Business Networking Tip: Create Gravity!

When going to an event or even a regular speaking engagement, wear something that is identifiable. All Pop icons have some sort of "signature" to their appearance. Steve Jobs was always seen in jeans and a turtleneck; Donald Trump has loud and bold ties; to name a few.

So how do you display your signature even in a low lit networking event? Simple; wear an attention grabbing piece of clothing. 

• Digital Name Badge
• Regular name badge with blinking LED
• Bright colored piece of clothing

These garments don't have to be extravagant, just simple and easy to identify. An unusual hat, vest or tie could easily do the trick.

There are 3 main reasons to creating your gravity...

1. It creates a presence in the crowd without saying or doing anything
2. Easily becomes an ice breaker as on-lookers will want to know what the unique piece is about. This works especially well in getting leverage into a clique group that isn't networking, yet could be a power connection for you
3. Most importantly, it creates an instant memory for those you've interacted with and even those that you may only have gotten their card without much discussion. When you do your follow up calls, you can jog their memory with "I was the guy wearing the flashing green name badge at XYZ Networking event" instead of "I was the guy that was about your height wearing  a suit at the event yesterday" which was about 75% of the entire room and doesn't help you stand out from the crowd.

If you are looking for an ice breaking for any network event, I highly recommenced the iDigiTag. I use one everywhere I go and its hard to not be remembered!
http://idigitag.com/video-badge/

Questions, or ideas, we love to get your feedback. 

Until next time, 

Will Kutzler

F1 Networx Inc.

New York's Premier Tech Management Group

www.f1networx.com

631-764-2600

Your Emergency Kit Is Missing This

Your Emergency Kit Is Missing This

Like most people, your Home/Auto Emergency Kit includes the necessities to ensure a basic set of safety. These days however, that kit needs a refresh. With so many of us depending on our mobile devices for communication, having a dead cellphone battery in the middle of a storm is not good.

Fortunately, its a cheap and easy fix. Get a small portable battery pack. 

This unit has a decent capacity, flashlight built in and is easy to stow away

http://amzn.to/1z2wAlZ

Or if you need a larger and more durable unit that can recharge itself...
http://amzn.to/1th8jZV

The price for both of these are very reasonably priced and can get you out of a jam. Best part is that you can charge it in the car, from a laptop or other USB sources like a Cable TV Box. Keep one in the car, and another in the house.

Additionally, if you are in the Tri-State region, CVS and Staples has these units (without flashlight) for $10 or less.

On the left is the small charger, on the right is the Levin Solar unit.

Questions, feel free to contact us.

William Kutzler

F1 Networx Inc.

New York's Premier Tech Management Group

631-764-2600

Summertime Danger

Did you know…the summer months are the most dangerous for devices connected to wall outlets?

Here's why: In the summer, the electric grid experiences significant burdens from increased demand from fans and air conditioners. Why you may be comfy and cool in the office, your PC and network equipment is being battered by wild power variations at the outlet. It’s a problem because it can lead to unstable performance, shortened hardware lifespan, but worst of all...total system failure.

So how can we protect valuable equipment that your business depends on every day? Its simple. Any device that is critical to keeping your network and communications running should have a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply, aka battery backup) connected between the wall outlet and your equipment. This is the most important detail; it MUST have the following features:

• Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR)
• It helps by correcting low and high voltage conditions without using the battery (ie. brownouts)
• Power conditioning 
• This protects connected equipment from "Dirty Power" (surges, spikes, lightning, noise, etc)
• Accurate run-time needs
• Don't use a UPS that's smaller than your normal power requirement.
• Make sure you will have enough battery time to shut down the equipment and still have some charge left
• Remember,  batteries lose their charge over time

The good news is that protecting yourself from stable power is cheap! You may ask yourself "Why do I need this, everything is working fine", and it may be OK...for now. The cost incurred AFTER a power related failure is typically between 4 and 10 times more expensive than protecting yourself before it happened! Penny Wise, Dollar Foolish, it just doesn't pay.

We can help you stay protected so you don't need to sweat it.

Will Kutzler
F1 Networx Inc
http://www.f1networx.com

Check Out My New Credit Card Terminal !!!

We're used to things getting smaller, but usually the price doesn't follow. That is until you look at credit card processing...

I recently got the Square Card Reader over the weekend. Like all new technology, we have to take a grain of salt with it. This product though has blown away my expectations. Since spotting this a few months back, I was waiting to take the leap, and I'm glad I did!

Here's how it works....
Using your smartphone or tablet (Android / iOS), download the Square App and connect the FREE reader which they sent by mail. Plug the reader into the headphone jack, launch the app and you now have a credit card terminal! Punch in the amount to charge, swipe the card, hit the process transaction icon, done. You can even do manual card entry. You can even issue a refund right from your transaction history register on the device!

This is all great but how much does it cost? Simple: 2.75% per transaction (3.5% + 15cents for manual entry). Thats it. No minimums, no terminal fee or merchant fees, no tiered pricing, no guessing. I LOVE IT.

So what about the receipt and signature? No worries. The receipt gets emailed or text messaged to them on the spot! And the signature is entered right on the screen with their finger or a stylus.

Process the payment over 2G, 3G, 4G or WiFi, all the data is encrypted. They adhere to the highest industry standards (PCI Level 1).

The money is transferred within 1 business day via ACH, unlike PayPal which holds it in their account until you  initiate the transfer.

So what are you waiting for? Ditch the terminals from 1990 and get Square today! Available at Radioshack and Online at https://squareup.com/

You will need the following:

1. A Smartphone or Tablet
• Apple device running iOS 4.1 or higher (iPad iOS 5.0+ for register version)
• Android running 2.1 or higher 
2. A 3.5mm headset jack with microphone (audio jack adaptors are not supported)
3. A screen size specified as Normal or Large (Small screen sizes are not supported)
4. GPS enabled
5.  A data connection

This is a solid solution for anyone on the Go or even at a fixed location. They will provide you with multiple readers if you have several devices to swipe from, for free.

Are you an E-Hoarder??

We've all seen the episodes on TV where out in the middle of nowhere this house is packed with garbage as far as the eye can see. We just can't believe it! Many of us swear that we will never get that way, but the truth is, you probably already are a hoarder.... an E-Hoarder that is. Don't be scared though, depending on what industry you work in, it may be a requirement, like finance and legal for example.
The most common thing for people to retain massive histories of is e-mail. The typical worker gets about 105 emails per day. That's over 25,000 emails per year!! While for some this doesn't sound like much, keep in mind that when you send a message, it saves a copy in your sent items too. So for those of us with busy mailboxes, its no surprise to become overwhelmed with thousands of emails when the year ends. The root cause of our affliction has been due to progress in technology! But isn't technology supposed to help? Well it is, but the problem is that storing information has become cheaper to do! Back in 2000, 1 Gigabyte cost about $9, today that same Gigabyte costs closer to $.08! 1GB costs less than 1% vs. back in 2000, which enables the mentality, "Theres plenty of space on my server, so why bother deleting?". There in lies the problem....

We've subjected ourselves to information overload and bloated storage costs. It isn't storing all those emails that's the issue, there's no way to find what you're looking for unless its been promptly sorted! So now we require a search engine for our mailboxes. With search engines like Google and Bing, we're accustomed to instant and accurate search results, but on desktops and servers however, its a whole different ball game. Comparatively, searching our own data is similar to using a stone and chisel to take notes, its just not up to snuff. The inability to find the information we need can leave us in a heap of other troubles, particularly when it comes to litigation.

When you are being sued or vice versa, having your data properly classified is essential. E-discovery is the stage of the legal research process whereby legal teams are sifting through mountains of data to find information that is relevant to the case. The faster they can find relevant information, the lower your legal costs can be. The efficiency of your organization to purge data is also a key function as well. Knowing when you can wipe data from the systems is extremely important as it keeps your data set manageable.

So in short, do some house cleaning and consider upgrading your document management system as this would be a good time to do it.

-Will Kutzler
F1 Networx Inc.

Think the "new iPad" really is cutting edge? Guess again...

The "new iPad" and the latest releases from other tablet makers like Motorola and Samsung are all flawed in one main way...the screen. Having a higher resolution (better quality picture) really only contributes to a small portion of the tablet experience.

The real advancements are to be seen in the responsiveness of the screen, not so much about what the other components are (memory, processor, and the like). A recent publication by the Microsoft Applied Sciences Group has broken the barrier into the next generation of touch screen interaction.

ALL tablets (yes, even the new iPad) all suffer from touch screens with slow response times, about 100ms (milliseconds, 1 / 1000 of a second). A true touch experience needs a screen with a response of at least 5ms. The Microsoft Lab has developed a screen that achieves 1ms! The video link at the bottom of the post demonstrates this why this is so important.

You Tube Link to Video

-Will Kutzler
F1 Networx Inc
New York's Premiere Technology Management Company
www.f1networx.com