Luis Suarez, IBM Knowledge Manager, Community Builder and Social Computing Evangelist keynoting at Web 2.0 Expo Europe, Berlin 2008.
Let’s free ourselves from the email grip! Use social tools for more efficient knowledge sharing.
See link for NY Times article titled I Freed Myself From E-mail’s Grip:
Google today announced voice and video chat capabilities as part of its chat service embedded into Gmail. This is clearly a shot across the bow at Skype, SightSpeed (recently acquired by Logitech) and Oovoo. It’s also a competitive move against Microsoft Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, as Google continues to evolve it’s mail application into a full blown UC dashboard.
Google’s move is also indicative of what we’re seeing in the enterprise space, as telephony vendors and messaging vendors converge while basing their UC offerings on their relative strengths. Google’s voice/video chat nicely integrates into Gmail, enabling customers to use their Gmail contact list for chat, rather than having to maintain separate buddy lists in different applications. Now, how long before Google repositions Orkut as an alternative to Facebook that is fully integrated into Gmail & chat?
I’m sure more than once in the last few years you’ve heard a product or service pitch that promises to enable your users to move away from reliance on e-mail for collaboration. Yes we all know the drill. E-mail is cumbersome, there’s too much spam, not enough workflow management, and on and on. While collaboration applications such as wikis and shared workspaces are thriving, the reality is still that when it comes to collaboration, e-mail is still king no matter who rises up and attempts a coup.
Now, a new wave of collaboration vendors is emerging that are trying to fix e-mail rather than replace it. I had the chance this week to see a demo of C-Mail, a start-up that aims to improve e-mail efficiency by providing prioritization of incoming e-mails based on learned or pre-configured behavior, along with the ability to tie e-mail to work flows (similar functionality is available from Xobini and Clear Context). Perhaps we’re on the cusp of finally accepting the fact that e-mail isn’t going away any time soon, and instead the time has come to look at ways of improving the application we all use?
IBM announced Lotus iNotes this week, bringing Notes calendar, e-mail, and address book access to iPhone. It looks like this approach is based more on providing a stand-alone iPhone app rather than synching the iPhone’s own apps with Domino as is possible using Microsoft ActiveSync with Exchange. Still, this just knocked down another argument for using the iPhone in the corporate environment, especially when the cost of an iPhone is on par with most BlackBerry’s. But IT architects need to understand the impact on their server and network environments of enabling their remote users to sync directly with messaging servers versus using a hosted proxy in the RIM/Good models.
Cisco has announced this morning that it is buying PostPath, a maker of a Linux-based messaging & calendaring solution that competes directly with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino. Cisco notes that they will use this acquisition to build advanced capabilities into WebEx Connect’s SaaS-based services rather than offer PostPath as an on-premises solution.
Steve’s comments below got me thinking about why we don’t just accept information overload, but actually ask for it.
There was plenty of chatter in the blogs this weekend over the decision by the Obama campaign to text its supporters news of the VP pick as soon as it happened (well, as soon as the campaign was ready to release it). Most of it seemed centered around (1) the timing of the text’s release (another 3am brouhaha), (2) the “next-gen Internet outreach” approach, and (3) the pick himself. Mainly lost in the discussion was whether anyone really needed to know the information in real time, on their cells and PDAs.
I love the flexibility Enterprise 2.0 tools provide and have made it somewhat of a personal quest to find new ways to use these tools to make my job easier. But as I and my employer adopt new applications to help manage information, I find the number of tools and all the little pockets of information they generate to be a little unmanageable. Here’s why:
The iPhone3G hit stores today, but of course you knew that already. iPhone3G is the device Apple touts as “The best phone for business. Ever” boasting a few new features that business users will need. The iPhone3G is, of course, a “3G” phone meaning it can access higher speed data networks from the wireless carriers. The new iPhone also supports Microsoft Exchange putting push email, calendar and contact information at your fingertips. The iPhone3G has a VPN client, WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1X authentication for business-grade security.
Of course the other big news from Apple is the opening of the App Store and the many 3rd-party apps being made available there. I did a scan of the applications surfacing for iPhone3G paying specific attention to apps that support the Enterprise 2.0 vision. Here’s what I found:
Email changed the world for business and consumer alike. Imagine it; a cheap and easy way to communicate with each other without using voicemail, fax, or the post office. While a boon for business communication, email has significant flaws that we continue to live with today. So, whats wrong with email?
There are ways dodge these problems, but they require installing additional tools and using clever processes. This is fine for people with the time and knowledge, but most dont have either.
Last week I had the opportunity to chat with the folks over at Tungle, a Web 2.0 start-up attacking the problem of scheduling meetings with people outside of your organization. Today, the typical solution is a whole lot of e-mailing back and forth. With Tungle, the process is somewhat automated, saving a great deal of time and effort.
@e2conf on Twitter
Jan 30th, 2009 |
