How conferences have changed

We were recently at a conference, and I can honestly say that it has really changed since the Pandemic. What I was noticing was that there were a lot fewer people at it. I am not certain if it was weather related or the location of the conference. This conference was in downtown Toronto, and I figured it would have good attendance, or at least that is what I had hoped.

I know that, even for the two of us, it was a decision that we made the day of the event. When we first talked about the event, we were going to be heading down right after rush hour so that we could spend the day down there. The morning of the event we had a decision to make and that was are we going down as planned, going at all, or going for just part of the day? Sure, our own desire of going to this one event had changed, so we needed to sit back and figure out what was best for the two of us and our business.

The result of our decision was we went for just part of the day and spent the morning at home/office getting some work done. It was nice to be able to have that time to get some work done and then head down. When we got to the event, the first thing that we noticed that it wasn’t as busy as we were expecting. Of course, we arrived when some of the sessions were in, but even after the sessions let out it didn’t feel busy at all.

We did stay through to the end of the event and the prize draws, but didn’t win anything. The one thing that I did notice that even during the prize draws that wasn’t the normal crowd so that was very different. The event was pretty good, and I know that we didn’t talk to a lot of the vendors, as there weren’t the one there that were of a big interest to us. Now to see if there is going to be the fall event next year or not, I guess we will have to see next year what happens.

Events have changed since the Pandemic and the biggest things are the number of vendors that are at the shows but also the number of attendees. The price of running an event has increased a lot with insurance and all the other things, and when you must pay staff to travel and man a booth it can become too expensive if you don’t get the business from the show.

Events and conferences continuing to change since the Pandemic, and they will continue to change as businesses change how they find customers. For now, we will attend the events and conferences that we can if they feel that they will also be of an advantage to our business and customers as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Why cybersecurity awareness training is important

So many people, when you mention to them about cybersecurity awareness training, they think it is a waste of time. Cybersecurity awareness training is a good idea and not just for you at work but also for you as an individual and for your family as well.

Cybersecurity awareness training is a means of teaching someone what all the different ways an email account can be attacked. It also trains you to be aware of all those other techniques that someone wanting to get access to your information or your company’s information can do it. Yes, it is amazing how many people fall for those emails that sound too good to be true. Cybersecurity awareness training also educates you on what to be aware of when you are visiting websites as well.

There are so many different techniques that a scammer/bad guy can do to make it look like the email you are getting looks valid. It doesn’t matter the size of the company because attacks can happen to any size of company or any individual. Being aware of what you should look at to ensure you aren’t clicking on something you shouldn’t or replying to something you shouldn’t help a lot.

If your company provides you with this type of training, it is a good idea to step into the training and take full advantage of it. It may require you to watch some short videos and answer questions, but they are normally not very long but are required if the company has Cyber insurance. The other part of this training is you will be getting random emails that will be testing your knowledge. It is a great way of making sure that you have been paying attention to the training, and it also reinforces it. If you happen to be clicking on everything in these emails, you will get more training to take just to make sure you are learning the material.

One thing that is important to know is that it doesn’t matter how large or small your company is, this type of training is important. Also, anyone at home or at work can click on something that they shouldn’t or answer that question that they shouldn’t answer when it comes in an email. So, remember, if you have a credit or debit card or have internet access, you can get taken advantage of. The material that you learn at work through this type of training will also help you and your family at home. If you have learned something, remember to pass this on to those that you love because it will help them as well.

Cybersecurity awareness training may seem like a waste of time, but you don’t want to be the person that clicks on something that they shouldn’t and cost your company hundreds of thousands of dollars or worse they are forced to close because the information that was stolen meant they couldn’t get back to operating like they did before the attack. This training can also mean that it could help you prevent clicking on something at home and giving someone access to your banking information. So, remember it’s important to take that training when it’s offered as it is important to you as both an individual and an employee.

 

Dot Journal Books

 

Recently I was trying to figure out a notebook that I was going to use for my note-taking as well as my brain dump. It was going to be something that wasn’t going to be neat as I would be putting down notes quickly, and it needed to be portable so that I could take it with me on the go. I thought this was going to be a simple grab a notebook and just go, but it didn’t turn out to be that easy.

Here is the process that I ended up going through to figure out which notebook I wanted to use:

Gridded journal book

Process: I figured given that I liked using dot journal books, there wasn’t going to be a huge different between dot and grid. Well for me there is a big difference. I spent a few days trying to use my gridded journal book, but every time I opened it, I had a challenge making notes.

Outcome: After trying the book for a few days, I sat back and looked at the pages and tried to figure out why I couldn’t write in them, and I concluded that the lines that formed the grid were too dark, and it seemed to impact my writing. The blocks were just too much for how I write, and I couldn’t seem to ignore the number of lines that were on the page, so it just overwhelmed me to the point where I couldn’t get the quick notes down. This book will now be used for silly things instead of my notes and brain dump.

Lined journal book

Process: I grew up using lined paper, so I should be able to sit and write in one of those and get the ideas down. I spend some time trying to write in this book and once again I had a challenge making the notes even though, I had a lot of ideas.

Outcome: I tried this book for a while and once again had to figure out just why I couldn’t seem to write in them. The conclusion was the lines on the pages were just too dark, and again it impacted my writing. I am not certain why this happened, but later through this experiment I came to a bit of a conclusion about the lined books.

Dot journal book

Process: After some time of trying all the other books, I decided to pick up one of my dot journal books and see what would happen. I opened the book and grabbed my pen that I was using for all these experiments, and guess what happened. I was able to sit and start writing without any issue.

Outcome: The dot journal book was the book that I could sit and use and get notes made without an issue. After getting the brain dump and notes down that I wanted to do, I decided to look at all the books together and try and figure out why I hadn’t been able to use the other books.

Conclusion

Through all the books and experiments, I was using the standard pen that I like to use, so I knew it wasn’t the pen that was the issue. The pen that I was trying to use was my .38 black pen, so that wasn’t the issue. What I found out was that the thickness of the lines and the number of lines on the page was what impacted me the most. Given that I use a very fine pen and enjoy using it, the heavy or thicker lines make it harder for me to focus on my writing.

I wanted to show you what I went through to discover the notebook that works best for me. The dot journal book isn’t for everyone, nor is the gridded journal or even lined journal books. Everyone is different, and we must find what we enjoy using and accept that other people around you may like one of the other books that you don’t like. Give a journal book a try and if it isn’t working for you, be willing to try something else.