Smith College Doesn't Get It

Last summer, I wrote a long letter to the editor and the associate editors of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly urging them to consider blogs as a way of promoting community among their alumnae. I didn't even get the courtesy of an acknowledgment which I thought was quite rude.

They did decide to commission an article about blogs and that's where Trish Grier came in. She was given my name as an alumna who blogs, someone to interview.

i spent some time talking with Trish about blogs in general, my blogs in particular and I urged her to come to Blogher which she did. I even reviewed her part about me for accuracy before she submitted it.

So you can imagine my dismay when what appeared in the magazine was riddled with so many inaccuracies. Somewhere between Trish and the editors, something happened which only demonstrates how little Smith College understands blogs and how poorly they fact-check what they do print.

1. While they list the blogs I write and contribute to, they didn't list the urls except for one. Bad form. Even online, the link is to the wrong url.

2. They say I have community boards, articles and resources. Well I don't. I have a blog. I have a blogroll. I have comments. I link to articles. That's what blogs do.

3. My site(s) are not a comprehensive resource. it's just me. I put together the links over a year ago and they all need some updating.

4. My product is only now in prototype, it was not done in 2003 when I started writing Legacy Matters. I had the concept and a plan that included blogs, but no software was developed.

5. I didn't begin posting regularly on Legacy Matters until 2004 and I started Business of Life a month later. I now have about 5000-8000 readers a day from around the globe.

6. I don't use my corporate site Estate Legacy Vaults to promote my software because it's not done yet. I will though. What I do write about is the legacy market and the potential market for my product among women and boomers.

You would have thought that the person who changed what had been written would have looked at the blogs or called me.

Not their fault, but my book has been retitled to Legacy Matters.
Not their fault either, but I'm changing the name of the software to iSol - Integral System for Organizing Life and Legacy.

Which is why I no longer write about either until book and software coalesce into a permanent form. Things change too quickly.

Values, Not Valuables

I had only my intuition to guide me in my planning for ESOL, the Electronic Organizer for Life and Legacy, the tool for having and leaving good records and good directions, good stories and good memories.

ESOL is designed to organize the Business of Your Life and Legacy easily with ways to memorialize and revise records and directions and create and preserve a Legacy Archives for any person.

Now a landmark study, The Allianz American Legacies Study, indicates that I'm right on the money.  The study was commissioned by the Allianz Life Insurance Company, designed by Ken Dychtwald of AgeWave and conducted by Harris Interactive who surveyed 2627 US adults, half boomers and half their elders, 65 or older.

Here are some of the more interesting highlights.

• Non-financial leave-behinds - like ethics, morality, faith and religion - are 10 times more important to both boomers and elders with children than the financial aspects of a legacy transfer.

Passing along "values and life lessons" is overwhelmingly considered (by over 75 percent) the most important element of a legacy for both generations.

• Sixty-eight percent of boomers and 71 percent of those in their parents' generation say they have a high comfort level discussing legacy and inheritance, yet only 31 percent of elders and 29 percent of boomers have actually had a thorough discussion that includes all four pillars of legacy: values and life lessons, instructions and wishes to be fulfilled, personal possessions of emotional value, and financial assets or real estate.

• Fulfilling last wishes and distributing personal possessions were five times more likely to be the greatest source of family conflict during a legacy transfer than the distribution of finances according to boomers whose parents are not alive.

 

I can dream, can't I?

From Huzzah! UK banks move toward two-factor authentication by Scott Pinzon

And I say, now that they're heading in the right direction, I hope they hurry. Maybe it'll goad the U.S. into following suit.

ZDnet UK  reported last week that British banks are close to agreeing upon a standard for using a physical device that each banking customer will carry. It generates a one-time-use password each time the customer needs to authenticate their identity (that is, prove who they are). The devices could be in everyone's hands in as little as nine months to a year.

Quick review: identity can be proven by
▪ Something you know
▪ Something you have
▪ Something you are

Most of the systems we encounter each day make us prove our identity by "something we know" -- a password or a PIN. Requiring any two of the three points above is called two-factor authentication and can provide much stronger security than passwords alone, which are notoriously weak authenticators.

The U.K. move looks particularly enlightened when juxtaposed against recent U.S. security developments. Consumer database giants LexisNexis and ChoicePoint both revealed to a Senate committee that their systems have been breached many times, yet both companies withheld that fact from the affected customers. The personal records of 310,000 customers were compromised. ChoicePoint's President admitted there have been "45 or 50 breaches." A LexisNexis executive admitted that of breaches there, "All but 4 or 5 ... were due to compromised passwords."

Until further legislation compels U.S. businesses to be honest about their sloppy security practices, it's every consumer for himself.

Can you see why I think two-factor authentication is a good move? Even the lamest consumer can't compromise a one-time password he or she doesn't know. I'd rather have banks dealing with the fact that people might lose their authentication devices, than dealing with the fallout of blabbermouth employees or customers revealing passwords that jeopardize the private accounts of us all. Godspeed, U.K. banks! Wise up, America! -

Every banking customer with an RSA SecurID is my dream.  It opens up an immense market for our ESOL online. 
It's simply the best protection available against identity theft, phishing and internal corporate thieves.

RSA SecurIDs

E*Trade is about to begin a pilot program with a new security device to protect its customer accounts against unauthorized use and identity theft.

And it's the SAME device, we will be using with Protected E-Vaults.

BEST OF ALL, it's something that customers control.  It's called an RSASecurID®.    A small digital device that fits on a keychain that spins a new 6 digit number at random every sixty seconds, it provides a second layer of authentication in addition to a password.  It's called two-factor authentication.
Just as a ATM machine requires a card and a password to access an account or to get cash, an RSASecurID® requires you to enter a password and the six digit number that currently appears on the screen.

RSA Security is the foremost security company in the country.  RSA SecurID technology is already used by more that 15 million employees of businesses worldwide.  Some even rumor that RSA SecurIDs are used by the CIA, and maybe even the President.

Focus Groups on Target Subscribers

What we learned in our focus groups of high net worth women.  Two-thirds use financial advisors and of

• half said they would expand their relationship if their advisors used EstateVaults™
• 38% said they would be more likely to choose a firm/advisor if it used EstateVaults.
• 43% of those who use a financial advisor today would be more likely to choose a new financial advisor  or financial institution if they used EstateVaults.™

  What they saw as key values for them were:

• having everything in one safe place
• security and 24/7 access
• control
• the protected e-vault organizer
• access after death

Additional benefits they really liked:

• secure collaboration/meeting rooms to use with advisors
• the prepackaged alternative to a family website that enables family meetings anywhere, anytime.

Focus Groups on Target Subscribers

What we learned in our focus groups of high net worth women.  Two-thirds use financial advisors and of

• half said they would expand their relationship if their advisors used EstateVaults™
• 38% said they would be more likely to choose a firm/advisor if it used EstateVaults.
• 43% of those who use a financial advisor today would be more likely to choose a new financial advisor  or financial institution if they used EstateVaults.™

  What they saw as key values for them were:

• having everything in one safe place
• security and 24/7 access
• control
• the protected e-vault organizer
• access after death

Additional benefits they really liked:

• secure collaboration/meeting rooms to use with advisors
• the prepackaged alternative to a family website that enables family meetings anywhere, anytime.

eSol : Protected E-Vault and Private Office

For some time now, I and my team have been working on an electronic system to organize life/legacy.  We've called it  EstateVaults™.    

While a  lot of people like this name, but some think that it sounds too dour and seems too focused on death, a subject everyone shies away from.  EstateVaults™ is a difficult because I never know where to put the period, before or after ™?  It's a singular product, but with the "s" on the end, it doesn't always sound right to say EstateVaults™ is

So, we're experimenting in calling EstateVaults™ -

eSOL - an Electronic System for Organizing Life and Legacy.

Everyone loves the tag, Securing Today What Matters Tomorrow.

EstateVaults™ or eSol consists of  two modules: a Protected e-Vault to organize vital information and a Private Office to share that information securely and collaborate with whomever you want.

The Protected e-Vault organizes all your critical medical, legal, financial, and personal information and includes in your personal database whatever documents you want in digital form.  Think of it as your digital safety deposit box where all the vital information for you and your family is encrypted, and only you can access it.  Just as Quicken organizes your finances, eSol can organize the Business of your Life and keep your affairs in order at the same time.  As an individual vault owner, you  designate who can access your information in the event of your death or incapacity.

The Private Office is just that, the secure and permanent place online where you can share information with the people you want.  Each Private Office comes with as many private meeting rooms as you want.
So you can have one for your lawyer, one for your financial advisor, one for your family where you all share and store whatever you want - vital information, vacation schedules or family history. 

Either module can stand alone, but they work better together.

But first, I want to talk about the problem it solves: We all have too much to keep track of. 

Virtually nobody knows where all that they have, where it all is and who to contact if needed.
There has been no easy way to organize the business of their lives.

Consider just one family today.  Click image for larger view

Now, Bob and Ann have responsibilities that extend beyond their children.  They have parents, stepchildren, a former wife, and siblings.  Because they are responsible, their extended family counts on them at important times.  Here's their extended family.

Click image for larger view

How can anyone keep track of all this stuff and have the right documents, right at hand, at the right time.
The reality is you can't.  People today have so many accounts, policies, vital documents, important records and  advisors that it’s difficult to keep track of them all, much less manage them well.    People are not in control of their own stuff.  That feeling of being out of control causes undue stress.  The reality of not having the right documents easily accessible can cause undue grief.

With eSol, all the necessary information would be right at hand,  even if it weren't needed for years.
And that's the point.  eSol gives you one safe place where you can put all this information and documents for whenever you need it.  eSol gives you back a sense of control.    You can easily revise and update the information and you should do so, once or twice a year.

eSol lets you manage easily what's most important.

Take working with your advisors for example, on let's say an estate plan.  The estate plan that's best for you can only happen when your lawyer, financial advisor and accountant work together.  The information involved is highly confidential.  But it's difficult to get them to work together because they are all too busy.
You also want to involve your spouse and later your adult children.  With the secure collaborative technology of Private Office, you can set up a meeting room, allow access to your lawyer, your accountant, your financial advisor and your spouse.  Every person who has access can see all the documents needed in that meeting room's file cabinet.  With secure conferencing, you can set up virtual conferences or pose questions that everyone can respond to on their own time.  Any one of your advisors can show a presentation or launch one of their sophisticated financial tools from their own desktop.

With eSol, you all save time and gas while working more effectively and efficiently .

eSol : Protected E-Vault and Private Office

For some time now, I and my team have been working on an electronic system to organize life/legacy.  We've called it  EstateVaults™.    

While a  lot of people like this name, but some think that it sounds too dour and seems too focused on death, a subject everyone shies away from.  EstateVaults™ is a difficult because I never know where to put the period, before or after ™?  It's a singular product, but with the "s" on the end, it doesn't always sound right to say EstateVaults™ is

So, we're experimenting in calling EstateVaults™ -

eSOL - an Electronic System for Organizing Life and Legacy.

Everyone loves the tag, Securing Today What Matters Tomorrow.

EstateVaults™ or eSol consists of  two modules: a Protected e-Vault to organize vital information and a Private Office to share that information securely and collaborate with whomever you want.

The Protected e-Vault organizes all your critical medical, legal, financial, and personal information and includes in your personal database whatever documents you want in digital form.  Think of it as your digital safety deposit box where all the vital information for you and your family is encrypted, and only you can access it.  Just as Quicken organizes your finances, eSol can organize the Business of your Life and keep your affairs in order at the same time.  As an individual vault owner, you  designate who can access your information in the event of your death or incapacity.

The Private Office is just that, the secure and permanent place online where you can share information with the people you want.  Each Private Office comes with as many private meeting rooms as you want.
So you can have one for your lawyer, one for your financial advisor, one for your family where you all share and store whatever you want - vital information, vacation schedules or family history. 

Either module can stand alone, but they work better together.

But first, I want to talk about the problem it solves: We all have too much to keep track of. 

Virtually nobody knows where all that they have, where it all is and who to contact if needed.
There has been no easy way to organize the business of their lives.

Consider just one family today.  Click image for larger view

Now, Bob and Ann have responsibilities that extend beyond their children.  They have parents, stepchildren, a former wife, and siblings.  Because they are responsible, their extended family counts on them at important times.  Here's their extended family.

Click image for larger view

How can anyone keep track of all this stuff and have the right documents, right at hand, at the right time.
The reality is you can't.  People today have so many accounts, policies, vital documents, important records and  advisors that it’s difficult to keep track of them all, much less manage them well.    People are not in control of their own stuff.  That feeling of being out of control causes undue stress.  The reality of not having the right documents easily accessible can cause undue grief.

With eSol, all the necessary information would be right at hand,  even if it weren't needed for years.
And that's the point.  eSol gives you one safe place where you can put all this information and documents for whenever you need it.  eSol gives you back a sense of control.    You can easily revise and update the information and you should do so, once or twice a year.

eSol lets you manage easily what's most important.

Take working with your advisors for example, on let's say an estate plan.  The estate plan that's best for you can only happen when your lawyer, financial advisor and accountant work together.  The information involved is highly confidential.  But it's difficult to get them to work together because they are all too busy.
You also want to involve your spouse and later your adult children.  With the secure collaborative technology of Private Office, you can set up a meeting room, allow access to your lawyer, your accountant, your financial advisor and your spouse.  Every person who has access can see all the documents needed in that meeting room's file cabinet.  With secure conferencing, you can set up virtual conferences or pose questions that everyone can respond to on their own time.  Any one of your advisors can show a presentation or launch one of their sophisticated financial tools from their own desktop.

With eSol, you all save time and gas while working more effectively and efficiently .