It's Not A Blog If You Don't Have Comments

I've long regarded websites that claim to be blogs but don't allow engagement/community generation via comments NOT to be blogs. I have explained why this is so at client sites, at conferences and in pubs but I've never taken the time to write it down.

And now I don't have to as the ever popular and highly informative Laurel Papworth has done so for me - No Comments? No Engagement:

I’ve been meaning to write this post forever. It really annoys me when people turn off comments, still call it a blog (not ‘a website with an easy to update article engine‘) and then waffle on about “engagement”.

(I like that she also has been meaning to write it all down - thanks Laurel - I write like we're old mates ... we're not ;-)

Here's what I believe the key arguments that Laurel makes around why you should enable comments/feedback - what are your thoughts (see what I did there, I asked for comments/feedback, subtle eh!)

... engagement means listening, hearing, responding - and not just with words like “Thank you for your input, we’ll consider it”.

It's a flow between the author and the reader in TWO directions, otherwise it's a lecture!

... allowing yourself to be changed. Or strengthened by the discussions, becoming stronger in saying “no you are wrong”.

This is a toughie for a lot of people that write from an "ego" perspective ... and I would suggest that is a lot of people from the "head office" view of the world that are setting such things as "policies" and the like. Sit back in your chair, close your eyes and ask yourself, "Am I an ego writer?"

... no comments means that the barrier to entry to move from lurker to participant is too high. Back to web 1.0 days

Sigh, the good old "read-only" web!

If you set it up so that you respond to helpful questions, not snaky trolls, the community learns really quickly how to gain the attention of their leader.

I call this the "dress sense" or "door policy". Two fantastic New Zealand blogs that have actively engaged a respectful "door policy" are PublicAddress and Geekzone.

... refusing to be influenced by your commenters means an unwillingness to engage.

Ego, ego, ego ...

... engagement often means containment, removing comments releases you from responsibility but also removes the central focus critical for control and management.

An example of the age-old adage of, "You want people to complain to you". If they can complain in your place you can address the issues and re-built broken relationships. Otherwise, as Laurel explains, you can be in the poop.


Related to this post:

• 5 Questions To Ask When Wondering If To Moderate ("Censor")
• Blogging for bosses - What Makes A Good Blog
• Blogging and KM: Discussion facilitated by Mike Riversdale, KM Specialist
• 1 Reason Businesses Must Engage On-Line
• Whoever pays for your information, owns it

Penguins In Wellington - February 2010 Is Linux.Conf Month

Here at MiramarMike (Towers?) we resonate with anything that promotes openness - open info, open discussions, open software - and what could be more representative of 'open' than a whole darned operating system built by a community - Linux

We* run MiramarMike.co.nz on Linux (our preferred flavour/distribution is Ubuntu) and,  in an ever increasing spiral of happiness, are constantly surprised by just what it can do.

Of course for most Linux is about being "free" - FREE as in $0 ... no licence costs.

But after the initial headiness of using the 1st/2nd best desktop going (maybe Apple has the top place) for absolutely no cost the second rush of adrenaline comes from the discovered freedom of "doing whatever you like with it". Linux is open in that it is almost infinitely extensible to suit your own needs.

Now, extensible is not something anyone can do - you do need a certain level of geekery - but do not fear there are hordes of geeks within touching distance of every one of you - just reach out and discover what your IT Department staff are doing in their spare time!

And if you are one of those fine fellows that can push Linux to the limits, challenge the core and devise more and more (stable) ways to show of what a $0 licence fee operating system can do then the news that Linux.Conf.au is coming to Wellington in February 2010 must be music to your Amarok ears!

Here's the press release from the fantastically themed PenguinVisiting site:

Linux.conf.au Visits Wellington in 2010!

========================================

Wellington, New Zealand will host linux.conf.au in 2010! The announcement was made today at the 2009 conference currently being held in Hobart, Tasmania.

"This is a hugely popular gathering of the world's leading free and open source experts, and the bids to host the next linux.conf.au are always really strong. This year was no exception,” said Stewart Smith, President of Linux Australia. "Wellington is an excellent location for the increasingly inaccurately named linux.conf.au." Originally an Australian conference, Wellington will be the second New Zealand city to host Linux.conf.au, making this a truly Australasian conference. "The Wellington team is dedicated, understands linux,conf.au and has a real passion to show us something really special in 2010," Mr Smith said.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support we have already received from the Wellington City Council and local community groups such as InternetNZ, LinuxChix New Zealand, the New Zealand Open Source Society and Wellington PerlMongers,” said Andrew Ruthven, Director of the 'Capital Cabal' - the group of volunteers who put together Wellington's successful bid.

The conference venue is right in the heart of Wellington's CBD, within easy reach of Wellington's numerous cafes and affordable restaurants. The Wellington Convention Centre has recently hosted the annual ICANN conference, the annual Webstock conference and Wellington's 2008 Software Freedom Day celebrations – all hugely popular IT-related events.

“Wellington has a great mix of creative and technical people. It'll be great to get them together with some of the international gurus expected at LCA 2010.”, said Mr Ruthven. “To have them all together and inspired by some fantastic talks at an awesome location, that's when cool things really start to happen”.

Linux.conf.au is a technical conference for the people that have made Linux, and free and open source software what it is today.

“When you get IT experts together like this, the future direction of emerging projects start to take shape. When between sessions, we are nailing together Department of Conservation nest boxes for the Little Blue Penguins that visit Wellington harbour, magic will happen. That's what linux.conf.au is all about – people getting together and making a difference.”

Linux.conf.au is easily affordable for professionals and hobbyists alike thanks to generous sponsorship by leading proponents of free and open source software, and because the conference - much like the software - is largely organised by volunteers.

ENDS

Link to media statement: http://www.penguinsvisiting.org.nz/media/news/1

For more information contact the Capital Cabal on contact@penguinsvisiting.org.nz

* Despite the initial "I don't want a business" approach MiramarMike.co.nz is expanding - watch this space ...

Centralisation Is NOT The (Only) Way To Go

Interesting set of diagrams from DataPortability Blog as Chris Saad talks about moving the discussion of data portability away ("up") from discussing standards and to the benefits that standards can deliver

Sure, Open Standards may facilitate interoperable peering, but that’s just a technicality along a much bigger journey. So while Open Standards are important, they are certainly not the point. Standards come and go (and some stick). The peered, web-like nature of the Internet will outlive us all.

That's one point for us all to remember - forget the technicalities when proposing, selling, implementing, using any computer software and focus on what the darned stuff actually does for PEOPLE!

And the point Chris makes is one of peering against 'hub and spoke' (technical for some, not for those deep down in data portability standards). As he asks:

Can you imagine if there was only one Web server? One FTP server? One Email server? Companies like Google would have certainly never been allowed to exist. They might have been sued by the Acme Web Server company early in their life much like Power.com is being sued by Facebook today.

A reason I am v wary of using Facebook as the central store for my info ... but then again what's the difference between using Facebook and Flickr?* But even better, Chris has given us these 2 fine diagrams that I am convinced will travel the world and be used in many slide deck:

-
(click for full sized versions)

And what does it mean for you out there bringing in social/collaboration software into the organisation? Maybe don't rely 100% on one "do-it-all" piece of software ... you know who I'm talking about.

* See my personal blog for my ongoing thoughts around using Flickr

"What if every library in the world ..."

New Year's generally bring out the "what ifs" and "this year we're gonna" - take a look at this one from Deborah Fitchett that I think reaches for the skies:

What if every library in the world brought their anonymised circulation data, their IM reference statistics, their anonymised usability testing and survey results, their project reports, their lesson plans and handouts, and their iPhone applications out from their hard drives and their intranets and made them publically accessible?

I cannot see why it won't work except for two things:

1. Lack of librarians hearing about it
2. Librarians not doing it
   

This post is my effort to help solve #1.

As for #2 then Deborah has a job of answering one question, "What's in it for me?"
The answer given then has to be a list of (relevant) benefits with "why" and not a litany of features.

And so, Deborah has kicked us all of, what about you?

EVENT: "Scrum in a Suit - Coach Reveals All" - Monday 26th January

The mighty Sandy Mamoli is giving a talk entitled "Scrum in a Suit - Coach Reveals All" via the Agile Professionals Network (APN) here in Wellington at The Wellesley this coming Monday (January 26th) from 4:30pm+.

Sandy is an excellent presenter with a wealth of experience successfully delivering projects using the Scrum framework within New Zealand and abroad - in fact, I'd hazard a guess that she is New Zealand's finest Scrum practitioner. Get along!

Here's the details from the APN LinkedIn Group:

The APN Wellington chapter cordially invites you to the following presentation: "Scrum in a Suit - Coach Reveals All"

• Date: Monday 26 January
• Time: 5:00pm (cash bar from 4:30pm, presentation followed by Q&A)
• Venue: The Wellesley, 2-8 Maginnity St, Wellington

* PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are essential * - please email rsvpwn@agileprofessionals.net

Scrum in a Suit - Coach Reveals All
Scrum Coach and Agile advocate Sandy Mamoli will share her experiences as a Scrum Coach at the ACC and Sony Ericsson in this "warts and all" presentation.

- Learn about Scrum as a framework for agile in development projects.
- Hear real life stories about the introduction of scrum at the ACC and Sony Ericsson.
- Find out what works and what doesn't. Get insights into challenging the norm.

Most of all, get the answers to "what is a Scrum coach anyway, and do I need one?".

Our speaker:
Sandy Mamoli is one of NZ’s leading agile advocates, is a Certified Scrum Master and became New Zealand’s first Certified Scrum Practitioner in October 2007. Sandy has a passion for using agile to bring true business value to companies and is motivated by helping organisations understand and adopt the fundamentals of Scrum.

One of Sandy’s major agile initiatives was working on Sony Ericsson’s global enterprise website, which was a distributed agile programme of work (Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Mumbai). She has since coached many project teams and is currently working as an independent Scrum Coach at the ACC.

Sandy holds a Masters degree in Computational Linguistics and has worked in the internet and IT industry for more than nine years with a core focus on agile business analysis, project leadership and data architecture.

This invitation may be passed on to your colleagues, although numbers will be limited. Please RSVP.