What the Problem is....

Someone who I would consider a mediocre friend sent this to me.  He knew I would enjoy it from both a technological and political perspective.  I hope you find it humorous and worth the read.  I don't know the origin of this story but I have updated a few parts of it.

---

A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Montana when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, who obviously is a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his iPhone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.

Within seconds, he receives an email on his iPad that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his BlackBerry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", says Bud.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep.  Now give me back my dog."

And that folks is what the problem is all about.

Transit of Venus

Today the Transit of Venus occurred, an event when Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun and appears as a black dot on the surface of the sun.

The history of the transit and those who first discovered it in the 1700's is fascinating but for me this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see something way cool for a space geek. What makes this so cool? Simple, it won't happen again until 2117. That means my grandchildren will be playing with my great grandchildren by the time this happens again.

The other cool thing about this is it was easy to see both with the naked eye and with a telescope. I got a telescope for Christmas when I was in elementary school and tonight it came in handy. The hard part was finding a place to view the transit from as we live in an area with a lot of trees.

Fortunately, I was able to abuse my key where I work and gain access to the roof over the pool at our Community Center. From there I setup my telescope and my homemade iPhone mount for the telescope lens and dialed it in.

The pictures I took are available here. Enjoy – as these will have to hold you until 2117.

On this Day in 1997…

It was on June 1, 1997 that I first met my first wife.  It was pouring down rain and when I first saw her, she was wearing a stripped polo shirt with overalls.  Apparently in the late 90’s overalls were all the rage but don’t feel bad, I missed that fad too.  All I knew was that chick was hot.

We met at a Christian youth camp we both worked at that summer.  My job was to hire the summer staff and so that spring I started reviewing applications.  For whatever reason the camp’s application form required applicants to submit a picture with their application, and when I opened Heather’s I fell in love.  Not only was she the perfect applicant but she was also drop dead gorgeous.  I told the staff she was hired and it was their job to help her fall madly in love with me.  For my part it was love at first sight, first site of the picture she had submitted.

For Heather’s part, she had just finished her freshman year of college and was looking to get away from home and a small camp in the middle of nowhere Indiana seemed like the best place to do it.  When she first saw me, the word “geek” flashed through her mind and the words “I’m not leaving my daughter here” flashed through my future mother in laws mind.

My heart a twitter (that meant something different back then) I set my plan in action.  I abused my authority and told folks if they wanted paid they needed to convince Heather what a great guy I was.  I event sent out reconnaissance to learn everything about her and then my master plan hit a snag.  She had a boyfriend.  Now I not only had to convince her I was awesome but that I was better than the guy she was already dating.  Thanks to some wonderful friends, the snow job of the last century began.  After a while I’m sure Heather figured out something was going on but she continued to play along nicely as my minions worked the plan.

Further intelligence revealed the boyfriend was more of a childhood friend.  They had grown up together, their families were close, so they hung out a lot, but they were not a serious couple.  Perfect.  Now it was time to make my move. 

With all the pieces in place, I knew it was time to see if the snow job had worked (and if I should pay the staff).  17 days after we met, I asked her out on a date.  To my surprise, and probably everyone else’s, she said “Yes.”  Mission accomplished.  Now everyone else was off the hook but I had to deliver on whatever truths I’m sure they told her about me.

We got to know each other pretty well that summer before she returned to college.  We both returned to the same camp the following year and on July 18, 1998 I proposed and again to everyone’s surprise she said, “Yes.”  The rest, as they say, is history.

As for that picture I first fell in love with, I stole it from her application file and put it in my wallet, where it still is today.  Ask me to see it sometime.

Local Paper Charging for Access

Every once in a while I like to tilt at a few windmills.  Sometimes I rant about the futility of Daylight Saving Time, sometimes about how I’m the only person who knows how to drive, and sometimes about politics. 

Today I’d like to surprise you with a new rant.  One that even surprised me.

I live in the thriving metropolis of Lafayette, IN.  To you it may not be much but to me it has been home for over 3 decades.  While not an exciting or sexy place, it is home and it is a solid, stable, great place to live.

While not being a huge town we are big enough to have our own TV station and our own newspaper, the Lafayette Journal and Courier.  The J&C as we call it is owned by Gannett, the same folks that bring you the USA Today.

Over the years, Lafayette has been the test market for several new Gannett products.  For instance, our paper was one of the first to change its form factor to a different, smaller, more compact size that travels and reads better.  I found this to be a great change but one that I wouldn’t take advantage of because I read the paper electronically on any number of my pieces of glass.

Their latest change is my latest obsession.  The J&C website, http://jconline.com used to be free.  Now it is only free for a limited time and then in order to consume any content you have to pay to access the site.  I know some folks who work at the paper and they tell me that Gannett is testing this out for expansion to all of their other newspaper markets by the end of the year. 

The local TV station has seized upon the irony of this and they are now running ads saying their website is “Always Connected, Always Mobile, and Always Free.”  Nice.

According to Wikipedia, “In February 2012, Gannett announced a new policy use of the Internet content provided by its newspapers.  By the end of 2012, non-subscriber access will be limited to between five and fifteen articles per month, varying by newspaper.  The USA Today website will be the only one continuing to allow unrestricted access.  Similar restrictions have previously been implemented by other major publications, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.”

Newspapers are struggling to stay relevant in a world of glass and I fully understand their argument that you aren’t paying for how you get their content (web or paper) but for the content itself.  I get that, the bigger issue though is how long can they stay relevant in a world of free news sites including our local TV station, CNN, and other news outlets that provide full access for free.  Competition from changes in technology is the biggest threat here, and they are not adapting quick enough to survive.

So you don’t like the Law

One of the things that struck me at a recent government hearing I was at is how little people know about how to influence change.  They don’t like what is allowed under the law but they also don’t know how to change the law.

The hearing I attended was for a project for the ministry where I work.  The law allows non-profit organizations, any non-profit organization to receive more favorable interest rates on financing projects through the use of tax-exempt bonds.  Granted this is a complicate process but for numerous reasons many folks were opposed to a religious non-profit group getting this kind of financing.  If I disagreed I’d go after the law however many of these folks chose to go after the organization.

One of the folks who presented against us summed it up well.  She said, “I know this is legal but I’m asking you to do the right thing and not approve the request.”  That is a contradiction in terms.  If it is legal than the right thing for elected and appointed government officials to do is to support and uphold that law, which all but one of the officials did.  Otherwise, you have the right and privilege in our country to get those laws changed.

If you don’t like the speed limits on the interstates do you attack the driver who is driving the speed limit or do you try to get the speed limit changed?  You can go after the driver but that won’t change the law.  Even after the attorney for the city presented this was a legal process approved and supported by the US Supreme Court, many who spoke decided to go after the organization as opposed to the law.

There are many laws on the books that I don’t like or agree with but I’m not going after those who are playing by the rules.  If I wanted to bring about change, I’d lobby those who make the laws to change the laws.  A concept that appears to be lost on many.

Blessing of Living Here

Today the ministry I work at went before our local government to get approval for tax-exempt bond financing for a project we want to build near Purdue University.

The details of the project are available here but the project itself isn’t the point of this post.  After spending 2.5 hours standing at West Lafayette City Hall and watching the process work it reminded me how fortunate I am to live here.  Regardless of the outcome of the approval vote today I wasn’t worried about being gunned down on the way out of the building.  I wasn’t worried about my family being persecuted for my involvement.  I wasn’t worried that my place of employment would be attacked.  I knew that whatever the outcome everyone would move forward and life would continue without issue.

I think we often times take this for granted.  We get all worked up in a situation and supporting our causes that we don’t realize how fortunate we are to be able to get worked up and passionate about supporting our causes and that we are able to communicate that passion and zeal to others in a public process.

Today was a great example of that process.  Many folks spoke, both for and against our project and no one was booed, no one was harassed, no one was laughed out of the room, even though there were a few opportunities, like the person who addressed the group and wanted to talk about global warming.  Talk about the wrong setting.

In the case today, we were able to get the approval we were seeking.  Agree or disagree with the outcome the discussion was civil and respectful.  Our freedom to express ourselves is precious and we shouldn’t take it for granted, even with those with whom we may not agree.

IT and Community Support

In March, the community of Henryville, IN was wiped out by an EF 4 tornado.  I was traveling at the time and watching the news from the Pacific Northwest and amazed at the extent of the destruction.  As I’m watching the images of devastation on TV I was also wondering what a geek like me could do to get involved.  Being a geek, I’m thinking about things like cell phone service and internet access and what my life would be like without those things.

When I returned home, I contacted our local emergency management agency, or TEMA – Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency and asked how I could get involved.  The answer surprised me.  I was thinking my involvement would help those directly impacted by the disaster.  Instead, I was asked to support those helping those directly impacted by the disaster.

During the response at Henryville, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security realized they were lacking in IT support for the responders.  They were unable to provide basic IT services so the first responders could communicate, process paperwork, manage rescue efforts, and provide assistance to those impacted.  As I continued digging I found they were unable to share a network printer so if folks had to print, and they print a lot, they had to take their laptop to a printer with a USB cable and plug in to print, sometimes waiting line.  This slowed response times and communication with those in the field.  They had everything necessary to share the printer wirelessly they just lacked someone to make it all work.

This is basic IT support, even stuff I can do so I offered my services to TEMA and said if there was a disaster deployment and they needed help I’d be happy to show up and setup their printers and do anything else they needed.  I also indicated I could probably recruit other IT folks who would be happy to serve their friends and neighbors in need.  They took me up on my offer and invited me to a statewide training exercise in Southern Indiana so I could see what this was all about and learn how I/we could play a role.

Muscatatuck Urban Training Center

Since I often get in trouble while traveling alone I took a fellow IT friend along with me.  The plan was for Joe to do all the work while I took all the credit, ended up there was plenty to do to keep us both busy once we got started.

One of the first challenges to helping out was the paperwork.  I filled out tons of forms just to volunteer.  I’ve been to the White House 3 times, 2 of those times I met the President.  It was easier for me to get access to the White House than it was for me to volunteer to serve our state during a time of disaster.  I’ll explain how this will pay off for everyone later.

The second challenge was knowing what to do.  When we arrived, there wasn’t any one person to tell us what they needed.  We had to take initiative and setup things we knew would help everyone out.  This is where IT folks can really improve things as we know what’s possible and we know how to make that happen.  Once we started, it wasn’t long before everyone was asking for our help and even tracking us down so we could not only help our district but others.  Indiana is divided up into multiple Department of Homeland Security districts and each district is responsible for their own IT support.  More on that later too.

We also found that our district was well equipped with gear but not well equipped on how to use it.  They had a satellite internet provider and an access point that could broadcast for 3 miles.  We discovered it barely broadcasted 3 feet so we fixed it.  We also discovered that our district had an unactivated AT&T micro cell.  We worked to activate it to improve communications.  The training center was pretty isolated so we needed all the communications help we could get.  Besides, I needed to keep on top of Twitter.

While this may have been a drill, I found many ways where IT folks could quickly and easily serve their communities in a time of need. 

So my question to you is how would you like to be involved?  Here are some details.

1. The paperwork is done.  The training exercise required more paperwork than an actual disaster as each person participating in the drill had to have credentials to access the base.  In the event of a real emergency, you would be added to a list of folks allowed into the command center.  Once there you would just identify yourself as IT support from Jonathan Smith at District 4 and get to work.  If a security perimeter has been setup your state issued ID will get you in.
2. Each district in our state has its own strengths and weakness.  As a result, the state is encouraging them to share resources, including things like IT.  So instead of IT being something owned by each district it would be a shared resource.  This means you could help any district out regardless of where you live.
3. Be prepared for some rough accommodations.  For the training exercises, we stayed in a hotel.  Were this a real emergency like Henryville we would have slept in tents or stayed wherever available.
4. This won’t cost you anything.  Even though you are volunteering all costs associated with your travel, meals, and accommodations would be reimbursed. 

If you would be interested in helping please let me know.  I’m creating a list of IT pros from our state or neighboring states that would be available to help.  When there is an emergency, I would be notified by either our district or the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.  I would then communicate with our volunteer group and coordinate getting IT support on site as quickly as possible.  It may not always be me, Henryville happened while I was in Seattle but had we been organized we could have quickly sent folks there that live closer to Henryville than I do and helped serve the first responders and victims.

Pictures from my time at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center are available here on my Facebook page.

If you have questions or comments please post them here for all to see.  I’ll respond as best I can.  My dream would be to have IT pros within an hour’s drive of any site in Indiana so when the next Henryville hits we can quickly respond with top quality IT support and show our community that IT folks aren’t just interested in control and power but are willing and able to empower and equip those on the front lines, in some cases literally saving lives.

Thanks for your consideration.

Email from my Boss

Here’s a little peak into my life.  I work for our Senior Pastor.  He likes to think of himself as a savvy tech person despite being just the opposite.  He emailed me recently needing a multi-function printer/copier/scanner/fax device for home.  I recommended one to him and let him know that my dad and granddad bought the same model and were able to set it up without my help. 

He bought one and then sent the tech team the email below.  This email is equivalent to me going to a heart surgeon bursting with pride that I was able to put a Band-Aid on a cut.  Enjoy.

---

Guys,

By now you've probably heard (I assume this was on CNN) that I successfully installed a device at my house today capable of copying, scanning, printing, and faxing. No kidding--I've been doing all of that and more all day.

2 things I want you to know:

1. Please don't hesitate to ask me any tech question if you come up against a challenge that's too hard for you. We can do it quietly--I wouldn't make a big deal out of it or anything.

2. I don't want this to be a threat to your positions. You guys are still useful for some of the less complex tech issues--so all is well.

Have a pleasant afternoon.

Sent from my iPhone

Yes, I'm Still Here

I know I haven't posted much here lately, I find it easier to write in shorter, 140 character segments and only use blogging for longer posts.  However with the increased limit to Facebook and the unlimited limit of Google+ the need to use a blog for longer posts is not as great.

That said I do intend to spend some more time here next year.  I need to find a better way to link the longer posts of Facebook and Google+ with my blog so I'm not posting the same thing multiple places.

I have linked my blog to my Google+ profile so we will see where that takes us. I also need to figure out how to better tie this to Facebook and Twitter. Folks interact differently online so providing a seamless content approach to multiple platforms improves the interaction I can have with folks online, I just haven't figured a lot of that out in relation to my blog.

I'm also working on updating my layout using Dynamic Views and some other cool new Blogger features.  It will also be interesting to see how linking my Blogger account with Google+ provides features to make the content experience richer.

See you in 2012.

Another Daylight Saving Transition

Here I sit again on the eve of another Daylight Saving Time change having just wandered the house updating the clocks that aren’t smart enough to update themselves.  So between now and 2am some of the clocks are already set to the non-DST time while other clocks are set to the actual real time making the next moment of consciousness completely insane.

I’m constantly amazed at the misinformation surrounding Daylight Saving and why it exists.  First of all, there is no ‘s’ on the end of Saving.  It is not plural.  It is Daylight Saving Time, no ‘s’ but most folks, including those in the media, call it Daylight Savings Time perpetuating the misinformation.

The reasons for DST are also not cut and dry.  It isn’t for the school kids nor is it for the farmers.  The reasons and misguided perceptions that led us down the DST path are well defined in 2 books. Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time and Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time are both excellent reads and do a great job clearing up the mystery.

My passion against DST began years ago when our governor wanted our state to begin observing DST.  I’ve lived in Indiana for most of my life and our great state for the most part didn’t bother to observe the non-sense.  Some of the counties up by Chicago and some down near Cincinnati did to try to make things easier for their residents but for the most part most of Indiana stayed on the same time year round.  Working in IT this made things easy, as our clocks didn’t have to be changed twice a year.

At hand was the issue of confusion, as no one knew what time it was during what part of the year in what part of our state.  To make it easier our governor pushed for the entire state to be on DST so at least you knew what time it was where as it was the same year round.  Our state is still split with the counties by Chicago observing Central time while the rest of the state observes Eastern Time but at least it was consistent.

I personally met with our governor and several of our local legislators to express my objections to DST however, despite my best efforts in April of 2006 DST was turned on for Indiana.  This provided numerous technical challenges with scheduling systems and other calendar based databases that were not coded to observe DST so a lot of work had to be done to make things work, which is one of the key reasons I opposed it.

Then to add insult to injury the federal government extended the DST observation period by 4 weeks starting in 2007 so we had to make it all work one way in 2006 and then change it up again for the extended dates in 2007 doubling my disdain for DST.

So as we sit on this eve where I wonder what time it really is I hope you have enjoyed this reflection of how we got here.  Additional posts pertaining to this crazinessare available here.

I hope you have enjoyed fooling yourselves regarding what time it is as much as I have.

Until the second Sunday of March………

iPhone 4S Battery Life

A quick search of the internet reveals no shortage of people expressing dismay with the battery life of their new iPhone 4S devices running iOS 5.  I too have joined the fray and expressed some frustrations with the lack of battery life of the 4S.

My iPhone 4 had tremendous battery life.  My typical iPhone day starts when I take it off my bed side charger between 7 and 8am and ends around midnight.  My iPhone 4 would typically be around 70% with normal usage at the end of the day.  The only times I really ran my batter down to the 30% range was when traveling and off WiFi and uploading a lot of pictures using spotty 3G service.  Otherwise the battery life was outstanding.

My 4S however is usually around 25% when I end a normal day - a huge drop in performance and no where near what Apple promised.  If I have any variables now to my normal daily schedule my battery buffer is only 25% before I run out of power.  

One of the things I've always held of my Android friends is that my iPhone battery lasted a long time and they all would agree the iPhone had the better battery, that is until the 4S.

I've invested fair bit of time trying to figure this out but have determined there isn't anything I can do.  I've experimented with all sorts of configurations and with no luck.  So here's what I suggest you do if you too have a 4S and the battery life is disappointing.

1. Stop wasting time on it.  Just use the phone and stop tweaking the settings in a futile attempt to resolve the problem.  There are too many variables and current evidence suggests it isn't your issue anyway.  You probably have it configured fine, just like you are probably holding it fine too.
2. You are not alone, if you do find someone who posts their 4S has the same battery performance as their old 4 did please let me know.
3. For most of us the battery does last the entire day and for me that lets me get my stuff done.  It is just frustrating that compared to what we had before the latest and greatest appears to be under performing.
4. Turning things off will eventually turn the iPhone into an iPod.  I'm going to use the phone and the features I bought it for and until this gets fixed keep a charger handy.
5. My iPad is also running iOS 5 and while it's battery life appears affected too it is not as great.  Typically I can get several hours of use out of my iPad on the previous iOS version and only drop around 15%.  Now I'm dropping around 30% but the iPad holds it battery life better when in standby then the iPhone does.

While I don't like this I intend to be patient and wait this one out, with a charger close by.  My guess is the engineers at Apple, who are much smarter than I am, will figure something out and resolve this problem soon enough for us all to go back to bragging to our Android friends that we again have superior battery life and superior devices.  Until then welcome to the bleeding edge of technology.

iCloud Exemplifies Technology Short Comings

I’m a firm believer that technology should be designed to make our lives better and easier, not more complicated.  With the release if iCloud last week I’ve been working hard to figure out how it can help improve my personal use of technology but also be used in our enterprise.

Anytime I can use technology to automatically keep all my access point current then I consider it a win.  For example, we have an Exchange server, which allows me to keep my email, contacts, calendar, and tasks updated and automatically synced between all my access devices.  For me that is an iPhone, iPad, laptop, and desktop.

One issue has been bookmarks.  I like to keep my bookmarks synced between my devices so if I need to remote into an appliance on the network I can do that easily without having to remember an IP address.  I used to do this using Live Mesh however that only did my laptop and my desktop.  Live Mesh also failed when we started redirecting profiles for Windows 7 users, which included Favorites.  Live Mesh is not able to sync a redirected folder or any network based folder so it broke and stopped working.

I was hoping iCloud would be the solution to my problem but it isn’t, as iCloud also can’t sync to files on a network, which would include any folders you redirect.

I think this is a major failure of technology companies.  The argument is probably that these features are for home users to keep things in sync and not for those of us who use technology both at home and at work.  How short sighted can you get?  I’m sure I’m not the only person on the planet who thinks using iCloud to keep my bookmarks in sync between multiple devices, including those on an enterprise network they may have redirected folders and network based storage is a good idea.  Why cut your market share in half here when from a purely technology perspective how hard can it be?

My work around to being able to use iCloud at work was to ask our IT guy (me) to exempt my profile from redirecting the Favorites folder.  That allowed iCloud to work and work beautifully – much better even than Live Mesh ever did.  Live Mesh would replicate files but you lost icons and sorts.  iCloud perfectly mirrors what you have including custom sorts and icons.  I was able to exempt my policy through a little GPO magic which would allow me, if I was so included, to provide this same service for others who might want to sync their Favorites between their work machine, home machine, and iDevices.

I also did an extensive internet search to see if anyone else was having this issue and to my knowledge, I’m the first person to post that:

1.  iCloud will not work with redirected folder.  Period.
2.  iCloud syncs better than Live Mesh.
3.  GPO can be used to allow users to work around this limitation while still maintaining a backup of their Favorites using roaming profiles.

Maybe the genius’ at Microsoft or Apple will catch wind of this and figure out a way to open up their sync applications to work both on and off corporate networks thus helping even more people to enjoy their products.  Why make technology harder than it has to be.

The Island of Google+

Well, here we are still marooned on this island. I'm ready to take the next boat out of here. Google+ usage is plummeting and Google has even admitted unless they get some sort of integration running then time is running out on this service.

People don't want 3 platforms to manage. Facebook and Twitter at least have their own built in levels of integration and if you don't like that then there are lots of apps that can help you post to both and manage both. Google+ has none of the above relagating them to mostly uselessness.

An interesting survey was taken at a NASA HQ Tweetup I was at on Thursday. Over 75% of the room said they use Google+ but almost 100% of those who said they use it said they didn't like it because it was all by itself.

If Google doesn't get with it quickly Google+ will become the next abandoned internet playground. MySpace anyone?

HootSuite’s Achilles’ Heel

At long last, I have finally figured out why I can’t post to Facebook reliably from HootSuite. It took some doing to figure that out. You can read about it here, be sure to view the comments as HootSuite responded multiple times to my post about this issue.

HootSuite is a cloud-based service meaning the software and processes happen on their servers. This is one of their selling points because you don’t have to install the software on every machine but can access the software and data through the internet. The one catch is the software doesn’t update the data. If you make a change to your streams on your iPhone, those changes are not automatically reflected in your other apps or platforms. Perhaps they will get there someday.

The issue with this approach in regards to Facebook, as pointed out in the comments from my last post on this is that all traffic goes through HootSuite’s servers and is viewed by Facebook as a single connection. As a result, if there is too much traffic going to Facebook then users are blocked.

Here is what HootSuite posted on my previous blog post:

When people communicate through HootSuite to Facebook, they're going through a centralized server that parses the API calls. If Facebook hits a certain limit (we don't know what this limit is) from a certain profile, they will hit "the wall" so to speak -- and will be unable to send messages to Facebook until a certain time.

When people install a client like TweetDeck on their computer, they're not going through a centralized server. Rather, their computer is communicating directly with Facebook's API. To be frank, they still are being ratelimited, but the results may be skewed due to not communicating through a centralized server.

The advantage of parsing through a centralized server is that, no matter where you are in the world, you can log into HootSuite and know that the same messages you have scheduled will be visible in your Publisher queue. Hence, there is no need to install HootSuite on multiple machines since HootSuite is a service that is offered "in the cloud".

That isn’t well documented anywhere that I can find on HootSuite’s support and help sites.

To me this is a major issue as my reliability of use is directly affected by how much all the other users are posting.

I can think of several programming fixes that would address this and I hope HootSuite spends some time figuring it out. Until they do, I will still have to use TweetDeck as a backup for when I’m limited in posting to Facebook through no fault of my own.

HootSuite Support Issues

I recently posted a comparison of TweetDeck vs HootSuite.  Here is an update to that post.

I've been having issues with posting to Facebook multiple times from HootSuite.  As you know I tend to post a lot when I'm at various events.  A few weeks ago I was at the launch of the GRAIL space craft at Kennedy Space Center.  I was posting a lot and kept getting errors when posting to Facebook from HootSuite.  I could post to Twitter fine but not to Facebook.  It appeared that Facebook would only allow me to post so many times in a row and then it would block me for a certain period of time.

I only had this issue with HootSuite.  From TweetDeck I was able to post to both Twitter and Facebook as many times as I wanted in as short a period of time as I wanted without issue.

I'm a HootSuite Pro user due to the number of accounts I manage so I'm paying for this service.  That also means I get support.  They closed my first ticket on this issue without a resolution so I opened it up again.  Below is what they said.  They basically repeated themselves and said it isn't there fault despite the fact that this only happens with their app.

In the mean time when I'm doing a lot of posting, as I will be doing next week at the White House, Capitol Hill and NASA HQ I will probably have to use TweetDeck so that I can post without getting blocked.

Thoughts?

---

Support Ranger, Oct-07 10:49 (PDT):

Hi Jonathan,
We do know that this is a result of Facebook's rate limiting. At the moment, we do not know what the exact amount of posts that triggers the rate limiting, but we do know this occurs. Do note that the rate limiting is not result of using HootSuite, but it is a result of sending a certain amount of messages to your Facebook profile.
As Facebook's API is not something HootSuite controls, we can not adjust the amount of messages you are able to send within a certain period of time.
At this time we suggest that you reduce the amount of Facebook messages you send out in a given period of time, and space out these posts in longer increments.
Thank you for using HootSuite,
IB

---

Jonathan Smith, Oct-05 17:21 (PDT):

Thanks for the response and confirmation that Facebook has a limit but isn't public about what triggers it. That is very helpful.
However that doesn't explain why HootSuite gets blocked but I can switch over to TweetDeck and get my messages to go through just fine. If Facebook has a limit I would think it would apply to all apps using the API and not just to HootSuite so once my account was blocked from posting via HootSuite that same block should apply to TweetDeck if it is a function of the API. I have never had an issue posting in rapid fire fashion via TweetDeck.
Again, I appreicate your response and that does help but in some ways it creates more questions than it solves. Does TweetDeck us a different API that is not limited?

---

Support Captain, Oct-05 16:55 (PDT):

Howdy!
Facebook does rate limit the amount of posts you are able to send during the day. At the moment, we do not know what the exact amount of posts that triggers the rate limiting, but we do know this occurs. Do note that the rate limiting is not result of using HootSuite, but it is a result of sending a certain amount of messages to your Facebook profile.
If you would like Facebook to give you further insight into this matter, please visit Facebook Help Center:
http://facebook.com/help
Do note that because HootSuite does not build Facebook's API, we can only provide service as is.
Thank for using HootSuite!

---

Jonathan Smith, Oct-05 16:38 (PDT):

It doesn't appear that I'm communicating effectively as I've answered all these questions before. Let me try to sum up what I've already said in the tickets.
1. I can post to Facebook, it just stops working when I post 3 or 4 times in a row and then I have to wait an unspecified amount of time before I can post again. So when I travel and am posting frequently it fails for periods of time after 3-4 posts in a row, within a minute of each other. To get around this I have to use TweetDeck which allows me to post over and over again with out issue.
2. The error message is just a red bar that says Trouble Sending to Social Network. When I send to Twitter it always works but when I send too many times in a row to Facebook I get this. After waiting for an unspecified amount of time it lets me do it again but after a few in a row it stops. The only error message is Trouble Sending to Social Network, no details or anything.
3. It seems to me as though HootSuite has a limit on the number of times you can post to Facebook within a time period and once that is violated it makes you wait for an amount of time before you can post again.
4. On a normal day I post to Facebook 8-10 times but they are not in a row. When traveling and at events i'm covering I'll post back to back to back posts and that is where the problem appears.
5. I have done everything asked of me in the tickets to try to solve this. I believe this to be a HootSuite problem that needs corrected. Resetting my account yet again or disconnecting from Facebook and reconnecting yet again won't solve this as I've done that and the problem keeps happening. Facebook states they have no limits that would cause this and I should check with my vendor.
I apologize for being so blunt but I hope you can understand my frustration - especially when the ticket is marked closed and no solution has been provided.

---

Support Ranger, Oct-05 12:29 (PDT):

Hi Jonathan,
Are you still unable to post to your Facebook account?
Are you seeing any error messages in your Facebook Pending stream? Are you seeing any red messages at the Past Scheduled section of Publisher? If a message has not been sent, there should an explanation in both views for why this is the case.
Thank you in advance.
IB

---

Jonathan Smith, Oct-05 12:18 (PDT):

This reqeust was closed but I don't see any reason why it was closed. I have not had the problem lately as I haven't been posting as much however next week I'll be traveling again and posting a lot so I need to know that my paid HootSuite app is going to work and reliably post to both Twitter and Facebook every time. Otherwise I'm going to consider cancelling my paid account and using TweetDeck. Even though it is lacking in featurs it relaibly allows me to post to both Twitter and Facebook all the time regardless of how many posts I make.
It is a bit frustrating that I did everything you reqeusted, no resolution was made available, and yet the ticket was closed.

A TSA Experiment

Next week I’m going to try an experiment with the TSA at the Indianapolis International Airport. I travel frequently and as you know from reading this blog, I’ve had many unique experiences with the TSA.

I’m traveling to Washington, D.C. for 3 events. First, I’m attending a Tweetup at the White House for the arrival ceremony for the President of South Korea. South Korea is the most wired and connected country in the world. I’m looking forward to learning about how other cultures connect via Social Media. Attending the arrival ceremony on the South Lawn will also be cool.

Second, and my dad will be joining me at this part of the day, we are meeting with Senator Coat’s office from Indiana for a tour of the Capitol and gallery access to watch both the House and the Senate in action.

Finally, our day ends with a NASA Tweetup event at NASA Headquarters with the crew of STS-135, the final shuttle mission. I saw STS-135 launch and am looking forward to meeting the crew.

One of the biggest hassles with traveling is taking my pocketknife with me, especially as I rarely check a bag. I feel lost without my Leatherman Micra. I’ve even had to mail it to myself a few times but for the last 15 years I’ve been able to hold on to the same one. The Micra can’t travel on planes because it has a small knife blade.


Leatherman Style PS

The good folks at Leatherman make a TSA approved device, the Style PS. My dad, who you can follow on Twitter @4faraday found this and suggested I get one since I fly frequently. 

When we found out we were going to DC together he suggested I buy one. If I can get it through the TSA then he will buy one. If it is confiscated then he will buy me another one. Deal and game on.

So, next week I will be taking this device through the TSA checkpoints at IND and then again at DCA on the way home. According to the online reviews, folks are able to get this device through as it is fully compliant with TSA requirements – to see how my luck works out be sure to subscribe to this blog.

I haven’t decided if I’m going to just put it in my bag and see if it is flagged and examined or if I’m going to put it in a bin on its own to see if the TSA is familiar with it. As a backup, I do plan to have the website printed out to show them should any issues arise. Part of me hopes I don’t have to use the print out, part of me does. Stay tuned.

Invited to the White House

This is what I got in the mail today.

South Korea is the most wired country in the world.  On a per capita basis they have more people connected to the web and more users of social media than any other country.  Instead of a White House they have a Blue House which uses social media progressively to communicate with their people.  

I'm looking forward to this unique opportunity to learn more about how another culture uses social media.

TweetDeck vs. HootSuite

There is no doubt that social media is now ingrained in our lives, much in the same way that email has become as common as the telephone. The one thing that has not become common is how we interact with the various social media platforms.  

With email, there are common apps that allow us to manage different email providers all through a single portal. Social media has yet to come up with a solid, single portal. Most social media providers want you to use their website or their own specific app to access their social media platform. There is little collaboration to make it easy for their end users.

I know I’m not the only one who uses both Twitter and Facebook. I enjoy using both since each provides a different way to communicate but I don’t want to have to visit multiple website or use multiple applications between multiple devices in order to manage these services. This gets more complicated when you add additional social network like Google+, Foursquare, etc. 

In an attempt to be more efficient I have tried many program and for many years I settled on using TweetDeck, a free app that works with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and more. However, TweetDeck was lacking in features that other programs were providing and making available on multiple platforms. In addition, the acquisition of TweetDeck by Twitter, which has publicly said it is trying to limit the ecosystem, meant the multi social network support in TweetDeck probably wasn’t going to continue.

As a result, I started checking around for another platform. After all, how hard should it be for a software provider to be able to create software that will allow me to reliably post to Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and any other social network that comes along and also provides the latest features so that I don’t have to bounce from one app to another and post the same things multiple times?

Surprisingly enough, it is much harder than you think. I’ve found many feature comparison posts helpful so here is my feature comparison post between TweetDeck and HootSuite. As additional points of comparisons come up, I’ll do my best to update this post. These are in no particular order.

Platform Support

TweetDeck

• They have an Adobe Air app for Windows desktops and a Chrome app.

• An android app.

• Earlier this year they released v2.0 of their iPhone app calling it a completely new app. I believe that it is a new app however; they left out a lot of features from the old app.

• They also used to have an iPad app however, it wasn’t very good, and recently TweetDeck removed any references to it from their website. Their site used to say coming soon but even that has been pulled.

• One of my biggest reasons for needing a new platform was the lack of iPad support. Running the iPhone app in 2x mode stinks and in an attempt to use my laptop less and my iPad more I needed a Twitter/Facebook app built for the iPad.

• TweetDeck has also had other browser-based apps in “coming soon” mode for many months. TweetDeck seems long on promises and short on delivery.

• I don’t see that trend improving now that they are owned by Twitter. TweetDeck feature and upgrades have also been very slow since they were purchased by Twitter, which makes me wonder what they are doing to the program, like removing Facebook support.

HootSuite

• They have a full blown browser app

• An Android app

• A Chrome app

• A native iPhone app

• A native iPad app

• Updates are also fairly regular.

Sync Between Apps and Platforms

TweetDeck

• Provides central account on their servers that store columns and searches. You access this by logging into the app. Changes made on one are not updated on the other.

• Does not sync anything else.

• You can sync read/unread tweets, application settings, etc. if you use a program like DropBox or Windows Live to copy the application settings folder between computers but it does not sync any of this on its own. It only stores columns.

HootSuite

• Syncing isn’t great here either. They provide a central account that syncs columns and searches as well but it also does not update between apps. If you add a social network on your iPhone, it won’t appear on your iPad unless you add it manually.

• Does not sync anything else.

• Program settings do sync between some apps. For example, the Chrome app to Chrome app will sync settings between computers but changes are not replicated between an iPhone and an iPad.

• Read/unread tweets do not sync and there is no ability to copy settings using DropBox, as the data folders are not stored like TweetDeck.

• There is a radical way to make update changes from one device to another. If you add your Foursquare account to your desktop, you can add it to your iPhone by logging out of your iPhone and then logging back in again. This resets all your feeds by pulling them down again from the HootSuite server. Why they can’t do this live I don’t know but this does work provided you do it in the right sequence.

It is a bit baffling to me that both these programs provide the ability to replicate and store some of your settings on their servers but they don’t provide any replication of your full account. Email has evolved to the point where settings and changes, folders, read/unread all replicate between clients and platforms. I wonder how long it will be before social media apps evolve to the same point.

URL Shorteners

TweetDeck

• Provides many different choices however, these choices may be narrowed down to only using the new Twitter shortener.

HootSuite

• You can only use their built in shorteners.

Pictures

TweetDeck

• Allows you to use many different image services including YFrog and TwitPic. This may change now that they are a part of Twitter and Twitter has recently rolled out their own image service.

• Posts pictures to Facebook gallery as opposed to wall called Mobile TweetDeck uploads. This is also better than just posting the text of the shortened link which forces Facebook users to click on it to see it.

• One benefit is TweetDeck can do both at the same time, which is very helpful from a mobile phone. You upload the image and select Twitter and Facebook and it does the rest however, this only works on the old version of TweetDeck for iPhone. The new version removed this feature and only posts the text of the shortened URL to the Facebook page.

HootSuite

• Only allows you to post images via the HootSuite system, there are no other options available.

• Post pictures to Facebook as wall images so the image is visible on your wall as part of your wall album as opposed to being in another album. Very nice for your users as they can preview the images without going away from your wall provided you post with previews turned on. If you turn them off then it only posts the text of the shortened link.

• This feature works very well on all the apps and platforms.

The problem I have with this is that I have been using TwitPic for years so I have a lot of pictures there. Switching to HootSuite for pictures would mean starting over. In addition, I use the TwitPic gadget on my blog so thumbnails of my pictures appear on my website. HootSuite has no such gadget.

Downloading Tweets

TweetDeck

• Desktop runs off Twitter’s live mode, which provides updates as they happen in the live stream. You can customize the settings to slow it down if you want on the desktop app.

• The iPhone app updates live as well so you are always current.

HootSuite

• None of the apps run in live mode. The desktop app will only update at preset intervals with the fastest being 2 minutes. You can manually force updates but it does not run live.

• The iPhone app only updates manually, you have to pull down each stream to get them to update.

• The iPad app updates similar to the desktop app.

• Regardless of what app or platform you use HootSuite does not update automatically or provide real-time access like TweetDeck does.

Scheduling

TweetDeck

• Provides the ability to schedule posts but only through the desktop apps – they keep promising it will be expanded but as of yet that is just another promise.

HootSuite

• Provides the ability to schedule posts on all apps and all platforms.

Twitter Lists

TweetDeck

• Provides a great integration and use of Twitter lists however, when too many lists are in use the apps all become unstable.

• Only limitation is you can’t add those you follow to lists from the apps.

HootSuite

• Provides a great integration and use of Twitter lists and is stable regardless of how many you use.

• The organization also is better in terms of how the lists of access.

• You also have the ability to add and remove people from your lists.

• The only drawback, which only affects the desktop apps, is that you can’t add someone to a list unless you have the list in a stream. The iPhone and iPad apps don’t have this problem.

Cost

TweetDeck

• Free, however they have stated ads are coming soon.

HootSuite

• Free for up to 5 accounts. They state you will get ads but I haven’t seen any.

• There is a $5.99 monthly fee if you need more than 5 accounts.

• The downside is they charge you monthly; you can’t pay for a year at a time, which adds to the old paperwork.

Misc. Items

TweetDeck

• Stays open all the time, never goes to sleep.

• Uses more system resources.

• Can delete any tweet you post.

• Easy to report spam and block users.

HootSuite

• Goes to sleep and has to be woke up so there aren’t any notifications when the apps goes to sleep.

• Uses less system resources.

• Can only delete your DM’s, can’t delete anything else from within the app.

• Harder to report spam and block users.

For me and how I function, I ended up going primarily with HootSuite. I needed an app that worked well on my laptop, my desktop, my iPhone, and my iPad and provided similar features between them all. HootSuite also seems to be more forward thinking. They have already said they will incorporate Google+ while TweetDeck has said they have no plans to build in Google+.

However, I still end up using TweetDeck from time-to-time. I have an open ticket with HootSuite now regarding some issues posting to Facebook, as it appears there is a limit to how many times you can post to Facebook in a specific time period. I’ve also had some issues with the iDevice apps not working when I switch between wireless networks.

I also continue to use TweetDeck to post pictures from my iPhone so I can continue using TwitPic as I haven’t decided if I want to leave TwitPic and start over using HootSuite’s image system.

As you can see, there is no perfect solution here. I think HootSuite is better and is going to try to stay there while TweetDeck’s future will be determined by Twitter.

I look forward to the day when social media clients are as robust and universal as email clients do. For now, we have to make do.

This list was compiled over several months and parts of it may be outdated before this post can be updated.

Hummingbirds and Tweets

Every once in a while a hummingbird flies into your garage and you don’t know what to do about it. Ever been there? Tonight I was there. My wife got home and left the garage door up for me. When I pulled in there was a hummingbird flying around between the lights.

Unfortunately, the bird would not fly down lower and out the doors as he was hugging the ceiling. I tried using a broom and even a wide shovel to guide the bird down but I was not able to get them over the bird as it just kept flying up against the ceiling.

So I turned to a solid source of knowledge, the Twittersphere and asked the tweeps what one does when one has a hummingbird in the garage. The first suggestion was to set a large red bowl full of sugar water on the floor of the garage near the door. An hour later, the bird was still in the garage.

The second suggestion was to close all the doors, turn off all the lights, and leave the bird in the dark for about 20 minutes. Then I opened the doors and hoped the bird would fly towards the light. At first I didn’t think it worked as I didn’t see the bird fly out but after about 5 minutes of the door being opened and me not watching from the driveway the bird fled.

So if it hadn’t been for Twitter the hummingbird might still be in my garage. What problem will I encounter next that Twitter is able to solve? Stay tuned.

NASA GRAIL Tweetup Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: JONATHAN SMITH
jsmith@faithlafayette.org
@JonathanESmith

MEDIA RELEASE

Lafayette, IN Resident is One of 150 Selected to Attend NASA Tweetup for Launch of Twin Lunar-Bound GRAIL Spacecraft Sept. 7 - 8, 2011

NASA Twitter Followers Will Tweet from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Lafayette, IN August 29, 2011 - NASA will bring together 150 Twitter followers to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for a two-day Tweetup, Sept. 7 - 8, 2011, for the launch of twin lunar-bound Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Lafayette, IN resident Jonathan Smith has been selected as one of 150 @NASA Twitter followers to attend and Tweet the event. The launch window opens at 8:37 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 8. The two GRAIL spacecraft will measure the moon’s gravity field from its crust to core and provide scientists with a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

As a NASA Tweetup attendee, Smith and the other 149 Twitter users will interact with engineers and scientists from GRAIL and other upcoming NASA missions as well as tour the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. If all goes as scheduled, participants will view the spacecraft launch. In addition, the Tweetup will allow participants to meet other tweeps and members of NASA’s social media team. Attendees were selected through a lottery system in which more than 825 @NASA Twitter followers registered.

“NASA provides a tremendous opportunity to learn about our nation’s Space Program and see a rocket launch up close and personal.” Smith said, “Very few people are allowed this level of access to NASA facilities.”

Smith is the Director of Technology at Faith Ministries in Lafayette, IN and an avid space follower. He has attended several Tweetups including STS-132 and Pilot Day 2011 at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. As a result of attending the STS-132 launch tweetup Smith traveled to Florida and saw the final 3 launches of the shuttle program. Follow his tweets at twitter.com/jonathanesmith.

NASA Tweetup participants are traveling from across the United States and the globe to attend. View the list of list of registered attendees on the NASA Tweetup Twitter account: http://twitter.com/NASATweetup/grail-launch

NASA held its first Tweetup on Jan. 21, 2009, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. NASA’s Tweetup Twitter account is http://twitter.com/NASATweetup and participants will be using #NASATweetup in their updates while tweeting. Information about NASA Tweetup can be viewed on http://www.nasa.gov/tweetup .

About the GRAIL Mission
The two GRAIL spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field from crust to core. The mission will answer longstanding questions about Earth’s moon and provide scientists with a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

GRAIL's lift off is the third of four space missions launching this year under the management of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Aquarius launched June 10 to study ocean salinity; Juno will launched Aug. 5 to study the origins and interior of Jupiter; and the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity rover heads to the Red Planet no earlier than Nov. 25. Visit http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/grail for additional information about GRAIL.