MiramarMike: Blog

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, respondi

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 distanc

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 ce

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: Lack of librarians hearing about it 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?

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 Mamo