Not so fast! Don’t click that tiny URL yet because it could be malicious. Over the years, Internet users have learned not to follow suspicious links but many blindly follow shortened URLs. Scammers, phishers, and affiliate marketers know this and regularly use shortened URLs to bypass security controls and trick unsuspecting users into visiting malicious Web sites. Clicking a malicious URL, whether in its original form or shortened, can infect your computer with malware or worse!

URL shortening services such as TinyURL.com have been around since the early 2000s. Originally designed to make long URLs easier to deal with, URL shortening services are now a must for anyone who uses microblogging sites such as Twitter. After all, with Twitter’s 140 character limit, a single URL quickly fills the entire post. By using a tiny URL, tweeters are able to explain what the link is about. URL shortening services are enjoying a resurrection thanks to Twitter and other microblogging sites.

Because short URLs often mask malicious URLs, smart Twitter users don’t randomly click these links. If the link is from a trusted source, such as CNN, the URL is most likely safe. However, links in re-tweets, from people you do not know, or found via Twitter Search may be suspect. Imagine searching twitter for “free coupon codes” and finding a Tweet with a short URL directing you to a “free coupon codes” Web site. Sounds perfect, right? So you click on the short URL only to find a nasty surprise: pornography, a scam site, or a driveby download.

One way to avoid these surprises is to use a URL expanding service or a URL preview if offered. Several URL expanding services such as ExpandMyURL.com and PrevURL.com allow you to copy and paste the short URL into a text box. Once entered, you will see the long form of the URL and, in some cases, a snapshot of the Web page that the URL represents. Once you see the long URL, you’ll be better able to determine if it is a worthwhile site. For example, a URL such as CNN.com/headlines is legitimate while a URL like HotSexPhotos.com/Priscilla is obviously a porn site.

Another technique is to type the word “preview” in front of the short URL. This works for URLs made with the TinyURL.com service. For example, if the short URL looks like “tinyurl.com/12345,” entering “preview.tinyurl.com/12345″ will take you to the TinyURL.com home page where you will see the original long form of the URL.

An add-on for the Firefox Web browser is also available from LongURLplease.com. This add-on automatically replaces short URLs with the original long URL, allowing you to be better informed before you click.

Short URLs have their place and are becoming extremely popular once again due to the popularity of microblogging. While most short URLs are legitimate links, enough of them point to malicious or pornographic sites. Use common sense and make sure that before you click, you expand the URL.

Be Smart. Be Safe.

Written by Andrea Kalli
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Andrea Kalli is the owner of Andrea Kalli Virtual Trainer and Assistant, LLC, the Outlook, SharePoint, and Business Technology Podcast, and the Small Business Podcast Directory.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Hello, my favorite geeky gyrls! This is my first post here at GeekGyrls.com and I thought I’d start out with a new monthly feature of the best geeky tips and toys that I come across so you too can be an early adopter. I’ll strive to compile my own personal geeky finds and spare you the drudgery of hunting them down yourselves. I’ll highlight gadgets, online services and tips on using some of our most valued tools in our business and life. If you ever come across something truly geeky and would like me to include it, feel free to pop me a direct message at Twitter (I’m @VirtuAllin) or let us know in the comments. And on with the geeky show!

As an entrepreneur, keeping up to date on a broad spectrum of information is critical to staying competitive in today’s business climate. I need to know what challenges my potential clients face, what tools are available to them, how others are succeeding and more. Most of us gain this valuable insight through subscription to blogs using RSS feeds. If you need to know more about RSS, check out this cute and informative YouTube video from commoncraft.

So, I love me some RSS. Paired with my need to take in all that great information is my need to push it right back out to my social network. As you know, social networking for entrepreneurs especially is a vital element to growing your brand and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. Two of the most popular ways of sharing this type of information is by using  Twitter and/or Facebook to push the best and brightest blog posts and news items out to your list of friends/followers.

Now, what has all of this got to do with my favorite geeky tech toys? Exactly this - I’m going to tell you how I accomplish all of the above with some really fantastic time-saving toys. If you’re anything like me, you’ll adore these and will quickly find you can’t live without them.

RSS Reading and Social Sharing

Some of you may already be using Google Reader to keep up with your RSS feeds. Google reader is decidedly simple yet very usable, it’s free and thanks to a flexible system, quite a comprehensive web-based RSS feed reader.

But to take that power and multiply it by 1000 productivity points, you need Feedly. Feedly not only organizes your Google Reader feeds into a beautiful, clean categorized layout but easily allows you to share the best of the best feeds with other Google Reader friends, Twitter, Facebook and much more! Feedly is a Firefox extension, so if you’re still using Internet Explorer (what???) you may want to make a switch.

Feedly also offers the Feedly mini, a fantastic and powerful tiny toolbar that allows you to recommend any and all web pages you happen to discover - on to your community. It also shows you how many conversations that web page or blog post might have sparked up over on Friendfeed.

One of my favorite features in Feedly is the ‘latest’ tab, which displays the posts of the blogs you’re subscribed to as they’re published. This lets you read and share the hottest and most interesting stuff before everyone else. The first person to post hot news on Twitter is often the one that gets the most ‘RTs’ or ‘Re-Tweets’ and thus more visibility for your brand.

Another fantastic feature is the ‘Karma’ tab. Karma is Feedly’s latest experiment that shows you how people react to the content you’re sharing - how many times your peers clicked a link in something you shared, how many times it was re-tweeted and more!

I won’t go into each and every feature of Feedly here, but I highly recommend you check out my post about Feedly and Louis Gray’s terrific Feedly post and start using Feedly A.S.A.P. I just know you’ll love it! Let us know what you think and clue us in on some of your favorite geeky finds in the comments! Thanks!

Written by Cheryl Allin
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Cheryl launched VirtuAllin, a Virtual Assistant practice in 2001 and specializes in Internet Marketing and Joomla websites. She blogs at VA4RE, JoomlaWiz and operates Search4VAs a free Virtual Assistant directory.

Popularity: 19% [?]

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A woman had a dream to swim the English Channel. After two years of stringent training she was ready to reach for her dream.

The day was unseasonably warm, a good sign she thought, as she prepared for her take off from France, heading for England. Not worrying about beating any records, her plan was to complete the swim in 12-14 hours. Nine hours into the swim she was still feeling positive. The escort boats continued to provide encouragement and support as she continued towards the English coast.

Suddenly a dense fog settled in and the waters became cold and choppy, taking their toll on her body as she continued to push beyond her limits, rounding into hour twelve. By the time she began her 13^th hour, her pace was decidedly slower, and the fog just a bit denser than it had been for the past several hours.

It was totally impossible to see anything now; the fog was so thick, as she tried hopelessly to keep her arms and legs moving. Worn out and totally spent, she just didn’t think she could go any further. Reluctantly, she asked the escort boat to pull her out; she just couldn’t go any longer.

As they headed for the shoreline, she was surprised to find that she had quit only 200 yards from shore. Because the dense fog had prevented her from seeing land, she just felt like there was no end in sight. How disappointing that must have been for her.

This story has always resonated for me. I’m a very visual person, so sometimes not being able to see the finish line can cause me to hesitate or back away from completing something that could easily have taken me to the next level in my business.

I’ve taken steps now to ensure that when I make a plan, it’s not open-ended; it has a beginning, middle, and an end, one that I promise myself I will reach, no matter what.

I started a new marketing plan last year, and when I checked in on the progress mid-year, I hadn’t seen a significant increase in attaining the goals I’d hoped the plan would help me achieve, but I didn’t change direction, I didn’t abandon the original plan. I was determined to follow it through to the end of the year and see how it really performed.

Today I had a little extra time to take a peek at where I am and how I’m doing – hey, things are starting to look up – the new marketing is reaching the target I had in mind, and I’m starting to increase exposure and dialog in this arena…so finally, I can see land, or the hint of land, and I’m happy to keep the new plan in place.

So take a moment to consider what you’ve done better this year, maybe what you haven’t yet completed, and what changes you may want to incorporate in the coming months. Although the economy may have dealt us some lemons, I’m anxious to begin making lemonade, how about you?

Don’t give up on your business’ look for ways to streamline processes and expenses in a way that doesn’t compromise your marketing initiatives, or the way you connect with current and past clients. Check into new technologies and ways to increase productivity and encourage and acknowledge your staff and those who have direct contact with your clientele.

Written by Jeannine Clontz
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Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services, co-author of the book Entreneurial Freedom, a coach at VABizcoach and blogs over at VAbizbriefs.

Popularity: 26% [?]

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There is so much interesting stuff out there, who can keep up?  Some of the best sites that I subscribe to constantly provide really good content and a good read when I can grab a couple of minutes between projects.  Here are six of my favorites:

Webworker Daily www.webworkerdaily.com Useful new gadgets, advices, reviews, ideas and innovations – everything for all of us who connect to the world through the web each day.

Sitepoint www.sitepoint.com Great informative articles, service comparisons, advice and resources for the web.  Plus our very own Geek Gyrl, Alyssa Gregory, is  a regular contributor, I believe. (Thanks, Alyssa.)

Toxel www.toxel.com Not strictly techy, but a great site that reviews design and innovation – often in and around really ordinary objects.  It stimulates the creative juices and constantly reminds me that there is always a new and fresh way to do something.  Besides, darling, there is simply no excuse for every object in your home to be anything less than extraordinary!

Freelanceswitch www.freelanceswitch.com Regular advice and supportive articles on the trials and tribulations of being a freelancer, including handling difficult clients, pricing, presentations, and  time management.  Solid, experienced advice.

Fail blog www.failblog.com – Ok my 13 year old son turned me onto this one, and it doesn’t classify as informative or geeky – its mostly pointing the finger at bad behavior, toilet humor or political incorrectness  – but it is funny, sometimes juvenile and sometimes enlightening.  Badly worded signage, juxpositioned images or simply bad English are posted as “fails”. It usually makes me laugh each day, and we could all use that!

Written by Caroline Wright
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Caroline Wright is the owner of The Wright Solution, a VA company specializing in virtual executive assistance and project management.

Popularity: 50% [?]

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Right now a beach vacation sounds great, but might feel unaffordable. And, uh-oh, the car odometer just rolled over to 60,000 and is due for one of those major expensive checkups, so that will wipe out a large part of your vacation fund.

Here’s how I took care of both of those obstacles by signing new clients who had services and products I wanted.

The owner/manager of some lovely beach homes in an area where we  love to vacation offers shared ownership of some of his beach front properties and rents them when the share owners can’t use them. We’d been invited guests of friends who own one of these timeshares and imagined how nice it would be to own one ourselves. My husband and I just couldn’t swing the cost of fractional ownership and the rental prices are staggering, too.

We visited this resort area once or twice a year, always staying in not-so-nice digs, and for just a couple of nights’ stay. After one of these visits, I decided to contact the owner  of the luxury properties and see if he needed any web support (I’d visited his site and knew it remained largely unchanged for long periods). It was one of those happy serendipitous connections: he’d been looking for someone to take over the site’s maintenance for awhile and I called at the right time. We went forward from there and now I barter with him periodically for a week at one of his lovely properties.

My auto mechanic of twenty years had never made the leap to the Web. Living in a small town means we’ve become well-acquainted over the years and when I come in for service we chat about kids, baseball, our town. Enough years have passed that father had passed ownership to son, who seemed poised to take the business in some new hip directions. During an oil change I the son if he had considered building a website. He responded that he knew they needed to do it but were too busy to figure out where to begin. We chatted about it and the seed was planted. A couple months later, he called and asked if I could come in and discuss building a site. We agreed to barter and I ended up with almost a year of auto service in exchange for the project.

On a smaller scale, I have worked out trades for advertising on one of my sites with my massage therapist, the owner of a local yarn shop, my hair stylist, and a cycling shop.

The approach to this strategy is simple.

1. List the  businesses you already frequent, and scope out their operations for a place where your services might be a fit. Since you already know what they have to offer, there is barter potential if you land them as a client.
2. Pay them a visit at a time when they aren’t swamped, and mention what you can do for them. If you’re a regular face and they are already familiar with you on one level, it we be much easier.
3. After you have a contract and have developed a good working relationship with this new client, broach the barter idea.

If you haven’t bartered before, you’ll need to become familiar with the IRS rules for barter transactions and be sure to issue invoices and keep accounting records which will satisfy the government. You also need to consider that barter income reduces cash income, so you’ll need to make certain you don’t arrange for more bartering relationships than you can afford.

In the current economy, hand picking the clients you want from the businesses you already know and trust is a low risk approach. Just look around. These may be in your community just waiting for you to tap them. Or, if you prefer not to work with local clients, think about the businesses you frequent when traveling, visiting family, or on vacation. You probably have many relationships with businesses in which you could convert your role from customer to service provider. And if you can add a bartering arrangement to the deal, you both win.

Written by Katie Baird
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Katie is the owner Loose Ends , a Mac-driven virtual assistance practice established in 1996. Katie specializes in web development and support and she loves to blog about her virtual assistant life at Loosely Speaking. Find her on Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn as "ktcosmos," and (since she's also a knitting fanatic) on Ravelry as "LooseKnit."

Popularity: 46% [?]

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The only thing I forgot to say is that the Sprint Navigation ROCKS. I’ve seen a few of these and Sprint’s is, in my opinion, the best. There are currently just a few apps available, but they are good quality ones. Also, the photo quality is great… I’ll post a photo, untouched and taken with my phone below the video. Enjoy!

Written by Candy Beauchamp
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Candy Beauchamp is the owner of OffAssist Virtual Bookkeeping, and chief question answerer at 2 Minutes With A VA.

Popularity: 54% [?]

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A brand new conference organized by Kelby Carr (@typeamom) of Type-A Mom was recently announced, and I have to tell you, it’s already starting to look like it will be one of this year’s “cannot miss” conferences. As one of the speakers at the conference (I am honored…check out this lineup of speakers), I wanted to share the info and get you other geeky moms out there to sign up! Here are the details:

The Type-A Mom Conference is a unique mom blogging conference designed to help you take it to the next level. The conference will feature some of the most influential, admired and insightful mom bloggers talking about topics like power social networking, branding, blogging, finding your voice, and turning your passion for blogging into a real paycheck.

It will be help from September 24-27 in Asheville, NC.

One of the coolest and most unique aspects of the conference is KidCon. KidCon is actually a conference for kids that will be going on while all of the Type-A Moms are doing their thing. And it’s not just babysitting! The kids will get to participate in a schedule rich in fun and educational activities, get to demo and test out cool new toys, and get swag bags geared at their specific age group.

From now until the end of June, super early-bird registration is only $100 per person.

As the conference slogan says: “You can come, but only if you BRING IT!” So who’s in?

Written by Alyssa Gregory
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Owner of avertua, LLC, author of VA Secrets Revealed, founder of the Virtual Assistant Hub, blogger at the Small Business Idea Generator, and a whole bunch of other stuff!

Popularity: 42% [?]

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Several weeks ago I did a post talking about the ultra-cool Squidoo Countdown module for launching a product. At the time I had recently built a Squidoo page for an author and used the module as a countdown for her book launch. It created a really nice countdown banner indicating how many days and hours until the book was available for purchase. What I didn’t know was how it would look AFTER the date had been reached.

Well, now we know. The book release date was on June 7th, which was 3 days ago. Below, you can see what the countdown banner looks like now. Way cool and absolutely perfect!

Written by Andrea Kalli
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Andrea Kalli is the owner of Andrea Kalli Virtual Trainer and Assistant, LLC, the Outlook, SharePoint, and Business Technology Podcast, and the Small Business Podcast Directory.

Popularity: 39% [?]

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So you’ve heard about using a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, you’ve heard how its a great way to amp up your productivity and allow you to do more business.

You’ve heard that you can use a VA only when you need one..sort of pay-as-you-go and that sounds like it actually might suit your budget. All you need now are some hot prospects and to shop some pricing and rates..easy enough. You are are sure you can find your VA for $10-$12 an hour real quick.

Hold on to your britches hot stuff…you are in for a rude awakening. I’m here to save you from an anxiety attack…your ideal VA is going to cost you between $30-$55 an hour, depending on the service.

HOLY Crap you say…what a rip off. Well, hot stuff..another rude awakening for you. It’s NOT a rip-off. And if you plan right..and I’m here to tell you why.  I bring this up only because of a common MISCONCEPTION.  The word “assistant” is giving you the wrong impression.

Running a real estate business takes business savvy. Tech savvy, Marketing savvy, Financial savvy, Internet savvy, Social savvy and think outside the box savvy. It takes alot of talent to keep the momentum going..contacting leads, managing your database well, planning and EXECUTING marketing campaigns, learning all the new technology and staying on top of your online precense. All of this is an investment in your time..time that could be overwhelming you, to the point that you are having a hard time keeping up the momentum. I won’t even mention balancing your people skills, phone skills, sales skills..that is your department.

So in the corporate world, busy executives like you know that having team members that can handle some of the time consuming tasks is what it takes to be the best CEO of their companies. They don’t do it all. They have people. Talented and effecient people. Let’s take a look at some of the salaries of these talented individuals who keep the CEO on top of his or her game.

From PayScale.com

Executive Assistant: Salary: $40,000-$60,000 annually plus benefits

Internet Marketing Specialist: $50,000-$70,000 annually plus benefits

Social Media Marketing Manager: $60,000-$120,000 annually plus benefits

Transaction Coordinator: $30,000 annually

Webmaster: $45,000-$55,000 annually

Photoshop Professional: $40,000-$55,000 annually

Website copywriter: $50,000-$60,000 annually

Add in for free: real estate knowledge, training and experience

The above positions are the basic specialties that you will find in my particular business and many VA’s like me. We are trained, we are experienced and we run our own companies as our own CEO’s.  We pay our own taxes, our own insurance etc. just like you. We pay for our office equipment and supplies. We pay for our training. All of it..just like you! We are worth our pay-scale just like you!

40 hours per month with a VA is an average of $1400. $1400 equals $16,800 a year.  No employee taxes, no office equipment, no benefits. So when and if you start looking for your “assistant” ….get that word out of your head, and look at what you are really getting. You are getting a full fledged professional who takes their business very seriously..as much as you do.

Get to know your partner, they will get to know you, and after a while you will be amazed at the fabulous and efficient business you are running.  Partnering with a real estate virtual assistant is an investment, an investment in you!

Dedicated to Anna:)

Written by Laura Monroe
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Laura Monroe is the owner of Creative Agent Solutions, a premier Real Estate Virtual Assistance boutique for Agents & Brokers, & the founder of the REVA Group on Active Rain RE Network.

Popularity: 52% [?]

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One of the most popular training certification course right now is VAClassroom’s Social Marketing Specialist Program. Craig Cannings, the co-founder of VAclassroom.com and developer of this program, has seen so many amazing testimonies on how this niche training program has helped to increase many of their graduates’ client and income opportunities!

VAClassroom is running a very attractive summer special on this course where you can access a $100 discount off the regular price of $397 (ONLY $297). The course includes over 30 interactive videos, supplementary resources guides, action-plan templates as well as an exclusive Social Network designed for our Social Marketing Students to connect with instructors and each other - a great learning atmosphere!

“If you are looking to further your Virtual Assistant skills in the area of Social Media Marketing then don’t overlook the Social Marketing Specialist Training Program offered at VAClassroom. The course material is extensive, current and very relevant to any business looking to leverage social media into their marketing plans.

In fact, within 1 month of completing the program, I secured a Social Media project that more than paid for the tuition of the course. Now that’s a good return on investment!”

Theresa Scholes
ClickVA

Here is the link and Coupon Code for the Social Media Marketing Training Program:
http://www.vaclassroom.com
$100 Discount Coupon: SUMMER09

Written by Anna Baron
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Anna Baron is the owner of The Virtual Link, The Virtual Secretary, VAstartup, Virtual Assistant Blog and various other blogs and web sites.

Popularity: 44% [?]

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