"SIGIR believes the identified actions, if implemented as planned, will address SIGIR's concerns," the report said.

Reuters

Could Facebook Be the Next AOL?

Last week, Facebook announced that it had amassed 500 million users, a formable portion of the global Internet audience.
But even as Mark Zuckerberg and company celebrates, others are busy trying to uproot Facebook's popularity by establishing a
set  of open standards to share Facebook-like features across the Internet.

Just like open standards for e-mail and the Web broke users free from proprietary closed networks of the early 1990s, so too
could a new set of standards allow people to share their thoughts, photos and comments across the Internet, regardless of
what social networking services they use, argued Evan Prodromou, head of open source microblogging software provider
StatusNet, during the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON), held in Portland, Oregon last week.

Open-source social, or "open social," networking services are not new. StatusNet has been running an open source implemen
tation of its Twitter-like microblogging service for several years, called Indenti.ca. But no open-source service has gained Facebook
- or Twitter-proportioned success. Now, the developers behind such services are changing their pitch: Instead of stressing the
open-source nature of their services and software, they are emphasizing how the interoperability of such offerings could free users
-- and their data -- from the locks of any one social-networking service.

Prior to OSCON, a number of social-networking software developers gathered for an informal summit to discuss interoperability.
They developed a simple test case to show how federation of social-networking services could share data. In their example, a
person uploads a photo of another person on some photo-sharing service, tagging the photo with the subject's name. The subject
of that photo should automatically see the photo on his or her own preferred photo-sharing service. A friend of these two individuals
who uses yet another service could see the photo and add a comment, and the message can then be relayed to the two other services.

"A federated social network would be a network of networks, using open protocols and a uniform name space that would allow
anyone to participate," Prodromou said. Such interoperability should be an inevitability, given the history of the Internet, Prodromou
argued. Once some company-specific commercial technology gets really popular, it tends to be replaced by a set of open standards
that multiple service providers use to offer generic versions of that feature.

E-mail is one example of this. "E-mail in 1992, 1993 was characterized by separation. We had large consumer services like Compu
Serve and Prodigy, with millions of users," Prodromou said. "It was used as a retention mechanism. You had to be on AOL [America
Online] to e-mail someone on AOL." Governments and universities and single operator bulletin board systems (BBSes) also offered
e-mail, though it was difficult relay messages across different systems. But within two years, almost all these parties had switched to
using the Internet for e-mail, deploying open standards like the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and open source software like the
Sendmail SMTP server, Prodromou said. "Federation maps very well to the way the Internet works," he said, also referring to document sharing through the Web and global services such as the domain name service. In each of these cases, there was a great demand for functionality, and, as a result, multiple vendors used some open standard to offer that feature. And the commercial walled gardens of the dominant players gave way to open Internetwide availability of such services.

Take, for example, America Online (AOL). Those who were around in the mid-1990s remember when AOL exploded in popularity,
thanks in part to the way it offered easy (though limited) access to the Internet features like e-mail, chatting and Web surfing. "AOL
would be the first, formative [online] experience for tens of millions of users, noted David Cassel, who ran the AOL Watch Web site
in the 1990s. Like Facebook today, it was criticized for its policies on privacy, security and willingness to sell user data, as well as
its use of its own proprietary tools.Over time however, AOL's influence seemed to wane as more people signed up for broadband connections, which offered more direct access to e-mail and Web surfing. While still a prominent media company today, AOL is
hardly the dominant online portal it once was. Could the same thing happen to Facebook?

PC World

Common Lands Role As Freed Slave

Chicago rap star/actor Common will add another credit to his resume when he stars in his first TV lead role for AMC as a freed
slave in series Hell on Wheels. According to reports, the rapper will play the role of “Elam,” a freed slave who is heading west to
seek work building the Transcontinental Railroad. The rapper will play a black/white man attempting to find his place in the world
as the fabled railroad system is built.

"Common brings a layered intensity to a very complex role," said Joel Stillerman, senior vice president of AMC's programming,
production and digital content. "This part required someone who can transcend the stereotypes of the period and bring the
character to life in a truly unique way, and he brings that. We are thrilled to have him join our cast." The actual Transcontinental
Railroad was built between 1863-1869 and was the second highest priority for Abraham Lincoln’s administration, behind the
question of slavery in the South.

The railway, which was the first in the world to stretch coast-to-coast, was built by a mixture of a variety of ethnicities, including
Africa-Americans, Irish-Americans, Chinese Americans, Italian-Americans and Native Americans. While Hell on Wheels is
Common’s first television role, the rapper has had several high profile appearances on the silver screen. Common's acting
credits include roles in movies like Just Wright, Date Night, Smokin’ Aces, American Gangster and Terminator: Salvation.

AHH

Foxy Brown Gets 'High Powered' Lawyer

Foxy Brown experienced difficulties this morning before she was to appear in a Brooklyn court room for allegedly violating an order
of protection against a longtime rival. According to the New York Post, Brown’s lawyers Bruce Barron Associates dropped the rapper
as a client, just moments before she was due in court July 27th. But Foxy Brown’s manager denied the reports that her “client” was
dropped.

Instead, Foxy’s manager Bernadette Brennan told AllHipHop.com that the rapper “decided to go with a high power attorney” named
Salvatore Strazzullo, who represented her in court today. Last week, Foxy Brown, born Inga Marchand, pleaded not guilty to violating
the order of protection last week. She was arrested last Wednesday (July 21st ) for cursing at Arlene Raymond and labeling her a
dirty b**ch” during an argument in their Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Neighborhood. During the pair’s latest altercation, the famous
rapper allegedly lifted up her skirt flashed her bottom at Raymond. Foxy was charged with one felony count of violating the protective
order Raymond had obtained after a 2007 incident after the rapper struck her in the face with a Blackberry.

Foxy Brown was released on $5,000 cash bond and performed during a sold-out show at B.B. Kings in Manhattan on July 25th.
Today, Foxy Brown and her attorney asked for a restraining order against Arlene Raymond, claiming the woman was stalking her.
According to reports, Judge Geraldine Pickett extended the order of protection against Foxy Brown and commanded the rapper to
stay away from Raymond.

AHH

Wyclef Jean Mulling Run for President of Haiti

Wyclef Jean is considering a run for president of Haiti but has not decided whether to seek a five-year term as leader of the quake-
ravaged nation, the musician's family said Monday. There have been rumors for some time the Haitian-born entertainer might enter
the 2010 presidential contest, ever since his 2007 appointment as ambassador-at-large for the Caribbean nation by President Rene
Preval, who cannot seek re-election.

In a statement e-mailed to reporters, the family said, "Wyclef's commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will
remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward ... If and when a decision is made,
media will be alerted immediately." The letter was signed "The Jean Family." A spokeswoman for the musician confirmed the
message's authenticity. Jean, 37, was born on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince but left the hemisphere's poorest country as a child
and grew up in New York City's borough of Brooklyn. He told The Associated Press in a recent interview he intended to be involved
in the Nov. 28 election, but not necessarily as a candidate. "Do I have political intentions? At this time no. But what I do have is a
movement - it's called Face a Face, 'Face to Face'," Jean said. "The youth population ... we are going to encourage them to vote."

The singer has been active in recent years in raising money through his Yele Haiti Foundation. The organization was widely criticized
for alleged financial irregularities after the Jan. 12 quake, when scrutiny revealed it had paid Jean to perform at fundraising events
and bought advertising air time from a television station he co-owns. The organization hired a new accounting firm after the allegations surfaced. Jean, who said he voted for Preval in 2006, would not have an easy road as a candidate. Haitian elections are contentious
and often violent. Dozens of candidates are expected to declare themselves by the Aug. 7 deadline. Preval's opponents have threatened
to block the Nov. 28 vote if he does not replace the presidentially approved electoral council, which he has refused to do.

To enter the race, Jean would have to prove he has resided in Haiti for five consecutive years, own property in the country and have
never been a citizen of any country other than Haiti. Whoever wins will face the gargantuan task of rebuilding a country devastated by
the Jan. 12 earthquake. Haiti has not had a functioning economy in decades and its presidents have only rarely completed a constitutional five-year term - more typically being overthrown, getting assassinated, declaring themselves "president-for-life" or some combination
of the three.

Billboard

Feds Fine Univision $1 Million In Payola Case

The Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department have together fined Univision Radio and the now-
defunct Univision Music Group $1 million to resolve allegations that the Spanish-language radio giant accepted payola from
the label group, the government agencies announced today. The FCC and Univision Radio have also entered into a consent
decree placing specific limits on meals, trips and other gifts that labels can provide to Univision Radio employees. As part
of the consent decree, Univision Radio must appoint a compliance officer and regional compliance contacts to monitor the company's efforts to adhere to the anti-payola rules specified by the decree.

The FCC's enforcement action was accompanied by a guilty plea by Univision Services, Inc. in federal district court in Los
Angeles in response to a Justice Department criminal investigation of Univision Music Group. The label group, which was
sold to Universal and restructured in 2008, pleaded guilty through its successor entity Univision Services Inc. to one count
of conspiracy to commit mail fraud by using interstate carriers such as FedEx to send money to radio station programmers.
The FCC and Justice Department fined Univision Radio and Univision Services $500,000 each, respectively. The payola investigations stemmed from a 2006 wrongful termination suit filed by ex-Fonovisa VP of promotions Daniel Mireles, in which
he claimed he was fired from his job at the Univision Music Group label because he was unwilling to keep paying radio station personnel to play his company's music. The FCC began investigating Mireles' claims in the wake of his lawsuit.

It is Univision Communications, not Universal, that carries the criminal liability for actions by Univision Music Group employees,
and it is the label’s successor entity Univision Services that is named as the defendant in the Justice Department’s complaint.
Univision Communications released the following statement in response its guilty plea: "The agreement announced between Univision Services, Inc. and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California and Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice concludes a three year investigation of alleged wrongdoing by certain former employees of Univision
Music Group (UMG). The agreement relates to a payola scheme by an isolated group of employees at UMG that took place
from in or around 2003 through September 2006. The actions of these employees were undertaken without the knowledge of
anyone at Univision outside of UMG. Upon learning of these activities, Univision self-reported to the U.S. Attorney's Office and
has cooperated fully with law enforcement authorities throughout the investigation process. UMG was sold in 2008."

The settlements are the highest-profile payola enforcement actions since former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s settlements, beginning in 2005, with the four major labels and several radio networks. A subsequent FCC investigation
resulted in a consent decree signed by Clear Channel, CBS, Entercom and Citadel in 2007. The radio companies agreed
to reform their practices in dealing with indie promoters, and to devote a certain number of hours to independent or unsigned
acts.

However, Spitzer's investigation did not specifically target Latin stations or Latin labels. The new consent decree between
the FCC and Univision Radio is similar in many ways to the agency's 2007 action. Among other rules, it stipulates that
Univision Radio stations can only accept up to 20 concert tickets for their employees from a label (excluding radio station employees that are working the event); that labels can give radio station employees gifts worth no more than $150; and
that each radio station can receive up to 20 employee trips a year from a label, with the consent of Univision Radio's
compliance officer.

In the Latin music world, the last major payola enforcement took place in the '90s, when two Fonovisa executives pleaded
guilty to payola-related charges. Along with the label itself, which was convicted of a tax violation in the case, the three parties together paid nearly $1 million in fines and one exec received two years' probation. The latest Univision case is noteworthy
in that the media giant, which is no longer in the business of making recorded music, was both giver and receiver of the
payola in question. But rumors of payola in the Latin music industry are rampant across radio networks and labels, and
many say the practice has stifled opportunities for independent acts to receive airplay.

“The reality is, many radio stations don’t have the resources to conduct research and they look to big stations—like
Univision stations—as a guiding post,” says one programmer, who did not want to be named. “So, they were following
in their footsteps just because they’re the big ones, and little did they know that they’re being fooled. If you follow a
station that is taking payola, that will affect your competitiveness. Sadly, audiences’ tastes are often not taken into
consideration.”

Bbiz

Poster warns players on concussions

The NFL will hang a poster in all 32 team locker rooms urging players to report concussions or symptoms, warning that
repeated concussions "can change your life and your family's life forever,". The poster, which also will be handed out as
a brochure, marks a departure from the league's prior player literature on concussions, according to the report. A pamphlet
handed to players since 2007 said, "Current research with professional athletes has not shown that having more than one
or two concussions leads to permanent problems if each injury is treated properly," and also left open the question of "if
there are any long-term effects of concussion in NFL athletes."

The new poster is more bluntly worded, listing concussion facts and symptoms and reasons why players should report
suspected concussions. "Repetitive brain injury, when not treated promptly and properly may cause permanent damage
to your brain," it says, according to the report. In an e-mail, league spokesman Greg Aiello said the poster was an initiative
of the league's new head, neck and spine medical committee and a collaborative effort with the players union and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the effort has commissioner Roger Goodell's full support, according to The Times.

"We took a very firm stance," said Dr. Thom Mayer, the union's medical director and a member of the committee who
helped create the poster, according to the report. "This is a clear step forward in educating players." Baltimore Ravens
center Matt Birk welcomed the change in tone, according to the report. "To put it out there in writing in locker rooms, at
least it's publicly acknowledging that, 'Hey, this is real,' " Birk said, according to the report. "There's risks in everything
you do, and this one is real. You can't sweep it under the rug anymore." The newspaper reported that a draft of the poster
also shows photos of young athletes playing various sports, with the slogan: "Other athletes are watching."

Chris Nowinski of the Sports Legacy Institute, which has advocated for greater concussion awareness, also was happy
with the change, according to the report. "The old pamphlet that said 'no evidence of any long-term effects,' it slowed down
progress -- it helped create a latency environment when the evidence showed great urgency for change," Nowinski said,
according to the report. "There's a greater need for culture change on the lower levels. When coaches and people around
the games don't have all the information, simple documents and simple messages are the most important."

Last year, during a congressional committee hearing on concussions, Goodell was grilled by some lawmakers about
the league's concussion policies and connections between head injuries and brain disease. Since then, the league has
instituted stricter return-to-play guidelines for players showing concussion symptoms, and required each team to enlist an independent neurologist as an adviser.

NYT

Harlem Helps Raise Coffee in Ethiopia

From a 542-square-foot office above a bustling intersection in Harlem, the Rev. Nicholas S. Richards is building what he hopes will
be a 7,000-mile bridge to the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. It is a bridge more than 200 years in the making. In that modest two-room
office off East 125th Street, the Abyssinian Fund, the only nongovernmental organization in Ethiopia formed by an African-American
church, the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, finally has a home.

Mr. Richards, 26, an assistant minister at Abyssinian under the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, is the president of the recently formed Aby
Fund, as he calls it, an international aid and development arm of the church. It will soon be joining forces with a co-op of 700 coffee
farmers in the ancient Ethiopian city of Harrar, with a mission to improve the quality of the farmers’ lives by helping them improve
the quality of their coffee beans. The Abyssinian Fund will pay for specialized training and equipment to help the co-op’s farmers
produce a higher-quality product so they can be more competitive on the international coffee market. Once their income has
increased, part of what they make will then be set aside in a fund to support local development projects, like much-needed roads,
schools or clinics.

Mr. Richards, members of the fund’s board of directors and congregants of the church said the mission was as much about social
aid and economic development as it was about the church’s desire to reach back and reconnect with its spiritual and ancestral
homeland. Well woven into the fabric of Harlem, the Abyssinian Baptist Church has a connection to Ethiopia that goes back to the
church’s founding in 1808 by free blacks and Ethiopian merchant seamen who refused to worship where blacks and whites were segregated. (Abyssinia is a historical name for Ethiopia.)

Just a year and a half ago, the Abyssinian Fund was a dream that had sprouted from a simple seed planted after Mr. Butts led a
group of congregants to Ethiopia in 2007 to celebrate the church’s 200th anniversary. The fund was inspired by the group’s reaction
to the struggle and resilience of the impoverished Ethiopians they had encountered. “Ethiopia touches your heart,” said Dori Brunson,
a donor and congregant who made the journey. “The villages were so simple, so lacking in the amenities that we are so used to, and
at one point I just had to walk away, and I stood there and cried. “Even though we were born here in America, we are part of that African
soil. And because of what Africa has given the world and what they stand for, we must give back.”

So far the organization has raised about $130,000, only slightly more than a third of its year-end goal. Mr. Richards has not yet hired
any salaried employees or opened a field office in Harrar. Not a single training session has been held or piece of equipment shipped.
Yet Mr. Richards said there was a sense among supporters and congregants that they had crossed a threshold, having succeeded in formalizing the fund’s status in less than a year to a recognized charity with a nongovernmental organization in Ethiopia and an office
in New York. “To see our plan being transformed from just some pages to actual brick and mortar is amazing,” said Mr. Richards, sitting
in the sparsely furnished, seventh-floor office, where Ethiopian art hung on the mustard-colored walls and leftover bottles of water and
wine from an opening reception a few days earlier were scattered on uncluttered desktops. The organization will operate as an indepen
dent but affiliated body of the church, much like the Abyssinian Development Corporation, which has helped create housing and prompt commercial development in Harlem, including a supermarket, schools and homeless shelters.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and the green beans the farmers grow there are prized on the multibillion-dollar international
coffee market. Coffee is the second most-traded commodity in the world, after oil, yet these farmers earn an average of $1 a day,
less than $400 a year, according to aid organizations. There has been no shortage of aid money pumped into Ethiopia from inter
national organizations and other nations, including the United States, which, according to the State Department, gave $4.7 billion in assistance from 1999 to 2009. But Mr. Richards said the Abyssinian Fund would not function as a traditional charity, as the farmers
would share the responsibility for the project’s success. “We are going to try to the best of our ability to provide the highest level of
training and the most necessary equipment that the farmers need,” he said. “But it will be the farmers’ responsibility to reinvest. Reinvestment is going to be critical.”

Instead of providing financial aid or food to the farmers, the Abyssinian Fund will hire coffee experts who are specialists in the
processing and quality standards of companies like Starbucks that are the chief buyers of Ethiopia’s beans. Substandard pro
cessing has vexed the farmers’ efforts to command higher prices. The trainers will also teach planting and harvesting techniques
that help farmers grow and select only the choicest coffee beans, and the fund will provide equipment like scissors, shears and
mechanized pickers to ensure that the beans are properly harvested. Many of these farmers still harvest their crops with their bare
hands, Mr. Richards said. Mr. Richards said the goal was for the farmers to double their income in five years. Helping to improve the livelihoods of the 700 farmers in the co-op, he said, could result in better conditions for as many as 3,000 people. The fund has had
to tread delicately in Ethiopia, where the government has been skeptical of the motives of some foreign aid groups.

NYT

WikiLeaks founder has growing list of enemies

The brains behind the WikiLeaks website that posted reams of classified military documents detailing U.S. failures in Afghanistan
is a mystery man with secrets of his own. White haired and spectral thin, Julian Assange roams the world incessantly - rarely
sleeping in the same place two nights in a row - due to a growing enemies list. His goal, Assange said in a recent New Yorker
magazine profile, is to expose injustice by revealing secrets that could "bring down many administrations that rely on concealing
reality - including the U.S. administration."

"WikiLeaks aims to achieve political reforms by getting out information that has been suppressed to the public," he told Voice of
America. "As far as we're aware, we've never made a mistake." Born in an Australian beach town in 1971, Assange was a self-
schooled computer hacker who was busted after breaking into a telecom company's master terminal and messaging the
administrator, "It's been nice playing with your system." A successful custody battle with the mother of his only son planted the
seed of what would later become WikiLeaks.

Determined to break through the bureaucracy, Assange urged child protection workers to dish to a "central data bank." Wiki
Leaks, whose goal is to create an "intelligence service of the people," went online three years ago promising to publish classified documents - after verifying their accuracy. Since then, WikiLeaks has exposed everything from the inner workings of the Church
of Scientology to Sarah Palin's emails. Amnesty International lauded WikiLeaks for publishing a secret report alleging corruption
by Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.

The group's biggest coup - until now - was a shocking video of two Reuters journalists and Iraqi civilians being wiped out by a
U.S. Apache helicopter attack in 2007. WikiLeaks has no central office and no paid staff. It relies on volunteers to authenticate
documents - and on shadowy supporters to pay the bills. Assange said they've endured police harassment in Germany and
Israel, and maintain server sites around the world to make sure they're not hacked - or knocked off the Web.

Daily News

SAG, AFTRA move closer to merger

The Screen Actors Guild has taken a key step toward merging with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Though
SAG and AFTRA haven't yet set a date for a merger vote, SAG president Ken Howard announced Saturday night that he had agreed
with AFTRA prexy Roberta Reardon to create a "presidents forum" -- an arrangement under which the leaders of the two performer
unions could informally "establish on common vision" for a single union.

Howard said he and SAG secretary-treasurer Amy Aquino would become members of the forum along with four yet-be-named
members of the SAG-AFTRA relations task force. The announcement, following a daylong national board meeting, represents the
first official mechanism to sort out details of combining the two unions. SAG has 120,000 actors as members, and AFTRA has 70,000 members, including broadcasters and singers; about 45,000 thesps are dual members.

Reardon had said Wednesday the forum would probably meet on an as-needed basis through 2011 -- signaling a member vote
on merger is still far off. "This is a positive step toward uniting SAG and AFTRA and good news for our members," Howard said in a statement. "The creation of a single performers' union is overdue, and I'm pleased to be working with Roberta Reardon, who's been
such a champion of that goal." Howard was elected on a pro-merger platform last year and both national boards have expressed
support for the notion, launching campaigns in the member magazines this spring for the general idea -- without mentioning specifics.

Previous moves to persuade SAG members to support merging have been turned away due to concerns such as SAG losing its
identity as an actors union and the difficulties of combining the pension ands health plans. The name chosen for the 2003 merger
attempt -- the Alliance of Intl. Media Artists -- failed to gain much traction after the SAG vote fell just short of the required 60% support.

Merger supporters have contended recently that split jurisdiction in primetime is leading to actors being unable to meet earnings
thresholds to qualify for the health plans. They also say the combined unions would run more efficiently as a single org and have
more bargaining clout. AFTRA angrily split from SAG in 2008 over jurisdictional beefs and negotiated its own primetime deal for the
first time in three decades. Under Howard, SAG has mended fences and the two unions are set to negotiate jointly on a new primetime
deal in September.

Howard said Saturday that SAG has had a "productive and positive partnership" with Reardon and the AFTRA team during the recent
wages and working conditions process, during which the unions hammer out proposals for the primetime-feature talks. SAG also announced that Bob Bergen had been named as national chair of the Television Animation and Basic Cable Animation Negotiating Committee. Negotiations for a successor agreement are scheduled to begin Sept. 27 -- the same start day as the primetime-feature
talks.

Aquino announced a $329,000 surplus for the guild for its fiscal year ended April 30, noting better than expected results from the
expense management program and "significantly improved" income from investments. Aquino reported a surplus of $329,000 for
fiscal year 2010. Aquino also credited Chief Financial Officer Arianna Ozzanto and her team in streamlining financial operations and
praised the SAG Finance Committee and SAG national exec director David White. "Early in 2009, David White identified a series of
financial concerns amounting to a potential deficit of several million dollars," she added. "David's and the executive team's quick
action to improve SAG's financial management and to streamline operations resulted in meaningful expense reductions and an
even more stable fiscal position."

Variety

4 Warning Signs of Credit Card Trouble

It's something a lot of us are aware of but don't always acknowledge: Our credit cards can be extremely useful in the right
circumstances -- but in other cases they can get us into all kinds of trouble.

A lot of people have one or more credit card and manage to get the best out of them without falling into debt. In fact, a lot of folks
are able to make the most out of credit card rewards programs where they strictly abide by the terms of their cards. But unfortunately,
it is very easy to start down that slippery slope into credit card debt without even realizing it. If you think you might be in danger of doing
this, watch out for these four signs that could indicate that you are in trouble.

1. You use your cards on impulse. It's time for a confession: how many of us associate our credit cards with free money
? Too many! In fact, card issuers realize this and frequently offer card promotions that entice you to sign up for that extra cash
back bonus. If you make card purchases without thought or reflection on how you can afford what you're buying, then you could be
in trouble. If you keep your cards in your wallet or purse and find yourself reaching out to them repeatedly without first checking in
with your bank account, then this could be a bad sign. Each purchase you make deserves some pause -- determine if you can afford something before handing out the plastic.

2. You don't budget. You reject the idea of budgeting because you are scared of what you might find out about your income and
outgo. It’s understandable –- if you know you might have more going out than you have coming in, it can be tough to face up to the
reality of your situation. But the sooner you do this, the quicker you'll resolve your problem. Why not bite the bullet now and set up
a budget?

3. You don’t open any credit card bills. We're not talking about those folks who forget about opening their bills; we're talking about
those who ignore their bills on purpose. If you find yourself stashing your mail somewhere where the sun doesn't shine, know that
it's not going to help your cause one bit. Sure, those high balances and the fear of being unable to meet the monthly minimum can
keep you up at night, but the longer you leave your bills unattended, the worse your situation will get. The good news is that some
credit card issuers now have tools to help you gain control of your bill payment schedule and activities. Case in point: there's the
Chase Blueprint card payment program, which offers several helpful tools to help cardmembers with paying their credit card bills.

4. You start falling behind on payments. Late payments incur late fees and they can damage your credit rating as well. If you think
you won’t be able to make the minimum payment, get in touch with your credit card company to let them know. Ask about their hardship program. Contact your issuer voluntarily to work out an affordable payment plan.

If you realize you've got credit card problems, try and tackle them as soon as possible. Allocate a few hours to sit down with your
bills and bank statements and figure out where you stand. Take the phone off the hook and crunch some numbers to find the best
way out of your situation. No matter how much debt you may have, don't be discouraged. You should always take the steps to eradicate
it even if you feel that it will be a slow and painful process. Remember that if you bury your head in the sand you will never get the full
picture and things will continue to worsen. But making positive moves -- no matter how small they are -- can make a difference, as you
get into the habit of paying down what you owe. Do yourself a favor today and set things straight.

US News