Since February is the official month purchasing random tokens of affection, I figured now would be a good time to share with you my top technology crushes. Maybe you last-minute shoppers will find something for your soul mate. In this month’s issue of Her Nashville magazine, you’ll read about my obsession with likely suspects such as the iPhone and Kindle; however, it may surprise you to learn I’m just as keen on mobile banking. It just never gets old for me. Here’s a teaser:

No. 4: Mobile Banking (fees vary)
I giggle like a schoolgirl every time I check my bank balance from a balcony of a cruise ship, transfer money from savings to checking while standing in line at Starbucks, or pay a bill while brushing my teeth. For me, the magic of secure, real-time mobile banking never gets old. My bank, SunTrust, offers clients free mobile banking and even has a free iPhone app that allows me to do all kinds of cool, important banking-type things with just a tap of a finger. For the folks out there who do not “trust” mobile banking; I can assure you, your bank takes your online security seriously. Give mobile banking a try today.

Clearly, mobile banking is not an acceptable Valentine’s gift, but whatever. I still love it. Read the full column here!

{Today’s guest post comes from my hubby and Web guy, Dave Newman, who shares three things PR folks should know (and practice) if you want to get your arms around the Internet.}

1. Stop trying to control where your message lives. The biggest mistake we can make concerning putting our stuff on the web is trying to rebuild what’s already working. Let’s use video as an example. YouTube has WAY more hits and searches than your site is ever going to have; they know how to deal with traffic and streaming rates; their file hosting is free and putting your video there improves your search ranking. Why would you ever try to do it another way? This guy agrees.

2. Always try the new free social network/web tool/app. I know, there are a million new apps out there every week vying for our attention and begging us to upload our fun little pictures to. How do you keep up and how do you know which to try? It’s easy. Try all of them that either you are interested in or your friends/clients/enemies are interested in. You never know what will catch on but signing up for all of them – even if just to try them – will never hurt your search ranking, exposure or how knowledgeable you’ll seem to your clients and friends. Read More…

A recent Pew Research Center study found that the Internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio. Yep, our world has gone digital and–as my March Her Nashville column points out–if you’re not exactly tech savvy and don’t have a go-to geek in your corner, you’re missing a fine pixel parade.

Having a geek in your corner will increase your confidence and teach you a thing or two. If you don’t have someone to turn to for your slightly-intimidating social media and technology issues, find one. Among other things, your go-to-geek will:

• Encourage you to be your own guinea pig
Avoid the geeks that call themselves “gurus.” You don’t need a spiritual leader; you need the guidance of a tech-savvy person who encourages you to try your hand at social media, blogging, and good email etiquette. Through your relationship with this geek, you should begin to see in yourself increased confidence when talking about and using new media, not a gal who is rendered dependent on some secret geek sauce. Read More…

When’s the last time you loved on your LinkedIn profile? Believe it or not, HR recruiters really do use it to scout prospects. Does your profile paint a relevant picture of the professional you?

If you haven’t laid eyes on your profile in a while, stroll on over and take 30 minutes to freshen it up with these three improvements:

1. Create a thoughtful “summary” – also known as a bio, these paragraphs should explain how talented and experienced you are, while also hinting at your fabulous personality.  Don’t be afraid to share with the reader the kinds of work you most enjoy. For example, my profile says, “Margie most enjoys cause-related public relations…” It’s also nice to talk about your community service work, or other relevant extracurricular activities. Oh, and when you are finished be sure to add your skills to the “specialties” box. Read More…

Dear other person besides me who is subscribing to FlackRabbit on the Amazon Kindle,

Thank you! I don’t know if you are actually my mom or granny or Pavis, (I know you aren’t Dave because Dave was super excited to hear about you) but whoever you are–I love you. And I hope you feel you are getting your 99 cents a month worth of public relations, social media and technology ramblings. Read More…

I’m prone to exaggeration, but believe me when I say the Amazon Kindle is about the most amazing piece of technology I’ve ever held in my tiny hands. You must go buy one.

Seriously, do it. You’ll not understand how freaking cool this thing is until you own one. You’ll not be sorry, in fact, you’ll be addicted to reading again.

You know how you go through those phases of constant bookish-ness…then it fades. For me, it was always a matter of instant gratification. When I want a book, I want it now. The Veruca Salt in me is completely satisfied by the Kindle.

The Amazon Kindle is the kind of technology you can cuddle up with–yes, even with a cup of tea. It’s not heavy like all the Harry Potter and Twilight books you’re reading.

More good news: if you are embarrassed to be reading the aforementioned works, your secret is safe on the Kindle. No one can see what you’re reading.  So feel free to consume Eat, Pray, Love for the third time. Read More…

E-book faithful, rejoice! The public relations, social media and productivity ramblings you read for free here at FlackRabbit.com are now available for a monthly subscription fee of $1.99 on the Amazon Kindle (affiliate link)!  If you choose to have FlackRabbit delivered to your Kindle, I’ll be ever-so giddy! And I’ll get like 50 cents or something.

We’ll file this one under “this is so freakin cool.”

Oh, and if you are interested in adding your own blog to Amazon Kindle, you can submit it for approval here. Be prepared to give over your tax ID and bank info; they need to be sure you’re legit and whatnot. After you submit your feed, masthead, screen shot, etc., you’ll be told it will take 48-72 hours before your blog is available for subscription. It took them 11 days to approve mine–but it was worth it because this is really neato.

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