From the Desk of Janet Barclay

Have you ever emailed someone and received an email back, asking you to confirm that you are a real person? This is a system some people use to eliminate spam, and according to one of my clients, it is 100% effective. He claims he has received no spam whatsoever since he started using it.

This week I received one of those emails, but it was from someone I had not contacted.  I can only assume that this is someone’s way of collecting valid email addresses. So heads up! Before you click to verify your email address, make sure that it’s someone you want contacting you!

I’ve just found out about a new magazine dedicated to helping people tackle their organization needs. The premiere issue, which will be going to print this month, will include an interview with Peter Walsh, who is known for TLC’s Clean Sweep and his book How to Organize (Just About) Everything. The article is titled "You Are Not Your Stuff" and should be very interesting.

The magazine also includes a section called "Neat Stuff" which showcases exciting new organizing products such as the Eight Days-A-Week Planner, which offers an extra column for your "someday" plans, and WhoMi’s What To Do Pad, which is designed so you can easily keep separate lists for things to buy, calls to make, and things to do.

For a sneak preview of the magazine or to order a subscription, visit Organize Magazine’s website. (POC and NAPO members are eligible for a discount on their subscriptions!)

Thirty years ago, if you’d told me the day would come when the majority of office workers (and many other workers) would have a computer on their own desk, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Twenty years ago, if you’d told me there would be a network linking computers all around the world, I’d have been skeptical.

Ten years ago, if you’d told me this technology would lead to my owning and operating a successful business from my home, I would have laughed.

You’d think by now I would "get it," especially since I’m such a computer geek, but my immediate reaction when I read about Microsoft Surface in Erin Blaskie’s blog was that it was a practical joke. However, a quick visit to the Microsoft website confirmed that this amazing product is being launched next winter, and if you happen to be in New York City today, you can see a demo at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers on Seventh Avenue. It doesn’t seem possible that anything so powerful could actually be affordable for home use, but then again, neither did a computer on every desk, all networked together, allowing large numbers of people to collaborate on projects without ever meeting in person.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to deliver a presentation to my local networking group on how blogging can benefit your business. The presentation was videotaped and can be viewed online at www.bizepost.com - look for it on the right, under "Member News." (In Firefox, the Bizepost introductory video starts automatically, so you’ll need to wait for it to finish, or use Internet Explorer instead.)

If you don’t yet have a blog, I hope you’ll find it interesting. If you do, I’d appreciate your feedback!

It’s so exciting to see this industry grow - not just in North America, but throughout the globe.

The following conferences will be taking place over the next few months:

August 25: First Annual Professional Organiser Conference (APOC) in Wellington, Cape Town, South Africa

October 18-19: Australasian Association of Professional Organisers (AAPO) Conference in Melbourne, Australia

November 2-4: 7th annual Professional Organizers in Canada Conference and Organizing Expo in Vancouver, BC

This year’s NAPO Conference was held not very long ago, but it’s not too soon to start thinking about next year!

April 9-12: 20th Annual Conference of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) in Reno, NV

Recordings of past POC and NAPO conference sessions may be purchased from VW Tapes Conference & Seminar Recording.