Filed under: Fun, World wide web, Social Software

In our increasingly visual culture, it’s no surprise that someone has taken the time to visualize the data flow of Twitter and all of its tweets. It is a surprise, however, that seventeen different groups or individuals found a way to visualize Twitter tweets, each in a one-of-a-kind and supposedly helpful way (and our guess is that there’s probably more out there).

The seventeen visualizations of the Twitter universe fall into four categories: network diagrams, maps, analytics, and abstract. Network diagrams center their visualizations around a particular topic or user. The maps visualizations are based, obviously, on location.

The analytics section is probably the most useful in the short- and long-run: you can find Tweet stats on individual words or phrases, measure the volume of tweets in a month or day, and measure real-time system-wide Twitter stats. The abstract section is, well, abstract. As in words can’t quite describe, you have to see for yourself abstract.

The visualizations range from the decidedly useful (like TwitStat) to the simply confusing (Twitter Vrienden, see above image) to the just plain huh? category (e.g., twitter blocks).

Check them out, and tell us which one is your favorite in the comments.

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Filed under: Debt, Relationships

Debt collectors have decided that they want you to like them, they really do. The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, the industry’s trade group, has taken to referring to debtors as their agency’s “customers.” I’m all for euphemisms, but isn’t that kind of like referring to inmates as the prison’s “preferred clients?”

On its website, the association brags that “The collection industry saved the average American household $351 in 2005. This amount represents dollars households would have spent if businesses were forced to raise prices to cover bad debt.”

OK then. The ACA’s general counsel told the New York Times that “Collectors actually care about consumers. They want to teach consumers how to get out of debt. They’re trying to put themselves out of business.”

Hold on, what? Why would debt collectors want to put themselves out of business? Are we actually supposed to believe that.

It isn’t that I’ve a problem with debt collectors. I don’t. I think that if someone fails to pay off a debt as they agreed to, the people who lent them the money have each right to take steps to collect. That’s fair, and I don’t comprehend why the industry feels a need to apologize for that by calling the debtors “customers” when the reality is that the customers are the banks. There’s nothing wrong with that!

They’re making themselves look silly playing the role of consumer’s best friend. Why don’t they just accept that their job is to twist arms and collect debt, own it, and be proud?

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Filed under: Debt, Relationships

This is part of our series on strategies you can adopt to free yourself from burdensome debt.

So you put the touch on your friends or relatives one too many times? Now they screen out your calls, write Moved, no forwarding address on your Christmas cards, turn off the lights when they see your vehicle enter their driveway? How can you crawl out of the family doghouse before you become the pariah, the deadbeat no-one speaks about?

Fear not; if the prodigal son can be greeted with feasts and celebration, you too can achieve redemption. Follow these three steps to regain you place in the family album.

1. Acknowledge your debt. So often, because Americans are uncomfortable speaking about money, the terms of loans to friends and family aren’t discussed. The result is the loaner and the loanee come away with different impressions of the repayment schedule. The loaner might expect it to be paid back loan-shark promptly, while the loanee might plan on paying it back when the loaner proves that he/she hasn’t forgotten about it.

This can be solved with a letter. Write to the person to whom you owe the debt. Something like this:

“Dear Aunt Lucille;
I’m writing to express my continued appreciation for the loan of $5,000 you gave to me last year. Thanks to your generosity, I was able to purchase those implants, which have made a massive difference in my dancing career. My plan is to pay you back $100 a month for the next four and a half years, beginning with the check enclosed. I hope this is agreeable to you.

Again, many many thanks,
Your niece, XXXXX”

2. Compute a realistic monthly payment, and treat this debt like any other bill. Pay it religiously. A check each month over the long haul will go much further in repairing your reputation than a one-time lump sum, which could simply confirm to the more suspicious of your family that you’re cooking meth for a living.

What if you’re so strapped for cash you can’t pay much of anything back now? If you’re in such dire straits, you need a plan, dude. Consult one of the many free reliable debt counseling services for help with a debt recovery plan, and include your debt to family in that plan. Share that plan with the family member to whom you owe money. While this may be hard on your ego, you’ll find that it will probably raise your esteem in their eyes.

3. Consdier using your knowledge of your family to pay interest not only in cash, but also in a meaningful gift. If you know your aunt loves roller coasters, buy her a season’s pass to the local amusement park, and go with her. Collect old pics and have a family album printed for her. Purchase her a case of her favorite wine (unless she’s the family lush). This demonstrates gratitude and strengthens your family ties.

By following this process, you’ll not only regain the trust of your friends or family, but also set an example for other members so obligated. And who knows –maybe you’ll discover that you enjoy your family a lot more when you aren’t ducking them.

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Filed under: Borrowing, Budgets, Debt, Retire

This is part of our series on strategies you can adopt to free yourself from burdensome debt.

You’re very wise to want to enter retirement debt free. Once you reach the point where you must learn to live on a fixed retirement income, you’ll quickly know how brilliant you were to get your loans paid off first.

The basics of debt payoff are the same for near-retirees as they’re for anyone. I advocate you use the snowball effect to get your debt paid down as quickly as possible.

You may want to reduce the amount you are saving monthly in your retirement accounts, such as your 401(k), and instead use that extra cash to pay down your debt more quickly. Now that you’re near retirement there isn’t much time for that money to grow anyway. But, if you do decide to take this step be sure to at least put enough into your employer retirement savings plan to get your full employer match. You don’t want to give up the extra money your employer deposits into your retirement savings. Definitely check with your financial advisor before taking this step.

There are also several options you might want to consider if you’d like to stop working full time, but want to continue earning some money until all your debts are paid:

* If you enjoy your job and want to stay there ask your boss about switching to part time.

* If you’re job is very specialized you might be able to work out a consulting agreement, where you can set your own hours.

* You may be able to set up a telecommuting assignment, where you can work primarily from home.

* A phased retirement plan might be offered at your company. This type of plan allows you to start collecting a portion of your retirement pension, but grants you to remain on your job part-time. This is a relatively new option, so check with your employer to see if he offers it.

* If you hate your job and need a change, you could think about finding something else that’s less stressful, but still gives you the chance to earn the extra money you need to pay down the debt.

* You can think about retiring from your current, more stressful position and work temporary assignments through a temporary agency. This gives you the flexibility to take time off for travel or other family needs (such as the birth of a grandchild) and then take another temporary assignment when you’re ready to work again.

* If you want to to be snowbird - work in the north near family during the summer months and then head south to warmer climates in the winter months - that’s possible too! Companies like Home Depot actually have a snowbird program that lets you do just that.

Check out the best employers for workers over 50 at AARP to find some good alternatives to keep working but have more flexibility than you currently have at your job.

If you do still have a mortgage on your property there’s another program I’ve dubbed the snowball effect on steroids that one of my readers, Theresa Bolton-Lynch, introduced me to after reading my article on the snowball effect. You can get a free analysis to see if this debt acceleration program from United First Financial will work for you. I was skeptical when I first looked at it, but, of the debt payoff programs, it seems like a good one.

Lita Epstein has written more than 20 books including Working After Retirement for Dummies.

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Filed under: Productivity, Web services, Social Software, Beta, web 2.0

Twiddla is an on the internet whiteboard that lets you begin collaboratively marking up practically anything: a blank page, your own images, or a website. It was created to solve the hassle of e-mailing design proofs back and forth for comments. With Twiddla, you can do real-time markup in a matter of minutes, without even signing up.

Twiddla does have accounts - it’s in public beta, so you can sign up now - but you can begin a new meeting without one, and edit your user details on the fly. Once you’re in a meeting, you’ve got all the basic markup tools you would expect: pen, text box, some basic shapes. You can also upload images or browse to a site and start marking it up. Communication during the meeting is supported by a text chat box and an audio chat button.

It might not be as full-featured as some of the more established whiteboard services out there, but it definitely scores points for swift setup and ease of use. There’s even a bookmarklet for your browser, so you can “twiddle” any page with one click. Sure, we could find a couple things to complain about — an eraser and a tool for drawing neat arrows would be nice, for starters — but we’re in a good mood because we just used a functional web service without having to sign up.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

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Filed under: Borrowing, Debt, Real Estate, Recession

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is recommending that the government impose tighter regulations on mortgage lenders. He states this is necessary to avoid another credit crisis. He says that the regulations are behind the times and we need to update them and exercise more oversight of lenders. This includes licensing for mortgage brokers and tighter guidelines for credit rating agencies.

Really? Did the lack of government oversight cause this “credit crisis”? Or was it more a combination of consumers buying properties that they couldn’t afford and lenders all to eager to earn money by writing their mortgages regardless of their income or credit? Because I don’t know that more oversight is really the answer. Frankly, I’d like to see the government butt out of our lives and businesses a little more.

Here’s what I think: The lenders who wrote bad mortgages should suck it up and deal with it. No government money to help them out. The homeowners who overbought should also suck it up and either sell their houses or get out of them. No bail outs for the borrowers. They have the ability to fix their credit problems on their own.

Our society has moved so far away from personal responsibility that it’s scary. I don’t want the downfall of our economy to be a mortgage lending crisis. On the other hand, why should we taxpayers help fund these hard times for the mortgage industry?

When banks were making tons of money on these deals, did we see them handing over a bunch of money to the government just for kicks? No! They kept their profits and sat around counting the money while giggling with glee. Now that times are rough, though, they’re more than happy to take a handout from the government and make those bad mortgages someone else’s problem. And that’s not fair.

So here’s what I propose: We don’t need more regulations. We just need to let consumers and businesses deal with their own messes. They have some hard lessons to learn, for sure. But if our government comes along and bails them out each time they’ve messed up, they’re never going to change their behavior. There’s no incentive to change anything when someone else will always fix your mess for you.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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