How to keep hackers out of your email
October 14, 2008
About a month ago, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email account was hacked by a college student. We benefit from her misfortune by learning how he did it and making sure someone can’t do the same with our email accounts.
According to news sources, he needed only three pieces of information to gain access:
- Palin’s birthdate,
- Palin’s zip code, and
- The answer to Palin’s self-selected security question on Yahoo – where she met her husband.
A simple Google search gave him the first two pieces of information and he guessed the last one pretty easily.
So what’s a mediator to do? Here are four ideas and links to more: [Read more]
Client relationship management: Some software options
October 10, 2008
It’s been almost 18 months since I wrote a review of mediation client and case management software and even longer since I created my list of 10 must-have tech tools for the wired mediator. That’s too long when we’re talking tech.
So I was happy to find Jolt Magazine’s recent CRM Heaven or CRM Hell? Seven Options Reviewed from the Trenches. CRM, or client relationship management, requires really effective software to do it right, and Jolt’s article gives a nice run-down of the options.
Me? I still use Highrise, and happily so. Someone asked me at the ACR conference why I use that one instead of one of the super-powerful options like Act! or SalesForce. What I want may not be what you want, so the question’s a good one. Here’s what I look for: [Read more]
Mediator tech goes mobile!
July 11, 2008
It seemed fitting, on the day of the new iPhone launch in the U.S., to announce that Mediator Tech has gone mobile!
You can now get Mediator Tech on your web-enabled phone (not just the iPhone) by pointing your phone to http://m.mediatortech.com. Or visit Mediator Tech’s subscription page to get a text message with the mobile site’s URL delivered automatically to your phone.
Why your website needs a good 404 page
June 1, 2008
You’ve seen them. Those white, mostly blank web pages that say, in large bold lettering, Not Found.
They’re 404 error pages, the pages visitors to your website land on if the URL they tried no longer exists. People can end up on 404 pages when you move a page, rename it, delete it, the link they clicked had a typo or other error, and when they mis-type the URL.
Why you should care
You should care about this because 404 error pages are an opportunity. [Read more]
Tech support for mediators and other everyday people
May 22, 2008
One of the most vexing challenges of being a small office or home office entrepreneur is access to smart, time- and cost-effective tech support when something isn’t working.
When I have a tech problem, I want:
- To speak to a human…and the right human to help me.
- Not to spend time guessing which department in the phone system is the best one to help me.
- Not to wait in a very long phone queue.
- Not to be the person on whom the new tech support trainee is learning.
- Not to be told by the hardware manufacturer that it’s the software’s fault, and the software manufacturer that it’s the hardware’s fault. I have little patience for being their pingpong ball. Give me tech support with an interest in helping, not blaming someone else.
- An answer. A cure. A resolution. Fast. Because every 30 minutes I’m on the phone in the middle of the business day is 30 minutes of lost work in my business.
These seem to me like simple wants, yet it’s the rare technical support that consistently delivers them to me. [Read more]
Tech roundup for mediation road warriors
May 16, 2008
This month’s resource roundup gathers together tech tips and resources for mediation road warriors:
- Evolution of Security – The TSA blogs. Who knew? I’ve come to like Bob the blogger quite a bit. He’s earnest and direct and helpful. And there are surprisingly good little tips interspersed throughout, even some entertainment value. If you want to see what screeners can see of you beneath your clothes, check out Bob’s post on fully body image scans.
- KeepYouSafe.com – A free “online safe deposit box” for keeping private copies of important information, such as travel documents.
- Oh, Don’t Forget – This site does jut one thing: Sends text messages you request, where you request, when you want them to be sent. Time Magazine named it one of the 50 Best Websites of 2007. I can see its use on and off the road.
- Airport security tips for traveling with a laptop – I’ve kept my business card taped to the bottom of my laptop for ages, and here are a few other tips. Did you know you should make sure your laptop is fully charged?
Odds and Ends
I’ll be giving a speech on Making Mediation Your Day Job and doing a book signing at the annual meeting of the NH Conflict Resolution Association on the evening of June 4. If you’re an NHCRA member, you’ll get a mailing with the details. And if you already have the book, bring your copy and I’ll inscribe it. Hope to see you there!
Recover your lost cell phone with YouGetItBack.com
May 13, 2008
So many gadgets, so many opportunities to lose them.
Now enterprising YouGetItBack.com, a company based out of Ireland, is offering services to “mediate” the return of your wayward CrackBerry and many other phones, MP3 players and mobile gadgets. Even laptops.
They offer two services you may find helpful, one free and one requiring a single low-cost investment up front:
- Lost and Found Service: You purchase a security tag that’s placed on the back of your gadget. If an honest person finds it, they go to the designated website and use the security tag to notify YouGetItBack of their find. The company then notifies you. Tags run $9.99 US.
- Cellphone Superhero: A “clever piece of software that allows you to lock your phone remotely” if you lose it. It’s free and in beta.
They also offer to let you back up your cellphone data [Read more]
Skype meeting tips
March 28, 2008
As more and more of my business calls are international, I’ve found Skype an invaluable tool for keeping the phone bills reasonable and being able to see eye-to-eye with the person at the other end of the phone line.
So I appreciated Chris Garrett’s Tips for Better Skype Meetings. For example, Chris suggests, [Read more]
Wild Apricot: Association management software for ADR groups
March 20, 2008
Every ADR association board I’ve ever served on has struggled with this question:
Is there an affordable service for managing our website, member registration and database, communication and event registrations – that’s also easy to use by both the association and the members?
Too many of the solutions are cumbersome to learn, require a huge investment of time and energy that many volunteer board members just don’t have, or assume a level of geekery that’s just annoying. And some of them are ridiculously pricey for what they deliver and the energy it takes board members to make it work well.
Maybe there’s some hope on the horizon. [Read more]
Tech in the mediation room: colorado divorce resolutions
March 7, 2008
A while back I profiled Colorado Center for Divorce Mediation in my article, Technology in the Mediation Room: Innovation from Colorado Divorce Mediators.
The Center’s Lawrence King recently wrote to update me on their latest technology investments and innovations, including a switch from desktop workstations to laptops that also dock in the mediation rooms, dual monitors, and upgrades to more sophisticated software. I remember when I used to sniff at dual monitors as overkill…until I started using them and realized how much they help my efficiency.
You can read the details [Read more]
