We had an accident with one of the laptops a few weeks ago. It was dropped by our son and cracked the LCD screen.  After hooking the laptop up to our Hi-Def set in the family room, it was a quick and simple matter of ordering a new screen and replacing it ourselves. (It’s really pretty simple.)

The new display came a week or so ago, and quickly replaced without much trouble.

Then the question occurred – what to do with the broken LCD display?

That’s when we did a little research and found the Best Buy program which came to the rescue. Best Buy has a great policy: No matter where you bought It, Best Buy will recycle it.

Most everyone has a Best Buy location close to them, and the easier it is to recycle, the more likely it is that items such as our broken LCD will be disposed of properly instead of ending up in a landfill somewhere. While out running some errands the day after we got the new LCD installed, we took the old LCD into the store and dropped it off without any hassle.

And you know what? It felt pretty good.

Then this weekend our washing machine went down. A logical and obvious choice for us was Best Buy for two reasons. One, of course is the cash back option through ZamZuu – and two, we’d be assured that the old washer wouldn’t end up in some landfill somewhere and disposed of properly.

While visiting the site we also found a way to properly dispose of an old television and broken refrigerator that’s been taking up space in our garage. While we’re having Best Buy deliver the new washer, we’ll have them take away our outdated and broken items for a nominal fee at the same time.

While I read about this program and thought it was cool that a company like Best Buy would actually do something like this – after our experience in disposing of these large items the right way – I had to write about it and tell everyone. In our opinion, it’s a much needed service – and Best Buy should not only be congratulated – but they’ve earned our business by going above an beyond when it comes to helping the environment.

For us – this is a big deal.

Oh, and one last thing – there is a catch. (If you can actually call it a “catch” – but you should know.) Things that you drop off like the LCD or a television. There’s a nominal fee of $10 to drop it off. But get this – they give you a $10 gift card in return for a future purchase in the store. Yes, I know it’s a wash when it’s all said and done – but from marketing perspective, it’s a brilliant marketing concept. I mean – where else are you going to spend a Best Buy Gift Card but at Best Buy – right?

Sure there will be those who will consider it a hassle – or even misleading – but we all know that idiots like that get their jollies from complaining over petty crap simply as an excuse to complain. Seen it for years in our own business and frankly I don’t see them offering anything of worth themselves – ever.

If Best Buy doesn’t take the item your looking to recycle, you can also use the widget we shared over on OurSharedEarth from 1800Recycling.com to find the proper service to recycle any item your looking to dispose of.

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I love the Internet for the way information can be obtained and used to our benefit. It’s a very cool and useful tool.

Unfortunately, there are those that abuse the Internet with some of the most deplorable behavior I’ve ever seen. Age wise, these people I’m talking about are adults – but they certainly don’t act like it. Trade wise, they also call themselves professionals – but that’s only word used to hide behind their own insecurity.

As a grown adult, it’s easy to see past all the games and see their power trip for what it truly is. If you’re going to write and post on the Internet, it’s a given that there will be those who take pot shots at you. It’s just part of the territory.

I do have one glaring weakness however that I’m willing to let you in on. I still take issue with these pin heads attacking others who don’t have an issue with them or their self absorbed fantasy. A year or two ago this group of degenerates got really frustrated with me. Since they couldn’t get me – they went after my wife – and then tried to blame me. I believe the term used was “throwing her under the bus”. It was a level of desperation and classlessness I’ve never witnessed before – but that’s how desperate they had become.

While they don’t have boundaries or a thread of common decency in them – I’m proud to associate myself with some real class and leadership. There’s a fabulous product that ZamZuu promotes called KidZafe that can protect your children from just this type of deplorable behavior. KidZafe is an advanced parental intelligence system that keeps tabs for you if your child enters or receives anything inappropriate, dangerous or suspicious or if these type of people are identified in your child’s digital world.

And today, I’m proud to share with you, the first-ever, KidZafe Boot Camp Tour

Tim Woda, nationally renown Internet & Child Safety Advocate, author and co-creator of KidZafe has been invited to join many of Zamzuu’s top leaders including: Jermone Hughes, Nick Pagano, Jenny Campbell, Mary Liu, Katrina Greenhill, Melissa Boston, Damon Walker, Larease Rivers, Hannah Masters and many, many more to show you how to transform your Zamzuu business using KidZafe.

While others can talk a really good game, these Directors actually walk and act in a way that’s positive and respectable. If you have kids of your own, or know someone who has kids – you need to be at one of these events. It’s a sad fact that a product like this is even necessary – I know first hand how and why it’s needed. You owe it to your family (if you have a family) to be at one of these events.

Here are the dates and locations:

Atlanta, Georgia – May 13th & 14th
Doubletree Hotel Atlanta
North Druid Hills/Emory Area
2061 N Druid Hills Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
Friday: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Register for the Atlanta Training

San Francisco, California – May 21st & 22nd
Best Western Plus
Grosvenor Hotel
380 South Airport Blvd.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sunday: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Register for the San Francisco Training

Detroit, Michigan – June 3rd & 4th
Hyatt Regency Dearborn
600 Town Center Dr.
Dearborn, MI, 48126
Friday: 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Register for the Detroit Training

I know some who are building their entire business around this one product – it’s that good. It’s not like it’s not needed either when you’ve seen what I’ve seen from some real trash who prowl the Internet just looking for trouble.

While you can’t change them – you CAN change the way you protect and look after your family with this service.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

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At the risk of showing our age, we still have vinyl albums sitting around the house, and a turntable that can actually play those albums. We also have a collection of tapes and CD’s over the years.

Digital music has taken a firm hold in our society, and that’s a good thing concerning the environment. We’re not just talking about the music format itself, but the packaging that goes with it.

We really enjoy the digital music age for a couple of reasons. One, we can purchase only the songs we actually want, and not the entire album. (Which we may or may not like.) Two, we listen to more music and genres these days in one sitting which adds to our listening pleasure. And three, music now comes with the proper genre and album art attached.

Our biggest issue with such our massive collection of digital music over the years however is trying to organize our collection. We’ve been burning, combining, downloading, and converting music from various sources for a number of years now, and it was a real mess.

As much as we love iTunes as a platform to collect and distribute our music on various computers and mobile players in our family – the iTunes software seriously lacks any way to truly organize and clean up our music library.

That is until we tried a free trial of Rinse from Real Networks.

After combining all our music from various computers around the house that we collected over the years in various ways, and several formats, the entire library was a mess. Wrong tags, missing genres, missing album art, even duplicates from moving our music around from computer to computer. We’ve never been big fans of iTunes as a place to store all this music for several reasons. However, with several iPhones and iPods that our family uses to take our music with us, we needed to come to terms with iTunes limited editing features. We also needed to collect and manage our music in one place for streaming the music around the house with our blu-ray player and iTunes does have a nice feature for streaming our collection.

Sorting and organizing thousands of songs manually takes a ton of time we simply don’t have. That’s why we wanted to give Rinse a try.

Rinse is the smartest way to seamlessly organize and repair your iTunes music library. They’re powered by an intelligent online database which finds what you need without searching or typing. iTunes and other programs rely on correct information in your songs to work. Not Rinse. Even if your song names have misspellings or missing info, Rinse’ intelligent database technology will find the matching artwork, remove duplicates and clean things up for you one by one or automatically in one fell swoop.

A free trial of Rinse is available to see if it will convert up to 50 of your toughest songs. We were extremely impressed with how quick and intelligent it was.

Try it yourself and see.

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When I ran into this marriage of eco-friendly travel and iPhone app – I fell in love. Both happen to be two of my favorite subjects in the whole world right now. I’ve always been a technology geek, and love how it’s used to increase productivity and speed. When it helps out the environment too – it’s simply a slam dunk.

I’ve collected an entire page of “green” applications on my iPhone over the years. (Probably installed at least two pages, but condensed it down to the applications I use most.)

Catherine Mack is responsible for creating a brand new application in iTunes called Ireland Green Travel. Catherine is a travel writer specializing in green, eco, responsible and ethical tourism. She also holds a Masters degree in Responsible Tourism Management. Her new application for the iPhone features the best green accommodations, activities and hiking adventures, along with eco-friendly places to stay in Ireland.

Green places to stay include lakeside lodges, yurt camps, island retreats, eco-castles, grand houses “with more than just grand green gestures”, yoga retreats, community-run hostels, switched-on hotels and activity centers throughout the island of Ireland, North and South of the border. The application also features how to get there without using a car.

Catherine wrote a book called Eco Escape: Ireland some years ago and wanted to update it. What she ended up with was not only an update on all the eco-friendly places and activities that are popping up all over the Ireland – but an update in technology with this cool new mobile app.

According to Catherine, she was a bit hesitant about creating an application instead of the tried and true guidebook. After launching the new application however, Catherine admits there are a myriad of benefits for both her and the end user. Her biggest surprise was how she could update the application with new tours and activities without having to re-write a new book or application. End users also have to capability to interact and connect through the application with Google Maps, YouTube videos, train timetables; links to walking trails, and eye catching photos.

The new iPhone app is moderately priced at $2.99 and can be found in the iTunes store. You can also search for the application directly on your iPhone under “Ireland Green Travel”.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

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When I bought this domain back in 2004, I had no idea it would turn into something like this. The name actually came from another business I created at the time that did okay – but honestly, had no clue how to market at the time. When I purchased the domain, “Just Picture It Now” was a business that put your pictures on hats, coffee mugs, t-shirts and even underwear.

Year’s later, this domain is well known for YTB Travel, ZamZuu along with an experienced and accurate account of the Direct Sales and Network Marketing industry. Because I’ve been consistent in my writing with hundreds of articles and never shy away from controversy – this site is now well linked with hundreds of outside sites and domains pointing here.

In Internet terms, this is called a backlink, which is like a vote when it comes to search engines. The more backlinks you have pointing to your site from unique IP addresses and servers the more credibility you have in the eyes of Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines.

When I see an backlink in my dashboard I check it off as another vote. (And no, Google doesn’t care one iota about what’s actually being said; just that someone is pointing Internet users here.)

Building backlinks to your pages is an essential part of SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) for two reasons. The first reason is that it helps your pages get indexed faster, which is very important because you want the search engines to find them as soon as possible and crawl them regularly. (I’ve seen brand new articles of mine index within 5 to 10 minutes.) The second reason is that it helps your pages get higher search engine rankings for the keywords of your choice.

The more backlinks you have, the better. Period.

However, building backlinks can be a time-consuming process. I’ve been writing for years on various subjects. I’ve also garnered both positive and negative attention over the years, and a lot of people point to this site for information and articles. Some outsource the process to an agency and pay a lot of money. Or you can do it yourself with a very cool little tool that was recommended to me called SocialMonkee.

When talking with a friend of mine about our new site OurSharedEarth.com, I mentioned how I wish I had the type of links there that I have here. He’s been helping others with SEO and site management for years. When he recommended SocialMonkee as an instant backlink builder allowing you to build 25 unique backlinks, every day, for free I want to check it out. When I saw that all links are on unique C-Class IP addresses and domains that was a huge plus. (As the video on the page mentions, it would cost an arm and a leg to do it yourself.) Imagine being able to create 25 unique backlinks every day from separate domains, separate IP’s and separate servers, with the click of a button?

So, 25 unique backlinks every day. That’s a total of 175 backlinks every week, 750 every month. You can also upgrade and build 100 unique backlinks, up to 3 times a day. That would make a total of 2,100 backlinks every week, 9,000 every month. The good news is – you can get a Premium Account, free! All you need to do is to refer 12 members, and your account will automatically be upgraded. If you’re not really into referral marketing, you may upgrade right now for a low one-time fee.

Submitting a page or an article to Social Monkee via the member’s area takes under two minutes. They’ve also created a Firefox plugin (Which I’ve installed and currently use) that allows you to submit your page to up to 100 sites in just a few clicks, using nothing but Firefox. If you have a Premium Account you will also get access to link reports and RSS feeds, which are great to keep track of your backlinks and get them indexed fast. Submitting your RSS feeds to RSS submitters is actually a very important step in link building.

I’ve heard that Social Monkee won’t be free forever, so it’s best to get on the ball now if you’re looking to build backlinks to your site. Honestly, I think it’s worth it, even if they do charge a fee, but because it’s free now – it’s really a no brainer for anyone looking to create more recognition and search optimization to your site. In a few days or weeks, you’ll have a ton more backlinks to your site adding brand recognition and search engine credibility.

It’s worth a try – get Social Monkee here.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

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I’ve seen a ton of upgrades and website enhancements during my tenure with YTB. Quite honestly, I’ve lost count how many times our sites have been updated with new looks, technology features, and a wider array of product offerings.

Not to diminish anything the company has done in the past, because at the time it was released it was big. However, what I saw yesterday afternoon with a new look, technology improvements, social connectivity and user friendly design of this site tops anything the company has ever released.

Welcome to the new ZamZuu.

See, this is a result of what happens when companies pay attention to current trends and hot features of the day. Technology, especially on the Internet, is constantly changing and evolving. What’s really cool about a site like ZamZuu, is that you can implement certain features and redesigns like this on a regular basis to keep customers engaged.

There are many new features with the new site. The new look is much easier to navigate, by redesigning categories, keeping everything is what’s known in site design as “above the fold”. Let’s face it, people are lazy and scrolling down a long page just doesn’t cut it. Now, just about everything can be found without the need of scrolling down a single inch. (Trust me, it’s a very important feature – more important than you think.)

Another new addition is the shopping cart within ZamZuu.com. Now, customers can shop and purchase products within the same shopping experience. This in turn will increase the average amount of cash back for customers. (The more they buy – the more they save.)

On a promotional front as either a Free Agent or Site Owner with Zamzuu there’s a very cool feature that personally I’ve been waiting for.

Twitter and Facebook integration.

Now Free Agents and Site Owners can link directly to hundreds of stores with a simple click of a button. See a special sale at Macy’s? Tell your Facebook family about it with a link directly to Macy’s through your ZamZuu site. They get cash back, and you get a commission.

How easy is that?

I’ve got about 1000 friends on Facebook, and a portion of them are also partners in YTB and ZamZuu. They’ve already gotten the hang of this feature, and they understand what a real game changer this is.

There’s still a bit of cleanup to be done, and more stores to add over the coming weeks. While the links are correct in the Facebook integration, the API pulls a generic description for ZamTek for example. (Easily changed manually at this point however.)

There are a couple bugs to be fixed – which is inevitable when a release like this is offered to the general public. Then the company will focus on the next upgrade.

Another upgrade you ask? Yes, another upgrade for the YTB Travel Network sites with much of the same functionality as our new ZamZuu sites.

Can you imagine?! The travel site upgrade was supposed to be released in two weeks during Funshine. However, with all the work being done with the ZamZuu sites, and the new partnership with Orbitz, Funshine has been postponed until the travel upgrade is ready for launch. If it’s anything like this ZamZuu launch – I can pretty much promise it will be worth the wait.

And to the folks at the Home Office who worked on this ZamZuu upgrade. Hot damn! This is a nice upgrade!

Many thanks to you for your hard work – and especially for implementing the features the field wanted most.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

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This is another topic I’ve wanted to write about for some time. I remember reading about this mission some years ago, and today it’s become a reality.

Earlier this year, InterContinental Hotels Group, (IHG for short who owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and InterContinental among other brands) became the first hotel company to receive an LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) volume precertification established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).

Honestly, they could change their name to “Innovation Hotels Group”, which is a more accurate reflection.

See – In 2008 IHG launched the Innovation Hotel, an idea of what future hotels might look like if they used green technologies. Today, that idea has spread throughout the hotels in the chain who have registered for Green Engage. When the program is complete, all 4500 Hotels in the chain could save $300 million in reduced energy costs annually.

The company currently has around 1000 hotels that participate in the Green Engage program, which helps each hotel measure, manage and report their environmental impact. (You can find a current list of hotels here.) More hotels will become certified in the Green Engage program this year.

Hotels input their site data into Green Engage. Then, the system automatically generates reports and benchmarks against similar hotels across the world. Green Engage then advises both new-build and existing hotels on the specific actions they need to take to reduce their impact, depending on their climatic location. It’s not only a very bold program, but one that can make a huge impact. IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, with 650,000 guest rooms in 100 countries.

I first heard about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design back in 2007, at the YTB National Convention. The plan was to make the YTB Home Office LEED compliant. That too was a bold plan, and we all loved the initiative, including the surrounding area which hopped on board with future plans of their own in the community. Unfortunately, YTB was doing too well at the time, and it freaked some people out. According to ignorance – Direct Sales Companies can’t do what we do without something being wrong with them. MLM is a bad place to be, especially when you’re successful and don’t conform to irrational people who for one reason or another not only detest our model, but have to shove their beliefs down everyone’s throat.

Instead, our success was attacked by a supplier who dropped us, viscous hate blogs and boards popped up smearing the company. And the best part – California pilfered $875 thousand in a bogus lawsuit they could never prove – but ended up getting a financial windfall in a settlement. (While the collective victims it claimed to protect got 0.005% of what the suit was filed for.)

Nope. Legal fees and pure ignorance in this case put the kibosh on YTB and environmental leadership because jerks will be jerks with their own fantasy that YTB and people like me are the bad guys.

Anywho…

I love innovative and bold companies like IHG and YTB. Not only is IHG (and YTB at before the attacks) able to show that responsible tourism can be done well, and with a profit – but they show a corporate conscious that unfortunately is rare. Although, I see more companies like IHG getting on board. And others should. Consumer research confirms that people are more interested in sustainability issues than ever before.

So, the next time you’re looking to book a hotel, try IHG’s portfolio of hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

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