A few days ago I ordered a decal for my iPhone thru an online store that shall remain nameless. The decal was of a 70’s OneStep Polaroid Land Camera that would go on the back of the phone. Not only does the decal add a unique style to the phone, but it also acts as protection for the phone. Yesterday, I received an email from the nameless online company stating that they had received a cease and desist letter from the Polaroid Corporation in regards to the decal I, and many others, had ordered. In an effort to support Polaroid, the nameless online company pulled the product from their website. They hope to work with Polaroid and re-release the item.

If you are a creator of any kind, take note from Polaroid. Having your brand, intellectual properties and products protected can mean the difference between a one-time sale of your product or idea, and a lifetime of licensing and royalty income. It doesn’t matter if you are a large company like Polaroid (with Lady Gaga as your Creative Director, no I’m not kidding) or a startup T-shirt company, safeguard yourself and copyright your work.

I read an article on CNN.com called “It’s the holidays, so let your work e-mail go” (you can read it HERE). Part of the article discusses a recent study that shows 59% of American adults check their work email during the holidays. I understand how that could happen. Checking my email has almost become a compulsion. This world moves so fast that it’s sometimes hard to stay one step ahead. So, we check our email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, while we walk to our car, wait for lunch dates or ride elevators. But, taking a weekend off from the e-world won’t kill us either, especially during a holiday weekend. Be in the moment and celebrate with friends and family. Be apart of that 59% and boycott your email this weekend. And for those of you who don’t celebrate Christmas, boycott anyway! Let’s be rebellious together. Happy holidays to all!

Last year we participated in Blog Action Day. A day that is held every October 15th, uniting the world’s bloggers in a posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. This year bloggers are turning the spotlight on Water. Everyone needs water to survive. Living in the United States, I am fortunate to have clean water to drink. I just have to walk a few steps to the tap in the kitchen. This is not the case all over the world. Did you know that 1.1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water? That is one in eight people. Unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than war. Imagine having to walk hours every day to get dirty water. And then having to give it to your children because you have no other choice. There are great organizations, like Charity: Water, that are working diligently on bringing clean, safe water to people in need. 100% of public donations to Charity: Water goes directly to water projects including: hand-dug wells, deep wells (boreholes), rehabilitations, spring protections, rainwater harvesting schemes, and biosand filters. All operating costs are covered by a group of private donors so every dollar donated can go to people in need. Just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years. An average water project costs $5,000 and can serve 250 people with clean, safe water. Clean water can change everything. Check out the links below for more information on Charity: Water and Blog Action Day.

http://www.charitywater.org/

http://blogactionday.change.org/

Technology continues to change us, for better and for worse. The Wall Street Journal recently had an article about CVS or Computer-Vision Syndrome, a new condition for what is happening to our eyes from all those hours of staring at the computer. CVS could be the source of headaches, neck pain, blurred vision and fatigue. Most of us use a computer for three or more hours a day: checking email, writing documents, exploring social media on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, etc. All that time spent on the computer is taxing on our eyes. However, go to your eye doctor about CVS and they might not know how to treat the weakening of mid-range vision. This condition is so new that it doesn’t even have a proper name yet. What would you call it? ‘middlesightedness’? According to the article, there are no guidelines for testing mid-range vision yet, so some eye doctors are just cutting reading prescriptions in half. But, depending on how far you sit from your computer, that prescription might not do you any good. So, make sure you bust out the measuring tape before heading to the eye doctor.

After I did some measuring of my own, my final thoughts were these: First, put on the To-Do list “Find a good eye doctor” and second, what will happen to the generations behind us? To the kids who grew up on a computer? What about the kids today who play games on an iPad? Are we a society destined for computer glasses? Like most things, only time will tell.

I’m seldom excited by the decision of the courts in our land. There are few surprises and most issues fall off my radar before any decision is made. By the time the courts actually get around to letting us know their take (and therefore the law of the land – at least for now), it’s rarely a hot topic.

July 13th, however, was a great day. The Second Circuit tore apart the FCC’s stance on censorship – namely that their arbitrary and fleeting definition of “patently offensive” was applied inconsistently and when applied, without substantive explanation.

Obscenity (and, ostensibly “patently offensive”) are personal definitions. Much as the court itself has struggled with defining “pornography”, the FCC had a poor policy and it applied it in a less than uniform manner. For some great examples, check the opinion yourself (just Google FCC and it’ll pop), it’s rare to see our judges have to delineate the nuances of curse words.

It’s personal. It’s age appropriate. It’s ours to control – change the channel or don’t watch.
I have a son. Though he’s too young to understand any salacious programming, I already find myself wanting to censor his reception. And this is where the control should be. Let me make the decision. Make me parent. Censorship doesn’t remove the content I want my son to avoid – it just softens it with lousy overdubs.

The next step would logically be an appeal to the Supreme Court. The current constitution of the Court will likely hold the decision and part of me wants to see an even lengthier dissertation on the absurdity of the FCC. What about you?

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The Los Angeles Lakers / Comerica Bank Best of LA Women’s Business Awards recognizes women in leadership in Los Angeles County, in tribute to their contributions. This year, Denise Guzman has been selected as an honoree in the category of Woman of Entrepreneurship. She will be receiving the award center court at the STAPLES Center prior to tip-off at the Laker vs. Sacramento Kings game Tuesday, April 13^th. CONGRATULATIONS DENISE!!!