First, we have changed the name. While our association with the 140 Characters family of conferences was excellent and hugely helpful, this year we felt the need to create a program and build an identity that is unique to the Central Sierras. We move forward as the Motherlode Innovation Summit On Technology: Social Edition. This is a mouthful, so we expect to be better known as the MIST Conference.

Our format is still unique and fast-paced. We will spend the morning together hearing from our presenters. Presentations are limited to 10-20 minutes each, to allow as many people as possible to share their stories. In the afternoon, we will break into smaller groups for hands-on sessions led by technology experts.

The conference takes place June 6, 2012 at Columbia College. We will make use of their large presentation space (the Dogwood Forum), as well as several smaller classrooms. WiFi access is fast and available anywhere on campus. Lunch and an after-conference reception will be provided by the Culinary Department, which is renowned for their outstanding food service.

As our commitment to making the conference as widely accessible as possilble, ticket prices are the same as last year:

• Early-bird (through 4/30) – $59.00
• General admission – $89.00
• Scholarship price for non-profit staff,
  educators and students – $20.00*

Learn more about the conference and register now at http://mistcon.org.

We hope to see you there, as we continue to build social media connections within our communities. No matter what your current level of experience with the technology of social media, you will come away informed, inspired and ready to go to work.

*To receive the scholarship price, use the coupon code np-edu-early (prior to 5/1) or np-edu (after 5/1). Our thanks to Frontporch for providing these schoolarships again this year.

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If you know of anyone who loves cycling or the Sierra foothills, this would be a good opportunity to get them acquainted with Google+. Send them to http://gplus.to/atocsonora.

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Resolutions are often too vague, or too directed towards one goal. It might be “quit smoking” or “lose 20 pounds” or “get hired.” These are all fine aspirations, but I challenge you to dig deeper, to find three words that could be used as lighthouses to guide you through stormy seas, that can be used as flags on the battlefield of your challenges, words that will bolster you and give you a direction that goes beyond the goals you might attach as a result of these words.

So, without further ado, here are my three words for 2012:

Enthusiasm

Bring enthusiasm to the task at hand. Use enthusiasm as a primary signal when choosing to pursue opportunities.

Capacity

Build capacity to engage with meaningful tasks and see them through to completion. Find or build tools and structures to make work manageable.

Distribute

Distribute work among many people. Distribute ideas to people who value them. Distribute myself among people with differing skills and viewpoints.

Happy New Year’s Day to you all and I wish you an excellent year to come.

Words photo by ninasaurusrex.

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Reshared post from +Greg Falken

GoDaddy has stepped in it again. They are supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that could end the Internet as we know it. They provided the following, as part of a written statement to a Congressional hearing in November:

"Go Daddy has a long history of supporting federal legislation directed toward combating illegal conduct on the Internet. For example, our company strongly supported the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, the Protect Our Children Act of 2008, and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP). Go Daddy has always supported both government and private industry efforts to identify and disable all types of illegal activity on the Internet. It is for these reasons that I’m still struggling with why some Internet companies oppose PROTECT IP and SOPA. There is no question that we need these added tools to counteract illegal foreign sites that are falling outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement. And there is clearly more that we could all be doing to adequately address the problems that exist."

I have been transferring domains away from GoDaddy as they expire, for reasons including offensive advertising and obsessive up-selling. A number of competing registrars are offering discount codes for use when transferring domains from GoDaddy. See http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/nmnie/godaddy_supports_sopa_im_transferring_51_domains/

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Here Is Godaddy's Statement In Support Of The Stop Online Privacy Act House Hearing TomorrowHere Is Godaddy's Statement In Support Of The Stop Online Privacy Act House Hearing Tomorrow
Here Is Godaddy's Statement In Support Of The Stop Online Privacy Act House Hearing Tomorrow. 2011 November 15. by Michael H. Berkens. Tomorrow the House of Representative is holding a hearing on …

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Why Google+ will become Google's only product
Google will integrate its best products into a single super product, Google+, that marginalizes smaller rivals and clobbers Facebook with total superiority.

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Reshared post from +Greg Falken

As we arrive at that time of the year that stimulates reflection and introspection, this post strikes a chord.

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Finding Focus
Chris Brogan and the word focus rarely go together in. I am a fairly harsh critic of my own business. Maybe we all are. When I look back on my ambitions for 2011 versus what I accomplished, I fell sho…

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Reshared post from +Sundar Pichai

The chrome team has been working closely with partners to continually improve the overall chromebook experience while at the same time making it more affordable, really excited that they are available starting at $299 now!

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Official Google Blog: ‘Tis the season for Chromebooks
'Tis the season for Chromebooks. 11/21/2011 08:27:00 AM. The Chrome team elves have been busy packing a few goodies into Chromebooks in time for the upcoming holiday season. A simple, streamlined …

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Blog | webdancers | Sonora CA
The page of the blog.

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I’ve written before about the importance of using multiple passwords for online accounts and the system that I use for managing them. I recently started using an option in my Google account called Two-step Verification, to further protect my Google password. Here’s the basic idea: There are only a few computer devices – like your desktop, laptop and phone – from which you will regularly access your Google account. If some other device attempts access, it should be suspect and subject to additional verification.

Verification takes the form of a random string of characters that must be entered in addition to your password – and here’s what makes it so secure – it is not delivered to the computer requesting access. Instead, it can be delivered via:

• an SMS text to your cell phone,
• an automated voice call to any phone number,
• an Android, Blackberry or iOS app or
• a pre-generated list that you have printed out.

Here’s a short video that further explains the program:

It’s not just for Google passwords

Although you must have a Google account to set this up, other systems can piggyback on it, using Google’s API (application programming interface). You don’t need to understand how this works, just that you can add two-step verification to other passwords, if those services have chosen to integrate with Google. Two that have are LastPass (the password manager that I use – yay!) and WordPress.com. More are likely to join the program, so it should become even more valuable over time.

Setting it up

Setup is a little tedious, I’ll admit, but it only needs to be done once. The best instructions are on the Google Accounts Help site. In addition to a Google account, you will need:

• A phone that is usually available to you when you sign in. This could be:
• A standard phone (landline or mobile)
• Any Android device, BlackBerry device, iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad that can run the Google Authenticator application
• A backup phone that you can use if you lose access to your primary phone. This could be:
• A work or home phone (landline or mobile)
• The phone of someone you trust, like a friend or family member.

Once you have configured Two-step Verification, your Google account will use it the first time that you log in from any device. If you are using one of your regular devices, you can check a box and the system will not try to re-verify that device for 30 days. After that it will re-verify, so you’ll need access to whatever device receives your verification code.

Oh, and one more thing…

There are quite a few applications that use your Google login that can’t ask for verification codes directly, including:

• POP and IMAP email clients such as Outlook, Mail and Thunderbird
• Gmail and Google Calendar on smartphones
• ActiveSync for Windows Mobile and iPhone
• YouTube Mobile on Apple devices
• Cloud Print
• Installed chat clients such as Google Talk and Adium
• 3D Warehouse, Sketchup, and installed applications
• AdWords Editor
• Sync for Google Chrome
• Gmail Notifier

These programs require that you generate an application-specific password to use in place of your normal Google password. This is done online in your Google Account, then cut-and-pasted into the application’s password box. According to Google, “Most of the time, you will only have to enter an application-specific password once per application or device (soon after you turn on 2-step verification).” Personally, I’ve had to generate passwords for four different applications and I’ve had to enter it into Google Talk twice.

Is it worth the hassle?

My Google and LastPass passwords are the keys to my online existence. If a bad person got hold of either of them, I would be well and truly screwed. Because LastPass is using the Google API in their latest version (thanks, guys!), I can give both of these critical passwords an extra margin of protection.

In deciding for yourself, use the Likely/Consequences Sliding Scale™. What is the likelihood of your password falling into the wrong hands and how bad would the consequences be if it did? If either one of those answers rise high enough on your personal discomfort scale, consider using Two-step Verification.

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A new ebook from Google confirms what I have believed for some time now: The success of any business is dependent upon online activities, whether or not they believe it, like it or participate in it. Consumers are using a wide range of online services to make their buying decisions about all types of products and services, seemingly without exception.

The book’s title, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT, for acronym lovers), comes from the pre-Internet days of marketing, when there were two “moments of truth”. The first occurred when the consumer stood in a store, facing a shelf with a selection of products from which to choose. The second moment of truth was when they got the product home and decided if they liked it or not. Today, there’s a third moment of truth that happens before either of these, the Zero Moment. This moment takes place online and it has an enormous impact on the next two. Activities that take place in the Zero Moment include search, reading reviews, visiting manufacturer websites, conversations on social media, watching videos on YouTube and many others.

Winning the Zero Moment of Truth was written by Jim Lecinski, Google’s Managing Director of US Sales & Service and while his conclusions may be somewhat self-serving, they are also backed up by data. Google commissioned Shopper Sciences to survey 5,000 shoppers about the sources that influence their buying decisions. Some of the results were startling:

• The average shopper used 10.4 sources of information (both online and offline) to make a buying decision in 2011, up from 5.3 in 2010. Yes, that number nearly doubled in one year.
• 84% of decision makers used online sources to guide them.
• 62% of shoppers say they search for deals online before at least half of their real-world shopping trips.
• When 3M Corporation opened their site up to comments, more than 3,000 people had something to say about about Scotch Tape.

Not only does the book include lots of statistics, charts and graphs, it also provides examples of things that businesses of all sizes can do to play a part in the Zero Moment of Truth. It convincingly makes the point that a shift has taken place in the buying process and that businesses must adapt or be left behind.

Winning the Zero Moment of Truth is available for free in a variety of electronic formats. Consider it required reading.

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