• How To Manage Your Online Reputation...
• Will Aspirin Reduce Your Risk Of A Heart Attack?
• Fun Facts and Laughs:   How To Search For Recalled Products,     A Simple Trick For Whiter Teeth, And More...
• Trivia Challenge: Win Free Movie Tickets For Two
• Real Estate Q&A: Are Home Buyers Satisfied With New-Home Construction?

Dear Friend

Do you have a positive online reputation? If you haven't "googled" yourself lately, you should. The information about you that's available online can significantly affect your personal and professional life.

In my latest Service For Life! ^® Free consumer newsletter I share tips for protecting your online reputation. You'll also learn the truth about aspirin and if it's right for you, plus some fun facts, a trivia challenge, and lots more.

Enjoy your issue, and please feel free to call me whenever a friend, family member or neighbor needs a caring, competent real estate professional to help with buying or selling.

To health, success and laughter in your life!

• Search your name on Google, but don't forget Yahoo, Bing and Ask. Put quotation marks around your name, and use keywords (your city) to narrow the search. Try it with your nickname or middle initial.
  
• Search again but click on "Images" and again on "Videos."
  
• Check alumni sites, genealogy sites etc. Ask your friends if you're in a video they've uploaded to YouTube.
  

• Safeguard your personal information, particularly on social networking sites. Open a secondary email account or use a different persona for social sites, chatrooms, web forums, etc.
  
• Use privacy settings to set the right level of control, especially for Facebook and MySpace. Don't give access to "Everyone." That makes it visible to search engines, too.
  
• Set up a Google Profile. Go to www.google.com/profiles to build a personal page that helps people get the right information when they search your name. You can do the same thing on Yahoo at profiles.yahoo.com.
  
• Monitor your online presence by signing up for Google or Yahoo Alerts. They'll let you know if someone searches for certain phrases, such as your name or company name.
  
• If you find something embarrassing, talk to the source. Even better, create positive content (write a blog or an article) that will appear on search results.
  

• Aspirin is a drug. Even though you can buy it over-the-counter at any drug store, aspirin is a drug that can mix badly with other medicines, vitamins or dietary supplements. If you're already taking a medication or supplement to thin the blood, you should not add aspirin.
  
  
• It may not be for everyone. The risks of long-term use may be greater than the benefits if there are no signs of, or risk factors for, heart or blood vessel disease.
  
  
• Daily aspirin can be safest when prescribed by a medical professional. Aspirin has been known to help people who are living with some kinds of heart and blood vessel diseases. It can help prevent a heart attack or clot-related stroke by lowering the clotting action of the blood's platelets. Your doctor, nurse or other health professional should decide if it's right for you, depending on your health and medical history.
  
  
• Dosage matters. There are no directions on the label for using aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack. You must discuss the different forms of aspirin products with your doctor. When you buy a product, check the "Drug Facts" label for "active ingredients: aspirin" or "acetylsalicylic acid" at the dose your doctor prescribes.
  
  
• If you feel symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, call 9-1-1 immediately. The operator, emergency medical technicians or Emergency Department physician will give you an aspirin if it's right for you. To study the warning signs (chest pain, discomfort in other areas of the upper body, shortness of breath), go to the American Heart Association website at www.americanheart.org.

• The FDA has recalled a hydrolyzed vegetable protein used in such foods as hot dogs, dips, salad dressings and snack foods. For a searchable list of recalled products go to: www.foodsafety.gov.
  

• Want whiter teeth?  Eat apples! They contain an acid that helps dissolve stains and the chewing action mimics tooth brushing.
  

• Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
  
• No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
  
• Always remember you are unique -- just like everyone else.
  
• Never test the depth of water with both feet.
  
• Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.