HoundsGood: Chronicles of a Virtual Volunteer

In the past two years, the ChipIn widget seems to have proliferated on the Internet. For legitimate non profit groups, it seemed to solve a few problems. It gave immediate access to donors to see exactly how close to a goal the group was in real or almost real time. However, since there are no real “checks” that the site does, it also allows for a lot of fraud.

This familiar widget can be created on the ChipIn site very easily, and the code can be tailored to a variety of formats that a wide variety of platforms can understand. Just be aware, that if using on Wordpress, you can only use it if you host your blog on your own domain as it is against Wordpress TOS. Also, the shockwave script only appears in “publish” or “preview” mode.Please do not attempt to actually donate to this one, because it won’t go anywhere. It is for illustrative purposes only. It is not connected to a Paypal address.

For a legitimate group, not only does it motivate donors, but the constant updates cut out the “middle man” and save time for volunteers seeking updates as well. Funds are processed through Paypal, which is very familiar to those donating on the internet already. A widget is best used if a small, reasonable goal is targeted as people like to be part of the “winning team” and feel that they are making a difference versus a small drop in a bucket that may never be filled.

However, the widget went from being used by legitimate causes to just about anyone. Because the address that is receiving the donations is hidden, it can easily create a situation where someone is falsely collecting funds. However, it was more frequent for individuals to not pretend that they were collecting for something they were not, but counting on you seeing so many widgets that you will get them confused. Another scenario is that because you do see a widget, you think they have been “checked out.” One young lady was asking for over $20,000 to build a “No-Kill Sanctuary for Dogs.” Behind the scenes, there was never going to be a shelter. She had made graphics to look convincing, but in reality, she was trying to gain trust with shelters in order to attempt to take unaltered dogs to start breeding and fighting them. She was “found out.”

The more innocent misuses are people using them to fund their savings goal, or dream of buying a boat. In of itself, if everyone is aware that they are gifting money to the person and it is not a donation, to each his own. Perhaps ChipIn should create a widget that clearly carries a disclaimer.

Technologically, the widget will not appear in Wordpress based blogs in draft mode and is sometimes only viewable when published. This is an improvement. The widget is compatible with blogger.

In my opinion:

From a technology perspective, ChipIn is a valuable widget and gets high marks. A s a consumer, you should do the same research of the person behind the widget as if they were handing you an envelope or asking for a donation in person.

In Wordpress, there’s an area that shows some of your back links. It’s really helpful to see where other bloggers mentioned your site. However, it is not a complete list, nor does it display static websites who decided to throw you a link.

If you want more complete information, grab some code from Blog Copy (blogcopy.com). When you log in, they’ll show you not only who actually linked to you, but who quoted you or popped your photos in their post, too, without doing too much detective work (might bust folks who are plagiarizing your content, too. You can write them and ask for credit).  Have you tried it? Let me know what you think.

My dad works for a non profit organization, and often they are lucky to have very knowledgeable volunteers who have retired. They now have time for some honest to goodness brainpicking. However, sometimes, in order to pick a brain, he needs to describe what is occurring. He is really at a loss at how to describe something to those giving him tech support. That is when my phone rings. It usually would involve me saying, “No, your computer didn’t develop a mind of its own like Hal 9000. I can probably help, but I would really need to sit in front of the computer and see what you mean.”

Remote PC Access Software, where I could literally take a look at his work computer from my home, through the internet. I could not just access, but control his PC in order to set things right. In that sense, it is much more complex than merely sharing a file. On a larger scale, IT departments of companies sometimes have capability to do this. Of course, Proxynetworks.com has software that is set up for one computer to act as the master with many host computers. Of course you could also purchase software for a peer to peer situation, a master with many host computer, or more than one master computer.

I could sign up for a free trial, and later on, purchase the software. It may seem steep to someone to think about purchasing this sort of software it for personal use. However, I have considered the amount of money through the year normally spent on doodads for my dad, and have also weighed the number of hours of work he loses from describing a “thingamabob.” It is probably the best investment I can make. After all, there was also a “crunching noise” that is equally as nebulous. Since, I have come to find out that the “crunching noise” was just the computer loading and is nothing to fear. No rodents have taken residence.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

A few folks I know who do extensive volunteering have some sort of smart phone. Just a few years ago, a lot of shelter volunteers juggled a cell phone and a camera, and then had to find a Kinko’s or office center to write from the road. If they could get photos and descriptions of dogs and cats out into the world after having met them and pet them, there was a chance that one of them would play on someone’s heart strings and they would get a home or a rescue would take them in before it was too late.

The new fangled phones, like the iPhone, are more costly to operate on a monthly plan, but it saves time. You can snap a photo, immediately send it to rescues, your Facebook account and more, then write up a somewhat meaningful post or email. Still, there is an art to typing on those little keys but it is far better than using the cell phone digits.  You will never have to leave your location.

Now, there is a way to somewhat subsidize your phone use for those who are running around everywhere to save lives. WeReward.com is a new concept that allows you to earn points, which converts into money, for visiting businesses and completing tasks, such as snapping a photo or “checking in” at a location.

If you have an iPhone, Download the App in the iTunes store. It is a complimentary download. In addition to an iPhone and plan, you are required to have a Twitter, Foursquare or Facebook account, which is free to set up if you don’t already have one. In the future, users of similar devices, such as Droid phones, may be able to participate.

Now, at this point, no one is going to be rich or quit their day job by completing Tasks, but if you are savvy about it and pay attention to where you might be going before you are on your way, you can complete a task or two. It may help recoup some of the costs of your monthly phone plan, while encouraging you to look up from the steering wheel and discover some new places to take out of town guests.  As an added bonus, you might just have some fun!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nexx Inc. All opinions are 100% mine.

Yesterday, I was investigating a dog rescue group and a local thrift store. A friend of mine wanted an opinion on the rescue group, as they offered to take a large number of dogs from a county pound and she had never heard of them before. The thrift store is in my local area and benefits a charity I have never heard of. Upon performing basic internet searches, I was really surprised that these organizations were running their websites on free space, or were found on a url as long as Yao Ming’s arm. Pop ups, and very clumsy navigation made the groups look like fly-by-nights.  A group that looks rag-tag and disorganized is not getting my donations.

I am abundantly aware that operating a website for a group often is at the mercy of a volunteer and costs money. However, with the Unlimited Web Hosting specials I found at Nexx, there really is no excuse not to have even a simple informational website, attached to your own domain and free of popups. One would think that everyone has gotten the message by now, especially folks handling such important tasks of creating or preserving the image of a small nonprofit organization or grassroots movement, but many groups are still stuck in a website from 1998. One excuse made is, “Our volunteers are mostly seniors.”  My 88 year old great-aunt sends dirty jokes to my aunts via email on a weekly basis and zings around with her Webtv.  I’ll have to hire her out to them.

For $10 per month, the hosting plan includes a free domain name to get you started. To drive traffic to your url, they are providing a $50.00 credit to both Google Adwords and Facebook. Not familiar with Facebook advertising? When you log into Facebook, look at the column at the right hand side of your page. Your group could be there, and your ad would appear to people who were specifically targeted by keywords, or on pages that mesh with what you are about. Conventional wisdom dictates that someone has to see a message or concept three times before they act. If they see a Facebook ad, see a Google Ad and see your website when they click on one of those….Bingo!  If you don’t see major results, it didn’t hurt to try it for free. Free is my second favorite price to cheap. Free would be my favorite price, but I don’t always trust Free…unless it is thrown in as a bonus with something cheap.

A one year package at Nexx normally adds up to $71.40 per year, so it is a rock bottom bargain.  Some groups are reluctant to spend any money, but the potential a website has to drive donations is priceless and the savings is fiscally responsible.  No tech savvy? No problem. Nexx offers one-click installation for Wordpress and other blog platforms if a journal-type website is more your speed to constantly update your contributors and the world.

There must be a catch at this price.  Actually, upon my through investigation, there are no add-on fees.  The service guarantee is very equitable as well. There is a 30 day money back guarantee.  Within 30 days of activation or upgrade, a full refund is issued if you are not satisfied. Even if you have a site already, it is worth giving a new concept and new site a whirl. The investment is small to play around with a new idea.

This information is so timely. I was so frustrated I could spit yesterday when one of my other websites was down with no warning for about three hours. While it wasn’t a site that I depend on all the time, or play with everyday, it was a big disappointment. The service I was using frequently shorts out the server that the site happens to be on. I wonder if its just a hard drive under some guy’s desk that gets kicked when he was playing World of Warcraft. Darn ogres.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of GoViral. All opinions are 100% mine.

Getting a pet for someone as a Christmas present is never the right move. Often, the giver does this to be a hero to the recipient as a huge gesture. Other times, an individual puts a pet on their wish list without thoroughly examining the suitability of the pet. After the holidays, or more so in the six months following the holidays, shelters are packed with Christmas presents. They arrive either immediately as the recipient is not allowed to have a pet where they live, or in the next few months when the pet is past the tiny and helpless stage and starts to roam around.

Here is a pet that you can really give someone without there being any consequences for the pet. MyFelix is an adorable java based feline that is ready to wiggle his way into your heart. This is a preview, where you can pet Felix. You can share him via email as well. When you download him, you will also be able to teach him tricks. He might even roam around your desktop. Occasionally, he may have a message for you. There may be contests you can enter in or special offers. You will not be asked to register MyFelix or provide your contact info when you download him, which is an added bonus.

To download MyFelix, you need Microsoft® Windows XP or higher. I can preview him on a Mac, but he is not Mac compatible right now. Hopefully a Mac OS version will be developed. MyFelix will have to just hang out on my PC. I’ll go over there and visit him once in awhile. Shh…don’t tell Mac.

I was thinking about a conglomeration of things over the past few days.  One thing is that the older distinguished gentleman in my life, Alex the weenie dog, is 10 1/2 years old.   October 31st is the anniversary of the day I met him as a 17 month old young man.  For some reason I remembered looking online at rescues and different things at that time on my old, slow computer.  Remember when people had Geocities and Angelfire sites?  You got a free site, but there was no guarantee that the site would stay up and running.  If yours was popular, it would crash until the cache was cleared at the host.  Of course, in some cases, visitors were treated to some amazingly beautiful (not) popups that crippled their computer.

Nowadays, website hosting has come way down, so there is little excuse to not be able to pay for a site if you are serious about telling people something, but I think there still is a market for the free site.  Not everyone wants a blog site, and besides, what is a ten year old to do when they want to show the whole internet their collection of Pokemon cards?  Whoops.  Pokemon cards are so out, but chalk that up to my trip down memory lane.  At that time they were the big thing. I found out that there is still a place where you can build a free website at Hpages.com.

While I recommend that for registered rescue organizations and nonprofits that you get your domain, these would make great secondary pages. Also, I think that when you are starting out and just want a place to post your photos, etcetera, it is a good place to try out your ideas.  Some may say the format of a static free website is obsolete with all of the blogging platforms that are out there.  On the contrary, I think that blogging only works if your site is not going to be static.  Nothing is worse than when your blog hasn’t been updated in months.  People stop visiting.  A static site, however, may be what you need for your family pictures or neighborhood grassroots effort that does more in person than it does on the web.

There are actually few nice features that you can use that makes the old free sites a real far cry.  There is a feature where you can disable right clicking on your site.  This way, no one can copy your photos onto their hard drive.   You may think that it is no big deal, but if you have a personal page with photos of your family, it is a good move.  When you get a site, the domain name will have .hpages.com attached to it.   While it may not be a good idea for a business, it is perfect for a personal site.  Someone can’t randomly type in domain names and find your page if it is something you only want to share with a small group of people.  Of course, if people link to it, search engines will find it, but not if no one does. The other nice thing is that you do have access to stats. They may not be as detailed as a paid service, but they are definitely quite adequate for the needs of a smaller site. Of course, I don’t have any stats yet as I just registered to give it a whirl ten minutes ago.

My friend’s laptop bit the dust. She did have a service provider where she could access her mail from a website. However, she had it said up to automatically download to outlook and not leave any backups on the server. She would periodically go in and delete things off the web server. That worked out well, until one day her laptop had a meltdown. Only so many emails were stored in her Blackberry, so all she had were the last few days of messages. She called me wondering if I was an expert on Outlook Mail Recovery, as she lost precious photos and records of conversations. Sadly, I am not.

Fortunately, there is a software program that you can use. What some people who use Outlook only for email don’t realize, is that there is also journal, calendar, and other features which someone may have poured their life into. You should never have important phone numbers and other info only in one place, but most people do just that.

Remo Outlook Mail Recovery will retrieve messages you accidentally deleted or were corrupted.  The files will be in plain text, HTML and RTF formats, and attachments and imbedded  HTML can also be retrieved. Remosoftware.com has a free download available that you can take for a spin if you are just like my friend.  You especially want to get it if your small non profit is depending on you.

Here’s another cost saving idea for the charity or the individual that doesn’t have unlimited funds (imagine that!). Before you jump into a hosting contract, shop around for web hosting. Don’t just look at the bottom line as far as the actual price, as if you have to spend hours of down time either chasing after a live person in the customer service department, or hours of down time of your site, the expenses of an inexpensive host add up. If you have someone that is extremely committed to the organization, such as a founder, who has unlimited talented when it comes to servers and the internet, then your group is a rare species. You may be able to afford to get a bare bones service. However, what happens if that person leaves?

You want to look for the features offered. In other words, value over price should win out. Spending just slightly more and getting something that saves you time and volunteer hours is key. Watch out for the hidden add ons, though.

Although Webhostingchoice.com doesn’t have users chiming in about the various hosts, and offers an editorial review of top web hosting web hosting companies solely, there is some valuable information to be had. I never knew this before, but did you know that some hosts register your domain in their name instead of theirs, making it impossible for you ever to transfer? That could cost you a lot of money right there being locked in. Research before you jump, that is for sure.

Part time jobs have been hard for me to find lately. I have a lot of skills, including management skills, but for part time jobs, they think I am overqualified. They imagine that I would get bored and would want to run the place! I have to assure them that I most certainly only want a part time job. There are entry level temp and office jobs that I am after, just for a few days a week. While I have advanced project management skills, I am finding I need to go back and learn some of the very basic programs one might need to learn if one was a part time receptionist. Unfortunately, most places don’t have a Macintosh, and don’t use Adobe design programs. I need to go back to basics. After all, I have two hungry dachshunds to feed.

What companies do need, if I were to get a part time job that was a bit more than a receptionist job, would be to learn microsoft access. It would put me head and shoulders above the rest, as I could actually build and manage databases, and not just input at the desk. it will make a great deal of difference. I found that Brainstorminc.com offers many different online training programs, including for Access.

Hal9000, my surly PC, has recently been retired through reason of general malfunction. It had so many viruses and trojan horses that it practically ceased to be. Once, everything was solved by using the time machine feature and reverting the hard drive back to an earlier date. It seemed genius at the time, until exactly a year and a half later when it approached the period in time in its timeline where the problem happened. That is the best way I can describe it. I tried to do the same thing all over again, and it only lasted a short while.

Since, I went back to a Mac. No matter what software I downloaded, I could never get the PC to work right again. There is one more Antivirus Software that I hadn’t tried and that is VIPRE. PC Magazine gave it 4 stars, as it doesn’t bog down your system, and delivers on its promise as both an antivirus AND an antispyware software combined.

Right now, there is a 15 day free trial to test it out.  If it revives Hal9000 back from the computer graveyard, it certainly will change the game here.  I will still remain loyal to my newer Mac, but it will be like sitting on the floor with a box of old photos.  There are still some wonderful things on the old clunker that I would like to see again, and to transfer to safety.  Who knows, the PC could prove to be earning its keep again.  I’ll report back any interesting results.

I may be considered on the moderate side when it comes to recycling and the environment. I reuse things as many times as possibly can, but I am not exactly in the camp of Sheryl Crowe’s “Just One Square” bathroom usage pledge, if that makes any sense. As far as my computer accessory usage, I take papers that printed out incorrectly and reuse them to jot things down, etcetera. When I am finally done, I shred the sensitive stuff and throw the rest in the recycling bin if it is still clean. Using less paper can be a very good thing as haste makes waste. In fact, many folks that are more progressive about the impact on the environment around them than I am applaud the idea of email instead of putting pen to paper.

The idea does occur to me that we may not be using as much paper, but we are certainly using a lot of electricity to save that paper. Tapping away on the computer involves lots of electricity. Over on the WebHostingGeeks blog, I was reading about “green hosts.”

On Tuesday February 17, Fasthosts was announced as being a part of United Internet’s Global Green Initiative, a program that uses renewable energy to prevent an estimated 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment. Additionally, Fasthosts is deemed a certified green host by Green-e, a voluntary non-profit certification organization that specializes in programs for renewable energy. The UK reseller host also announced that it would be purchasing enough RECs (renewable energy credits) from the non-profit BEF (Bonneville Environmental Foundation) to entirely offset electricity usage at its data center located in Kansas…

…Many companies are boasting green hosting but not all are making the efforts required to run an eco-friendly service. In fact, several web hosts simply offset their greenhouse gas emissions by investing in green initiatives in other locations, ultimately facing criticism for merely paying someone else to pollute the environment. The Fasthost partnership with BEF gives the assurance that revenue generated from RECs provides direct support for new watershed ecosystem restoration and renewable energy projects. According to an October announcement, the majority of the RECs will be contributed to the Power Company and Bowersock Mills facilities in Lawrence, Kansas.

I am going to try to dig up more information, but now, I suppose, this means that for some consumers, the game has changed for web site hosting providers. Some readers may now feel inclined to not only choose a host that is based in your home country, as was highlighted in a prior article, one that provides a competitive price, and the features you are looking for, but now you may want to patronize those that are ecology minded. It should be interesting to see how the computer climate changes as more companies change their policies and boggle a computer geek mind like me even more with the vast selection to choose from.

I wrote before on my astonishment that people could sell their Word Of Warcraft identities.  You can create a character, gain skills, and then sell them to someone so they don’t have to start out from scratch.   Now, I discovered that you can order a wow game card right online from Buymmoaccounts.com.  Instead of going to the store, you will be sent a code right in an email to begin or continue playing right away. The cards give you a sixty day play time to start or to add to your existing time.  Guess there is no reason to have to get out of bed now.

What is still rattling around in my mind is a way to have some sort of WOW tournament for charity. They have golf tournaments, so why not. Would it be a marathon, where people are pledged how long they can play, or would it work differently? Hold that thought, I’ll come back to it later.