NBTMV - Turn on 2-step verification on your Google account

In previous videos I have mentioned how important it is to turn on 2-step verification (or 2-factor authentication) on your Google account. In this three-minute video, I’ll walk you through the process because you really ought to do this.

After you turn on 2-step verification, to log into your Google account, you have to first enter your normal password and then you have to enter a verification code that Google sends to your phone. Even if someone steals your password, they’d face the additional step of having to enter the verification code before getting into your account. That;s why you should turn on 2-step verification -- to get the benefit of an extra layer of security.

To set up 2-step verification, first log into your Gmail (or Google+) account and click on your name or your profile photo on the upper right hand corner. You’ll get a Google Accounts overview page showing all the settings. Click the “Edit” link next to “Using 2-step verification”. That will take you to the page where you have to enter your current password and then you'll get the page where you can click a link to turn on 2-step verification. You’ll then go through steps where you enter a phone number to receive the verification code and test that it works. You also need to enter a backup phone number for the verification code, in case your primary phone is not available.

At this point, you should also generate the printable backup codes that you can use when you don’t have your phone or can’t use your phone. Google generates 10 backup verification codes that you should print out and carry in your wallet. In a pinch, you can use these one at a time when you need them.

For accessing Google services such as Gmail on a smartphone or a tablet or when you read Gmail using Microsoft Outlook, you have to generate and use application-specific passwords. There is a link on 2-factor authentication page for application specific passwords. You should pick a descriptive name for the application such as “Gmail on my smartphone” and then click Generate Password. Then enter that long complicated looking password (ignore the spaces) in place of your normal password. You have to enter the password only once for each application and you can always revoke a password and generate a new one.

That, in a nutshell, is how you turn on 2-step verification. If you haven't done so already, I hope you'd turn it on as soon possible.

Here's some more information to help you...

To learn a bit more about 2-step verification, see the Google support page on Getting started with 2-step verification and for more on application-specific passwords, you can:  Watch the video on application-specific passwords 

Cloud computing from a user’s point of view

In previous videos I had tried to explain cloud computing, its benefits and risks, and why you may want to go for a public cloud. But recently I realized that all those terms such as public vs private cloud or platform-as-a-service or software-as-a-service, are just not relevant from the user’s point of view. That’s why I wanted to provide this brief description of cloud computing from a user’s point of view.


By “user,” I mean individuals like you and I as well as organizations. As far as you and I, as individuals are concerned, we have a laptop or a tablet, or a smartphone (or all of these) with some connection to the Internet (which is the “cloud”), and all we know is that when we need our email, it’s there, when we want to upload a video or share photos with family and friends, we can do it. We don’t care how Google or Facebook manage to store all this information that millions of users upload. That’s what is cloud computing to you and I - - to get access to our email, documents, Facebook, and Google+ etc. from any Internet-connected device, when we need it.


Now, if the user is an organization, they could, for example, go to Amazon Web Services and buy whatever computing services they need - - they can get database, storage, order fulfillment, payment service, or just plain computing platforms. That’s cloud computing to a corporation - - to be able to just go to the Amazon Web Services web site and order whatever type and amount of computing services they need. That’s what cloud computing is to organizations that need more computing than just the email, documents, etc. that we, as individuals need.


In summary, from the user’s point of view, it’s cloud computing if you can go to a vendor and buy whatever computing services you need and pay for just the amounts you use. All the technical definitions with jargon such as virtualization and elasticity are just technical explanations of how the cloud computing vendors do their magic, but that’s really not important to the users. What’s important to the users are: (1) a broadband connection to the Internet and (2) access their email, documents, etc from any device.

Here's some more information to help you...

You can find my previous posts on cloud computing on this blog, but here are direct links to help you get to specific posts: 

• Why public cloud  
• What are some of the risks of Cloud Computing
• Why you should consider cloud computing as an opti...
• What is Cloud Computing

Interest


Here are some interesting books related to cloud computing:

Tags: cloud+computing, virtualization, public+cloud, private+cloud 

NBTMV - Create a Google+ page for your organization (or even your blog)

If you are on Google+, you already know that corporations and other organizations can now have Google+ pages. Many companies such as Amazon.com, New York Times, and many more have already started putting up their Google+ pages. What you may not think about is that you can create a page for your blog or personal webpage as well. I did just that for my NBTMV blog. Here's how.

When you are viewing your Stream on Google+, you’ll see a link on the right hand side that says “Create a Google+ Page” . Clicking that link will take you to a webpage where you can create your Google+ page. For my NBTMV page, I picked the Arts and Entertainment category from the left and then, on the right side, after entering a name for the Google+ page and my blog URL nbtmv.blogspot.com , selected Blog as the category. Click Create and you’re done.

Now you can switch between your Google+ account and your Google+ page by clicking the small button under your name on the upper left corner in Google+. When you are on your Google+ page, click Get Started link on the upper left corner and you’ll see helpful suggestions for promoting your page and linking your website or blog to the Google+ page. In particular, you’ll see a link for your Google+ page, similar to this: https://plus.google.com/104988589735282319665 that you can email or tweet to all of your contacts. And click the “Get the badge” link and follow the instructions on how to put a Google+ badge such the following one for my NBTMV blog:

With this Google+ badge on your website or blog your readers will easily be able to get to your Google+ page.
That’s about it! Now all you have to do is start posting updates and news on your Google+ page. And wait for your customers or readers to circle your Google+ page :-)
Seriously though, since Google+ page just got started around Nov 7, 2011, it’s a good strategy to set up your Google+ page as soon as possible. I hope you do so and best of luck!

Here's some more information to help you...

The best source of information about Google+ Pages is Google. You can start by reading Google's official blog post on Google+ Pages, then browse this page on Introducing Pages for Google+. If you are the one maintaining your organization's web page, this Google Webmaster Tools support page provides helpful tips on Google+ Pages. I'm sure there'll be lots more helpful information and books in the future, but this should get you going for now.

Why I love Google+

By now, I have posted a number of 3-minute videos (TMV), but, today I wanted to pause and tell you why I love Google+.  You see, I won’t be talking to you in this video if it were not for my joining Google+.

What I like best about Google+ is its integration of mail, calendar, documents, photos, and much more. When I get into Google+, I already have access to all of these applications right from the toolbar.That plus when I log into Google+, I can get to everything with the same login. I was already using Gmail with 2-factor authentication (please, do turn on two factor authentication for improved security, just go to your Account Settings page -- if you are on Gmail or Google+, click on your name on the upper right corner and select Account Settings to configure it - - the upshot is that when you log in, after you enter your password, you also must enter a verification code that Google sends to your phone via a text message).

Anyway, I began by sharing some photos with family on Google+ and then discovered that I could post videos on Youtube with the same login. After posting a few vacation videos, I thought why not make some short videos and share some of what I know with others. It was fun getting started with the videos that I am calling "Naba Barkakati's three minute videos" or NBTMV for short :-)

.After posting a few videos, I realized I need to provide some more helpful information, especially names of books or links to websites that I couldn’t possibly provide in the videos themselves. So I got into Blogger and, again, surprise, I could log in with my GMail login. So, I went ahead and created a blog - - nbtmv.blogspot.com and posted each video in a separate blog posting together with the transcript and other helpful information. Of course, I also began sharing these videos on Google+.

Everything was so painless that in no time at all, I had gone from a beginner on Google+ to creating my own 3-minute videos and posting them on my blog, and, of course sharing them on Google+, all of this facilitated by the single login access to mail, calendar, documents, photos, videos, blogs, and much more.

That, in a nutshell, is why I love Google+ and will continue to use it. I hope you agree and will join me on Google+.
(In my video, I didn't mention anything about circles, but I do love to be able to share my posts with selected groups of people based on my circles, but all the productivity applications in one place takes the cake for me :-)

Here's some more helpful information

To keep up with news about Google+ and some interesting posts, check out posts with the Google+ label on the official Google blog.

There are already a bunch of books on Google+, including one Dummies guide that will be published around mid-November 2011. Here are the links to a few books:

Tags: Google+, 2-factor authentication, Gmail, Google Docs, Youtube, Blogger