Tech Talk : Sketchy 3rd Party Smartphone Apps & How To Spot A Fake

In my latest T2 Tech Talk Podcast with my good friend Tom Craig, (Advanced Systems Solutions), we chat about nefarious 3rd party smartphone apps that look like a REALLY great idea to download. These wolves in sheeps clothing dupe you into thinking that you’re going have a blast playing their game, or using their flashlight, or communicating with friends.

There are a lot of apps out there that listen, or grab your keystrokes, or lock your phone out, or even uglier, hold your data hostage, so we help break down what you need to know to keep yourself and your data safe and secure from these cyber thugs.

Tech Talk: Was Facebook's 10 Year Challenge Nefarious?

This was a contest I did NOT feel compelled to participate in! So many times, we’ve seen these online quizzes, or challenges equate to hacking or identity theft, so I pumped the brakes on this one. Also, I had ZERO interest in seeing how much I’ve freaking aged over the last 10 years.

My good friend Tom Craig with Advanced Systems Solutions and I break down this latest social media craze, AND, we also chat about in-laws, magical IT closets and dig deep into the mail sack to hear from our listeners.

Enjoy the latest episode of the T2 Tech Talk Podcast!

Tech Talk : Why Is That Shiny New Smart TV So Inexpensive Now?

With the Super bowl upon us, thousands of Americans start drooling over the next model of TV. It’s cleaner, smaller profile, larger screen, better picture, more apps, you name it, we want it, myself included. I remember the first big screen TV that my wife and I bought, it was one of those Sony’s with wheels. It was so big and bulky, AND the price tag was around $2200.00. Those days are gone, and one might wonder, how is it that I can grab a shiny new Samsung 65 TV with all of the bells and whistles for a paltry $650.00?

You may not like the answer.

It’s likely because those TV manufacturers are collecting and selling your data. They know what you watch. They know what you say. They know what zip-code and neighborhood you’re in. They are collecting oodles of amazing marketing data from you and your family. This data, to marketers like me, is GOLD. Sure, it’s creepy. Yeah, it doesn’t feel right. But, it’s a reality. Friends, data is gold, and these smart TV’s are mining it like crazy.

So, here’s the thing. Darned near anything connected to the Internet can jack your data. Facebook. Instagram. Apps. EVEN the roomba that cleans your house transmits data back to Roomba headquarters. It shouldn’t surprise you that your TV can do the same. If you’re concerned about what’s being transmitted, read the terms of use / service when you setup that TV. Turn off the microphone on the TV, adjust the privacy settings, etc.. ENJOY that shiny new 65 inch, just take precautions to keep your data safe.

Tech Talk: Crazy About Nuts & ADA Compliance For Your Website

In my latest T2 Tech Talk Podcast, my good friend Tom Craig and I go down MANY rabbit holes, but ultimately surface and give you some really important tips about ADA compliance and your website. As hundreds of lawsuits stop popping up all over the United States, it’s imperative that your website is accessible to all visitors, this applies to cities, counties, commercial websites and more.

Tune in and enjoy some humor, some expertise and some shenanigans on the T2 Tech Talk Podcasts!

Tech Talk: Nefarious Phone Scammers, Net Neutrality & Getting Throttled

I LOVE doing this podcast! The T2 Tech Talk Podcast breaks tech down from geek speak to human speak. My latest episode with my good friend Tom Craig from Advanced Systems Solutions breaks down Net Neutrality in a fun, easy to digest way. I’d love it if you find this show on your iTunes or Google Play store. Check it out and please share with a friend.

Tech Talk: Digital Discharge : Just How Much Data Are Your Smart Devices Spewing Out?

On my latest T2 Tech Talk Podcast, Tom Craig and I break down digital discharge. Does your Roomba really need to be transmitting back to Roomba HQ? What data is Alexa getting out of your kitchen conversations? How often is your shiny new Facebook Portal turning on the camera and transmitting data to Facebook headquarters? Learn, laugh and enjoy some fart jokes, listen to the T2 Tech Talk Podcast, tech talk for non techs.

Tom's Top Tech Wishlist For Christmas, Blueberry Yams & PC Vs. MAC

I love creating this podcast with my co-host Tom Craig from Advanced Systems Solutions. Together we break down tech in user friendly language, help small business owners build a solid tech infrastructure for their business, AND have a great time doing it.

Our latest T2 Tech Talk Podcast is a very special Christmas edition. Tom and I break down the top tech toys for 2018 and hold rather deep discussions about world peace in the PC vs. Mac arena.

On behalf of myself and Tom Craig, we wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. Thanks so much for listening and sharing, and don’t forget, buy a Mac.

Aunt Sally’s Jello Mold, Lots Of Nuts & Marketing & Tech Tips For Aspiring Small Business Owners

Looking to start a small business? You’ve GOT to listen to my latest podcast with Tom Craig. We dig deep into what kind of tech ‘stuff’ and marketing ‘stuff’ you need to start and grow a thriving business. You’ll laugh, cry, and arm yourself with some powerful information to help you plan, grow, and build your business.

Thanks so much for listening and sharing, I’d love for you to subscribe on iTunes or the Google Play store if you’re into all of that. You don’t want to miss an episode!

How Do I Get Started In Content Marketing?

Get Off Your Ass.

I get asked this question EVERY damn day. Tom, how do I get started with my content marketing? Do you REALLY want the answer? Are you sure? Sit your ass down in a coffee shop with a laptop and write. Put your ear buds in as you drive and record your voice. Turn that iPhone camera on your face while you're out for your morning walk and tell the world your stuff. Honestly. It's THAT easy. 

Many become paralyzed at the thought of having to talk about themselves, or what they care about, or even what they know. I'm here to tell you this. If you're going to make it in this digital day and age, if you're looking to build your personal brand or get the world to know about your new business, you're going to have to drop the paralysis and get to the grind. 

What If My Content Sucks?

You know what? It may suck. It may suck in the beginning which is why I encourage you to NOT try to force content out. Content should be about your journey, your ride, your daily grind and how you're making shit happen, NOT forced out 'stuff.' When you share your enthusiasm, charisma, passion, disdain, whatever, you light up and become animated. That's what people want online. They want to see the HUMAN in you and not the corporate bullshit speak. Be a freaking human and stand out, that's what changes everything

Youtube? Facebook Live? Medium? Podcast?

With so many channels available online it can be a real pain in the ass to determine where in the hell your content should live. Focus. Focus on who your intended audience is. Are they young? Are they older? Are they tech savvy? It's mission critical that you DO know who in the hell you need to be talking to, and then once you've got that figured out, find out what channels those folks are hanging out at and BE THERE. One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin says we need to build Tribes and be the leader. That's your mission, build a tribe of followers on these channels, feed them, nurture them, challenge them, inspire them and LEAD them. 

How Do I Make Money Doing This?

And there it is. This, is the real question, and here's the real answer. Your content should NOT be intended to add dollar bills to your bank account. The whole point behind putting yourself out there is to be known, NOT to generate quick, fast cash. So, why bother? Because marketing today is about attention. It's about getting someone's attention, inspiring them, keeping them engaged and feeding them. Once you've built a following and put in the time, people want to work with you. They see the value in you. They see the fire in you. They want to work with people who inspire them. Your mission, be that inspiration.

Give To Live

If you're not willing to invest some time feeding people with your passion, stop reading this. The only way that you'll get attention online today is by being real. The only way you can be real is to simply want to give and contribute to the digital world. You do that by sharing the talents you have, by sharing your journey and by being a human being who is trying to help lift others up. Plain and simple. Give and you will receive. 

Parting Advice

You may hate the sound of your own voice. You may not think you look good on camera. You may not think that you can write. Let go of all of that shit. I've been on TV over 350 times. I hardly EVER watch myself on the playback. My podcast, nope, I never listen to myself after the fact. This is where confidence comes in to play. You have to get over your self doubt and just GO. Like I said earlier, it MAY suck, but over time, you'll get comfortable in your own skin and be the rockstar that you were meant to be.

Follow Me

If you're hungry for some more advice, please follow me : Twitter: , Facebook: YouTube, LinkedIn, SmartAss Marketer Podcast

Thanks for reading, now get your ass to work.
Tom

Transformation

What Happened To My Company
When I Shifted My Hiring Practices

I've made tons of mistakes as a business owner. I've worked with the wrong clients. I've let a company bully my team for way longer than I should have. I've not always been the best at planning the future of my organization. I've of course learned from each and every one of those mistakes the hard way, but the biggest mistake I've made was hiring the wrong people. And, unfortunately, I didn't learn from that mistake as quickly as I should have.

More often than not, I've rushed into a hire. I've looked for the skillset that I know we needed to drive our clients farther, and I've done a pretty good job of finding THAT skillset. To be honest, most of the hires have been out of necessity. Perhaps a team member is moving on to another opportunity and I need to quickly react. Sometimes we've on-boarded a new client and now need a team member that possesses a certain skillset QUICKLY. I've been hiring for skillset and necessity. This has proven to be completely, 100% wrong. I've read all of the cheesy quotes, hire for character, not skills, hire for personality, not skills and during one time period at my company, I completely, and foolishly ignored ALL of that.

The Cancer
 

My company is fairly small. We have, at any given time 12 team members. We do have a vast network of contractors, but our core is 12. Being so small, I pride myself on knowing what's what with each team member. I look at them as family, I take the role of 'provider' to them quite seriously. I care about them. One morning I woke up to find a dreaded Glassdoor post. The post made some pretty heavy accusations. It expressed concern about transparency within the organization. It expressed concern about pay, about some paranoia, about how over-worked they are and how about how the owners, my wife and I, are cheap. It hurt. It hurt a lot and now, this post lives on online, and obviously, doesn't help the perceived reputation of my company. Rather than getting defensive, which honestly, was my first instinct, I realized that I could dig into this and learn once again. Was I being cheap? Maybe. Was I not being transparent enough with my team about financials or anything else? What did I need to revisit and pay more attention to? What I discovered next blew my mind.

After dwelling on this post for a bit, I decided to dig deeper. The thought of someone leaving an 'Anonymous' post really bothered me. I'm an approachable individual. I do tell my team time and time again to come and chat with me if they need anything, so why was this person hiding behind a veil? That's when I dug deeper. I had a cancer within my organization, and this cancer had spread already. I started poking around, and discovered a whole underground tone. A tone of negativity. A tone of US VS. THEM. A tone that disgusted, and troubled me. One example, my wife and I decided to take the team for a nice Christmas meal and I was really excited to give them each a small cash token of our appreciation. We probably invested about $1,400 that day, between the meal, the cash and the bowling that we did as a team afterwards. Granted, this bonus wasn't huge, it wasn't over the top, but to be honest, it was a sacrifice that we made for them. We did it to show some gratitude for them. It obviously wasn't enough. Posts went between these team members about how one's boyfriend get six times the Christmas bonus that she got, and it went on and on. Ouch. After digging even deeper, the messages between them got even darker and one, even went as far as to attack my youngest daughter with some snide comment. I had a problem. I had a spreading cancer. I had a cancer that if not stopped, could spread and contaminate my small business even farther. It had to be stopped.

The Cure

Some of the gang moved on to pursue other opportunities, and I had to make some difficult decisions about another that just needed to go to stop the spread. After a really challenging two or three months, the cancer was cut out. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't fun. It is partially still going on as another ugly Glassdoor review got posted even 3 months after. Obviously, these past team members had felt wronged. They had felt as if they deserved so much more. They had felt deprived in some way, shape, or form. Despite leaving for other jobs on their own accord, they decided to keep attacking. They keep attacking a company that offered them a chance right out of college, they kept attacking a company that gave them advancement, even after a few months, they kept attacking a company that tried to take care of them with benefits that my wife and I make personal sacrifices to make sure that they are taken care of. The bottom line, I took it personally, and their attacks just proved to me that I did the right thing. They are now, all gone. I obviously needed to do some team member replacement, and I thought long, and hard about what I wanted my team to look like.

Here's what I came up with. I need a team who cares. I need a team who loves other human beings. I need a team of people who don't feel as though they are entitled to getting a raise 3 weeks after they started. I need a team who isn't looking for their next vacation a month after they started. I need a team who loves to work with others and not throw each other under the bus. I need a team who knows how to respect others and understands the flow of things in a business. I need a team of solid human beings. I got them.

The New Team

Just how would I build this new team of loving human beings? Time, patience, and intentionality. I needed to insulate my company and my clients from another outbreak. I did just that, but with a whole new interview process. I took the time to write up what my expectations were of each new, and existing team member. I approached interviews completely differently. I wanted to know about them. What makes them tick. What they feel. How they feel. How they care. What they're passionate about. What they aren't passionate about. How they feel about the world around them. Do they have the ability to care about the world around them? Are they considerate? Do they have a sense of entitlement? Do they LOVE to please our clients? Are they Debbie Downers? You get the idea. I interviewed humans, not producers. I went through a few and then I found them. One, by one. Kind, humble, eager, aware of other human beings and their feelings, understanding, empathetic, caring, loving, polite, and each had an understanding how they fit into the big picture. Oh, and by the way, they had skills, and what skills they didn't have, they were more than willing to learn. I now, have a team that gels. A team that cares. A team that understands their place in the world. I love my team, and I'll never have it any other way ever again. I'm not constantly worrying about what they're saying, I'm not worried about who is going to stab who in the back, I'm not worried about who is going to go rogue, and have a temper tantrum, I'm content, and so are they. And God forbid, one of them should decide to pursue something else, I'll do it again, the exact same way. I'll hire for character, attitude, disposition, compassion, humanity, and then skills.

Walking The Walk

I caused this mess, and as a CEO, all of it was on me. I was foolish to think that hiring for skill alone would fit the bill. I was foolish to think that people would simply conform to an environment and look out for me, and the company that pays their bills. I'm an idealist. I believe in people. I trust people. I trusted some of these people way too much, AND trusted that they were looking out for the greater good of the company, and not always themselves. I don't want to stop believing in people, but I've learned that the people that I hire need to actually believe in other people as well. They have to truly care about the greater good. They have to care about others first, and then be driven to use their skills to enhance our clients needs. I've been scarred, but through the scarring have now built a killer team of amazing humans who happen to have mad skills. Through this experience, I've learned a great deal and have taken steps to improve our company culture, workloads, and more. This whole experience was by far, a tremendous learning experience and for that, I'm grateful.

We recently started working with a new organization that caters to the residential needs, and vocational placement of mentally challenged adults. I took a few team members to the site to get to know their organization a bit better last week. My team made me so proud during that visit. They were compassionate, empathetic, energized, and exhibited the love of other human beings like I never had previously expected. They were awesome, and I'm so glad, and proud to have them all. Mission Accomplished. THIS is what makes my organization tick today, and again, I couldn't have gotten here without going through a little bit of hell.

So, just a quick bit of advice, if you sense a cancer in your organization, don't hesitate like I did. Move swiftly to cut it out, and rebuild if you have to. Hire for personality, hire for culture, hire for humanity, hire for a well-blended team, THEN hire for skill, and teach whatever deficiencies exist. The payoff, in the long run is tenfold. Thanks so much for reading.

Tom