2004, and now look at what impact it is having on businesses and people around the world!
Some of the past recipients that have been named the Time Magazine person of the year were presidents, royalty and other prestigious individuals that had accomplished something very large in society. Therefore, Zuckerberg receiving this award brings not only attention to him and his brilliance, but also the award brings some more attention to social networking sites. I would like to know…. where will social networking sites and other internet related platforms be in 5 years… how about in 10 years?

While people ranging from ages 18-30 have been spending more time on the Internet as opposed to the television, others ranging from age 32-44 are starting to do the same. A recent Forrester study revealed that people are spending more time on the Internet than they are watching TV, and it is up 121% since 2005. The average time people in the U.S. use the television is 13 hours, which is now the same as internet use. The rise of Broadband has contributed to these technological advances. E-Commerce remains the main interest on the Internet, followed by social networking which was accelerated because of the utilization of Facebook and other social networks.

It’s time to look back over the year at our accomplishments, as well as the things we wished to or still need to fulfill for ourselves and others. Our clients need us as much as we need them – we are all connected as a large network and our success is always dependent on the connections we have created and maintained. We can end the year strong and better ourselves starting today. Give back to all your partners and show them gratitude as each one of them helped you one way or another to get you where you are at. 2011 can bring you the opportunity to accomplish great things!

Tis the season to be jolly! Many are looking for that perfect gift to buy that special someone. Leadpile has the offer for those publishers and networks that are looking at connecting those consumers with the auto dealership. We will accept banner, email, PPC, SEO and contextual traffic. If you have auto finance traffic, contact your affiliate manager today!

Networking is part of what we do, and it’s critical for our growth and success in this industry. When looking at the networking aspect of our business, remember a simple rule: offer to help others first, and they will return the favor. Understand their challenges and see what you can do to help them out in achieving better results.

Google has come out with their own electronic store and it will be giving Amazon some solid competition. Google has scanned about 15 million books they will be using for their store with 4,000 publishers giving them permission to use their books. 52% of the listed sales price will go to the publisher, regardless of Google mark-downs. The Google store will offer consumers electronic books that can be read on almost any machine, except on Kindle. The alternative to Amazon also claims to have one of the most expansive selections because of their various publishers onboard. With E-Books predicted to hit $1 billion in sales by the end of the year, this gives consumers another option.