What is LinkedIn CEO, Ried Hoffman, reading?

A post from McKinsey in 2016 listed a few books recommended by CEOs.  Here are are Ried Hoffman’s recommendations.

Reid Hoffman

Reid was executive vice president of PayPal before cofounding LinkedIn in 2002 and becoming executive chairman in 2009. He has been a partner of the venture-capital firm Greylock Partners since 2009, investing in companies such as Airbnb and Facebook.

The Inner Lives of Markets: How People Shape Them—And They Shape Us—Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan (PublicAffairs, 2016; nonfiction)

More Human: Designing a World Where People Come First—Steve Hilton with Jason and Scott Bade (WH Allen, 2015; nonfiction)

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements—Eric Hoffer (HarperCollins Publishers, 2010; nonfiction)

This Brave New World: India, China and the United States—Anja Manuel (Simon & Schuster, 2016; nonfiction)

The Gene: An Intimate History—Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner, 2016; nonfiction)

The Seventh Sense: Power, Fortune, and Survival in the Age of Networks—Joshua Cooper Ramo (Little, Brown & Company, 2016; nonfiction)

From iOS to Android

iPhone to PixelThis long time iPhone user recently made the leap over to the world of Android and switch to using the Google Pixel phone. The two main reasons I included:

I got a taste of the Google assistant via the Google Home. Although Amazon has a similar assistant, Alexa, on their Echo product, the Google Assistant seems to be full of knowledge. This capability comes from its access to the Google Knowledge Graph and clearly sets it apart from Alexa.  In addition to automating your home, the Google Assistant can search all of its knowledge of the Internet to answer any of your questions.

A new cellphone use law in California, which went into affect in 2017, prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving. Tapping and swiping is only allowed if the phone is mounted on the dash. The Android Auto app allow drivers to easily access maps, music, and read & write text messages via the Google Assistant, taps, and swipes.

I plan to share my transition experience on the next few posts. Stay tuned.

$18 Security Key Protects Your Gmail Account from Hacks

FIDO U2F Security Key

Phishing attacks were in the news again during this past election cycle.  Clinton Campaign Chairman’s email was hacked because he clicked on a phishing link.  The Chinese government also has a history of phishing for Gmail accounts too.

The use of this $18 FIDO U2F Security Key would have prevented the hack.  Companies such as Google, Facebook and Dropbox already require their employees to use FIDO U2F Security Keys, why don’t you use it to protect yourself?  My Gmail account is not only used for emails, but authentication across the internet.  It is worth the $18 and 2 minutes of your time.

Here are the instructions to activate Two-Factor authentication, if you don’t already have it turned on for your Google account.