Complicated visuals cause listeners to ignore your voice while trying to decipher the slide. Here are three rules for better PowerPoints:

Managers and employees have opposing views of privacy when it comes to employees’ off-duty postings on social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. In a recent Deloitte survey, 60% of executives said they have a right to know how employees portray their companies online, but 53% of workers said their off-duty posts are none of their employers’ business.

Despite their discomfort with new web tools—like YouTube, blogs and Facebook—some executives are finding value in them. Not only is it a cheap way to communicate, it’s where young people are, says James Schiro, chief executive of Zurich Financial Services.

Like McGyver, you probably have a trick or two that you deploy when you don’t have the exact items you need for the job. Maintain your reputation as “the one who always finds a solution, no matter what,” by using these low-tech solutions for common gadget problems:

Whether they’re shooting off their own “tweets” or just following others, employees using Twitter—the fastest-growing social networking site—are creating liability and PR risks with their 140-character rants, raves and company gossip.

Backing up the phone list stored on your cell phone (or your boss's) doesn’t have to cost a fortune or even require much of an effort. Most carriers have cheap or free plans available for current phones. Here’s a recent rundown on how each plan works.

If you’re still grumbling about joining Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, know this: Social networks are good for business. “It’s very well documented that businesses that focus on marketing during tough financial times can actually improve,” says Karen Quintos, a vice president at Dell.

Create an organizational chart for your office using a new wiki from Forbes ... Find templates, photos, animation effects and more ... Don’t waste time tracking down government and legal forms or creating your own form letters.

Using PowerPoint visuals that only Einstein could decipher doesn't make the presenter look smarter. Complicated visuals will cause an audience to focus less on what the presenter is saying and more on trying to figure out the images. Here are seven rules for keeping visuals clear and powerful:

It’s common sense: You can retaliate only if you know about whatever it is you are supposedly retaliating against. If you can show you never knew an employee was engaged in an alleged protected activity, it becomes impossible for an employee
to win a retaliation claim.

Thanks to Google’s policy of allowing employees time each week to work on pet projects, the company is forever unleashing new tools to improve your googleability. These four new tools could make you more fluent, more efficient and better-informed.

With the economy slowing down, now is the best time to fine-tune your LinkedIn or Facebook profile, fleshing out the blank spaces and figuring out how to take advantage of those social networking sites. Here are a few tips.

Q. My company is considering adding a confidentiality notice to our e-mail messages to cover situations in which an unintended person receives our company e-mail. Does this provide any protection?

You’re already printing on both sides of paper and recycling. Now, what can you do to inspire your less-green co-workers? Tips from Tim Sanders, author of Saving the World at Work:

Odds are your desk is a hub of organization. If that’s the case, you’re in the ideal position to create more value for your company by coaching others on ROO, or Return on Organization. Your task: Identify a few valuable tips, then share your expertise with others by offering a Lunch ‘n’ Learn on the topic, writing an article in the company newsletter or posting tips through e-mail.

You’re already doing your part to be “green” at the office by printing on both sides of paper, recycling and steering clear of bottled water. Now, what can you do to inspire your less-green co-workers? Tips from Tim Sanders, author of Saving the World at Work:

Rather than wait for your company to foot the bill for a class or conference, turn to online sources, such as eHow.com and good-tutorials.com, or the instruction manuals shelved in your IT department.

With Microsoft's assistance, Facebook has made great strides in fighting Koobface, a worm that has been wreaking havoc on social networking sites since last May.

U.S. tech/telecom industries added 77,000 net jobs in 2008, but a loss of 38,000 jobs in the fourth quarter makes for an unclear outlook this year, says an annual industry report slated to be released Tuesday.

If people asked good, direct questions instead of a vague “What do you think?” we’d never feel overwhelmed by all the queries sitting in our inboxes. Get the fast response you’re looking for by learning to ask a good question, advises Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist.

Thanks to Google’s policy of allowing employees time each week to work on pet projects, the company is forever unleashing cool services for us to try. A few Google tools to add to your arsenal:

On the money front, it’s time to get back to basics. An oft-repeated piece of advice is to keep better track of the money we spend and save. To help with expense-tracking, tap into online tools. The best of the breed recently chosen by Money magazine and Slate.com are Mint.com and QuickenOnline.com.

How many times have you received an email message with the subject line “Hi” or “Question” or, even worse, no subject at all? Here’s a technique, by Brett Kelly of The Cranking Widgets blog, for labeling subject lines so the recipient knows instantly what the message entails.

Whip up a poll (at no cost) using PollDaddy.com.

Turn to the wisdom of crowds, rather than calling the help line, next time you encounter tech glitches on your Smartphone: BlackBerry.com’s forums break down problems by model.