8 things I wish everyone knew about email

1. Change your settings so that email from you has a name, your name, not a blank or some unusual characters, in the from field. (ask a geek or IT person for help if you don’t know how).
2. Change your settings so that the bottom of every email includes a signature (often called a sig) that includes your name and your organization.
3. Change your settings so that when you reply to a note, the note you’re replying to is included below what you write (this is called quoting).
4. Don’t hit reply all. Just don’t. Okay, you can, but read this first.
5. You can’t recall an email you didn’t mean to send. Some software makes you think you can, but you can’t. Not reliably.
6. Email lives forever, is easy to spread and can easily show up in discovery for a lawsuit.
7. Please don’t ask me to save a tree by not printing your email. It doesn’t work, it just annoys the trees.
8. Send yourself some email at a friend’s computer. Read it. Are the fonts too big or too small? Does it look like a standard email? If it doesn’t look like a standard, does this deviation help you or hurt you? Sometimes, fitting in makes sense, no?

And a bonus tip from Cory Doctorow (who got it from danah boyd). Cory gets more email than you and me combined: When you go on vacation, set up an autoreply that says, “I’m on vacation until x/x/2010. When I get back, I’m going to delete all the email that arrived while I was gone, so if this note is important, please send it to me again after that date.”

Finally time to tell you about AEI

The annual Association Executive Institute met in Quebec city last week.  Over 1200 NAR executives from around the country investing in  learning and networking.  I took classes in everything from social networking to policy governance and everything in between.  4 days of great programing.  NAR is definitely taking it up a notch.  The RPR program by NAR is going to be amazing. The goal is a national database of every property with details taken from tax records and MLS.  the beta test looks incredible.  NAR is also building a co-op program for associations.  This will be amazing. 

The value of a REALTOR is being enhanced at every level across the country. You can be very proud of NAR

Do you have time to blog?

Just use cut and paste. If you see a cool article in our email, cut and paste it into your blog

Social Media

Amber Mac is speaking of the value of social media .  Look at the video of United Breaks Guitars video. It went viral and  had 8 million views. Social media allows you to become an expert in specific things or compain or advocate’ Great opportunity to focus on neighborhoods or skills

very motivating opening speaker. Check out Eric Saperston on Youtube

REALTOR Rally tomorrow. The best day of education in real estate! don’t miss it

Great SMDRA Day

It’s Saturday and we have a CREC update class here and We have members helping the US Cenus and we are having a ton of open houses for NAR National Open house day.  Wow great day

Presdent Approves New 51-Star Flag! Press Release

Show Your Colors Announces New 51-Star Flag

Puerto Rico Added as 51st State

Capitol Hill
Not since 1960 has the United States added or amended the “Nifty-50” stars on the American Flag. Now, exactly 50 years later, the 50 stars on the American Flag have become 51 with the addition of Puerto Rico as a state.

Early this morning in a special joint session of congress, President Obama met via internet from his current stay in the UK with his cabinet and fellow lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They were hard at work putting the finishing touches on Senate Bill SB939-A, which was released to the public late Friday evening. Surprisingly, this controversial bill has gotten very little coverage by the mainstream American media, but this is of course typical for most news stories released at the end of the week. Citing the current economic catastrophe, President Obama reportedly issued the following statement early this morning:

“This is a great day for America. I would like you to please join with me as we celebrate this momentous occasion. No longer are we a nation of Blacks and Whites. No longer are we a nation of Rich and Poor, of “haves” and “have-nots”. We are, instead, a nation of Americans. Please join me in welcoming our nearly 4 million new brothers and sisters who have so valiantly and bravely made the decision to become a part of the greatest nation the world has ever known.” This statement was made shortly after the signing of Senate Bill SB737-A early this morning, while most Americans were still asleep. I won’t bore you with the litany of monotonous details, but in a nutshell it is a bill declaring the annexation into the American Union of ” El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico” Or, for you and I – Puerto Rico.

51-Star American Flag

According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, this decision “adds millions of jobs to the American economy”, and also will begin to “open up a few key trade routes that have begun to dwindle over the past few years”. I for one, don’t think that adding an entire state to our country is going to do much towards boosting our struggling economy, but then again maybe that’s why I’m not the one in charge.

As noted historian Thomas Mclaughlin put it: “This is a sad day for my country. Never in my life did I imagine I would see something as ludicrous as this. The sheer manner in which Congress passed this piece of legislation should in itself raise questions as to the Constitutionality of the entire ordeal.”
Well America, it’s surprising to say the least. And perhaps frightening to say the most. No longer will we be Pledging Allegiance to Old Glory, thanks to our lawmakers even that small piece of American tradition is now lost forever. Congress will be officially be releasing public statements as to the passage of the bill as well as the ratification of the new 51 star American Flag sometime later this afternoon. I have a few words for you, Congress – Your unwieldy use of power has begun to destroy the very country that you claim to serve. I also have a few words for the rest of you, America – April Fool’s!

About Show Your Colors Flag Co,
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Show Your Colors has been delivering patriotism for 25 years! For more information about us, visit http://www.sycflags.com/about-us.aspx