Recently in Web 2.0 Category

I dabble in Twitter. I find it very challenging to plow through my various inboxes, blogs, clients, LinkedIn, and to find time to Twit as well. It's just too much noise. (So is doing anything by Committee. By Committee through email is the Worst Way to Do Anything!)

Lately, people (like Pistachio) have been putting on information on how to use Twitter for business. I think in an Enterprise it works or with distributed groups it works, but in small business it's just a way to feel connected - which i swhat communications is all about any way.

John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing had this in his latest newsletter: "I put together my "Beginner's Guide to Using Twitter for Business" and offer here to all as a gift. This is not the definitive guide to all things twitter, this is a nice, simple, practical road map to show you how to start using twitter to reach some of your business and marketing objectives." That's one source.

Then there is this presentation, "Explaining the Impact of Twitter, Friendfeed and Social Media 2.0", which does a good job of explaining how the conversations have flowed, but whether it is blogging, commenting, email, etc. it is especially bulletin board like messaging. People (like this presenter), suggest that Twitter is Interacting much like text messaging. I beg to differ. Texting is a quick way to converse with one person, who will likely reply in some form - text, call, email. Twitter is mainly one-way. It's not a conversation - or at least I'm not experiencing it.

In a collaboration effort it could replace IM, especial for folks without IM. And the history portion is good for this. But how much proprietary info do you want to put on Twitter?

So how are you using Twitter? Following or being Followed? (you can follow me at twitter.com/radinfo )

Duct Tape Marketing has a post about the business use for Twitter. I can see why Twitter would work for a conference like it did for SXSW: great way to update attendees; remind people about keynotes and sessions starting; let people comment about what was cool and where they are going (dinner anyone?); etc. (Read article about it here). And that is a good use for Twitter, but what other business uses are there? In my stream of people I follow on Twitter, there aren't any conversations and a lot of it is self-promotion stuff (look at me, read my stuff, hey, hey!). I guess the best use it to just see what people think. To do that you can use the search function. You can follow me on Twitter.

In a recent column in PC Mag, An Ode to Shrink Wrapped Software, John Dvorak talks about the ten weaknesses of online apps. It really comes down to this: "Using the Internet to return to the old model of mainframe computing is a misuse of resources and a dead end."

Everything else he says just comes back to either the model sucks or the security / reliability stinks. His argument is really about Control. He makes it sound like when you buy the latest version of Microsoft anything, you own it or have any control over it. It has as many security flaws as using an open, unsecured PC at an Internet cafe and leaving it for a potty break.

BlitzTime takes social networks one step further. One of the downsides to connecting with people on LinkedIn is that you can't easily communicate with them. With BlitzTime you set up a profile, including education, interests, etc., then log in, join an event, or start one of your own - thus able to have a conference call with people you might want to meet.

More Conference calling apps are popping up. Vyew is a cheap knock off of Webex for collaboration and file sharing. A new one is Mikogo is a free online desktop sharing tool with many features for you to host web conferences or online presentations - for up to 10 people.

Another one I found through Twitter was Yakkle which combines IM, Twitter, Voice and Desk Sharing. It seems a little daunting to me, so I have not given it a whirl yet.

Dell released a Video Chat app designed by SightSpeed. It seems funny to me. Video chat is enabled on MSN, AOL and Yahoo! IM clients, Skype, SightSpeed, toxbox, Talk Fusion, and many others. Video chat has not picked up much traction. Neither has video email. Even video blogging is a chore compared to podcasting or just plain old blogging (like this!). You have to have a good webcam; a good Internet connection; no network blockage from the ISP; probably fiddle with the whole set-up to get it to work; bad lighting; and, oh, I have to shave and get dressed. No thanks!

Maybe more video apps means it is coming. They built it, right? So people will come. Eventually. Maybe. We'll be talking about it at IT Expo in LA in Sept. as well as at BarCamp Tampa in Oct.

As unemployment rises (along with layoffs) and fewer jobs are being created, people need help job hunting. I get hit up for help all the time. Success Secret #4: Build It Before You Need It.

• Create a LinkedIn profile - that is your new Web 2.0 resume.
• Get Recommendations!
• Get alerts from the meta job boards like Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com.
• Get out and network in your sector and surrounding sectors.
• Take heed from his list of Top 50 Web 2.0 Tools for Job Seekers.
• Get your resume reviewed.
• Get practice interviewing

You are marketing and selling the best product you have: Yourself. If you want a job bad enough, mount a marketing campaign to get it. Want help? Drop me a note. Have positions to fill? Are you using LinkedIn?

Here's the downside to SAAS: security breach and down time.

This week Amazon was down twice, which is hard to believe because I can not remember them being unavailable. Yahoo! Mail has had outages. Twitter is constantly down.

Every data center, even those precious Tier 1's, have had outages. When power is out, redundant systems do not always kick in. But you don't know that until that Bad day happens.

And security breaches are happening every week. Comcast's site was hacked. TJ Maxx was broken -- the largest hack ever. Sweetbay Supermarkets was breached. Bank of New York Mellon Loses 4.5 Million UNENCRYPTED Bank Records. Harvard Hacker steals personal information of 10,000 University students and applicants.

What do you do? As a small business how do you prevent the hacks? It's not like BoNYM didn't have good security. It's a full time job to keep intruders out. Firewalls, IDS and other methods can work, if they are configured correctly and actively monitored. How many folks do you think are talented enough to handle that? How much do you think they cost to hire? Exactly.

IT talent is tough to find and even tougher to retain. That's another reason SAAS will be big with small business. Maybe even with medium sized businesses. The problem will be how the SAAS companies handle redundancy, business continuity, back-up, security -- and when that fails Indemnity. Co-Location companies do not offer Indemnity. But if you are handing your data to someone, you will want to know some stuff about them. Like what's being done so that my data is not lost or stolen? What happens if it is? Who pays the fines? What does my Privacy policy say that covers me using an SAAS provider? These are just some of the things to think about when you think about Outsourcing. As long as you audit your vendors, you won't have to think about these things too often.

On LinkedIn Answers, there is a question about when you would use SAAS in place of in-house apps. Bob Raffo points out some reality:

Failure: CEO sees SaaS as a low cost replacement for in-house systems and as a path to reduce IT headcount. CIO is seen as a marginalized procurment manager.

That's mentality is a definite problem. But then often IT and automation are all about reducing head-count. SAAS for smaller organizations is an idea based on available talent and time. Most very small businesses do not have a full-time IT person. But today technology has far outpaced the average person's ability to keep up with it. So hosted and managed software is ideal, especially for something as unyielding as Small business email. Companies are finding success offering hosted Zimbra. HyperOffice has had success offering a Collaboration suite of services. We have all heard about NetSuite and SalesForce.com. VoIP is a Hosted application. So is UC (unified communications).

QuickBooks offers an online version that I personally find works well for my small business. Other people like FreshBooks. Part of it is functionality, part of it is Usability. How steep is the learning curve.

In VoIP, providers that leave as much "sameness" have less headaches. The blinking Call park problem has undone quite a few installs. Undone by too many tech calls that resulted in a frustrated employee and a huge expense to the provider.

I had read somewhere that about 90% of downloaded software goes unused. People have good intentions, but either never actually install it or just never use it. Some of that is CHANGE. People hate change. And what business owner has time to unlearn a system and learn a new one?

This is where video could play a role. The more you can show demo features, uses, testimonials, tech support, the easier adaptation.

Last night was the AMA Tampa Bay Presents: Interactive Media Special Interest Group. It was the third meeting about Interactive Media. Blogging, Twitter, Social Networks, Podcasting and Video as a means to get your message or branding accomplished. SEO

In response to BusinessWeek's article about blogs and social media, Dan Schoenbaum wrote that "Direct mail and email marketing is dead. Blogs and online communities are the conduit to the buyer today, aspiringly when selling to tech-savvy buyers. The business week article was right on the money. A significant paradigm shift is well underway, corporate America has been slow to recognize the opportunity, but this is changing quickly."

Direct mail has always been tough. Getting people's attention is. Email marketing works in numbers. 0.1% of 5M emails is enough of a response. But 0.5% of 50,000 (expensive) mailers is not. It's about ROI obviously. And I have to wonder if non-tech savvy users see more email marketing than the TS (tech savvy). And if you are not marketing to the TS, how does blogging help you?

Feedburner has 66M subscribers, but that is world-wide. The Long Tail is significant here because passionate readers are the ones reading your blog. So its about the niche (and the niche reader). For marketers, this means that they will have to be in many sites at once. For instance, if I was selling pet food, I would be on every pet forum and pet social network. (There are more than you think!). If I was an oncology pharma rep, I would be on the cancer sites. You can start with banner ads, but if you really want to make an impact, you have to join the conversation. That's what a Blog is about - and so is Facebook and LinkedIN. People connecting to like-minded folks to further their goals and to feel helpful. So that means you can't be the Used Car Salesmen. Which means that sales is different today. Which means sales will cost more and take longer (just what that sales rep wants to hear). But if your company's reps are always providing support, information, customer care, that is a great Brand!

With oil approaching $150 a barrel and consumers wallets emptying out way too fast, IT departments will need to get ready to support many more tele-workers (or remote workers). You would think at this point - with all the Green Think and the traffic congestion in most metro areas - that companies would have opted for tele-working by now. IBM is pushing for it. We have ways of monitoring people remotely (just look at an online Driving class). We also have collaboration suites, web conferencing, shared whiteboard, email and IM, and Blackberries. People are connected -- maybe too much.

This also brings up another matter. Employers aren't really paying you for 8 hours. They are paying you for the productivity you produce in 8 hours. Now this rules out people in call centers or customer service positions who are being paid to "be in a chair" for 8 hours at a shift. But I look at my last project where I was commuting to and from Chicago on the Sunday-Friday schedule, when a majority of my work could easily have been completed remotely. Just because the supervisors want people in Cubeville doesn't mean that's ultimately the best idea.

Talent Acquisition (and management and retention) are the largest obstacle for growth. There wouldn't be a fight to raise the number of H1B Visa's if skilled workers were plentiful and easy to find. It's tough to re-locate workers in a soft real estate market to. Jane can't move if she lost 20% value in her home.

Warren Buffett commented on the US economy stating that we were already in a Recession and that ”It will be deeper and last longer than many think.” Add a credit crisis, foreclosures, increased costs of living, less pay, no savings, dwindling home values, and the pot doesn't look to good. Employers will have to help employees out -- or else give big raises to keep employees commuting 46 minutes on average.

Creativity thinking will be needed. You would hazard that with broadband, Unified messaging, Web 2.0 apps, and SAAS, it shouldn't be that much of a stretch to have employees work from home a couple of days per week. But you better coordinate with your IT department because those are the guys who will have to make it happen (and work).

Having worked on committees, I can tell you that email and listserv usage make for a really challenging way to run a project. Now that I am in Chicago managing an MPLS migration, I realize that Microsoft doesn't have decent tools for this either. Outlook and MS Project help to schedule stuff and create a time-line, but when you want to look at spreadsheets or other docs, it's still cumbersome.

I have used a Wiki, which wasn't perfect, but it has a version manager, so you know what changed and by whom.

Yahoo Groups is pretty good for the communications side of things, because it contains a listserv, an archive, a schedule, a file storage section. Yet, Y! is a pita to get people without Yahoo! emails signed up. And it still doesn't do anything for document version management. Collaboration is a tough thing.

Emily Chang's Hub points out new apps every day. (LifeHacker.org and SarahinTampa.com points them out too). Emily has pointed me to STIXY, which is an online collaboration tool. (Free in beta). The invite people and version management are good. The GUI is like setting up Blogger. I have not gotten too deep with Stixy yet. (You have to get the team to buy in to using something they are not familiar with, which come to find out is difficult).

Another app that I have not tried yet is HomeCourt. This app (according to its front page) answers: Who is responsible for what; who said what and when; and where are the files for this project. Not all of it, but the responsibility part is pretty important, not just for CYA, but to find out who is holding up the project. Time is money.

I notice 3 years ago when my brother got his PMP certification, that PM kind of bloomed. However, it is mainly about how to create documentation. As someone not used to that, it is a cumbersome process (and truth be told, I can not figure out why you would have to spend so many hours just to deliver more status reports.) I guess the gold is in the project detail docs. In my current case, explaining what MPLS is and why it was chosen. How will it be integrated into the current network architecture. Define Class of Service; VLAN's; policies; IP Addressing schema; diagram the network and the NOC. These are documents that many data centers do not have. I can see why they don't (too many man-hours to produce) and why they should (easier to "franchise" the business. IOW, it is knowledge that you want to preserve in your business. When Dan leaves (or dies), what happens to all the knowledge about your network, your gear, your customers???? Gone. How do you replace that? Hence, why documentation is an important piece. (It's still one big hairball to create, but becomes an asset to your business).