City of Seattle Community Technology E-Zine |
|||
|
|||
I N S I D E
Schrier Tweets
seattle is
| ||||||||
|
event calendar
Seattle.Gov recently launched a new online event calendar. You can view the event calendar here. The public can submit events to this city-moderated calendar, using a submission form. The calendar has a mapping feature to help you locate events, and provides multiple filters for keywords, neighborhoods, audience, and more, to search for events that interest you. Along with the Citywide and Weekend Event calendars, Seattle Public Library, Parks and Recreation, Seattle Animal Shelter and the Hearing Examiner Office all have their own calendars, with more city departments adding calendars this spring. The calendar, powered by Trumba, supports RSS feeds, email subscriptions, text message notifications and more special features to keep you up to date on events all around Seattle.
|
q&a |
job search video
Forbes.com recently aired a video describing how recruiters are using Web 2.0 tools to search for candidates. They are using social networking sites such as Linked In to review resumes, conduct targeted searches for specific qualifications and reading recommendations. The video also gives effective advice on the importance of polishing your profile, connecting with new people and updating your status regularly, particularly if you are looking for work. Advice also includes searching for prospective employers through Twitter, to give you "insider" information on their interests. Read more about Twitter in this issue.
l.i.n.k.a.g.e
Social and digital inclusion through community centers, with comments from England.
Engaged Learning and Technology Assessment Tool for instructors to compare your current instructional practices with a set of indicators for engaged learning and high-performance technology.
4H’s Connecting With Tech! Use Technology to Enhance Youth Interest and Learning materials.
archives
Back issues of Brainstorm including techtips and linkage are now available in our online archives. Previous TechTips and Linkage are also available. Click to revisit all previous issues.
|
Greg Nickels, Mayor Department of Information Technology BILL SCHRIER chief technology officer GARY GIBSON director, office of electronic communications DAVID KEYES manager, community technology program staff  D.H. CASS MAGNUSKI editor |
|
bird is the word
Have you heard? People are talking. Twitter is everywhere. Our new president used it to revolutionize his campaign. Stephen Colbert uses it, so you can, "read him as you're watching him." Virtually, any and every public figure now has Twitter. It is certainly getting a lot of press. All that publicity can be disconcerting, especially when it has attracted a diverse breed of public figures such as celebrities, scientists, musicians, and politicians. However, it takes one quick look at Google trends search statistics to deduce the professions that are really embracing the technology: IT and government.
Twitter is hard to define. Because of its diverse appeal, getting an answer from loyal users can be difficult depending on the person you ask. The concept is simple. When you sign up for an account, the web page asks you, "What are you doing?" You have 140 characters to tell "the world" what you are doing. As you go about your life, you are encouraged to post your details. The technical term for a post is "tweet." Think of it as an event log or radio broadcast for your life. As you become familiar with the Twitter community, you can begin to follow others and they - in return - can become your followers, too.
Gaining followers? Tweets? It all sounds arcane. But the community is strongly backed by IT and government, including our own Bill Schrier, who is increasingly using it to conduct business.
"Part of my job is public relations. That is why I Twitter," said Bill.
While some find it a strictly social movement, others are starting to take advantage of the professional network it creates. Bill describes the advantages of Twitter over other media: "I enjoy following Twitter. The posts are short and sweet. When I look at email, it takes a lot of time to digest," In the future, Bill hopes to utilize hashtags (discussion groups for the Twitter community) in future presentations, so his audience can actively participate and interact with the discussion in real time. Twitter is creating these revolutionary opportunities.
It's just geeky enough to appeal to the same esoteric groups that build home robot kits in their basement. However, it also has a social network large enough for government to take notice.
reinvesting in tech
and public computing
The recently signed HR 1 – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act supports greater deployment of broadband in unserved and underserved areas. Portions of this initiative also support increased access in public computing sites and innovative efforts to increase broadband adoption. The Act establishes a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, calls for a national broadband strategy to be developed, supports growth of rural distance learning, telemedicine, and supports nationwide broadband mapping. It also provides an extended digital TV transition with more funds for converter coupons. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, (B-TOP), is to be administered within the Department of Commerce NTIA, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission.
It has five purposes:
- Provide access to broadband service in unserved areas
- Improve access in underserved areas
- Provide broadband education, awareness, training, access, equipment and support to schools, libraries, healthcare providers, institutions of higher education, community support organizations, job-creating strategic facilities in economic zones
- Improve broadband access and use by public safety organizations
- Stimulate the demand for broadband, economic growth and job creation
See this and more on the Benton Foundation site.
Within B-TOP, $3.75 billion is for grants for networking infrastructure needs, $200 million is reserved for expanding public computer center capacity, including at community colleges and public libraries (this does not exclude community technology centers), and $250 million will go to innovative programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. The NTIA has begun work to define specifics of the grant program eligibility and work with the FCC on how “unserved” and “underserved” are defined. Potentially, these funds could be used to help low-income residents, immigrants, seniors and others learn how and why to use broadband. The grants all have to be deployed by September 30, 2010. A 20 percent match is required. It’s likely they will seek larger grantees to minimize administration. Companies, government or non-profits can apply. These are just a few details with many more in the legislation and to follow in implementation.
digital inclusion summit materials
Presentations and resources have been posted from the Pacific Northwest Digital Inclusion Summit in Seattle. Topical materials from the Summit, sponsored by One Economy with the City of Seattle and the Communities Connect Network, include housing and broadband, Web 2.0, youth media, and trends in data about community technology centers and use of the Internet. See
We've seen this scam before, but this is a new version with a new twist in that it creates and points you to positive reviews of itself! It has already caught some City users, so here's another reminder. Web users have been warned about a new scam that posts fake product reviews in a bid to encourage people to buy a rogue security application called Anti-virus-1, or Antivirus 2010. The app is one of a number of bogus security products which promise to provide protection against the latest online threats, but instead have been designed to spread malware or hold users’ PCs for ransom.
But if a user uses the Internet to research Anti-virus-1, it is possible the user will find a number of glowing reviews, because the tool is posting fake articles online which appear to be endorsed by a number of the Web’s top tech sites, including PC Advisor. In reality, according to the owner of technology site BleepingComputer.com, fake reviews will only be seen by those who install the rogue security app. He said that when he installed Anti-virus-1, it added a series of entries into the Windows host's file which direct users to what appear to be the Web sites of a number of UK and US tech sites. That means those with Anti-virus-1 running on their PC may be directed to bogus reviews.
The software has never been tested by PC Advisor, and the fake review is not hosted on the PC Advisor site. Other sites apparently targeted by the scam include PC Magazine and TechRadar.
These types of scams are popular for the simple reason that they work. By using your natural fear of malware (which we have to take some responsibility for encouraging), the bad guys convince folks to install their malware! Ironic, eh?
You should never install any type of applications from the Internet unless you are absolutely sure that they come from a reputable source. Applications that pop up on a web site or come in an email are inherently disreputable, so don't be fooled.
Many users think an antivirus program, such as MacAfee or Norton, is enough to protect a computer from all the harms of the world. This is far from the truth; in recent years there has been a huge increase in malware or malicious software. Your computer can get “infected” by visiting certain web sites, or opening email that is not safe and installs software on your computer without your knowledge. Virus checkers may overlook these if you get infected, so you really need a combination of protection products. Here are three minimal lines of protection you should have: For more resources, go to the City Information Security site. The City of Seattle has created an introductory brochure on computer dangers and tips for protection. The brochure is available here, or call (206) 233-5061 if you need one in print or a bundle of them for your organizations. Following is more information:
Microsoft Spyware Free Virus Scanners: City of Seattle Youth Arts Program Neighborhoods Small and Simple Fund Freecycle Seattle To subscribe or unsubscribe to Brainstorm, please email us, and we'll add you to our email notification list, or subtract you per your request. If you have ideas for future stories, please let us know and we'll try to accommodate them. We encourage you to visit the City of Seattle's Community Tech pages, seattle.gov/tech.
s.e.c.u.r.i.t.y
scan antivirus application
spreads malware
t.e.c.h.t.i.p
computer line protection
Wikipedia on Malware
Techsoup for Software
AVG Virus Scanner
Adware spyware removald.o.l.l.a.r.s
Deadline: April 14
Provides funds for arts training for Seattle's middle and high school youth outside of school hours in all artistic disciplines, including visual and literary arts, theater, music, dance and film.
Application Workshop: March 18, 12:30 p.m. at Yesler Community Center.
Deadline: April 6
Provides funds for improving your community. Groups can apply for funding for community building projects. Accepts applications four times each year for projects that request up to $15,000 that can be completed in six months.
Web site dedicated to reusing useful items. Lets let you find new homes for things you no longer use and receive what you need, free! Clean out your house, keep good stuff out of the landfill, and help others at the same time.sub/unsub