Raise Your Marketing IQRaise Your Marketing IQ

Two New Jersey senators are fighting back against unsolicited text message advertisements, proposing a legislation that would impose a sizable fine on anyone who sends out textual spam in the Garden State.

Moreover, the price tag goes up if the offender knowingly sends such a text to the elderly or disabled. Finally, someone has set out to make the madness stop — there’s nothing more disappointing than hearing the sweet, sweet chime of an incoming text, only to see that it hails from Benny’s Mattress World.

General annoyances aside, these unwanted texts can drive up a customer’s phone bill as well. As Vitale told ABC News, “When a telecommunications customer goes over their allotted text messages in a month, the additional fees charged by telecommunications carriers can add up very quickly… The consumer may be footing the bill for advertisers to intrude on their own private mobile devices. That simply doesn’t seem fair.” That’s what the duo is seeking to put the kibosh on specifically: Those instances in which ads reduce the number of texts a customer if privy to or that cost him any sort of fee.

So what kinds of fines are you looking at should you decide to flood Jersey residents’ inboxes with virtual flyers? First-time offenders are looking at a $10,000 fine, while additional transgressions could knock the price tag up to $20,000. Oh, and if you spam someone’s grandma or a person with a disability, that’ll be $30,000.

What do you think of fining pesky advertisers? Technically, they’re not breaking the law by sending unsolicited texts (The same way that dude you shouldn’t have given your number to last weekend isn’t breaking the law by sending unsolicited texts), but the senators do have a point: This digital junk mail is having an effect on our phone bills.

Check out the proposed legislation here, and pass judgment in the comments.

[img credit: Nate Steiner]

Tags: Mobile 2.0, New Jersey, News, Political

We know, we know — AT&T’s 3G MicroCell isn’t even out nationwide yet, but for those select markets that have access, we’re hoping you’ll chime in on the pros and cons as to enlighten the other folks before their time comes. By and large, the GSM femotocell works exactly like the Airave for Sprint, though this one does fully support 3G data as well as simultaneous voice and data usage. For those that have taken the plunge: are you satisfied with the value proposition? Is reception really any better? Have you ditched your landline yet? What would you change about the service or billing? Voice your opinion on the matter below, and remember, life doesn’t present you with many chances such as this. Wouldn’t want to waste it, now would we?

How would you change AT&T’s 3G MicroCell? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Depending on where you live and how clean your driving record is, getting car insurance can burn a sizeable hole in your pocketbook. To help reduce the cost, try doubling (or tripling) up on other policies.

Photo by Robbie Howell.

Financial weblog Wise Bread contends that drivers can save between 10 to 20 percent on their insurance by combining a car insurance policy with, say, a renter’s or homeowner’s policy from the same company. Some companies will even offer the discount for each policy.

It goes without saying that you should only apply this tip if the second (or third) policy is one you need. The post also mentions—like we previously have—that you should always ask for discounts, since they’re generally not automatically applied. Last, shopping around never hurts.

Check out the post for more ways to save on auto insurance, then chime in with your own car money savers in the comments.

If you’re on a budget and cooking solely for yourself, try extending the shelf life of your food by learning to cook in sequences and freezing the leftovers proportionally.

Photo by Joel Zimmer.

The key, according to tips compendium WikiHow, is to reuse as many common bases as possible. So “a roasted chicken can be eaten as straight chicken with side dishes (e.g., mashed potatoes and veggies) the first day, contribute to a chicken skillet, and wind up as the basis for soup.” The corollary of the solo sequence technique is to properly freeze the remainders.

According to the post, if you’re dining solo, you should ideally freeze food in one-person portions, meaning that while you’re free to buy in bulk, you should divide the pre-cooked goodies into “half-pound or smaller pouches before you freeze it.”

Browse the post for other tips on how to cook for one, and if you’ve got a lot of experience preparing solo meals, chime in with your own advice on how to best do so in the comments.

So you’ve finally landed that job interview. Now it’s time to seal the deal with a killer interview. How? For one, try mastering your “Why hire me?” story.

Photo by °Florian.

We’ve previously highlighted the importance of crafting a successful elevator pitch, but if you’re looking to sell yourself in a sit-down interview—which will presumably run longer than the standard 30-60 second elevator pitch—the Wall Street Journal says it’s important to perfect your “Why hire me” story.

The key is to create a story that comes across as natural, not canned, and that you can tailor to any job interview in question. A good why hire me story should avoid making too many assumptions about the job itself. This necessitates asking pointed questions both before, during, and after the interview process. The article also notes that a compelling “about me” interview will make sure to leave out irrelevant details, no matter how impressive they may appear to the employer.

Browse the post for more advice on how to perfect your “Why hire me” story, then chime in with your own methods for how to conduct a successful interview in the comments. And for more tips on how to interview well, check out our previous post on how to ace a job interview.

Mac OS X: TinyGrab makes instant screenshot sharing a snap on the Mac. With a simple keyboard command and a free account, you can share screenshots in a matter of seconds.

Once you’ve installed TinyGrab and plugged in your account credentials, any time you hit Command + Shift + 4 your cursor will change to a crosshair. You can select all or a portion of your screen which will be automatically uploaded to TinyGrab.

When the upload is complete a chime will sound and a shortened URL will be placed directly into your clipboard. Paste the link to share it and you’re done. Check out the video below to see it in action.

The free version of TinyGrab allows for 3 screenshots per day. Upgrading to the $16 premium account—a one time fee—uncaps your screenshot limit, allows you to search through your previously uploaded screenshots, and gives you the ability to upload screenshots via FTP.

TinyGrab requires Mac OS X.