This is not to say that leaving your laptop out in plain sight is something that is unfamiliar. As independents we are constantly in situations where our laptop is out in public, some locations that are safe and some that are less comfortable. Especially somewhere not built on a community of trust, like a coffeeshop or any other shared space with randos, if you have to go to the bathroom, you’re up against the “laptop dilemma” covered by Lifehacker. If you’re regularly spending time in a space like this, you’re going to want to consider taking these steps that will provide you with the comfort to leave your laptop alone for a couple minutes.

The basic steps are to start with protecting your laptop in these situations. There are very nice programs that act as a car alarm for your laptop, making alot of noise and trouble for anyone who might want to snatch it. Some of these programs will turn your camera into a broadcast vehicle ready to send the picture information to your email inbox. Several of these tracking programs go even further to employ GPS to notify you of the location or notify a central hub of the location of your laptop when it checks into a network.

Measures that make the laptop less attractive to steal or worthless when stolen address data protection and encryption. These range from heavy encryption to simple things you can do to make sure that sensitive files are not accessed. Some of these procedures you should be doing already and are part of a healthy computer’s maintenance cycle, like password protection based systems and backups to disperse your data.

Alarms and Tracking systems

• Laptop Alarm goes off when someone trys to jack your stuff. For Mac there’s Lockdown.
• Grace Rodriguez turned up Prey, software that tracks your computer when it’s stolen.
• Other tracking and tracing programs to install before your laptop is stolen: The Laptop Lock, Adeona, LocatePC, GadgetTheft, Computrace,

Passwords

• Get your passwords fresh and regularly from a Random Password Generator
• Store your passwords with Keepass, a free, open-source password manager.
• Set a password for your computer. If you want to get crazy, set a BIOS password. Lockdown has a tutorial here.
• Monica Danna brought up this technique for people who like to keep their passwords in a text file on their hard drive: “Select a short string of characters and numbers to be placed at the end of every password you use. When you write down your passwords never include that string, making any password that is written down identifiably correct only to you.”
• Another tip for people who like to use that password text file, use Steganography to hide your passwords in plain site encoded into images or mp3s. For more information on steganography, check Wikipedia. A commercially available tool is called Steganos.

Data Protection

• Encrypt your hard drive’s data with TrueCrypt, here‘s how thanks to Lifehacker (hat tip Lifehacker).
• For long term protection, encode your programs. This can set you up to prevent against identity theft. Again, Lifehacker has a great post about this.
• Set a backup schedule for your data that folds into an online backup service. If you’re on Twitter enough you know @iJustine and are probably familiar with Mozes. Another good reason to have a regular backup schedule is that it can fold into your maintence schedule.
• Remote data destruction? That sounds awesome. Thanks to Chris Pirillo for the tip here.
• Another digital destruction device, this time submitted by Warren Free. Called BackStopp, this program employs GSM, Internet, WiFi and RFID to destroy data. Thanks for the tip, Warren

Good Habits

• Plan for the worst. No one wants to ever have to call or email old contacts so proactively organize your old contacts or delete the ones who are no longer mailed. Delete or combine into an encrypted solution any information that contains passwords, account numbers, PINs or sensitive materials.
• ‘Save early, save often” for a laptop looks something like “save multiple copies, on multiple formats”

Come back tomorrow where we’ll discuss physical steps you can take for theft prevention.

As always, comments are appreciated. What are some of the steps you take to protect and prevent laptop theft?

In the wake of this utterly disappointing situation the feelings running through my body were pain, discomfort and remorse. Kind of like getting an STD.

Other reasons why having your laptop stolen are like getting an STD:

• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD are both preventable
• People warn you all the time about having your laptop stolen or getting an STD
• They sell things that prevent your laptop from being stolen and you from getting an STD
• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD are both more likely to happen when you utter the words ‘it’ll be ok just this one time’
• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD can both be costly to remedy
• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD can have a lasting effect long after the symptoms go away
• You ponder what you’ve lost and how you’ll recover when your laptop is stolen or you get an STD
• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD both require you to call up people you never want to speak to again warning them they might want to go to the doctor or change their business’ passwords
• You think of all the foolish things you’ve done in the past when your laptop is stolen or you get an STD
• Having your laptop stolen or getting an STD makes you angry at the person that put you in this position
• Having your laptop stolen is like getting an STD except your stolen laptop doesn’t itch, burn or erupt
• Having your laptop stolen or getting an STD can be the result of a long night of drinking
• Having your laptop stolen and  getting an STD both can be discovered after it’s too late
• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD are similar except stolen laptops can affect gentiles too

From the Community:

• Having your laptop stolen and getting an STD both result in a huge loss of trust (hat tip @photine for coming up with this. Thanks!)

What are some other ways in which having your laptop stolen and getting an STD are similar?

This week is Stolen Laptop Week: come back tomorrow where you’ll learn how to prevent your laptop from being stolen in the first place and receive a list of some prophylactic services/programs that prepare you in the case of theft.

SXSW is now over for this year, all that’s left is that hope that you learned something and came back with new ideas and contacts. We recognize that the summation of each individual experience totals to a wealth of knowledge for the community. In an attempt to share that knowledge and capitalize upon that creative energy, this Bandcamp: SXSW AUTOPSY will be a discussion of the results of SXSW. We’re interested to hear your activities, the successes, failures, new ideas, people to look out for, tips and any tricks to share with your community. The result of this Bandcamp should be a document of new ideas and new concepts for everyone to ponder, execute or employ to maximize your exposure over the course of this year.

Even if your band didn’t hit SXSW, attend this Bandcamp to learn some new ideas that would work anywhere, not just at SXSW. If you’re not in a band but you like Houston community, attend this Bandcamp to hear about the successes from your local musicians. The best part about this Bandcamp is that it will be run by YOU as Matthew Wettergreen will be speaking at a conference the exact time as Bandcamp except in Chicago. Grace Rodriguez of AYN Brand and Ned Dodington of Caroline Collective will be on hand to facilitate but the knowledge and sharing should come from YOU the bands.

Did you know that Bandcamp has now been running for 6 months? We think this meeting would be a good time to let us know what is and is not working for you or what you’d like to see from Bandcamp in the future. If you’d like to let us know privately: mwettergreen@gmail.com.

WHAT: Bandcamp: SXSW AUTOPSY

WHEN: April 5th, 2009 1-3pm

WHERE: Caroline Collective, 4820 Caroline Houston TX

Please note that the originally scheduled Bandcamp: COPYRIGHT will be rescheduled for May 3rd so that Joe Stallone of Bracewell and Giuliani and Grounded in Music may teach the session.

About Bandcamp

Regular BandCamp sessions are held on the First Sunday of every month at Caroline Collective sometime in between the hours of 1pm and 5pm. Please mark your calendar accordingly for future events where the community education model teaches specific skills to musical artists such as, online/offline promotion, tour booking, financials, and recording. Please speak about this event to your colleagues, band members and other interested members of the Houston Music Community.

Houston’s Focus on Regionalism
I strongly believe that regionalism is a viable path to greater success for groups and communities. This is reflected in the wealth of Houston-specific programs occurring over the course of the Festival:

• Houston Film Commission is cohosting a Film Texas Happy Hour Saturday March 14th at Iron Cactus (6th Street@Trinity) from 4P-6P. Registration is closed but show up and see what’s what
• Kirtsy and Alltop’s Girl/Guy Party hosted by Alltop & Kirtsy at Allen’s Boots from 5P – 9P. Look out for girls handing out red bandannas, those are the VIP badges
• Houston @ SXSW, on March 17 at GRUV (101 W 5th St) to showcase, support and promote Houston and its vibrant Film, Interactive, and Music communities, and make sure Houston innovators and talent aren’t overlooked by the numerous influencers and tastemakers at SXSW. See films curated by Michelle Mower of SWAMP, meet tech companies curated by Marc Nathan of Houston Technology Center and see Houston musicians curated by myself. This party is completely free, please register at the Amiando page here. This party is graciously sponsored by Kirtsy, Schipul, Werkadoo and AYN Brand.
  
• IndieHouston.org Day party on March 20th featuring free beer and 17 or so Houston bands. Event information is here, remember to register at http://colab.org. Caroline Collective is a cosponsor of this event.
  

Coworking and Whuffie
Last year at SXSW I had the opportunity to learn from some of the leaders in the field of coworking. Those interactions framed my year and contributed to my individual and our collective success. This year I’m looking to share what Ned and I have learned and in turn inspire others to successfully open their own coworking spaces. Join us tonight at the Coworking Meetup at Hotel San Jose (1316 S. Congress) from 7:30P til whenever.

One of my coworking mentors, Alex Hillman, of Indy Hall will be leading a core conversation on Saturday at 11:30AM entitled “Working Alone Sucks: Join the Coworking Revolution.”

Start off your Sunday by catching Tara Hunt‘s Keynote “Making Whuffie: Raising Social Capital in Online Communities” at 11:30AM.

Later on Sunday at 3:30pm join us for the panel “Regional Whuffie Building: Attracting Innovation to Your City” where Tony Bacigalupo (New Work City), Geoff DiMasi (P’unk Avenue, Independents Hall), Susan Evans (Office Nomads), Julie Duryea (Souk) and I will be talking about creating a spirit of entrepreneurship and inspiring a regional sense of innovation.

Music Related
As the week shifts from Interactive to Music, there are several events we’re participating in related to the Music portion of SXSW:

• Grace Rodriguez and myself are speaking on a panel at The Band Bootcamp on Wednesday, March 18th on “Why Your Fans Are Your Tickets To Success.” We’ll be talking about how to crowd-source management of your career employing fans as evangelists, booking agents, promoters, designers, microlenders and sources of inspiration.
• Saturday, March 21st, several Houston artists will be participating in guerrilla shows somewhere in downtown Austin. No details yet, you’ll have to pay attention to the twitters and the txts.

Coverage
Over the course of SXSW I’ll be blogging for Chicago Public Radio/WBEZ. Read the daily updates on WBEZ’s blog here and follow the coverage at the WBEZ Live twitter account @WBEZLive.

The Barcamp model provided a simple and manageable framework to run a community based discussion and forum for social change. Similar to Bandcamp, we shed the formal educational sessions in lieu of a community driven conversation. This ensured that all opinions and topics were covered and dealt with all topics in a comfortable and collegial atmosphere. Several issues continued to come up and while facets of these issues were discussed, we are clearly only at the beginning of this process:

There seems to be a need to share available resources in the arts community at all levels, from staging an independent show to running a successful gallery. As an independent artist new to Houston, Jen Mathis mentioned that it is daunting to know where to start to stage a show or which organization to contact. Nancy Zastudil of the Mitchell Center for the Arts pointed out that Skydive studio, one of the newest in Houston, is a great model for an artist run gallery and has begun to run weekly classes on Saturdays entitled Saturday Free School of the Arts (SFSA).

Bringing Awareness about the Houston Arts Community
Addressing what seems to be a systemic identity issue, the fertility of Houston Arts is known outside of Houston but internally greater awareness is needed. In the afternoon session, Rainey Knudson of Glasstire discussed the formation of the online magazine and her attempts to bring awareness of the Houston arts community internally and nationally. It seems that, while engagement exists, on the whole, awareness and education is lacking.

Dichotomy between Underground and Overground
Sean Morrissey Carroll provided perspective on some of his favorite shows over the past 10 years, all underground. Many were staged as guerrilla shows among friends, held at alternate venues an included such ridiculousness as pyramids of jello shots. He commented on the difference between the underground and the overground in terms of methods of promotion, inclusion of artists and desired attendance for success.

It seems that the guerrilla shows are staged to cut through the noise but also as a way to show art without pretense or rigid guidelines. There is a cycle that exists where the people staging these shows put on so many successful shows that they eventually gain the respect of the establishment, who then adopts them into the fold. Without the need to be innovative in staging and promotion, these people become the establishment and a new breed of guerrilla artists stage shows and the cycle repeats. The group agreed that it would make sense to harness the power of this arts cycle, bringing the underground and the overground together for resource sharing and documenting our rich arts community.

The best ideas that came out of the day are the following:

• Houston arts wiki to share best practices and provide a living document
• City-wide art fair
• Aggregated list of events and city map

Houston Arts Wiki
David Herrold of the Houston Chronicle, joining us on UstreamTV put forth the idea for a Houston Arts Wiki (not myself, as incorrectly stated by Sean Morrissey Carroll in his recap). This wiki could serve as a community curated list of resources, artists and history of the Houston Arts Community. It could function as a living document of the city’s arts scene and will be a valuable resource for people to use for learning or what already exists or what could exist.  Already showing success in providing a living document of a community, the Houston Scene Wiki off of now defunct Skyline Network has provided valuable information for the Houston Music Community. We are looking for a site that is unafilliated to host this wiki and have thought of purchasing houstonartswiki.com

City-Wide Art Fair
Grace Rodriguez had an idea for a city-wide art fair. Nancy Zastudil chimed in that Chicago has such a fair every year. The idea was to get every arts organization and gallery into a large open space, give them tables and showcase everything that Houston has to offer in the arts community.  While this is a large undertaking we feel that this could be one way to showcase the arts in Houston.

Aggregated List and map of Venues and Events
Elliot Cole of Caroline Collective mentioned that his mother runs an aggregated blog of events happening in Austin. While the process that she uses is labor intensive it would be great to create something that would allow all events to be pulled in and seen by Houston members. As Marc Nathan said “You want to build the castle and then hand the keys to the community.”

Closing and What’s Next
The best recap of the day was provided by Houston’s contrarian art representative: Sean Morrissey Carroll.
Grace Rodriguez recorded the entire day, thanks to UstreamTV. Morning Session is here and Afternon Session is here.
You can check the #artcamph twitter stream for a running commentary of the day.

Going into the event one of our goals was to work towards developing a sustainable system for improving the arts in Houston. This meeting was a huge step but only the first towards open lines of communication along the vertical hierarchy. Regular events of this type that will allow the community as a whole to arrive at a fully informed picture of the challenges and unique situations that we face in the Houston Arts Community.

Looking forward, we covered some challenges and came up with some solutions but this was only the beginning of the discussion. While two great ideas came out of Artcamp’s session, there are many more that this community could develop. It is our job as leaders in the community to discuss and listen to the community’s needs and direction for the Houston arts community for the goal of raising awareness for the Houston arts community, as well as making people in Houston proud of the art that they have in their city.

What do you think are the unique challenges that exist in Houston Arts?

What do you think some solutions are?

These results were completely unexpected as the original format for the day was to be predominantly lecture driven with some open discussion from the audience. Our bush league inability to secure a projector for the day forced us to teach from a whiteboard instead, opens the lines of communication and enriching the teaching session. This allowed us to focus on theory before practice and let us lean on attendees to provide answers and anecdotes of their own experience maintaining their online presence. The open format switched the perspective from passively absorbing information into actively and collectively sharing. At the end of the session, people who had never thought about the hub and spoke concept were sufficiently swayed and a couple of the Luddites began to ask for more information for their own research.

The session began with taking stock of the knowledge base of those bands/artists in attendance (attending bands listed at bottom of post). Most in attendance already had a website and were selling their music online. Ian, myself and Philip were SUPER proud to especially see those people attend because it demonstrated/s a commitment to career and a willingness to learn.

We discussed the hub and spoke concept of a home base with multiple outposts, referencing Chris Brogan‘s posts (here and here)and Darren Rowse‘s post and personal online presence diagram. Rather than discuss Chris’ concept of home base, passports and outposts though, we couched the concept in only home base and outposts with active vs. passive engagement on specific outposts. Pointing animatedly at Myspace’s position as an outpost we re-iterated our rant on bands improper usage of the site as a home base. Then we blew everyone’s minds with Brian Solis’ overwhelming and visually stunning ‘blomma‘ diagram. For the remainder of the session, attendees and moderator filled out a blank hub and spoke diagram for musicians.

Especially incredible was the conversation that ensued when a new tool was brought up by an attendee accompanied by their experience with the tool. Entire categories swelled and doubled under the knowledge sharing from community members’ experience.

This discussion was so successful for generating new tools for artists and flushing out a musician’s Hub and Spoke diagram that it ate up the entire Bandcamp session. Two important things not covered were how to set up a simple wordpress and how to wean the created hub and spoke model to a manageable strategy for online presence (These will be main focuses during the 2/22 Bandcamp). The only remaining things were to assign homework and continue the conversation elsewhere (@coffeegroundz).

Homework #1: Bands in attendance were paired up. Bands were assigned to research their paired band online and discover the extent of their ‘online presence’. Return for the second session of Bandcamp this month (2/22) and give a brief verbal report.

Homework #2: What is the biggest band in Houston measured solely by ‘online presence’? (question for readers: what do you think?)

Attend the second Bandcamp of this month on 2/22, again at Caroline Collective, again from 1-3pm and again focusing on ONLINE PRESENCE but with the inclusion of setting up your own website and forming an effective and manageable strategy.

Every Bandcamp session is the result of many people’s hard work and contributions. Thanks to the other two organizers of Bandcamp and my Revelry Report co-hosts: Philip Beck and Ian Wells; Jake Starkey for filming the session;  Grace Rodriguez for providing the flip camera, presentation consultation, ideas (especially the homework assignment) and for uploading the video; Ned Dodington for helping me clean the coworking space and manning the greeting spot and especially Chris Brogan for the concept of home bases, passports and outposts and Darren Rowse for expanding upon it with a personal touch.

Bands in Attendance:
Gretchen Schmaltz / Western Civilization
Wayside Drive
Glasnost
Buffy mae west
Irie Time
Prairie Cadets
The Snake Charmers
Low Man’s Joe
The Distracted
Female Demand
The Bottom Four
Music Heals

[photo credit: Jeremy, Wayside Drive]

This is a glorious Christmas sweater. Notice the rocking horse which makes it kid friendly. The designer also had the foresight to include a “NOEL” on the sweater lest you jump to conclusions and think this was an ordinary red sweater.  (Best caption in the comments section wins some sort of prize).

QUESTION: What’s better than wearing Absolutely Fabulous Christmas sweaters for the entire month of December?

ANSWER: Wearing Absolutely Fabulous Christmas sweaters for the entire month of December AND raising awareness and money for a community driven non-profit.

ANNOUNCEMENT: It was recently recommended to me by Grace Rodriguez of AYN Brand (http://aynbrand.com, @gracerodriguez) that I utilize the Christmas sweater project to raise awareness and donations for a local non-profit. Last weekend at the Coffee Groundz meetup I was fortunate enough to meet Terry Seufert (http://goodwillhouston.org, @houstongoodwill) of Houston Goodwill Industries. Thanks to the advice from Grace and the brokering from Terry, I’ve partnered with Goodwill Industries of Houston for the remainder of the month to highlight their services and contribution to the Houston community. Goodwill’s thrusts include programs that empower people to develop a sense of self-worth and independence, resulting in quality placements in community employment and greater personal success. This is a cause and a theme running through the community educational programs that Ned and I are attempting at Caroline so it is only fitting to help raise awareness for a group contributing to the Houston community in so many important ways.

Goodwill has been kind enough to donate sweaters for the rest of the month and each day’s sweater will include a focus on one aspect which demonstrates Goodwill’s importance to the community by providing jobs, training and education. Please join me in thanking Goodwill for their contribution of sweaters and aid to the greater community. It is our hope that wearing Christmas sweaters will lead to something greater than just amusement, hopefully some donations to Goodwill in the form of financial contributions, clothing or increased volunteerism.

To make a financial contribution, please click the Chipin widget to the right or click below.

To volunteer with Houston Goodwill please visit their volunteer page here or call: 713-699-6338

To donate goods to Goodwill please visit their donations page.