What is VENMO ?

Last week I got an email from this company inviting me to join from my friend Marlene Gavens AKA The Savvy Seller. So I looked at the website briefly and signed up. Hey, I'm ALWAYS up for a PayPal alternative. I'm not a PayPal hater, but I believe competition is good in any market and PayPal has very little! So I went to the site to check it out. I _thought_ I was importing my Google contacts into an address book but it turns out that I gave Venmo permission to 'invite' them all! Soon I started getting text messages on my phone all night about them giving me $1 every time someone joined! Who Knew. Now, a few days later, they are sending reminder notices - ick! I'm sorry to those I've irritated with this, LOL, it was totally an accident. However, because of a couple of those emails I've decided to check it out.
The FAQ page at the website (which is all httpS so secured by Verisign) is very interesting. the company was stared in April of 2009 by two University of PA students. They have each been involved in several other Internet start up companies.
Venmo is meant to be totally text message based so I can see this becoming VERY big in my children's generation - it seems all they do is text all day! So I have $14 they 'gave' me in the account. I'm going to be brave and add a bank account today and try to withdraw that money and will even send $1 or $2 to some of those who 'joined' at my invitation. I'll report any issues back here. So far, my perusal of the website has given me a beginning feeling of confidence!

Can you feed 5 with just 8 hours left?

Kat ~

Shop with me @ www.katskloset.com
Friend me on Twitter @katskloset

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Janelle Elms <newsletter@janelleelms.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Subject: Can you feed 5 with just 8 hours left?
To: Kathy Simpson <kathysimpson@gmail.com>

For only 8 hours…Feed Five

Today I am getting ready to participate in the 30-hour famine sponsored by World Vision.  During these 30 hours we learn about ways we can help those who are in need, work in local neighborhoods doing service projects, and make peanut butter sandwiches & head to downtown Seattle to hand them out and talk to the homeless on the streets.  I am quite humbled to be able to participate with the youth from our church.

Many of you have generously donated as my sponsors for the event, and I can’t thank you enough for saving the lives of these young children.  As I thought about it, I just knew we could do even more.  Here is what I came up with:

If you will donate $150 to World Vision by 6pm pacific this evening (100% tax deductible donation), I will gift you with:

1.      A private one-on-one 30 minute coaching session with me.  I have a few select coaching clients and rarely make my consulting services available.  However, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to offer a rare 30 minutes of answers.  You can ask me anything you want – how to optimize your eBay Store, my secrets for ranking on the first page of eBay search, harnessing the profitable power of Facebook Pages, tips on Google AdWords, or anything else you would like. 

2.      How to be on the First Page of eBay’s new Best Match search CD – ever since eBay moved Store to Core there has been SO much fussing about people losing position in search and sales.  At OSI Library, we are releasing a step-by-step CD on utilizing powerful tools to get your inventory on that coveted first page of eBay.  But it won’t be released until the end of the month!  YOU will be the first to own this training video with the most sought after Success information for eBay sellers.

3.      and the knowledge that you will have Fed Five kids for a month (& set up care for their village too!)

 

Donate now & receive your gifts

While you read this newsletter and make up your mind about the distribution of the world's food and what you are going to do about...know that 36 kids will die of starvation by the time you are done.

Isn't it time to stop thinking and start doing from your heart?

Yes, I want to feed & care for 5 kids in need this month AND...

·         Receive a 30 minute Success Coaching Consultation for my online business AND

·         Be the first to receive the 'not yet released' CD "Your Secret Weapon - Best Match - Appear on the First Page of eBay Search"

$150 Donation to feed 5 hungry children for a month

(By choosing this option, you know that the $150 is a 100% tax-deductible donation to World Vision. You also know that the 30 minute Live Coaching and the BONUS "Best Match" CD are compliments of Janelle and the OSI Rock Stars as a thank you for donating to the 30 hour famine & World Vision. You will be contacted promptly to set up your '30 minute ask anything you want' Success coaching session with Janelle Elms. Your tax receipt from World Vision will be included in your CD when it is shipped.)

OR,

If you would like to forgo the gifts and donate the amount of your choice to World Vision and the 30 Hour Famine, please feel free to do so here:

 

World Vision's 30 Hour Famine

Federal Way students will fight hunger "ON AN EMPTY STOMACH" for children worldwide

Federal Way, WA - Wars and natural disasters all over the world dominate the daily headlines, but behind the scenes and far from the spotlight, hunger and preventable diseases claim the lives of 25,000 of the world's children every day.

Right now, more than 1 billion people worldwide don't have enough to eat. Annually, more than 9 million children under the age of 5 die from disease and malnutrition as a result of hunger. But world hunger is 100 percent preventable, and teens from LifeWay Church are ready to be a part of the solution.

This weekend, they will be joining the efforts of hundreds of thousands of young people all over the nation who will set aside the usual "stuff" that fills their daily lives. Instead, they will do World Vision's 30 Hour Famine "ON AN EMPTY STOMACH" - the theme for this year. By going without food, they get a taste of what the world's poorest children and families face every day. Prior to the event weekend, students raise funds with the knowledge that every $30 they raise can help feed and care for a child for a month. Groups are also encouraged to perform hands-on service projects during the weekend in order to make a difference in their own communities.

Funds raised by 30 Hour Famine participants help feed and care for children in communities in need around the globe through World Vision. Additionally, a portion of the funds raised support World Vision's efforts to assist families in need in the United States. Famine funds contribute to World Vision's response in areas where famine, conflict, and other crises make children vulnerable to hunger and preventable disease. Since 1992, 30 Hour Famine has raised close to $130 million, representing countless lives saved. World Vision works in nearly 100 countries, helping approximately 100 million people every year.

Visit www.30hourfamine.org 
or call 800-7-FAMINE for more information.

Media contact: John Yeager - World Vision,
(253) 815-2356 (office); (425) 765-9845 (cell)

About World Vision:

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more

 

Janelle Elms
Visionaire of OSI Rock Stars
www.osiRockStars.com
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Blog...Blah...Blog....

The other day, Beth, the leader of our OBS group, sent us a link to another blog that had an article about what to put on your blog when you can't think of anything to write about.

While I do confess to having that problem some of the time...I usually have the reverse - where I have a lot of stuff to talk about and can't decide on just one subject.

Lately, I have been trying to decide, "what type of blog do I want to have?"

I have one that is for my photography. That one is a no-brainer. I take photos of my daily life and they go there.... Well, when I remember to take the photo that is...

I also have a couple of other ones (mostly inactive) that are for various projects I have worked on or think I will work on.

The one that I am in a quandary about though - is my Sushiboofay blog.

Initially, it was started to promote my store on eBay. Life takes a lot of funny turns though and I have closed my store and with all of the eBay changes and the turmoil in my life right now - my heart just isn't in to online selling.

Where I was going with all of this is...that if you are going to have a blog, you have to be consistent. Your readers come to you to be educated and entertained. You have to decide what you want your blog to say about you and although there is some disagreement about this --- to me, you have to make it somewhat personal.

Don't just tell me about the product you are selling, don't just educate me all the time. I want to know about YOU as the person. If you are a Mom and Pop operation - play that up. Tell me how you started your company and roadblocks you've encountered. Give me funny stories and tell me how you are frustrated, or happy, or....something!

Otherwise...it is blog,blah,blog,blah,blog.

Some will say getting personal isn't professional or businesslike. But...the bottom line you have to ask yourself about your blog...is...

Is it memorable? Am I entertaining?

Will people come to me each day to see what I'm saying or am I that stuffy old professor that talks about a lot of stuff, but no one remember any of it after they've left the classroom?

Anyway, hopefully today I have entertained you and said something memorable...if not...please shut the door on your way out and I hope I have not put you to sleep in my classroom today!

;-)

Top Ten Tips for Going to eBay on Location

Two weeks ago I interviewed 5 people who had gone to the Atlanta eBay on Location event. Right now 4 of my friends are just home from the ECMTA Summit n Las Vegas. So what's the secret to "learning, networking and having fun" at these events?

Well this is my take from my interviews, and my experience at two eBay Live events and years of going to Toy Fair in NYC.

1.Wear comfortable shoes (and clothes)
2 Bring your camera, your flipcamera, your laptop, your netbook
2.bring extra batteries and memory for cameras/cellphones and laptops
3.depending on how long you're going to be gone, have a "designated shipper doing emergency backup substitute pinch hitter" shipping of your products
4. learn beforehand how to tweet/twitpix etc and facebook from your new droid or I-phone
5. Take business cards - LOTS of business cards
6. Take something to bring home business cards in and bring them all home. a sandwich baggie will do, just something to keep them from being lost in among the dirty socks.
7. As you collect biz cards, write on the reverse who the person is like CEO of Outright.com or CEO of ebay.com and any other identifying infor you need to remember who the person is (6ft tall blonde weightliftr chick will work for something things.)
8. Keep a notebook either on the computer or in your pocket and write notes to yourself - all those "money" ideas you have walking around a meeting/conference/convention hall that you definitely won't be able to remember tomorrow, let alone when you get home.

9. SLEEP - before hand, to rest up. At the location - partying all night is ok if you're 28. If you're over 30 you need some rest. Maybe not as much as this old lady but some. (heck when I was 20 I still needed 8 hrs of sleep to be able to "THINK".

10? What do you think you need (besides spending money... for food, drinks and cabs??

My First Year of Blogging

April 15th marks one year since I started blogging. It's been a challenge. Writing, for me, is not an easy thing to do. But it is a wonderful format to showcase my art and anything that will help get my art out there, is worth doing! And so I blog.

A company by the name of Blog2print is always sending me promos for their service. You've probably seen them too. The thought of having all my blog posts in a book format chronicling my first year of blogging was very appealing. After all, everyone has heard of blogs disappearing or crashing and one can loose all of one's work in a moment. So, with a few simple clicks, I ordered my book from blog2print, last week, and I just received it. I'm so pleased! Although somewhat thin since it only covers the period from April, when I started, through December, 2009 it does include all of my posts and all the corresponding art I blogged about. Since I try to be organized, I'm planning on ordering a 2010 edition, next year...

I even put my picture in the back...and no, I'm not getting paid for plugging them!

Maria Soto Robbins

http://art-by-msr.com

http://artbymsr.blogspot.com

msr107@gmail.com

There is a tv in the bathroom !

Sent from my iPhone

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@galleriagifts @kayceestudios at burger joint in flamingo

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Mel & Christy at burger joint in flamengo

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The plane

De plane de plane we are finally boarding de plane!

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Crockpot Summer?

Summer is coming soon, some people in Connecticut have reported 90 degree days already, so you know it coming . . . and so is the heat.

You know you're going to have to cook sometime and you know what that means? A hot kitchen or running back and forth outside to the grill. You know you can't always have pizza delivered or bring home Chinese. Microwave food is iffy at best, so what are you going to do this summer?

How about using that crockpot that's been stuffed in the cupboard, just waiting to make your summer so much easier and . . . COOLER.

Now what to have? Hmmm, what about those ribs you bought on sale last month? Oh, they can't go in the crockpot. Strike the crockpot, so what to do now? No, don't want to heat up the house with the oven, one grill is out of propane, the little one need briquettes and lighter fluid, the kids have soccer today, how is that going to work? Maybe we'll just get pizza on the way home.

NO! Don't give up on your crockpot, it can be your best friend this summer if you let it. Maybe you just need some new recipes to try. Ribs can easily go into a crockpot. I know some folks who use their crockpots all of the time, some all year round. There is a great recipe in the Fix It and Forget it Cookbook http://tinyurl.com/y3bxz68 for Milwaukee Short Ribs and there are many others online that you can find. Just go to Google and type in Crockpot or Slow Cooker recipes and you'll find dozens of them. You can even join a Yahoo group that specializes in nothing but these type of recipes. After awhile you can experiment and make up your own creations such as enchilada pie or sweet & sour veggie ribs.

So, this summer when you are hot and tired, don't want to worry about cooking and have kids activities or other things to do, then plan ahead, get a recipe, put everything in the crockpot and by the time dinner comes around, you'll be all set and your kitchen will be cool.

What is Blujay?

I asked my friend who sells on Blujay, how it works, does stuff sell etc. and here is her "quick and dirty" Guide to Blujay.com . She sells on multiple sites - "My biggest fear is that one of these site will close down or I will mysteriously disappear again. I manually list all of my items on blujay and ecrater, some also manually listed on amazon and buysellcommunity."

Blujay, at one time brought in tons of sales - way more than Ioffer. Then it dropped off.  But in the last couple of months, they've tweaked a few things: there are no more expiration dates (just like ecrater), items are showing up at the top of Google search, etc.

The site is very user-friendly. There is NO FEEDBACK, so you need to put a blurb in there about where the buyer can read about you for buyer confidence.  There are no fees EVER, just like ecrater. Inquiries and sales have picked up a tad since the revamp.

Your store items are picked up on the www, free!

Between the two (Ecrater and blujay), I've prospered much more than on Ecrater. Not sure why. The site is cleaner, there is feedback, not sure. It does have higher ranking on PSU, therefore is attracting more buyers and sellers.

If you need another site to play with, maybe for certain items, give blujay a try. I feel very comfortable knowing that I have identical stores should one fall through. Another tip is when listing, make the titles a bit different. Two of the same on Google search will make one drop out of site.

And so, if you're looking for another home? Check out http://http://www.blujay.com/