Collaborage

Go Google Yourself

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:55:58 -0500

It’s that time of the year where you reflect on your past accomplishments and look toward the New Year for professional growth. Google is now a verb so I have to ask have you Googled yourself lately? What does it mean if you do and nothing comes up in the results? Well, that indicates that you have spent a career focusing inside the walls of the corporation for your career development. That strategy was fine in the 70's, 80's and 90's but your falling behind if you try that in today's environment. Google seems to index just about every information source including many of the Social Software sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, and Slideshare to mention a few. Our own company is using sites like Twitter, and YouTube to advertise our products. How long do you think it’s going to take before they start using these same tools to build their new 2.0 workforce? Here is a simple test, fire yourself. How long do you think it would take to get another job? Do you think working for the same company for 30 years is an asset? Do you think people still use old worn our resumes to look for high performers? You do realize that every time you put your resume in for a job, 5,000 other perfect resumes go in for the same job. What should you be doing in today's environment other than just working hard?

Update your CV and Resume quarterly
Actually put some time into your annual review
Create and update your professional profile (LinkedIn)
Get involved with a local trade organization
Get Published on some level
Get a Blog or Twitter account and start sharing your ideas and thoughts
Take advantage of the Tuition Aid program
Volunteer and leverage your professional skills

What else could we be doing to ensure our marketability in this job market?

Don't Be a Tool; 2.0 Style

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:48:50 -0500

By now, I am sure you have heard of that insult "Don’t be a tool". This odd phrase has seems to have found its way into our lexicon and pop culture over the past few years. Allow me to take you back to 2001 where my wife and I were on vacation in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I remember sneaking out of the house to get in a quick 18 holes at the par three course across the street. I soon caught up with a couple of college kids who seemed to be having a real good time. I am sure the cooler of beer was helping. Within minutes they were insulting each other, as most young men do at that age with slams such as:

"Don't be such a tool", "That was such a tool shot", "Put your tool self back in the cart".

This went on for 18 holes. I found myself getting into the spirit by the last couple of holes and tossing out a few slams as well. As we were walking back to the cars, I asked them about this "tool" thing and they were very clear. They wanted to get that phrase into the pop culture just like "Where's the Beef" by Wendys. Now, I have played golf with plenty of strange folks and I don't think I would have remembered these guys until a few years ago when I heard the phrase on the radio and again on TV within a few weeks. Since then, I heard it many times and that got me thinking. They actually did it, not sure how they did it but they pulled it off within 6-7 years. I am sure that by the time they made it, no one remembered them but this wouldn't be the case with our new technology. How long would it take our friends in today's environment with our current technology? They could have posted a video on YouTube, posted on twitter, and maybe even launched a website for "Tools on Parade". What this experience always reminds me of is that if you put your mind to something you can make anything happen and with the tools you have available today, it's even easier

The 2.0 Ties that Bind Us

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 06:47:17 -0500

You have probably heard of folks using the term "ties" to describe the strength of a relationship between two people. A strong tie indicates someone that is close to you while a weak relationship is one more of an acquaintance. Of course, there is a mountain of grey between those two descriptions. For example, there are people that sit next to me in "Cubeville" that I have strong ties with. These are not as strong as the ties I had earlier in my career when I worked in close proximity to where I lived. Today, I work about 45 miles away from home and living on the south side of Atlanta puts me an additional 30 miles away from most of my co-workers. This distance weakens our ties since we don't go out for dinner or play softball on a weekly basis. My weak ties extend to people on my own team since I have never actually met them in person and they may live on the other side of the country. Social Software adds another example of weak ties in that many of us read blogs or check out wiki pages authored by people we have never met or worked together on a project. That being said, the technology allows us to develop those weak ties and still find value in the relationships. I have no issue IM'ing several members of our community and asking them what they think about an idea or technology. Clearly, I wouldn't even have known they existed or were interested if we didn't have this social software available. Reach and touch someone that you don't know, maybe they have the solution to a problem you've been facing for months. There is tremendous value in weak ties and in a global company that may be all that we have in the near future.

Evolution of Web Design

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:48:42 -0500

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love web design. Moreover, I love to tinker with my own web sites and implement new design techniques that I might pick up by reviewing other great designs or by reading books. For some unknown reason, I thought it might be fun to look back at the different designs that I have used for my personal brand. Some of these will make you wonder what was he thinking but keep in mind this all started back in 1999 when Jacob Nielson was the only design expert out there. The first couple of designs were prior to RTodd.com that I leveraged for my Ph.D. research but you can see that I moved on to my own domain in the early 2000's. How fun is it to look back and see what you have done. Moreover, you can tell when I learned something new like CSS or Flash.

1999: Ph.D. research with PhdSurvey.com	2000: Actual study with TrustStudy.com

2001: First version of RTodd.com	2002: Added Flash with a simple design

2004: Expanded the core content and Added Blog	2005: Got cute with a time based header

2007: Small changes and Web 2.0 integration	2008: Added a wood background and hidden div's

2009: Current Version

Comments on Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:00:40 -0500

For those that don't know Gary Vaynerchuk, he is one of the leading Wine experts in the country and clearly one of the pioneers in Web 2.0 technologies. You can read about Gary on his blog at http://garyvaynerchuk.com/ or review his video blog at http://tv.winelibrary.com/. My first exposure to Gary was on the web site Cork'd which is a wonderful example of how to integrate Web 2.0 into a small business. Personally, I review this site often if nothing else but to get ideas on how to utilize these tools in the right way. The two books I asked for Christmas was Crush It and Andrew McAfee’s new book Enterprise 2.0. I had really hoped to finish both of them over the break but time always gets the better of me.

If you haven't read any books on Personal Branding, including mine (Trademark 2.0: Defining Your Value in a Web 2.0 World), then this is a great book to start with. What I like most about the book is the credibility of the author. He is one of the few people to have actually utilized the new technologies to build a world class brand. For wine enthusiasts, Gary is one of the few honest voices out there. I really like the way Gary hit the work ethic component of building your personal brand. Many authors shy away from this in fear of turning away readers but Gary hits it perfect in stating that you simply have to out work the other guy if you want your brand to stand out. He also discusses various tools, technologies, and processes that might help you in your personal branding effort. The core message is simply find your passion, work hard, be patient, and then monetize it to the nth degree.

The only real disappointment is that the book doesn't really offer anything new if you have read other books on the subject of personal branding. That isn’t a slam on Gary but more of an acknowledgement to the other authors for a job well done. Overall it’s a great book and I highly recommend it.

2010 Web 2.0 Predictions

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:08:51 -0500

Web 2.0 Interests me from a variety of view points. First, as a technical architect within a Fortune 100 company, I am interested in how organizations are incorporating Web 2.0 into their internal business environment. Commonly referred to as Enterprise 2.0, I want to understand the "How" of implementation and the real value delivered to the enterprise. Second, I spend a great deal of time writing about the impact of Web 2.0 to small business. In either of these perspectives, when Web 2.0 is leveraged appropriately real business value can be generated. The impact of Web 2.0 can be seen in the interaction and dramatic shift of how work gets done. Global organizations now have to compete and communicate 24 hours a day and they need tools that enable a type of seamless communication. Whether you're an employee, consultant or customer, you now have the tools to communicate directly with your audience without layers of management impacting the message. We have seen a huge migration to collaborative tools that have a capacity for 2.0 interaction but limited success in Web 2.0 only technologies. The reason for this is simple. The vast majority of people want a solution not a technology. The biggest change I think you will see in 2010 is the migration away from the technology: blogs, wiki, twitter, profiles etc. to a more solution based approach. Organizations will come to the solution provider with problems which can be addressed with a collection of technologies instead of a single silver bullet. This will require the creation of patterns to address specific business needs which may include collaborative technologies, mobile devices, unified communications, as well as Web 2.0 technologies. Finally, you will see Web 2.0 continue to struggle within large enterprises. While we hear the success stories, they are still a very small minority. Some of these struggles can be attributed to small contribution rates, lack of ROI, management, culture, or even the economy but these hurdles will not be over come by 2010. Despite the rose colored reporting, our Web 2.0 implementations are not succeeding. The good news is that they are not failing either which allows them to continue to fight for another year.

Globalization is the Next Stage of Work

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:10:19 -0500

In my book, Trademark 2.0, I completely missed the next step in the natural progression of work. I wrote about the obvious transformation from an agricultural economy to an industry economy. Those observations continued to the transformation to a technology based economy. Where I messed up was assuming globalization was a component or symptom of this transformation when in fact it was the fourth rung on the ladder. In the prior three we looked toward technical changes to modify how work was done. Globalization will eventually show that it too was driven by technology change but the ramifications are far from being felt. Today, Americans are blaming big business and our government for causing this recession but underpinning this is the transformation where work is getting done faster and cheaper in other places around the world. Alain Minc commented:

With the free circulation of capital and technologies, competition will be unbearable with the Chinese, who are fortified by their capitalist chromosome, by their productivity, and their capital and who can work as efficiently as we, for thirty times less.

With this new global economy questions emerge to who should be in control, who should lead, who is responsible for ensuring our place and many other question emerge. For a country born on democracy, it's interesting to see so many looking to the government for that lead when in fact it's us that must lead this next transformation. Unfortunately, our life styles are killing our drive to succeed. I read a funny quote that China has more honor students then we have students. We are clearly getting out gunned in this next war for talent. Globalization is a great thing but for those left behind the road will indeed be a challenge. Just as those who stayed behind in the factory, we may soon be left behind the rest of the world.

IT Professionals and Personal Branding

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:39:58 -0500

This weekend, I spent sometime updating my web site. In order to get some fresh ideas, I took a look at many of the personal branding sites that are online. One observation is that the vast majority of personal branding sites belong to freelancers, authors, and real estate professionals. Web developers were clearly in the lead when it comes to promoting their work. Obviously, they have the Internet where their work can easily be found and promoted. For many of us not having a visual representation can be challenge but one that can be overcome. Missing from the personal branding bandwagon was individual information technology professionals that work within our enterprises. I suppose folks don't feel the need to create their online persona or has the utilization of LinkedIn or Facebook made us lazy. The Web 2.0 tools are great but they can't replace your own online environment. I discussed this need in my book (Trademark 2.0) but I realize that most folks don't see the need or have the skills to make a professional web environment. That is until this current recession. With unemployment breaking 10% with a real unemployment or underemployment figure ate 20%, I wonder if any of those out of work technology professionals are rethinking that strategy. Last year was not a good year for me in the development of my brand and I hope to rectify that in 2010. I made the same mistake that so many information technology professionals make; we assume the organization will take care of us. Unfortunately, those days have passed and your career is up to you. My advice is to develop your self internally as well as externally. If you have the skills, get online and start building your own brand.

Last Sharepoint Site

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:47:10 -0500

Well, my last high end Sharepoint site went into production this week and I hate to see that happen. Within my company, I was moved into a more Architectural role which ensure that I don't add any additional customer value. Over the past 7 years, we have built and integrated Sharepoint into the very fabric of business and did it with great design in mind (80,000 Sites). I will miss working so closely with the business and delivering value but change has come. While I won't be directly involved with the troops on the ground, I am going to stay involved with Enterprise 2.0, Collaboration Tools, and many other technology areas. This seems to be more of a research position than what we developed over the past few years. The future is now, let's make something of it.

Paul Harvey's Dirt Roads

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:41:33 -0500

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved. There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character. People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride. That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home...a loving spouse, happy kids and a dog. We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along. There was less crime in our streets before they were paved. Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double barrel shotgun. And there were no drive by shootings. Our values were better when our roads were worse! People did not worship their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they didn't tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust & bust your windshield with rocks. Dirt Roads taught patience. Dirt Roads were environmentally friendly, you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk you walked to the barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to the mail box. What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony rode on Daddy's shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody. At the end of Dirt Roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap. Most paved roads lead to trouble, Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimming hole. At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini. At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra springtime income, from when city dudes would get stuck, you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them out. Usually you got a dollar...always you got a new friend...at the end of a Dirt Road! by Paul Harvey

Sharepoint Design Gallery

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:21:47 -0500

SharePoint Design Gallery is a Web 2.0/Enterprise 2.0 site dedicated to bringing you the information on how organizations are actually utilizing collaborative technologies in the creation of business value. Like you, I want to see and understand how this technology is impacting the bottom line of the business. My original plan was to showcase about 100 sites but we are well past that and by the end of the month we should have around 250 in the inventory. Specifically, I want to focus on organizations that utilize the Sharepoint technology in an Internet strategy. This site brings together my interest in design, usability, Sharepoint, and the creation of value. Let me know what you thnk or any ideas to make it better. Sharepoint Design Gallery

400 Plus Enterprise 2.0 Products

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:33:58 -0500

A1-Webmarks(Q-Success) - Book Marking	Advanced Electron Forum (Open Source) - Forums
Affinity Circles(Affinity Circles) - Social Networks	Akiva (Akiva Corporation) - Social Software
AOL Instant Messenger(AOL) - IM	Applibase(vTiger) - Mashup
Ask Markets(Ask Markets) - Information Markets	AskItOnline(Triexa) - Polls
aterr (Chimaera Project) - Forums	Atlas(IBM) - Social Networking
Audacity(Open Source) - PodCasting	Awareness(Unknown) - Social Networks, Community
b2evolution (Open Source) - Blog	Bantu(Bantu) - IM
Battle Blog (Open Source) - Blog	bbPress (Open Source) - Forums
Beehive Forum (Open Source) - Forums	bitweaver (Open Source) - Wiki
bLADE Wiki (Open Source) - Wiki	BlinkList(MindValley LC) - Book Marking
BlogCloud (Open Source) - Blog	Blogger (Google, Inc.) - Blog
Bloglines(IAC Search & Media) - RSS Feed Reader	BlogMarks(BlogMarks) - Book Marking
blogSpirit (blogSpirit ) - Blog	BlogTronix(BlogTronix) - Social Networks
Blue Dot(Blue Dot, Inc.) - Book Marking	blueKiwi(blueKiwi Software) - Social Software
BlueNog ICE(Bluenog) - Wiki	BoltWire (BoltWire ) - Wiki
Boonx(BoonEx) - Social Networks	BrainKeeper (BrainKeeper ) - Wiki
bttlxeForum (Battleaxe Software) - Forums	BurningBoard (WoltLab) - Forums
BusinessWiki (Divante Ltd.) - Wiki	ButorWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Buzka(Buzka Pty. Ltd.) - Book Marking	Buzzvote(ATTAP Technologies, Inc.) - Polls
Cakewalk Blogs (Open Source) - Blog	Campfire(37signals LLC) - IM, Chat
CanvasWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	CentralDesktop (CentralDesktop ) - Wiki
Chatterous(Chatterous) - Chat	Cisco’s EOS(Cisco) - Social Networks
Clearspace (Jive Software) - Wiki	ClearWiki (ClearWiki ) - Wiki
Clipmarks(Clipmarks) - Book Marking	codeBeamer (Intland Software) - Wiki
Cogenz(Cogenz) - Book Marking	Communico Site Server(Communico Site Server) - Forums
Communispace(Communispace) - Forums	Community Server(Telligent) - Social Networks
Confluence(Atlassian) - Wiki	Connect Beam(Connect Beam) - Forums
Connectbeam(Connectbeam, Inc.) - Book Marking	ConnectedText (Open Source) - Wiki
Consensus Point(Consensus Point) - Prediction Markets	conVerdge(conVerdge) - Social Networks
Convio (GetActive)(Convio) - Forums	CoReap(CoReap) - Book Marking
Corendal Wiki (Open Source) - Wiki	CoreSpeed(CoreSpeed) - Social Networks
Cospire (Snouthold Inc.) - Wiki	Crowd Factory(Crowd Factory) - Social Networks
CrowdCast(CrowdCast) - Information Markets	CrowdCast(Xpree) - Prediction Markets
Crowdvine(Crowdvine) - Suite	Daisy (Outerthought) - Wiki
dasBlog (Open Source) - Blog	Dave Networks(Dave Networks) - Social Networks
de.lirio.us(de.lirio.us) - Book Marking	del.icio.us(Yahoo!, Inc.) - Book Marking
DeluxeBB (Open Source) - Forums	Diigo(Diigo) - Book Marking
dnfBB (Open Source) - Forums	DokuWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Dolphin 6(BoonEx) - Communities	DotClear (Open Source) - Blog
dPolls(dPolls, Inc.) - Polls	Drupal(Acquia) - Blog
DZOIC(DZOIC Limited) - Social Networks	E-Blah (Open Source) - Forums
eBuddy(eBuddy) - IM	EditMe (EditMe, LLC.) - Wiki
eFriends(Altrasoft) - Social Networks	ElggSpaces(ElggSpaces) - Social Networks
Elite Bulletin Board (Open Source) - Forums	EPIServer Community(EPIServer) - Social Networking
ePodcast Creator(Ind. Audio Software) - PodCasting	ErfurtWiki (Individual) - Wiki
EvilBoard (Open Source) - Forums	Evoca(Evoca) - PodCasting
Exago Markets(Exago Markets) - Information Markets	ExpressionEngine (EllisLab Inc.) - Blog
Facebook Open Platform(Facebook) - Profiles	Feedeye(Feedeye) - RSS Feed Reader
FeedLounge(FeedLounge, Inc.) - RSS Feed Reader	Feedmarker(Bruno Bornsztein) - Book Marking
Feeds 2.0(GTP Solutions) - RSS Feed Reader	Five Across(Cisco) - Social Networks
FlatPress (Flatpress) - Blog	Flex 2.0(Adobe) - Mashup
Flexwiki(Microsoft Corporation) - Wiki	Flux(MTV Networks) - Social Networks
FluxBB (Open Source) - Forums	Forest Blog (Open Source) - Blog
Foswiki (Foswiki Community) - Wiki	FriendSite(FriendSite) - Social Networks
Friki (Open Source) - Wiki	FUDforum (Open Source) - Forums
Furl(LookSmart Ltd.) - Book Marking	FusionBB (InteractivePHP Inc.) - Forums
Gabbly(Gabbly) - IM	Gabcast(Gabcast) - PodCasting
Gazest (Open Source) - Wiki	GeboGebo (Open Source) - Wiki
Geeklog (Open Source) - Blog	GeniusWiki (Edgenius Software) - Wiki
Gexid(Impressum) - Information Markets	Giki (Open Source) - Wiki
Git-Wiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Go Lightly(Go Lightly) - Social Networks
Google Bookmarks(Google, Inc.) - Book Marking	Google chat and video(Google, Inc.) - IM
Google Reader(Google, Inc.) - RSS Feed Reader	Google Sites(Google, Inc.) - Social Software
Google Talk(Google, Inc.) - IM	GraphViz(Open Source) - Social Networking
Gritwire(Dizpersion Technologies, Inc.) - RSS Feed Reader	Groove Site(Grove Technlogies) - Forums
Group Site(Group Site) - Social Networks	GroupServer (Online Groups) - Forums
Groupswiki (Open Source) - Wiki	GroupSwim(TN20 Inc.) - Social Networks
Hatta (Open Source) - Wiki	HaveFnuBB! (FoxMask) - Forums
HayStack(Cerado) - Social Networks	Higher Logic(Higher Logic) - Social Networks
HipCast(HipCast) - PodCasting	HiveLive(HiveLive) - Social Networks
HSX Virtual Markets(Cantor Fitzgerald) - Information Markets	Huddle (Huddle) - Social Software
IBM Connections(IBM) - Social Software	iCohere(iCohere Inc.) - Forums
ICQ(Unknown) - IM	idealBB (Ideal Science) - Forums
Idiro SNA(Idiro) - Social Networking	Igloo (Igloo Software) - Community
Ignition (Open Source) - Blog	IkeWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
ikiwiki (Open Source) - Wiki	iloggo(iloggo) - Book Marking
imo(imo) - IM	IncentAlign(IncentAlign) - Information Markets
Incentive (Mindroute Incentive) - Wiki	Inkling Markets(Inkling Inc.) - Prediction Markets
Instiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Intodit (Open Source) - Wiki
introNetworks(intronNetworks) - Social Networks	Invision Power Board (Invision Power Services) - Forums
Jabber(Open Source) - IM	JackBe(JackBe) - Mashup
Jacwiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Jaiku(Google, Inc.) - Micro-Blogging
JAMWiki(Open Source) - Wiki	JaWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
JForum (Open Source) - Forums	Jibdig(Jibdig) - IM
Jive Forums (Jive Software) - Forums	Jlog (Open Source) - Blog
Joomla(Open Source) - Social Networks	Jots(VPOP Technologies, Inc.) - Book Marking
JOTWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	JSPWiki (Apache Software) - Wiki
JumpChat(JumpChat) - IM	Jumper 2.0(Jumper Networks) - Social Software
Kapow Tech.(Kapow Tech.) - Mashup	Kavi(Kavi Corp.) - Forums
KeheiWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Kerika(Open Source) - Wiki
Kick Apps(Kick Apps) - Social Networks	KickApps(KickApps) - Social Networking
Kool IM(KoolIM LLC) - IM	KWikiKWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Kwiqq(Kwiqq) - Social Networks	Laszlo Systems(Laszlo Systems) - Mashup
Leverage Software(Leverage Software) - Social Networks	Liferay Portal(Liferay) - Community
LifeType (Lifetype Project) - Blog	Lingr(Infoteria) - IM
Linkademic(Linkademic) - Book Marking	Linkroll(linkroll.com) - Book Marking
LionWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	listal(Listal.com) - Book Marking
Lithium Technologies(Lithium Company) - Social Networks	Live Journal(Live Journal, Inc) - Blog
LiveWorld(LiveWorld, Inc) - Social Networks	LookLater(Doug Martin) - Book Marking
Lookmarks(Lookmarks.com) - Book Marking	Loudblog (Open Source) - Blog
Luminotes (Open Source) - Wiki	LunaWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
ma.gnolia(Gnolia Systems LLC) - Book Marking	Mabber(mabber.com GmbH) - IM
MarkIt(Bleebot.com) - Book Marking	MediaWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Meebo(Meebo) - Chat	MercuryBoard (Mercury Development) - Forums
MessengerFX(MessengerFX.com) - IM	Metadot Wiki (Metadot Corp.) - Wiki
MetaForum (Blursoft) - Forums	MicKI (Open Source) - Wiki
Midgard Wiki (Nemein) - Wiki	Mindquarry(Mindquarry) - Wiki
MindTouch (MindTouch) - Wiki	miniBB (Open Source) - Forums
miniWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Mixxt(Mixxt) - Social Networks
MoinMoin (Open Source) - Wiki	MojoMojo (Open Source) - Wiki
Momo(ActivePhone) - Social Networks	MoniWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Monkey Boards (Open Source) - Forums	Movable Type (Six Apart) - Blog
MSN Web Messenger(Microsoft Corporation) - IM	mvnForum (Open Source) - Forums
mwForum (Open Source) - Forums	MyBB (Open Source) - Forums
MyProBB (Cubicle Soft ) - Forums	myUPB (PHP Outburst) - Forums
Mzinga(Mzinga Inc.) - Social Networks	Near-Time(Near Time, Inc.) - Blogs
Netcipia (Netcipia ) - Wiki	Netvouz(Netvouz) - Book Marking
News Futures(News Futures) - Prediction Markets	NewsAlloy(Newstrack Media) - RSS Feed Reader
NewsFutures(NewsFutures, Inc.) - Information Markets	NewsGator(NewsGator Technologies, Inc.) - RSS Feed Reader
Newshutch(Newshutch) - RSS Feed Reader	Nexaweb(Nexaweb) - Mashup
nexdo (Inspirit) - Wiki	NextBBS (Open Source) - Forums
Ning(Ning) - Social Networks	Nocell Teaming(Novell) - Social Software
Noodle(Vialect) - Wiki	NovaBoard (Open Source) - Forums
NuclearBB (NuclearBB ) - Forums	NucleusCMS (Open Source) - Blog
Oddmuse (Open Source) - Wiki	Odeo Studio(Sonic Moutain) - PodCasting
OmniFuse(OmniFuse, Inc) - Social Networks	Onesite(Onesite, Inc) - Social Networks
Open Text Social Media(Open Text) - Blogs	OpenWikiNG (Open Source) - Wiki
Oracel BeeHive(Oracle) - Social Software	Orgoo(Orgoo, Inc.) - IM
OvBB (Open Source) - Forums	Palringo(Palringo) - IM
PapyrusBB (Open Source) - Forums	PAUX (Open Source) - Wiki
PBwiki (PBWiki Inc.) - Wiki	PBWorks(PBWorks) - Wiki
Peekamo(Peekamo, Inc.) - IM	PeopleAggregator(Broadband Mechanics, Inc) - Social Networks
Personal PPC Wiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Phone Blogz(Preinvent Ltd.) - PodCasting
Phorum (Phorum ) - Forums	phpBB (phpBB Group) - Forums
PHPfox(Benc Ent.) - Social Networks	Phpizabi(Real!ty Medias) - Social Networks
PhpWiki(Open Source) - Wiki	PicoWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
Pie (Open Source) - Wiki	Pier (Open Source) - Wiki
Pimki (Open Source) - Wiki	Pivot (Pivot team) - Blog
Pix Pulse(Pix Pulse, Inc) - Forums	Plone(Plone Foundation) - Social Networks
Plugoo(Plugoo) - IM	Plum(Kingdom of Norway) - Social Networks
Plurk(Plurk Inc.) - Micro-Blogging	PmWiki (Open Source) - Wiki
PodWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	PollGenius(PollGenius.com) - Polls
PollPub.com(PollPub.com) - Polls	PredictionPoint(Microsoft Corporation) - Information Markets
Pringo(Pringo) - Social Networks	ProcessOne(ProcessOne) - IM
ProjectForum (CourseForum Tech.) - Wiki	ProKons(BDF) - Information Markets
ProntoWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	Propaganda(MixMeister Technology, LLC) - PodCasting
ProWiki (Open Source) - Wiki	PSG (PSG Team) - Blog
PukiWiki (PukiWiki) - Wiki	punBB (punBB Dev. Team) - Forums
Q2 Learning (Q2 Learning ) - Forums	QMarkets(QMarkets) - Information Markets
QuestionForm(Forweb Software) - Polls	Quicksilver Forums (QSF Dev. Team) - Forums
Quimble(Quimble) - Polls	Ramius Software(Ramius Corp) - Forums
Rareface(Unknown) - Forums	Raw Sugar(Raw Sugar) - Book Marking
ReadyPortal(Red Dog Software) - Forums	Relenet(Relenet) - Social Networks
Riki (Open Source) - Wiki	Rojo(Rojo Networks, Inc.) - RSS Feed Reader
Roller(Open Source) - Blog	Rsitez(Rsitez) - Social Networks
RSSBus(/n software Inc.) - Mashup	SamePage (eTouch Systems) - Blog and Wiki
Satmetrics(Satmetrics, Inc.) - Social Networks	ScrewTurn Wiki(ScrewTurn Software) - Wiki
Scribe.it(Scribe.it) - IM	scuttle(scuttle.org) - Book Marking
Second Life(Linden Lab) - Virtual World	SeedWiki (8th Fold LLC) - Wiki
Select Minds(Select Minds) - Social Networks	Sentenal Visualizer(FMS Advanced Systems Group) - Social Networking
Serena Software(Serena Software) - Mashup	Serendipity (Open Source) - Blog
Shadows(Pluck Corporation) - Book Marking	SharePoint(Microsoft Corporation) - Social Software
Simpy(Simpy) - Book Marking	SiteLife(Pluck) - Social Networks
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Too Much Customer Service in Enterprise 2.0?

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:48:15 -0500

Make no mistake that I am an over the top advocate for the customer within the enterprise. I developed these skills and attitude during the early nineties where I read every book on Customer Service and studied the success of great companies like Disney and Nordstrom's. I knew that this knowledge and mentality would play well inside the corporation. We repeatedly got comments like "you guys are a breath of fresh air" and "you can't be from IT?". So it shouldn't come as a surprise that I adopted and pushed my way into Collaboration and Social Software. These tools give the voice and control back to the end user and away from the tyranny of technology organizations. Our run for seven years was nothing to be ashamed and I think we changed the culture of the company from a collaboration perspective. The question that I place on the table is can you provide too much customer service or client-support? My knee jerk reaction is hell no and you should go crawl in a hole for even thinking such blasphemy. However, if I take a different perspective then I can see where problems may emerge. If everyone provided the same level of service as Disney did then there wouldn't be a Disney in the first place. You go to Disney to escape from the customer no-service that prevails in most other companies. Therefore, it is understandable to see that other IT organizations can't match your service and there is some form of intimidation and resentment that emerges. What most people didn't see about our team is that we had world class design skills that were leveraged in our online support environment. We had resources that had 7-9 years experience in an IT customer service role. We also believed that our group would live or die by the level of service provided; it was the basis of our business model. Service wasn't an afterthought but the core principle where everything else revolved around. Executives are concerned about scaling that level of service. Perhaps it is a cost issue; although our experience is that it requires far more resources to deliver poor service since the customer has to bring in their own consultants in addition to the IT staff. Our group was small by today's standards and it's far easier to coach and inspire a small group of customer warriors. You can't have one group delivering at customer service level 10 and the rest at level 5. Unless, you have the commitment that would allow you to leverage what the one group did across all the other different teams. Believe me, it is far easier to kill the one shining star than it is to change the entire galaxy of "good-enough" service providers.

Enterprise 2.0 and the element of the Owner's Passion

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:45:21 -0500

One evening while on vacation we stopped by a small restaurant where we were greeted by the owner. After a couple of minutes, he actually guided us to our table and served us our drinks. I also witnessed him delivering the plates, cleaning tables, and filling glasses. Here was a man willing to do anything to help his business; he had passion. In another example, I went to buy my 3-day fishing license and the owner came out and told me which bait was working the best and how far out folks were catching fish. Both these men have passion for their business and their customers which is so rarely seen inside the walls of the enterprise. Do you have passion for your Enterprise 2.0 implementation? Are you willing to sit down with a customer and guide them through the maze of 2.0 products? Do you try to understand the user requirements and then create a custom solution with the 2.0 tool set? Or, do you send them a link and tell them to figure it out for themselves. That's not passion, that's some one sitting behind the counter taking orders. I recall having a conversation with a young woman working in a fast food restaurant where the entire transaction happened with her only words spoken being: "$3.25". No welcome, no thank you, no a single word but the price. Customer service or laziness at it's lowest. Passion is what drives you to care about the customer and the end result. I always loved the saying that everyone wants to be "CEO" but very few want to do "CEO". Same is true here, in that everyone wants a successful Enterprise 2.0 implementation but very few want to actually do an Enterprise 2.0 implementation. To be successful, we need passionate people that will help other adopt the technology and take a risk to move away from the tried and true methods of communication.

Enterprise 2.0 and Marketing Ideas

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:54:53 -0500

This is the second part of a collection of ideas that we can implement taken from small businesses patronized during our beach vacation. While sitting on the beach watching the kids ride their boogie boards, the traditional single-engine airplane flew over with the trailing banner stating "Bathing Suits : Buy One, Get One Free at Alvin's Island". My in-laws made a trip to the store but didn't find any bathing suits they liked but did buy a few t-shirts. It struck me that small to medium business must find ways to let you know they are in business and perhaps, just around the corner. This made me take notice of all of the different marketing and advertisements that we might not normally see; the emergency contact numbers magnet provided by the local pizzeria, the local map provided by a chain of restaurants, and the beach umbrellas promoting the souvenir store. These local businesses understand that if you want customers, you have to keep your name and value statement in front of them as much as possible. Unfortunately, IT and Social Media experts fail to see the need of such low life efforts. In a recent published Social Software Maturity Model, nothing was included on marketing or branding. Once again, they just assume the followers will come to the mountain. Nothing could be farther from the truth. People won't or don't have the time to just sit around and play with social software. As in many cases, if it's not about solving the fire of the day, they won't be interested in it. So why market the software in the first place if people don’t have time. The simple answer is that people will make time for something that creates value or provides engagement. I have seen one implementation that places the last updated social software entries on the corporate Intranet (i.e. Good Idea). The bad news is that many of these entries are just crap updates that the blogger was testing functionality. One time the top three posts were useless titles but no blog content. They would be better served to use a little bit of logic that combines popularity and last update to showcase the content. Marketing has a stigmata associated with it, especially in the engineering fields. But, we need to get over that sentiment if we are to survive the next evolution of IT. The inventor of Jell-O sold it for $450 because he didn't know what to do with it. Worn out from failure, the buyer tried to sell it for $35 because the customer didn’t know what to do with it. Ultimately, they figured out a way to communicate the vale and utility to the end consumer through cookbook type give-a-ways (i.e. Marketing). Marketing matters and we need to get over our pride and prejudices. I admit that I am a marketing snob, thus I get critical of IT PM folks trying to be marketers. They efforts show their lack of experience and amateur results. However, I also need to recognize that any results are better then none and applaud even the noblest of efforts.