So here are 10 Basic Things About Me (in no specific order):

1. I drink Coca-Cola specifically
2. I’m a wrestling fan
3. I live on the 4th floor of a walk up with 4 cats, one of which is both named after and has Twitter
4. I volunteer my time
5. I also live with my girlfriend
6. EMS is more than a job to me… its a way of life
7. I have an… unnatural fascination with… ellipsis
8. If there was such a thing as a Social Media Expert, I’d be considered one
9. I’m only a social gamer, my brother was the pro
10. I will drink a large French Vanilla ice coffee light with cream and 4 Splendas from Dunkin’ Donuts 99% of the time I drink coffee at all

So there it is… #10BasicThingsAboutMe.

This is a photo of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge on its way down. The photo was taken with my new iPhone 4s with HDR engaged. It looked really good on the small screen… but on the big screen I’m less impressed.

With our contract at the point of an upgrade we decided it was time to get new phones. My girlfriend on the other hand had decided before we hit the store on the iPhone 4s, leaving her Droid X behind. I was waffling a bit between the Droid Bionic, the soon to be available Droid 4, and the iPhone 4s. As you may be able to tell by the photo, I went iPhone 4s.

This may come as a shock to most of you considering I have been an ardent supporter of the Android platform. I was a proud and early adopter of the original Droid phone, I own an Amazon Kindle Fire that is the most successful Android tablet form to date, and use Google for most of my online tasks such as e-mail and keeping my calendar. Whenever someone talks about an iOS app, I’m usually the one asking where an Android version is.

So how did Apple woo me from the Droid Army into the iCult?

Simply put, performance.

For the last year I’ve noticed my Droid running considerably slower. Sure there were more apps that became more sophisticated, and it showed in the overall performance of the phone. The worst indicator of this was when Foursquare would freeze up while getting my morning coffee after the phone came off a full night of rest. Not only was it frustrating, but it endangered my mayorship.

Battery life was nowhere near where I needed it to be. Even with aggressive battery management I was plugging it in after maybe 1 hour of usage and 3 hours of standby. There were lots of times when the sync function would last for an hour or more, draining the battery even faster.

The absolute worst part was when I would run “Low On Memory“. I was unable to move memory hogs like Facebook and Google+ off the actual phone and onto the mounted SD card that still had plenty of space, so the only solution was to delete apps and lose one function to gain another.

In the end, Droid wasn’t what I was looking for. I needed something that would be responsive and perform throughout the life of the contract. Having the Droid was, for all intense purposes, the same as owning a PC. It was good for the first year but the hardware was quickly outpaced by the software and there really wasn’t much I could do about it.

Is the iPhone 4s the Droid I’m looking for? Even the all knowing and wise Siri isn’t sure. It’s too early to really tell, although thus far things are VERY promising.

I haven’t had a power management issue, I’m running apps quickly, there are no memory issues to worry about, and the phone hasn’t frozen yet. The worst part was losing all the contacts in the phone, but truth be told I’m okay with re-adding them and NOT syncing it to my Google contact list, which is significantly large to say the least.

The fact is in two years we’ll have an opportunity to change again. Whether I stay in the iCult for my phone will really depend on how the performance is over the next two years. Hopefully Apple delivers on the hype and I will be another mindless happy consumer.

Stay tuned…

The Washington Post has an article about how you can get a Facebook girlfriend for just $5. The article focuses on fiverr.com user Cathy01 who has offered up these services to the social network connected lonely. Those who have replaced real life interactions with their online connections can now rejoice!

This kind of service isn’t a new idea. In fact CloudGirlfriend has been offering the same type of services. The big difference is those girls aren’t real, but rather computer algorithms hiding behind some very well done Flickr photos. While the algorithms may be ideal for efficiency, they tend to be a little TOO perfect.

What makes this advertisement on fiverr.com somewhat different is that there appears to be a real person helping to promote this faux romance.

But Cathy01 isn’t the only one offering her emotional wares for the needy. She now has competition from fiverr.com user Leite686 who not only offers to be your Facebook everything for 7 Days, but she has immediate availability with no orders in the que! I’m sure that there will be more of these offers popping up over the next few days, months, and years. Of course, whether it is a real person represented truthfully in these profiles is something that remains to be seen. Kind of like those sex lines where you think you’re talking to a 23 year old co-ed but it’s really a 43 year old stay at home mom looking to pay her rent.

While many people may see it as the answer to their socially inadequate profiles, the truth is that all this will do is clutter and devalue the network over the long term. It’s a big negative and I, for one, wish it hadn’t gone this way.

The site they were referring to was the EMS Blogs network. Not to get into too many finite details, but one of the posts on the network yesterday proved quite popular. While the blog itself is cache protected from traffic surges, the third party commenting system was not.

This caused an unexpected burden on the server, which then automatically shut the network down for 73 minutes while the plugin was disabled and the server reset. Our traffic loss was probably around 400 visitors during that time, which is a significant amount for any blogger or network. Of course, there’s the big picture to look at. Being down for 73 minutes of the month is actually 0.2% of the time which is actually really really good.

Even that doesn’t change the fact that I hate those two words. I hate them because I know, especially when it comes to the network, that other people’s expression is dependent on my ability to resolve that problem. Then again… that does make them just like a patient.

So I was hacked.

Now this wasn’t just any sort of hack job where they changed my photos around and posted “U HAZ BEEN PWNEDZ!!!!!” This was a nefarious attack where someone planted files and folders that didn’t belong, was able to get access to the .htaccess, and nefariously try to redirect me to an attack site. It was DEEP.

So I went with the nuclear option.

And unfortunately in doing so wiped everything except for a SQL database with my stuff.

So… what was once old is now new again.

Fresh.

Clean.

And re-organized into what I probably should have done in the first place.

Stay tuned…

OH HAI! MAH NAYM IZ TWITTR!

WE R EXPERIENCIN TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIEZ!

PLZ STANDBY WHILE TEH HUMANZ FIGURE OUT WUT BUTTONS 2 PUSH!

FEELZ FREE 2 LEEF ME UR CHEEZBURGER WHILE U WAIT!

Myself, Jamie "The Podmedic" Davis, and Chris "Geekymedic" Montera

While podcasting is quite a bit different from blogging, many of the concepts for distribution and format remain the same. Here are the things I look for in a podcast before hitting that subscribe button:

• Format – whether it be a solo recording or a roundtable discussion with numerous people, there needs to be some sort of format that is repeatable
• Openings – the opener of the show you should have the name of the podcast and the URL of the site where it can be found
• Introductions – Whether it be the same solo voice, the same cast, or an ever changing dynamic pool of talent everyone on the podcast should introduce themselves before the conversations starts
• Content – I need to be able to relate to the content on some level. Broad topics don’t usually work well because they lack the details most audiences crave while localizing your topics will indelibly narrow your audience, but to a point where it may become miniscule
• Closings – I always look for the way to interact with the show in the closing, whether it be the URL of the show’s site or where I can reach all of the individual guests, that’s something I want to know considering I just gave them X number of minutes (hours) of my life I will never get back
• Connectivity – I want to be able to connect with the podcast (and its participants) beyond the recording. Whether it be a Facebook Page, Twitter account, or a blog I want that level beyond the recording to go to
• Show Notes – Show notes to me have taken on a new importance ever since I got my iPod Touch. I don’t need the blow by blow of the recording in the podcast, but I do want to see both the topics and who’s on the recording (preferably with links to where I can find them) so I can peruse the topics easily and select something I’m in the mood for as opposed to playing iPod Roulette

What do you look for in a podcast?

Now I’ll be honest, while the video is slightly disturbing I can understand why it happened. The activist was being obnoxious, rude, beligerant, and basically baiting the EMTs and Police Officers. Unfortunately this particular EMT, identified as Captain Ronald Leslie, took the bait and swallowed it whole like a wide mouthed bass. What I find to be more outrageous, and a blaring indicator to the actual problem, were the comments left on the original post.

So it begs to question how could a Captain be so blatantly wrong in his assertion that HIPAA prevents photographers/videographers from taking images on a public street and how can so many providers think that he was actually in the right?

The answer is that we provide an extremely poor education in not only HIPAA but also laws regarding photography. I’ve had my fair share of people tell me the same thing, including supervisors, chiefs and directors. I thought that we had done better in this area of education, but it appears we haven’t.

Who HIPAA Actually Applies To

To violate HIPAA it must actually apply to you. Some covered entities are:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Clinics
• Hospitals
• Dentists
• Chiropractors

…and since we bill health insurance for reimbursement…

• EMS Agencies
• EMTs
• Paramedics

Anyone notice something missing? Yes, Firefighters don’t necessarily make the list. However if you are certified as a healthcare provider or belong to a fire based EMS system then you are included as well. For firefighters who are members of a fire department who does not respond to medical emergencies, are not healthcare providers and therefore do not bill for compensation, HIPAA does not apply.

As for everyone else, such as the media and John Q. Public with a Flip UltraHD Camcorder or a cellphone camera, since HIPAA does not cover them then the rules governing patient privacy do not apply to them. Therefore they cannot “violate” them.

3 Of The 10 Legal Commandments of Photography

Laws will vary from state to state and city to city, but there are some very basic guidelines that are universal thanks to the US Constitution and its Amendments. An excellent guideline to these rights are The Ten Legal Commandments Of Photography. In the case above there are three specific Commandments that apply:

I. Anyone in a public place can take pictures of anything they want. Public places include parks, sidewalks, malls, etc. Malls? Yeah. Even though it’s technically private property, being open to the public makes it public space.

So is a courthouse open to the public? I would hope so. Therefore it is indeed legitimate to photograph/videograph inside of that building. Government buildings deal with highly sensitive materials in regards to national security may indeed prohibit photography as per Commandment IV, but I don’t think the Keene Courthouse is harboring anything of that nature.

V. People can be photographed if they are in public (without their consent) unless they have secluded themselves and can expect a reasonable degree of privacy. Kids swimming in a fountain? Okay. Somebody entering their PIN at the ATM? Not okay.

So this dispels the whole argument about the photographer not having consent forms for the people they photographed. If indeed it is in a public place, it can be photographed. Now what those photographs can be used for is a different issue. If for arguments sake someone wanted to use one of those photographs as an advertisement for a product inferring an endorsement, because it is now for commercial use they will probably need consent forms. The chances of that however are highly unlikely.

VI. The following can almost always be photographed from public places, despite popular opinion:

* accident & fire scenes, criminal activities
* bridges & other infrastructure, transportation facilities (i.e. airports)
* industrial facilities, Superfund sites
* public utilities, residential & commercial buildings
* children, celebrities, law enforcement officers
* UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, Chuck Norris

Once again, these are things within public view and therefore are legally within the realm of the photographer without the need for any special dispensation.

A few months back I posted the NYPD OPS Order On Photography. If you read the OPS Order it is very specific that the laws and practices the NYPD abides by follows the Ten Commandments very closely.

It is important to realize that these permissions are truly in our best interest as a society. While it may seem not in the best interest of the patient, if the freedom to do so didn’t exist then the video of Paramedic Maurice White getting choked by Trooper Daniel Martin would be illegal as well. Ultimately it is important that Responders understand and respect both their responsibilities to and the rights of their patients and those around them, especially photographers and the media.

This is also a great reason why your agency should be involved in Social Media. If the Keene Fire Department would have had a Social Media presence instead of this webpage, they would have been able to defend themselves in a more direct fashion. If you’re from the Keene Fire Department and reading this, it’s not too late to get started in Social Media.

What Is A Blog Network?

A Blog Network is really a group of blogs that cover a variety of topics under one banner. A great example of a Blog Network (and where Blog Networks need to go) is B5Media. Another example of a Blog Network from a technical perspective, although they probably wouldn’t consider themselves one, is CNN who puts many blog voices under one banner.

Traditionally a Blog Network provides the technical support needed to create a blog, and the blogger provides the content that populates it. With the increasing popularity and stability of WordPress MU, Blog Networks have become another option for the average publisher to expand their presence on the internet with basic technological knowledge.

The Pros Of A Blog Network

• Potentially increased visibility – By joining with other bloggers, there is the potential for you to increase your visibility. Compelling content is what draws readers in. Someone else’s compelling content of today can bring readers to your own compelling content of yesterday and tomorrow, bringing you extra exposure and new readers
• Not bearing the sole burden of content – By not bearing the sole burden of content, a huge weight is lifted from your shoulders to stay fresh and relevant. The lessened demand leaves more time for family, friends, and of course Mafia Wars
• The possibility of earning revenue without the hassle – This always seems to be the biggest pro that bloggers sign up for. Earning money is not as easy as throwing an AdSense block in your sidebar. Today it requires time and effort for effective sales in advertising. With the Blog Network handling the sale of ads on your blog and sharing the revenue with you

The Cons Of A Blog Network

• Potential loss of visibility – If you haven’t already established a blog, this probably won’t matter for you since being at zero visibility means there’s only one way for you to go and that is up. Established bloggers need to realize that by jumping off their own blogs they are essentially starting all over again. Sure you’ll be able to announce to your readers that you’re moving, but the links that you have built up over time that the search engines use are going dead. They don’t automatically follow you to your new endeavor under a new domain. Some bloggers make a bigger mistake by bringing their domain with them, which will result in those backlinks going to an Error 404 page on the network or worse… to irrelevant content
• The burden of higher quality content is higher – Sure you are part of a network, but what will make you stand out? Obviously you’ll need higher quality content than the next blogger in order to continue being the authority as you have been in the past
• The Loss of Copyright – This is the absolute biggest reason to stay completely clear of a Blog Network. You write it and they publish it with their Copyright notice in the footer. This is less of an issue if you are a blogger who is getting paid for both a) content and b) performance. What I mean by that is you are getting paid a set amount per word/post and ontop of that getting performance or “traffic” bonuses. The working MO of Blog Networks is to offer you an ad revenue share based on the number of unique visitors or pageviews that you get. Some Blog Networks will even set a “minimum” performance level (which is usually some ridiculously high number) before they will include you into the ad share. Think about it… if they sell two ad spaces on your blog and collect the revenue but you don’t make their minimum “performance” level they are keeping your percentage… and the rights to the content you created
• The Loss of Being Able to Determine Your Own Advertising – There is a reason that the FTC has made changes regarding blog advertising. An advertiser appearing in your sidebar isn’t just an acknowledgment of payment, but it can be inferred as an endorsement. So for arguments sake let’s say you have a bad service experience at oh… I don’t know… a motorcycle repair shop. You blog your disgust and how unfairly you and your bike Betsy were treated. You move on to other things, and then one day an ad appears in your sidebar for that very same motorcycle repair shop. Like contextual advertising, you have lost your ability to control who is cashing in on your reputation

What Every Blogger Should Know Before Signing Onto A Blog Network

• READ THE FINE PRINT – As with everything you do, be sure to READ THE FINE PRINT, especially with Blog Networks where revenue is dependent on performance. The devil is always in the details…
• Think About The Long Term Effects – I am a big believer in the revenue possibilities along the long tail. Make sure something you create today for them and not being compensated for is something you can use later on for yourself to generate revenue in case they cease to exist
• Effects On Your Personal Brand – If you join a Blog Network you will surrender a bit of your Personal Brand that will be replaced by the Network Brand. In some cases this may good and in others it may be bad

Whether you decide Blog Networks are right for you or they aren’t is ultimately your decision. I think much of it depends on the entire reason you started blogging. Please, just go into it with your eyes wide open and both the benefits and disadvantages to both you and your readers in mind.