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Spontaneous Donor When There's a Disaster? Make Sure the Charity is Legit

Filed under: Consumer Complaints, Family Finances

My heart goes out to the thousands of people affected last month by the tornadoes which hit with a fury through several states in the United States.

With the death toll now over 40, its a reminder of the power of Mother Nature.

And its also amazing to see how the survivors and fellow citizens have banded together.

But for those who didn't have insurance or very little savings in the wake of a disaster, charity organizations will be happily aiding those in need.

But are you sure your donation will get to those in need? Whether its $10 or $100, make sure the money gets into right hands.

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No Surprise: More Women Like Social Networking Than Men

Filed under: Technology

womanIt's the teenage girls, rather than teenage boys, who demand their own lines or telephones, any parent will confirm. They can spend hours on end discussing whatever it is that is important to their world. Guys make arrangements as to where to meet for, say, a hockey game, while the girls – making similar arrangements – will debate what to wear, and how this or that girl, a friend of theirs, looked perfectly ugly the last time out.

So, is it any surprise that almost three-quarters of women are keen on using social networks, and only about a half of the men would be bothered?

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How to Be a Success at University for Free

Filed under: Employment & Careers, Back to School

UniversityI remember my first week of post-secondary education and my trepidation about being on an unfamiliar school grounds, surrounded by strangers and hoping to not be late for my first class.

It was an odd sensation to not be compelled to be at school, other than your own decision to be there.

There wasn't a school secretary or homeroom teacher who was taking attendance as you arrived at school. No one was looking over my shoulder - well except my circle of friends.

And despite the lack of easily afforded cellular phones at that time, the same belief for all students still stands from all those years ago - its about being mobile and social.

Making it easy to communicate with friends and family is even easier in the 21st century, thanks to many software options that are free.

Microsoft Canada conducted a survey with university students, asking them what was their major concerns as they made the transition from highschool to college.

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Has Social Media Become Your Travel Agent?

Filed under: Travel

Whether its a business trip or a week-long vacation, its becoming rare for many of us to walk in the doors of a travel agency and work with a travel agent.

According to a recent survey by Swedish travel website Tripl, social media is rapidly changing the way we view travel. Tripl's Social Travel Revolution analyzed how travelers using Facebook and Twitter, as well as how access to the internet is changing.

The numbers reveal that we're all getting more connected, checking our fave social media sites and more than likely to do it from a mobile phone than any other electronic accessory. According to Tripl, 72 per cent of us access social media daily when we're traveling.

But does that preclude expert advice?

Social Media: The High Cost of Behaving Like a Jackass in the Digital Age

Filed under: Celebs & Money, Employment & Careers, Technology


social mediaEmily Post may have taught your grandmother that the salad fork goes on the left, or that "May I present" is better than "May I introduce" when it comes to formal introductions, but recent headlines seem to indicate there's a whole new list of etiquette rules that need to be applied to social media in the digital age.

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried probably could've used such a thing before he made that fateful decision to tweet jokes like, "Japan is really advanced. They don't go to the beach, the beach comes to them." after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Whether you thought his jokes were funny and just Gilbert being Gilbert or they were too soon and grossly insensitive, there's no question they cost him what was a lucrative and high-profile position as the Aflac spokes-duck.

Canadians Go Online for Financial Info

Filed under: Family Finances, Retirement and RRSPs, Taxes

As a financial type, I shouldn't admit this, but March is my least favourite time of year. RRSP season is barely behind me, and now I have to think about taxes? Wonderful.

I know I'm not alone, so it's no surprise that Canadians are looking for plenty of financial information at this time of year. And according to new research by Investors Group, who surveyed more than 1,000 Canadians who save and invest, many of us are finding the information we need online through financial websites, blogs and social media.

"We conducted this survey because advisors keep hearing [from clients] that their information is coming from the Web," says Christine Van Cauwenberghe, Director, Tax and Estate Planning at Investors Group. "Lots of people send all sorts of information through blogs or on Twitter or LinkedIn."

Online Sources More Credible?
The survey shows 42 percent of us now use online sources and social media to find information to help us make financial decisions. And 38 percent believe online sources of financial information are more credible than family and friends (30 per cent) or traditional TV, radio and print media (29 per cent). However, 66 percent still rely on experts when making the final financial decision.

eBay Launches New Group Gift Service Using Facebook Intelligence

Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Economizer, Saving, Shopping, Technology, Holidays

With Christmas fast approaching, and many still looking at ways to control their spending in these uncertain economic times, eBay has come up with a new social media-oriented service that lets people pool their funds to buy a gift.

eBay Group Gifts, which is now live on eBay, uses social media such as Facebook and Twitter (@eBayGroupGifts) to bring people together when buying a gift for someone. The new service, which is also now shown on the Facebook website, can assist an organizer in selecting a gift. It does this by using all that information supplied in those 'likes' and 'fan pages' combined with cookies, age and gender information -- basically anything a person includes in their profile.

Using Social Media to Boost Your Career

Filed under: Employment & Careers

Over the past few weeks, we've given you some pointers on how not to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Some of you have commented that the best way to not get in trouble online is to not use these sites at all. If that's your choice, more power to you, but I'm here to tell you that you're missing out on a big job market. More and more companies are using social media sites to find potential employees, and if you're not on those sites, they can't find you.

Of course, it's important to use social media platforms properly. You'll want to come up with a social media strategy for promoting yourself. First, decide which sites you want to use, and how you're going to use them. Second, decide how you want to present yourself online. Be professional and be consistent. Don't hail the overturning of Prop 8 in one place, then dis it in another because you think that's what people want to hear. Nobody appreciates a fake.

If you're ready to get started, here are the most common social media sites, and some things to keep in mind when using them.

Why Small Businesses Are Turning to Social Media

Filed under: Employment & Careers, Entrepreneurship, Technology

For many small businesses, relying on traditional advertising and marketing channels just doesn't make good business sense. Instead, they're turning to social media campaigns, for two very good reasons. First, small businesses get more than half of their customers through word of mouth. And word of mouth travels a whole lot faster on Twitter than it does in real life.

Second, small businesses can't compete with the big dogs in terms of advertising and marketing budgets. So free social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Tumblr can really help level the playing field.

Original Skateboards is one example of a social media success story. For years the company barely broke even, and then the owners had the idea of posting an ad on YouTube. That first video increased sales by 40%, which led to a focused campaign of advertising on YouTube. Original Skateboards is now a multimillion dollar company thanks, in large part, to its 73,000 YouTube subscribers.

How Facebook and Twitter Can Ruin Your Credit Rating, Job Prospects and More

Filed under: Banks, Employment & Careers, Consumer Complaints, Credit Cards, Insurance, Real Estate

Do you ever get spooked by the ads on Facebook that are specifically targeted at you, or the odd friend suggestion made about that random person you met 10 years ago? Well, things in the social media sphere are set to get a whole lot spookier and this time it could affect your finances.

Prospective employers, landlords and even financial institutions and insurers are using information posted on public social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Flickr to find out information about clients. It's something called 'data mining', and it's becoming increasingly tapped by businesses. They are not breaking any rules - after all, the information is public.

So how do they do it?
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