Wade Gibson

On Target

Why I Have My Own URL Shortener

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I’m sure many of you are familiar with some of the popular URL shorteners like goo.gl, bit.ly, and TinyURL. They are an incredibly handy tool to have at your disposal. URL shorteners can take a ridiculously long link to a document or other resource and make it quick and easy to share.

So why would someone need their own URL shortener? Simple; it’s an excellent marketing opportunity! You can use this slick service to market your company, your products, or even yourself! That way every time you spout off a short URL from the front of the room, or use one in a presentation, you are building brand awareness. I’m constantly making short URLs to agendas, forms, and other web resources. There is also a certain geek chic factor in having your own URL shortener, I must admit.

The URL shortener service that I have implemented is called YOURLS, which stands for Your Own URL Shortener. The tool is completely free and only takes a few minutes to set up. The only catch is that you need to dedicate an entire domain name solely for its use. You also need to have a web hosting service with PHP & MySQL, but that’s relatively inexpensive as well if you don’t already have one.

For organization-wide URL shorteners I like using the .info domain extension. At my work we have esu11.org as our primary, corporate domain name, so we’ve registered esu11.info for our URL shortener. For myself, I chose wadeg.me as the domain name. Both are short and easy to use, and they roll of the tongue nicely when sharing URLs to a large audience. When choosing a domain name, don’t forget about all of the country suffixes available, which may allow you a really clever and unique domain name!

The tool itself works no differently than other URL shorteners, but there are a few key advantages. For starters, you can make your custom URLs anything you want! Additionally, you can change where those URLs point at anytime (handy if you want to re-use one). YOURLS also offers some nice analytics too, so you can see how many times your shortened URL has been used and other traffic statistics.

I’ve had YOURLS set up for so long that I almost take it for granted. It’s reliable and always there when I need it. This tool is a must have if you do any kind of presenting!

Georgia On My Mind

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Earlier this December a group of us from ESU 11 had the privilege to present at the AESA (Association of Educational Service Agencies) annual conference in Savannah, Georgia. This was the second time I’ve presented at AESA so it was nice to make a return at the national level.

Our team presented on ESU 11’s implementation of Professional Learning Communities which began in the fall of 2015. Our presentation went great and I’m proud of my colleagues for the outstanding job they did.

One of the most enjoyable parts of preparing for this presentation was drafting the title and description for our session proposal. I’m a huge fan of coming up with something creative and clever to intrigue conference attendees and lure them into our session. Plus, if you can get a chuckle out of the folks who review session proposals it drastically increases your odds of being accepted to present!

The theme of this year’s AESA conference was “The Future Depends on Their Future”. Naturally, our first inclination was “How can we incorporate Back to the Future into this?” Ergo the title of our session ended up being “Roads…Where Our PLCs Are Going We Don’t Need Roads”. Then we sprinkled in a handful of other quotes and movie references in the description to bring it all together. Of course our presentation was filled with loads of useful content, but we like to have fun too!

All in all it was a great conference. We had a chance to meet and visit with folks from other service agencies across the country. It’s great to hear the work others are doing and learn how we can improve our own organization. The southern cuisine was pretty good too!

The First Step is the Two-Step

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fingerprintNo, we’re not talking about the dance; we’re talking about authentication! Much like the dance, two-step authentication is something that everyone should know how to do. Wikipedia defines two-step or two-factor authentication as “a method of confirming a user’s claimed identity by utilizing a combination of two different components. Two-factor authentication is a type of multi-factor authentication.”

So what does all this mumbo-jumbo mean? It means that in order to access your account, you would need to meet at least two requirements – something you know (your username and password), and something you have (a generated code from your mobile device). This is not a new concept by any means. Think of getting cash from an ATM machine. Not only do you need to have your ATM card (something you have), but you also have to know your PIN (something you know).

In most cases, the two-factor authentication process works something like this:
Enter Username & Password > Random Code Sent to your Mobile Device > Enter Random Code

This means that would-be hackers would not only have to know your username and password, but they would also have to be physically in possession of your mobile device before they could gain access to your account. To make the legitimate user experience more convenient, you are sometimes offered the option to “Remember this device for XX days.” This will allow you to continue to log in from that specific device using only username and password. Login attempts from any new devices would still be prompted for the second step of authentication.

Obviously working in the IT field we have credentials to a number of accounts, most of which have elevated access. Properly securing these accounts with two-factor authentication is paramount to the security and integrity of our operation. To make this process easier, many of us use an app to manage the random code generation (rather than waiting for an SMS text message). My tool of choice has been Google Authenticator. The video below does a great job of summarizing two-factor authentication as well as the Google Authenticator app.

Curious if a particular website or application supports two-factor authentication? Check out twofactorauth.org.

LastPass

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lockThere are a handful of tools that I use every single day, and would consider essential to my daily operation. One of those tools is without a doubt LastPass.

I have been using LastPass since 2012, and will continue to be a faithful user for the foreseeable future. At the time, LastPass Enterprise was the only tool out there that would allow shared folders for storing passwords. This was the single biggest selling point for me since I needed a secure tool to keep device passwords synchronized between myself and my team. Prior to adopting LastPass I was using an encrypted text file called LockNote, which had worked quite well as an individual solution. Its beauty was in its simplicity, but it lacked the sharing capabilities I needed.

After a brief trial run with the free version of LastPass I immediately ponied up for Enterprise so we could begin using shared folders. The payoff was immediate and I don’t bat an eye paying for this service now. I even have a Premium account for my personal use, which allows me to create a shared folder with my wife as well. Both the Premium and Enterprise accounts allow use of the LastPass mobile app, which is quite useful.

LastPass has benefits beyond traditional password management as well. I use it as a secure vault for storing any sensitive information. It is a great way to document software licensing, credit card and banking information, membership numbers, lock combinations, or anything else you can think of.

Everyone should be using a password manager of some variety or another. Having unique, complicated passwords for every service is crucial. Maintaining that level of discipline with passwords inarguably requires a password manager.

Operational vs. Strategic

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chessEach fall I am faced with the challenge of shifting from Operational mode to Strategic mode. This is an interesting transition that occurs each year, usually a few weeks following the flip of the crazy switch.

The summer months are filled with project implementations, equipment installs, and various other things to get done. Most of my time is devoted to completing projects that have been planned out months in advance. Once school resumes and things have settled down I find myself changing mindsets back to a planning and strategic mode. There are certainly times where these two paradigms overlap, but the transition is definitely noticeable.

The past two weeks have been a classic example of this metamorphosis. As I write this post I am in Omaha for three days at statewide ESU meetings, where we are learning and planning for trainings throughout the year. However, just last week I was scrambling to get schools converted to their new transport circuits, which is a project we anticipated would have been completed in July or early August. Shifting gears this quickly is a challenge, but it forces us to be flexible which is an invaluable character trait in our field.

This time of year also bears a change in my professional wardrobe. Instead of cargo shorts and t-shirts more suited for scaling ladders, I’m back to wearing shirt and tie as I navigate meetings instead of wiring closets!