E L S U A ~ A KM Blog Thinking Outside The Inbox by Luis Suarez

theTeam – Knowledge Management Done Right

You may have noticed how, over the course of the last couple of weeks, I have started to share over here in this blog a whole lot more video (related) content than anything else, to the point where I can imagine how there may be a few of you folks out there who may be wondering whether this blog will turn itself into a videoblog eventually. Well, not likely. At least, not at this point in time. What happens though is my ever growing addiction to one of my all time favourite iPad Apps I just can’t get enough of: Showyou. If you are a big fan of Flipboard, it’s pretty much the same, but for video. So now you know why I keep bumping into some pretty amazing video clips and why I just can’t help the urge to share them across with other people who may be interested as well. And today is no different. Have you seen “Using Knowledge Management” (Further info details can be found over here)? No? Ok, then, can you spare 5 minutes? Go and watch it. I will be waiting for you over here till you are done. It’ll be worth your time, I can surely guarantee you that!

Specially, if you are one of those folks who feels that Enterprise 2.0 and Social Business are pretty close to some of the basic key principles behind traditional Knowledge Management, drafted back in the day, like I have blogged about, just recently, under the heading “KM, Enterprise 2.0 and Social Business: One and The Same“:

The video clip describes how theTeam, a design agency based in Borough, London, and which specialises in communications, seems to have nailed it as far as adopting and deploying a rather successful Knowledge Management programme, mainly, in my opinion, because it’s based on two core components or key success factors that permeate throughout as well in any Enterprise 2.0 or Social Business strategies: focus on the people (Along with the experience and expertise they bring forward to the business) and effectively tie it (KM) into business goals.

In the video clip itself you will see how Phil Whitehouse, Programme Director, describes very nicely how they have approached it with lots of practical and sensible advice based on their own know-how and experience, developed over time, and you will see what I mean shortly… His take on how they do meetings is brilliant and I surely wish more and more people would adopt and embrace similar practices. It’s also interesting how they have moved away from that focus the corporate world has been having over the course of the last 15 to 17 years around KM being just tools and technology and instead place an emphasis on the outcomes to achieve and consider KM as the enabler to make it happen. Does it ring a bell?

Another important, and rather critical aspect, that Phil touches base on and which we are finally starting to see permeate the Social Computing area as well is the clear connection they have made, and advocated for, between KM and Learning, specially, informal learning, leaving it down to employees to take, and share, a rather active role in that responsibility to keep up with their skills, what’s happening in the industry, and with their customers and business partners, to the point where (customers) relationships have become paramount for them to be able to conduct good business.

And that’s probably the main reason why they have, eventually, embraced fully that wonderful open, public, participatory knowledge sharing culture, as Phil mentions, where they are all leading by example even going all the way to the top! Priceless! Now, I am not going to spoil the rest of the video interview, since he has got a couple of other golden gems to share with you all, but his conclusion on how to get things going with a KM framework for your business could surely apply, and very accurately, to any E2.0 / Social Business frameworks as well: “don’t try and boil the ocean”. Basically, start small, learn quick, move faster, and build from there!

As you can see, once again, traditional KM done right is pretty close to what we nowadays have with both Enterprise 2.0 and Social Business. Perhaps far too close for comfort, but, then again, on the other hand, if theTeam has learned about what works for them, and what not!, while embracing that open, knowledge sharing culture supported by KM / social tools, as enablers, to meet business objectives, right there, I think you would agree with me, we have got a GREAT success story of what it is like that final transformation into an engaged, transparent and nimble social business!

Congratulations!

Who is next?

Gotta Share! – The Ultimate Conference Event Experience

Yesterday, my good friend Ian Thorpe put together one of the most interesting and relevant blog posts I can remember around the topic of conference events and how to get the most out of them in today’s, now more than ever, social world, by pointing out a good number of suggestions and enhancements, mostly around the area of networking, good and relevant content less concentrated in presentations (The well known Death by PowerPoint), and more into conversations and discussions, as well as having great speakers, amongst several others, for what I would surely consider the next challenge for live events: Conferences 2.0. Pretty much along the lines of the insightful blog entries that another good friend, Rob Swanwick, put together a couple of years back and which still seem to be pretty relevant. Worth while a read, specially, for those conference organisers that are starting to ramp up activities for the next upcoming conference season, which, in my case, it always seems to start in June (Don’t know why…).

Once again, like I have been doing for the last few years, I keep wondering whether events organisers would take into account some of these various different suggestions, helping us all progress further into what (social) conferences should be like. What do you reckon? Will it happen in 2011 this time around?

I guess time will tell… but for now, and while I gather some additional further thoughts on improving face to face conference events with some of the key learnings I have acquired based on my own experience over the course of years, I thought I would share with you folks a very funny, hilarious and rather entertaining video clip that I am sure I am going to be reusing quite a bit over the next few months, mainly, every time that I plan to attend a live conference event and I may get told that I cannot live-blog, live-tweet, take pictures, microblog / microshare, bookmark presentations, share information across, etc. etc. It’s just not going to happen. I am sorry.

It’s just pretty much part of me, and who I am, when I go and attend those events, to go ahead and share a bunch of insights of things that are taking place live while we are all physically participating in that event, and as most of you folks already know, if the conference wi-fi connection holds strong it’s also a great pleasure, and a privilege, to be sharing with the rest of the world some of those live experiences acquired and assimilated during the course of the event, as a powerful method to help amplify what gets shared across and what conversations have gotten started already, just as much as try to keep the conversation going, at the same time, before, during AND after the event. I guess that is the same thing that happened to these folks I mentioned above from this brilliant video that lasts for a little bit over 3 minutes and which certainly will make us all have a giggle or two, perhaps a good laugh, even, but also set the right level of expectations for the next time we all get to attend a live conference event.

What do you think? Shouldn’t ALL conference events strive to provide that seamless, unified, shareable social experience, not just for the “in situ” participants, while attending a live conference, but also for those folks who may be remote, but still rather interested in the topics discussed? I hope so. And that’s why I am hoping that, as the conference season is about to kick off, we will all start witnessing a shift on how conferences get organised and how knowledge workers get to participate seamless both online and offline. Quite a challenge, I know! For sure we would never be capable of substituting the powerful interconnectedness of face to face events, it’s what still makes pretty much worth while attending them in the first place! Yes, indeed, the networking part, as I have mentioned already over here a couple of times, but can you imagine the potential outcome of such perfect blend of both virtual and physical worlds while participating in a conference event?

The opportunity to make it work is just mind-blowing. We just need to seize it and somehow I keep wondering which conference around Social Business, Social Computing and Enterprise 2.0, amongst several other concepts related to social, will be capable to lead by example and share with each and everyone of us some of the potential to turn upside down the way we participate and engage in conference events today. Yes, I know, and I do fully realise that no conference out there is going to be 100% perfect in meeting everyone’s needs, but if you were to single out a component from a recent event that you attended that you could have done with what would have that one been like? And the opposite, what has been the activity you have enjoyed the most from any of the recent conference events that you have attended face to face? Care to share it in the comments, please?

Let’s do it! Let’s all try to build the ultimate conference event experience for the world around Social Business, Enterprise 2.0 and Social Computing. It’s very much needed, in my opinion, as both Ian and Rob already mentioned in the blog posts I referenced above, amongst several others. So, what else, apart from a rather robust, scalable and pervasive wi-fi connection throughout the venue would you like to have available and what would you drop out altogether for good? Any initial thoughts to get the ball rolling?

My Top 10 Reasons Why I Bought an iPad 2

If you have been following me on Twitter for a little while now, you would probably know by now how much in love I am with my new shiny iPad 2 that I bought in Madrid almost a month ago, after having tried in multiple places. I guess that’s one of the perks of travelling on a regular basis, that you keep trying to get your hands on it at multiple venues, till it eventually happens heh Anyway, I am sure you may still remember the blog post I put together over here, almost a year ago, when I bought my iPad v1 under the title “My Top 10 Reasons Why I Bought an iPad 2“. Well, since a few folks have asked me what that experience has been like with v2, I thought I would venture today into putting together this particular blog entry, as a nice follow-up, where I can share with you folks my “My Top 10 Reasons Why I Bought an iPad v2“.

Now, apart from all of the reasons that I mentioned on that other previous article, and which would still very much apply over here, since I, too, feel the iPad v2 is an evolution, more than a revolution, from v1, there are still a bunch of reasons why, like I said, almost a month ago, I decided to take the plunge and get my hands on it and so far I haven’t regretted it a single time, which is why, after all of those weeks, I thought it would be a good time for me now to put some of them down over here and share them across with you all, so that you would have an opportunity to judge whether it would also be worth while a purchase for yourself or not, whether you already have v1 or not. So let’s get things started with those reasons as to why I am sold, big time, on v2:

• Speed: By far one of the most noticeable new features from the iPad v2 is the speed of execution, not only from an iOS perspective while flipping through pages of Apps, but also when opening them up to do whatever the task; even the most complex and resource intensive ones are handled in a matter of one or two seconds. Even when switching up between Apps, a la multitasking, is now a complete breeze, resembling pretty close what you could get from your personal computer. Ohhh, and if you like playing fancy games, like I do, on the iPad with some heavy graphics, that overall experience has been improved tremendously with these new speeds! Totally recommended if you are a heavy gamer!
• Quality: What can I say about quality that hasn’t been said already about Apple’s products? I am not sure why, but when I first got my hands on an iPad v2, I, like plenty of other people, I am sure, started drooling all over the place. Somehow it felt like I was holding excelling quality right there in my hands and felt pretty much like a labour of love, even beauty, to the point where I still get that feeling some times despite the novelty having worn out a bit already. Yes, good quality products would do that to you. They would also even help you talk about them openly like I am doing over here, so for those vendors out there wanting to delight their clients with their products, start with bringing top quality to them. The rest will come!
• Design: Yes, good, … oh wait!, great design still sells big time! At least, it does for me, to the point where for a good week I have both v1 and v2 sitting next to one another, side by side, and the difference in the perception of a great design has been very noticeable all along, making v1 feel old. v2 is much slicker, rounded, feels lighter, rather elegant, smart even (Bought the white model, which probably add up a bit of glamour to it altogether, who knows!) to the point where v1 felt like a brick during the time that both of them lived next to each other. Pretty much the very same feeling when I moved from my old MacBook Pro 15” to the MacBook Air 13”. Yes, great design still makes a huge difference! And surely wish other vendors would notice, too! 

  So there you have it! What makes a good product enchant your customers? Well, I am sure many many things, but excelling quality and great design surely look good to me already! Can you imagine that for Enterprise Social Software? Will we ever reach that stage? … I surely hope so!

• Cameras: As you well know, this was one of the features that everyone was missing on v1, but that we all knew it was going to become a reality sooner or later. And while for most folks it’s been a bit of a disappointment, since the quality doesn’t seem to be that good (Specially the front camera), I am actually enjoying it quite a bit. Now, I do realise I can’t take good quality pictures with it, and I’m happy with it, that’s what my iPhone 4 and my real camera do and rather nicely anyway, but the cameras on the iPad 2 surely make for a superb add-on when doing videoconferencing, a la Facetime. It works and the quality, so far, at least, with me, has been rather good! Almost like being there!

• Games: I travel quite a bit, which means that I get to spend plenty of time offline and totally disconnected (Last day and a half has been that way thanks to patchy wi-fi connectivity at the hotel I am staying at and a non-working 3G Modem card that wasn’t activated in the first place, back when I was provided with it! Oh well … ); and while there are a whole bunch of iPad Apps that I use on a rather regular basis, there are times when one is confronted with long hours of business travelling and prefers to spend some time exercising the mind, and several other talents, playing games, as Jane McGonigal mentioned a little while ago on a recent TED Talk under the title “Gaming can make a better world“, and which I have blogged about it over here in the recent past). Well, playing games on the iPad 2 has been taken into a new level, specially, when more and more of the v1 games start adapting to the new capabilities from v2, specially in terms of speed of execution, improved graphics, and overall look and feel. Again, if you are a serious gamer, the iPad v2 surely is worth while the money!
• Friends: Yes, that’s right! I totally wasn’t expecting this one, but the moment I shared with my close friends the fact I was going to buy the iPad v2, that very moment that my v1 had already a new owner! In a split second something magic happened: a common shared experience amongst friends with a passion for that same shiny object. It was no longer a matter of me talking about the wonders of such device and so forth, but now it was a shared experience; we can exchange hints and tips, Apps, tricks to get the most out of it, we can both enjoy each other’s experience with it, making those relationships even so much more engaging, to the point that when having coffee, and talking about things, they are both on the table ready to extend that shared experience even more! Priceless!

• Price: Yes, indeed, that’s another one of the perks of getting your hands on v2. The price is still good, in my opinion, for what you are offered. I got myself the 64GB 3G white model and, once again, just like I did for v1, I haven’t regretted it yet. In fact, this time around it feels even a lot cheaper. Like nearly half the price! See next reason for more details on what I mean …
  
  
• Early Adopter: Like any bleeding edge early adopter, I just couldn’t help it myself, I had to buy it. You know us all. There is a new shiny object out there and we need to have it. We must have it. Well, another advantage of doing that, and very much tied in with the Friends reason, mentioned above already, is the fact that I am helping covert others and become early adopters themselves by passing it on. And just like v1, v2 has already gotten a new owner waiting for that transfer, once I make the jump into v3, whenever that happens. There is nothing more gratifying that seeing you stopping from being the HelpDesk service for everyone, because everyone now would be at the same level you are already: an tablet, a computer, whether v1 or v2, that works! No longer HelpDesk skills required and supported from yours truly! Yes, I know! It feels great!! And, again, like I have mentioned under “Price”, at half the price from here onwards!
• The Apps: Indeed, still the Apps! The main single reason why I went to the v2 versus trying other alternatives that few other folks have been talking about already like XOOM, PlayBook, etc. etc., with not so many very good prospects, judging by the reviews coming along so far, indicating exactly the main reason why the iPad is the killer device: the several thousands of iPad Apps that one has got instant access to in a matter of seconds to do almost everything! That, to me, is still priceless and an ecosystem that, as an customer, I enjoy quite a bit realising fully that it would probably be far too difficult to leave behind over time, and somehow that thought hasn’t bothered me at all so far. And I doubt it would ever will, to be honest. Getting plenty of benefits already from the several dozens of really nifty, powerful, beautiful, immersing experience that lots of these Apps have been providing us all along.
• Mobility: Indeed, with the iPad v2, the dream of the mobile world is now, more than ever, at our fingertips. Once again, I keep travelling lighter, or, at least, as much as I can, and there isn’t a single time that I don’t take it with me, wherever I may go. For business use, for quick reference, for annotations, quick recordings of thoughts to pick up and revisit at a later time, for reading books, PDFs, whitepapers and other articles, for playing games on the go, for being able to do some of the most amazing things by just downloading an App on the go and start using it instantly and without having to worry too much about it. It just works! No matter even how fast paced you may well be, it will still catch up and big time! Something that I cannot say for some other advanced high-tech devices. 

And that’s it! Oh, wait… I almost forgot, there is another good reason why I eventually got my hands on it that can be explained, very easily, with a single word and a very very short video clip in order to understand how I feel about it overall and why I am certainly going to have a blast with it for the next few months, till v3 comes along… The word, magic, the video clip, this one:

Regrets? Do I have any, you may be wondering, right? Well, so far, only one of them. Funny enough it doesn’t even have anything to do whatsoever with the iPad itself, but with the accessories, specially the iPad cases. That has been, probably, my only regret. The fact that I made some investment on having multiple cases for v1, to help accommodate multiple needs, and now I’m finding out, the hard way, that none of them would fit in nicely for the v2. Which means I am on the hunt, once again, for a good solid iPad v2 case, since I am not too convinced about the Smart Cover just yet. I have seen a couple of rather interesting cases already (like this one or this other one), but I still haven’t decided. Perhaps I would go out to you folks and ask you kindly to drop by a comment with your favourite and maybe one or two reasons as to why that iPad case is your favourite. Any takers?

And that’s it (Again)! Those are some of the main reasons why I decided to get my hands on an iPad v2 and so far I don’t regret it a single bit. It’s been totally a complete blast so far! It’s been an absolutely wonderful experience and highly recommended, whether you own a v1 one or whether you are thinking about purchasing one for the first time; and, best thing of it all for me though, is that it would also give me a great opportunity to pick things back again and keep it rolling for “My Top 5 iPad Apps of the Week – Week #N“. It’s been a long while and over the last few months I have acquired a whole bunch of new iPad Apps that I am sure you, too, would enjoy quite a bit! Thus stay tuned for more to come, since I am going to resume that series shortly as well!

For now, that would be it for me. How about you though? What are your main reasons as to why you decided to jump in and get yourself v2 of that shiny new object that seems to be inside everyone’s head at the moment? Care to share a thought or two in the comments as well? That would be just wonderful, and very much appreciated, as it would help provide some further insights to other folks who may want to dive in, but may not be that sure just yet. At least, for now. Perhaps we can all help influence that change. What do you think? Want to share them across?

Ok! Let’s do it!