Want to connect with me? Send me a note #LinkedIn #Facebook #SocialMedia #Networking #Rant

I hate spam passionately. There are few things that piss me off more than being bombarded via email or social media about products for which I don't give two damns. These days, with the proliferation of bots and malware, spam can also represent a security issue. I suspect it's probably already happened to me, but …

The things we do for free stuff

This morning, I'll be sitting in on a 10:00 webinar by some company called 36Software. I have no idea what the webinar is about, and since I'll be working during the webinar, I'll be sitting in my home office working on documentation with the webinar on in the background. Why am I sitting in on …

Think spam calls aren’t a big deal? Think again

We all get them. There's a message on your voicemail saying "we've been trying to reach you about your warranty" or "we've detected problems with your computer." They're full of crap, and you know it. You figure that they're mere annoyances. You don't answer the phone anymore, or you've installed a spam filter on your …

How to (and how NOT to) connect on #LinkedIn

Lately, it seems like I've been getting more and more request to connect on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the go-to social networking tool for connecting with people professionally. Ever since I (1) announced that I was looking for a new job, and (2) announced that I'd started a new LLC, the number of connect requests I've …

No cold calls!!!

This is something that is one of my biggest pet peeves. I've written about this before. Because it keeps happening, I'm writing about this again. I often get requests to connect from people I don't know. I will only connect with people with whom I have some kind of established relationship. It's so bad that …

When does a request for info become spam?

I recently saw a post in a Facebook group that I manage for a user group to which I belong. She was brand-new to the group, having joined just hours (maybe even minutes) before she posted. She turned out to be a recruiter. I won't say too much about her because her firm is one …

Ranting my frustration about connect requests

This article may seem to go against one of the things that I preach in my 'blogging presentation, and that is to avoid frustrated rants and "getting it out of your system." Maybe I should be a little more specific. One should avoid mindless rants in which you angrily spew your passions without any thoughts, …

A tale of two LinkedIn requests

Over the weekend (specifically, while I was at SQL Saturday Philadelphia), I received two different LinkedIn connect requests. The two requests were polar opposites, and I thought they were worthwhile writing about in this article. As a technical professional, I often receive "cold-call" connect requests or emails. I am very wary and picky about with …

Email changes and security

When was the last time you changed your phone number?  Let's say you lived in a house for, say, fifteen years.  In that house, you had a landline phone (yes, young 'uns, once upon a time, homes had their own phone numbers).  For whatever reason, you had to sell the house, move away to another …

A few words can make a difference

A couple of weeks ago, the Rensselaer Polytechnic (the RPI student newspaper) published a couple of op-eds in regard to the situation at RPI.  (My friend, Greg Moore, wrote a piece a while back related to this issue.)  In response to the op-eds, I decided to respond with my own letter to the editor. This morning, …