MiramarMike - Blog

I bang on and on about "relevancy" because it is the single* most important attribute that you should apply to your work. If we can achieve the perfect relevancy of a piece of information or a tool or a contact then we can sit back in the knowledge of a job well done. Unfortunately, gaining relevancy is soooo difficult. For instance, Google would like to return the most relevant search result for you at any one time - just one result, the most relevant. And they are millions of miles away from doing that. Relevancy is not a binary attribute, it is a continuum. Relevancy is made up of a number attributes that are, second by second, constantly in flux : need mood urgency context time of day ... You get the point - there are so many factors to take into account that it's almost impossible (currently) to be perfect but we should not be scared of failing as we go for perfection :-) OK, so how do you know when a piece of work (content, software, website, intranet ...) is r

Through the hard work of a small yet dedicated team* New Zealand finally has its own Microsoft SharePoint conference - and I'm presenting (Friday 3rd, 1pm-2pm: "How To Manage Those That Want "Facebook" Inside Your Organisation") The two days are a must for anyone currently using SharePoint, thinking of moving to SharePoint or considering SharePoint and, to be honest, if you're moving your Intranet/collaboration environment into something useful and a "doing place" you will be in one of those camps. You'll get to hear fantastic local and international speakers , pick up tips & techniques and, like all the best conferences, network with your peers who are bumping up against the same issues as you are! Here's the details: http://www.sharepointconference.co.nz/ Conference agenda Register ($500/person - 20% for parties of 5+) Venue: Duxton Hotel , 170 Wakefield Street, Wellington 6110, New Zealand I'll put up the details about my ses

Webstock - what you said What Bruce Sterling Actually Said About Web 2.0 at Webstock 09 - verbatim transcript

As Bruce Sterling infamously pointed out at Webstock (and beyond) this whole "Web 2.0" world of "social media" is all very nebulous: Okay, "webs" are not "platforms." I know you're used to that idea after five years, but consider taking the word "web" out, and using the newer sexy term, "cloud." "The cloud as platform." That is insanely great. Right? You can't build a "platform" on a "cloud!" That is a wildly mixed metaphor! A cloud is insubstantial, while a platform is a solid foundation! The platform falls through the cloud and is smashed to earth like a plummeting stock price! And Twitter is merely the latest in a long line of world-changing-yet-not services taken up by the chattering classes of the Internet (I am a fully paid up and active member :-) Check out this awesome vid from Super_Josh at Current.com (via Digital Learning via a tweet, probably :-) and sit back in your chair

As I've noted before when times are tough the desire to lock down, control and only look inwards can be overwhelming but I (and others ) believe it's not the right approach and certainly not one that can set you up for the good times when they arrive . Now is the time to ensure we have the moral compass to do the right things and not to mandate to the n'th degree what we should/shouldn't do. Warch this TED talk in which Barry Schwartz discusses, "The real crisis? We stopped being wise" : Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for "practical wisdom" as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world. Related to this: Recession Time Calls For Tough Calls - Here's Your List 4 ways of being productive DESPITE the organisation and how YOU can help Hard to work inside an organisation - the escape plan

I came up with the following analogy the other week that I'd like to share - by all means cut-n-paste it, pass it on and link to it to those that ask the following question: I just don't get it,  why would I use Twitter?? Substitute Twitter for any other "social networking" platform (Facebook, blogging, LinkedIn, RSS, Flickr ...) and you'll find many MANY people that just don't get it. So, the analogy. ------------------ Imagine you're talking to a friend about a new local pub that's just opened up and you think that this coming Friday you and he should give it a whirl. He looks at you blankly ... "I just don't get it,  why would I want to go into a pub??" Cripes, you think, he's onto it, "Oh, have you heard bad things about that pub?" Your new friend explains it's not about that one pub but all pubs, why would anyone want to go into any pub? He's read the horror stories in the newspapers and heard the dire conseque

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