National Emergency Mobile Phone Alert System to launch in NYC

The FCC and FEMA just anounced the launch of a new program that will send out a public mobile phone alert in an emergency to mobile phone userts in specific areas of the city or country.  So there is no need to hang by the radio in the case of a hurricane, tornado, tsunami, forest fire, earthquake, emergency evacuation, or bomb threat.  The alert will be automatically sent to your mobile phone, where you will receive the information and the updates that you need to survive.

This year, only higher-end mobile phones can participate, but next year all mobile phones are required to be equipped to receive these messages.  The program will be piloted first in NYC, and then later will be available across the United States.

Does it sound too intrusive?  Many others might agree at this point.  In a NY Daily News poll about this new service, 84% said No, at least not at this point.  Maybe they pictured a mobile message saying get to the auditorium where we would all become drones mindlessly watching that scary face in the famous "1984" Super Bowl commercial by Apple.

The good news is that you'll be able to opt out.  But I'll probably opt in.  If there's a weather or terrorism emergency, my mobile phone is the best way to alert me.

To read more, chck out this article and participate in the poll (shown above)

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/05/09/2011-05-09_new_yorkers_soon_to_get_emergency_cell_phone_alerts_in_what_bloomberg_calls_quan.html

Here's another article:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/10/national-emergency-alert-system-set-to-launch-in-nyc/

Respectfully submitted
Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., Bridge the Distance, http://www.distance.com/
Training to improve human communication, collaboration, and community when people are virtual--and NOT face to face.

Four Success Secrets of LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google

What is it about the workplace culture at Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn that drives these young, entrepreneurial companies to rapid and remarkable success?  According to Kristin Burnham, they are different from traditonal companies in four key ways: 

1. Innovation --innovation is prized, both at work and after work.  Nothing is off-limits.
2. Failure.  Failure is tolerated, which encourages people to take greater risks.
3. Fun.  People that are happy at work are more productive, creative, and dedicated. 
4. Trust.  People that are happy at work don't steal supplies and secrets.

As technology companies, they create and leverage great technology.  But notice that it is the human factor that makes them successful--how to work together to do great things, support each other, have fun, and enjoy the process of collaborating together. 

To read more, go to  http://advice.cio.com/kristin_burnham/16045/workplace_culture_at_linkedin_facebook_and_google_4_lessons_for_you?source=CIONLE_nlt_leader_2011-05-09

Respectfully submitted

Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., Virtual Team Expert, Webinar Interaction Guru, http://www.distance.com/

We help people create the communication, collaboration, and connections they need to work successfully together--when people are NOT face-to-face

The most horrific webinar-- EVER!

There's an old expression, "You get one chance to make a first impression"  When you use webinars for your online presentation, meeting, or training session, a bad impression will last forever.  A bad impression breaks trust, loses opportunity, and hurts your business brand, big time.

Let me recap some highlights of the horrific webinar that I attended yesterday.

1. When I logged on to Live Meeting at the start time, I was greeted with a totally blank blue screen.  The presenter's slides were not loaded and ready.  In fact, the speaker couldn't figure out how to load the slides until 15 minutes after the hour! 
2. When each of the 100 people joined or left the audio bridge, a loud beep pierced our ears.  The highest audience count reached 65; so a lot of people came and went.  The speaker didn't disable the beep before the session was opened. 
3. People were still joining the session throughout the entire minutes of the presentation, interrupting the speaker's presentations with more loud beeps of people coming in and going out of the session.
4. The person that shared the slides used the Share Application view, and didn't know that when she had other applications open, the audience saw a great big gray block that hid the slide content.  The gray block came and went multiple times in the sesson, and was very irritating.
5. The person that shared the slides shared the slide with thumbnail view in PowerPoint (not in Live Meeting), in a different resolution than my computer, which disabled me from seeing the full slide without continuous scrolling.  She didn't know that there were other ways to share it so everyone saw the full slide.
6. The one main speaker used a mobile phone, which distorted his voice and caused unpleasant irritating fly-like buzzing sounds to intertwine constantly during his presentation.
7. The audience was not muted, nor was anyone asked to mute until much later.  By that time, she had lost control, the audience was probably multi-tasking, and people didn't hear or act on her request.  I was praying that she didn't use "Mute All Attendees" because her presenters would have been muted out, and there is no "undo" of that choice in Live Meeting.  I have to believe that she didn't even know the function existed.
8. In the middle of the second presenter's presentation, someone in the audience put their phone on hold, which caused music to interrupt the second presenter's presentation. 
9. Throughout the session, some other audience members were using unmuted speakerphones, which caused every word the speaker said to be immediately repeated in an echo chamber. 
10. Sone others audience members could be heard using keyboards, sneezing, eating, kids noises, laughing in the background, and other things that were audible to all of us.
11. The speaker said, "I don't know if you are ..., or ..."  Why didn't she use a poll to find out?  In fact, why weren't' there several relevant polls through the entire session.
12. One of the speakers talked about the conference website.  No one used Live Meeting to actually show it while talking about it.
13. The video window was activated, and one audience member shared her video and looked bored to death with her camera in "surveillance" view (the wrong camera angle)..
14. Neither of the two speakers ever used the live video.
15. The audience was never instructed in how to open the Live Meeting panes.  I am sure that some first-time users were totally baffled.
16. There was absolutely no effort to interact with the audience outside of the Q&A.
17. All of the Q&A questions were left to the end of the session, which disabled me from asking more than one question.
18. The speaker showed a total lack of understanding how to operate Live Meeting and what audience members see on their desktops.  It made her look unprepared and unprofessional, and those imprssions will never go away.
19. ...and more.

The content of the webinar was really important to me, but I know I was not the only one in the audience that clearly noticed how poorly it was delivered.  During the session, I received several emails from participants that knew me that said, "They really need your help."  Yes, they did.

For every business--large or small--when you deliver webinars like this, you look bad, your business looks bad, and you lose credibility.  It is frustrating to br in the audience and endure such a painful session.  Presenting to a remote audience is different than face-to-face and requires new skills for this new medium.  Presenting in a virtual setting requires planning, preparation, and training so the sesson is wonderful for everyone.  If you do it right, people will be actively engaged.  If you do it wrong, they won't be back again.

Respectfully submitted

Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., Webinar Interaction Guru, http://www.distance.com/
We help you make your webinars (for training, presentations, and meetings) engaging, interactive, and fun!

During a traffic stop, a new device can steal your cell phone information

Police in some cities have access to a new technology that lets them access and download cell phone information during a traffic stop. The device is a Cellebrite cell phone extraction device (UFED). If you get pulled over for a traffic violaton, this device lets them download data from your smartphone (without your knowledge or permission) that could potentially be used or abused. Now, I respect the police and I obey the law, but I have big concerns about the privacy of my private information on my mobile phone (which is everything on it).  What information is extracted from the smart phone with this device is not clear, but privacy issues have caused athe ACLU to be concerned about it, too.

You've been reading a lot lately about hidden date files in your iPhone or Adrroid phones that were a big secret until some savvy techhie users discovered their existence.  Some reports said that the phones automatically tracked the specific locations where you traveled, and other reports said that it only tracked the cell towers that were in the vicinity of where you traveled--even if you were not talking on your phone.  You know your phone tracks whom you call, and who calls you, what internet sites you visit on your phone, what texts are exchanged, and so much more. 

Users are understandably upset at this invasion of privacy, because no one has yet revealed what information is downloaded, what happens to it, what your rights are related to it, and how to eliminate those mysterious hidden files on the mobile phone.  In the interim, if you get stopped, pull the battery out of the phone. Off isn't enough.  

Respectfully submitted,

Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., http://www.distance.com/
Expert in virtual communication, collaboraton, and community when people are NOT face to face

Move over iPhone--the Paper Smartphone is coming.

A couple of weeks ago, I dropped my Android phone.  Even with insurance that I pay 7.50 a month for and a phone that is 18 months old (which is really old in technology years), T-Mobile wants to charge me $150 to replace because the glass on the screen is cracked (but still in place).  So for $150, I get the pleasure of purchasing really old technology (I can't apply the $150 to new technology unless I sign another 2-year contract).  Isn't that a nice way to treat customers--rip customers off when you can, however many ways that you can!  I can't wait to no longer be their customer.

The new paper smartphone will change this picture in the years ahead.  The paper smart phone is having its  big debut at the Associating of Computing Machinery's Computer Human Interaction 2011 conference in Vancouver, I relish at the idea that there is no glass to break on this phone!  Yes, I know the paper phone is not available yet, but it's good to know that there is a real working prototype and this technology will come to the market soon.

The paper phone is made out of a thin film which makes it very lightweight, like paper in a plastic wrapper.  It does everything a smart phone currently does-- make phone calls, send text messages, play music, and more. To operate it, users will "bend it" versus "touch it."

If you stick the paper phone in your pants pocket, it will bend with your clothing and not break.  And there are no worries at all if you drop it on the floor.  No broken glass!

Best of all, light, flexible computers like this are coming, too.  I can visualize all of the virtual teams, virtual leaders, and other road warriers that will celebrate no more broken back from carrying computers and other technologies through airports, trains, and other distant places.  I am already getting my checkbook out to pay for the paper mobile phone and the paper computer the day they are available for sale!

Read the article and watch two great videos (particularly Sony's) at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1383903/PaperPhone-The-smartphone-paper-shape-pocket.html

Respectfully submitted

Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., the Distance Doctor

Expert in communication, collaboration, and community when people are NOT face-to-face. 

Visit our website at http://www.distance.com/.

10 slick ways to drop-proof your iPAD

Whether you use your iPAD to communicate with your virtual team, or whether you use it entirely for entertainment, it's a great device!  The iPAD is easy to carry--and easy to drop.  One slip, and your iPAD screen can be shattered to pieces.  For some, the tragedy is akin to dropping a Ming vase.  For others, it's just another inconvenience.

The best defense in keeping your iPAD safe from harm is a good offense.  Some very creative entrepreneurs offer a whole new range of really cool products that will protect your iPAD from unexpected damage.  There's an iPad drop-proof solution to fit every personality, every age, and every profession.  Check them out in this quick, entertaining slide show presentation.

http://www.cio.com/article/680603/Drop_Proof_Your_iPad_2?page=1#slideshow

Respectfully

Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., The Distance Doctor, Bridge the Distance, http://www.distance.com/

We help people that work virtually to communicate, collaborate, and connect on a social level.

Four urgent steps to secure your WiFi network now!

Nearly 1/3 of people have tried to get on a Wi-Fi network that wasn't theirs (Wi-Fi Alliance survey).  Now if you're wondering "So, what's the problem?", the risk could be much greater than you think.  One person abusing your network can turn your life into chaos that can take months to undo.

Can you imagine a team of gun-toting law-enforcement agents invading your home, taking your computers and wireless devices, and accusing you of downloading massive amounts of child pornography!  That's exactly what happened to one innocent homeowner.  As it turns out, his 25-year old neighbor that had  tapped into his wireless network was the guilty party. 

The damage could have been equally as ugly if the neighbor had illegally downloaded music and movies and other copyrighted materials.  You've read the lawsuits about how horrific the legal pursuit and lawsuits are if anyone downloads copyrighted materials without paying.  And how awful would you life become if the neighbor could access files with names and passwords to get into your banking accounts, credit cards, and your retirement accounts.

The best defense is a good offense.  Here are four ways to secure your Wi-Fi network in your home:

1. Set Wi-Fi for the highest level of security--both on the PC and the router.
2. Create strong passwords--8 characters, mixing caps and lower case, numbers, and symbols
3. Don't send sensitive data (like your checking account information) on "Hot Spot" public networks.
4. Turn off the file sharing capability if you share private information between computers.

Read more about securing your network at: http://www.cio.com/article/681170/Home_Wi_Fi_Network_Security_4_Ways_to_Avoid_Big_Trouble?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2011-05-03

Respectfully submitted
Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., the Distance Doctor at Bridge the Distance, http://www.distance.com/, 303.791.1515
Providing training to enrich human communication when people are NOT face to face