- Author: Karl Krist
Hello ANR Colleagues!
For many of you this is the first email you are receiving from the ANR Internal Notifications System. I would like to explain this system to you.
The purpose of this system is to provide a single stream of important information for all ANR employees. This stream will be tailored to each individual based on who you are, and the jobs you perform.
This information is gathered from ANR blogs. Some blogs have been labeled as 'important' - meaning they will be viewed by everyone.
The blogs currently displayed to the entire Division are:
- ANR Report - News throughout ANR
- ANR Update - Important internal announcements
- CS&IT Updates - Important information from CS&IT (Including this message)
- Program Support Unit Updates - Information regarding Strategic Initiatives and events
If you own a blog that you feel should be distributed to the entire Division, please contact Karl Krist for inclusion in this system. If you have a blog that is important to PART of the Division, you can encourage people to add your blog to their feed.
You can tailor which blogs are part of your own feed, and how often you are notified from within the ANR Portal. From the Portal click on the 'Manage My Feed' link. The next page gives you options on how many posts to display, how old posts should be before they automatically drop off, how frequently to receive email, and which blogs are part of your feed.
Soon, additional blogs will be added automatically to your feed based on a match from the Taxonomy system or unit roles. This feature will be implemented in the coming months.
As always, I welcome any feedback you have regarding this system. As this is the first time most of you are receiving this email, I am expecting a deluge of suggestions...and a few grumbles. All feedback is appreciated! Bonus points for feedback posted through the blog system.
Karl Krist
- Author: Karl Krist
I put the following blog article out a while ago, but in recent months we have had a deluge of phishing attempts. This is especially confusing for many users as a result of our move to Microsoft Exchange.
The post below is still applicable, but I can sum up the entire point in one easy statement:
Never give your password to anyone. Only use it to login to trusted sites. If the domain of the site is not what you are expecting (Not ucdavis.edu or ucanr.edu) then there is a good chance this is an attempt to trick you into giving up your credentials.
Please read on for a little more information.
Phishing...that is the name given to different types of 'social engineering' schemes to convince you to release information to some unsavory character, who will use it in unsavory ways.
Most of us are targets of phishing almost every day. We see much of this as email spam, and throw it away. Many of these scams are obvious- but some go well beyond trolling for neophytes, and they've fooled even the most jaded internet user.
There's always a victim somewhere
I will tell you though, there are easy ways to avoid falling for phishing scams:
- Do not follow links sent in an email. You will be much better off typing in the main URL to the website, then navigating to function you need. For instance, if Wells Fargo asks you to update your personal information, type 'wellsfargo.com' into your browser, and login there and follow the directions. This way you know you will be safe.
- If you ignore rule #1, then please follow this rule! Always check the target of any link before you click on it. You can do this by hovering your mouse over the link- the real URL will be displayed in a little pop-up. Make sure it matches the link you *think* you will be going to. And please, please, please, make sure the link makes some sense! Recently someone sent me an email with links to '123contactform.com' - which was supposedly a way to update their UC Davis account information. NO! We would never send you to 123contactform.com! We would send you to a ucdavis.edu or ucanr.org domain.
- Think about what is being asked of you. Would your bank really send you an email asking you to update your social security number? No. If you doubt the legitimacy of a request- call the requestor!
Think before you link.
Turn the tables on phishing in 3 easy steps.
- Author: Michael L. Poe
Over 100 photos have been added to the ANR Repository from Monday's event celebrating the legacy and future of American public higher education.
The event took place in a tent at the steps of the California State Capitol and was presented by the UC Office of the President.
Time and location: April 30, 2012, 11am-3pm, West Lawn of the California Capitol Building, Sacramento.
Photos feature:
- Barbara Allen-Diaz
- Dan Dooley
- Rose Hayden-Smith
- Linda Katehi
- Abraham Lincoln (!)
- Carol Liu
- Craig McNamara
- Patt Morrison
- Lawrence Pitts
- Karen Ross
- Larry Smarr
- Timothy White
- Mark Yudof
- and the location, audience and select moments
Searches can be made on any of the individual names or for a look at all of the photos for the event, search for Morrill Act.
Of technical interest, 10 of the photos came from HD video. The native resolution is about 2000x1000 pixels. That could potentially make a decent professional print around 6x3 inches. The stills photos from HD video still need to be color-corrected and adjusted for use (we've done this already for the images we just added to the Repository) but this opens up exciting print possibilities we haven't had before with video images.
- Author: Karl Krist
This message is the first piece of the ANR Internal Notification system.
The purpose of this system is to provide a single stream of important information for all ANR employees. This stream will be tailored to each individual based on who they are, and the jobs they perform.
This information gathered from ANR blogs. Some blogs have been labeled as 'important' - meaning they will be viewed by everyone. Later, blogs will be added automatically to your feed based on a match from the Taxonomy system or unit roles.
The blogs currently displayed to the entire Division are:
- ANR Report - News throughout ANR
- ANR Update - Important internal announcements
- CS&IT Updates - Important information from CS&IT (Including this message)
- Program Support Unit Updates - Information regarding Strategic Initiatives and events
- Hopland REC - This has been added for demonstration purposes, and because Bob Keifer does a great job on it.
The system is simple. We will list any blog post from an 'important' blog on your Portal. Click the story headline to open it in a new window, and remove it from your feed. It's an easy way to keep track of the important news within the Division.
Also- you can add your own favorite blogs to the feed. Click on the 'Preferences' option, then the 'Add Blog to My Feed.'
We will continue to refine the system based on user feedback, and internal need. A month after launch we will return to make needed changes.
Phase II will offer:
- Connections to Taxonomy and Unit Roles
- Option to have a roll-up of information sent via email
- Improvements that you suggest
First, make sure you have a blog. If you don't have one, we can help. Second, please contact me and I'll help you get information added.
Today is the launch day of this project. I am hoping that many of you have suggestions on how to make this better, we're all ears. Please comment on the bottom of this page with any ideas you have have. Any feedback you provide is greatly appreciated.
Karl Krist
- Author: Karl Krist
This message is the first piece of the ANR Internal Notification (ANRIN) system.
The purpose of this system is to provide a single stream of important information for all ANR employees. This stream will be tailored to each individual based on who they are, and the jobs they perform.
The ANRIN system is a feed from ANR blogs. Some blogs have been labeled as 'important' - meaning they will be viewed by everyone. Individuals can then add other blogs which interest them. Later, blogs will be added automatically based on a match from the Taxonomy system, or based on unit roles.
Below is a bit of further information, as well as an attached file that describes the project.
The 'Internal Notifications' system is now under construction.
Work to begin on March 18 2012.
Phase 1 – Important Blogs
- Method to identify blogs as ‘important.’
- Allow individuals to add other blogs to their list. (Portal settings?)
- Create list of all blogs. Name, author, # of posts, last post date
- They can select ‘important’ and in the future, ‘block’
- Allow individuals to determine how many blog entries to see on Portal (minimum of 3)
- Create Portal module that will display a stub for each story, clickable to full article.
- Have a ‘feed’ of all the blogs an individual wants to see, integrated together with the ‘important’ blogs that they cannot remove.
Phase 2 – Taxonomy and Unit Roles Matching
- Allow blogs to be tagged with taxonomy categories and ‘interested unit roles’
- Allow individual posts to be tagged with taxonomy categories
- Allow people to determine which taxonomy categories they are interested in. Pre-fill with their taxonomy.
- Integrated these taxonomy blogs into the important blogs feed.
- Allow individuals to block blogs, taxonomy be damned. Unit roles and important blogs over-ride this selection.
As you can see from Phase II, we will have much more refined controls in the future.
We just started working on this system- so what you are seeing now is not what the system will look like at launch. But please take a look at what we are doing and give me your feedback. Now is the time to change direction- not when we're finished!
Planned launch date is March 29, 2012.
ANR Internal Notifications Proposal