It looks like lately I have been talking quite a bit about stuff related to IBM and although it is not something that I am actually doing on a very regular basis I am glad to see how every now and then I get a chance to comment on some of the cool things that are going on inside and outside of IBM, and all related to the Knowledge Management, Collaboration and Social Software areas, amongst others. It should not come as a surprise to anyone some of the stuff that IBM has been doing around the world of podcasting, for instance. I have been weblogging about this already several times; however, I thought that you would be interested in a single new initiative that has come out and which I am sure you would be looking forward to it and, of course, subscribe. Let me tell you about it.

Check out Shortcuts (Organise your digital life - A weekly shows from IBM). An IBM external podcast offering where both George Faulkner and Jennifer Clemente (Two of my IBM colleagues) will be providing you, on a weekly basis, with an online show "to help you make the most out of e-mail, IM, blogs and other great tools". I am not sure what you think about this but I feel this is just a superb initiative ! How many times have you wondered about performing a particular task and not having a clue as to how it would work? Then you start working your way through whatever the search engine and before you know it you end up in a web site doing something completely different to what you were supposed to be doing in the first place. Well, Shortcuts is supposed to be helping out in this area by providing you with some weekly hints and tips on how you can get the most out of the IT tools available to you. Pretty slick, indeed !

To get things started they have got a podcast with Rocky Oliver on how to tackle all that annoying spyware that we all get to experience on a daily basis while we surf the Internet. In that podcast Rocky is actually suggesting to make use of two different programmes that I have used in the past myself: Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy, to try to help out with that ever growing problem. They are indeed very good programmes, no doubt, but one other that you may want to consider as well and which I have been using myself quite a bit is Windows Defender, which so far has managed to keep my home computer clean and without any major issues. It is still a beta release but you can already download it from here and take it yourself for a spin.

Thus, as you can see, all these tips coming from Shortcuts actually have got another great purpose, which is also share your own tips and tricks to take control over the tools you get to use on a daily basis and be as productive as ever. That is why they are encouraging folks as well to leave comments or to actually post a question yourself out to the experts. Now, what a better way to build up on the collective wisdom of us all than to share some of the best tips out there and make them available through podcasts and / or comments.so that everyone has got the chance not only to learn from those tips but also at the same time engage in the conversations? Terrific stuff, don’t you think? 

I have already subscribed to the podcast myself and I hope you do, too. I will surely be catching up weekly with some other hot tips. I am certain I would get to learn a thing or two. However, for the time being just, take a look into what other folks, like Rocky himself, Alan Lepofsky or Ed Brill (Three of my IBM fellow colleagues) are saying on this new IBM initiative. I love it when people say that IBM has not been doing enough around the Web 2.0 world and then you bump into offerings like Shortcuts, amongst other others. But more on those later. One at a time…

Tags: Shortcuts, IBM, Tips, Hints&Tips, Productivity Tips, Spyware, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Windows Defender, Rocky Oliver, Alan Lepofsky, Ed Brill

Some time ago I received some feedback via e-mail and IM from several readers from elsua indicating how they were not very enthusiastic with the actual pop-up that was coming up every time they would visit my weblog directly without going through the RSS feed. Back then I explained that the reason why that pop-up was coming up was because I was making use of a hit counter widget that was offering its services for free but with the slightly annoyance of the pop-up itself. So at that time I decided to start my quest to find a good hit counter, available for free, and which I could use here in this weblog. And after having searched extensively for it I have finally found it. I have been trying it out for the last couple of weeks and it seems to be working really well and it is actually providing some really good and relevant information about the readers of this weblog, so I thought I would share this weblog post to let you know about it, in case you may want to have a look and use it yourselves.

It is called GoStats and, like I mentioned above, it is available free of charge so you can sign up for an account and add your weblog, update your weblog template with the widget and you would be ready to go ! As simple as that. You would then be able to get and display daily hits along with the referrers, which is always a good thing so that you can see who else is talking about you, and a whole bunch of other stuff, that instead of me boring you all with the description I better point you right to those stats so that you can check them out for yourself and see what elsua has been up to.

Now, let’s move on to the next widget that I have found earlier on this morning, thanks to the hat tip from one of my friends from the other side of the pond, and which I have been enjoying a great deal thus far, since I have added in all three weblogs that I currently maintain. The actual widget is an offering coming from Digital Point Solutions and it is called Geo Visitors. This is actually a web site that you would allow you to track your web site’s or weblog’s visitors and place them in a worldwide map using Google Maps so that you can see right away where they are located in the world. Right, how cool is that, eh?

I am not sure about your folks but I have always been very curious to find out where you all are, specially the faithful readers that keep coming back repeatedly to get your daily elsua dose, so when I saw Geo Visitors I just couldn’t help but put it together into this weblog and start watching where you are all coming from. Fascinating ! I know it is a bit too early but if you would click on the little widget I added for this new hack you can already see some interesting data. First, for instance, that my main readership seems to be folks from the English-speaking world, which I guess it was to be expected since this weblog is written in English (Although I am thinking about making some changes in this particular area, but more on that at a later time), then I have got a number of regular readers who come from very exotic destinations like Venezuela, Finland or India (I wonder who that would be) and growing…

Thus now you will be able to see how I am going to be spending a little bit of my time from now on. Just finding out some more about you folks. And the great thing about Geo Visitors is the fact that when you actually click on the Site Visitor button from someone who may have been to your site you have got the possibility of using Google Earth (If you are into Geography you gotta love this programme, I tell you!) and follow up to right to the very same city where that hit is coming from. Awesome ! I love it!

So there you go. Two weblogging tips for you before the beginning of the weekend so that you can go and explore them as you may see fit over the next couple of days and see if you would put them together into your weblog template. Now I will just go on with that  everlasting task of finding a new theme to use with elsua. Sigh. Oh, I tell you what, if you know of a WordPress theme that you feel would fit in quite nicely with the topics I get to talk about over here feel free to drop a comment over here or contact me offline and I will look into it. There has got to be something out there that I could use and feel comfortable with, right? So let the hunt continue …

Tags: GoStats, Geo Visitors, Digital Point Solutions, Google Maps, Google Earth, Blogging Tips, Hit Counters, Blogging Measurements, Metablogging

After 76 hours of uninterrupted and frenetic activity. After 53.000 participants (IBMers and their family members and IBM’s customers and business partners) got together to share over 37.000 posts spread around four different Forums and after nearly 3 million web pages viewed and about 67 participating companies in addition to IBM the Global InnovationJam is now over ! Yes, indeed it is all finished ! Well, at least, for now. Earlier on today the first phase of the InnovationJam just concluded after a mind-blowing experience of connecting with several thousand people coming from several dozen countries across timezones and geographies. I tell you, folks, I have participated in several IBM Jams in the past but as far as I am concerned this has been one of the best. At least, that is how I have felt it over the last three days that has taken place.

The incredible amount of great topics discussed is going to be difficult to surpass. There have been hundreds of discussions on multiple topics covering the four different Forum areas that I mentioned earlier on this week, plenty of them related to how emerging technologies could be used to ensure businesses start adopting some of the most relevant and worth while exploring social software tools, like blogs, wikis, social bookmarking, web syndication, (people) tagging, podcasting, etc. etc. At the same time there have been plenty of people collaborating on how these same new emerging technologies could actually help fix some of the different issues related to Going Places, Finance & Commerce, Staying Healthy or A Better Planet, along with many more ideas on other traditional, although out of the box, thinking for solving some of those different issues. Again, just mind-blowing.

But the hard work actually will start from today onwards. Because this event has just been the first phase, out of two. In early September, from the 12th till the 15th, there will be a second phase where we will get together "to refine and rate the ideas" that have been put together in phase 1. So there is now plenty of work ahead of the folks responsible for the Jam in gathering and analysing all those ideas so that they could then be put together for that second phase I mentioned earlier on and continue venturing into taking some of those ideas into completion.

From a participation perspective it looks like there has been lots of different contributions although not many people have been weblogging much about the event, while it was taking place, apparently. At least, that is what Technorati  says. I guess everyone was at the Jam reading away, chiming in, collaborating and sharing some of those great ideas. We shall see how things go from here. One thing for sure though is that if I have been able to make it to phase one I am surely not going to be missing out on phase 2. Thus stay tuned for some further insights as I will be sharing some thoughts along the way as more new information becomes available. Now it is time to go back to our daily routine, relax from all the frenzy, reenergise ourselves and get ready for phase two, because it will be as exciting and interesting as phase one. No doubt!

Tags: InnovationJam, IBM, Innovation, Knowledge Sharing, Collaboration, Going Places, Finance and Commerce, Staying Healthy, Better Planet, Social Software, Emerging Technologies

If you would remember, a few weeks back I created a weblog post over here where I was mentioning a very interesting conference event that would be taking place later on this year in September in London around the subject of Social Network Tools and Their Business Application: Blogs, Podcasting, Instant Messaging, RSS and Wikis. Back then I mentioned how that event would be something that I would be really looking forward to and will try to see if I can make it although I still cannot confirm if I would be there or not. Either way, earlier on today I receive an e-mail from Julie, one of the organisers of the event, where she pointed me to the actual agenda they have put together for the two days conference. And I must say that I am impressed. Very impressed.

You would be able to download the brochure from here, if you would want to read some more about it, but by the looks of it the list of speakers is very good. I have gone through the listing of the different sessions and there are some of them out there that I would certainly be looking forward to. Like, for instance:

• Euan Semple’s "The Quiet Revolution - how social computing will change the workplace"
• Lee Bryant’s "Informal Knowledge Sharing with Social Networking"
• Duncan Brown’s "The Influence of Social Network Technologies: Who’s Influencing Whom?"
• John Davies’ "Combining Wikis & the Semantic Web: towards Web3.0?"
• Lloyd Davis’ "Creating an In-House (Social) Media Empire"
• Stowe Boyd’s "Social Media: Blogs and Participatory Culture"
• James Lappin’s "Social Bookmarking Inside the Organisation: connecting people to people and to information"
• Karen Eden’s "The bottom line: What’s in it for me?"

That sounds like a pretty packed up event, right? It surely does, but as you will be able to see it would certainly be worth while attending the event. Even more so since I have also noticed that one of my IBM fellow colleagues, Ian McNairn, will also be speaking on the subject "What is IBM doing with Web 2.0 tools, Concepts and Mash-Ups and Why?" to probably discuss and mention some of the different IBM Web 2.0 tools that I have been touching base on over here in the last few months. So I would be able to catch up with him again since last time we met each other was back in 2003, at an IBM Knowledge Management conference.

As I said, I am not sure just yet if I would be able to make it or not but one thing for sure is that if I manage to make it I will certainly be looking forward to it. Lots of great speakers, lots of great topics to cover, a packed up agenda and on top of that, London, one of my favourite cities. Can it get better than that ? I doubt it. Will you be there?

Tags: Unicom, David Gurteen, Euan Semple, Stowe Boyd, Knowledge Management, KM, KM 2.0, Social Networks, Social Software, Web 2.0, Social Networking, Wikis, Weblogs, Podcasts, RSS, Instant Messaging

Here is a relatively new weblog that has just been grabbing some more momentum lately and which I am sure plenty of folks out there would be interested in following up further, specially if you are into sensemaking, storytelling, narrative and Knowledge Management in general, amongst other things. Indeed, it looks like the good old Cynefin center is now a thing of the past and its successor, Cognitive Edge, has just been launched. The great thing about all this is that Dave Snowden has already gotten started with the first initial weblog post where he is detailing what Cognitive Edge will be up to over the next few months and how you can engage in the different conversations with them. By the looks of it, Dave is actually going to make use of a weblog to share his thoughts and engage with the rest of the readership through the usual comments. To get things started he is actually suggesting three other worth while reading weblogs related to Knowledge Management that you should all be familiar with as well. I have been subscribed to them myself for quite some time now and I certainly agree with Dave’s comments that they are all worth while subscribing to. Here they are in case you may not be aware of them:

• Euan Semple’s The Obvious?
• Shawn, Mark and Andrew’s Anecdote
• And, finally, Patrick Lambe’s Green Chameleon

Thus I guess that makes four different weblogs to be added to your OPML file(s), in case you haven’t done it already and continue reading some more on other different KM perspectives. But that is not all of it because Dave did also mention that very shortly they will be setting up a wiki and a discussion group along with the availability of a new course schedule. Thus it looks like things are starting to get busier with Cognitive Edge and it would certainly be worth while following it up.

Welcome to the other side of the blogosphere, Dave !

Tags: Cognitive Edge, Dave Snowden, The Obvious, Euan Semple, Anecdote, Green Chameleon, Knowledge Management, KM, Sensemaking, Narrative, Storytelling

Arrrrgghhhh! I really feel some healthy envy for the folks down under in Australia, specially in Canberra and Melbourne, after reading this over at Anecdote. It looks like Shawn, Mark and Andrew are looking for someone that could join Anecdote from either of those places and while reading through the description it does sound like an interesting and exciting job, wouldn’t you think so ? I know that there are a few folks here in elsua who come from that particular area thus if you think you would be ready for a change, for the better, I am sure, I would strongly suggest you take a look into the application itself and go for it.

I know if I would have been around I would have definitely sent out the application. I have met Shawn a couple of times when he was working in IBM, and while attending a number of different Knowledge Management conferences, and he is certainly one of those folks that would make you think about things in a different way and always with a twist. Great fun to work with and someone who knows a lot about CoPs and related subjects, including Knowledge Management, of course. I am sure it would be equally fun to work with Mark and Andrew. Sigh. I guess it will have to be at another time …

Anyway, since they were asking to pass the message along, here it is. Go and check out the weblog post Join Anecdote and Make a Difference and if you feel you are suitable for the job and want to try making a difference, a big difference actually, by all means go for it !

Best of luck to all of the job applicants !

Tags: Anecdote, Sensemaking, Storytelling, CoPs, Communties of Practice, Knowledge Management, KM, SNA, Social Network Analysis, Jobs