JustWrite

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Surrey, BC – June 28, 2005 – Until now it has been difficult, if not impossible, for those with disabilities that affect reading to access and enjoy the Internet. Browsealoud, an innovative new audio solution developed by TextHelp Systems Inc., is expanding horizons for users with disabilities while increasing reading retention levels for those without challenges. The subscription based application reads website content aloud for visitors. Early adaptors of the new service include Google, MSN, Yahoo, Canada.com, Canada Benefits, the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, and the Independent Living Resource Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

As an authorized Canadian reseller of Browsealoud, Soaring Eagle Communications’ Principal Glenda Watson Hyatt says, “With the increasing need of creating websites that are accessible to people with disabilities, the needs of those individuals who have difficulty reading, for whatever reason, are often overlooked. Browsealoud offers a simple solution by allowing these individuals to simply listen as web content is read aloud to them. It means the web now opens up opportunities to them that didn’t exist before. It is actually quite exciting, quite liberating.” (more…)

A child dies every 3 seconds somewhere in the world due to extreme poverty.

For this reason there is a global movement to end poverty by having the G8 leaders commit to a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt and make the trade laws fair. The goal is to have these G8 leaders agree to this plan when they meet in Scotland on July 6th.

It is quite possible this is the generation that makes poverty history, but only if enough people tell these eight men to commit this plan.

To make sure our collective voice is heard loud and clear, Sir Bob Gedolf is working his magic again by organizing Live 8 — 7 concerts, 100 artists, a million spectators, 2 billion viewers, and 1 message… “To get those 8 men, in that 1 room, to stop 30,000 children dying every single day of extreme poverty.”

On Saturday, July 2nd, 2005, Live 8 concerts will be held in:

• UK – Hyde Park, London
• France – Palais de Versailles, Paris
• Germany – Siegessäule, Berlin
• Italy – Circus Maximus, Rome
• USA –Museum of Art, Philadelphia
• Canada –Park Place, Barrie
• Japan - Makuhari Messe, Tokyo

Live 8 concerts will also be broadcasted on tv, radio and online.

What we can do?

1. Wear a white band on 1st July, White Band Day, to show our support.
2. Sign the List 8 List urging the G8 leaders, when they meet in July, to:
• double the aid sent to the world’s poorest countries,
• fully cancel their debts,
• change the trade laws so that they can build their own future.
3. Attend or watch the Live 8 concerts.
4. Host a Live 8 party to enjoy the concerts with family, friends or co-workers.

Leave a comment sharing ideas on how you will make your voice heard.

You can now listen to this blog by simply downloading Browsealoud for free! My business Soaring Eagle Communications is excited to announce it is now an authorized reseller of Browsealoud — a subscription-based solution to speech enable website content. More details will be sent out next week in a press release, but I wanted you to hear it here first!

So, download and then sit back and listen!

Cheers,
Glenda

Being brand new to blogging, I have started doing some research on what this is really all about. I came across an article in CareerJournal.com on corporate bloggers. Companies are hiring bloggers to write web logs (blogs) in a conversational style to appeal to customers, clients and potential recruits. According to this article, corporate bloggers can make $40,000-$70,000.

HELLO! You have my attention now! Writing in a natural tone and inviting readers to post comments for 40-70K is definitely something I CAN do! Where do I send my resume?

But seriously, as I do more reading on blogging, I am beginning to realize the enormous potential and benefits of blogging. Heather Hamilton, who is a staffing programs manager for marketing and finance at Microsoft, uses her blog to write about what it is like to work at the company, jobs she is filling and hiring trends. Heeather’s blog is one of about 1,500 blogs written by Microsoft employees.

For individuals in the midst of career exploration or job search, these blogs could be potentially valuable sources of information – information that isn’t found on the corporate websites. There are even recruiting blogs that may provide a great wealth of information to job seekers and career practitioners.

From here, I can see articles and workshops springing up on how to use blogging effectively in your jobsearch. Not knowing the pitfalls of online networking can lead to ineffective results.

Diane Darling, president of Effective Networking Inc., a Boston consulting firm that teaches clients the value of networking.… said job-seekers should be aware that social networking can create a false sense of intimacy. For example, when she placed a note on the online bulletin board craigslist.com indicating that she was looking for a bookkeeper, she received some unusual responses from people who didn’t seem to understand that they were connecting with a potential employer.
One job applicant said: ”This job is perfect for me because I just had a child.” Another said she was very organized to ”the point of having obsessive compulsive disorder” — information most people wouldn’t divulge in an interview. (From the Boston Globe’s “Job sites stress ‘insider’ angle”)

I am keen on reading more about this latest phenomenon and seeing where it leads me. Who knows, maybe there is a way to get paid for this after all!