Facebook + Nielsen = Fast Statistics

39% of Facebook users in the US, UK and Australia have donated money or goods to the relief efforts in Haiti - 13% via text messaging. Facebook Users 50 years old or over are twice as likely to make a donation than teenagers. 75% of respondents say they are not prepared for a natural disaster.

The union of the social networking site, Facebook, with the research company, Nielsen, provides statistics on the Haiti relief efforts in no time at all. Could this be a match made in heaven in terms of getting demographics at a low cost faster than traditional methods?

Repair Pal - Everything You Need to Know

A few years ago when my husband and I organized beauty pageants as a business - we had one candidate ask permission to go buy something in nearby Anaheim and she was gone for hours. Her Acura TL had broken down in the middle of the road and her repair man was in San Diego where she lives.

Whether it's for an oil change, a brake job or your car breaking down in the middle of a strange place, it's always nice to know where a nearby repair shop is, what the reputation of that place is from customer reviews and have an estimate of the work you need before asking the shop owner. Whether you're looking for Anaheim or Houston auto repair shops, trust Repair Pal to give you the information you need to be able to get your car fixed and get back on the road in no time.

As for the reason our poor candidate's car broke down - we later found out that she had run out of gas, but was too embarrassed to call us! Sometimes I think that not being in the beauty pageant business anymore is actually a blessing. What do you think?

Making Helping Easy

Help stop sex trafficking of children and young people by purchasing hand cream from The Body Shop. The Body Shop has promoted this great campaign via email marketing.

The store sent me an offer saying that I can get 15% off my entire purchase, if I buy this Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream. Not only do I get a discount when I buy it, but I can help ECPAT (which stands for End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Child Trafficking) with their cause. Isn't that such a win-win situation?

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how many charities there are out there with worthy causes, wanting to help - but not really being able to afford to do so with most of them. But when they make it as simple as buying a $10 hand cream, it makes it easier to give.

Last week, I read that the text HAITI campaign by the Red Cross reached the $10 million mark. I think it was because $10 was not a big amount to donate, the mobile giving campaign was easy to do, and because it was endorsed by so many celebrities - even the president himself. Microgiving works. Ease of donating helps. Informing the people on how they can help is key. Thank you, The Body Shop, and all the companies and organizations out there that are making the world a better place just by launching these brilliant donation campaigns! Keep up the great work!

Mobile Giving for Haiti Earthquake Victims

A member of our church group who was affected by the current recession stated last Saturday that, "It feels different when you are giving from the extra funds that you have than when you are giving when you have nothing to really give." She was talking about giving tithes to the church.

Haiti was hit by an intensity seven earthquake last night, thousands are feared to have died in the calamity. And thousands of financially handicapped Americans have stepped up to help - as evidenced by the $800K raised by the American Red Cross through mobile giving stated in the organization's latest Twitter update. Even US President Obama has endorsed the Red Cross' relief efforts to help Haiti.

There are two ways to contribute to the relief efforts through the American Red Cross:

1. Text 'HAITI' to '90999' for a $10 donation that will be billed by your mobile phone company.


2. Online donations are accepted through the Red Cross' website

Other avenues of helping can be found in the Fox LA website.

It is in these times of crisis that human ingenuity triumphs to use the resources available to help others. Kudos on these mobile relief efforts!

Format Dynamics: Print-It-Yourself Technology

The need to save money has brought about a lot of Do-It-Yourself-ers who remodel their own homes, landscape their own gardens, install their newly purchased electronics system and the like. Hearst Magazines Digital Media thinks that these DIY aficionados may also enjoy - print-it-yourself magazines. Format Dynamics launched CleanPrint ™ today on Hearst Magazine's GoodHousekeeping.com

This technology addresses the need for properly formatted website content when printing - reformatting HTML into multi-column documents so as not to waste paper when printing. And in exchange for this service, it puts in advertising in the print outs, clever right?

Now the only question is, how many people actually print content from websites today. According to ReadWriteWeb, a typical news website will have 0.5% of all their visitors print out content. It happens - though I cringe when I see people do it - some people just seem more comfortable with printed content they can make notes on and scribble on.

Well, this CleanPrint ™ technology claims to help us save paper and provides another avenue for advertising. Do you think you'll ever print your content this way? I think if your product is content - you'll probably love the chance to provide another content delivery option for your customers. So this may still become a popular application. Happy paper-saving, everyone!

Scrabble and The Sims 3 on the Palm Pre

Aside from being two of the very very few online games I play, what does Scrabble and The Sims 3 have in common? They are two of the ten 3D games launched for the Palm Pre. Yup, I'm definitely in trouble now!

They are both available for $6.99 in the Palm App Catalog. Ahh, love! It may not have an extensive app catalog as yet, but my Palm Pre definitely has the apps I would actually use.

And their Developer Program is now open - and for a limited time the $99 fee is waived. I've signed up and am definitely trying my hand in building some webOS applications. Imagine how many apps this free opportunity can potentially add to the catalog - wow! I'm excited, are you?

Images courtesy of the Palm website.

TV in 3-D

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is on its way in Las Vegas - and tons of eye candy are already being spotted by techies and non-techies alike.

One of the most popular of which is 3D TV. Imagine enjoying IMax quality 3D movies at home! With the success of movies like Avatar and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Sony is teaming up with Discovery, IMax, and ESPN to give you a 3D Network and will be selling 3D-ready TVs with active shutter glasses.

I'm sure glad I did not buy a new TV this year - maybe I can put these 3D-ready TVs in my future budget. Will you consider buying a 3D-ready TV for your family? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Image courtesy of Tech Digest.

Cupcakes in Downtown Disney

It's said to be the latest fad in treats today - the cupcake. I have seen blogs that focus on cupcakes, whole books have been devoted to them and even wedding cakes have given way to these sweet personal-sized treats. Looking at them was not as bad as actually having them though!

My coworker told me about this little Cupcake Store in Downtown Disney that had the most heavenly confections imaginable and I vowed to take some time out during the holidays to try them out. We went there with my cousins so we bought the most popular ones and had a tasting feast - we had the chocolate, the red velvet and the vanilla bean. My favorite was the vanilla bean - it was sweet, but not too much so. It had that wonderful vanilla bean flavor and the heaping red sugar icing on top was to die for! Each cupcake probably had a thousand calories at least and most of the people coming to try it commented that they were a bit expensive, but I think they were worth it. Definitely a must have - extremely delicious!

They weren't even advertising aggressively, most of the people coming to try it out said a friend had told them about it. It was that good! If you're ever in Downtown Disney here in Anaheim, it's near the Rainforest Cafe and the AMC cinemas. May you have a delightful sugar rush!

Nexus One: Will Google Rule the Smart Phone Industry?

Are you looking for a new phone and wouldn't mind being on T-Mobile's network? Google just launched Nexus One - available in their own webstore with two current options: (a) unlocked or without a plan at $529 and (b) with a two-year T-Mobile contract at $179.

Web meets phone. Will Google end up ruling the smart phone industry as well? It all depends on this phone - the Nexus One.

I personally like the Droid video better, but when I consider how the video reflects the Google brand - I think the producers did a great job. The almost sitcom-like tune combining with the Google colors and the simplicity of the video - has Google branding written all over it. How well did you like the video? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Packing Tips for New Year Moving

---

The following article is a sponsored post.

---

For those of you who are starting the New Year by moving to a new location - here are some great packing tips that may save you a whole lot of hassle!

If you decide to pack your shipment yourself, plan on at least six weeks to pack and get ready for your move. Moving Companies Los Angeles offers the following packing suggestions:

• Before you start packing, determine the items you want to throw away, donate or sell. Moving is a good time to get rid of items you no longer need. You will save money and have less to pack and unpack. Give yourself enough time to make these decisions.
• Don't just start packing - plan how you will pack. Pack items you seldom use first. Pack items of similar size and weight together. Don't make any carton too heavy to easily lift.
• Always use proper packing cartons and wrapping materials. Use professional packing tape, which is a wide, strong, clear or brown tape. Masking tape is not strong enough to support the weight of a fully-packed carton. Tape all cartons closed on the top and bottom - don't just fold the end flaps closed. Use crumpled, unprinted newspaper to pack items in boxes.
• Label the contents on the outside of all boxes, along with the rooms to which they should be delivered to in your new home. When packing fragile items, clearly mark "fragile" on the outside of the box, with arrows on the sides to indicate the correct upright position.
• Indicate boxes holding essential items such as cooking utensils, bedding, linens and toiletries that need to be opened first by writing "open first" on the box and making sure these are the last boxes to be loaded onto the moving van.

If you are moving within Los Angeles, please check out my sponsor, Melrose Moving's website - Los Angeles Office Movers and get a free quote at 1-800-431-3920.

Techie Gift Ideas in Polka Dots

In the Philippines, the new year always brought back polka dots in fashion. The dots and round shapes in particular was said to bring you wealth - maybe because they are shaped like coins. It's one of those things we got from our Chinese neighbors. My mom tried to have 13 round fruits on the table on New Year's Eve, she hid lots of round coins all over the house and she made us wear polka dots.

Recent creatively designed polka dots have made me very fond of this pattern. And polka dots have been finding their way into fashionable gadget cases this year - here are a few gift ideas to bring good fortune for that special techie who's celebrating their birthday this month - from Etsy.com:

The Pippipod for iPhones, iPods, Blackberries, Motorola Droid and my Palm Pre. I am especially fond of the pastel greens used in this design.

This is a creative modification to the usual polka dots - protective cell phone case with padded pockets in lime multi dots. This is padded with fleece and heavy-weight interfacing to protect your precious gadgets from scratches and scuffs.

I love the fact that this laptop netbook envelope looks literally like an envelope. I think pastels really go well with this chocolate brown, don't you?

And if you were one of those who was gifted with a Kindle this Christmas, don't you just love this water resistant cover? I tend to want to read using my Kindle near bodies of water like swimming pools and soothing water features in parks - it's always reassuring to know that it's protected just in case.

Partly because I've always enjoyed James Bond movies, my university's color was maroon and it's a modified polka dot design - I love this martini-inspired Kindle cover by Amy Butler.

I hope you enjoyed my polka dot techie gift ideas for January. Happy New Year, my friends - may 2010 bring you wealth, happiness and love!