Storify is still in beta and there are some rough edges. Your “state” isn’t saved so when you save a draft or switch from Twitter to Facebook inputs for example, you have to start at the “beginning.” I don’t mean the beginning of your story but the beginning of your research. The #UNZ11 hashtag has several pages of results but each time I left the Twitter input screen, I would have to redo my #UNZ11 search and scroll down pages of results to find my place. And dragging items from the left column to the right column can be tricky at times. You really have to place your locations in each column properly for drag and drop to work ideally (try it and you’ll see what I mean). For the Flickr input, I thought I could add in a Flickr photo set, and it seemed to work the first time. Trying it a second time didn’t work so instead, I used the link input to add additional Flickr sets to the story.

Still though, if you’re thinking of building a story from social media inputs, give Storify a try.

And now, on to the Unconferenz 2011 Storify.

• productivity tips
• design
• innovation
• travel
• Hackerspace (coming soon)
• food
• personal informatics
• outsourcing your cooking and cleaning
• virtual assistants
• gadgets

My Takeaways

Innovation in any business is needed but is very difficult to grasp and hence foster. Need to check out Innovation Hawaii.

Mac OS X Spaces and virtual desktops. Several vouched for virtual desktops (Spaces in Mac OS X) to boost productivity. The main key is to assign apps to specific spaces to segment your work and mind set.

PogoPlug. Yeah, I got one but there’s so much this tiny server can do. Thanks to @ryankanno for the show and tell of his hacked PogoPlug.

The Android Nook. You can mod the Barnes and Noble Nook Color into a low cost Android-based tablet.

Yubico and YubiKey. Ryan Kanno provided a strong case when describing the YubiKey security key and Yubico password management system. For around $40, this security system is worth the hassles of dealing with bogus online charges and purchases. My YubiKey is on order.

Parrot AR Drone. Possibly the coolest toy ever. This “helicopter” is remote controlled by the accelerometer in the iPad and iPhone.

And just a few pics of the passion at Unconferenz 2011.

Thanks again to Burt Lum for a great event!

This same dynamic is at work in many instances knowingly or not. At Hawaii startup, Peer News, owner and eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar, is using his previous experience to incorporate trust relationships in the forthcoming news service. At Unconferenz 2010, Peer News editor, John Temple talked about Peer News and its direction.

Also at the social media sessions was Jared Kuroiwa, formerly of KGMB9 and Hawaii News Now. While he provided great insight and retrospect of his past industry, his presence reminded me of this post, Trusting KGMB9. At the time when the Hawaii television news industry crumbled, KGMB9 stood above the rest in my view. Trust was at the core of this. Through Jared’s social media strategy, I trusted KGMB9 and all its voices. Most of those voices, sadly, have gone silent, and I quietly wonder about the trustworthiness of the new news conglomeration.

Taking a step back, I realize that my reasons for attending Unconferenz were based on trust.

Trusting that Burt Lum and Ryan Ozawa would put together a great event leading to great discussions and trading of ideas for Hawaii tech enthusiasts. Thanks guys!