Who 2Be 2Day 2Change 2Morrow

February 5, 2013 ABOUT US No comments

 

When I started out in life….I was born an adventurer.  I loved fictional adventures. I loved physical adventures.  I ran with all the neighborhood goonies.  There were about 12 of us.

We rode bikes up and down the street. We hiked up to the pool. We made obstacle courses and fought to beat the record. We climbed trees. Built forts and paper airplanes.  Argued over the rules of kickball and later baseball.  We not only collected super balls, but battled to see who could bounce one the highest or make it explode from blast off impact. When we had a lemonade stand, we had a FULL service snack stand.  We brought what we had at home…cheese puffs, cookies, lemonade, candy.  We had it all.

We sat in the hot sun and dreamed how much money we were going to make. How we were going to split it up. WHEN were we going to go to the 7-Eleven to spend our newly earned money. Most importantly, whose snacks made the most money. The one with the most coin could claim the title of king of the mountain…even in the heat of the summer.

Little did we realize, we were young CEO’s in training. Asking questions. Looking for adventure. Building things out of whatever we had in our garages.  It seems that someone at Facebook had a similar experience, hence Facebook Developers Garage.  Don’t forget Steve Jobs and the garage built Macintosh.

Yo Yo TECH IT is your hub for adventure in new technology. We explore the areas of  science, education, privacy, leadership and the metaphysical. We pull all the details together in one place so you can answer the questions you have and start something new. We are about a matter of fact as well as analysis of those matters.  We feel that analysis is needed to be able to affect the future.  We live by asking who 2be 2day 2change 2morrow.

Yo Yo Tech It is like having your own personal coach…cheering you on to the next big thing that you dream up.

*Trends*Hot Topics*New Product*Strategy*Leadership*Motivation*Analysis

We are your community partner pulling it all together, so your job is just that much easier. 

Your adventure is waiting.

Who or what company do you think has a good handle on integrating new media in our digital world? Which sites do you USE most often and why? Quara? Pinterest? Tumblr? Stumble Upon? Google +? Facebook? Instagram?

Tell us why you think what you do…..

Has Facebook Surpassed It’s Darkest Hour? Zuckerberg Brings an Aersonal of Stats and Strategy

September 12, 2012 TECH"nickel" No comments

Article first published as Has Facebook Surpassed It’s Darkest Hour? Zuckerberg Brings an Aersonal of Stats and Strategyon Technorati.

 

Facebook is not looking into building a phone. Mark Zuckerberg made that clear during the 30 minute, standing room only interview with Michael Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco this past Tuesday. It seemed like Mark had quite a bit to cover on his agenda. He spoke like a man with a mission spewing stats about mobile and covering topics from regrets to open graph product opportunities.

He said, “building a mission and a business go hand in hand.” As much as he believes in the company mission of building a more open and connected world and a focus on long term growth; he recognizes the importance of both. He had plenty to discuss as his first public appearance since the IPO in May. He was laden with stats and what sounded like a plan that was now humming like a well oiled machine focusing on mobile. You could feel the energy exuding from Zuckerberg as he chatted it up with Mr. Arrington. He spoke quickly to get out all the data that he wanted to share with everyone. It was great to see Zuckerberg really does have things under control, despite investor feedback and forecasts.

What Facebook has done is retool the product infrastructure and the way they build product from a more vertical model into more horizontal product grouping beginning last December. Mark said this retooling did have an impact on the growth of the company. They have just released the iOS improved mobile Facebook app and expect to deliver an Android version in the near future after switching from HTML5 to Native. Mark admitted he regretting putting all his eggs in one basket re HTML5, however they have moved on from that and are in a good place using Native.

Mark said today, “We are a mobile company.” He had the stats to prove it. There are 5Billion phone users. Engagement and users are up from Facebook mobile. Mobile users are likely to use Facebook 6 out of 7 days per week. Mark appeared confident in his mobile strategy going forward.

Another idea they have been working on is a search product. Currently, they have 1Billion queries a day. Most users are looking for people, however, they are also looking for pages and apps from a business perspective. Mark said that they are looking to take a new approach to the search engine style and use the data that they have to answer questions that people want to know. He feels that this is a huge opportunity for Facebook, as well as a unique one since they are the only company with this kind of big data about users.

For Mark, he says, “It’s not really about the fun. It’s about the mission.” He wants people to work for Facebook because they believe in the products and the mission. He wants people to be proud of what they are building and share it with their family and friends. It’s a great time to be involved with Facebook as a user and an employee.

Mark said that Facebook is very self critical and that he prefers to be in the like of the underdog position where he can take risks and come out wowing stock holders and consumers. It seems this interview spurred on a rally on Wall Street and raised the stock price to close at just under the $20 mark. This begs the question…has Facebook passed it’s darkest hour? If you haven’t bought stock yet, this might be the best time to buy because based on an interview like this, the forecast looks good.

 

Pick a Revolution and Join It; Disrupts TechCrunch

September 12, 2012 Trail Mix No comments
 Article first published as Pick a Revolution and Join It; Disrupts TechCrunch on Technorati.

Photo by:James Martin CNET

This week TechCrunch Disrupt has taken over San Francisco with its 2012 conference. The interview conversations with the entrepreneurial speakers from Silicon Valley have proven to be chuck full of inspiration and direction. Jessica Alba, Edwin Lee, Jack Dorsey, Kevin Rose, Matt Cohler and Mark Zuckerberg were some of the speakers with a mission to distribute.

On Monday, Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter and Square, spoke as the keynote. His presentation was short and amazingly powerful. He is a man with direction and vision. To Jack, “The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed.” This was his main point. Iterate and do it quickly. He’d like to see the buzz word disrupt replaced with revolution. “Pick a revolution and join it,” says Jack. “Question everything.” He believes civilization was meant to connect. “We don’t want disruption where we move things from point A to point B. We want direction.”

The Honest Company, run by Jessica Alba and Brian Lee, made an impact on stage discussing how they put their customer feedback as top priority and react quickly. Jessica talked about how it’s hard running a startup. Both herself and Brian have families with children and work on making the best of a work/life balance. Jessica stole the stage with her honesty about what it’s like raising a family and running a startup. It was great to see organic content like that disrupt the stigmas of working parents, yet still brings a sense of reality.

Tuesday, was full of even more wisdom for entrepreneurs and startups. Mayor Edwin Lee, of San Francisco discussed his strategy about supplying local San Franciscans with entry level tech jobs to support their economy and how they are using The Valley to build great relationships between the tech sector and the city. His enthusiasm, vision and candor seem to have only been helping the city of San Francisco.

Kevin Rose, Google Venture Investor and Milk founder had great advice. Some of the best advice he says he has ever gotten was, “Edit your team. Trust your gut.” There are times where growth will keep you from always making the best decisions about who you hire. Kevin has found that as one realizes who fits best and who doesn’t, that making edits to improve your team for your current needs keeps your team fresh. Ideas that VC’s like Kevin are tired of seeing in the startup realm are cloning other startups and slightly changing them. Saying your version is better isn’t going to win over VC’s.

Matt Cohler, from Benchmark Capital and a prior Facebook product guy, had a great discussion about mobile and the continuing possibilities of growth with Michael Arrington. He says that you and your mobile phone have an emotional attachment and there have been studies to prove this theory. He believes that the mobile market place has exploding opportunities especially when we think of a smart phone as a remote control. The discussion about time to decision is imperative. Being able to use real time data while a customer is in the market place and interactive mobile apps to convert the transaction is key.

Mark Zuckerberg drew a standing room only crowd. He ran circles around Michael Arrington spewing out stats left and right about the growth of mobile consumers, engagement and usage. He said, “building a mission and a business go hand in hand.” As much as he believes in the company mission of building a more open and connected world and a focus on long term growth; he recognizes the importance of both. He had plenty to discuss as his first public appearance since the IPO in May. He was laden with stats and what sounded like a plan that was now humming like a well oiled machine focusing on mobile. You could feel the energy exuding from Zuckerberg as he chatted it up with Mr. Arrington. He spoke quickly to get out all the data that he wanted to share with everyone. It was great to see Zuckerberg really does have things under control, despite investor feedback and forecasts.

Today’s entrepreneurs have a large amount of support and feedback to work with thanks to companies like TechCrunch that run conferences such as these.

Wednesday is the final day of TechCrunch Disrupt full of speakers and a plethora of new startup company ideas. There is a lot to learn from these industry hackers.

Facebook Unzips How Testing is Done

August 21, 2012 BETA STATUS No comments

Article first published as Facebook Unzips How Testing is Done on Technorati.

Credit: Matt Harnack/Facebook

A little over a week ago, Boz, the Director of Engineering at Facebook, published a write up on why Facebook tests.  He gave us a sneak peek as to how it’s done. You might say their way is a little Clark Kent”esque”.

Facebook holds a vision which “Boz” translated in that article…”We believe that people want to connect with each other in a way that is personal and meaningful and that modern technology can provide opportunities for doing this in ways and at scales that were previously not possible…While this vision unifies us, it is sufficiently broad that the exact path to realizing it is unclear.”

The beauty of testing allows a company to realize what is unclear and create data, on a small scale, that, for lack of a better word, tests whether or not the product is viable.  Facebook utilizes their users, aka customers, to test their new ideas and concepts.  These tests help answer questions and support decisions that might be made off of a gut feeling or future trend expectation.

“Sometimes the answer to these questions is intuitive. Sometimes we do user research. Sometimes we build prototypes and see how they feel. Often, however, we’re working on products that have no analog for comparison in research and whose merits are difficult to gauge in the abstract or at small scale,” says Boz.

One of the fastest ways to grow a company or product category is to test…iterate and reiterate. Learning how customers will respond and finding out how a product will perform is amazingly valuable. When a company tests a product, it is used on a small group of people, whom are usually hand picked by their need or end use.  The information gathered may translate into a broader customer base or may stay streamlined into a niche market.

“In technology we are constantly looking to the future and trying to see things the way the could be. Once we have a vision we want to work towards we tend to choose the shortest path to get to that place. On projects of sufficiently narrow scope this is clearly the right thing to do. When it comes to strategy, however, our success has come from not concerning ourselves with the entire path to the goal but rather focusing primarily on the next step in that direction. By taking one step at a time and iterating we are able to adapt quickly to a constantly changing landscape and bring our users along for the ride.”

The data Facebook users provide through everyday use and testing can hold the key to answering many questions that is worth its weight in gold. One of the greatest benefits that social networking has provided is the use of real-time data. Facebook is able to use the real-time data generated from its tests and react. This is one of Zuckerberg’s strengths and mantras: moving fast and breaking things.  Responding to user needs and working on finding the answers when they break is what Zuck pushes his staff to do

For Facebook, testing provides answers to questions that become building blocks to their future strategy, not to mention your future strategy if you market on Facebook.  Facebook makes hundreds of small code changes to make your user experience the best it can be.  Boz goes on to say, “When you see such dramatic results from the smallest tweaks, you realize how much opportunity there is to improve things—and we feel a constant sense of urgency to do so.”

“When a test goes out we look at the data immediately and adapt the products quickly. We do this on a daily basis. This cycle of iteration is the engine of progress and the people who use Facebook are not just the beneficiaries but are also intimately a part of the process. We don’t just develop this product for them, we develop it with them.”

The one caveat Facebook must deal with while testing is that things often break and can make for an unhappy user experience. In the grand scheme of things, when talking about tests, we are talking about small user groups, therefore the unhappy user experience tends to be small but fixable and holds large benefits for those users in the future. When things break, people fix them, usually. Maybe this can teach us all to have more of an open mind.

Boz says, “To keep improving, we must constantly test different versions of Facebook with real people to even have a chance at creating the best possible experience.”

So, when you see something different on your Facebook profile page or news feed, think about it like a scientist. Ask questions while using it. Use it to figure out if you like it or if you don’t and why. Don’t just post…Facebook is stupid. In the end, you only end up with egg on your face and who really wants that on their Facebook page.

 

 

 

Random Collaboration…Everything Happens for a Reason

June 24, 2012 Ad"VENTURE" No comments

Can You Really Build a Business out of Good Conversation?

By: L.Borland

Greg Svitak, Co-Founder of FLock’d Photo by:G.Svitak

What if you could grow your dream in your own backyard or quit your job to fly with your own flock? For Greg Svitak, co-founder of Flock’d, it all started with an idea, a phone call, a bus, and some friends.  Greg is a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Beginning this week, the 37-year-old will officially be living the startup dream.

I sat down with Greg at Loop, a local coffee shop in Cleveland’s Tremont to discuss his story. We chatted over his choice of a skinny iced mocha and my soy iced chai, which is now a favorite thanks to the amazing staff recommendations to the recipe.

Talking with Greg was like chatting it up with an old friend. He’s a down to Earth kind of guy who is interested in doing his civic duty by encouraging local startups through mentoring and connecting people through his network. Greg, a product of Cleveland, likes keeping things in the local Ohio Loop. He’s worked with Cleveland Bridge Builders, a program that teaches civic engagement, to help him be more effective at something he says he has a great passion for.

Loop Coffee shop in Cleveland’s Tremont areaPhoto by: L.Borland

As he continued on with his story about connecting, a text message came across his iPhone acknowledging a great meeting and thanking him for the connections that were passed along.

Greg, who holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve and BBA and MIS degrees from Ohio University, started connecting the dots back in September of 2010. He wanted to be with like-minded entrepreneurs and he felt moving to Austin, Texas would get him what he was looking for. Greg was a solutions analyst for the office of the CTO at Hyland Software. He spent almost 9 years at Hyland launching dozens of products. He loved his job, but he was looking from something more to startup.

Thanks to his good friend Aaron LeMeiux, CEO and co-founder of nPower PEG technology of Tremont Electric and his convincing conversations of how he started up in Cleveland; Greg was convinced to stay longer. He loaded Greg’s mind with hope and good conversation.

Despite however happy Aaron was; he voiced his opinion of discontent about how he’s worked hard to bring people to the Tremont area, yet he’s never been rewarded for it. This conversation generated a spark, which for Greg, turned out to be an idea worth chasing. Greg began incubating the idea. He was calling it Flock’d.

The following spring of 2011 Greg’s friend, Anthony Broad Crawford, whom he met while planning a startup weekend event for Cleveland 2 years earlier, was now going to be a conductor on the Startup Bus. Anthony was a participant on the inaugural Startup Bus trip from San Francisco to Austin a year earlier.

The Startup Bus was brought into existence through; you guessed it, a conversation that, at the time, was only a joke. Elias Bizannes is from Australia. He and some others chatted up a conversation about creating a startup camp in the U.S. In 2010, the first Startup Bus left San Francisco bound for Austin. The bustrepreurs had 72 hours on the road to come up with a viable product for a business to pitch to investors at the SXSW, South by South West, conference in Austin upon arrival.

Greg’s friend, Anthony Broad Crawford, placed a phone call and asked Greg to join him on the Startup Bus trip to the SXSW conference in 2011. Wikipedia describes SXSW Interactive as a conference, “focused on emerging technology…a focus which has earned the festival a reputation as a breeding ground for new ideas and creative technologies.”

Greg was on the Cleveland bus, one of 6 buses in the 2011 brigade departing from San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Chicago, New York, Miami and Cleveland.

Although Greg didn’t win the competition, he says, “This event changed my life.” He says, “The bus is a metaphor.” People get on the bus for the experience and the networking. It helps make starting it up possible. Through this experience Greg realized when he got to Austin and met with the other techies from Silicon Valley that, “I’m no different than them.”

After traveling on the bus as a bustrepreneur, Greg, was invited to conduct the 2012 Ohio Startup bus for the 1500mile journey in March. He wanted to be a part of the experience for the other bustrepreneurs and help foster and mentor a startup community not only for the city of Cleveland, but also for the entire state. This years bus, morphed to be the Cincinnati bus, represented Ohio with people from Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Conductors are responsible for raising money to sponsor the bus trip. One of the many meetings that Greg had was with Michael Bott and the team from Brandery, a seed stage marketing venture accelerator. They’re one of the top 10 programs in the United States. The Brandery connection led Greg to apply for this year’s startup class. This past week, Brandery announced Flock’d as one of 11 startups in the 2012 class.

So what makes Greg different from the average Joe or Jo-ella. He says, “I’m a geek that likes to socialize and connect people. I think that makes me different.” One of his favorite things is random collaboration between people who just hit it off. He makes that pretty easy.

Greg’s empty seat at LoopPhoto by: L.Borland

The seat across from me sat empty after Greg stood up and announced, “I’m off to get on another bus.” Ironically The Limes played in the background and the lyrics to “Don’t Have a Car” rang out…”went to the Greyhound, found a big bus, headed on down the road…we’ve got 1500 miles, I feel inspired.” His stardust left a shine that sparkled just like his smile as he raced off to live the startup dream.

YoYoTECHit is connecting the dots with stories on the startup trail…a phone call, an idea, a bus and some friends started Greg on his journey. He can be found flying with his flock in Cincinnati. He leaves this week to start-up his partnership at Brandery with his idea called Flock’d. YoYoTECHit wishes him the best of luck. Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to need it.

Article first published as Random Collaboration…Everything Happens For A Reason on Technorati.

Breaking Things Enables Invention in the Fast Lane

June 16, 2012 BETA STATUS No comments

Source: angryblue.com via Andy on Pinterest

Waking Up in the “Odd”yssey Years

Much can be learned from studying historically innovative companies like Bell Labs, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. Taking note of winnings and losses and applying them quickly to the next idea brewing in the mind of the innovator will allow one to remain in the idea stream, even if it means inventing a product that breaks. David Brooks of The New York Times was right when he wrote, “It’s possible to see that this period of improvisation is a sensible response to modern conditions.” He was referring to his belief in a new stage we have added to our lives called the odyssey years, which seems to have been born out of modern necessity, but really is the backbone of what has always driven the human race to strike out on their own.

The odyssey years can feel a little awkward and odd walking down a path that seems to wind and wander when you feel you should be on the straight and narrow climbing the ladder of success.  It’s a stage of self-exploration, discovery, enlightenment and adventure originally said to be lived out in the 20 something years. However, this phase of life can ignite itself when conditions are ripe in one’s life journey. It leads many closer to the path of innovation. What we must learn to do things fast and learn that breaking them is okay. Making mistakes is one way that the human brain learns.

It’s said that there are at least 6 stages in life: childhood, adolescents, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement, and old age. The odyssey years are about figuring things out, asking questions and yes, breaking things. Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, lives by the mantra, “Move fast and break things.”

Photo from The Ronald Grant Archive

He cited this mantra in a recent letter to investors called “The Hacker Way” just before Facebook’s IPO filing earlier this year. Despite their recent debacle following protocol for IPO valuation, we can take a lesson from Facebook and their successes through this way of shipping their products quickly and making adjustments later.

54% of college students today say that having classes foster invention during school or a field trip would help move them down the path of innovation. During President Obama’s State of the Union address in February 2012, he had a call to action to increase the dwindling pool of innovators and push college students toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) majors. Today’s innovators need to be cultivated, motivated and re-invented, not just in college but also throughout their lives.

by GOOD. Browse more Science infographics.

 

Innovators Need Guidance

Bell Labs, formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories, is a research and development company with labs around the world dating back to the 1920’s. John Gertner recently wrote an article for The New York Times discussing Bell Labs and his belief in learning from this innovative company of the past and present. He feels that we idolize our start-up entrepreneurs of today and we should look to the past. In many ways he’s right. Presidents of today study presidents of the past taking what insight they can to build a better future. Many things can be learned from Bell Labs. They created many technologies. They were given time and plenty of it to do what they needed to create a new tomorrow. Bell Labs moved forward not because they were chasing profit, but because they were seeking to understand and build upon a platform. However, Time magazine was quoted as saying, “Few companies are more conservative; none are more creative.” This helps support the theory that moving fast is important.

Being first on the market with an imperfect product can be your real life experiment. Taking those findings and improving the product is going to be better than trying to make it perfect without those findings from real life testing.

Inventing or re-inventing one’s self is done during the “odd”yssey years. This stage of wandering seems odd at first, but as the saying goes “all those that wander are not lost.” As we progress through life, there are times that we may feel lost and wander, but there are also times that we wander when we are seeking to understand.  Without wandering, we might never find what we are looking for; isn’t that the reason we go in search of something more; to make a difference; to change the world with innovation?

So, wander; learn from history; break things; but move fast because real life experiments are more valuable than trying to be perfect before you launch.

Do You Need Lean Dog? Tech Hub Gaining Momentum in Cleveland

June 7, 2012 Ad"VENTURE" No comments

Business Model Canvas Photo by: L.Borland

Start it up. Cleveland has latched on to the Tech bubble. Some say the Tech bubble has burst and that it has. It’s exploded and is finding its way into New York City and places like Cleveland.  Eric Ries’ Lean Startup, which was trade marked and now has a chapter in Cleveland, had it’s first meeting downtown just outside Lean Dog’s Headquarters with guest speaker Deborah Mills-Scofield, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review. Lean Dog is a company that helps startups get going by means of testing, problem solving and building. They apply The Lean Startup methodology to everything they do. Lean means cutting it if it isn’t of value to the customer.

Ms. Mills-Scofield helped co-create Business Model Generation. She spoke of the mechanics of the business model and how one needs to create and capture value and then deliver it to be successful. She says, “If you don’t make money, you are just an inventor.”

We all know the story too well about Tesla and his discoveries. He was an inventor, a very good one. However, Edison got credit for inventing the light bulb and many of Tesla’s inventions. Test. Invent. Market your product. Ship. You don’t want to end up like Tesla. “You don’t want to go terminal,” she says. “Life and business are experiments.” She believes you have to keep experimenting to avoid going terminal, even if your company is 100 years old.

There are 9 parts to the business model she speaks of.

1.) Value Proposition

2.) Customer Relationships

3.) Customers-who are they?

4.) Revenue-how am I going to make money?

5.) Channels

6.) Key Resources

7.) Costs

8.)Key Partners

9.) Key activities

Using sticky notes to build your plan on top of the Business Model Canvas is how you should get started. Visual is key. You need to give others a picture of your business model, figure out what your assumptions are and your value propositions while testing your highest risk assumptions. Attempting this visually with your mentors and founders is easier than leafing through a 40-page business plan together. “V.C.’s are more interested in your idea,” she says, “than your financials.” If you have a great idea with a visually presented and thought out plan, the financials will follow.

Later in the meeting, Deb put her presentation to the test. She used an audience member’s start-up idea and the group applied it to the Business Model Canvas. Way to put your money where your mouth is. Sue Marrone agrees, “It was great to use a real world example.”

Are you ready to start it up? Many founders start out alone, but in the process need to pick up others to capitalize on the areas that are not their expertise.  These meet-ups offer great networking time to join others who are blazing down the same path. “You can’t be good at everything. So figure out who you need to partner with,” says Deborah.

Looking at your start-up like a scientist is the key to winning.  “Experiment. Experiment. Experiment. Iterate. Iterate. Iterate.” And do it fast. Facebook runs by the beat of the same drum; “move fast and break things.” Lean Dog can help you do this.

It takes a certain kind of person to be successful at a start-up. You need to be driven, inquisitive, able to solve problems in a single bound and able to take quixotic risk.  You need to be able to connect the dots of your life and your network.  When I asked Ms. Mills-Scofield about any advice, she said, “To do what you love, get involve in what you know, and network.” She could have just quoted Steve Jobs, “The only way to do great work is to do what you love…Never settle…you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

If you think you’ve got it, become a member of a local lean startup house. At the least, you will meet some really great people who have really great ideas. If you are looking for serendipity, you just might find it here. Great minds think alike. What are you waiting for?

Ms. Deborah Mills-Scofield in action photo by: L.Borland

Ms. Mills-Scofield received her undergrad degree from Brown University. Currently, she teaches at Oberlin College in Ohio, writes for the Harvard Business Review and is a member of Glengary LLC, an early-stage capital firm in Northeast Ohio. Lean Dog’s new Headquarters are now under construction on the floating boat sitting atop Lake Erie. A movement is happening and it looks like Cleveland is getting noticed as a new Tech hub. I know a great real estate agent, if you’re interested.

The Sophisticated “Flame” Virus; Will it Burn on your P.C.?

June 5, 2012 "PRY"vate No comments

By: L.Borland

One of the most sophisticated malware viruses ever discovered reared its ugly head last week around the globe on government and some 80 private company network watches, according to The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The infection spread to many countries but concentrated mostly in Iran, Israel and Palestinian territories.  Researchers from Kaspersky Lab estimated between 1,000 and 5,000 computers were affected.

The sophistication of the code “suggest it was the work of a government.” Although the perpetrator has yet to be named, sources from Kaspersky Lab say that the techniques used are similar to the creators of Stuxnet, a computer worm discovered in 2010 that infected industrial software and equipment via Microsoft Windows. Flame is multi-dimensional. “It can steal data and social network conversations, take snapshots of a computer screen, penetrate across networks, turn on a computer’s microphone to record audio and scan for Bluetooth-active devices.” These type of activities have been used by governments in cyber-espionage.

Will this virus be quarantined or will it make it to our local cities? Senior Network Engineer, Eddie Stevens of North Coast Computers in Cleveland, Ohio says he sees 10-20% of his customer service tickets, on a weekly basis infected with malware. Eddie says, “The breakdown or definition of what a virus is continues to evolve. The main ingredient will always be that it must be self-replicating.” He says the 3 viruses that he sees on a regular basis are either spy wear–used for identity theft or tracking users, re-direct–exposes a searcher to certain ads that can be reported as views and unethically require payment for the view by the advertiser, or true malicious damaging operating software viruses.

Anti-virus is definitely a must, but he says “you aren’t always 100% safe.” Beware that there may be gaps in the security of your pc even with antivirus if you are caught in between the software updates and the expansion of a new virus, not to mention artificial intelligence.  Although you can’t be 100% protected at all times, he says:“You can invest in data back-ups on external hard drives and software protection from companies such as Carbonite. The Cloud will protect your data, but not your software.” The bottom line, fireproof your pc from viruses with external hard drives and software protection because small cities are not immune from infection. Do you have a safety-net?

 

Local Source: North Coast Computers Senior Network Engineer, Eddie Stevens 440-930-5117

Will Facebook Get the Jolt They Need from The FTC Revisions on COPPA?

June 4, 2012 "PRY"vate No comments

Last week at the All Things D, D10 conference, Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC said COPPA was undergoing changes. COPPA, the Child Online Privacy Protection Act, does not allow children to be tracked, which prohibits Facebook from knowingly allowing any child under 13 to have a Facebook account. Revisions to COPPA were proposed in September 2011, the first since the year 2000 when the Act was introduced. The prohibition on data collection on children under 13 has been a long debated topic among businesses and parents.

What is the right answer? Education is key, and beginning at a young age is even more crucial. Our nation’s children are being exposed to digital technology by the time they are 6 months old, if you consider the iPad. Many children are lying about their age to obtain a Facebook account. Lying about your age may seem trivial to some, but this is the foundation we lay for our children as they attempt to pioneer through the digital frontier. Do we want them to believe that behind a cloak they can lie?

Depending on what is updated in the COPPA guidelines, we might see changes to Facebook’s policy on under age usage. Depending on how one looks at it, this might be the jolt that Facebook needs right now. Low voltage as it may seem, it’s voltage on a long standing debate.

Slowly, digital standards are being set. Continuous revisions to our definitions and uses will need to be done on an ongoing basis, as we continue to try and travel the digital frontier.

Last year, Mark Zuckerberg went on record to say, that he believes we need to start our children young when it comes to digital accountability and rules. We need good digital citizens of the future, and Zuckerberg went on to say Facebook would take on COPPA at some point. Looks like someone has taken that job on and things seem to be progressing from proposed revisions to updates in the COPPA rules based on Mr. Leibowitz’s comments.

Where do you stand on this topic? Weigh in on this controversial debate with your comments.

Article first published as Will Facebook Get the Jolt They Need from the FTC Revisions on COPPA? on Technorati by: L.Borland