Raven's Brain v1.0: Technology & Business

Insightful Post: Technology should not make you more productive

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:41:27 GMT

I came across an interesting post by Josh Holmes regarding a post by Larry Clarkin on technology and productivity: Technology should not make you more productive. Like Holmes I was initially confused by the title -- Clarkin is a noted progressive technology advocate -- but it soon became clear what Clarkin was getting at:

Technology should not make you more productive, but it should totally change the way that you work

Aha - now I get it! Some pretty insightful thoughts from both posts on how technology is/has/will change our lives. I'll copy a clip from Holmes post to (hopefully) entice you to read both. We pick up at his thoughts on the above statement from Clarkin:

I couldn't agree more. I think back on the way that I worked even a couple of years ago and how technology has transformed my outlook and way that I work. It's no longer apples to apples comparisons. Tasks that used to take me hours or weeks to complete are either irrelevant or wrapped up in a single statement that I can delegate to something else. Think about the way that we write code these days verses yesteryear. I used to spend weeks and months writing data layer code, front end population of fields and the layout of the screens for even the simplest of applications. At this point, I wire up a fantastic ORM, such as NHibernate, SubSonic, ActiveRecord or any number of others, get the XAML form from a designer and wire the databinding in seconds. That allows me to largely ignore the "plumbing" code and focus on the business logic. I'm still writing the same number of lines of code a day, but it's completely different code than I used to write.
I think about Cell Phones, SMS, Email, Twitter, TripIt, Dopplr, Plaxo and all the other technologies/applications that I use every single day of the year and it has completely transformed the way that I work. I used to be fanatical about getting someone's email address. Now, I'm setting up most of the CodeToLive episodes through Twitter. At this point, if they are on Twitter, I often DM someone on twitter instead of trying to email them. At one point in time, that would have been over email. Prior to that, it was phone. Prior to that it was in person or not at all. :)
Read more of Josh Holme's post: http://www.joshholmes.com/PermaLink,guid,6d09574e-887f-47ef-aa9b-5b7bc057cc83.aspx
Read Larry Clarkin's post here: http://larryclarkin.com/2008/02/10/TechnologyShouldNotMakeYouMoreProductive.aspx

And with more and more technology goodness being cranked out each day - gadgets, websites, tools, applications, utilities, programming languages, methodologies, widgets, electonics and the like - it's hard to imagine what work and tech life will look like in 5-10-15 years. I really enjoyed the thoughts in these two posts as they caused me to stop and think, rethink, challenge some assumptions and 'remember to remember' that the latest and greatest "whatever" sometimes isn't.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Productivity, Technology, Project Management Blog

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2008 IT Management Trends - Seven Hot Acronyms In IT

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:47:35 GMT

You've gotta love the start of a new year. 2008 brings a ton of lists with predicitions, opinions and hoodoo voodoo insights on the coming year. I've resisted temptation to list the lists of 2008 trends, only posting an excerpt from one in Project Management is one of the 8 Hottest Skills for '2008. But now the techie in me is itching to share the following: Seven hot acronyms IT pros are talking about. Keep in mind that this list comes via Jason Hiner of TechRepublic, and it's (obviously) neither an exhaustive or definitive one, but as a regular reader of (way too) many blogs and articles, I can assure you that most of these acronymns have been growing in popularity, and are popping up more and more frequently as 2008 unfolds. Here are the "7 Hot Acronymns" discussed in the article:

7. BPM
Business Process Management is all about using technology to make business processes more efficient and less time consuming, and thus completing the same processes with fewer resources. In other words, it’s about streamlining operations to save money....
6. CMDB
A Configuration Management Database collects configuration data about the various pieces of an IT infrastructure and stores them in a unified repository that can be systematically analyzed and managed. In this system, the various pieces of data are called “configuration items” (CIs) and the goal is track changes to the CIs and to ultimately auto-discover new items....
5. BI
Business Intelligence is a fancy name for the high-powered reports and dashboards that smart companies use to track the performance of their businesses. For example, my colleague Larry Dignan of ZDNet likes to say, “BI is the way you get ROI out of ERP.”....
4. MDM
Master Data Management is the new buzzword for unifying data sources to provide a single, reliable source of information about customers, products, employees, and other assets. This may sound similar to data warehousing (DW), but it’s actually bigger....
3. TCO
Total cost of ownership is a phrase coined by the Gartner Group in 1987, and it has developed into a useful formula for arriving at the full costs involved in deploying and managing technology tools. TCO calculations provide assistance with product selection, because they are a valuable part of estimating return on investment (ROI). With tech budgets tightening in 2008, TCO and ROI will become even more critical in helping IT departments decide how to best spend their constrained budgets.
2. SOA
Service Oriented Architecture has a few distinguishing characteristics, but it’s the same type of cloud computing that has been referred to as “Web services” and “Software as a Service” over the past decade. The difference with SOA is that it goes a step beyond cloud computing by breaking down software services into standard building blocks that can be re-used, distributed, and fed into other sites, programs, and projects.
1. ITIL
Information Technology Infrastructure Library has evolved into a set of standards and best practices for organizing and running an IT department. Originally developed by the British government with inspiration from IBM, ITIL is now an international phenomenon and a hot commodity in the United States, where ITIL-trained professionals are in strong demand. ITILv3 was published in April 2007, and one of the most important revisions was a stronger alignment between IT and business — another critical theme for IT in 2008.
Read more here: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=591

Note items 4-7 have been truncated, while items 1-3 include the complete description from the article. Do check out the original for additional info and, if you're a glutton for punishment, you might want to check out the comments following the article to get additional insights and points of view.

For what it's worth, as a PM I've seen TONS of ITIL articles, posts, whitepapers, etc. pop up, starting in the last half of 2007 with increasing frequency here in the second month of 2008. So seeing it on this list as the number one acronymn is no surprise to me. Open to debate? Of course, but it does seem to be a current and trendy buzzword (buzz-acronymn?) in IT. One more thing to read up on, yep yep!

For your reading pleaseure, here's a random list of more 2008 "hot trends":

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, 2008 IT Trends, 2008 Trends, IT Acronyms

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New Facebook Social Ads Spark (more) Privacy Concerns

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:54:26 GMT

Hey look, more controversy on the Facebook front - at least this one isn't about OpenSocial! There are other posts about Facebook and Social Advertising but I found this clip from Slashdot and the comments following it interesting: The New Facebook Ads - Another Privacy Debacle?

Facebook recently announced a new advertising scheme called 'Social Ads.' Instead of using celebrities to hawk products, it will use pictures of Facebook users. Facebook might be entering into another privacy debacle. The site assumes that if people rate products highly or write good things about a product then they consent to being used in an advertisement for it. Facebook doesn't understand that privacy amounts to much more than keeping secrets — it involves controlling accessibility to personal data..

Read more here: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/09/1615257&from=rss

Be sure to browse through the comments, some are pretty insightful. I know some/alot? of folks feel that this is a non issue, like explosivejared (1186049):

As long as the users don't care I don't see the problem. Think about a lot of the people that use facebook. This is they're dream. They seek attention constantly with bawdy pictures and things. As long as facebook refrains from using pictures of users that have restricted accounts, I could see this being a bonus for particularly attention seeking users.

And I guess that might be true for some/alot? of Facebook's users. I should mention that I don't have an account and never have but, rersonally, I find this ad concept a little creepy - especially after reading this comment from Mrs. Grundy (680212):

I don't think you get what is going on here. It is not targeting ads to you. It is targeting ads to others using you as an unpaid spokesperson without your direct consent (or consent in the small print of the TOS). In the example on the facebook site, a person who liked the movie 'Top Gun' has their image being used to advertise Blockbuster. I'd be pretty pissed to find my face on a Blockbuster or Walmart ad just because I liked a product that one of these companies wants to sell. I think it is all pretty unseemly.

I guess if you're on Facebook and looking to promote "you" Social Advertising would be pretty cool. I haven't dug too deep into this issue so I don't know what their specific privacy plans are. I would guess there'd be an opt-out for the ads but you never know how sneaky advertising and revenue gets. This just reminds me to be careful with personal data, how much you share and with who and, most importantly, who you let manage it. You can bet if Windows Live Spaces wanted to start using my picture on ads I'd pull my site and close my account in a second! But that's just me..

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Facebook, Social Advertising, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Business

National Do Not Call Registry - do you need to re-register??

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:03:18 GMT

Adam Pash at lifeHacker reminds us to Banish telemarketers from your phone as those of us who signed up for the NDNCR five years ago will start seeing our registrations expire. I sort of, kinda remember hearing that registration on the list only last five years. Why? I have no clue, personally I'd like a lifetime membership but I guess if you move/change numbers that would leave the older numbers locked. Hmm, maybe they did think this through... Anyway, here's a clip from the lifehacker post:

"The National Do Not Call Registry allows you to register your phone number as a do not call number for all telemarketers, so that you don't have to tell them all, individually and ever-so-politely, to "Please put me on your do not call list."

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your registration will be effective for five years."

Read more here: http://lifehacker.com/software/telemarketers/banish-telemarketers-from-your-phone-153828.php

You can access the NDNCR directly here: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx. Just click on the register button and you'll be allowed to enter up to three telephone/cell numbers, enter and verify your email address and then submit. One quirky item is that they send a seperate email for each number entered, so I had to click/verify the home and two cell numbers I had re-registered in three individual emails. Not too burdensome considering the positive gains with no more annoying telemarketer calls.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, NDNCR, National Do Not Call Registry, Do Not Call List

Innovation: A Global ONLINE Event November 7 - 9, 2007

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 23:38:01 GMT

Interested in the subject of innovation? Check out the Global Innovation Exchange 2007 - A Virtual Online Conference on Global Innovation that's taking place next month, November 7 - 9, 2007. The cost for the three day online event is $199 and registering before October 26th gets you a $50 discount. They're also offering a "register 3 get 4th free" deal if, which is nice if you and 3 friends won't be sitting in front of the same PC or want to interact individually. In case you were wondering, here's some detail on the inline innovation event:

Global Innovation Exchange 2007 is a groundbreaking event focused on sharing and diffusing innovation insights, strategies and next practices from around the world. This 100% virtual event provides the all the value of a face-to-face conference but in a highly innovative online format that saves you significant time and expense.
By engaging directly with innovation Thought Leaders and by networking with peers from around the world, you will:

Gain insight into the latest trends in innovation management and strategy
Learn from real-world examples that demonstrate next practicesin the field
Receive practical tips and tools for leading innovation in your own organization
Get questions answered from the experts and build new relationships with others participants

Whether you care about innovation for businesses, government, nonprofits, nongovernmental organizations, or educational institutions, you’ll come away from this event with new knowledge, tools, and a network of new contacts.
Read more here: http://www.innovation-point.com/GIE2007/index.htm

And if you were wondering about the program - events, online meetings, audio conferences, schedule, etc:

The program is designed to provide practical insights, examples, and tools for fostering and driving innovation. Presenters represent leading practitioners, academics and consultants from diverse cultures, organizations and geographies all focused on the field of innovation.
Topics are introduced through streaming narrated presentations connected to a discussion area that allows participants to interact over the course of the three-day conference. The program also includes scheduled daily real-time (live) events including online meetings and audio conferences (using Skype or the telephone).
Click here for a brief narrated overview on how to participate in the online conference.
Read more about the program and obtain a schedule of events here: http://www.innovation-point.com/GIE2007/program.htm

Pretty cool to connect with folks globally to discuss Innovation and interact with attendees and presenters. Not sure if I'll be attending so I'd love to hear from others if they make any of the online innovation events: raven_young AT hotmail DOT com. Thanks to the folks over at PMThink! for the heads up on this online conference!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Innovation, Innovation Seminar, Innovation Conference

Viral Marketing vs. Word of Mouth and a side of Ideavirus please

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:24:16 GMT

Seth Godin asks Is viral marketing the same as word of mouth?

Viral marketing [does not equal] word of mouth. Here's why:
Word of mouth is a decaying function. A marketer does something and a consumer tells five or ten friends. And that's it. It amplifies the marketing action and then fades, usually quickly. A lousy flight on United Airlines is word of mouth. A great meal at Momofuku is word of mouth.

Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn't have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus.
This distinction is vital.
For one thing, it means that constant harassment of the population doesn't increase the chances of something becoming viral. It means that most organizations should realize that they have a better chance with word of mouth (more likely to occur, more manageable, more flexible) and focus on that. And it means, most of all, that viral marketing is like winning the lottery, and if you've got a shot at an ideavirus, you might as well over-invest and do whatever it takes to create something virus-worthy.

Read more here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/10/is-viral-market.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Marketing, Viral Marketing, Ideavirus

IT Managers: 10 Tech Skills To Develop

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:22:54 GMT

Global Knowledge has an interesting article worth the read for IT managers: 10 tech skills you should develop during the next five years. The teaser from a GK newsletter caught my attention and drove me to read it:

If you want a job where you can train in a particular skill set and then never have to learn anything new, IT isn't the field for you. But if you like to be constantly learning new things and developing new skills, you're in the right business.

So true! Part of what I like most about working on technology, software and web development projects is that things are always changing, the industry grows in new directions each day and there is always a fresh crop of new and interesting projects and problems to tackle. Change and growth in the IT field are also part of the challenges of working with technology. New software, programming languages and methods abound, popular applications and windgets come and go, innovation leads to good and bad ideas, and it's hard as an IT manager to determine what types of "new" technology to invest your time in. The GK article poses 10 tech skills you should research and explore in the coming years:

1. Voice over IP

2. Unified communications

3. Hybrid networks

4. Wireless technology

5. Remote user support

6. Mobile user support

7. Software as a service

8. Virtualization

9. IPv6

10. Security

Read more about each of the above here: http://www.globalknowledge.com/training/generic.asp?pageid=1399&country=United+States&translation=English

It's an interesting list but as a technology project manager I have no idea if this is close to a definitive list of technologies to explore. I suppose it depends on what type of technology projects you work on and what skills you want to develop in the future. If you are looking for a list of "hot" IT items to explore, this list is a good start.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, IT Projects, tech Skills

Joel on Office 2007 Software

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:26:14 GMT

Great post from Joel on Office 2007: Even the Office 2007 box has a learning curve. While the whole thing is amusing, I also found Joel's points to be true. I particularly liked this excerpt:

Wasting five minutes trying to get the goddamned box open is just the first of many ways that Office 2007 and Vista's gratuitous redesign of things that worked perfectly well shows utter disregard for all the time you spent learning the previous versions.
I've tested Office 2007 extensively, and find it a tolerable replacement for the previous version, although it's extremely frustrating every time I have to spend several minutes finding something that I knew exactly how to find in the previous version.
Read more: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/08/18.html

I was shocked to find I wasn't the only person who was puzzled by Vista and Office 2007's new package. It's not like it took me 30 minutes but it certainly wasn't the most intuitive. However, that was the least of my frustrations. Using familiar apps in the 2007 versions had me feeling like I was using totally different products. I mean, some common tasks were easy to find but others were moved or buried in the navigation - simple tasks and features were elusive. I found myself wanting an option to "use classic navigation" so I could, uhm, actually use the new versions Word, Excel, Project and Visio instead of playing hide and seek with common tasks. However, since complaining gets you (me?) no where, I made time to play with each app to get familiar and make good use of the "ribbon". Don't get me wrong - I do still find myself looking for "something" but at least I'm comfortable with the updated versions and have gotten past staring blankly at the screen ;)

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Office 2007, Software

Computer Humor: We're (D)evolving

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:54:51 GMT

Here's a little picture to print and post on your PC at work to remind you not to become a PC Neanderthal:

Courtesy of Joke-A-Thon

Mmm. Technology good. PC good. Curvature of the spine Bad..

posted by Raven Young under Raven's Brain
Tags: Raven's Brain, PC humor, Computer Humor

The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:21:07 GMT

Seth Godin is tired of the business cliches that are so pervasive in daily conversations, meetings and other forms of communication at work. To combat "the rise of the cliches" Seth has created The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches at Squidoo. The list began with Seth's Top Ten often used cliches but has now grown to over 150+ cliches/phrases and other tired business words. Here's Seth's intro discussing the impetus for creating the cliche encyclopedia:

It's easy to make fun of business clichés. Tempting to string a bunch together in a blog post or a memo and show how clever you are. Harder, though, to avoid using them.
I think they exist to hide. By providing a layer of insulation between what you say and the truth, you can avoid saying what you mean, avoid confrontation and avoid change. Clichés make it easy to talk without really saying anything. Clichés make it easy to hide and to lie.
Does anyone really think Karl Rove is going off to spend more time with his family? Does he even know the names of the people in his family? Did the people at Ford Motor really drop everything to make quality job one, or was it just marketing tinsel?
The few people who actually mean it when they use clichés are now frustrated because no one believes them any more. The entire lexicon is discredited.
Let's save time and effort and say what we mean. Here's my start on finding the best of the worst: The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches. Feel free to robustisize it.
Link: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/08/the-encyclopedi.html

Here are a few of my favorites (or most loathed?) from the list:

Low-hanging fruit (Can't we find another way to say "the easy or quick stuff"?)
Synergy (Dictionary.com's definition is "mutual effort" - let's use that for a while and let 'ol synergy have a break.."
Thinking outside of the box (I've been thinking outside of the box for so long I don't know how to get back IN.)
Value-added proposition (Can anyone even explain in real words what this means??)
Quite frankly... (see "honestly" below..")
Circle back (Seriously, just be honest - you want to follow or check up with the person - so say it!)
Honestly... (related to "Frankly" - were you not being either one prior to saying it??" I was lying but now, honestly..."
Viral (makes me feel sick..)

Read more of the The Encyclopedia of Business Cliches here: http://www.squidoo.com/businesscliches/

Note that the squidoo page also lists Sources for even more cliches as well as Books on business language. Fun stuff when you're not groaning over another tired cliche ;)

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Business Words, Business Cliches, Encyclopedia of Business Cliches

IT Humor: Do you have a faulty motherboard?

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:59:58 GMT

Amusing tech cartoon via Rosa Say's blog, though it originally came from bLaugh!:

</chuckle>

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, IT Humor

Tech & Biz Buzz: Innovation, perfection and you

Tue, 29 May 2007 17:56:45 GMT

Skip Angel's post Balancing Perfection against Innovation discusses the challenges and necessary trade-offs when working on something new and "innovative". Skip is an Agile blogger and references a post by Jeffery Phillips Trading off perfection and innovation, and ends with his own thoughts on the subject. Great insight and opinions from both authors, especially since the subject of "innovation" seems to have gained a firm foothold in the business world, probably making the top 10 business buzzwords of 2007 (if it didn't already achieve it in '06). Scott Berkun, author of the excellent PM book The Art Of Project Management, has just released a new book on the ever-popular subject of innovation: The Myths of Innovation, and a quick search of Amazon for the word "innovation" under books will fetch over 187,225 results. Sure, not all are recent or even relative, but the numbers shed light on the growing focus of real innovation in products and/or software development.

Check out the two posts mentioned above for some great info on the challenges of being innovative and read what these two bloggers think about the subject. It's interesting to read how others are being innovative and learning to work with the inevitable mistakes, challenges, trade-offs, priorities, multi-directional pressure and more. Are you willing to take risks to build the next big thing? Are you prepared to fail and keep trying, while trying to maintain steam and meet critical deadlines? Read more here:

Balancing Perfection against Innovation -- Skip Angel
http://leanagile.blogspot.com/2007/05/balancing-perfection-against-innovation.html
Trading off perfection and innovation -- Jeffrey Phillips
http://workingsmarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/trading_off_per.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Innovation, Technology Innovation, Innovating

IT Execs, Managers & Professionals - 7 Signs You Might Be Out Of Touch

Fri, 11 May 2007 16:31:31 GMT

Baseline outlines 7 Signs that current executives, consultants and professionals working in Information Technology might be out of touch or behind the curve with new ideas, the latest technologies and overall innovation in the IT field. Here's an excerpt from the article I.T. Exec Out of Touch? 7 Signs:

Below are seven ways to spot whether a CIO or other executive—or consultant—is out of touch:

Research is considered to be a waste of time. "We have been very successful and our experience speaks for itself."
Lack of critical thinking. "That may work well within such and such an organization, but we are different."
An inability to take constructive criticism and lack of respect for varied opinions. "We are the originators of this method/product/theory. Who are they/you to question us?"
Maintaining a positive image at all costs. "What would people think of us if this didn't work as expected?"
Lack of effective practice. "We have been advised by the best minds in the business. We can skip the experimental phase."
Blind faith in experts and top executives. "How can we go wrong? These people have worked with the top companies around the world for years."
An aversion to introspection. "We don't need that fuzzy self-examination of feelings, thoughts and motives around here. We are practical people."

Read more here: http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,2127731,00.asp?kc=BARSS03129TX1K0000628

A great article by Charles Ehin which shows how we can all get out of touch at times. The way to combat this is to keep up with current innovations, hot new methods and technologies and keep an open eye/ear for where the industry is moving. No, we don't want to hop on a shakey band wagon headed for uncharted technical territories, but keeping yourself aware of where things are and, more importantly, where they are going, allows you to better assess tech trends to define your organizations current and future technology needs.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, IT Managers, Technology, Technology Trends

What's your Web 2.0 Personality?

Mon, 07 May 2007 23:11:01 GMT

CNET/News.Com has a post on Web 2.0 and American computer and technology users called What's your tech personality?. The first page has a nice chart with the breakdown of 10 personality types. The related piece Wired but not Web 2.0? That's normal, study says goes into more detail on each of the personalities in the chart and also notes various stats on average users, technology and web 2.0:

Although most U.S. adults have a cell phone, a computer and Internet access, a study says only a small percentage are participating in Web 2.0 activities.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released on Sunday a study (PDF: A Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users) of people's "evolving relationships to cyberspace."
Pew found in a survey that 73 percent of U.S. adults own a cell phone, 68 percent have a desktop computer, 30 percent possess a laptop, and 73 percent connect to the Internet, but that very few use them to express themselves publicly via Web 2.0 applications.
The study defines Web 2.0 users as people who take advantage of technology "to express themselves online and participate in the commons of cyberspace," including maintaining a personal Web site, blogging, vlogging, remixing media or sharing new-media creations.
Only 8 percent of U.S. adults are "deep users" of Web 2.0 features, the study found, though many American adults do own the gadgets that enable those functions and use the devices to express themselves privately.
For example, 37 percent regularly use instant messaging, and 41 percent have sent a text message from a cell phone. More than a fourth of U.S. adults have downloaded music files, and 19 percent have shared photos, stories, artwork or videos.
According to Pew, there are currently eight major connection points: desktops, laptops, digital cameras, video cameras, Webcams, media players, cell phones and smart phones.
The Pew study also divides people into 10 tech personalities, falling into three major categories based on which of these eight major tech devices they own and how they use them.
About 55 percent of U.S. adults own a digital camera, and a fifth have a digital-media player such as the iPod. Eleven percent of U.S. adults own a PDA or similar device such as a BlackBerry.
Read more here: http://news.com.com/Wired+but+not+Web+2.0+Thats+normal%2C+study+says/2100-1041_3-6181884.html

Access chart and intro here: http://news.com.com/2300-1041_3-6181966-1.html?part=rss&tag=6181966&subj=news

Here are the 10 personality types discussed and more detail on the first bullet for reference:

Omnivore (8 percent)
Devoted Web 2.0 users of either gender, though usually under 30, who voraciously update personal Web pages, blogs and mashups to publicly express themselves. Likely to watch videos on an iPod or participate in a virtual world. Most social interaction takes place via instant messaging, texting and blogging via a high-speed Internet connection at home and work.
Connector (7 percent)
Lackluster veteran (8 percent)
Productivity enhancer (8 percent)
Mobile Centric (10 percent)
Connected but hassled (10 percent)
Inexperienced experimenter (8 percent)
Light but satisfied (15 percent)
Indifferent (11 percent)
Off the network (15 percent)

Read more about Web 2.0 and personality types here: http://news.com.com/Wired+but+not+Web+2.0+Thats+normal%2C+study+says/2100-1041_3-6181884.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Web 2.0, Computer Shutdown Day, Internet, Technology Trends

Sweet! Post says Adobe to launch a Web based Photoshop

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:44:26 GMT

downloadsquad has a post with news that Adobe is planning to launch a free web-based version of it's popular image editing tool Photoshop later this year. Sure it will be less robust than the full version, but I like the price of f-r-e-e: A new, full version of Adobe Photoshop CS2 software currently starts at $649 (US), and an upgrade starts at $169 (US). Here's an excerpt from the post:

As the web application world heats up, companies that were once offering locally installed software only, are slowly delving into the online world. Recent news says that Adobe will be offering an online version of Photoshop in the next six months. A decision they base on numerous consumer demands.

Adobe's CEO told CNET news that the online service will complement their existing product range, and reach new customers across the online marketplace. The free entry level online hosted application will have fewer image editing tools, but will suffice online photo editing junkies.
Read more here: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/02/28/adobe-to-launch-a-web-based-photoshop/

Too sweet - can't wait to take it for a test drive! I lost my Photoshop 7 cd and am using version 6.0 now, so I should probably just upgrade to the new full version, but I find myself using it less and less and am wondering if the online version will be robust enough to support my needs. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more info on the online version of Photoshop and post updated info here.

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business
Tags: Technology and Business, Photoshop, Photoshop Online, Edit Images Online

Shutdown (your computer) Day is March 24th

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 20:21:05 GMT

I came across a post titled Shutdown Day - turn off, tune out, drop in that briefly details the Shutdown Day project - a movement to shut down your pc and avoid internet connectivity for 24 hours beginning this coming March 24th. From the post:

I spend way too much time in front of a computer; We all do. What would happen if you shut down for just one day? Shutdown Day asks you, and everyone else, to do just that. Almost 10,000 people have already pledged to shun their PCs and internet connections on March 24th, 2007.

Read more here: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/02/21/shutdown-day-turn-off-tune-out-drop-in/

Note: they have a fun little video with alternative (explosive) uses for your laptop

The direct link to the Shutdown Day project: http://www.shutdownday.org/?lng=en

It is obvious that people would find life extremely difficult without computers, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?
Be a part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the internet. The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if we all participate!
Shutdown your computer on this day and find out! Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer?

The site includes a yes/no vote, blog, forum and a countdown to the second on the coming pc avoidance project. It will be interesting to see how many will try and/or make it. I'm not going to bother because I know I'm not addicted and I can stop any time I want, really, I'm not addicted - I'm not-I'm not-I'm- ok, I am but it's my vice (different from Miami Vice) and I love it!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Shutdown Day, Computer Shutdown Day, Internet, The Shutdown Project

Study says computers are attacked 2244 times a day or once every 39 seconds - Crazy!

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 05:43:00 GMT

I just read an interesting post by Alex Backman on hacking and computer attacks. Here's a clip from Wonder If You're Being Hacked? Wait 39 Seconds:

Cukier's findings concluded that computers are attacked an average of 2244 times a day, or once every 39 seconds.

Most of the attacks were looking to exploit basic user names and passwords. Among the common user names attempted were "root" and "admin", as they would provide broad access to the computers files, if successful. The most common password attempted was the user name plus "123".

Cukier's research is not just a reminder of how often systems and computers are under attack, but reinforce that one of the greatest security threats is as simple as the user name and password we choose to use.

Read more here: http://ecoraccm.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/02/wonder_if_youre.html

Those numbers are crazy! Imagine if they are off by 50-75%, that is still an incredible amount of computer attacks on a daily basis. Makes me want to run an extra virus scan, toss in some Ad-Aware, a dash of HijackThis, sprinkle of SpyBot, and anything else I can think of - like a quick trip to Shields Up!!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Computer Security, Computer Attacks, Internet Security, Browser Security

Interesting: Microsoft sticks with Hotmail name

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 01:28:27 GMT

I'm a Hotmail user and was interested to read that Microsoft would not be killing off the Hotmail brand name after all:

After months of planning to kill off the Hotmail name, Microsoft has decided to keep the venerable brand, as it works to overhaul its free Web e-mail service.
Microsoft said on Thursday that the revamped service, still in beta testing phase, is being renamed "Windows Live Hotmail" rather than the originally planned "Windows Live Mail." In a blog posting, Senior Product Manager Richard Sim said some people had found the name change confusing.
"As we prepare to launch the final version of our new Web mail service, we recognize the importance of ensuring that our 260-plus million existing customers come over to the new service smoothly and without confusion," Sim said. "By adopting the name 'Windows Live Hotmail,' we believe we're bringing together the best of both worlds--new and old. We're able to offer the great new technology that Windows Live has to offer, while also bringing the emotional connection many existing and loyal users have with Hotmail."
Read more here: http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-6157624.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Hotmail, Windows Live Hotmail

Innovation Buzz: Ten Great Words of Innovators from Jim Carroll

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 17:53:29 GMT

I read recently that "innovation" is the business buzzword for the new year. I don't know if it's THE word but throughout 2006 I saw a ton of innovation and technology posts, articles, whitepapers and the buzz is definitely growing into 2007. With that in mind, here are Ten Great Words of Innovators from Jim Carroll, courtesy of The Business Innovation Insider:

(1) Observe. Take the time to look for the key trends that will impact your organization and the industry in which you compete.
(2) Think. Analyze your observations: spend more time learning from what you see happening around you.
(3) Change. In a time of rapid change, you can’t expect to get by with what has worked in the past – you must be willing to do things differently.
(4) Dare. Have you lost your ability to take risks?
(5) Banish. Get rid of the words and phrases that steer you into inaction and indecision.
(6) Try. How many of your people have lost their ability to adapt to changing circumstances because they’ve lost their confidence?
(7) Empower. In a world of rapid change, you can’t expect that rigidly defined rules will be the appropriate response to changing circumstances.
(8) Question. Go forward with a different viewpoint by challenging assumptions and eliminating habit.
(9) Grow. Stop focusing on cutting costs – build the business instead.
(10) Do. Renew your sense of purpose, and restore your enthusiasm for the future by taking action.
Read more of the post here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/businessinnovationinsider/~3/73862374/jim_carroll_ten_great_words_of.php
Read Jim Carroll's article: http://www.jimcarroll.com/10s/10words.htm

Do you have any good innovation links? Leave a comment and share! Enjoy!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Innovation, Innovating

25 Most Popular Articles of 2006 from Harvard Business School's "Working Knowledge" website

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:48:28 GMT

The Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website has a good list of the 25 most popular articles from 2006. Some of the articles cover traditional management topics like negotiation, people management and strategy, while others discuss leadership, innovation, IT and more. Here are a few that grabbed my attention:

On Managing with Bobby Knight and "Coach K"
Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski are arguably the two most successful college basketball coaches in the country. But their leadership styles could not be more different. Professor Scott Snook wonders: Is it better to be loved or feared?

How Important Is "Executive Intelligence" for Leaders?
Leadership talent is enjoying a perceived "seller's market," says Jim Heskett. As we select and train future leaders for all levels of our organizations, how much effort do we really spend assessing executive intelligence as opposed to personality and style?

The Accidental Innovator
Many important innovations are the byproduct of accidents—the key is to be prepared for the unexpected. Professor Robert D. Austin discusses his research and practical implications on the concept of accidental innovation.

What Happens When the Economics of Scarcity Meets the Economics of Abundance?
The "Long Tail," a term coined by Chris Anderson—and the title of his new book—describes the item popularity curve. Jim Heskett asks: Does the Long Tail represent a paradigm shift for business and consumer behavior? What are its implications for management going forward?

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence
Technology was getting dull earlier this decade, says David Yoffie. But the sudden arrival of digital convergence has turned the tech world upside down. What are the right bets to place?

Do I Dare Say Something?
Are you afraid to speak up at work? The amount of fear in the modern workplace is just one surprising finding from recent research done by HBS professor Amy Edmondson and her colleague, Professor James Detert from Penn State.

Lessons Not Learned About Innovation
Why have decades of executives fumbled innovation? One reason: Existing corporate structures, controls, and incentives do work against out-of-the-box thinking. Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, who has just published a Harvard Business Review article on the topic, discusses her research into the classic traps of innovation and how to avoid them.

Read the complete list of 25 articles here: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5584.html

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Innovation Articles, Business Articles

Technology & Innovation: Forget Katie Couric, check out these TV news avatars

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:37:43 GMT

The Business Innovation Insider has a great post on some new innovative technology:

Forget Katie Couric, check out these TV news avatars

A group of computer science grad students at Northwestern University have found a way to deliver automated news clips via digitally-enhanced avatars:
"News at Seven gives you the news you want, the way you want it. Each day, News at Seven automatically generates a virtual newscast pulled from stories, images, videos and blogs all linked by a common news topic. News at Seven presents news, point/counterpoint, opinion, celebrity gossip and the occasional foray into the world of 3D gaming. News at Seven isn't just the future, it's the future of the future."

As a brief item in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal pointed out, in the coming months, users will be able to enter their preferences to create a customized personal newscast based on topics that interest them, with an avatar and background of their choice. Perhaps not surprisingly, Boing Boing has called the site a "mind-blowing automated news-video project." (Anyway, when I checked out the site over the weekend, I was able to watch a brief YouTube video of the day's news -- it just so happened to be a brief clip about some bad-behaving Brazilian supermodel)
Read more here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/businessinnovationinsider/~3/72339479/forget_katie_couric_check_out.php

Pretty amazing technology!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, IT Innovations, Innovative Technology

Technology and Business: IT Managers Told to Think Young

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:35:11 GMT

ComputerWorld has an article from last month IT Managers Told to Think Young. It's an interesting read on youth, culture and technology, and discusses some challenges posed by the younger generation's eagerness to find/build/learn/use the latest and greatest technologies. This isn't the first piece I've read in recent months encouraging IT managers to rethink business plans, management style, team culture and org structures to make the most of the youth-driven technology surge, but it is a good start. Here's an excerpt:

Youth matters more than ever in IT, especially as the Web becomes more interactive and heads in directions where baby boomer IT managers may be ill-equipped to lead, Gartner Inc. analysts said at the firm’s Symposium/ITxpo conference here last week.

Teenagers and young adults are racing ahead of their elders in adopting new technologies and processes for collaborating, such as wikis and video sharing. And Gartner analysts said repeatedly that companies poised for future growth need to be clued in to the so-called consumerization of IT — a point driven home by Google Inc.’s agreement to acquire online video-sharing company YouTube Inc. for stock valued at $1.65 billion.

Two days after the Google-YouTube deal was announced, John Chambers, Cisco Systems Inc.’s president and CEO, said at the Gartner conference that he expects high-definition videoconferencing and unified data, voice and video communications for mobile devices to become key tools for enhancing productivity, improving contacts with customers and cutting costs.

Dennis Giokas, chief technology officer at Canada Health Infoway Inc. in Montreal, said he agrees that more-collaborative tools are needed. But he doesn’t see their introduction as necessarily being dependent on cultural changes that young people may lead. For Giokas, the new approaches being touted now raise the age-old problem of change management.

“There will always be, in my opinion, resistance to change — especially if people don’t see a business benefit,” he said.

Terry Epp, a senior development manager at Bank of Montreal in Toronto, said the consumerization of IT is already prevalent in financial services applications such as online banking and trading.

But Epp added that he wasn’t sure he agrees with Gartner’s take on age issues within IT. He agreed that companies need to tap into the “up-and-coming demographic” to discover where they should be heading. But companies also need to understand why people in other age groups aren’t using new services, Epp said.

Read more here: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=project_management&articleId=268895&taxonomyId=73

Interesting thoughts. Those of us in the technology business need to stay on top of emerging technologies and the people who use them or we will surely get left behind. That doesn't mean you need to create a MySpace account or a YouTube video, but you should try to keep current with what folks in your area of business are using, ignoring, sharing, etc. Seasoned, experienced managers will always be needed but if you aren't diligent in your own career development in learning to work with the younger crowd, you might find you're not a very effective manager. My two cents - I'd love to hear yours!

posted by Raven at Raven's Brain under Technology & Business

Tags: Technology and Business, Management, IT Management