Lynn B.Friedman ATL 404.939.2727CDPE Adv Atlanta Metro ODATRealty SeHabla Español

Don't Forget CIRQUE and SYMPHONY July 30th
says Atlanta Metro ODAT Realty Buy Lease Sell

Imagine all the fun of watching the amazing Cirque performers and listening to symphony at the same time at the Atlanta Symphony's 66th Season under the musical direction of Robert Spano!

The Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta is the venue. Tickets for lawn seating begin at $12. Pavilion seating is $25. Reserved seating is $35. Family packages are available as well. Making it easier for everyone to get to the concert and get settled in, the parking is assigned by lot ahead of time.

Tickets and Subscriptions available online for this and for the final performance of the Summer Series - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Saturday, August 13th.

Enjoy the evening with family and friends! Lynn

MetroAtlanta ODAT Realty and
Google+ Business Pages

Christian Ostlien G+ Buckhead Atlanta GA

MetroAtlanta ODAT Realty thanks Christian Ostlien for his kind response to ODAT Realty's request to be included in the field test for GOOGLE+ Business pages.  Receiving the message meant a lot to me. Getting a personal message from him that I can share with all my ACTIVERAIN friends and my Google+ friends is terrific.  So - with no further ado - here is his message to MetroAtlanta ODAT Realty about G+ Business Pages Christian Ostlien G+ Buckhead Atlanta GA.

Have a happy day -
Lynn

PS  For up-to-the minute reposts about G+, Pete Cashmore on Mashable

PPS   In addition, +OstlienGoogle posted this as a favorite video blog on his profile site! Probably what he wished he'd been able to say but decided to leave it to Loren ...  L.

MetroAtlanta Buy Lease Sell asks who said

ON THE INTERNET NOBODY KNOWS YOU ARE A DOG

in Buckhead Atlanta GA

Each day we rely more on online solutions in the real estate field. Getting signatures on contracts is a very complicated process that requires great attention to detail. Contracts and contract accuracy are key to success in real estate.

Using online solutions for obtaining signatures is a wonderful tool.  More than one company offers electronic signature options.  On July 11, 2011, ADOBE purchased ECHOSIGN to include with products offered by ADOBE. The companies DocuSign, RightSignature and SecuredSigning are some of the others offering the option.

Electronic signatures for contracts are accessed when passwords are used to enter a site. Does your real estate practice employ a completely discreet password for the electronic signature system you use? If you use the same password for electronic signatures that you use for other online entrances, what would happen if that password were compromised? What effect could that have on your contracts? 

Our privacy and our rights in the information age are a constant topic of discussion. Today MetroAtlanta Buy Lease Sell asks who said ON THE INTERNET NOBODY KNOWS YOU ARE A DOG in Buckhead Atlanta GA. The question relates to identity online. Just as sites ask a person to type out a “word” to prove human status, passwords are supposed to give proof that the person entering an area is the one meant to be entering.  

GIZMODO interviewed Jeremy Grant from the NSTIC (National Program Office for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace).  He had a lot to say about password vulnerability. The discussion began with President Obama’s decision to conduct an in-depth cyberspace policy review.  Grant relays the information that the review developed “ten near-term action items. One of them was specifically focused on creating a cyber-security focused identity management vision, and a strategy that would specifically take into account privacy and civil liberties as well as the security side of things.”

Grant explains the concept of an “identity ecosystem” which he defines as “online environment where individuals and organizations can trust each other because they follow agreed upon standards to obtain and authenticate their digital identities.”

He points out that to be really secure a password should only be used one time and should be very complicated, including letters, numbers and symbols.  At the same time, he also points out that remembering 25 different complicated passwords is not something many folks actually will do.  He’s right about that!

GIZMODO (part of GAWKER MEDIA which was a target of serious hacking itself) reports that of the two largest password hacking incidents, “two-thirds of the people” hacked had the same password in both locations.  If they were using them both for GAWKER and for SONY - don’t you think they were using those passwords again elsewhere?  Grant references studies that indicate “when you offer more security to people, if it's not also convenient then they're going to find excuses not to use it and go back to the old default of being insecure.”  Grant hopes that the NSTIC results will provide more security for individuals in the future.

A final comment from Grant is that “as you're doing transactions online where you do have sensitive information, look for solution providers that are out there that offer multiple factors of authentication.”  AVOID PROBLEMS!

LULZSEC deliberately hacked into companies (e.g. SONY) and public agencies. The Arizona Department of Public Safety, reported the hacking into their computer system and explained what records were exposed.

The LULZSEC hackers distributed SONY’s customers’ passwords and they posted AZDPS government documents. Threats to ordinary citizens posed by groups such as LULZSEC and ANON engender the discussion about the safety and future of passwords. (Lulzsec and ANONYMOUS IC are the subject of another blog for another time.)

Are RE Clients properly protected with esignatures?
Do you use an electronic signature service?
Is it a benefit for you to have the service?  
Have you tried more than one firm?  
Would you recommend using electronic signatures?

Have a happy day -
Lynn

MetroAtlanta Buy Lease Sell asks who said ON THE INTERNET NOBODY KNOWS YOU ARE A DOG in Buckhead Atlanta GA.

BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET
Macro effects the Micro from MetroAtlanta
Buy Lease Sell in Buckhead Atlanta GA

So here we are - at a crisis on a national level about reckless spending and on a local level - will there be a crisis if the impasse is not resolved? BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET the Macro effects the Micro from Metro Atlanta Buy Lease Sell in Buckhead Atlanta GA


Here is the commentary from AP via Huffington Post around 5:30 pm: "With bipartisan debt-limit talks deadlocked, House Republicans and Senate Democrats readied rival emergency fallback plans Sunday in hopes of reassuring world financial markets the U.S. government will avoid an unprecedented default. Republicans said Speaker John Boehner had legislation under consideration to raise the nation's debt limit by $1 trillion and enact slightly more in federal spending cuts, with the promise of additional progress on both sides of the ledger if Congress can agree. Across the Capitol, Democratic officials said Majority Leader Harry Reid was at work on legislation to raise the government's debt limit by $2.4 trillion – enough to assure no recurrence of the current crisis until 2013 – and reduce spending by slightly more. They said that plan envisioned no higher taxes. "

Here is the comment from Senator Reid via Huffington Post around 9:00 pm : Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued the following statement on Sunday night: “Tonight, talks broke down over Republicans’ continued insistence on a short-term raise of the debt ceiling, which is something that President Obama, Leader Pelosi and I have been clear we would not support. A short-term extension would not provide the certainty the markets are looking for, and risks many of the same dire economic consequences that would be triggered by default itself. Speaker Boehner’s plan, no matter how he tries to dress it up, is simply a short-term plan, and is therefore a non-starter in the Senate and with the President.In an effort to reach a bipartisan compromise, we are putting together a $2.7 trillion deficit reduction package that meets Republicans’ two major criteria: it will include enough spending cuts to meet or exceed the amount of a debt ceiling raise through the end of 2012, and it will not include revenues ..."

How will that effect Buyers seeking mortgages?
How will that effect the real estate market in general?
How will it effect YOUR market in particular?
What is your opinion?

Have a happy day,
Lynn

MetroAtlanta Buy Lease Sell SNEAKS a PEEK at NEW GMAIL LOOK in Buckhead Atlanta GA

Things are popping at GOOGLE!

Not only has Google+ been let out in public --- now the look of Gmail is changing! On June 30, 2011, Jason Cornwell, GOOGLE User Experience Designer, posted about the changes. Included are revisions to the layout and the colors and the details shown and how the details are shown and ...

Jason wrote: "Over the years, adding countless features to Gmail" [increased its effectiveness] but the result was a bit cluttered. "The interface updates" are coming as "part of a Google-wide effort" ... "over the next few months to allow plenty of time to understand and incorporate your feedback into the evolving design."

What do you think of the new looks?

New appearance for the "Thread" list.

New appearance for the "Conversation" list.

Have a happy day -
Lynn

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