The online version of office suites, or a hostile takeover?

In a previous post, we noted a tendency toward focusing on specific social networking sites, and suggested that in the future many of us will simply be using what was "learned" in these sites to just be more social -- out in the open, on an Internet without walls. The people we relate to, the relationships we have with them, and the use of available communication tools are the keys to success in this space, not “the site.”

I'm looking for Unified Communications 2.0, and we aren't there yet.

In the meantime, it is important to find transitional points, since we don't yet have a functional cross-platform personal portal, where all of our documents, email accounts, instant messaging clients, microblogs, and friend updates can converge with our videos, personal learning, and VOIP communications accounts.

So where do we find this virtual office suite?

Steve O'Hear recently highlighted the Facebook apps he calls a few shiny gems that can help you turn Facebook into a super-charged personal assistant. Steve listed and discussed many third-party applications that promise to help run your business, including accessing your LinkedIn contacts. But in this time of economic uncertainty and build-it-so-you-can-sell-it mentality, do we really want to invest time in a Third Party App?

I know that Jeff Pulver recently alerted the world to his Facebook conversion, but should the rest of us follow along? He contrasted the experience of Facebook to LinkedIn by identifying the former as a wealth of opportunity for vibrant interaction between users and groups of users, and at once more rewarding and more nuanced and meaningful. And Jeff is still living on Facebook, though his "community" appears to be limited in number by Facebook (a month or so ago he was maxing out at 5,000), and community (they have a limit on the number of groups you can join, as well).

So should we move all our stuff to Facebook? Andrew McAfee (and others he credits) posted an overview of how Facebook can be used as an organizational intranet. Ultimately, I think highly sensitive documents could be linked within Facebook and hosted on a protected server, but security is not my only concern. Facebook for business is still close to Web 2.0 (or as Doc Searls calls it, AOL 2.0, or AOL done right). So what do we do when we truly have a virtual presence that is unrestricted by the gated community mentality? What's the cost of conversion then? I'm all for mashing up as many parts of my life as possible, but I'm not convinced Facebook (or LinkedIn, or any other gated community) is the place to do this. What happens when they make decisions based on their needs, and not on ours?

What do you think?

Twitter catches on Fire

In an earlier post we saw that a few police departments had begun experimenting with Twitter . . . And now we see the fire departments Twitter, too!

Thanks to Grant Griffiths for his post in the Twitterverse! Grant runs one of the best blogs out there for those who do freelance work. Others covered it previously, but I wasn't connected to them, so I didn't get the message (there's a message there).

In Governing/December 2007, : Ellen Perlman's (Tech Talk) writes "For the department, twittering is an easy, free way to get important information out to the public. If, in the aftermath of, say, an earthquake, Los Angeles wanted to send out a boil water alert, one message could alert millions of people instantly. 'It's even better than the Goodyear blimp flying around,' says Humphrey, who also serves as the department's public information officer."

I can see the value for fire departments. Apparently, though, me and the LAFD and perhaps Ellen are the only ones who can.

In a search of Twitter for subscribers describing themselves as "fire department," the LAFD was "Results 1 - 1 of 1." Now it's possible that there are departments out there who just haven't listed themselves the right way (it's all public access, so like the yellow pages "fire department" would be the most logical).

There are plenty of users with the word "fire" in their name or description, like @SilverFire, @theCOLORofFIRE, @FireAngel, @StrangeFire, @iFire, and @Nuclear_Fire, but the majority haven't posted an update (indicating a lack of participation) in several months. There was one for California Fire News (@CalFireNews), but they appear to be just getting started, so if you would like to follow them that might help get them motivated!

Here's just a sample of the LAFD Twitter posts. Can you see the value in getting these on your mobile phone?

*Greater Alarm Structure Fire* 15222 W. Stagg St.; TG 531-H3; FS 90, 1
story commercial warehou... Read more at http://tinyurl.com/4wupzj

*UPDATE: 4630 N. Cerro Verde Pl.* Small fire starting in a pool house,
spread into approx. 1/4 ... Read more at http://tinyurl.com/53sz73

*Brush Fire* 4630 N. Cerro Verde Pl.; TG 560-H4; FS 93, Small amount of
brush burning behind a ... Read more at http://tinyurl.com/423gx7

*UPDATE: 120 E. 8th St.* Incident possibly caused by small fire in
electrical vault. DWP on sc... Read more at http://tinyurl.com/47arxg

Granted there are a lot of leading edge tech-aware folks in the Los Angeles area, but how 'bout some of the other large (and relatively progressive in a technology sort of way) metropolitan fire departments? Off the top of my head, given what LAFD learned, I would say New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston would be prime candidates. Personally, I would think Nashville would also jump into the mix, but . . .

So you can check how many are participating long after this has posted, here are a couple of self-updating links. These will identify mentions of the quoted words on Twitter.

• Search for the term "Police Department" in conversations on Twitter


• Search for the term "Fire Department" in conversations on Twitter


• Search for the term "Police Department" in users on Twitter


• Search for the term "Fire Department" in users on Twitter

What do you think?

Revamping the learning paradigm

I just spent 1 of 2 mornings with some relatively forward thinking educators from all over for the 13th Annual Instructional Technology conference here in Murfreesboro, TN (near Nashville). Chris Dede brought the opening message -- said (paraphrasing) that educators are doing students a disservice to students if they don't prepare them for the workplace as it is now -- not as it was long ago. He also stressed the mobile learning environment -- today, not tomorrow.


There's more about last years conference on my retrofitting education blog here.

Many of the forward-thinking educators at the conference are talking about the Lessig style of PowerPoint design . . . like this gem.

Dick Hardt


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpajcAgR1E

I'm wondering how it would work in the traditional learning environment -- oh wait, we shouldn't be in the traditional learning environment! Does this work outside the world of 2.0?

And then there was a mashup proposal of Guy Kawasaki's 10-20-30 rule.

10) Ten is the optimal number of slides in a PowerPoint presentation because a normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting

20) You should give your ten slides in twenty minutes.

30) Force yourself to use no font smaller than thirty points.

I haven't finished processing how this mashup works, but I'm thinking it will make for some much more interesting learning environments, not at all like this one:


http://video.google.com/

More on the 10-20-30 rule in writing and video.

I realize this would be a great opportunity for liveblogging, but I'm not that guy ;-)

What do you think?

Thanks for the retweet @problogger !

I was recently one of 116 submissions that responded to a great opportunity for exposure beyond the imagination. Many thanks to Darren Rowse (ProBlogger) for his challenge to submit our best post title (and URL) from the last month on their blogs.

Here's the list, and as ProBlogger said:

Surf them - link up to those you connect with and if you’re on Twitter follow as many of this great bunch of bloggers as you can!

1. Twit from PHP with cURL by @tosoAplos
2. Phase One: In which we rickroll a desk - by @CleverUserName
3. Stu Talk #1 - Practical Community Identity by @theunguru
4. Being (Online) Social by @radix33
5. Dude Broke His Foot by @dwendland
6. Vintage Slug Advertising by @neonbubble
7. A Salty Chocolate Bar by @wildhoney
8. Save the Developers! Upgrade Your Browser by @idesignstudios
9. Creating Stop Signs for Site Traffic - by @jasonboom
10. Terms of Use - Are they Pointless by @aflusche
11. 4 Ways to Kick Your Blog in the Butt by @GrantGriffiths
12. Meeting God at Wells by @pastorshawna
13. Are you ready to take off or to land? Be the pilot of your business plane! by @terencechang
14. The Importance of a Day Off by @10kthings
15. St. Palm Patrick’s Sunday by @coffeesister
16. Change the Rules, Then Cross the Street by @jacobm
17. 10 diet friendly snacks that satisfy your need for sweet by @afexion
18. How Do You Facebook? by@davidgiesberg
19. If You Do Not Comment On This Post You Fail At Life by @UniKid
20. Getting people to read your blog i.e. Linkbait by @nickclarson
21. Real commitment or lipstick on a pig? by @trib
22. Do You Have Secret Business Syndrome? by @bigbrightbulb
23. Hate Destroys the Hater by @jnbammer
24. 17 Habits of Highly Popular Bloggers by @skinner
25. Terrorism - Why aren’t you afraid yet? by @koreyk
26. Winos have smaller brainos by @deege
27. Colorful Cardamom Roasted Cauliflower by @Sundaydinner
28. And oh, BY THE WAY… by @ericablonde
29. Start Spreading the News, I’m Leaving in May by @rhyswynne
30. You are not where you think you are! by @gCaptain
31. Taking Criticism: Are You A Dinosaur by @SHurleyHall
32. Oops, I did it again: bubbles, balls and burn-out by @jonathanfields
33. Fuel Cell Cars :: ride into the future by @cdhinton
34. Go Go Gadget Ads by Doubleohd
35. Right Off! by @GoonSquadSarah
36. Beyond Blogs: The Conversation Has Moved Into The Flow by @stoweboyd
37. How We Got A $1608 Cash Back Rebate Check by @bargainr
38. Adobe Photoshop Express & The Mindless Photo Rights Grab by @jimgoldstein
39. Stallion Battalion by @splitbrain
40. Last Meal In Singapore by @texasag90
41. #176 Nahin Saab, Kuch Nahin Bachta… by @dybydx
42. No Hype But Some People Should Probably Read This by @AndyBeard
43. Wallet Mouth? How You Spend Speaks To How You Want To Be Seen by @SCartierLiebel
44. adopt/adapt/apply by @dydimustk
45. Holding Hands is CHILD ABUSE! by @thepsychoexwife
46. Hard Lessons for Entrepreneurs by @sbpalding
47. Take great photos with a point and shoot! by @sduffyphotos
48. 13 Ways to Move Big Files on the Web by @charpolanosky
49. Why Not Be A Tiny Cocktail Sausage? by @anneplamore
50. Don’t Drive Angry: Stepping Back from a Failed Internet Marketing Campaign by @portentint
51. Jamaican Me Crazy! by @theblanchard
52. Wardrobe Essentials For College Girls by @collegefashion
53. Online Storage - MediaMax’s High Tech Extortion by @MadLid
54. Apple Is a Mean, Hot, Devil-Woman by @MattJMcD
55. London breaks with theatre show and hotel by @aroberts
56. 60% of Photoshop Users are PIRATES! by @auer1816
57. The 007 Twister by @OldManMusings
58. Ahhh… Umbria by @soultravelers3
59. Why New Tech Doesn’t Need SEO by @brianlburns
60. 1 marshmallow or 2? A study on the benefits of delayed gratification by @glbguy
61. He was the best of candidates, he was the worst of candidates… by @sorenj
62. First Draft Mantra: Make It Crappy by @QRW
63. Holy Cow! Beatle Bob Is In Blender! by @patrikd88
64. Get Your Sleep Or You Will Be Fat & Sick by @myrnaweinreich
65. 7 Mountain Biking Confidence Killers by @UltraRob
66. When The Rich Wage War, It’s The Poor Who Die by @TwisterMC
67. 40 Things to Do with Your Old Socks by @DebNG
68. Me and My Cash Flow Problem by @MMarquit
69. Seven Wonders of the Fashion World by @jaybol
70. Hit Me! SolidWorks and “21″ The Movie by @solidsmack
71. Jason Calacanis - Just the Opinion of a Simple Kansas Girl by @hawksdomain
72. UK Circuit RIder 4.0 Round up by @LittleLaura
73. Police 2.0 - To Protect and to Twitter! by @carterfsmith
74. Weight Loss Success: Core Commitment and Support Podcast by @queenofkaos
75. Understanding The Visitor’s Psychology: Becoming One With The Reader by @tibipuiu
76. Audrina Patridge Explains Why She Accidentally Took Naked Pics by @SheaJ12
77. My Funniest Frugal Fix by @Lynnae
78. Ten CD/Book Release Party Don’ts by @deegospel
79. Tweet me on TWITTER, Tweety! by @RhodesTer
80. Never Underestimate Commenting by @whojaybe
81. Registration walls and user exodus water falls (or, how do you get people to comment on your stuff?) by @ebrage
82. Conscious Breathing-More Than A Health Benefit by @myrnaweinreich
83. Sony DIME Press Event - Foam City, Miami by @hawridger
84. You Can Always Monetize Web Traffic by @FeedbackSecrets
85. How To Install DOMtabs on WordPress by @problogdesign
86. The Joys of Scaremongering by @OwenC
87. When Good Friday is just okay by @jakebouma
88. Broadband Speed Test: How To Estimate Your Real ADSL Speed by @ikaronet
89. TheJetsBlog.com & SportsNet New York Agree to Partnership by @thejetsblog
90. Enemies Are Important: Branding Your Website With the Right Villains by @doshdosh
91. Gangsta Rapper = Future Good Husband? by @AGoodHusband
92. I should stop reading and start doing! by @infektia
93. Hard times in Al-Andalus by @azizhp
94. There Is No Future In This Architecture by @schmutzie
95. 6 Tips For Better About Pages by @jamieharrop
96. You Gotta Have Friends by @Teeg
97. Don’t Tell Your Friends You Make Money, but Tell Your Friends by @ianternet
98. Where Karl Does His First Video Post Naked by @karlerikson
99. 50 Uses for Plastic Easter Eggs by @Raesmom
100. Is Your Ann Arbor home Stinkey? by @missycaulk
101. Apple, La La, and Goat by @stshores24
102. Happy St. Patricks Day! by @Sorka
103. Please Don’t SPAM My RSS Reader by @chrisblackwell
104. Accredited Home Lenders - the kid that touched the stove again by @morganb
105. The Great Manic Depressive: The Markets by @RhodyTrader
106. Engadget leads World Top 100 Blogs by @digitalfilipino
107. 30 Fonts that all designers must own by @justcreative
108. Classic Mod Daylight for Sale by @Remiss63
109. Cancer Fatigue: It Feels Like Death by @susanreynolds
110. How Twitter Helped Me Meet My Deadline by @amypalko
111. How To Recruit a Small Army by @chrisguillebeau
112. Instant Head Relief by @lordlikely
113. 5 Keyword Research Tips to Finding the Questions Your Readers Want Answered by @MartyJ
114. What The Heck Are Emoodicons? by @johntunger
115. Lessons learned from a stand up comedian by @JoshAnstey
116. Beer And Milk = Bilk by @Neil_Duckett

What do you think?

Social Network Portability is coming, with a twist

Microsoft appears set on getting into the social space, whether by owning it or facilitating it. It's kind of like "let someone else build it and if they come we'll go get them and invite them over." Now it appears they are going for the Mall approach, rather than the franchise or leveraged buyout approach. Or at least, so it seems.

In a prior post, we noted Google's opening the cross-platform communications mode with OpenSocial, and the many developers working on an aggregator for users. Could this latest venture serve as an aggregator not just for individual profiles, but also one for groups? We are still looking for a mobile solution, too . . . waiting to be invited to participate in the mashup of Dashwire and ProfileLinker!

Microsoft is working with Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, Tagged and LinkedIn to create a safe, secure "two-way street" so we can move our profiles and relationships between social networking sites. It's a little late for that, isn't it? How 'bout something that will synchronize what we have, or maybe even a business and personal profile, with by-individual or by-group access? We've already copy-pasted our "About Me" and a variety of likes and quotes and . . . What happened to the Open Social adventure that Facebook was avoiding making a commitment to?

Microsoft has been using SharePoint, with support for wikis, blogs and RSS feeds, with privacy and security so everyone can feel secure, for enterprise social networking, but now they are going after those who aren't connected by their internal company relationships. And they are proposing that we help them by using Windows Live Messenger to connect with Facebook (available now), Bebo, LinkedIn, Hi5 and Tagged (coming soon). The strategy starts with inviting your friends and connections to connect on Windows Live Messenger (not sounding a lot like portability here -- I am thinking "import from").

So I tried the only currently available option -- Facebook. A login to Facebook screen (with Windows Live logo but a Facebook URL) popped up, and the first try on login failed (hmmm, a phishing site?). But the next screen had the Facebook logo, and it logged me in just fine. I didn't however, see where I could add anyone to an invite list, so . . . I gave up and started blogging.

I was using MS Internet Explorer on XP on a Dell, so maybe that's what the problem was. Next time I find myself with nothing to do but beta-test for Microsoft, perhaps I will try Firefox on Leopard on a Mac.

I'm not sure that this will be a profitable venture for Microsoft, but it's worth a try. We know that owning a centrally located piece of real estate and inviting big names to stake their claim there has worked in the real world in the past. Microsoft has shown their ability in Web 1.0 to make money, and it's apparent that no one in social networking has figured out how to do that yet . . .

So we'll just keep beta testing while Microsoft keeps building . . .

Note that when I recently installed FriendFeed and Twitter on Facebook, it went off without a hitch. They obviously aren't related to Microsoft.

What do you think?

How to use Your IRS Rebate check...

How to use Your IRS Rebate check...

As you may have heard, taxpayers in the U.S. will be getting a tax rebate check to stimulate the economy.

If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China. If we spend it on gasoline it will go to the Middle East. If we purchase a computer it will go to China and India. If we purchase fruits and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Japan. If we purchase useless stuff it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it at yard sales/resales, since those are the only businesses still in the US!

What do you think?

Toss out your calendar -- we're living on Tulsa Time

In a previous post, we asked 'Can relationships help you turn back time?'

Now we're asking, can you live on Tulsa Time? Here's a reminder of what that entails. You probably heard it first from Don Williams, or maybe Eric Clapton . . .

Livin' on Tulsa time
Livin' on Tulsa time
Gonna set my watch back to it
Cause you know I've been through it
Livin' on Tulsa time

We previously pointed out that the Relationship Economy is a place where totally new paradigms will produce totally new actions and reactions. The message was that our networks can help us make better use of our time, but ultimately we could not turn-back time.

Until now!

Leave it to the Google R & D folks to figure out a way to send and email "to the past," and it will appear in the proper chronological order in your recipient's inbox. You can even opt for it to show up read or unread by selecting the appropriate option.

I knew they had some great offerings at Google (I especially like the email, docs, and Grand Central), and just yesterday in two separate conversations referred to a Google product (the calendar in a call about Jiffle and Gmail in a conversation about the new social networking catalyst Xoopit.

But this takes the cake!

You gotta see Gmail Custom TimeTM!


http://youtube.com/watch?v=eLBxAWGHwy0

What do you think?

PS -- just so there's no question, check the date of the post and this link.