Change the World in 300 Words Or Less
Google's Project 10 to the 100 initiative is off to a great start. To help spread the word about this initiative, I've composed a short song. Sing this one with me.
Change the World in 300 Words or Less
Which news magazine will cease print publishing first?
I'm trying out Predictify with this topical question.
Should You Twitter?
Many of you have probably heard of Twitter, but for those who have not, I will provide a couple sentences to describe it. Twitter is a micro-blogging site, which means that each post is less than 140 characters. You can update your Twitter status by sending text messages from your phone or via Twitter's web page or via several other methods. Updating via text messages is the most interesting method, however. By its very nature, Twitter is less formal than traditional blogging. Most people who regularly blog (at least those who do it well) spend time thinking, planning, researching and fixing grammar (actually my wife does this part for me). Twitter, on the other hand, is a spur of the moment, off the cuff, and unvarnished communication medium. It is whatever thoughts enter your mind at any given moment. And, since it can be updated via text message from a cell phone, there are no limitations on the frequency with which someone can update.
So what's the fuss about? Glad you asked. Twitter is mostly about communicating with a lot of people (friends, family, colleagues, etc.) in an instantaneous and informal fashion. Business has always been about relationships first and foremost. We all know that we are more likely to do business with people we know and like. So for me, Twitter (as with Facebook which I mentioned last week) is about building and maintaining relationships with many people at once.
There are people on Twitter who have over 20,000 followers (that's right twenty thousand). That means that when these people rant or rave about what they see around them, 20,000 people hear about it within seconds. That's pretty powerful stuff.
I think Twitter and like services really are going to change the world as we know it. I think Twitter will become as ubiquitous as the telephone. If you don't have an account on Twitter, you'll be considered a hermit. Lest you be considered a hermit, you can create a Twitter account here: http://twitter.com
Lest I be considered a hermit, you can follow my Twitter here: http://twitter.com/ryanwill
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanwill
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill
Website: http://www.techbetter.com
What To Do About Sick Employees This Winter
Our office has already been hit by a bug. It took out 3 people in just a few days (more to follow I'm sure). This winter as your employees get sick, it would probably be a good idea to have a "work from home" solution in place. Rather than have your employees come to the office sick and spread the bug to everyone else, encourage them to stay at home and work from there. There are a myriad of solutions available to permit people to work remotely including: GoToMyPC, LogMeIn, TightVNC, Citrix, Terminal Server and others. Each solution has its strengths and weaknesses and choosing between them really depends on the situation.
If the person working from home has a dedicated computer residing at the office, then GoToMyPC, LogMeIn or TightVNC may work. The drawback here is security. In the typical setup for these applications, there is no centralized control of user accounts so the individual employee has complete control over access to your corporate network. If an employee leaves a password written on a piece of paper at a coffee shop, anyone can access your corporate data undetected.
For tighter control, security and oversight of user accounts and for situations where there is not a dedicated computer in the office for each person who is working from home, I suggest Citrix or Terminal Server. These two solutions require a dedicated server in your office and a knowledgeable technology consultant to set them up, however, you'll have more control over company information and access to your corporate network.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanwill
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill
Website: http://www.techbetter.com
Rooting For The Economists
I hope everyone is doing well this week despite the constant bombardment of negative economic news. I don't know about you, but I think I can name more economists than I can players on my favorite sports team. I'm actually rooting for the economists like they were a sports team. I found myself actually rooting for the Dow Jones Industrial Average as the countdown to the final bell approached Wednesday. For a while, it looked like we were going to pull out a nail biter in the closing seconds and end the day on the plus side. But, alas, the home team lost another one. I feel like a Chicago Cubs fan. Sorry Cubs fans, that was uncalled for.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanwill
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwill
Website: http://www.techbetter.com
Exceptional Creativity Finds Its Way to YouTube
Alonzo Garbanzo is having the time of his life creating whimsical and wonderful music videos for YouTube. Guess what? You can join in the fun with a click of your mouse. Remember the old "one-man-band" you'd see sometimes on a street corner? Alonzo has digitized that concept and sent it hurtling into space. Cyberspace, that is.
His masterpiece work is Steve Goodman's City of New Orleans, where Alonzo appears on the screen in eight different musical roles. You've got to see it to believe it.
Alonzo's version of Paul Simon's The Boxer is perfection itself. I almost fell of my chair laughing at the visual gag he sneaks into that video.
Alonzo Garbanzo's Drift Away reminds us of a song so perfect, it's timeless. That song is part of the fabric of the universe.
I checked in with a YouTube spokesperson to find out more about Alonzo Garbanzo's popularity. "We've never seen anything like it," the spokesperson said. "Last month, a full 1/4 of all Internet traffic was measured to be Alonzo Garbanzo music videos."
Okay, I made up the part about the YouTube spokesperson, but I did talk with an Alonzo Garbanzo fan who said, "Alonzo Garbanzo is certainly in the same league as Bob Dylan, although he's on a trajectory to far eclipse Dylan. Dylan might end up playing backup for Garbanzo sometime -- if he's lucky."
Speaking of exceptional creativity, check out this flawless a capella rendition of Jackie Wilson's classic, Higher and Higher by The Vineyard Sound, in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
And if you'd like to see the intersection of two creative geniuses, look no further than Bruce Springsteen's 1975 rendition of Bob Dylan's I Want You. Springsteen puts his unique musical signature on the song. You can't help but visualize Asbury Park, New Jersey, dancing with Hibbing, Minnesota on a hot summer night with warm beer on the hood of a car. That's like a simile dancing with a metaphor, or perhaps even vice-versa.
YouTube brings this all together. Home is where the upload is. We now have a single living room. We all live in it. Come on in. Pull up a chair. There's always room for one more.
Phil Shapiro
The blogger is a community activist and enthno-music-vagabond in the Washington DC-area. He sometimes moderates panel discussions where he plays the role of the moderator and all four panelists. (Thanks, John!) And he sometimes composes songs for his niece. His parable on noticing appears here. He can be reached at: philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
Prior blog postings -
YouTube Reaches a Billion Video Views per Day
After Lightning Strikes, One iMac Becomes Two
It Feels Like Freedom is Coming
Book Review - Google SketchUp for Dummmies
Using Screencasts to Communicate with Local Government
Visiting Google's Cafe Thoreau
Freerice Expands Beyond Vocabulary
Google Labs
The folks over at Google are always busy cooking up new ideas. Long before you see these ideas become mainstream they reside in Google Labs. You can access Google Labs and evaluate and use Googles latest ideas by visiting the Google Labs web page located here: http://www.google.com/labs/
The newest item in Google Labs is GAudi which is converting the voices in YouTube videos and making them searchable via the Google search engine. Pretty amazing stuff. I recommend checking out Google Labs about once a month just to see what new.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
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Is Facebook Worth The Effort?
I resisted creating a Facebook account for years because I did not understand the appeal, and I did not want to maintain it. Time is precious, and it seems like there is never enough as it is. However, I eventually began to feel guilty that I was a technology consultant and really did not know all that much about Facebook. I try to have an intelligent answer when people ask technology questions, so I broke down and created an account (just for educational purposes).
It didn't take long to understand Facebooks appeal. Within about two hours, I had about 20 "Friend" requests from friends, relatives and old high school acquaintances. Due to Facebooks "People You May Know" feature, the minute I filled out my profile I popped up on other people's home page who might be connected to me in some way. Now I am talking to people I have not talked to in ages.
One of my favorite features of Facebook is being able to see what others are up to. A relative of mine in another state probably would not pick up the phone just to tell me she was elected high school class president. However, she would likely post this on her Facebook page. Since we are connected via Facebook, I can see her post and congratulate her. Although this is not earth shaking news, it is nice to be able to maintain relationships and be involved in peoples lives whom I dont see very often.
I can also see how Facebook could be used to foster deeper relationships with people I only know through business. Viewing someones Facebook profile, I may learn that we graduated from the same school or were in the same town at the same time or both like sushi or any number of other things that can serve to establish more common ground.
In closing, I think Im hooked. Now I just have to find a way to bypass all the internet usage monitoring we have at the office (just kidding). No seriously, dont access Facebook at work. Employers tend to get really upset about that kind of stuff.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Ask Me A Tech Question
http://www.techbetter.com/question.aspx
View & Subscribe To My Tech Tips
http://blog.techbetter.com
About Me & TechBetter
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Disconnected In Rural Georgia
I was visiting a future client in a rural Georgia town last week. The future client was running late, so I had to wait in the lobby for a while. I pulled out my iPhone to pass the time, and much to my horror I had no connectivity! I briefly felt like Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) in the movie Castaway, disconnected with no way to communicate with the rest of the world. It was painful yet enlightening. I did not realize just how reliant I had become to having instant access to the internet. Im currently looking for a support group because of the experience.
So my tech tip is to bring a book or a magazine when traveling to rural areas.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Ask Me A Tech Question
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View & Subscribe To My Tech Tips
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About Me & TechBetter
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How can I see who is linking to my website?
Have you ever wondered if any websites are linking to your website? It is a good idea to occasionally check this. One reason to do so is to keep tabs on your companys online reputation. If you can see what web pages are linking to your site, then you can also see what those web pages are saying about you. Visit http://www.altavista.com/web/webmaster to view who is linking to your website.
Happy teching,
Ryan Williams
Ask Me A Tech Question
http://www.techbetter.com/question.aspx
View & Subscribe To My Tech Tips
http://blog.techbetter.com
About Me & TechBetter
http://www.techbetter.com/aboutme.aspx
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