June 20th, from 1:00 – 4:30
University of Minnesota, Science Teaching & Student Services (STSS) Building
Room 412
Register now!

This event will look at re-engineering the classroom to harness the power of digital technologies. How can we customize learning to meet the needs of each student? Technology tools, teaching innovation, and new ways of organizing learning may provide the answer. Join us to hear from national experts on technology-enhanced customized learning.

Featuring

• Jennie Magiera, a 4th-5th grade math teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. Jennie began implementing a 1:1 iPad technology grant. She was also named a Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction in 2008, Apple Distinguished Educator and this January she was named the Chicago Public School’s Tech Innovator of the Year.
• Dominick D’Angelo, Principal of I.S. 228 in New York, has a strong focus on mathematics and technology. In 2010 the school began the School of One program for mathematics. The School of One seeks to customize learning to each child and is housed in its own dedicated section of the school, where instruction takes place in large, interconnected classrooms.

Don’t wait until the event to get the conversation going.  Join the virtual Education Innovation Gathering on InCommons to discuss and share information on the topic, access relevant videos, documents, links to related organizations and resources. Create a profile or log in through Facebook.

We’ll be hearing from Beth Quist, Executive Director of the Working Family Resource Center. She will tell us about Working Family Resource Center, an organization dedicated to strengthening individuals, families and communities by providing resources to support individuals as they manage the often competing demands of work and family.

Here are the details:

Time: May 22, 2012 from 12pm to 1pm
Location: Online
Join: https://blandinfoundation.ilinc.com/join/rbvfcfs Primary Dial-In: 1-866-910-4857 Passcode: 361345

• The focus is on consumer savings, jobs and economic development
• The FCC is aware that changing funding mechanisms presents issues for incumbents and other businesses. That’s why they are trying a gradual approach. But there are winners and losers (although who they are depends on who you ask).
• The last chapter of FCC has yet to be written and that’s making it difficult for businesses to plan
• There is still a focus on the US and comparing Minnesota to other states. Folks weren’t asking a lot about international perspective.
• Privacy was one issue where international perspective came up. The EU and other areas puts a premium on privacy; the US does not.
• Minnesota is unique in that broadband has become a county-level issue.

Full Notes…

Broadband Perspectives from the Dayton Administration

Members of Governor Dayton’s Sub-Cabinet on Telecommunications will discuss the creation of the Sub-Cabinet, the goals of the Sub-Cabinet and the goals of their respective Departments.

Commissioner Rothman – Dep of Commerce

Top goals for Governor

• Job creation
• Border to border broadband

We have regulatory job at Dep:

• Wireless
• Cable
• Telecommunications

We think this is critical:

• Monitor broadband development across MN
• Issues in Aug
  • Task Force – charged with doing analysis and comprehensive action plan by end of this year.
  • Establish a subcabinet: Rothman, Phillips & Parnell
  • Created a BB development office in Commerce

We have high goals for Minnesota. We need everyone to work together.

Commissioner Phillips – DEED

Lots of studies that indicate that communities with broadband have an economic development advantage. We work with site selectors. Broadband is now lumped in with common infrastructure such as sewer.

• California did a study saw 6 percent advantage for areas with broadband.
• Dep of Commerce found that broadband was an advantage to businesses especially for IT
• Online sales is $6.2 billion industry
• Broadband is a great equalizer especially for rural areas.

ARRA Investments

• 18 programs received $229 million in MN
• We’re going to need to see more programs like this
• We’re going to need to get creative.
• We’ll have to consider options – maybe FTTH doesn’t make sense.

QUESTIONS – none

Practice Perspectives from the Federal Communications Commission
Hear an insider’s perspective on the practice before the FCC.
– Joseph Cavender

Practice Perspectives from the FCC – Joseph Cavender

USF supports 4 areas:

1. High Cost
2. Low Income (Lifeline/Link Up)
3. Schools & Libraries (E-Rate)
4. Rural Health Care

Why reform?

System was designed to support PSTN – not broadband networks. Led to waste and inefficiency. Caused disputes and left hidden costs to consumers.

Objectives:

• Advance universal service
• Fiscal responsibility
• Business realities

Policy Innovations:

• No subsidy for areas served by unsubsidized competitor
• Dedicated support for high cost areas
• Dedicated support for mobile service
• Competitive bidding (reverse auctions) for the first time to award universal service support
• Explicit accountable public interest obligations
• Budget for CAF support

Connect American Fun $4.5 billion annual budget

1. Remote Areas Fund
2. Fixed Locations
   1. CAF Phone I in Price Cap areas
   2. CAF Phase II in Price Cap areas
   3. Rate of Return carriers
   4. Mobility Fund
      1. Phase I (including tribal areas
      2. Phase II (exclusively tribal)
      3. ICC Recovery

CAF I

• Existing legacy high-cost support to price cap carriers is frozen
• Additional $300 million in CAF funding in 2012
• Carriers have 90 days to accept funding; carriers electing to receive Phase I incremental support will be required to deploy broadband to 1 unserved location for each $775 in support accepted

CAF II

• No support for
  • Areas with unsubsidized competitor
  • Low cost areas
  • Extremely high cost areas
  • Incumbent price cap carriers may receive support if they commit to serve support locations within their service territories

Rate of Return Carriers

• Support continued broadband investment, while increasing accountability and incentives for efficient use of public resources
• Think 500 carriers will see increased support
• Reducing support artificially low consumer rates – may have an impact on rural areas that charge low costs

For Mobile Carriers

• For first time Commission recognizes mobile voice and broadband service as an independent goal of universal service
• Phase I; $300 to upgrade areas with no 3G
• Phase I (tribal) Additional $50 million
• Phase II: Ongoing annual support for areas that depend on USF for service up to $500M/year & $100M/year for tribal

What was wrong with ICC?

• Quite complex
• Carriers faced declining revenues
• Uncertainty related to VoIP traffic
• Arbitrage led to phantom traffic
• Consumers were ultimately bearing the burden

ICC Reforms

• Adoptions rules to deter access stimulation
• Adopts bill-and-keep methodology
• Adopts prospective default for VoIP-PATN traffic
• Created a recovery mechanism for incumbent LECs Access Recovery Charge (ARC)

Further Rule Making

• Bringing remaining rate elements to Bill-and-Keep
• Bill-and-Keep implementation
• Reform end user charges and CAF
• IP-to-IP interconnection

Connect America Fund Panel
The new Transformation Order fundamentally changed the allocation of high cost support and intercarrier compensation. This panel will discuss the impact of the Order on ILECs, CLECs and wireless carriers. It will also review the pending appeals.
– Joseph Cavender
– Philip Schenkenberg
– Jim Campbell
– Dan Lipschultz
– Shannon Heim, moderator

CONNECT AMERICAN FUND PANEL

CLEC need the following:

• Pricing of network elements (unbundled or special access) is still open issue
• CLEC are denied access to fiber networks (old FCC issue)
• No compensatory measure for CLEC
• CLECs pay into CAF, but cannot get money out

What do CLECs get? Lower revenue, no compensation, required to pay into a fund, can’t get fiber.Are we funding our own demise?

Silver lining? There are pending issues that may change this situation. They are taking graduated approach.

CenturyLink

• Maybe a winner, maybe we loser with CAF. (Depends on decisions moving forward)
  • Hope to get some funds.
  • We do lose a lot of access revenue
  • We are debating CAF Phase I funding mechanism
  • Entitled to $89.9M – must decide by July 24
    • But includes significant obligations (need to get to unserved customers for every $775 et al)
    • Need to decide where to spend money
      • CAF shoots for low hanging fruit
      • 83% of unserved are in Price Cap carrier territory so it made sense to go to the source
      • CAF II – need to serve remainder of eligible unserved areas (4/1Mbps) – by state
        • Cost model is important – too low will slow down process

 WIRELESS

• By USF – yes we were winners
• Large wireless providers have already seen shrinking USF (via merger permissions)
• Can anyone put together a business plan to take CAF?
• In 1996, FCC recognized wireless as emerging business
  • Policies were friendly to all technologies, esp wireless
  • There were 44 million wireless connections (in 1996) – now we have more connections than people
  • We are coming closer to 100% coverage)
  • ICC – we’re happy with bill-and-keep, we’ve always worked that way
  • ICC – we’ve had agreements with incumbents – but is there still a need?

 RURAL CARRIERS

• We have high cost areas
• We have pushed out phone service, via USF
• Now we’re transitioning to broadband
• Esp rate-or-return are getting cut
  • It will hurt some help others – but dice are still rolling
  • Hoping to maintain budget
  • Stranded investment is a very big deal
    • Investments have been made based on old rules
    • How do we continue to serve these loans

 QUESTIONS

Are CLECs funding their own demise?

FCC answers – it’s true everyone contributes. Some people get more out of it than others. Wireless providers might say the same. Interconnected VoIP have been paying too –without hopes of recovery.

CLECs are in line for possible support in Phase II. (Without taking full state commitment.)

The Commission is no longer supporting duplicative service in any one area (Mobile being different.) If there isn’t support for one provider, tax payers should not have to support a second provider.

 If you win funding in Phase I – are you ineligible for Phase II? If you get money to build – can you still get money for operating funds?

Phase II is not set in stone yet – but that is not the plan.

It’s tough to accept Phase I when we don’t know the rules for Phase II. Tough to create a budget plan with so many unknowns. DO how can one bid on the reverse auction?

The FCC understands the issue. Phase I is no designed to bring Phase I everywhere. It’s meant for areas that really just need one short of support. Most areas see that it’s an OPEX issue, not a CAPEX. But the folks who need CAPEX are the best case scenario for Phase I.

The wireless bureau did an analysis of 2G areas that would be ready for 3G. There were enough areas that would benefit from one-time investment to move this forward.

How are Mobility Phase I areas being identified?

Done on a census block area – there’s a map on FCC of qualifying areas.

Reverse auction for high cost areas is new (planned for Sept 27). What are the thoughts?

Know about it from Spectrum. Haven’t been very involved but seemed effective with Spectrum. Like it in terms of land lines.

What did FCC not allow common (aggregate) bidders?

To prohibit collusion.

Unfortunately it does make it more difficult for small providers to participate.

Who does reverse auction favor?

Favors whoever can most efficiently provide service.

Carrier of last resort. Will our notion change?

CenturyLink – we tried to get the FCC to lose the idea of carrier of last resort. That obligation has largely been addressed. If you’re going to focus on broadband – getting rid of carrier of last resort will help folks move forward. Funding is required for broadband carrier of last resort.

If you maintain carrier of last resort –the regulators should support those networks. However if there is no carrier of last resort, do we leave it to end user?

The rural folks are more supportive of carrier of last resort. We maintain the last resort connections, and we get support for it.

Sometimes our problem (in rural area) is the middle mile.

Generally people will build where they can make money – and that’s an issue for building out to areas of last resort. So carrier of last resort forces regulators to look at how to build out to those last resort areas.

IP-to-IP will be another issue.

What’s the process that FCC provides guidance to USAC? Any efforts to make current process more transparent to public?

We’ve talked about it. We’ve been trying to formalize the process and make it more transparent. We’ve issued guidance documents to USAC.

We do work near each other and there is less formal communication as well.

They are the repositories of info – and we occasionally ask them for info.

There’s a sense that there’s a lot of chatting that we don’t know about. There’s speculation on how much happens.

Artificially low rates – how do you factor in calling scope? IN rural areas I might only be able to call 900 people, in urban areas phone users can call thousands of people.

FCC looked at rates and they varied greatly. We thought that folks should be paying comparable rates. We ask about rates; we don’t ask about calling areas. Traditionally we’ve looked at areas where rates have been “too high”, looking at rates that are too low.

Other issues

Transition to Bill-and-keep

Two legal issues:

• Does FCC have authority to step into state areas
• Does FCC have authority to do bill-and-keep

Broadband in Minnesota
Update on broadband enrollment and deployment progress in Minnesota and a review of the impact of BTOP and BIP grants in the state of Minnesota.
– William Hoffman
– Lyle MacVey
– Christopher Sandberg, moderator

BROADBAND IN MINNESOTA

Bill Hoffman on Connect Minnesota

Primary Program Components

• Data Collection & Mapping
• Survey & Research
• Planning
• Program Development

Statewide Availability – Percentage of households reaching MN Broadband Goals:

• In Oct 2011 57.4
• In April 2012 59.92 (not yet confirmed or published, will be released within the week)

 Lyle MacVey – NESC

• Working on ARRA-funded Middle Mile – Regional Network serving Community Anchor Institutions in Northeast Minnesota.
• Working with Cook County and Lake County for last mile services

ARRA Funded Projects

• Anoka
• Carver
• LqP
• SMBS (Southwest Minnesota)
• Lake County
• Arrowhead Electric
• NESC

Other projects in Development

• Sibley County
• Todd County
• Cloquet Valley
• Redwood County
• Kanabec County
• City of Prior Lakes

We are looking at possible impacts of CAF and ILEC/CLEC response

In rural areas – you can build FTTH if you have the density. It’s the long haul (to TCs, to Chicago) that is expensive.

Trends in Projects

• Movement to Countywide projects
• Movement to public-private partnership
• Majority of projects fiber based
• Projects are rural in nature
• Looking for ways to bypass referendum requirements
• Biggest challenge is lack of funding sources other than bonding

Rate Trends

Consumer and Small Business (DSL/FTTH)

• Baseline holding steady – rates not falling
• Multiyear contract incentives

Carrier & Large Enterprise (Middle Mile)

• Greater Competition
• Prices in rural markets state to fall
  • 100 Mbps @ $675/month
  • Price matching and network leveraging

Challenges

• NTIA/USDA funding releases slower than expected
• Construction costs higher due to David_Bacon impacts
• Changes in Design or Scope
  • Result in lengthy reviews and project delays
  • Transparency difficult to assess both in terms of access to and release of; MN Data Practices Act (have had 5 intentional fiber creaks)
    • Business plan, rate structures

Result

• Projects falling short of original milestones and scope

Opportunities

• Technical Assistance Survey Results
• Leveraging Community Assets
  • Tower leases and public lands
  • Equal Opportunity and Access
    • Establishing Ground Rules
    • Public Common Carrier VS ISP
    • Education
      • Understanding FCC rules.

 QUESTIONS

How are people answering question about computer ownership? They aren’t counting smartphones and tablets.

Connect MN will change the question.

You mention engineering as project issue and 20% over cost. Can you say more?

It’s primarily in underground topology in NE Minnesota. Part of engineering is also inspection – and that can take longer.

How does Minnesota compare to other states?

Mid pack. Working on adoption would help.

Keynote Address: Assessing Broadband in Minnesota
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chair of the new Minnesota Broadband Task Force will provide her perspective of the state of broadband in Minnesota
– Margaret Anderson Kelliher

NextGen 911
The shift to broadband and IP is changing the way 911 services are used and delivered. With the explosion of mobile devices and data services, calls for emergency response are not just coming from telephones anymore. In this panel we’ll hear about what is happening at the national and state level regarding how emergency response networks must change to become next generation emergency response networks.
– Trey Forgety
– Anthony Mendoza, Moderator

NextGen 911

Tony Mendoza

• Need to access and locate different types of media – VoIP & Text
• Legislation was raised (didn’t pass) concerning all IP 911 network

Trey Fogarty at the 911 Association

• Primary standards development organization for 9-1-1 systems and service processes.
• 7000+ public safety and 9-1-1 industry  members
• The only professional organization solely focused on 9-1-1 policy, technology…

How we communicate

• By 2014, most Internet traffic will be mobile
• Voice communications account for only 1/3 of mobile usage; 2/3 are apps, test & video
• Approximately 32% of adults and 36% of children live in wireless-only households
  • Exception – folks will get the phone if it gets bundled with broadband
  • More than 8 trillion texts were send last year
  • Teens text 5,500 times per month
  • 35 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing rely on texting
  • IP-based messaging services such as iMessage are beginning to displace SMS

What’s driving NG9-1-1?

• The need to mainstream 911 technology
• Needed improvements in survivability
• The critical need to improve interoperability and information sharing
• A desire to increase competition and innovation in public safety technology

Built-In Interoperability

NG911 is:

• An open standards-based platform
• Using modern, flat IP Architecture
• With robust security and resilience features
• Based on Commercial Off the Shelf (COST) technology
• Designed to be originating-service agnostic

NG911 Responder Benefits

• Allows seamless flow of data from consumer to call-taker to dispatcher to responder
• Leverages existing national standards for interfaces and data structures
• Provides an adaptable platform to meet future responder needs

Recent Legislation – http://www.nena.org/?page=Standards

• Now is the time to start thinking about NG9-1-1

QUESTIONS

What kind of consumer education do you see happening?

The FCC asked in the rulemaking – should we do something now to deal with Americans communicating via text? The answer was yes – especially for folks with disabilities.

Text to 911 mandate may appear this summer – with a 3-5 year expectation.

If you’re a carrier a best practice – text back to people who text 911 to tell them to call 911. In the long term, start planning. Verizon is doing a text to 911 rollout.

Municipal Broadband
A review of municipal broadband projects in the state of Minnesota.
– Milda Hedblom
– Christopher Mitchell

Municipal Broadband: Milda Hedblom & Chris Mitchell

How did National Broadband Plan support municipal network?

States had the right to tell communities that they couldn’t build a networks and/or put stipulations on building the network. But the NBP gave a clearer sense that it wasn’t’ the case.

How does MN fit in compared to other states?

Minnesota is unique in that there’s a focus on counties.

You have looked at exemplar projects (such as Bristol, Chattanooga). Are there lessons to learn?

Chris just released a paper on the topic. They all of Gig to anywhere in the city. Here are some characteristics they share:

• Municipal electric department (only 2000 cities have this)
• They were prepared to act as a business (get, take customers)

Comment on counties…

Minnesota wants to be one of top 5 states by 2015. Counties have found that it’s hard to run a modern business without broadband. Folks with good access are often getting it from coops. Groups of people in the county are realizing that if they don’t act, they will be left behind.

Minnesota’s counties are looking at public-private partnership, community networks, working with private providers.

USF reforms will be interesting but so far seems insufficient.

There is no one-size-fits all solution. Different counties have different assets. Almost all counties are looking for partners of one form or another.

Ramsey County has aspirational plans. Sibley County has now made a commitment via Joint Power with ambitious goal of bringing fiber to farms.

JoAnne Johnson – U-reka update

1. Did feasibility for Todd County. We’re meeting with community and updating them. There was about 1 year between first meeting and completion of report. They are working with Arvig to match Blandin support.
2. We’re finding more enthusiasm from private partners. And more trust from public partner to work with private partners.
3. Working with Kanabec County – approved last night. It will be a marketing survey, 10 year financial study…
4. We’ve seen success with Middle Mile project – and now we’re investigating access to the home.

There are obstacles for public participation…

• There are 19 states with some form of barrier for private sector getting into providing/building broadband service.
• Municipal network has barrier of super majority referendum  for providing phone services – maybe it makes sense to make that 50%

Monticello – it went into operation with an overhang of debt (due to lawsuits). It’s been a huge obstacle. Perhaps we need to judge them not based on economics alone.

Serving the Underserved
A review of the legal requirements and programs designed to serve low-income families with broadband services. The programs of Comcast and CenturyLink will be featured.
– Karly Baraga Werner
– Jim Campbell

SERVING THE UNDERSERVED

Comcast

• The digital divide is a real problem and it is growing. 92% have access only 65% have adopted broadband
• Half of non-adopters are low-income families
• So we need to focus on low income families
• Big barriers – Internet Essentials was developed with FCC to address all issues
  • Cost (36%) – connectivity and equipment
  • Digital Literacy (22%)
  • Relevance (19%)

What has the FCC done?

• Supporting Connect to Compete (piloted in California right now)
• Feb 2012 – FCC released the Lifeline Reform Order
  • Permit eligle customers to apply Lifeline discounts to bundles that include voice and broadband
  • Creates a Pilot Program to study application to the adoption challenge of a subsidy for the price of BB service.

Details on Internet Essentials – http://www.internetessentials.com/default.aspx

• $9.95/month – XFINITY Internet Economy Service (currently 3 Mbps down)
• Option sot purchase computer for $149
• Free Internet training
• Can remain on program as long as kids are in school and qualify for free lunch

We’re trying to get the word out.

CenturyLink

Internet Basics – http://www.centurylink.com/home/internetbasics/?rid=internetbasics

• Service discount $9.95
• Equipment discount ($150 notebook)
• Training – and 24/7 tech support
• Committed to spend $2 million on the project over next 2 years
• We focus on families and seniors

QUESTIONS

How is enrollment?

It was slow to start. But we’re seeing an uptick and we (CenturyLink) will be working with school next year.

Comcast is at 5% of eligible students.

Is childcare assistance a qualification for CenturyLink?

Not sure.

What issues were there in Minneapolis (for Comcast)?

We found that when we can get a brochure in a backpack, we have success. But there are some reservations with some schools to have an appearance of supporting one business. And principals are busy.

Making the parallel between reduced lunch programs and reduced broadband rates helps.

Comcast has brochures in 13 languages. And we have a partnership with Hmong American Partnership.

Are there avenues to reach seniors that have been successful?

Going to where the seniors are has been helpful. Also we can direct mail to phone customers. And we’ve gone back to paper – we bring paper applications to meetings.

Privacy/E-Commerce
Our speakers will provide an update on developments in privacy law, including a discussion of the new FTC Privacy Report, the EU Privacy Directive, Google’s new privacy policy, the Obama Consumer Privacy Report and the impact of recent developments on mobile applications.
– Jamie Nafziger
– Professor William McGeveran
– Brad Bolin

PRIVACY / E-COMMERCE

Dorsey Whitney – Ways that our data is getting collected

• Fear of privacy may be holding back adoption

This is the info an App Developer can access

• Unique Device Identifier
• Contacts in your address book
• Current GPS coordinates
• Photos in your photo gallery
• Email account info
• Phone info
• Videos watched and searched.
• Web search history
• Keyboard cache

Facebook OpenGraph Apps (Frictionless Sharing)

• What you read
• Songs you listen to
• TV shows you watch
• Movies your watch (outside US)
• Your exercise results
• What you cooked
• What you are wearing
• What you want
• Where you are traveling

Ad Network/Data Broker

• Age
• Gender
• Income
• Ethnicity
• Sexual Orientation
• Political Views
• Parental status

Best Buy –

Think about the power that a business has in terms of having all of your info – but also understanding relationships based on info and that the business has the ability to feed you info when they choose it.

UMN Law School Professor –

We have a class to give our students an edge.

A lot of this is driven by what info can be gathered but also the algorithms that give even more info.

There aren’t a lot of laws out there now. But the Future Privacy forum are active.

• Slow movement towards increased federal role in regulation (FTC report and Obama/Commerce report)
  • Both reports pretty much say – there’s a lot to think about
  • They are looking for best practices
  • They are inclined to ask for privacy by design
    • Set defaults
    • They don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg
• The rest of the world is proceeding in a different direction – data protection (not privacy)
  • Looking into right to be forgotten
  • Providing end users with access to info
  • Changing from guidelines to regulation
• Emerging US privacy strategy

QUESTIONS

Differences between EU & US have been ongoing. EU have made information a right. If agreements are 20 years long – is that part of US companies’ strategy to avoid stricter rules for a while?

The gulf between EU and US is growing.

One key concern is that less certainty is not good. The agreements led to more certainty.

There is drive in US policymakers to try to increase harmony between US and other places.

The powerful companies will hold out for US rules are long as possible.

On right to be forgotten – is it like right of withdrawal?

Loosely, yes. The US has longstanding rule on freedom of speech. And we prioritize that. We’re kind of libertarian on it.

EU countries see rights differently. They also have identity rights, rights of attribution, right of withdrawal.

Is common law developing on shrink wrap agreements?

Yes in FTC – mostly Section 5 deception trade practices.

I am a long-time E-Democracy volunteer. The traditional way to grow a list is through existing social networks. In other words, I ask two friends to join, they ask two friends and so on. It grows a list – but it also means you get folks who run in the same circles. In the last couple of years, E-Democracy has made concerted effort to encourage greater diversity in forum participation. This report explains what they have done successfully.

I think this work will be valuable for community leaders who are also struggling with how to make their programs more inclusive.

Here’s a quick description from the report itself…

Through this work, E-Democracy hopes to debunk assumptions that people in poverty, of color, new immigrants, and others historically disenfranchised are digitally disconnected or less interested in connecting with their neighbors online than those in homogeneous, wealthy neighborhoods – and instead demonstrate that they in fact bring assets, capacities, information, and agenda-setting value to online civic participation.

And here’s an abbreviated/paraphrased list of what has worked…

In Outreach:

• Face-to-face connections, paper signup sheets, and a personal approach are by far the most successful recruiting methods.
• Building trust is essential. Knowing that “someone like me” is on the forum makes a difference. Personal invitations and direct support help people get started.
• Understanding people’s needs and then helping them find ways for those needs to be addressed through the forum smooths the path for their participation and continued involvement.
• Partnering with respected neighbors and event organizers creates opportunities to participate in community activities and offer people the chance to sign up for our forums

Content Management

• Seeding stories that are of interest to diverse populations
• Maintaining cultural awareness and proficiency in posts and outreach

The report is full of stories and practical advice – and again suggested reading for leaders in any community effort that would benefit from increasing diversity. (I have to think that’s just about any effort.) You can also learn more about the project on a special online event with the authors and others involved with the project will speak.

Yesterday I attended the Task Force meeting in Winona. It was held at Winona Health. It was fun to hear how Winona Health is using technology and moving towards implementing telemedicine. In short, the effort started 10 years ago with digitizing health records (EHR), centralizing them and allowing different facilities to share records. That was the building block making is possible to now deploy remote consults.

It sounds as if broadband and reimbursement have been two big issues in getting all of this done. Without broadband none of it would be possible. Without reimbursement, it will be difficult for it to be sustainable. (And reimbursement needs to include reimbursing healthcare providers for remote visits as well as reimbursement for equipment and technology maintenance.)

Two of the Task Force small groups met during the session: Broadband Adoption and Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC/PUC Decisions. Both seem to be moving forward with action items to help the state get closer to the broadband goals.

The next meeting will be June 12 in Deer River/Cass Lake.

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Winona Health, 855 Mankato Avenue, Winona, MN 55987
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

10:00 10:15 Greetings and introductions, approve meeting minutes

Dick Sjoberg, Maureen Ideker, Steve Lewsader, Gary Evans, Shirley Walz, Dennis Ahlers, Dianne Wells, Bill Hoffman, Andy Shriner (on phone) Dan Richter, Steve Peterson, Boa Vang (Shirley will be acting as Chair)

Minutes Approved

10:15 11:30 E Health Presentations
Welcome and Background on Winona Health Mike Allen (CIO)

One message – the connection from broadband is incredibly important. It’s critical to our mission. We’re an independent provider; we’re considered rural – although Winona isn’t as rural as some areas. Broadband brings us quality and lower costs.

We’ve been working on EMR for 10 years. We’ve been working on moving to the cloud for all of that time. We couldn’t make that move without adequate broadband.

Working on meaningful use – we’re currently meeting requirements.

Progress of moving data:

Infrastructure -> Health Info Exchange (with Mayo, move data around Winona) -> moving to HIE à building a telemedicine networks – where we move healthcare beyond our four walls

A main goal is to make healthcare cost effective – but we need broadband to do it – especially in terms of telemedicine.

We don’t want to wait until people get sick enough to come to the hospital; we want to visit them where they are and keep them healthy.

Mayo Beacon Project—Lacey Hart (www.semm.org)

We’re one of 17 projects in the US focused on using technology to change healthcare. Beacon starteed 2 years ago – we’re on a 5 year plan. We’ve been focusing on EMR, EHR and data exchange.

We work with all of the schools – and most of the healthcare providers in the area. We are aligned in communities in practice:

• Healthcare providers
• Public Health
• Non-Traditional healthcare providers (schools et al)

The healthcare transformation happens on the backbone of technology.

• We have moved to a Peer-to-Peer HIE
• 100% HER Adoption Rate
• NwHIN Connectivity
• CCD’s parsed into discrete data and persisted
• Created a Clinic Data Repository

Indiana (Reagan? Street Institute) – is the best at normalizing data so we send info to them.

Things we want to do with technology:

• Diabetes Medication Choice Web App
• Patient Reported Outcomes/Quality of Life

Beacon Project and A Vu Media—John Goodman

Beacon is a technology challenge.

FCC supports infrastructure and gives support for maintenance support. Winona has two rural clinics: Rushford and Lewiston.

• Clinic-to-Clinic broadband need is the greatest. They are looking at needing 100 Mbps.
• Provider –to-Community means connecting with other anchor institutions. It requires significant broadband starting at 5 Mbps
• Clinic-to-Home – not a lot of systems yet. They can get health info – but rare to get access to provider that are HIPPA compliant and qualify for reimbursement. (Recommend 2 Mbps)

Big Issues in Online Health Care

• Adoption & utilization
  • Ease of Use is biggest factor!
  • Lack of HIPPA compliant Security/Privacy
  • Lack of Face-to-Face
  • Reimbursement
  • Cost

We are using remotely managed system. We have our own customer interface. We use multipoint. We have one internal medical operating system.

Each report location has two-way cameras so that provider can zoom to great extend and rotate and move. It requires HD images – so broadband is needed.

Peak demand is a big issue too. You need to schedule accordingly to get buy in from users.

Beacon has been working to integrate everything using best in class business solutions. They have altered the solutions to meet needs of healthcare providers – for example giving power to doctors so that they can decide who sees what via video.

HCO is another provider in Winona. We have been able to help them too – for example they can use video rather than live bodies for overnight care in different facilities.

We are working on connectivity through the TV – due to ubiquity of TVs and ease of use.

Able to put equipment on mobile cart – so that the technology can go to the patient.

Dedicated 5 Mbps symmetrical connection is really required for video checkups.

Telemedicine Applications:

• Nursing home
• Assisted Living
• Remote Clinic Primary Care
• HCO Remote Psych Counseling
• HCO Resident in-home health are
• HCO Internal residential management
• Winona Home Health care
• Winona County Home Health Care
• Diabetes and Nutrition Education
• Mayo Remote Cardiology Consults
• Winona School Programs

Factors in rural American that make telemedicine essential

• Population is aging much faster than metro
• Physicians numbers are declining
• As people age, the number of people who are able to transport people to healthcare also decreases

**You need a partnership with healthcare provider and broadband provider.

You need symmetrical service for telemedicine

Higher bandwidth produces higher quality (or risk latency and video quality)

QUESTIONS:

How many patients are using this?

Limited number now. In Rushford, we’ve identified 700 patients with 19 provides; we’re working with 4 of those providers. Nursing homes are unique. We think the cost reductions will come in fewer trips to healthcare providers.

How are doctors accepting the system?

Everyone has a high degree or interest – in part due to quality video and custom interface. Also it helps to have technology support. Also as we hire, we set up an expectation for using technology.

Once everyone is used to the technology, you could service patients anywhere?

Yes. We have the advantage of being a trial market.

Are you partnering with other communities?

We haven’t yet – but once we have this down, we certainly could.

Maureen Ideker – FCC Rural Health Care Pilot Project

In Nov 2007, the FCC authorized $417 million for connecting rural and urban health care providers. Here are the five that

• Minnesota Telehealth Network
• North Region Health Alliance (MN & ND)
• Medi-Sota (SW MN)
• Minnesota Assn Community Mental Health Programs’
• SISU Medical Systems

Wanted to use open architecture – which means anyone can participate. Wanted to improve quality of service.

• Managed by SISU
• Points of Presence: Duluth, Brainerd, Willmar, Grand Forks, Fargo
• 144 participating health providers joined.
• Steering Committee includes representation

Minnesota has a competitive model. At first we weren’t thrilled with the competitive model – but it’s helping us get stuff done.

QUESTIONS

How has consolidation had an impact?

Consolidation in healthcare and technology has had an impact.

It’s taken a lot of work to just get partners to talk about what they do need. As far as broadband we’ve said 10/10 Mbps. Some clinics and providers have IT departments – but the smaller guys don’t.

Is reimbursement an issue? If so where does CSM fit in?

If we’re just talking broadband – no. But reimbursement for telehealth – it’s in place. IN 2007, we were getting reimbursement for 97% of visits. We haven’t seen many problems – but we’d like to see more types of providers get covered.

When we talk about equipment to the home MN Medical Assistance will help cover cost of equipment and ongoing maintenance.

LUNCH

After lunch two of the sub-groups met to discuss their work. I was able to take notes on the Broadband Adoption session. And I was able to capture audio/video of most of the other session, Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC/PUC Decisions. (Might want to skip first 2.5 minutes.)

Broadband Adoption: (Shirley Walz)

We have two documents:

• A growing list of resources
• A proposal to Task Force to create ‘Benton County” brochures, which highlight providers and options in regional areas

When surveying people about adoption it no longer makes sense to start by asking about computer ownership, since there are other means for accessing

Connect Minnesota will be doing their next residential survey this summer and the results will be available in October. It will be available before the Task Force report is due.

Availability Stats will be available in two weeks – that’s an update to speed tiers and locations. That will include updates on the broadband goal.

Maybe we could present that at the broadband conference – Bill Hoffman will be giving that presentation.

Has Connect MN changed their questions?

Having the survey results will help us figure out where we are and what are the percentages. We’ll have info at county and statewide level. It will be a matter of getting the best starting point.

In terms of broadband adoption, it’s good to have that.

The Connect MN map (speed) can we overlay adoption maps?

About the brochure –

• We might not want to include prices – since things change. Also don’t want people to find out different.
• We might want to post online
• We want to find distribution channels
• Always good to have info at the library
• My library has a lot of computers – maybe we could get them to point to Connect MN map.
• When you move into a rural area – you do get a welcome package
• One trend is to create community portals in rural areas – maybe a link there would be helpful.
• What if we link to resource that talks about how to decide how much bandwidth you need.
• We could pilot these in the area where the Task Force plans to visit.
• Where could we put this? (What website?)
• Maybe Julie could talk to MIRC coordinators at the upcoming MIRC meeting.
• Some broadband champions have gone away.
• Community ed could be another partners/channel.

Broadband Adoption Toolkit

We’re trying to overcome reluctance to spend time and money on adopting broadband. It might help to have testimonials from folks who have started to adopt broadband.

It might be nice to include sites like the one we showed last time.

We need for everything to be very simple. No computer terminology. Adults respond well to color. We could become progressively more complex. Motion and music are also good for helping people learn. Videos shorter than 3 minutes are always good.

We might also want to look at getting devices to people. PCs for People might be a good fit. There are other resources that might be available as well.

Others to include:

• MIRC
• Libraries
• Digital Literacy Council
• UMN Extension

REPORT OUT – subgroups report back to the group

Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC/PUC Decisions

• Looked at education credit for broadband. So give people credit for taking classes to learn how to use excel or something.
• Income tax for broadband equipment – still trying to flesh that out.
• Extend central office tax exemptions for fiber –and other related broadband
• Telecommuting tax credit – either for employer or employee.
• Want to talk with Dept of Commerce 179 expensing on state tax returns to get in line with federal returns
• Get sales tax exemption for low income households to get computers and other items to help them get online. Need to work on how to do it.
• Planned to meet with Revenue yesterday – but meeting did not happen. We plan to reschedule. There may be a way to find incentives to build out to unserved areas.
• We looked at options for promoting adoption. Maybe Shirley’s group has some ideas there.
• Looking for subsidies for transporting Middle Mile.
• Do we need incentives to get healthcare facilities together.
• One conclusion – Winona could serve the whole world OR the whole world could serve Winona.
• We need to prioritize – can’t go to Legislature with too many things.
• How can we get an Advocate?

Adoption

• Part of the MIRC project, Benton County created a directory of broadband options. We liked that idea and think it would be worth replicating in other areas.
  • We talked about some distribution channels: libraries, community portals, welcome packets, et al
  • How about if we try something like this?
  • Yes let’s try it in some areas where we plan to meet.
  • We talked about how to fund – it might make sense to talk to a local chamber or realtor or other to get it going.
  • We’re looking at a broadband awareness site – maybe created at a state site.
    • Start with the basics
    • Use testimonials
    • QUESTION/COMMENT: It’s important that the State maintains the site.
    • Everyone is OK with us moving forward?
    • Workshops and Instructor Led Training
      • There are lots of things happening – maybe we just need to help promote activities that are happening.
      • Bill is looking at things in other Connected Nation States
      • Devices for Folks in Need
        • Again this may be a question of compiling info
        • iPads are easily swept clean of info from the prior owner – that’s not as true with many smartphones

Next Meeting is June 12 – Deer River / Cass Lake

There will be some discussions about future out state meetings. Today we have 7 out of 15 Task Force here. One is a sub. Margaret may send out a message on this.

As a realist – Cass Lake is 4 hours from the Cities. We’ll how it goes. Thief River Falls is 6 hours away.

Almost everyone in the room has some business in the Twin Cities; but that may not be true in other areas.

Maybe we need to ask everyone to make the commitment. There are just things that are easier and better in person. And maybe we need to make a bigger event of the meetings.

Here are the logistics:

Wednesday, May 16, 2012
8:55 AM – 4:30 PM (Central Time)
Minnesota CLE Conference Center
600 Nicollet Mall # 370
3rd Floor City Center
Minneapolis, MN 55402-1641

And the invitation from the website:

Attorneys, consultants and lobbyists practicing in the development of broadband laws and policies will want to attend the 2012 Communications Law Annual Forum. The Forum will feature key state broadband and telecommunications attorneys and policy makers and national experts to share their expertise at the FCC and NENA.

Featured speakers include:

• Margaret Anderson Kelliher
  President and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association
• Commissioner Mike Rothman
  Department of Commerce
• Commissioner Carolyn Parnell
  Office Enterprise Technology
• Joseph Cavender
  Wireline Competition Bureau
  Federal Communications Commission
• Trey Forgety
  National Emergency Numbering Association (NENA)
• Industry Attorneys from Comcast and Century Link
• Leading Telecommunications Attorneys

Here’s the agenda:

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Winona Health, 855 Mankato Avenue, Winona, MN 55987
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

• 10:00 10:15 Greetings and introductions, approve meeting minutes
• 10:15 11:30 E Health Presentations
  • Welcome and Background on Winona Health Mike Allen
  • Mayo Beacon Project—Lacey Hart
  • Beacon Project and A Vu Media—John Goodman
• 11:30 12:15 Subgroup work time
  • Coordination Across Government Levels Leader: Danna MacKenzie - Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
  • Best Practices/Incentives Leader: Dick Sjoberg - BA Miller—main meeting room
• 12:15 12:45 Lunch
• 12:45 1:30 Subgroup Work Time
  • State of Broadband Leader: Matt Grose - Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
  • Broadband Adoption Leader: Shirley Walz - BA Miller—main meeting room
  • Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC & PUC Decisions; Cost of Broadband Leader: Gary Evans - Lab Conference Room, 1st Floor
• 1:30 2:10 Subgroup reports to full task force and feedback
• 2:10 2:25 Public comments
• 2:25 2:30 Other business/Upcoming meetings/Adjourn meeting

The buzz about the conference was the announced relocation of the MHTA. They will be moving downtown to the Grain Exchange Building. In the sessions, folks were talking very specifically about how to use technology to improve business. Social Media, Cloud Computing and Security were hot topics.

Talking to attendees, it was good to hear that most folks feel business is good. From Involta to the Eagan Data Center, folks were talking about growth and building capacity – broadband, workforce and knowledge. Folks were telling stories of how technology has worked for them and what they are doing to make sure that it continues to work.

I took notes from the sessions I attended. They aren’t full notes – but I offer them for folks who weren’t able to attend….

Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Recent jobs report indicates that the computer sectors is reaching levels we haven’t seen in 10 years. The question is – are we producing enough quality people to meet that need? We will be looking into that with listening sessions with MNSCU today.

MHTA is moving this summer to downtown Mpls – the Grain Exchange Building

Gov Dayton

Rick King – what sets you apart matters

Will talk about how to work with and create a community & culture in a global company. Branding comes down to image – and those who control the image control the brand.

Do you want to define your brand or do you want someone else to define your brand personally and professionally? You don’t want to leave yourself with nothing.

If you don’t know anything about something – you will define it yourself and generally less complementary terms than a product would want.

Thompson Reuters focuses on: Authentic – Transparent – Courageous

My job is to make the company and the brand better than you found it. You need to be able to walk the talk. The Brand Becomes the Verb

How do you share what you want people to do? People get more involved if they make connection to leadership. It makes sense to define the brand and then use that to start conversations. How do you start conversations when you’re spread over 11 countries? Technology tools can help you put the goals and brand out there.

How do I use tools to communicate with people about what I want them to know about the business or me?

TR uses LinkedIn and Twitter as a tool to communicate in and out of the company. Rick started a blog internally. The goal was 3-4 posts a week, mostly on business. But the most interesting posts to readers were the personal posts. Personal posts start a conversation that professional posts can’t. They build a conversations; they build relationships.

7000 person office. We don’t know everyone. Mostly people don’t say hello if you’re the executive – unless you speak first. Now people start a conversation based on past blog posts. That’s a program that starts engagement with the folks we want to reach.

Social media can raise engagement.

Shared Drive is a video – we focus on product launch or other event to highlight individual and team achievement. It’s a great way to recognize and reward people. Surveys showed that people thought reward and recognition were low.

Webcasts of technology leaders like talk shows. We get 1000-12000 live viewers (and twice that view the archive). People can post questions in advance and/or send questions during the session. The feedback on this programs has been great.

You have to make sure these things are authentic and transparent. So people can ask anything they want – and we will answer every question.

Tell Me Something Good – send Rick an email if you see something good happen. He will call and talk to the do-gooder. Doesn’t cost anything aside from a little time. Get great stories. Make someone’s day. It’s nice to get the call – but it’s also nice to know that someone thought enough about what you’ve done to share the story.

Sometimes it’s important to recognize people who do the right things – but where they don’t work. We were going to call it Hit Me with Your Best Shot. The problem is that people don’t want to admit that something has failed. If we want innovation – we have to find a way to allow people to fail.

PUBLIC CLOUD STRATEGY

Sponsored by: Perficient

You can’t read a publication that doesn’t mention the Cloud as the most strategic platform that our industry is embracing. Come hear our panel of experts provide their perspectives on how they are incorporating the Cloud into their strategic plans. The lessons-learned and business results will surprise you — from new opportunities, competitive offerings, Service Level Agreements and deployment challenges to feeding the bottom-line, our experts will help guide you through this new and challenging landscape.

• Moderator – Matt Russell, Perficient
• Jeff Kubacki, Chief Information Officer, ATK
• Casey Niemann, Microsoft
• Narinder Singh, Chief Strategy Officer, Appirio

Cloud brings agility, virtualization, scalability, redundancy.

Need to work on compliance and security.

How is Aerospace approaching cloud computing given security concerns?

We have a hybrid approach. We have people trying to get into our system every day. We want to keep them out. We chose solutions based on that need. Only 6 percent of our inbound email gets through. Our biggest concern is malware.

On the inside – we’re Windows. We have 90% virtualization. That puts us in good shape.

Now we ask when we can take the next step. We’re trying to reduce costs. The cloud is a good fit. I belong to a council of CIOs. The feds are trying to move their infrastructure to the cloud. One other company in the council has move entirely to gmail.

We are waiting to see this work with other aerospace/defense companies before we go too far.

The government is pushing as aggressively in a pragmatic way to cloud computing. If the government can move – what’s everyone else’s excuse?

Businesses should be moving faster. Compare Instagram to Kodak. (Or Netflix and Blockbuster.)

You need to ask about what your competitors are doing – even the competitors they don’t know about. We’ve seen several companies lose traction as they held onto an all of nothing attitude.

Also have to look at core competency and what you need to do stay on track. Stick with those – but maybe there are other functions that you can look to do on the cloud. Portfolio rationalization.

Systems were used deal with customers for years – or maybe they were used to not deal directly with customers – but rise of social media has forced businesses to go back to customer.

Think about how to use the cloud to deal with customers.

How to you get CEOs and others on board?

I get to present to the board a couple times a years. I have been talking about the cloud. I tell them that we use it for selective tasks but due to security concerns we’re holding off on other – but we are getting ready for action.

I told our vendors that we were interested in moving to the cloud.

It’s important to set expectations. The CEO is reading about the cloud but not necessarily thinking of business strategy in terms of cloud computing.

Facebook IT is about 70% in the cloud. That approach will apply. Without a forward looking CEO the company can’t get full ROI on cloud computing.

Patterns in Cloud Computing?

Small companies can act big; yet big companies can act small. People in the company can feel as if they have the tools they need when they need them.

Small companies can afford the larger solutions / Large companies can become more nimble.

Some folks (even at Dept of Defense) seem to think that the Cloud Computing may be more secure than other options eventually. There are difficult issues; but also dumb perceptions.

How are you prepping for the Cloud?

We are simplifying the departments. We have shared services. We moved to more virtualization. We talk to our vendors about what we need.

Most people are not cloud providers. You need to figure out what piece you can have it that.

Why are people going to the cloud?

The biggest draw to Cloud Computing is SAS applications – especially SalesForce, Google…

Customer related functions is drawing people in because it’s often a point of pain for a business.

Anything that is social or mobile by nature

Any net-new project

Cloud storage has a great ROI

SEO MEETS SOCIAL MEDIA

Presenters – GiveMN, Webranking, SpiderTrap, Padilla Speer Beardsley

Sponsored by: Padilla Speer Beardsley

Social media now plays a big role in search engine results. You not only need to create great content online, it needs to be sharable, even “likeable”. How can you make your organization more socially active and visible online? What does it all mean for traditional search engine optimization? Do you need a presence on Google+ to be a player? Join us for a lively discussion!

• Moderator – Bob Brin, Padilla Speer Beardsley
• Jeff Achen, GiveMN

How have recent Google tweaks changed SEO & SM?

• Google+ is a growing factor in SEO.
• Google focuses on fresh content. In the social realm – having a blog is a big part of any social media campaign. And you need to produce fresh content on a regular basis.
• Google rewards sharing (via Twitter, AddThis & other)
• Yesterday Google made changes to de-emphasize over optimization of sites.
• Search engines are trying to pull in more content from social media tools faster. In some way to combat immediacy of Twitter.

• Bing is not going away
• Using Facebook is important

What’s up with Google+?

• They have 170 million users. Some of that is people recognizing how Google+ has impact on business
• Google+ is fastest growing social network
• Many marketing folks got online – now folks are trying to figure out what to do.
• They are trying to push video and having out space
• Google+ will grow

YouTube and social media may lead to conversions – and search is happening off the search engines themselves.

How can you use Google+ in a business realm?

• Build an audience
• Engage an audience – but slowly
• Post updates that are newsworthy, post links to content
• Don’t post too spammy
• Google+ might be the same people who follow you on Twitter and Facebook.
• Google is starting to crawl content that are symbols (such as hashtags)
• Strategy for Google+ Try and fail, try and fail – learn quickly and adjust

What do you do when another site (such as aggregator) does better with your content that you do? And how can thwart it?

• They could have better links; they probably have more fresh content
• They could have better domain name, volume of content or age of site
• You can check out Google Universal Search
• Try channels such as PRWire/Web, think about blogging, think link building
• Paid search

Can you talk about content?

• There are many types of content – words, video, infographic. It’s something people can interact with.
• Fresh content that’s related to your audience is a key.
• Google wants to provide the best search results. So they look for content that’s shared. They also look at volume of content you share.
• Don’t focus too much on keyword density – but recognize that it will make a difference – think about it when using social media.

What about Slideshare?

• We use it on GiveMN.
• Good for informational outreach.
• It’s like YouTube – can be a good tool
• Results are less about SEO but more about content creation

How can you get the word out?

• Use blog as your hub
• Social media tools can be PR channel
• When you do a PR Campaign – optimize for it and use PPC/sponsored search

What makes a good SEO/SM person?
• Passion for the topic (it requires a lot of attention)
• Like to write
• Understand the tech side
• Someone who is data driven

Search engine marketing isn’t a term we use – you need to look at the broader scope and set goals that relate to conversion of action versus search engine ranking.

60 percent of BtoB businesses are seeing SEO rise because of SM

What are the best hubs that work for Social media strategy?

• A blog
• Tumblr
Other tips:

• Having a corporate guide on social media use is helpful.
• Encouraging user-generated content can be a great resource
• Creating a content calendar is helpful
BIG DATA

Sponsored by: University of St. Thomas Graduate Programs in Software

In the new era of “Big data” organizations gain strong insight and advantage through a keen understanding of how markets and organizations work. gives According to McKinsey & Company, big data is “the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity.” This session will introduce participants to big data and business analytics: what it is, how to get it, and how to use it to an organization’s advantage.

• Moderator: Bonnie Holub, ArcLight, Inc.; UST Graduate Programs in Software
• Bradley Rubin, PhD, UST Graduate Programs in Software
• Carolyn Parnell, State of Minnesota
• Mike Edwards, Thoson Reuters

What do we mean by Big Data?

• Cassandra
• Hadoop
• mongoDB
• Google
• Data.gov
• Amazon
• Netflix
• Watson

How do we characterize Big Data?

• Volume
• Velocity
• Variety
• Visualization
• Value

Big Data & the State of MN - Presentation from Carolyn Parnell (Thanks for sharing!)

View from UST

Moore’s Law in effect has made a difference in capacity.
Cluster computing has also increased capacity.

QUESTIONS

Concerns of social implications of predicting via big data?

We’re working on a new product for lawyers – it mines public sources (legal documents) and inferring connections between people. They were very uncomfortable. Geeks think more analytics are better analytics – but that may not always be the case.

State has geospatial data. There’s a lot of potential – but risk too. Need to approach with caution.

How do you ask the right question?

Ask the neuroscientist – or whoever the customer is. The technologist is not as good as making up questions.

Does the State of MN have something like Data.gov?

http://www.mn.gov/data/ 

We need to get a handle on what’s useful and a handle on what needs to be handled more securely.

The mapping tool, called My ConnectView™, is a valuable tool for consumers, policy makers, Internet providers, and planning teams working to increase broadband access, adoption, and use in communities across the state and nation. …

 My ConnectView, developed by Connected Nation, Connect Minnesota’s parent organization, replaces the previous mapping tool and is faster and easier to use; features more interactive data layers and additional tools to explore data; and allows users to e-mail, print, and send feedback on custom maps.

From what I’ve seen it is faster to use and seem smoother. I still wish I could get info by county – but I wasn’t able to find a way to do it on the map. There will be a webinar demonstration of the new tool on Wednesday – unfortunately I’ll be at the Minnesota High Tech Association conference…

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/451387954

This webinar will provide a demonstration of the new interactive broadband mapping application published by Connect Minnesota called “My ConnectView.” The interactive map offers unique tools to view the state’s technology landscape and analyze broadband penetration down to the street level. Attendees will be shown some of the tool’s basic features and can ask questions during the presentation about the underlying data and the map’s functions.

 Title: Connect Minnesota Demo – My ConnectView
Date: Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Time: 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM CDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

I’m going to start with the finish of the day when the moderator (Massoud Amin) asked a panel of distinguished panelists (Angie Curry, Brian Isle, Mark Ruchie, Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Kasprisin and Steve Kelley) what they thought attendees should do as a result of attending the session in terms of improving their security and/or promoting community-wide security.

There were a couple of themes….

1. The US is not on the leading edge of security – although some countries still seem to think that we might be. It would be nice to have  a more concerted security effort – but one issue is that security – even just cybersecurity crosses so many departments.
2. While it seems as if we’re pretty far behind and I wasn’t getting the feeling that our situation was on the mend – there is a push to educate users and administrators. The conference itself was a demonstration – but the attendees also seemed focused on this mission. Other attendees, including corporate IT directors, were interested in programs that would help train staff on security measures at work but seemed equally interested in making sure folks used the skills at home as well.
3. Folks seemed to feel as if we’re in this security game together. That we’re only as strong as the weakest link and that breeches spread like wildfire.
4. Security often comes down to human error – or maybe human weakness. People open links they shouldn’t, download software they shouldn’t, transmit info via insecure wires networks. Sometimes that’s because people can be gullible; sometimes that’s because hackers can be good and persistent. Administrators don’t keep up on updates or take the time to shut all security doors and windows.
5. Smartgrid might be a place to start really doing things right. If we can do Smartgrid security well, we could become leaders again.

There were also some interesting tidbits…

• Minneapolis ranks 7^th in the top 10 riskiest online cities.
• Cybercrime has surpassed drugs trafficking as money-maker.
• In 2010, 24 Hours: Unplugged – a study where they asked students to unplug for one full day – studnets presented like addicts.
• Social Media is a tool for over-sharing. Giving out too much info lets criminals in the real world know when you are most vulnerable.
• Library of Congress is cataloging all Tweets right now.
• Be careful of cyber predators – if you divide the number of your Facebook friends by 11, the resulting number is the real number of friends you have in life.
• In 2010 the Secret Service arrested more than 1,200 suspects for cybercrime violations – involving more than $500 million in actual fraud and loss. Average cost of a breach is $5.7 million.
• 92% of successful attacks are not difficult to implement – or thwart.
• Most business do not know that their files have been stolen – they are told by government agencies
• Cloud Computing – it’s a huge issue. There are multiple aspects. Hackers can hide in the cloud. The bigger concern is what happens when businesses move everything into the cloud. And what happens when the business outsources support – we don’t know where that info resides, especially if it’s in another country. We don’t see much activity there now.

Finally there were some suggestions and tips..

Things you need to do create your online identity

• Set-up privacy restrictions
• Think about your future
• Never use the same password twice

Anatomy of Nation State Attack

• Establish an attack infrastructure (tools, methods, techniques)
• Conduct recon on target
• Draft a spear-phishing email
• Compromise the end-pint
• Obtain valid credentials
• Map of victim’s network
• Set up hidden director for data capture
• Compress/encrypt data for transfer

What may your cell-phone reveal?

• Weekday GPS track for 3 months
  • Patterns of life
  •  Usual places and visits
  • Rare place and rare visits (find anomalies)
• Don’t want to be followed? Turn off your GPS.

Infragard – http://www.infragard.net/ InfraGard is an information sharing and analysis effort serving the interests and combining the knowledge base of a wide range of members. At its most basic level, InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector.

Countermeasures – What can you do to protect yourself and your network

• Firewall & Antivirus
• Lock Browser (browse smart)
• Stay current (Software/security)
• Separate Powers (admin vs user)
• Encryption (PGP, GPG, TrueCrypt)
• Virtualization
• Process Controller
•  TCP View – Sysinternals
• Detection/Prevention

Follow-up Sites

• http://www.fbi.gov/
• http://www.ic3.gov – internet crime complaint center