Author Archives: loiswhitmanhess

You Need A Digital Personal Assistant

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Julie Lesser

You go to a dentist when your tooth hurts. You go to your hair stylist when you hair needs a cut. You go to a masseuse when your muscles ache, and you go to a therapist when you are at your wits’ end. Then why shouldn’t you go to what I call a Digital Personal Assistant when you need help with the wonderful world of technology? A DPA is someone you can hire on an hourly basis who will help you figure out Twitter, set up iTunes, show you Audible, explain whatever apps you are interested in, and even go shopping with you for your tech needs.

Let’s stop this insanity. Why should we be held hostage to our technology fears when there are so many youngsters who are out of work and willing to introduce us to a world that is beyond our comprehension? We lead vital and productive lives. Why should anything stand in our way of experiencing the latest in innovation? We should be a part of the digital revolution and learn as much as we can. Most of us rely on our children to help us. I think we all agree that they have little time and no patience for us. A friend of mine recently told me, “My son is the last person I would ask. He talks jargon and when I ask him more than once to show me something, he almost gets violent.”

The simple truth is that your children are the wrong ones to teach you this stuff. You need someone to call who knows there is a financial reward that goes along with it. I used to pay $25 an hour to a young friend of mine to teach my girlfriend how to use Skype, send multiple emails, fix her printer, and explain the wonders of scanning. It was my birthday gift to her. She has now used a Digital Personal Assistant several times.

Julie is a digital whiz

Last night I was talking about this concept with my much younger girl friend Julie Lesser who lives in Westlake Village, California. Julie is an Internet expert even though that is not her day job. She is just one of these natural talents who intuitively knows her way around software, hardware, social media platforms, mobile equipment, and apps. She spends six or eight hours on the net every day researching, reading, and learning more and more about how our lifestyles are being influenced by the tech world. It is not unusual for younger people to spend hours at their computers. In fact, it is what makes them much more sophisticated and specialized in a world that we don’t realize exists.

Julie was answering questions I had about Facebook and why there are so many format changes. She enlightened me as no one else has had the patience to do. That will also be another blog post. Meanwhile, we discussed the concept of the Digital Personal Assistant and decided that we would both venture into starting a small business that helped others. We were on the phone for two hours discussing all of the possibilities. That is a lot of time for someone to be offline, so I truly want to officially thank her now.

We would like to begin by helping any DigiDame readers. Email me at Lois@digidame.com. any time you have a question. If Julie or anyone else we add to our virtual staff can’t help you via telephone or email, we will get you someone in person. Don’t be shy, call. I know that the biggest challenge for this business model is getting the 50-plus crowd to make that first call. We either have a tremendous fear factor or we are just too lazy to learn. I don’t know how to get through to you other than to just keep saying it over and over. Technology is just not that difficult to learn. Once you learn it, or even part of it, your life is going to go in to a positive spin. Don’t you deserve it?

I Am Finally In My Comfort Zone

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This is what I wear to work everyday

Walking on the streets of Manhattan

The other day I posted a picture of myself on Facebook with two 23-year old app developers from Chile who came to visit me at my office. Within seconds my California girl friend Sheri Lesser wrote a message on my page that said, “I have never seen you in jeans. You look good.”  The truth is that most of my career I was required to wear a business suit to work. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on clothes each year just to sit in my office, get an occasional visitor or go see a client once or twice a week. Oh yes, luncheons. I needed the glamorous suits to walk from the coat closet in the restaurant to my table where I sat covered for one or two hours. 

Online for our coffee in the Flatiron District

Check out the shoes

When I think back to those days, I realize how silly we all were dressing up to impress each other. I have to admit that I was one of the most vocal bosses about people not properly dressing for work. I even scolded several people on my staff when I saw them dressed in warm-up suits traveling to the CES show in Las Vegas. I told them that the aircraft was filled with industry people judging their appearance. I even went so far as to say that what they wore had a direct reflection on the agency. 

Muscles and tatoos are the status symbols

Those were the days. Today if you wear a suit in the digital community in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Boston people will think you are going to a funeral. Everyone wears casual slacks or jeans, a shirt, top or sweater, comfortable shoes or sneakers and hopefully clean underwear. We are all non-descript. It’s all about creativity and not the surface BS. I may be 30 years older than most, but I better conform if I am going to be taken seriously. Truth be told, I never felt better about myself.  I love working in this environment and I love being so comfortable today without my tight-fitting pantyhose, my tangled slip and my aching high heels. I will leave that to the lawyers and bankers who still feel they have to impress someone. 

I must say that some of the younger folks do take advantage of the new accepted attire. The young women wear short, short, short, skirts and short, short, shorts on hot days in the summer and their male counterparts wear loose cargo shorts. I urge you not to look up on the subway steps. You will see more than the X-rated channel on your TV sets.

My New Life As A Blogger

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Andrea Hein

My girl friend Andrea Hein asked me at dinner Sunday night, “Lois, how are you going to keep this up?” She was referring to writing a blog post each day. “Are you still going to do PR?”  Yes, I am going to keep my day job. It is a perfect fit for a blogger. PR gives me the ammunition I need to stay in the action. How I am going to manage both is another story.

Writing the copy for a blog is the easy part. The part that is so

WordPress Template Called A Dashboard

time-consuming is proofing, finding images, researching related stories, highlighting links, tagging, and checking and rechecking before you click to post. For those of us who are not technically inclined, the most fascinating part of a blog is the way it is laid out and designed. Unless bloggers have their own art department, how do their posts look so professional? I could never understand that. I have come to learn that there are software programs created and designed just for bloggers. The one I use is called WordPress. I find it absolutely amazing that you can insert your copy, photos, links, and tags and WordPress does the rest. Each time I post a blog, it takes about three or four hours from start to finish. That includes everything from the writing to the rechecking. I am sure some bloggers do it faster but I am still a beginner. 

I love doing all the work and then checking it in draft form. There is such a sense of accomplishment. I feel very competitive with other bloggers who have been posting every day for years. If they can do it, why can’t I? I figured out a formula. I start thinking about the topic I am going to write about after dinner. I start the copy on my iPhone while watching TV. Once I get the general theme written out (and that can be just a few sentences), I feel so comfortable that I can fall asleep pretty quickly because I know that the pressure is off. In the morning I finish the copy in a half hour and then the drudgery begins—–the posting process. I am sure it will go faster once I start using the WordPress app on my iPhone and iPad. I still don’t have a sense of trust yet. 

Memo to Andrea and husband Ron Hein: Have a great trip in South America. I am not saying where you are going to protect your privacy. It was great seeing you at The Palm on Second Avenue in NYC. Don’t forget to sniff the cocoa leaves. Oops !!!!

1010 WINS Gives Me The World

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By the time you read this you may already know the verdicts for John Edwards and Dharun Ravi. But as I sit here anxiously awaiting the fate of these two guys on this rainy Monday morning in New York, I am wondering how you receive your news in the age of the Internet.

I have been relying on New York’s all news radio station 1010 WINS for as long as I can remember. I first listened to WINS on my clock radio, then my boom box, then my shower radio, then on my laptop when radio went “live” on the Internet and today on the apps on my iPhone and iPad.

I don’t leave home without access to 1010 WINS. WINS is the nation’s oldest all-news station in the country, broadcasting in that format continuously since 1965. Known on-air as “Ten-Ten Wins”, the radio station is now owned by CBS Radio. I used to feel sorry for people who lived in cities without an all news radio station. It is just so uncivilized. I grew up in New York where 1010 WINS was around as long as I can remember. Their slogan, “Give us 22 minutes and we will give you the world,” basically sums up what the station does. You can tune in any time of the day or night and within 22 minutes you know exactly what is happening in the world of politics, sports, weather, entertainment, business, music, pop culture, crime, traffic, accidents and deaths. They don’t miss a beat.

Alan Freed, an icon in Rock n Roll, got his start on 1010 WINS

I could never understand when someone claims they get their news from The Today Show. The Today Show? You have got to be kidding? The Today Show doesn’t give you the most up-to-date information on every topic. It gives you the side story after the news happens.

Now through the Internet you can experience what I have all these years. I listen to the station wherever I am in the world. Yes, sometimes it is disconcerting when I am in Europe to listen to the weather in New York, however, this is still the most efficient way to get world news. From the minute I wake up in the morning, to the time I go to bed at night, I tune in every few hours from my app, from my computer, from my bathroom radio. Remember, all you need is 22 minutes.

Even in the age of the Internet, 1010 WINS still beats out any other form of news including CNN, Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. By the time they put out the alerts, which are pretty quick, I have heard the news on WINS. News happens all day long. WINS reports it almost instantaneously. I am willing to debate this with anyone who wants to challenge me. In fact, I am pretty sure that Internet aggregation took its cue from 1010 WINS because the radio station was the first to rely on other news formats to gather information. They have original reporting, plus they find important and interesting stories from TV and print publications. The whole premise is to be the centerpiece of news delivery. That is the same platform that Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Yahoo, and everyone else has adopted.

If you are an Internet baby or someone who is trying to reinvent yourself in the digital age, I really urge you to tune in any way you can. You will be one of the most informed people in any conversation you have. I am sure you have heard from anyone who is involved in the Internet that “Content Is King.” That means that without meaningful information, your Internet site is meaningless. The same holds true with how people perceive you. I am spelling out the easiest way to multi-task and be informed. You are welcome!

Facebook For Pets

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This blog post is dedicated to everyone who has ever owned a pet or who owns one now. This post is also my first time blogging on the WordPress app directly from my iPhone. So if I “F-up,” excuse me.

Blondie and Coco

The last dog I owned, Coco Hess, was the nearest and dearest to me because of her temperament. I took her to work everyday after her sister Blondie died at 11 years old. Coco lasted till she was 16 and my first dog Gucci died at 11. I miss them more than I can ever express here.

Gucci with me circa 1975. I am the one with the perm

I just heard about a new app called Klooff that can help me reconnect with them in a meaningful way that only the digital world can provide. The app was created by Alejandro Russo and NicolasTrajtman from Chile. They’ve known each other since preschool. They were also partners in a previous startup.

Alejandro and Nicolas attended Walkabout, the digital open house I wrote about yesterday. They are visiting New York to introduce Klooff to the American marketplace.  They sat across from me at Business Insider and we struck up a conversation. Almost immediately I learned about Klooff. I knew then and there that Klooff was going to be a part of my life. I downloaded it this morning and posted my beloved dogs’ photos and info. I have much more to do.

Hanna’s invitation

I told Alejandro that on June 23rd I was attending my cousin’s Bat Mitzvah in Los Angeles which is going to feature dogs as the theme for the Saturday night celebration party. Hanna Young is creating her table centerpieces in honor of dogs loved and cherished. You can’t imagine how special I felt when Hanna asked me for pictures of Gucci, Coco and Blondie. Alejandro told me to take pictures of Hanna’s Bat Mitzvah and they would post them on Klooff.  What a woof woof experience that is going to be.

I thank you Hanna and Klooff for making my babies close to me again.

Nicolas and Alejandro minutes after I first spotted them

Here is more about Klooff:

Hi Lois, WELCOME to KLOOFF!

YOU are the newest member of Klooff, the app for pet lovers.
We’re excited to have you onboard and we can’t wait to see pics of your pet!

A few tips to get the most out of Klooff:
Start by creating a profile for your pet.
Upload some nice and fun pictures of your pets.
Follow your friends and connect with other Pet Lovers.
Earn Klooff points and Badges by interacting with your pets and other Pet Lovers!
Turn your pics into cool products!

Go to the app store and type in Kloff. You will find the app.

…..The Klooff creators are supposed to visit my office tomorrow. If I learn more I will let you know.

I Am A Digital Voyeur

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I spent the afternoon yesterday visiting two Internet centric companies in the Gramercy Park, Flatiron districts of Manhattan. I had no idea that Business Insider and Tumblr were steps away from my office on 21st and Broadway. Yes, I should have known, considering my company has been located in the area for a year and a half. I have been so busy working that I never considered canvassing the neighborhood. I knew that when we moved across the street from the Flatiron building we were in the heart of the NYC digital world. That is why I became intrigued by an email I received a few weeks earlier, asking if I wanted to participate in an open house program called Walkabout NYC.

The email said that “Walkabout NYC is a celebration of the technology and entrepreneurial culture in New York City. On Friday May 18, 2012, tech companies behind some of our favorite products will host a citywide open house. Stop by and check out their workspaces, see how they work, and meet the people leading the technology movement in NYC. This is about meeting new people, seeing awesome office spaces, learning about how people work, and having fun. The companies are thrilled to have you visit, and we hope you have a great day exploring!”

Walkabout NYC was founded by Danny Wen and Shawn Liu of Harvest HQ, a time tracking and billing company in SoHo servicing thousands of customers around the world, from freelancers to small businesses to departments within Fortune 500 companies. Danny and Shawn have always enjoyed taking tours of creative and entrepreneurial workspaces. No matter what size, they found that the spaces always fostered inspirational energy. Today, Harvest HQ has become a gathering point where the founders invite others to visit their workspace and share their tools of the trade. Walkabout is also expanding internationally. Voxel, an Internap Company, started a Walkabout in Singapore. The philosophy is the same, inspire people in the local technology community of Singapore to explore the spaces, culture and unique energy of digital companies.

We never had anything like this when I was in the earlier stages of my career. I guess the local Chambers of Commerce had the same premise by gathering businesses to meet each other. Walkabout NYC was different because you got to visit a lot of companies in one afternoon. Most of the people in the hosting companies were busy working, so the visitors actually got to see a true business day. I am still stunned that I spotted Henry Blodget, CEO and Editor-In-Chief of Business Insider, sitting right in the middle of the news room (in my days they called it a city room) typing away. I had just seen him on a TV news show with Eliot Spitzer, the former NY State Attorney General. Both of them were commenting on the recent financial troubles at JP Morgan Chase. Before they started the report, Henry said something like “Nice to be with you under different circumstances” and then got right in to the topic. I thought Henry was referring to the downfall of Spitzer’s political career a few years ago due to his womanizing. If you Google Henry Blodget you will see it was an entirely different situation.

Look closely. Henry Blodget on the right typing away

Henry is someone to be admired. He is a great role model as to how to reinvent yourself and always be of significance. I loved that he was immersed in whatever he was writing and didn’t even know there was a room filled with visitors. Someone from BI confirmed that the workspace he was sitting in was his office. He has two computer screens, one where he sits, the other where he stands. I have never seen anyone stand and write but apparently he does. My friend Adrian Rice from Steelcase should pitch him on their workspace treadmill, which is now a big favorite for those who want to get some exercise while they work.

I was so enamored when I saw Henry working away, I couldn’t wait to get back to the office to write my blog and handle several of the hundreds of tasks I have to do for my PR clients every day. The list is always endless. We all need to be motivated as often as possible. I can’t wait for the next Walkabout NYC.

The Past Is The Future

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Recently I found myself wondering whatever happpened to a certain from a friend who grew up in the same building as I did in Hollis, Queens? In the digital age you don’t have to wonder anymore. It wasn’t Facebook, but somehow, some way, Ellen Gershoff Jaffee got in touch with me. She is now one of my regular readers and often makes comments. 

Not only have I met the beautiful Ellen, I have also reunited with her brother and mother after 40 years. My mother died seven years ago this June,so when Ellen’s mother attended one of my parties in Miami a few years ago it was like being with my own mother again. We talked about people in the neighborhood that only my mother’s generation would have been interested in. 

Nadia, Mel and Lois

Then there is Mel Matza, my first boyfriend when I was 13. I didn’t see him in the decades after he moved to Bologna, Italy to attend medical school. He ended up staying there and getting married. Through email and Skype we were able to reconnect. Now, even though we see each other only occasionally, we are able to stay current online. I never would have thought we would have been so close at this point in our lives. 

Maurice de Hond

Two former clients whom I adore, one in Jerusalem and the other in Amsterdam, still keep in touch frequently. Harry Fox now lives in Israel and is a part of the tech industry. He was an innovator 25 years ago when we worked together and he’s still inventing today. I met with him when we were in Israel. He and his wife hosted a BBQ for Eliot and me plus three other friends. I also see Harry at trade shows, and occasionally we will work together on an assignment. The client from Amsterdam, Maurice de Hond, was our supervisor on a computer project. I have been in constant contact with Maurice as well and have participated in several assignments including a murder mystery, book and film projects, and how tablets and other devices are helping young children to create their own virtual school. 

Larry Hymes

Then there is Facebook. I searched for a fellow named Larry Hymes who I was friendly with when I was 17 years old. He lived a few miles away from me but we saw each other often and he dated a number of my friends. I think we talked on the telephone every night for two years. He now lives in Los Angeles and is in the menswear business. At first he didn’t answer me and then finally sent back a message after a few weeks. This is what it said: “Tell me more about yourself. You sound familiar but I can’t place you.” I was floored. I was thinking about him for years and he was clueless as to who I was. He spent two years of his life talking to me every school night and on weekends. We went to dances, movies, bowling and Diner hopping all over Queens, and this guy couldn’t remember me. It wasn’t a case of my being offended or that he could have been faking it, because he kept writing back. He talks to me on Facebook from time to time but can’t remember any details of our relationship. He blames it on drugs. I blame it on some other disconnect in his brain. 

Adrian “Ace” Rice, rocker

There are a number of other stories I can tell you about, but the one that is the most recent and the reason why digital communication is such a wonderful tool, came via a phone call from a stunning guy I met at the CES show many moons ago. Adrian Rice (nickname Ace) lives in southern California, works for Steelcase, and is a rocker. He is a little younger than me, married ,and yes we found each other on Facebook a few years ago. His smile can light up a room and I am not even sure why he even wanted to maintain a relationship other than he must be a very friendly guy. If you look him up on Facebook, you will see him rocking away at many venues with shis band. I picked up the phone when it rang and Adrian said, “I have been reading DigiDame, and making comments, so I just decided instead of typing something something else, I would call.” It was so lovely. We spent about 20 minutes going down memory lane, then made a date to meet up for breakfast or coffee when Eliot and I will be in LA next month. I haven’t seen him in years. How do I quickly transform myself from a good old broad to the perky young gal he met at the Curtis booth decades ago? Ouch, the years do accumulate quickly.

63 Years After Muggs Mc Ginnis

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I

Muggs MC Ginnis

It was quite serendipitous that I met Susan Leigh Babcock. She is the creator of Ballpoint, Inc., a digital company that was started in 2010 to help people like me who sometimes struggle with basic writing skills. I know that may seem strange considering my entire career has involved all levels of writing but, yes, I am one of those who have been known to misuse words and pull a Muggs McGinnis who was infamous for his malapropisms. I also can confuse the use of words like “apart” vs.“a part” or phrases like “in regards to” vs.”in regard to.” For years I had to suffer asking my husband or co-workers, “What is the word for . . . ?”  I hate having to ask for help at this stage of the game but I still have so much to say and yet at times can’t find the right words to say it.  

I am still confused if it is “make deux,” “make due,” “make do,” or “make dew.” Apparently, I am not the only one.  Susan claims that because people are writing more as compared to verbally communicating, there are more mistakes appearing in front of people’s eyes, and those mistakes are starting to look right from repetition. That’s a recipe for confusion.  

Ballpoint is an education software company that makes game apps for the English language. Ballpoint’s first two learning apps, “Word Wit” and “Phrase Wit”, are available in the Apple Store and deal with the most commonly confused — and miswritten — words and phrases, respectively. Susan calls them confusing words and their evil twins: “amount and number,” “principle and principal” and “moot and mute.” Common phrases and their mangled cousins include “super up,” “soup up,” or “suit up.” While some of the misuses may make you laugh, others will make you cringe as you realize you also thought it was “shoe-in” (instead of the correct “shoo-in”). 

Susan Leigh Babcock

Ballpoint is bringing new skill sets to those who want to take advantage of digital technology. Word Wit and Phrase Wit are apps that use game mechanics to make learning more fun, also known as “gamification” of learning. The next step for Ballpoint will be the “learnification” (Susan’s made-up term) of games. This will get their terrific learning apps in the hands of everyone who enjoys games, which is a surprisingly large percentage of the population, and across a surprising demographic of age and gender. In that sense it will also be a democratization of learning. 

When we met for lunch yesterday, Susan told me that corporations spend $3.1 billion a year on remedial writing training. She also noted that people looking for work need to write for 90 per cent of the available jobs. Foreign speakers make up one in every two new employees. Learning correct grammar and the ability to express yourself is even being underscored by the Obama administration. President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 on October 13, 2010. The law requires that federal agencies use “clear Government communication that the public can understand and use.” On January 18, 2011, he issued a new Executive Order, “E.O. 13563 – Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review..It states that “[our regulatory system] must ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand.”  

Ballpoint plans to be a digital  leader in this category, designing for all platforms to reach anyone wherever they are. You should read their blog which has fun and breezy posts with terrific tips that will help your writing skills. It’s critical in my business to inspire confidence. Susan tells me even she has her work edited. I think I’m in good company then. 

As I state in most of my blog posts, the digital world has certainly made it a lot easier for us in many respects. To be able to strengthen the tools of my trade with Word Wit and Phrase Wit, words, has made a big difference in my life. I’m just glad that Ballpoint has arrived in my lifetime.

Apps That Take Naps

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There is never a day that goes by that someone doesn’t call to ask me if I can help them develop an app for the Apple or Android smart phone. At first it was the younger set who wanted to be a part of  the “get rich quick” generation. Now I am getting calls from middle age to golden years folks who have ideas of their own. Here are some of them: 

1-An app that lists the local senior centers and their activities

2-An app that gives reviews of 55 plus housing communities

3-An app that tells you “what is free” in every neighborhood in America. Such as wine tasting parties, gallery openings, open houses at museums, new store galas,  restaurant previews, cocktail parties for new designers at department stores, school lectures, etc.

4-An app that lists every benefit you should be receiving when you are 65

5-An app for volunteering

Mark Cuban of Shark Tank
“You seem very nice but i am out. Good luck”

6-An app that lists senior friendly bars

7-An app that lets you join others so that you don’t have to eat alone

8-An app  that helps you join golf, bridge, bowling, tennis and chat clubs 

I was terribly frustrated at first because I didn’t know how to help most of the people who called. I hate being put in that position. So, I spent the last few weeks researching what it takes to get started as well as being successful. 

Kevin O”Leary of Shark Tank
“Come back when you know what you are talking about”

I am devoting a post to this subject, but I already know the reaction of  many of the people who have called on me.  “Stop lecturing me, Lois.” There are so many people who think they have a great idea and want to be successful. However, they are clueless about what it takes to get there. You can give them a blueprint of exactly what to do and they will just take shortcuts, because they think they know better. All they are interested in is someone writing a check and letting them play. When they finally end up with nothing, they blame everyone but themselves.  I remember spelling out the same thing in a post I  recently did which covered  presenting yourself to venture capitalists and angel investors. I am not trying to be bossy. I am trying to help. Don’t shoot the messenger, me. 

Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank
“I don’t know your business, I am out”

After many conversations with agencies and software developers who create apps, I found that they too get approached by hundreds of people every year with what they believe are great ideas.  John Hobson and Phil Lockhart of Project Tiki, a developer of apps in Dallas, said that the first thing they look for is whether the people with suggestions have “any skin in the game.” In other words, if an idea person is not willing to invest themselves (around $10,000), then they will never act on their proposal. (I just spoke to another source who told me her two apps cost $80,000).  Software developers who make apps get more so called great ideas a week than they can digest.  Ideas are cheap. They need development money. It is very rare that they think something is such a brilliant idea that they are willing to work for free and then share in the payoff.  You have to have strong proof. 

Daymond John of Shark Tank
“Unless this is your day job and you are working around the clock, I am not interested in you”

Gone are the days where you show up with an idea scratched out on a piece of paper. Phil and John told me that most apps in the iPhone and Android stores go nowhere fast. Only a small percentage make money. The rest go to sleep and die because the idea people had no follow through, no promotion, no marketing money, no one sitting behind the driver’s seat making it happen.  I want to underscore that creating new ideas for businesses or being an inventor as a second career when you are over 50, is very important for your mind and body. Many of us can once again experience the joys of a rewarding and productive life. Go for it! It would be so awesome to read Forbes, Fortune, or Business Week and see a whole new trend of the older generation leading the way in innovation.  It is so important for you to understand the path you need to take, the monies required and the time you have to devote to these projects. 

Barbara Corcoran of Shark Tank
“I dont think you know what your business model is”

If you are now one of the people, call me. I have a much larger list of resources.  This world is all about connecting the dots.

Digital Keepsakes

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For most of my career I never liked taking a vacation from my business. Being away from the office was like leaving a teenager home alone. You never know what you will find when you return. All that changed seven years ago when I reached my late 50s. A little bell went off in my head that said, “it’s time.” Of course the Internet had a lot to do with it. I am living proof that you can travel all over the world and still keep an eye on things at home. 

India

I don’t travel without my laptop, iPhone (Line 2 for International calling), iPad, chargers, iPod, and good old-fashioned pen and paper. We tour during the day in Europe or Asia when everyone is sleeping in the United States and get back to our hotel room at night. I am then able to check in with the office and clients when business is in full swing back in New York. 

Peru

Theoretically, everything should run smoothly. The digital age has certainly provided for all the advantages of working virtually. Another digital plus is the stunning photos you get from faraway places. In the last seven years we have been to South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, South America, Israel, and India. Later this month we are leaving for Croatia. 

Unlike most folks, I do not allow all the beautiful photos we have taken to be hidden in some drawer or closet upon our return. Thousands of photos are constantly being displayed on a designated HDTV screen in our office, or on digital photo frames at home. My husband Eliot is known to snap as many as 9,000 photos on trips. Of course, he has a professional Nikon camera and some kind of gizmo that allows him to exercise his trigger finger. He then spends weeks editing the photos for display. 

Thanks to my girl friend Ruth Greenberg, (we usually travel with her and her husband Howard) the photos taken on these trips have been elevated to a new digital level. She has artistically taken the pictures from each trip and turned them into custom made digital photo albums that look like professionally published coffee table books. Each page is designed to look like a separate masterpiece. The brilliance of the colors, the shapes of the photos, and the structure of the layouts look as if they were published by National Geographic. She has done a wonderful job over the years and we appreciate these keepsakes. Lately Eliot has taken his turn and was responsible for the Israel and India books. Our photo books are displayed in my living room and remain wonderful to look at no matter how many times we view them. Digital publishing is an amazing feat. 

Paris

There are many publishers of digital photo books, but the ones most popular are Shutterfly and My Publisher. These companies were created because people wanted to share their memories and experiences with others. The evolution of the digital camera has made it easier to accomplish this. Millions and millions of Americans have made digital photo books over the last few years. These companies also offer storage, personal and public sharing sites (if you just want to keep your books and photos online) video capabilities, greeting cards, stationery, scrapbooking, and, of course, prints and posters. 

India

Please let the DigiDame know if you have any questions

India photo spread

about working away from the office or capturing your travels digitally. If I can’t answer you, I know plenty of people who love giving their advice and expertise.