Inside an AT&T pedestal cabinet in Oakland...

#googplus

Paul here from the Superfund Squad, where we're getting rid of the infrastructure you love to hate and paying off unfunded mandates with technical debt. And digging up the History of Google's Social Efforts in the attached collection.

I've been cranking at this social thing for almost 7 years at Google on Google+ and a long time before that at places Six Apart (home of Typepad and Livejournal), hi5 and LinkedIn. I did a lot of work on OpenSocial and other standards back then which is a big reason I'm here today.

Oh and this enterprise thing isn't my first rodeo. Way back at Critical Path we provided hosted email, calendar and tasks for Italian Telecoms, Major Universities *and* the Kiss Army. And at Red Hat we sold shrink wrap and services to all sales channels.

But I'm most proud of the work I did at the UN on telecom standards, relief efforts and publishing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 500 languages. (And the site is still standing to this day!)

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/SearchByLang.aspx

And finally before that was the Internet Gopher.. Me, with Heavy Metal hair:

https://www.minnpost.com/business/2016/08/rise-and-fall-gopher-protocol

Beyond all this tech I enjoy life in Oakland with my fabulous wife Julie and our Great Pyrenees Gus. You'll find us exploring the parks of the East Bay, checking out obscure music or cruising the rapidly gentrifying Valencia street in the Mission. I'm also heavily interested in building software and systems that last the long term. I'm a member of the Long Now (https://longnow.org) and I have a 20% project called Digital Vellum (http://go/digitalvellum)

Happy to be here with y'all and looking forward to our next adventures!

#googplus

#googplus

Code Next Opens in Oakland, creating diversity through Constructionism

"From a design point of view it is a truly unique experience that very much leans on an educational theory known as constructionism. This codified curriculum will soon be available to the entire world as an open source."

#gplus

*Fairy tales and anecdotes*
*Both dangerous for amateurs* [1]

When it feels like I'm boiling oceans I spin up Doomtree's Marathon. 6 verses of poetry with amazing beats.

.. and if you missed Doomtree at SXSW you can see them tonight. [2]

#nokings _crash y'alls server..._

[1] http://genius.com/Doomtree-marathon-lyrics
[2] http://www.songkick.com/concerts/24476944-doomtree-at-oakland-metro-operahouse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bocpRJ3PAmA

#googplus

#googplus

Oakland Dollars for Sunday Papers. Montclair Farmer's Market.

#gplus

Rainbows, Oakland

#gplus

Originally shared by Tim O'Reilly

Fundraiser for Libby Schaaf for Mayor of Oakland at the BlueSprout industrial co working space. Oakland is a Maker city. Libby will be a Maker - friendly mayor. But she is most of all a doer who will help city government to work for its citizens!

#gplus

This crazy "gothic" house near my home in Oakland can be yours for $869k.

Bonus: it's an Ingress portal.  Not sure if that'll be in the disclosures...

Photo tour here:

http://www.coldwellbanker.com/property?propertyId=283479577

#gplus

Newcomer Kilovolt Coffee Lights Up West Oakland

New food and drink establishments are slowly springing up in our neighborhood, Kilovolt Coffee is the latest welcome addition -- read more from KQED Bay Area Bites: http://goo.gl/GGg5k3

#gplus

Still an empty profile though...

But not much better than:

Joe Tuman - https://plus.google.com/109949039322333887009

Libby Schaff - https://plus.google.com/110500927796450135344

Bryan Parker - https://plus.google.com/109333654487362962540

At least Parker has a couple of posts there.  Tuman has only 1 Youtube video..

If there are other candidates add them here and I'll share an Oakland Mayor 2014 circle..

#gplus

It's Oakland's time to shine.

#gplus

Are any of our politicians even trying to get inward investment of this type?  Twitter moved into a neighborhood (SF mid-market) that's worse than most areas of Oakland.  It would only take a few companies to change hearts and minds...

#gplus

Anil Dash - I'm saddened that someone that I worked with and respect wrote something so out of touch with the situation that's going on here in the Bay Area.  You seem to believe the media hype that the "techies" are elitist and out of touch and that better "marketing" will help win hearts and minds.

The reality is that tech companies and employees are already doing much of what you advocate for, and doing more of it, or marketing it, won't change the situation.  Avatars, Logos, and signs won't help.  Helping people afford housing will.

Specifically:

Using Voices

Employees and company leaders already advocate for better housing and infrastructure.  Google has succeeded[1] and failed[2] to build housing in Mountain View near it's campus.  Facebook too[3].

Volunteering and Civic Initiatives

Google (and other companies) match donations 1:1 and encourage their employees to give.  There's also the following

  - Google.org 

  - Google for Nonprofits 

  - Supporting local communities via GoogleServe[5]

  - Google sponsored a huge push to fund Kiva loans last year via their own and employees giving.

I am very proud of what's been done here and how Google has made me a better donator and volunteer.

Community Involvement 

Extending benefits like food and day care to people in the community is an interesting idea.  There are problems however -- employee services are at the work places, not in the neighborhood where people's rent are going up.

Plus there are often better ways for employees to engage with the community.  I've met and talked to plenty of people while picking up trash in West Oakland.  Plenty of other people are already very active in their churches, schools and communities.

In Closing...

If every shuttle was banned the problem would still remain.  In the past 10 years San Francisco has built  17k new units of housing while adding 75k residents[6].  This is a complex issue that's not going away soon.  Marketing isn't going to change it.  Getting more housing and helping people worried about paying rent will, even while many are directly benefitting[7].

I'll leave you with the conclusions from Elias Levy's in-depth data based analysis[8] of the situation:

In the end, tech workers are simply a convenient straw man for folks to direct their anger at high rents, which are simply the result of a strong economy, the anti-development history of San Francisco, the city’s limited geography, and market forces.  In a slightly different scenario, the vilified workers could have been in biotech, aerospace, or finance.  So long as the local economy is strong, San Francisco is a desirable place to live in, and the population increases, rents, like real estate, will go up in San Francisco.  At best, we can slow down these market forces and provide a helping hand to those less fortunate to ensure they have some support dealing with these changes.

Full disclosure: I work at Google. I wrote part of this on a Shuttle from the East Bay, and would still be driving if it wasn't available.

[1] http://abcnews.go.com/Business/google-invests-sparkly-housing-development-mountain-view-calif/story?...

[2] http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=8731879

[3] http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/10/the-houses-that-facebook-built-are-coming-to-san-francisco/

[5]  http://www.google.com/giving/community/

[6] http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-San-Francisco-creates-its-own-housing-crisis-513...

[7] http://www.npr.org/2014/01/22/264528139/long-a-dirty-word-gentrification-may-be-losing-its-stigma

[8] http://elias-levy.tumblr.com/post/74103701680/san-francisco-eviction-protests

#gplus

Had brunch there this weekend.  Great food, somewhat spotty service, but they're just getting going.

Originally shared by East Bay Express

How Oakland’s Barkada made a successful leap from bakery-cafe to full-fledged restaurant: http://buff.ly/1ckfSzQ

#gplus

My new morning routine -- remove trash from West Oakland.  Contrast that with the new defacement of West Oakland.

#gplus

In Oakland this morning...

#googplus

Here's an interesting site documenting a startup's move from San Francisco to Oakland.

#gplus

Stormtroopers robbing banks making a fast getaway..  #nottheonion

#nottheonion #gplus

Can You Hear Me NOW?

#squirrelartwork  

#gplus #squirrelartwork

Nice to know that this is going on.

#gplus

Sibley Regional Park #throughglass

Early Sunday, before it got too hot, Julie Lindner  and I took our dog Tommy for a walk in the Oakland Hills.  With some care (and a bit of luck!) you can get some nice shots with the Glass camera.

#gplus #throughglass

What's your favorite Oakland page?

Happy to see Montclair Veterinary Hospital posting now and then..

#gplus

Yes, this is real.

The Great Wall is a 100' x 100' video installation in Oakland's Uptown neighborhood that displays all kinds of videos.  

http://greatwallofoakland.org/

#gplus

SeeClickFix is one of the best things to come along for fixing problems in Oakland.  Here's one of their "highlighted" issues for all you typography/design nerds out there..

#gplus

Are gourmet ramen restaurants only a Bay Area phenomenon?  This place looks really good...

Originally shared by KQED Bay Area Bites

A good first impression! more quality food options in Oakland!

#gplus

Checking out the Loring Cafe which transplanted itself from Minneapolis on #firstfriday in Uptown Oakland.

#firstfriday #gplus

Looks like I'm not the only one to have seen a bright meteor/shooting star just now in the Oakland Hills.

There was a loud rumble afterwards too -- wonder if something hit? 

#gplus

Oakland vs Swiss style referendum posters.  Which one would you frame?

#gplus

Discovered Doughnut Dolly this morning while walking around Oakland's Temescal neighborhood. They creme your donuts to order and they are so very good.

The chilled lemon curd on this warm day was delicious.

#gplus

Not the #squirrelsaturday  I was thinking of....

#gplus #squirrelsaturday

This is pretty cool, I have great memories of the old Loring in Minneapolis.  It closed then moved and reopened after Paul and I left Minnesota so I've never tried the current incarnation.

I think my positive memories revolve more around the amazing, funky space than the food or drinks but I'll certainly give the Oakland outpost a try once it opens.

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2012/08/02/loring-cafe-takes-shape-in-oakland/

#gplus

A dogwood grows in Oakland.

#gplus

Thanks for the birthday wishes (and for not pranking me, like Google does every year!) The shorts have already been worn a fair bit and are really nice. Happy to hear that John's trip is going well and can't wait to have you out here in Oakland!

-- paul

#gplus

Roses blooming in the Oakland Hills.

Here's a photo uploaded directly via Eye-Fi. I'm still working out the best way to use this with G+, but so far I'm pretty impressed. The geotagging was pretty accurate and I'm always happy with the quality of the photos from the Lumix.

Currently I've just set this up to upload to the machine at home with iPhoto and also upload to Picasa. I've yet to experiment with the Android app and Wifi-Direct, but that seems a bit complicated -- I might just turn on wifi tethering when taking photos instead.

Anyone else using a setup like this? Any hints?

#gplus

Roo after a brisk walk with Tommy in the Oakland Hills. She's acclimating quickly.

#gplus

Interesting article about how Peets, the progenitor of Starbucks, is becoming more and more like them.

Luckily there's a plenty of alternatives brewing around here. Oakland's Blue Bottle Coffee is still tops for me. How about you? Have you seen places like Blue Bottle spring up in your area?

#gplus

Spent some time mapping the shortcuts my neighborhood using Google Mapmaker. Luckily I was able to get most of my data from the Oakland Urban Paths database.

My mapmaker profile is here:

http://www.google.com/mapmaker?gw=66&uid=216375860650465931580

The crazy thing is despite being a tech lead for Google+ Connected Sites I didn't have this in our node mapper system. I'll have to get right on that :-)

#gplus

Rainbows over oakland

#googplus