Tags: BlogDay2007, Blog Day, Metablogging, Blogs, Knowledge at Work, Denham Grey, Engineers without fears, Matt More, Acidlabs, Stephen Collins, eme ká eme, Miguel Cornejo Castro, Knowledge Management, KM, Knowledge Sharing, KM 2.0, Knowledge Worker, Collaboration, Remote Collaboration, eLearning, Virtual Worlds, Communities, Communities of Practice, CoPs, IBM

Yesterday was kind of a very busy day, both at work and on a personal level, so in the end I didn’t get much of a chance to create a post over here, so I thought I would go ahead and share this one today for a special event: Happy Blog Day 2007! Yes, that is right, today is Blog Day 2007, an event in the blogosphere that would help everyone promote those different weblog posts that even though they may not be very very popular they still provide some really good content. So I thought I would play the game and do my fair bit of homework on it.

And that is why in this weblog post I am going to follow the rules of this special event and share five different blogs that I read on a regular basis and whose content is just superb, hoping that you may find them useful as well and may have a chance to subscribe to them if you would wish to. So let’s get down to business:

1. Knowledge-at-work by Denham Grey: Yes, I know, this is not really a new blog at all, since Denham has been blogging already for quite some time. However, things have gone a bit quiet since beginning of the year and I am hoping that with this post I may get him to pick things up and get blogging again. If you browse through some of the different blog posts he has been sharing thus far, you would be able to see that he has got something to say about Knowledge Management, don’t you think? For those folks who may not know, Denham is one of the first folks who was thinking about KM when none of us were even busy with it! Thus, Denham, ready to come back? Please?

2. Engineers without fears by Matt Moore: And here we go now with something quite the opposite. For a good amount of time Matt has been relatively quiet over at his blog and over the last few weeks he has gotten started with blogging on a much more regular basis and just as insightful and thought-provoking as ever. Matt’s blog posts are those that would make you think about KM related topics twice. Always looking for that twist that differentiates what he has to say from whoever else. If I would have to summarise what you would be able to find over there I guess I would be able to do so by just saying: refreshing! (And worth while a subscription!)

3. Acidlabs by Stephen Collins: In the past I have been referencing a number of different weblog posts from Stephen and by now you probably already know what he is up to. Remember Knowledge Worker 2.0? One of the best presentations that I have seen to date around the subject of Knowledge Management 2.0 and already introducing the concept of knowledge worker 2.0 for the next generation of the workforce. And that is exactly what you would be able to find over at his blog: some really good insights on where we are with Knowledge Management and where we are going, which is perhaps the most exciting part of it all. Another worth while subscription, to say the least!

4. eme ká eme by Miguel Cornejo Castro: For those folks who may have hanged out at several KM and Communities of Practice related forums, there is probably very little that I can say about Miguel. He surely knows his stuff about the topic of KM and CoPs. So when I saw that he was getting started with his own weblog I was very excited, because everyone out there would be able to see what he is up to.

However, there is also one thing to note about his blog and that is the fact that Miguel is one of the very few blogs on KM sharing articles both in Spanish and English and somehow I feel a bit guilty (In the good sense of the word, of course) that I am not following his example. Perhaps this particular weblog post would help me get the final push and be a bit more prolific with my Spanish related posts. Let’s see. Miguel can have that kind of influence, you see?

5. And, finally, here is the fifth link that I am going to be sharing with you. This time around from a fellow IBMer: Wonderwebby by Jasmin Tragas. Jasmin has gotten started blogging externally just recently and if you browse through some of her blog posts you would be able to see her excitement about virtual, distributed collaboration and how Knowledge Management can help in this space.

At the same time you would be able to see how she gets to explore social computing and social software tools in order to help improve the way knowledge workers get to collaborate. But if there is something else that you would find rather interesting is how she is exploring virtual worlds, like Second Life, and their impact on eLearning. to help improve the way we get to acquire new knowledge and share it with others. Some pretty interesting stuff (Also if you would want to find out what IBM is doing in this particular area).

And that would be it for now. Five blogs worth while looking into as part of Blog Day 2007. I do hope that you get to check them out and perhaps subscribe to one or two as you may see fit. Time now to celebrate! and get started with the weekend!

Have a good one, everyone!

Tags: Apple, Mac, MacBook Pro, MBP, Productivity Tools, Windows, Web Browsers, Opera, Safari, Flock, FireFox, Extensions, Skype, Instant Messaging, IM, Qumana, Blogging, Metablogging, ecto, iTunes, Audio, Podcasts, Vodcasts, Audacity, Adium, Google Talk, Lotus Mobile Connect, LMC, IBM, Lotus, Lotus Sametime, Sametime 7.5.1

After the initial couple of weeks using more and more the MacBook Pro I must say that I am still enjoying the experience quite a bit. I have already started the migration of most of the productivity tools that I use at work and over the next few weeks I shall be sharing some further thoughts on what the new environment is like. However, I thought I would get started with this series by mentioning the first round of Windows tools that I am still going to keep using in the Mac. I consider them essential, even more when the experience is even much more enjoyable.

Thus from here onwards I am just going to detail the first 10 tools I am keeping in the Mac and which I will continue using rather heavily. Then in subsequent blog posts I will share some further thoughts on other tools I am adopting and which are native to the Mac. And, in between, and throughout those entries, I shall be sharing further thoughts on the various options from IBM tools I am using for the Mac. And see how far I can go. So, let’s get started:

1. Opera: Yes, I know, Safari is the default Web browser for the Mac, but I feel that Opera is still the fastest one out there, so it will continue to be my default application for everything related to browsing Web 1.0 sites and  some of the Web 2.0 ones. In case you may not have tried it out I seriously encourage you to take it for a spin for a week and you will see you will not be back.

2. Flock: Oh, and for the Web 2.0 applications that I get to use on a regular basis, Flock still remains my default Web browser. Just as good as in Windows it allows me experience different social software tools without not noticing whether I am on Windows or the Mac. Just perfect.

3. FireFox: And for the different Web sites where neither Opera or Flock work I am making use of the good old (slow, CPU hog, incredibly slow) FireFox. I just wished that when people would put together those superb extensions they would also make them work for Flock. Not too much asking, don’t you think?

4. Skype: Definitely, my default VoIP and Instant Messaging client. It was one of the first tools that I installed in the Mac and I am just as happy with it as I was with the Windows version. Put simply, it just works (Despite the recent outage for several hours after years of not seeing anything like it. Not too bad!)

5. Qumana: I know that a few of my friends and work colleagues have recommended that I get to try out ecto, as perhaps the best offline blogging client for the Mac, and for a few days I did give it a try. However, I wasn’t sold on it too much. Perhaps I will keep testing it out and see how it goes, although having to pay for it is not what I am really looking forward to thus far. Why? Because in Windows I am rather content with how Qumana works. I still think it is one of the best offline blogging clients, rather solid and incredibly easy to use. In fact, I am writing this particular blog post with it and it feels exactly the same as in Windows, but with the Mac flavour

6. iTunes: Yes, you could surely make use of it directly in the Mac, after all it is an Apple product, but I am surely glad that I am not missing anything out on the good stuff I had in my Windows machine. And on top of that, it already came installed with it. So it will still remain as my default podcast and vodcast player, amongst many other things. By the way, you can really see how this particular app. was designed for the Mac, and not for Windows. Nifty!

7. Audacity: This is perhaps one of the very first Open Source applications I am porting over from Windows in order to continue making extensive use of it to create, record, produce and edit different audio files. It is ideal to record podcasts, audio conference calls and webcasts and whatever else. And the user experience is just the same. So I am keeping it. No doubt.

8. Adium: Ok, this is not a Windows tool. We all know that. But if I wanted to keep in touch with colleagues, friends and family using whatever the IM network I needed to have an option for the Mac. And most of my friends suggested Adium as probably one of the best and although I am not making use rather heavily from the various IM networks as I used to (As I said, most of those interactions are now coming through Skype) I still went ahead and installed it. And will still be making use of it, specially since it would also allow me to connect with Google Talk, my second default VoIP and IM client. Perhaps, at a later time, I will provide some more details on what the experience is like for the Mac.

9. Lotus Mobile Connect: This has been the first of the IBM applications for the Mac that I have installed. And right on the same day that I bought the machine, since I wanted to check it out and get that one fixed. And avoid surprises. And boy, does it work beautifully or what? With it I can access the IBM internal network without a single problem. If there is anything else that I can say about it is that it works! Really nice!

10. Lotus Sametime 7.5.1:  And, finally, here you have got the second IBM tool that I have installed in this machine. I have been using this particular VoIP and IM client for a number of months and to date it is one of the tools that I am using on a regular basis for most of my real-time interactions. And it works beautifully. Something that I am really happy about as I couldn’t leave without it, specially with the various social networking capabilities it offers. But more on that as time goes on.

And that would be it. Next step would be to talk about the next round of tools I have decided to continue making use of in my MacBook Pro. There are quite a few to be honest, so one of the things that I have been very conscious of is to keep those tools to a minimum, to help avoid some clutter and ensure things are running smooth. After all it is a Mac. So how much clutter can you add to it? Very little, right? … You bet!

Tags: Steve Rubel, Stowe Boyd, Anne Truitt Zelenka, Matt Hodgson, Stephen Collins, Relationships, Connections, Friendships, Virtual Teams, Virtual Communities, Collaboration, Remote Collaboration, Knowledge Management, KM, Knowledge Sharing, Trust, Social Networks, Social Networking, Social Software, Social Computing, Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, Knowledge Worker, Web Worker, Communities, Innovation

I am sure that by now a whole bunch of people out there in the blogosphere have been commenting around one fine weblog post put together by Steve Rubel under the title The Web Changes How We Define Friendship. I am not going to link to each and everyone of those different entries. Not to worry. However, I am certainly going to link to a few of the folks that I have been reading for a long while now, as they are all adding some really good insights that I think you would find interesting and worth while a read. So here they are: Stowe Boyd, Anne Truitt Zelenka, Matt Hodgson and Stephen Collins.

I know that after you have gone through all of that reading you may be wondering what my take is, right? Well, what can I say? Something that I have been saying all along and which I am hoping that social computing will give it much more importance that what it has been given thus far. For instance, in none of the links I shared above have I seen it mentioned. Not even in Steve’s original blog post. It is all about trust!

Yes, that is right. No matter whether we are talking about real life or virtual relationships, or friendships, the main key thing that will make them all work is nothing else but trust, and, as we all know, trust is not something that you build up overnight. It takes time, effort, commitment, lots of energy and dedication, and just a split second to destroy it all, specially in a virtually distributed world, where we are lacking that physical contact that allows us to build and enhance our trust skills on something so important as our body language.

So, to me, it is not much about the quantity nor the quality of those different relationships or friendships, but more how much trust you have been able to build up into those over a period of time. Trust is the glue that makes friendships work and, as a result of that, trust is the glue that makes a social network successful. Or not. And the key thing from this, in my opinion, is that it is down to the individual, that knowledge worker, to figure out how they would want to work out their way in their social networks, and help build those trust levels to the point where you can treasure those virtual connections just as much as they ones you have in real life.

If anyone out there is expecting that trust will work its magic on its own, you may want to think about it twice. It won’t. Trust is all about what you would want to do with those relationships in the long term, whether you would want to keep them healthy, nurture them, or work hard on them to make them meaningful to you. Or not. Only then would you be able to call some of those relationships, if not most of them, friendships. Just like in real life.

(Oh, and if you would want some more additional reading on how influential trust is for the successful virtual interactions you are exposed to on a daily basis, check out the superb weblog post that Anne put together just recently: Trust: The Secret Sauce for Virtual Teams. I just couldn’t have used better words for describe it and, like I said, bit surprised she didn’t make the connection between both blog posts. They would have been a perfect match!)

Tags: ClustrMaps, Asia, KM Asia, Singapore, Cognitive-Edge, Steve Bealing, Dave Snowden, Job Vacancies, Jobs, Training Manager, Office Manager, Consultant, QA Manager, Web Developer, Patrick Lambe, APQC, Knowledge Management, KM, Knowledge Sharing, Narrative, Storytelling, Stories

Through my ClustrMaps profile, I can see that I have got quite a readership from Asia and it surely comes to confirm how much Knowledge Management has grown up over there in the last few years, while the rest of us just watch and see what happens. Check out, for instance, the superb line up that is coming through for KM Asia 2007. Pretty impressive! (Gosh, I wish I would be able to make it!).

Well, from that readership in Asia I can see that there are a few folks from Singapore and I thought I would go ahead and write this particular weblog entry to alert them of something they may not be aware of, but which surely is quite interesting. Cognitive-Edge is growing! Yes, that is right, as both Steve Bealing and Dave Snowden have commented in their respective blogs, Cognitive-Edge is hiring in Singapore and this is the list of job vacancies they have got available at the moment:

– Training & Office Manager
– Consultant
– Test Support and QA Manager
– Web Developer

I see that Patrick Lambe has been commenting about this as well and I thought it would be a good opportunity to spread the message around, specially given the several times that I have had the chance to link to some of the terrific stuff that Dave has been doing in the area of Knowledge Management and narrative in the last few years.

Back in May, we met at the APQC KM & Innovation event in Houston, TX. I attended his ever inspiring keynote speaker session, which I am sure I would have the opportunity to blog about it at some point; we had a lovely dinner with some other KM folks with some great conversations and must say that if there is anyone out there who has got something to say of value about KM and how narrative is impacting KM then it would be Dave. As simple as that, and if you haven’t subscribed to Dave’s or Steve’s blog I don’t know what you are waiting for. They are both a KM must-read, not to miss out!

That is why, if you live in Singapore and have got a chance to apply for any of the jobs offered by Cognitive-Edge by all means go for it! I can tell you it would be worth while the experience!

If I were you, I would apply myself for it … No doubt!

Tags: IBM, alphaWorks, Emerging Technologies, Technology, Aneel Lakhani, CoScripter, FireFox Extensions, Extensions, IBM ID, Scripts, Web Scripts, Recording Scripts, Demos, Screencasts, Productivity Tools, Productivity Enhancement, Tessa Lau, Jon Udell, IT Conversations, Flock, Browser, Web Browser, Social Software, Social Networking, Social Media, Social Computing, Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, Knowledge Sharing, Collaboration, Communities, Innovation, Learning.

A couple of days ago, I finished up the weblog post from alphaWorks - IBM Emeging Technology indicating that very shortly I would be talking about one particular new emerging technology put together in alphaWorks itself, that I strongly feel would be a huge productivity enhancement for those of us who live on the Web day in day out. One of my fellow IBM colleagues, Aneel Lakhani, has already blogged about it over at his own blog and this is his conclusion on such technology:

"[…] Because whatever complicated (or not) thing you’re trying to do in your browser has been done before. And sometimes it’s just easier not to figure a thing out from scratch."

Aneel is actually talking about CoScripter, a super cool FireFox extension that helps you work your way through whatever the repetitive task, record it, share it and help others (Along with yourself) save time having to do that task again in the near future. It is like a massive macro extension that will help speed your own browsing experience by saving you time where it matters. Here is a bit more thorough description of how it works (Directly from the homepage):

"CoScripter is a system for capturing, sharing, and automating tasks on the Web. CoScripter scripts contain human-readable instructions for completing Web-based processes, such as changing your mailing address or searching for real estate. If the CoScripter plug-in for Firefox is installed, CoScripter can step through scripts with you, showing you how to perform the task, step by step. CoScripter can also run scripts automatically, eliminating repetitive or mundane tasks for the user."

How cool is that? A tool that would help you speed up the way you accomplish tasks on the Web using your favourite Web browser and without having to go elsewhere!

You can find out much more about it over here, including the instructions on how to install it (Requires an IBM ID login) and a good list of scripts you can already play with to see its full potential. You can even have a taste of the different social software features put together by checking out the overall site. Even more, there is a demo available, which you can play over here, and which will show you how it eventually works. Probably better seeing it in the works than me trying to explain it, don’t you think? It takes about 4 minutes and, not to worry, it will be worth while the time. I am sure.

Overall, this is one of those emerging technologies that could surely make a difference in the way you surf the Internet. I have been using it internally, behind the IBM firewall, for some time now and the first time I saw it working I knew it would be one of my must-have, don’t miss out FireFox extensions, next to some other ones I may be able to talk about in the near future. But, for the time being, I would strongly encourage you all to have a look into it and play around with it some more. I bet it will be one of those extensions that over time would become essential to your day to day Web activities.

Oh, one more thing, knowing that the one and only, Tessa Lau, is behind it as well just adds up further into the outstanding quality of the offering put together for all of us to experiment with! Check out also Jon Udell’s recent podcast he did with her over at IT Conversations, talking around that very same subject, although at the time it was called Koala.

(Now, if only it would work with Flock as well. That would be totally awesome!!)

Tags: Quintura, SearchEngineWatch, Search Engines, Search 2.0, Search Engine 2.0, Fact Monster, Quintura Kids, Amit Chowdhry, Phil Bradley, Web, Internet, Knowledge Tools, Knowledge Management, Personal Knowledge Management, PKM, Knowledge Sharing, Social Computing, Social Software, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Innovation, Children, Kids, Safe Internet

You would remember how, in the past, I have been talking about this particular search engine a couple of times already, Quintura, that provides you with an interesting and refreshingly visual new method of finding what you are after. In a world that little by little gets dominated by other much more powerful search engines, like Google, Yahoo! or whatever else, it is, indeed, rather refreshing to see how other folks take care not only of the accuracy of the search results, but also providing you with the right user experience. And all of that to make it much more effective and appealing for you.

But what happens when you are younger? I mean, a lot younger. As I youngster, or even younger, as a kid, how is that user experience? How accurate are those search engines to meet your needs and fulfil them? I know that some of us do not get to think much about these things, and we probably should, but for parents I bet that it is something completely different, that is always in their minds: opening up the Internet to their children in a protected environment. How do you do that?

Well, according to a recent weblog post by SearchEngineWatch, it looks like there is hope. Yes, that is right. In a weblog post titled Savvy Little Searches they get to share their results after performing a number of searches, based on some other interesting criteria (Visual Appeal to a Child, Relevance to a Child, Commercial vs. Educational, Ease of Navigation) and they came to the conclusion that both Fact Monster and Quintura Kids are both of them as good as it gets!

I am not very much familiar with Fact Monster and would probably try to find out some more about it. But I was surely glad to read how Quintura Kids is also one of the best! Both Amit Chowdhry and Phil Bradley get to share their feedback on the subject and I must say that I really enjoyed Amit’s quote stating: "Quintura for Kids takes into account the innocence of children and filters out inappropriate content in a more advanced manner than the other search engines out there. "

I couldn’t have agreed more with it and I am really glad to hear that not only Quintura is pushing innovation further into the search engine 2.0 space, but also I am happy to see how Quintura Kids becomes top of the tops when providing Web content to children in the right context, at the right time and for the right purpose.

As I said, it will probably not get any better than this, but one thing that we have to remember, and which perhaps would bring forward some food for thought for us all, is that younger generation, not too long into the distant future, would become the leaders of the world and it is surely rewarding to see how Web search engines like Quintura Kids are already paving out their way to navigate through the Internet helping them find what they need. And as time goes further, move on to the next step. Just perfect.

Here is the graphic with the results put together on where each search engine sits. Quite revealing to say the least:

Thus, still think that the Internet is not for children any longer? Hummm. you may need to think again…

Congrats to the Quintura folks for such a huge achievement and here is another cheer to their constant innovation and talent put together to help us get the most out of what we really need and forget about everything else. Even at such an early age, because why waste time, right?