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

2014 World Cup Gadget Go Bag

How to stay connected even if you're touring the 2014 World Cup

Lets face it, we live in a highly connected world and being away from the office is becoming a greater challenge as our need to interact at a moments notice becomes the norm. So if you're a road warrior, busy executive, or a journalist traveling to report the latest of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, I'll help guide you to getting the 5 essentials into your Go Bag. Lets go...

1. ---TABLET/Smartphone---
   Even with tablets and smartphones becoming faster and flexible (ie Samsung Galaxy Tab), you could leave the laptop in the office provided you have a bluetooth keyboard to go along with you. If you use an Android or Windows tablet, you'll be able to connect wireless (or USB wired) mouse as well which can make things easier. For those of us that travel internationally, having a removable SIM card is a HUGE win as you'll see below how it helps.
2. ---Longer USB Cables---
   While battery life is very important, the cable that came with your device is far too short to be practical. You'd want a 6-10ft USB cable or at least an extension cable so that you aren't hovering near an outlet. A major point to keep an eye on is the thickness of the wire in the cable. Also called the gauge of the wire, listed as AWG on the white print on the wire itself. Having a wire that is too thin (cheapo generic cables on e-bay for example) may be a bargain, but the wire itself wont be able to reliably carry the electricity to your device, especially on longer cable runs. A tell-tale sign of the wire being too thin is erratic behavior from your device while charging, charging stops after a short period of being plugged in, or not charging at all. The lower the AWG rating, the more power it can carry. A good rating for your kit would be 22 AWG. The data pins can be 28 AWG since they dont need to support heavy power loads.
   Example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189234
   
   Notice how thick the cable is going into the USB connectors, you should be able to clearly notice the thicker wire inside.
   
   
3. ---Universal USB Charger---
   Thirsty devices like high end smartphones and tablets need 1-2 amps [respectively] of power from the charger to fill the battery in a reasonable time. Make sure you bring a charger that can supply more Amps than your device would need. A good travel charger should have a minimum of 2 USB ports that can supply at least 2.1 amps collectively. If you are charging a tablet AND a smartphone at the same time, you'll need at least 3.1 or a 4.2 amp charger to charge both devices at the same time. Don't forget international power compatibility.
   Example: http://www.ianker.com/product/71AN7105-W5A
   
   
   A USB charger like the one above helps cut down on wire clutter and having to drag around wall chargers especially if you are traveling with other people.
4. ---Microsoft Lync with IP Phone Integration---
   Microsoft Lync much more than just a messaging platform when it teams up with an IP Phone System. You can have your desk phone travel with you abroad without using international calling minutes on your cell. Launch conferences, live chat (voice, video and text) with team members and collaborate in real-time all from your tablet or phone. Hosted PBX systems like CallTower give you all the features without having to foot the bill for all the technology on the back-end to make it work. It works wonders with your desk phone which I'll post Hosted PBX reviews in a later blog. When traveling international, Lync and hosted IP phone can cut your need for international roaming minutes which is a major money saver for those long conference calls. If your phone or tablet has a removable SIM card, it is highly recommended that you purchase a local SIM card for the area that you are traveling in. Data rates for local SIM cards are many many times cheaper than using your USA issued card. Combine Lync, Hosted IP softphone app and your new local SIM card and you have the winning trifecta! Send e-mail to your heart's content, facebook and twitter updates, Voice-over-IP calls till you're blue in the face! All at a fraction of the cost if you used the SIM card from back home.
5. ---Portable Power Pack---
   Most of the time, you can go a full day on a single charge, but if you need more juice a portable power pack can give you a battery boost just when you need it most. These devices are measured in mAh, or milliamp hours. mAh is defined as the total amount of energy a battery can store at one time [phonescoop.com]. So a power hungry device (tablet) will draw more power in a shorter time than charging your phone will from the same power pack. Remember, just like the USB Charging Kit if there is more than 1 USB port, you need to check out the TOTAL use from all the devices charging at 1 time to see how fast you will drain the portable battery pack. Phonescoop.com gives an easy breakdown of the math here
   
   
   Notice on the battery pack, it has 2 specific USB output ports, a 1 Amp and a 2 Amp for your phone and tablet respectively. To the right is a dual port USB car charger that also has a dedicated charging port for phone and tablet (1 amp, 2 amp). You can charge a phone in either port, but tablets must use the higher output port to charger properly.

Whether you're on the road, on a plane back home or waiting to board your flight to catch the next Wimbledon match, the 5 devices above should help keep you connected even when everyone else is scrambling for a charger.

We love to hear from our visitors, leave us a note, comment, praise, feedback in the comments section down below!

-Will Kutzler
F1 Networx Inc.
631-764-2600