A new year is always a good time to reassess your work and how to make it more effective. Over the last two months I have been redesigning my websites, and you may notice some slight changes.
Most importantly, taliawhyte.com is now self-hosted, meaning it is no longer hosted on Wordpress.com. So if you were previously following my blog on wordpress.com, you will still receive feed updates in your Wordpress Reader, but you will no longer receive any email notices when a new post is up. If you want to receive email notices again, just go to taliawhyte.com/blog and enter your email address at the bottom of the left side panel under my Twitter feed and click “Subscribe/Follow.” If you are not a wordpress.com user and are receiving email notices, no changes are necessary for you. I will be shutting down the old wordpress site soon, so make the move over to my new site in the next few days.
You will also notice that the new homepage is now a showcase of my best recent work in a more user friendly interface framework. I have some big journalistic projects coming up this year, and I believe this new site will accommodate these new projects.
You will also notice two major changes over on Global Wire Associates. For one, the site can now be translated into six languages – Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and, of course, English. This reflects our growing demand to reach broader global clients in a more efficient way. The other change we are really excited about is the addition of the Classroom, our on-site video conferencing space where we will host our educational webinars and other special events, including my online book release party on 11 January.
Thanks a lot for your continued support and looking forward to the New Year!
There were many takeaways from this year’s Telecom World. An overarching topic from the conference was the tech sector’s role in clean technology. Over at Global Wire Associates, we are always thinking about how we can make a difference. A couple of years ago, we created a company green policy and embarked on a year-long awareness Recharge E-waste campaign, which led to our book on the same topic. Climate change is a very real concern globally, and our technology use is partially contributing to the problem. Did you know that the Internet’s carbon footprint is larger than the entire aviation industry?
Our increasing appetite for computers, mobiles and tablets is decreasing the earth’s resources very quickly. Here are some ideas tech enthusiasts should think about regarding a more sustainable web.
Backward Compatibility
This is the process of making a product or software application workable with an older product or software application. In many Western countries, many people purchase new electronics or software applications approximately every two years. This is driven partly by the product’s obsoleteness, as there is always a newer version of everything coming onto the market these days. The consumer culture around technology has also changed as well in recent years. Waiting in line overnight in front of an Apple store just to be among the first buyers of the latest “iThings” is commonplace. However, it is not uncommon to see people in the developing world who have owned their mobiles for seven or eight years, and their operating systems are most likely outdated. This is because the cost of buying a new electronic can be prohibitive. Web professionals should consider creating products and software applications that are energy efficient, backward compatible and accessible, allowing for older electronics to be more useful for longer and reduce e-waste.
Sustainable Energy
This is a no-brainer – our society needs to increase its use of alternative energy. We only have to look towards the sun for this one. And, no, we are not just talking about building more solar panels (even though that would be a great idea). We need to be supporters of the growing sustainable technology sector, and take a serious look at innovative projects like bike-powered phone chargers, solarbackpacks, Moonshot servers and solar chargers.
Teleconferencing
Those of us in the tech world love going to tech conferences and hang out with other techies. Hey, who can really turn down the unlimited food at the dizzying number of receptions and networking events?! However, all the traveling and electricity used to produce such events really are a drain on resources (and wallets). Teleconferencing is a more cost and energy efficient way to organize many events. Global Wire Associates cut down on many in person workshops this year for this very reason. While there is always going to be a need to have in person event, it would also be a good idea to figure out new ways to integrate teleconferencing when organizing such events. Furthermore, according to Blake Burris of the Cleantech Initiative, teleconferencing has already reduced business travel by 30 percent.
Greetings from Bangkok, where the staff of Global Wire Associates is attending Telecom World 2013, the world’s largest gathering of ICT professionals. In the coming weeks, we will give reports on everything we saw and the policy discussions heard that we think would be of interest to you guys.
It is no surprise the conference is being held in Asia this year, where many countries in the region are becoming emerging leaders in tech innovation.
Soichiro Seki, Director-General for International Affairs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Japan spoke to ITU about the important role Asian nations will play at the conference.
Many African nations are also making a lot of noise in the ICT sector like in Nigeria. Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology, spoke to ITU about upcoming broadband projects in her country.
Finally, Latin America has seen a growing tech start up community in recent years. Diego Molano Vega, Minister of ICT in Colombia, spoke to ITU about how ICTs are helping to fight poverty.
In light of the recent NSA revelations, as well as the ongoing attempts to censor journalists and other online content producers by governments worldwide, I thought it would be a good idea to point out some tools available for use.
WeFightCensorship.org – Reporters Without Borders recently launched this secure portal that publishes articles, photography, video and audio that is either partially or entirely banned in countries where there is heavy censorship and surveillance. The site has so far received content from Belarus, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Syria. All news reports are published in English and French. The site also accepts articles that were originally published in Arabic, Chinese, Persian or Russian.
Encrypted Documents – Jorge Luis Sierra, a Knight International Journalism Fellow, created a simple and easy-to-use tutorial on how to encrypt documents using Word for a Mac, Microsoft Word 10 documents on a PC and Open Office documents.
Secure Mobile Phones – Mobile phones have become the most important tool for journalists, but these tools can easily be hacked by anyone anywhere. Here are some ideas to consider:
If you live and work in an area where there is suspected or known surveillance, don’t keep any sensitive information on the mobile. If you have to, use an encryption program like TrueCrypt or a strong mobile and SIM card password.
Disable your Wi-Fi location or GPS and mobile data. This will reduce the risk of tracking your location. It also saves battery power and reduces unwanted data flow initiated by applications running remotely by your mobile carrier.
Consider using separate mobiles for professional and personal use. Not only are your professional contacts and sources at risk if your mobile is lost or stolen, but the safety of your family and friends is also in jeopardy.
Consider hiding your identity by setting up your mobile to hide your number when you make calls.
Secure Computers – The same rules above apply here as well. In addition:
Know Your Environment– Don’t look at sensitive information in a public space or in an open work space (cubicle). If you have to be in public, use a laptop privacy screen filter and make sure it is password protected (and never share the password with anyone). Never leave your laptop unattended and on. Instead, turn it off or put it into a password-protected “sleep” mode.
If you have to leave your computer at an office or your home, put it away in a secure place.
Always back up your files either in an encrypted cloud program or in a password protected external hard drive that can also be put in a secure place. Some people recommend the external hard drive and computer be secured in separate locations. If you have extremely sensitive information, you might want to consider having two or even three external hard drives secured in three different locations where no one would ever think of finding them.
Your computer becomes less vulnerable to hacking if you make sure it’s programs are kept up to date and upgraded regularly, including anti-virus programs.
Other issues to consider:
This article tells you signs someone is spying on your phone.
Orweb, Tor and Covert Browser (iPhones and iPads only) are apps that allow you to surf the Internet anonymously. Most web browsers (Google Chrome, FireFox etc) have an option to browse the Internet privately as well. Always delete your browsing history, cookies and cache.
ChatSecure lets Apple users chat in encrypted form, while Gibberbot encrypts the content of your instant messages.
There are many encrypted email services available, such as HushMail.
Always send or receive information – especially financial information – on websites that use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). This protocol means that only you and your server can view your information which is encrypted.
If you use multiple passwords (a good idea), consider using KeePass a free, open-source software that allows you to save passwords using only one primary password to unlock them.
Of course, there is no absolute way to totally protect yourself from hacking or surveillance, but if you use these tools, you will have better peace of mind.
A new year is always a good time to reassess your work and how to make it more effective. Over the last two months I have been redesigning my websites, and you may notice some slight changes.
