Sweepstakes: Headlamp for your Emergency Kit

Win a Headlamp for your Emergency Kit
    

Last week, we discussed the BEST type of Lighting to include in your Emergency or Evacuation Kits.  We promised a Giveaway too.  Well, here it is!  Techlaurels is sponsoring an Amazon Giveaway for a Headlamp, perfect for stashing in your own Hurricane Kit.

Click here to enter the giveaway on Amazon.com

To enter, you must have an Amazon Account and a Twitter Account.  Amazon will contact the winner and handle prize fulfillment.  No purchase is necessary.  Open to US Residents over the age of 18.  Techlaurels has paid for all prizes and associated shipping costs. This sweepstakes is sponsored by Techlaurels, and NOT by Amazon.  Sweepstakes ends Oct 5, 2017 11:59 PM PDT.

If you want to buy this particular Headlamp, it is available at Amazon.

We think Twitter is a good way to keep up with Techlaurels and with new Blog posts, and our Amazon Giveaways typically bring us a lot of new followers.  But we primarily sponsor these giveaways for fun. We hope you enjoy it.  Good luck to all participants!

We'll finish talking about what we learned during Hurricane Irma, and then we'll get back to our Alexa Smart Home Series. If you do not already, we hope you'll follow us on Twitter and participate in this Giveaway.

Privacy Implications of Sweepstakes, Freebies, and Like-Farming Sites

Sweepstakes and Freebies are great for Marketing Purposes;
They're Also Great for Mining Your Information

Be Smart When Entering Contests or Requesting Freebies

Our last few posts have focused on the privacy implications of Internet Quizzes.  We are currently evaluating SAFE quiz sites, and that series will resume when we've had a chance to complete our research. (The bad sites are MUCH more numerous than the legit ones.) But quiz sites are not the only data miners out there.  You must be just as cautious when participating in sweepstakes and contests, as well as when signing up for freebies of any kind.

Playing the "Sweeps"

I have been an avid "sweepser" since the they went online.  (Those of us who enter contests and sweepstakes as a hobby affectionately call it "Sweepsing."  People who do this are "Sweepsters.") Before there was a World Wide Web, I returned the occasional sweepstakes card, figuring I might get lucky for the cost of a stamp.  I foolishly dropped my business card in bowls at restaurants, promising a drawing for a gift card or exotic vacation.  Then I wondered where all that junk mail and those time share calls were coming from.