Evolution and Revolution of Social Media

Is social media a trend that people just blindly sign up to as soon as a new app, software or programme is launched or is it a new way of life involving the revolution and evolution of technology? Some say the biggest shift since industrial revolution.

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, and the development of machine tools. It also included the change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal. Read more …

It is very important to understand the growth of social media today and the impact it has on this generation. It is bridging gaps and making the world smaller and more connected. All those figures and statistics are proof of the rate at which the internet and social media has a big impact in our daily lives and society as a whole.

Social media is here to stay so it’s in our hands to make good choices on how we use it. In fact it has become so important that few states in US has advised their citizens to prepare Social Media Will to ensure that online identities and their social media accounts are not lost or abused. With the services that PlannedDeparture offers all this information and digital footprints we leave are protected. Sign up today and safeguard your online identity.  

Work hard, Work out harder!

At PlannedDeparture we know that how we live our life is a matter of choice. How you choose to work and your perception of work is your opinion.

Life is what you make it and so is your working environment.

Working in general often has its challenges, but if you work in a conducive environment and in a good team that supports and encourages you, it helps.

At PlannedDeparture we believe laughter is food for the body mind and soul. in order to be as productive as possible, we try to work in jovial but committed environment.  Studies so far have shown that laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Read more… As a result we play hard but work harder even at the office. Brainstorming and Standups to share ideas is one of the ways we come up with brilliant ideas and services for our clients. When we are not working in the office we take it to the gym.

A body that gets exercise is a body that is equipped to fight. A healthy body has a healthy mind. Why? In terms of work , exercise relaxes the mind and boosts the body’s  energy levels. When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about daily activities. After a good workout, you sleep better which revitalizes you for the next day of work. Our gym comes very handy as a result.

We aim to please each and every one of our clients. Even if we can’t that doesn’t mean we wont keep trying :). In taking care of ourselves, we take care of you.

So why not book an Open Office hour with Komal Joshi and learn more about Planned Departure.

Five Important Reasons Why You Have to Protect Your Digital Assets.

Digital Assets are any form of content and/or media that have been formatted into a binary source which include the right to use it. Digital assets include online accounts, social media pages, online banking accounts, emails, e-books, music and others.You can find more information on digital assets in this blog post.

People tend to think that protecting digital assets is mostly the concern of businesses and firms but that is not the case. We all leave a digital trace every time we use the internet and that is why we should all be prepared.

Here are top 5 reasons for you to protect your digital assets.

1. Plan Ahead

A digital asset management plan enables you to plan ahead and put all your affairs in order. You are the sole decision maker for all your digital assets. Otherwise the decision is left to chance, government or charity.

2.Easy of Access

It is difficult to keep track of all the accounts created. It becomes more difficult when different account information is recorded at different places such as notebook, emails or other media. Creating a list of all the accounts and login details helps in easy access. You can refer to the list anytime anywhere.

3. Information could be lost forever

If your online accounts are not protected and something happens to you, all information stored online could be lost forever. This information could be of financial as well emotional value. Protecting digital assets can prevent information loss.

4. Easier for Family and Friends

Due to security measures, it is almost impossible to get access to an account without  authorisation. With a list of beneficiaries, it is easier for loved ones to access all these accounts from one place. The family does not have to assume about your wishes for these accounts. If you would want them deleted, memorialised or all information extracted and saved in an archive. The decisions would have already been made and all they have to do is implement it.

After losing her daughter to a brain tumor, Louise Palmer was banned from her daughter’s facebook account, in the name of protecting her privacy. Read more…

5. Prevent Identity Theft or Ghosting.

With so much of our information stored online, identity theft of the dead is getting more and more common in our day. The dead are the easiest of targets and the most vulnerable since they cannot defend themselves or put up a fight. You can find more details on Ghosting or identity theft of the diseased in this blog post.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, up to 9 million people per year are victims of such thefts. After death, some of our personal information become public records and that makes it easier for thieves to use this information and get access to credit cards, loans etc.

Take the first step of ensuring your digital assets are protected today by signing up with PlannedDeparture. We help you plan well and protect all information securely.

“Are you prepared?”

Richard Webber has famously said that,

“We’re all going to die. We don’t get much say over how or when. But we do get to decide how we’re going to live. So do it. Decide. Is this the life you want to live? Is this the person you want to love? Is this the best you can be? Can you be stronger? Kinder? More compassionate? Decide. Breathe in. Breathe out, and decide.”

so it’s a fact that all of us are going to die, sooner or later, but, the question is … ‘are you prepared?’

What does it mean to be prepared in this context? Prepared could mean that you take care of your assets and liabilities, you think about your beneficiaries , your power of attorney etc.

On the same lines, you think about your digital assets.

But why is it important to be prepared….

Our digital assets are most likely to exist forever if not deleted, shut down or infected with viruses which lead to it getting lost (which is very unlikely).

Our email accounts, social media pages, digital albums, online bank accounts etc. will still be in existence when we pass away. Now with our new knowledge we know there is something called digital asset management.

It will be up to us to determine what we want done to our assets. It is advisable to have a list of all your digital assets with detailed information on what you would like done with all the information on the accounts.

If you would like the account to be closed down completely, turned into a memorial page or even send birthday, anniversaries messages from beyond the grave.

It is important to plan ahead to save your loved ones the hassle of trying to figure our passwords. It gives them access to photos, videos and even the settling of bills. It makes everything easier after your death.

There are many ways to plan it. You could go the old fashioned way with the pen and paper, a will or as technology evolves evolve with it and go for the easy, safe and secure version. Set up an E-vault with PlannedDeparture and keep all your digital assets in one safe place.

Kindly repost if you found this helpful. Thank you 🙂

Top 3 team building videos selected by Team PlannedDeparture :)

We all know teamwork is when a group of people come together with a common goal and strive to work efficiently and effectively towards that goal.

Working in general often has its challenges, if you work as a good team member you have support in times of need from your colleague’s.

Two heads are better than one. This allows you to discuss and brainstorm on ideas that will help improve and enlighten your task and also broaden your scope of knowledge.

People can not do everything by themselves as some think. In a team you can delegate tasks to one another that helps you improve upon your weakness and also showcase your strengths.

Be a good team member, Share success and failure together and become better because of it. In learning to help others you help your self.

PlannedDeparture is a member of your team. We are here to help you, help yourself. Sign up for a free trial today.

Its Marketing not rocket science!

Innovation and marketing is the key fundamentals of a business. If your marketing is poor , you will end up spending and putting too much effort in selling because you haven’t marketed your product properly.

Simple question. What is Marketing?

Marketing is creating the interest and purpose of your product. It is selling to the world, whilst sales is selling to an individual. Challenge yourself and create your marketing plan and make sure it’s visible and clear to the understanding to everyone and anyone that picks it up. A good marketing plan helps you achieve your goals.

Find your strengths and weaknesses. Are you good at sales? Are you good at pitching? Presenting?

You won’t know till you test and try things out, explore new avenues .

In every company, start-up, business you should have a “why and what”.

The ‘why’ of PlannedDeparture: To give the user control over what happens to their assets.

The ‘what’ of Planneddeparture: To preserves all digital assets that matter to a user and distribute it to the beneficiaries listed by the user if anything happens to him or her.

Rod Sloane gave this information and more at an event organised at the google campus on the 16/07 on ‘Selling for Startups.

“Don’t give up, keep trying and when anyone in the position to help says no, ask again; Do you mean no now, or no never?” Chances are they mean ‘no’ right now.

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. – Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

Out with the old, in with the new :)

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.- James Cash Penney

The PlannedDeparture team was all smiles on the 21st of july as we moved from our previous London Business School premises to our new Vista office in Hounslow.

There are no secrets to success but known facts. Hard work, determination and dedication pays off. it might not happen overnight but sooner than later it will be evident.

These past weeks have been challenging in finding out what best suits our clients but as usual the PlannedDeparture team have worked through it all and moved from strength to strength.

As we packed our boxes of equipment and bid farewell to LBS incubator to a bigger office, a professional business centre, we were proud of our growth and achievement but we couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the support of our clients and followers.

We from planned departure want to say a big thank you for all your support, subscriptions, comments, likes, reposts and retweets.

We promise to keep up the good work and  keep providing an even better service than we do now.
Out with the old- Old office

 
In with the new – New Office

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Importance of Wills

More than 2/3 of UK nationals do not have a will. Only 3 in 10 people have a will.

In 2009 the treasury gained £76m from people who died without making a will and in 2010 gained £53m.

It’s interesting what can be stated as an asset or inheritance in a will.

From online account passwords, furniture, shoes, clothes, heirlooms, photographs etc.

Making a will is important because it clearly states who your beneficiaries are and what they are entitled to. It’s a secure method to make sure your possessions go to the right people.

Some people tend to postpone or not make wills at all based on a number of factors.

• Some feel like they do not have enough wealth.
• It’s hard to understand the precedents, jargons and terminologies.
• Making a will means they are about to die.

Mentioned in my earlier post on ‘Types of Wills’, you can write your own will, or use/buy a template online but it’s worth having a solicitor go over it with you to make sure it is a valid will.

“One I saw only had room for one witness signature – it has to be two. Another client I had wanted to leave all his golf clubs to his best friend, but his best friend was the witness – which means that was invalid – he could never get his golf clubs.” – Solicitor.

It is important to make a digital asset management plan and include your digital assets to your will.

Social media accounts, Online banking accounts, digital financial information, photographs and deeds to properties are all examples of digital assets.

At PlannedDeparture we offer online storage of all your digital assets.

To get started sign up for a free trial today.

Image Source: http://www.rqpartners.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wills1.png

 

Technology! Please don’t.

With the aid of the internet children are growing up way to fast. I was  a child of the 80’s and in my day I was happy to play outside all day with my friends and cousins, we would play hop scotch, skipping rope, police and thieves or dress up,  read a book or watch some cartoons. Our imagination was our playground. now everything has changed.

My little cousins just like other children of today  barely step out of the house to play, they would rather play these games with each other or by themselves on a on mobile phones, tablets or PC’s. Send texts all day, or surf the internet, but to be fair a few of them actually study and find out new facts to helping them develop physically and mentally. Acquiring knowledge is one of the best things a child can have but to what extent? Some of the information they stumble upon while browsing, I didn’t find out till I was an early teen. Some of this information can be helpful as well as harmful based on how the child interprets it.

Technology has benefited us a lot. It has brought hope to curing terminal diseases like cancer, it has made education easier and accessible from anywhere through distance learning, easy communication with family and friends through text, videos and calls… It basically influences our every move.

Children learn so much now at such an early age which allows them to grow up quickly. Childhood used to be so long in a fun way but now it seems rushed and they grow up so quickly. knowledge they say is power, but I say too much of everything at the wrong time is bad.

Technology  please don’t rob our children of their childhood, but that’s not my point. Its not the fault of technology if it is being misused. It is the responsibility of us as individuals, family and society to protect our children.

Protect your children, let them enjoy their childhood, they have so many years to be an adult, let us not deprive them by influencing the robbery of their innocence.