Over the last year or so on and off, there has been numerous cases reported in the press about companies loosing data. In thinking about data, what does it actually mean to have it lost? A report recently on identity theft has produced some interesting results:

The above figures where sourced from http://www.spendonlife.com/guide/2009-identity-theft-statistics

The question that I always ask myself, is what can we do better? I am aware of a relative who wrote their pin on their credit card, when I mentioned it to them about the security issues, they did not believe it was an issue, hopefully this will not result in an argument with the credit card company if the card is stolen!

Now that you know the facts about identity theft, here's how you can help prevent it from happening to you:

-- Report lost or stolen credit or debit cards as soon as possible.

-- Never give out personal information over the phone.

-- Check your bills and bank statements as soon as you receive them to check for any discrepancies.

-- Don't use "pre-approved" offers.

-- Don't carry your social security card in your wallet.

-- Don't go to the ATM at night and never withdraw money when someone is looking over your shoulder.

-- Keep personal information locked up at home.

Have you become a victim of identity theft, leave a comment and let us know your story.

 the www.Productful.com Team.

That time of year for those of us who celebrate Christmas. Get out the plasters, and look for the best person to give you a foot massage, as the amount of presents bought for family and loved ones will be completed on the back of some serious foot walking!! In looking back over previous years with my family and seeing what amount of presents were bought, it springs to mind three things:

(A) People receive presents they like.

(B) People receive presents they might want to exchange.

(C) People receive presents that might not work.

On www.productful.com we are aiming to help with the above three scenarios, storing the receipt securely online could as an example help in scenario "b" and "C" .A really good article which describes a lot of the benefits of registering products can be found at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/484171/6_important_reasons_why_you_should.html?cat=3. 

We hope you have enjoyed this article, comments as always are welcome.

www.ProductFul.com

I sit here today at my desk looking out my window , working away and writing this short blog. One of the key questions I ask myself is how am I going to get my message accross to people, and then questions arise quickly!

Blogs are a way of :

• Getting my point of view out there.
• Readers can  hear what I have to say.
• Comments can be returned on the blog post discussion commences and feedback is retrieved!!

Last night I went to my monthly networking event http://www.dceb.ie/news/how-to-write-effective-blogs-to-build-your-business in which fellow entrepreneurs and business people meet up, network and discuss any issue they feel needs addressing in their business. Niall Devitt who has his own blog at http://www.btbtraining.com/blog/ gave a very inspirational speech about his experiences and knowledge of how to be effective in this medium. Arriving home last night and this morning I gave careful consideration as to how I can apply better practises to my blogging.

Over the last few months I have posted some blogs for readers to look at and comment on ( you will see those comments), the objective is they can get useful information that is relevant, helps them potentially solve a problem, and gives the information they require: In a nutshell the following is what I would hope people who read these articles will walk away with:

1. It is meaningful and relevant.
2. The blog post or blog becomes a point of reference.
3. People would like to return to the blog at different points just to see if there is anything that might might help them more.

Recently I left my full time job to work on www.productful.com . There are truly people out there who want to help, and give advice where they can. I have found the online community a real inspiration to help me reach my goals, hence the questions WHY,WHEN and to WHOM you should blog to become clearer once you get into it and decide how you are going to proceed forward.

Hope you enjoyed this post, as always , comments feedback are always welcome.

Joe

ProductFul.com is putting together useful website for consumers information on any product recalls issued. Please reference the below as a starting point, if you have any websites you would like us to include, please leave a comment.

USA website : http://www.recalls.gov/

Australia website : http://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/952401

United Kingdom website  : http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/advice-recall-list.cfm

European website : http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/rapex_archives_en.cfm

Canada website : http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/index-eng.php

Great Article here from how stuff works: http://communication.howstuffworks.com/how-product-recall-notifications-work.htm

the ProductFul.com team

All right,

I am  starting into the blogging world, and thought it would be an idea to get started on useful blogs, looking to build useful links to blogs from different manufacturers or their products. If you should come accross any not on the below list,drop us a a line and I will add it in.

PlayStataion blog: http://blog.us.playstation.com/

Iphone Blog: http://www.theiphoneblog.com/

Ipod blog ( good source point for further information) : http://en.wordpress.com/tag/ipod/ 

For users interested in Oracle, have a look at http://blogs.oracle.com/ 

An interesting blog on Music, Machines, Macs, Movies, Miscellaneous : http://www.moanincronin.com/

 Will update with relevant links as they come in,

ProductFul.com

Welcome,

I thought I would get stuck into writing about Guarantees, since you have taken the time to come to this page, thought it worthwhile giving you something you would find interesting. Guarantee registrations take many forms, typically they are either through returning a pre-printed form to the manufacturer or their agent, going to the manufacturer's website and filling out the details, or another method that I found out recently telephoning in your guarantee registration. Before I started out this website, I personally never thought about registering a guarantee. But then I moved into my apartment here in Dublin City Centre, and bought a range of different electrical products. From TVs to toasters to kettles to Irons, all had the product guarantee details and registrations. It got me thinking if I had a problem with any of these products how would I know if the product was still within the guarantee period and how do I prove it? So www.ProductFul.com was born!!

My reasons for starting up this website are:

(A) To allow you like many other consumers one centralised website to store your guarantees.

(B) To allow manufacturers to have an online service that gives them quick easy access to the guarantees registered against their company.

(C) To allow consumers to login anytime and see if their product is still under guarantee and what way they can go about contacting the manufacturer if they need their product fixed.

(D) Manufacturers will have a system of not just tracking their guarantees registered against them, but also seeing trends and analysing those people who are buying their products QUICKER.

I have given just a brief outline, our site will be updated in the near future with more functionality for you  to review. If you take our survey by clicking 'Take survey' above and leave your contact e-mail address within the survey, we will be able to keep you up to date on developments.

Useful links I have found in helping me with this business:

The below link is a good starting point to understanding guarantees, and this website is useful for those who live in the Republic of Ireland.

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Learning_Zone/Jargon_Buster/G%20-%20Guarantee.html

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Learning_Zone/Consumer_Booklets/Sale_of_goods_booklet.pdf

or visit another website for Ireland with good information for consumers:

http://www.thecai.ie/

If you live in mainland Europe the European Commission has a useful website detailed below which will fill you in on your consumer rights:

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/hot_topics/10principles_en.htm

The above is a useful article and it outlines generally what consumer rights are. It is in several different languages.

For those living in the United Kingdom, have a look at the below:

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/

I am currently researching the consumer market and looking for feedback, so if you have read this article and would like to participate feel free to leave a comment.

We shall update in the next while with more information for you to review.

ProductFul.com Team - Innovation through Research.