Do Your Research!!

© Photo by beverley barker from FreeImages

We have a situation. Yes, I am sorta back. I just wanted to get this out there to help counter what many believe is true. So I may disappear again, but this is important.

I began cooking last Saturday. I open the utensils drawer. I see what I thought was dirt on a spoon. Odd, but I thought nothing more about it. I put it in the sink, and kept doing what I was doing.

The next day, I see more strange pellets or specks of dirt. Then it hit me. A mouse. We all may have experienced this. It's getting colder, according to the bane of my problem. More on the bane in a minute.

I do what I do with a situation I have little knowledge on: I head to DuckDuckGo. Also known as I researched. I wanted visual proof of what I saw. I got it. I found out a lot about a mouse's habits. I found that I needed to clean and not just clean with soap and water but I needed to add bleach to the mix. The areas where the mouse had been was soaked with the solution and then scrubbed and mostly air dried. Dishes that had been washed the night before along with that spoon was soaked again along with all of the utensils in the utensil drawer.

I wanted to go with natural repellents.When I read peppermint oil was a repellent, I rejoiced because I had peppermint oil. Peppermint oil began to permeate the air. Peppermint oil was placed in cotton balls and placed in the utensils drawer and on the stove and near where I thought the mouse was nesting. At the same time, I told Mother Dear. I tell her the mouse may be hiding behind the refrigerator because I see a concentration of mouse poop over there.

Monday morning comes and mouse says "Haha! Nope."

I say "This means war and punk, I'm gonna win!" I order humane mouse traps. They'll be here Wednesday.I have an issue with bleach cleaning the areas every day. This gotta end.

At this point, neither myself nor Mother Dear decide to contact an exterminator, who will seek the ways the mouse found to get in. They will set traps and capture or kill the mouse and plug the holes or areas where the mice get in.

In my research, mothballs were included in a way as a repellent; not natural but a way.  I dismissed it because I thought why in the world would you use such a loud scent in the house?! They work great for skunks outside because that animal also uses its nose for everything so to counter them coming in areas, use mothballs. But more on why not to use mothballs later. It's time to talk about my bane of the problem.

Monday night, Mother Dear say Sister So-and-So says to use mothballs. I didn't answer or even look up. I thought "Here we go. Here comes the bad advice."

I figured someone would come over and maybe provide a trap before the traps arrive. I also knew I needed to tell her the traps were coming. We have a conversation on why the mice are coming in. Mother Dear doesn't know a doggone thing about mice. She hasn't done research. But she has gotten all info from people she know. That's where the mothballs came from.

In all fairness, I, too, turned to friends. I asked one if her dog caught mice. I asked another if I could borrow one of her cats. See, the house used to have a cat who would have thoroughly enjoyed having pets of her own, but she died. Two months after her death, the mice move in.

After reading on the habits of mice, it confirmed that it was time for my next cat. But I didn't want a kitten, I wanted a mouser. I wanted an adult cat that saw a mouse for what it is: prey. A dog would do the trick, too, but I prefer cats. My friend with a dog said her dog was not acquainted with mice. My other friend proclaimed one of her cats was a good mouser.

The humane research would barely mention a cat. Only saying get some used cat litter. I could do that. But that's time-consuming. You would also need to refresh so that means going to get more. See? Time-consuming. Still I prefer it to mothballs. Plus all other research said get or borrow a cat. A mouse smells a predator, it marks the place as a hostile environment. We have had a cat in the house for almost 25 years, mice have been in the walls. A mouse was brought in by lovable but idiotic cat who dropped it but they did not come in on their own. It promptly left when given the opportunity..

I guess Mother Dear thought I would use the mothballs she got. I didn't. I was standing my ground. I don't know if she asked for it or not, but saying using mothballs is incredibly bad advice. We had an issue with a mouse in our previous house. We were in between cats, so it invited itself in. My dad bought a humane trap. He put out cheese, and bam, mouse was stuck to the glue trap. I put it outside. It peeled itself off the trap and scampered away. We got another cat (RIP Blue!) and no more mice problem.

I used the peppermint to keep the mouse out the utensils drawer and our lazy Susan, while we figure out what to do. I don't own the house, so I waited for a decision until I realized a couple of other problems had arisen. I had to act. Plus I was in a war.

Wednesday comes. I see a beautiful package waiting for me. That night I put out both traps with peanut butter. I hear that works better than cheese.

Thursday morning, guess what's in one of the traps? I caught one. So, I release it across the street in a field, in the direction where the feral cats hang. Sorry, circle of life. I warn it to not come back.

Thursday night, just to be sure, I put out the second trap. Friday morning, there's a second mouse in a trap. That mouse had to stay in the trap until after work because I was releasing it near a stream by the house. If those two mice had babies, if they are old enough, they'll be caught, if not they'll die. One thing we have learned: they were not behind the refrigerator.

Both traps are being cleaned in bleach and water because mice poop all the time. They will be put out again and used until I move or we get another cat.

However, Friday evening, I come in to grab rubber gloves. A must for handling mice, bleach, and sadly, mothballs. I smell something weird and Mother Dear wants to have a conversation but I got a mouse to free.

After the mouse is freed in the area of a stream, I come in and ask what is the smell. I thought she called an exterminator and they sprayed something. It's an extremely dense smell. It was slightly suffocating, that was how heavy it was. I ask and she tells. I look at her and say, "Mothballs are toxic."

I am hopping mad so I keep to myself and turn on my fans and open windows. I turned on nearly every fan we had.

The box says mothballs are toxic to humans. It says so on the box. Our house is not well-ventilated. If you keep the windows shut, the air is stagnant. So coming in to the house shut tight but filled with a mothball scent, well, it wasn't pleasant.

I needed proof. And I got it. The first mention of toxic was enough to dissuade me from putting out mothballs. Remembering what my dad used and the fact that it worked had me about to expound on humane traps before making an executive decision to get the traps myself.

But after wondering why my throat was feeling scratchy and feeling the beginning of a headache, plus itchy eyes and extremely dry lips that were becoming cracked and split, I started searching again. Here's what I found:  A Mothball Mishap on the National Pesticide Information Center website.

 © Copyright Mine

So what's happening on Saturday aka today: Getting more rubber gloves. Mopping the floor with bleach, soap and hot water to get up the invisible urine that has marked the house as a good territory; and removing the smell of mothballs.

Future thing: Get a cat!

© Copyright Mine

Listen, people are going to give advice, but you can also do research. And seriously, if the box tells you it's toxic, don't use it. Reading is fundamental. Do.Your.Research!

Update: A third mouse was caught with the trap and no mouse has been seen or caught or left poop since Sunday morning. Still getting a cat, though.

Bentonite Clay Cleansing: What Is That?

I am a late follower of a lot of things. I read up on bentonite clay in 2011. I was looking for something to get rid of my adult acne. I heard about this on a post about facial cleanings. But this was not my first time with clay.

I used a St. Ives product that contained clay. I can safely say that if you use something like this, it will tighten your pores. It will also dry your skin.

I finally purchased bentonite clay a few months ago. I bought Redmond Trading Company. I bought it because it was edible. And that was what I wanted when I did a search. I wanted something that would cleanse internally and was safe since I had a bevy of issues and the regular stuff would cause more harm than good.

I saw an improvement in regularity. I did more research and purchased two more of the Redmond Trading Company. I could have used what I had and created my own substance, but I wanted to keep the powder for the continual internal cleansing.

©Mine. All Rights Reserved

I used the new purchases on a cut and I believe mosquito bites. I've seen images of bentonite clay used on open sores, medium-sized wounds and other injuries. They did help in the healing. My mosquito bites shrunk. The cut healed. I has a bump and that shrunk by a third after 24 hours, and was gone in three days. The only side effect was a red mark that took a month to fade. My skin is brown but you would have to stare at it in order to see the red mark. It wasn't bright and there wasn't any pain.

If you are irregular or want an easy internal cleanse, I recommend bentonite clay. I mixed a teaspoon of clay in purified water. I used lukewarm water because I wanted the clay to melt faster. I did not eat the clay; just drank a thoroughly mixed water. I drank between 6-9 ounces at first three times a week, but lately five days a week. I also used water that had electrolytes added like SmartWater from Glaceau. Which helped with the taste. It's not a horrible taste but it definitely isn't great.

The only drawback? Drinking the clay can dehydrate you because it is pulling the impurities out of your system. You should definitely drink at least 50 ounces of water. Two quarts (64 ounces) or more would be better. You can substitute juice or any other drink that replenishes. That does not include green or black tea, coffee or soda (regular or diet). I would not include juice either (would not recommend adding lemon), but sometimes just water is boring. There may be other side effects, so do your research. Otherwise, happy cleansing!

Technology: Is It A Trap?

Image courtesy of jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What would we do without technology? How many of us lose our minds when we cannot use our phones, tablets, or laptops? I have experienced that last week through a power outage.

Everything I do work-wise is through the Internet, so I could not do any work for most of the day.  I could not contact my clients until I went to my local library. It was a sad thing. And when all urgent things were handled, then boredom set in.

No TV, no radio (no batteries). Of course, I could read a book or magazine (of which I have a lot thanks to free subscriptions), but in the midst of that, I was still bored. I took a nap.

The day, which is normally interrupted by a lot of phone calls, was quiet on that front. When power was restored, it lasted 30 minutes before it went out again. Right when I decided to sign in and do a bit of work, too. After that, I got my act together. By the time I reached the library a second time, it would have closed so I recalled that somewhere in a closet was a phone that would work. Instead of checking online, I called in.

I prepared to have a second set of hot dogs (gas stoves FTW) since I did not want to use the grill, but the power came backed on and I made a different meal. I worked that evening, and then I thought about the lack of technology. I wondered what would happen if we lost all technology. I shuddered.

As technology advances, many things have changed. But as life becomes easier with technology, what happens when we can't use it? Personally, I think a lot of us go through the five stages of grief.

Between 2002 and 2010, I had not flown on a plane. When I did, I took a book, not a laptop. I did not rely on my smartphone. But everywhere I looked I saw laptops, smartphones and tablets in heavy usage.

I know what to do when there's no electricity to run the things that keep me from boredom, but what about those younger? And how do parents cope with their children? I do not want to imagine that.

When people say we should disconnect from all our tech, I agree. But only so people would know what to do if electricity is unavailable. Otherwise, stay connected.

**Looks like I'm back for a bit.**

Wordless Wednesday: Weep For The Babies

©Not Mine

Ironic. Also hilarious. Nabbed probably from Pinterest.

Wordless Wednesday: Work Those Dreams!

CopyrightNotMine

Nabbed here from Pinterest.

Wordless Wednesday: So Stubborn

©theminiorityreport.co

Found on here on The Minority Report. 

A Hot Chocolate Substitute: Hello Carob!

Every few months I look for another coffee substitute. While plenty of people have hyped up green tea as a coffee substitute, it's more an alternative. Green tea, white tea, and black tea all have caffeine. There hasn't been enough studies for me to try cacao powder. Half say it has caffeine; the other half says it doesn't or the amount is so minuscule, it's practically nonexistent.

I digress. In my search for coffee substitutes, I read that carob powder would work. I also read carob powder is better as a hot chocolate substitute, well cocoa powder substitute. Chocolate has caffeine so that was off my list.

©Chatfield's

I quickly went to a health food store and purchased a can. On the can was a recipe for a carob latte. It basically stated add two teaspoons to a cup of hot milk.

I microwaved the milk. Then I added two heaping teaspoons of carob powder. Many people say that the carob bean is naturally sweet. They say it's not bitter like chocolate. They were wrong. I added sugar.

Once I did that, the drink was enjoyable. Well, until I had drunk two-thirds of the drink. Then it became bitter and chalky and grainy.

I thought maybe it wasn't mixed well so I added a few more ounces of milk and microwaved it again. This brought me to a half-cup. After drinking a third, the chalky and grainy taste was back. I gave up.

The instructions did not mention heaping teaspoons so that is where I failed. But they did not mention that it would be better to use a pot not a microwave. You should also use a whisk and not a spoon.

I need something a tad easier. For me, milk is expensive. We buy the lactose-free kind. While hot chocolate made with milk is great, the steps to get that are for a special occasion. The same with a carob latte.

I will try it again with less carob powder. I've seen several recipes that use water and milk. I might try those, too. Carob powder does work as a hot chocolate substitute. I believe it can also work as a coffee substitute. I had more energy, but it wasn't like chicory or coffee, and isn't that what we're after?

Do you have any great carob powder recipes to share with me?

Free Samples

©StuartMills_freedigitalphotos.net

Last week's one post covered a lot, even though it was mostly wordless. One of my projects has ended so I have time. I have been writing up a storm, but not on this blog or my other one. I've been writing like crazy for another website, latestfreestuff.com, and I have much to say about free samples.

Don't get me wrong. I've been collecting freebies for a couple of years. But since it's now my job, I get a lot more. I've gotten 55 free samples in the last two months. It's to the point that all packages are given to me first, and then sorted to the others I live with.

But of course, there are certain situations that are irksome. I don't think I will ever get a Starbucks sample. That's okay. I am not a fan of Starbucks. The problem? Too many hoops. And that is what is so discouraging about obtaining certain samples. The amount of hoops needed to get the sample.

Hoop One: Phone Numbers Needed

Dear companies, we know why you want our phone numbers. I know that your bread and butter is made through upselling. And yes, it does work on impulse buyers. But I believe 35% of those seeking free samples are very savvy so we know you are going to call. For those of us that just want the free sample and don't want to talk to you, yes, we give you a fake number. Some of us want your sample so bad we have fake voicemail. Yes, there are so many tricks to getting a free sample. I'm not there yet. It's not that serious. Look, let your product do the talking. If it's aces, we'll buy more.

Hoop Two: Sharing On Our Facebook Wall

If I see another ad on Facebook telling me my friend, Mary Johnson, likes Buca di Beppo*, it'll be too soon, and I have no desire to sign in to my Facebook account until mid-May. If I feel that way, of course, a few of my friends feel the same way. Requiring us to share on our wall or accept the app to share on our wall without any input from us is very annoying. But those of us who really want the sample use certain tricks to get that free sample. If you have a website, just use that, please.

Hoop Three: Making It A Contest

Seriously?! Really?! It's not that this just gets my knickers in a bunch. This is just ridiculous. I have to enter to win a free sample. I like competitions. I do, but for full products. Trips to somewhere warm. Not for 1.5 ounces of some lotion. And I'm being generous about that amount of lotion. For real, if it's going to be a contest, please give me the whole product. Otherwise, just offer the samples, and when a certain number has been reached, shut it down. That's not hard.

Not A Hoop Yet, But If More Companies Do This It Will Be

Okay, I feel the need to address a special set of companies. I know it is annoying when these websites advertise that you are offering a free sample. I know you cannot handle that amount of requests. Not enough staff, postage would be through the roof, so many fake phone numbers, etc., etc. But if you understood how freebie sites worked instead of just denying those who use their links a free sample, you would re-think your stance. The people that click the link actually want your sample. One company said they had been bombarded with 16,000 requests in one day. I would wager that 13,000 of those requests wanted the sample. The other 3,000 just wanted a free sample. When you take that hard stance, you are actually losing potential customers. We don't have to click the link if we don't want it, you know.

I could go on, but those are the top three hoops and one that needed to be mentioned. It's annoying, and all it does is frustrate people enough to write articles about it. Or they may share their bad experiences on Facebook. They may even send a tweet or two. Companies, listen to Jeff Bezos of Amazon. He said (I'm paraphrasing) back in the day, people would tell 2-6 friends about their bad experiences with a company. Now they can tell 6,000 people. If you thought the postage for free samples was outrageous, just imagine if you lost 6,000 customers.

What annoys you about companies that make you jump through hoops to get a free sample?

*I have nothing against Buca di Beppo. I don't even have a friend name Mary Johnson.
Photo Credit: Stuart Mills at freedigitalphotos.net

Wordless Wednesday: Free!

©StuartMills@Freedigitalphotos.net

When you accomplish something, it's a great feeling, isn't it? That's what I'm feeling, today!

How To Mess Up Your Blog

©digitalart@freedigitalphots.net

 

Welcome to the New Year. I thought I would start things off about what happened to this blog during the last year. I am working. When I started this blog, I was not. But since January of 2012, I have not been fully vested in my blog. And I’d like to share with you the ways you can mess up your blog when life happens.

No Game Plan

I believe the reason my blog got very little love from me is because when I started I had no game plan. I treated my blog as a journal, despite the great info I shared. If I had sat down and figured out even the most peculiar of details, I would probably have more entries or a better quality of entries. Whether it is because of work or just laziness, a game plan will go a very long way to helping maintain a blog.

Not Prioritizing

Even with no game plan, you can still blog. But blogging was not a top priority. A lot of things came before blogging. If you want a successful or even moderately successful blog, you need to post regularly. If it’s once a month, then choose the date and stick to it.

Poor Networking

Imagine my surprise that I gained one follower despite not doing much to gain any. I am also guilty of networking on the wrong places. The top three places get me nothing, and the places that do, I have not visited in weeks. Instead of keeping a presence, I disappeared. And of course, when that happens, my blog did not grow.

If I (or you) am to be serious about blogging, then I need to create a game plan, and then give my blogs some priority. If growth is part of the game plan, then I need to network.

What are some of the things you’ve done to make your blog more successful? Or what are some of the things you didn’t do?

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

©icanhazcheezburger.com

 

 

 

Or, as in the case of my cat, just knock it over because it's Wednesday.

Oh, The Horror! It's Halloween, Target!

©Phaitoon@freedigitalphotos.net

 

 
Today is October 31st. In my neck of the woods, it's Halloween. But several companies have decided that now is the time to air Christmas ads.

About 15 days ago, I saw saw an ad with a big dog, and shiny gifts. It was for Target. And they even used music asking if we were ready; a song by Fatty Gets A Stylist.

Here's their video, I think. I am not linking to the commercial. Then a few days ago, Aco showed me the Christmas trees they had on sale. And then I saw an Avon catalog.

Is it just me?

Companies, let's not start the Christmas rush before Halloween. If I thought these crazy election ads are nuts, then I can't fathom how bad it's going to be come tomorrow when radio stations get involved.

November 1st, here in America, will usher in Christmas and the ads. Are you ready?

Wordless Wednesday: Poor Wife!

©Themeapicture.com

Hilarious! Nabbed from Pinterest first.

Welcome 2012-2013 TV Season

This year has gone by really fast. One moment, I had plenty of time to write, and the next, it's September!

This week was full of premieres, and of course, what happens? My TV had technical difficulties. But thanks to CBS, NBC, and ABC valuing me as a consumer, I could watch them all online. I left out one network, but that's because they don't value me as a consumer so I'll catch the one show when I can.

This year is an election year, so really I should be watching everything online anyway to get away from all of the election commercials. Are you tired of them? I am.

What am I watching weekly that's new? Revolution and Go On.

©Krpike Enterprises/Bad Robot Productions/Warner Bros.

I would also watch Last Resort but that is up against Big Bang Theory. I am also going to check out 666 Park Avenue, but I get the feeling I'll be switching to the syndicated run of Stargate SG-1. I'm just not in awe like I am of Revolution. It's off to a good start, though I'm shocked who was the "villain." There's two. The second is waaay scarier than the first. It did take seeing the premiere a third time to realize Danny was the brother. Giancarlo Esposito is very, very good. It's like he could be compassionate, but he won't.

Go On

©Silver & Gold/Dark Toy/Universal

Sadly, Go On is the only comedy that piques my interest. I've always liked Matthew Perry and Tyler James Williams. I found it funny the bunch of times I saw its premiere. Yes, NBC, you showed the premiere way too many times. I've also caught two others, but I could pass on them. At least I'm not vehemently against them like I was last year's Whitney.

I will also be watching the second season of Revenge. Since I've switched to watching The View online, whenever I was too slow to changing to the next episode, ABC would switch me to Revenge. I was going to watch it first run, but my TV could not get the signal, but with the switch to Sunday and right after Once Upon A Time, I will be watching.

If you ask me, Emily's theme song should be Seven Devils by Florence & The Machine. They used it when Victoria boarded the plane to give her testimony in Washington. I could not get the song out of my head. It's very haunting.

Well, as you can see, my list is very short. I do expect good things from the shows I'm watching. What shows are you watching?

Wordless Wednesday: Spelling Is Just Two Hard!

Nabbed via Pinterest by way of Barticles from Taste of Awesome.

Wordless Wednesday: Bring On Teh Funny!

©epiclime.com

 

 

 

 

Sorry, AOL, but that is funny.

*Found on Pinterest from epiclime.com

Where A Movie Fails But Real Life Did Not

I've been away working on other projects, and this poor blog has suffered. I could have continued with the easy Wordless Wednesday posts, but I felt I should do more than that. I can't make any promises, but as soon as things slow down, I should be back. Keep your fingers crossed. Or not. Whatever floats your boat.

During a rather slow period, around my last post, I watched about 15 movies in three weeks. I checked out seven rentals at my local library. While choosing, I noticed they had "This Is Your Lucky Day" section. There were a few choices, including The Descendants with George Clooney, and For Colored Girls. My mother had wanted to see For Colored Girls, so I decided to go with that. Now, my mother is not one for seeing movies, so this piqued my interest but I should have seen it as a red flag.

My problem with For Colored Girls is it was heavy. While many may say it lightened up at the end. I don't see it that way. It was depressing from beginning to end. The sad thing is that Tyler Perry tried to lighten it at the end. By that time it was too little and too late.

I can't rightly say anyone shined. (Here comes spoilers, but really, don't waste your time.) I think because I was up in arms over the rape scene and then the children's demise scene, nothing could shine from that. But I was wrong. One shining part: Maybe it was Janet's delivery, but I think it was Ntozake Shange's words that got me. Her "sorry" poem was on point. It resonated.

The men in the movie were your typical no-good men. Hill Harper's character wasn't a no-good man, but did not stand out. I was not impressed at all with anybody. Again, I may be colored (pun intended) by those two scenes and nothing could improve this film for me after that.

I've seen and read so many stories about rape and date rape, that whatever emotion Tyler Perry wanted me to have, I can guarantee I did not have it. When the guy asked her to cook dinner for him on the second date, I was already thinking "red flag." And this was my second red flag. My exact thought was "but they've only had one date?!" How could this woman go from barely giving him the time of day to being okay with cooking for him at her apartment on the second date?! My circle and I don't roll that way. What it boils down to is while Perry had limited time to share her story, he did not use his time wisely. He rushed to the rape so we could understand her pain in Shange's words. Because of that, the rape scene was just annoying. I usually get very upset at rape scenes, but I was annoyed.

I got more annoyed at the children's murder scene. One woman was able to climb down all those stairs and alert everyone about the dangling children, but nobody tried to do anything?! Really? What a cold and callous street. What Perry could have done, was have people make a commotion to get Janet out of her limo, while Phylicia Rashad rushed down the stairs in vain. Have Janet and several people head over there but everyone is too late. That was two small children being dangled out a window. Mr. Perry, on any busy street like what you shot, somebody would have been moving.

I had to cleanse my palette with comedies before I could watch another drama or thriller. I didn't even watch The Book of Eli because I was having issues getting rid of the stench that was For Colored Girls.

Imagine my surprise when this news story came out.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/watch-nyc-bus-driver-steven-st-bernard-catches-7-year-old-girl-after-3-story-fall/

What did it do? It proved my point. Whether they are too late or whether they are successful, someone will try to do something in that situation.

Steve St. Bernard saw a little girl playing on an air conditioner, and he high-tailed it over there to catch her and catch her he did. As a matter of fact, several people tried to do something.

See the movie at your own risk. And if you saw, did you like it? If you did, tell me what you liked.

Wordless Wednesday: Do It and Do It Now!

©HomegrownHospitality.typepad.com

 

 

 

Grabbed on Pinterest, but originally posted at Homegrown Hospitality. She has a lot of talent. Great advice for us all.

Social Media And Privacy: What Gives?

Last week, I was traipsing through the Internets and I came across an article about not being fully signed out of Facebook. As I read the article, I learned that Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and a few others could follow me around the Internet, even though I've signed out.

When I first joined Facebook last year, I was going to do something on Yahoo, when Yahoo asked if I wanted to mark it under Yahoo or Facebook. I immediately signed out of Facebook.

About a month ago, I got a friend request from someone I didn't know, and I was all set to sign in to see if I knew this person. Imagine my surprise when I didn't need to sign in.  I was not a happy camper.

I was more unhappy to learn about these sites following me around the Internet despite me being signed out. The best way is to download something to block them. But it sure does throw everything into a lurch. But for some reason, my Firefox has gotten really slow, so it has third-party blocker, CSFire, on it. When I sign into the big three: Facebook, Google and Yahoo, I sign in through Firefox. All of my other sites go though the much faster Chrome.

While looking for CSFire, I saw this infographic and thought, "Wow." When that SOPA and PIPA debacle went down, who was at the forefront to getting the word out? Even I posted a few words on it, though my take was slightly different.

Even though a few social networking sites have had meteoric rises and the crashed and burned most epically, the one thing companies need to recognize is social media is here to stay. Old money may not like it (and by old money, I mean the traditional way money was made-the corporate world), but it won't go back.

We the consumers, however, need to protect our privacy. Don't think each company has your best interests at heart. You are the product Facebook is offering to businesses. GM may not have made money on the ads, but somebody is. Don't be fooled by Facebook's lukewarm IPO reception. And the others are no different. Think I'm wrong? Check this out. If I am, send me the links so I can learn. I like to stay informed.

Here's the infographic, brought to you by onlinemastersdegree.com via Trick Masters. Click the link for a better view until I figure out how to fix this thing.

Wordless Wednesday: Successful Women

©The Art Asylum