Who would I like meet…past, present or future? What a huge question with lots of possibilities. I asked my kids and my youngest son replied without hesitation, “Mom…she is the best cook!” You have to love that answer.

My mind clutters and gets distracted with all of the possibilities. How do I narrow it down, how do I make a final choice?

Finally I decide. I would choose someone from my present. My “anyone” has inspired me as an online professional, a mother and a Christian. She lives across the globe from me but probably has been the biggest influencer in my life over the past two years.

Kathie M. Thomas, founder of a Clayton Secretary, entered my virtual world back in 2007. She probably does not realize what a profound effect she has made in my life. She challenged me with the idea that I could work from home, take care of my family and try to live the life of the Proverbs 31 woman.

So if today I could go to the airport and take a flight across the globe I would travel to Australia and meet her. She has recently challenged us to make a difference in someone’s life. I wonder if she realizes the difference she has made in mine?

Thank you Kathie for being...

Olinda Services

Is LinkedIn worth the effort? I have been analyzing this for myself and for clients. In February I blogged about seeing my connections grow. That was awesome but how do I connect those connections to my home page?

I use the 3 social media giants. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I love Twitter because it is immediate. I love talking to people in real time and seeing what is going on. I like Facebook but I don’t like all the fluff. LinkedIn has been a real power broker for me. I find myself cultivating more connections there through groups. I have been posting information that I find interesting to these groups and also my own blog entries. I have seen traffic to my home page grow and at least triple in the past month. These are the results I have been looking for. Continuous upward growth.

So yes, I find LinkedIn is worth the effort. I am putting about 30 minutes a day into LinkedIn and hope to increase that in the coming weeks.

What can LinkedIn do for you?

Olinda Services

As a virtual assistant I am always trying to get the biggest bang for my software buck. PC World released today it's "101 Undiscovered Freebies: The List". I thought I would give you my take as I have tried many of these "Best Bets" programs.

* Advanced SystemCare Free- I have not used this program. Instead I recommend Glary Utilities. Make sure you uncheck the install Ask toolbar.
* Avast Home Edition - this program is my college son's best bet. He has reviewed it on his blog "Pearls of Wisdom"
* Digsby - I reviewed this program earlier this month and gave it a mixed review.
* DVD Flick - I have not used - looks interesting though.
* Gmail Labs - I do not use Gmail so offer no opinion.
* Google Calendar Sync - Love this program. It allow me to update a client calendar through Outlook - saves me time so I don't have to double enter the calendar items.
* List.it - A list building program which I have not used. Build all of my list in OneNote.
* OpenOffice.org - If you don't want the investment in Microsoft Office then this is certainly a viable option. They also have a portable version which works well...

Olinda Services