Steve Anderson Tech Tips
You have been hearing from me (and, I suspect, from other channels) about Catalyit™. After two years of work, it is finally ready and is launching later this afternoon in our partner states — IIA of Wisconsin, Big I New York, IAB of Louisiana, PII...
Posted: Oct 14, 2021
Technology moves fast. Sometimes it is fun to see what websites looked like in the past. There are other good reasons you might want to view an older version of a website. Most websites change over time. The site may go through a redesign, some co...
Posted: Oct 07, 2021
Access to the Internet is vital in today’s hyper-connected world. And, it’s not always possible to find a Wi-Fi hotspot you can easily connect to. Because of my extensive travel, I used a Wi-Fi hotspot for many years to make sure I could connect t...
Posted: Sep 30, 2021
I have been talking lately in presentations and articles about “The Key to Technology Success.” While I won’t go into complete details today, one of the themes for success is the eager adoption of external trends. The phrase comes from Jeff Bezos...
Posted: Sep 23, 2021
Where did the day go? How often have you asked this question at the end of the day? For me, it was way too often. Then I discovered RescueTime. RescueTime is a monitoring tool that helps you keep track of what you do all day on your computer — the...
Posted: Sep 16, 2021
We are creating more digital information today than ever. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF proposals, pictures, and video are piling up on our hard drives. The trick is finding that document that you need when you need it. “I wonder what fo...
Posted: Sep 09, 2021
Agency owners and staff know how important it is to protect private client information contained in your office systems. However, I don’t remember hearing much about steps you should take to protect that same information on your staff’s mobile dev...
Posted: Sep 02, 2021
Being able to express yourself by writing continues to be an essential business skill. One of the best ways to demonstrate your insurance expertise is by writing articles describing a particular insurance question or issue and providing helpful in...
Posted: Aug 26, 2021
There is an interesting trend I have been watching in some of the InsurTech startup companies that when they started – announced with great fanfare – they said how they were going to disintermediate the independent agent. Over the years, many have...
Posted: Aug 19, 2021
I listen to several podcasts when I’m traveling, exercising, or driving. One of the tricks I discovered (which I’m sure most of you know) to help me maximize my time is to listen to these audio programs at 1.5 to 2X normal speed. This trick allows...
Posted: Aug 12, 2021
We all know the importance of maintaining vigilance when it comes to data security. Keeping up to date on the various threats that face your organization should be a continuing activity. This is especially true when the number and types of threats...
Posted: Aug 05, 2021
As a LinkedIn Influencer, I often receive early notification of changes and enhancements to the LinkedIn platform. LinkedIn constantly evaluates the features and functionality of the platform to make sure it fits the needs of users. I wanted you t...
Posted: Jul 29, 2021
I hope this series on how to use the power of RSS Feeds has shown you what a powerful tool they can be to streamline your information flow. There is one more trick I want to share with you. Managing Email-only Newsletters There are some newsletter...
Posted: Jul 22, 2021
In Part 1, I talked about how you can save time using RSS feeds. In this second part, I want to show you how to find the RSS feed information for most websites. WordPress is a very popular website creation platform. About 30 percent of the top web...
Posted: Jul 15, 2021
One of the questions I often get is how I can read and keep up with so much information in an already busy schedule. I use several techniques, and today I want to let you in on one of my secret tools. I use RSS feeds extensively to gather new info...
Posted: Jul 08, 2021
It seems like all of us are juggling more meetings, emails, and chats than ever. The number of emails delivered to commercial and education customers in February 2021, compared to the same month the year before, was up by 40.6 billion. And as regi...
Posted: Jul 01, 2021
LinkedIn continues to be the primary social platform where you can connect with other professionals. They recently started rolling out a new feature called “Cover Story.” The new cover story allows you to add a video to your profile in addition to...
Posted: Jun 24, 2021
There is a good argument that the computerized spreadsheet created Apple and the personal computer revolution. Dan Bricklin created the first computer-based spreadsheet, VisiCalc, in 1979. Initially, it only ran on an Apple II computer. Before thi...
Posted: Jun 17, 2021
Effectively managing email continues to be a struggle for many agency staff. Unfortunately, email is the most significant productivity drains in an agency today. In past TechTips, I have talked about many different strategies you can use to regain...
Posted: Jun 10, 2021
Receiving paper statements in the mail is a pain. Especially for those of us who store information electronically. I have stopped receiving paper statements from any vendor that offers this option. I no longer want to have to deal with a physical...
Posted: Jun 03, 2021
Sometimes crazy ideas are just that — crazy. And sometimes crazy ideas lead to reinventing normal. The following quotes are from Jeff Bezos’ 2013 Shareowner Letter. Nothing gives us more pleasure at Amazon than “reinventing normal” – creating inve...
Posted: May 27, 2021
Email remains the primary method we use to communicate with others. It is essential to make sure the other party receives the emails you send. Spam (unwanted email) is a big problem and has made the process of making sure your email is received a...
Posted: May 20, 2021
Creating visually appealing graphics has always been a good practice to capture client and prospects’ attention. While a simple graphic may work fine for your current needs, it’s increasingly important to step up your visual creation game. Between...
Posted: May 13, 2021