NorthStarNerd.Org

Chirp ... Not Tweet?

I'm trying to give Twitter a good test, but I am finding it very, very difficult to find the following kinds of people:

• corporate practitioners of Web 2.0 (i.e. not vendors)

I've tried many kinds of searches (and services). I would welcome advice ...too much noise in everyone's Tweets. It's not like I haven't found interesting stuff during my search, but creating a network of experts has been darned difficult.

• Business Intelligence (tools to monitor trends / acitivity)
• Business Week (from GM to Baskin Robbins)
• Government Twitter Sites 
• Social Media Video (ignore at your peril)
• Twitter (social brand index)

Post Update #1: I may try a Tweet Scan of the word "Yammer". By definition Yammer should be a Web 2.0 resource used within the enterprise. (Note: Tweet Scan allows for RSS search subscription)

Post Update #2: Jane Hart, whose Blog is already on my RSS Subscription List, has what appears to be a good suggestion in the comments section to this post: Directory of Learning Professional on Twitter.

Cyber Attack ... Kapow!

I stumbled upon this resource from the United States Navy Post Graduate school by limiting my Google search to only yield flash files. Given how important security is to any organizations network, I strongly recommend a visit. The learning resources are described in this manner:

• CyberCIEGE enhances information assurance education and training through the use of computer gaming techniques such as those employed in SimCity™. In the CyberCIEGE virtual world, users spend virtual money to operate and defend their networks, and can watch the consequences of their choices, while under attack.

You will find ten brief tutorials which describe in an animated manner cyber attacks ranging from malicious software to why cryptography is often necessary. In addition, a gaming simulation developed by the USN is available free of charge to education institutions. Anyone may download an evaluation copy of the cyber attack simulation game. This resource will be added to the software engineering section of the engineering learning wiki.

Filtering LinkedIn

I had let my network of contacts grow to large. Perhaps I should not admit it on my blog, but I just "chopped" my LinkedIn contacts. It was too easy to "just say yes" when a new invitation arrived. I realized that I wanted my network to be people I really know. If you've never edited your network, just log in, click upon contacts ... then select "remove contacts" over on the right. Folks do not get notified of your removal. If anyone asks back in ... I'll agree. Bigger networks are not always better. My LinkedIn search results are now more relevant.

Engineering Our Future

Time to leave my Winter sports and return to engineering. Recently I posted how I disagreed with Thomas Friedman ... the world is not flat ... instead I posted that it is a "Hodge Podge World" (includes my video presentation). I may have disagreed with Friedman in this arena, but his arguments from his recent Op-Ed piece in the N.Y. Times have a lot of merit. He states:

"You want to spend $20 billion of taxpayer money creating jobs? Fine. Call up the top 20 venture capital firms in America, which are short of cash today because their partners — university endowments and pension funds — are tapped out, and make them this offer: The U.S. Treasury will give you each up to $1 billion to fund the best venture capital ideas that have come your way. If they go bust, we all lose. If any of them turns out to be the next Microsoft or Intel, taxpayers will give you 20 percent of the investors’ upside and keep 80 percent for themselves.

If we are going to be spending billions of taxpayer dollars, it can’t only be on office-decorating bankers, over-leveraged home speculators and auto executives who year after year spent more energy resisting changes and lobbying Washington than leading change and beating Toyota."

I think Mr. Friedman makes a lot of sense. Read his entire column.

American Birkebeiner ... 54K of Pain!

New snow ... wrong wax ... was slow ... interviewed live on the radio. However I'm happy with my first ever Birkie! See what the American Birkebeiner is like and watch this short animated slideshow. Thank you Dr. Ralph Bovard and Exos Medical. Without your cast, which worked perfectly, I could never have finished (let alone skied)!

Post Update - December 2009: Please visit MinnSki (dedicated to Nordic Skiing in the Minnesota region. You'll find a Google Custom X-Ski Search Engine, Garmin measured ski trails ... and more!)

American Birkebeiner 2009 on PhotoPeach

and ...

• A Skier Cooks His Cast

Note: 54k = 33 & 1/2 miles!

Birkie Update #1: Not my videos, but good!: Gravel Pit | Finishers

Birkie Update #2: Marissa Mayer (Google) completes her first Birkie.