Making IT Work : social media

The Workplace Of The Future Is Around The Corner

Pedro Cardoso — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:45:00 GMT

Organization. The word we have used to represent the model of how to best "organize" the activities of many around a common purpose or shared goal is undergoing a prolific transformation. In fact, the recent prediction from Gartner on what your workplace in 2020 will look like really comes as no news at all, and we can see it happening already today, all around us. Our role as IT professionals in stewarding organizations and increasingly, the society we live in through this transformation and change is both exciting and daunting. ...(read more)

The Social Media Revolution Is Knocking & Enterprises Have To Answer The Door

Pedro Cardoso — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:00:00 GMT

Vendors like SAP are pushing the envelope on Social Media integration and collaboration in platforms and ecosystems that make up the key functional fabrics of the largest corporations. For those who have not decided to embrace social media and collaboration tools within their organization will soon not have the choice as the question is not if, but when - and the when is right about now... ...(read more)

The Aughts: When Geeks Gave Up The Earth

Pedro Cardoso — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:00:00 GMT

I promised I wouldn't write "yet another" of these 2000-2009 retrospective blog posts - and I'm sticking to that resolution. I'm not going to mention the usual suspects of Google, the IPhone, Apple or Microsoft. I'm going to talk about simply one thing. What really matters.The death of the geek, rise of the nerd, when mom got a cell phone, dad went gaga for the internet and the world went digital. This is how I would characterize the last 9 years . Let me tell you why. ...(read more)

How Twitter Changed Everything In 2009 - The A.T (After Twitter) Era Begins

Pedro Cardoso — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:02:00 GMT

In 2009 Twitter revolutionized how we think about and go about communicating at work, rest or play. As the year began, Twitter was "The Shiny New Social Networking Kid On The Block" and headlines were dominated by Facebook, Google, Apple and all things phone related. Cloud Computing was on everyone's minds, but then all of a sudden there was a disturbance in the force (sorry, couldn't resist) - a tipping point in Social Networking As Twitter went viral - and that's when "everything" changed. ...(read more)

Michelle Lang Killed In Afghanistan - Is News Worth Such Loss?

Pedro Cardoso — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:39:00 GMT

As a technology blogger and pundit, I (thankfully) have no need to risk my life to "churn out a story". If I need a first hand account of breaking news, a trip to Las Vegas for the CES show is about as risky as it gets. Today's news from Kandahar impacted me in a way that I did not expect. I did not know 34 year old Michelle Lang, and honestly had not heard her name until the news broke that she, along with four Canadian soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, by yet another roadside explosive. ...(read more)

Facebook Says Bye Bye Networks - Taking On Twitter, LinkedIn & The World!

Pedro Cardoso — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:06:00 GMT

As if the Obama speech wasn't enough excitement for one night, about an hour ago (9:23PM), Mark Zuckerberg addressed the 350 Million legion of Facebook users and announced, in a not so subtle way, that Facebook is making it's move to take on Twitter & LinkedIn. Regional networks are out, and now there are only 3 degrees of separation. It's either your friends, your friends friends, or the world! ...(read more)

Why Scoble Is So Wrong - Chrome OS Is The Unicorn Of Tech

Pedro Cardoso — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:24:00 GMT

So Robert Scoble says Google Chrome has already won. Sorry, I think you're wrong Scoble. In fact, you're so wrong, that I can't help but think that I might be missing something. But I can't see it - help me Robert. Google OS truly earns the name of "Tech Unicorn" - Who wants this? What, wait...it's only out Christmas 2010? Right ...(read more)

Party On! At A Windows 7 Launch Party Near You

Pedro Cardoso — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:30:00 GMT

So where has Pedro been? Well, it’s been one of those months where even burning the candle at both ends hasn’t allowed for much blogging opportunity. That stuff we call “work & life” - note to self: need to build up a stash of articles for times like this. Won’t do that again….so if anyone is still out there listening, get this! I’m going to be hosting a Geeking Out In Georgetown Windows 7 Launch Party!

This will so NOT be my Windows 7 Launch Party!

Yes, I know. {Insert Microsoft/Geek Joke Here}. A Windows 7 launch party host - not exactly an impressive pickup line for a Saturday night. But then again, I’m happily married with a history of being able to “geek it out with the best” - so why not. After all, the mid 90’s was the last time I was at any similar type of geek event. Remember lugging your “gaming desktop” to someone’s place for those “gaming lan parties”? Quake, Descent, Unreal Tournament, Starcraft. Simpler times - now that was “geeky”.

So why am I doing it?

Is it because Microsoft is doing a bang up job at marketing this event? Not exactly. In fact, had I seen these video’s prior to registering - I probably would never have thrown my hat into the ring.

Is it because of the free stuff?

All hosts will receive:

One limited Signature Edition Windows 7 Ultimate
One Deck of Playing Cards with Windows 7 Desktop Design
One Puzzle with Windows 7 Desktop Design
One Poster with Windows 7 Desktop Design
Ten Tote Bags with Windows 7 Desktop Design for hosts and guests

Also included in USA party packs:

One package of streamers for decoration
One package of balloons for decoration
One table top centerpiece for decoration
One package of Windows 7 napkins

Well, the free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate certainly doesn’t hurt. It also has the potential of being the most most significant operating system launches in the last 10 years. It is certainly make or break time for Microsoft, and this sets the stage for the battle against the Google OS.

So time to start thinking about what I will plan for my Windows 7 Launch Party. Here’s my list so far:

1. Good Food, Good Friends, Open Bar, Did I Say Food Already?

2. Free Wi-Fi!

3. XBox 360 & PS3 Gaming stations

4. Windows 7 “hands on” machine - hooked up to 52″ LCD Widescreen and home theater sound system

5. Door Prizes - time to give away some of my Geekparaphernalia. No one goes home empty handed!

Shrink Wrapped Copy Of Windows 95
Well Used, Long Abandoned Windows 95 Keychain
Copy of Douglas Coupland’s 1995 Microserfs
Choice of Bill Gates Biographies
Shrink Wrapped Copy Of MS-DOS 1.0
Shrink Wrapped Box of 5.25″ Dysan Premium Floppy Disks
Open Box of OS/2 Warp - including CPI-C Programming Guide

6. Video & Digital Cam’s - Capture moments, upload to House Party Site, Facebook, Twitter, your Social Media site of choice!

7. Weather permitting - outdoor event. Bonfire. More drinks. Guitar available..Singing encouraged. Video camera on standby. Grin!

Anybody else hosting a party? Got any ideas to help me out? Pounce on that comments link and talk to me! Think I deserve a big “L” on my forehead? Well, after watching those Microsoft video’s…starting to wonder!

-Pedro

Why Twitter Needs To Grow Up To Survive

Pedro Cardoso — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:29:00 GMT

When things happen in “real time” they are a lot more interesting. Nobody wants to “read about it tomorrow” when they can “read it now”. It did not take long forJack Dorsey’s Twitter to becomethe poster child for thetruly disruptive Social Web. People Noticed. Twitter become ubitiquous seemingly overnight.

So why the “Twitter - FAIL” post? Simple. The Twitter service still feels like a “half-baked prototype”. It is often “down”, provides highly variable response times to customers, has a silly “API Limit” restriction to prevent the “lights from dimming” in their data centers, and the general perception is that none of this is changing soon. In this new game of Search 2.0 and the “real time” web, the pace of change is exponential, not linear - and Dorsey’s crew appear to be stuck in slow motion.

If Twitter Doesn't Grow Up Quick - Google Will End It.

And as in the photo above, Twitter may find itself “rewinding the tape” some time from now and identifying that critical inflection where they “dropped the last ball”. That point where their competition stopped firing warning shots, but locked in with that silver bullet, and where everything came crashing down.

Facebook and Google are both investing heavily in “catching up”. Facebook’s enhancement a few weeks back, to provide their community with an amazingly similar “Twitter Stream Of Consciousness” feel was significant. Google’s recent launch of iGoogle Social Gadgets was both brilliant - and may well turn out to be that “silver bullet” that will one-day haunt Dorsey and his team.

An interesting observation I have made is that most of the chatter out there are from people that likely would disagree with me, and who are instead dismissing Google, pointing to how limited their Timeline Gadget is compared to what Twitter offers. ”Oh, if only they had let us type whatever we wanted, THEN it might have been a Twitter alternative - stupid Google!”

No, not stupid Google. ”Stupid” People.

Do you really think that Google didn’t “think of that”? HELLO? They are a pretty smart bunch over there I THINK.

Google is the first software company ever that publically launches all their products in beta - and many of them seem to stay in beta indefinitely. Having said that, their “beta” software often performs better, and always scales better than the rest of the online software ecosystem!

Google is always striving to improve. Google understands Continuous Improvement.

Google is smart. And Google “knows” what happened with Microsoft and the DOJ. They will tread carefully.

Above all, Google knows how to Make IT Work. They focus on the back-end first, and the front-end last. Compare that with what Microsoft’s approach was over the last 20 years.

Twitter’s last change of note was to their “front-end” but to their home page. Unimpressive.

Is Twitter Destined To Simply Be Remembered?

Dorsey, I know your team is super smart too. I hope you are playing the “google game” with the rest of your infrastucture and on the cusp of revealing a better, faster, scalable “new and improved” version of Twitter.I like rooting for the underdog, and I don’t want to see epitaphs like this mark the final chapter in the Twitter book of history. Change people, CHANGE!

And please, get rid of that silly “Oops, Out Of API Requests” issue. You’re killing us…..

-Pedro

What’s Your Twitter Mojo?

Pedro Cardoso — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:24:00 GMT

As part of a promotion for Yahoo’s new homepage, they have launched a cute, new website that determines what type of Twitter user you are and assigns you a Mojo rating…check it out.

What’s your Mojo? I’m apparently a BFF….here is the entire list:

-Pedro

Battle for Search 2.0 Supremacy - Facebook enters ring, throws first punch!

Pedro Cardoso — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:22:00 GMT

Ladies and Gentlemen, the fight for real-time search has hit mainstream “social media” users. CNET was one of the first to break the news late today about Facebook getting Twitter-like search. This on the same day that Facebook also announces the purchase of FriendFeed, the key players are not pulling any punches - the triggers are getting pulled on strategy plans at a dizzying clip.

Fight For Search 2.0 and the NOW - Who will be king in 2010?

Despite those who point to Microsoft as yet another corporationunable to change fast enough and sure to be fodder for a futureHarvard Business Review whitepaper — the reality is there are a lot of very smart people who work at Microsoft, and whenever Microsoft focuses on a market, history has proven that to be a key inflection point and harbinger for the “next big thing”. Just look at what they have been able to do with past paradigm shifts and catalysts in shaping the world of Word Processing, Desktop Operating Systems, the Office Productivity Suite, the Browser and Gaming. Sure they misplayed the whole “mobile music scene” but they have their signs set on Search 2.0 - and the competition has kicked it up a notch. Time will tell if Microsoft can repeat history or if this will be remembered as a doom loop of merely a defensive play.

It appears as if I was one of the lucky ones who had this feature turned on - here’s what I saw when I logged into Facebook today:

Facebook unveils "Twitter-like" search - only better and richer than what Twitter can do!

This is a **big deal** folks. Even quicker than the weather in Southern Ontario has been churning this summer, Facebook is suddenly a real player, and I would contend. potentially the soonn to be established current leader in real-time search for the mainstream. The screen shot above shows my search for chatter on the helicopter crash in the hudson - the resulting “real-time” stream of search results was far richer than what I could get from Twitter, as on Facebook (as in real-life right Ken?), we are not limited to only 140 characters.

With the explosive growth of the Internet, even Google has long realized that its prized search engine would eventually get “long in the tooth”, as users become more frustrated with finding “relevant” search results amidst a backdrop of online content that is growing exponentially.

It almost appears that “the mighty Google” are running scared - first with defensive comments and a perception of a reactive response to the Microsoft and Yahoo search deal, followed soon there after with news of Bing’s modest, yet undeniable inroads being made into Google’s search market share. And very quietly, Google has responded today by releasing a new Google Search infrastructure redesign that is still in development. You can try it out on their sandbox server here! You may not notice much difference, but compared to the production google search, results are ranked slightly differently. It seems like there is some preference being given to recently updated “high relevant” content compared to some “older links” - most significant is not “what’s different” at this point in time, but that we’re actually getting a sneak peek to something that is not even far enough along to carry the distinctive beta tag that sits on so much of Google’s application landscape.

Who is the big loser at this stage? As I see it, Twitter.

The Twitter team invented this new market, but seem to be sitting by, struggling with infrastructure, performance and spammer challenges.Sleeping at the wheel? Or will they be next with a big announcement - their recently redesigned “front page” perhaps “overdue” - but hardly relevant.

I still believe this is Twitter’s race to lose. The “start up” that needs to grow up fast.

Microsoft has bought a ticket to the race and is getting it’s car ready to roll.

Facebook looks like it really wants to win - it’s already lapping the track.

And we’ve all got a front seat ticket - enjoy the race. We’re just getting warned up!

This one may just be a question of leadership. Or maybe they’ve got a problem with monkeys at Twitter.

-Pedro

Dark Days Of Twitter Are Upon Us

Pedro Cardoso — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:35:00 GMT

Right off the top, I need to disclose that “I HATE spammers”. I don’t often use the word “hate” - in fact, I actually “hate” the word “hate” - if that makes ANY sense. I guess what I really dislike is the thought of someone violating or intruding upon my life in any way that is unwelcome and steals enjoyment away from an activity that should be mine to enjoy. In the analog world, this includes pushy salespeople or telemarketers calling me at dinner time. In the digital world, email spam, intrusive pop-ups and malware are in the same category. Now I have another to add to the list - Twitter Spam…ci9agystfj

The world’s fastest growing social network, which is training us all to communicate succinctly in 140-characters or less, is under seige from what seems like a never-ending barrage of unwanted, unsolicited and increasingly frequent “noise” in our twitter streams.

Mark Evans just wrote about this issue, and the fact is this is becoming a huge issue for those of us looking to leverage value from Twitter -a medium where the value proposition is a twitter stream laden with “golden eggs” of high quality links, commentary and updates. After all, these are the folks you choose to follow. As Seth Godin would say, you’ve given them “permission” and the “privilege” to network and market with you.

Spammers have no such contract or privilege. Twitter staff recently did a big cleanup which was noticed in reduced follower counts - but many are calling for a sustained response and strategy from Twitter on how to better protect its service (and users) from what are driving some to consider dropping out of the Twittersphere until things improve.

The following are the *official* Cardoso rules of engagement (ROE) on how to combat SPAM on Twitter. These ROE are based on 3 key principles. If you don’t buy into these principles, stop reading and move on.

Twitter Value Proposition - Key Principles
#1. I choose those I follow based on common interest, values and/or individuals that I believe say interesting things.

#2. Getting to 50,000 followers by Dec. 31, 2009 is not of any interest to me. I want people to follow me because they are genuinely interested in what I have to say. An artificially high follower count and whatever “status” that brings, is not my end-game.

#3. I represent “myself” on Twitter - whether that be my company, my brand, my blog, my life interests or passions, or just “me”. I treat people with respect and expect the same back - it’s a two-way-street, and there’s no room for one-way traffic.

Still with me? Just you Mom, love ya….just for you then….

“Cardoso’s” Top 5 Twitter Anti-SPAM Rules Of Engagement
#5. Don’t contribute to Spam yourself. Posting the same update over and over throughout the day is not cool. If you want to repeat something, be creative. Don’t be a billboard. If you act like a billboard, I’ll treat you like a billboard. That includes quoting inspirational quotes over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the quotes - but in moderation. If I get more than 5 of them in a 60 second time plan, I start twitching. Don’t make me twitch please ; also please, do not @message someone with a random link or request to ride on their twitter coattails. Make your interactions meaningful and remember every impression counts. If you ever want GuyKawasaki or another”Twitter Juggernaut” to friend you, don’t be a P.I.T.A. I think most know what that stands for.. 8-D

#4. Use Follower/User Maintenance Tools to prune your Twitter Contacts. If you have fallen into some bad habits and are now trying to “clean up your Twitter act”, you can use services likeTwerpScan which is one I’ve recently started using - but there are many options out there. Here’s one of many lists of follower maintenance tools and utilities.

#2. See a spammer? Call them out. Block & Report. It’s becoming harder and harder to spot the “spammers” but whenever I see a suspect “tweet”, or worse, click on what appears to be a “legitimate” link that is in fact “misrepresented” — I (a) reprimand the user (b)scan their stream to see if this is a pattern or perhaps a random occurance (c) depending on the result of (a) and (b) either give them “a second chance” or just hit theBlock and Report as Spam link. (see Principle #3)

#2. Do *not* sign up for any service that is designed to artificially get you followers, or “tweet” on your behalf. Your tweets should be YOURS. Followers are something you *earn* and your tweets will be interpreted as beingfrom you. I’m not talking about services that let you “schedule” your tweets - that might be appropriate. Just be careful about sounding like a parrot - you don’t want those “standard messages” to be the bulk of what you are tweeting. Otherwise you will get dropped…quickly.(see Principle #2 & 3)

#1. Do *not* (no, never EVER) Auto-Follow. Why would you want to do this? Spammers are counting on you to reciprocate their follow so they can bombard your stream with unwanted drivel. I sift through each new follower notification and make the decision myself (see Principle #1)

So, don’t act like a spammer, and don’t tolerate those who spam. Use Twitter for Good, not Evil.

Be Good, Keep Making IT Work!

-Pedro

Twitter Is Down - Our Voices Are Silenced

Pedro Cardoso — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:21:00 GMT

Yes, it is true. Twitter is down.

According to Twitter’s official status page, it’s been about 50excruciating long minutes. The fallout and “official spin” around this latest outage will no doubt be interesting and be much fodder for the blogosphere later today.Update: 10:54AM - Twitter indicates they are “defending against a denial-of-service attack”

But here’s the thing. You know that “feeling” you get when you pounce on your PC and you can’t get that WiFi signal or connection to the net? You feel lost. Your PC is almost “useless”. Most of your applications and computer interactions rely on the net. Desktop applets are broken - your browser, just an empty shell.

I first experienced this “untethered PC” feeling around 2002. At the time I remember thinking - “Wow. 5 years ago not having an “internet-connection-every-minute” would not have been the show stopper it seems to be now. This was a tipping point for me. And here we are 7 years later.

I just had that SAME “2002″ feelingwith Twitter being down.

My gut tells me Twitter is not a “flavour” of the year. This platform is the real thing.

And my “gut” is rarely wrong.

-Pedro

Twitter is real - Don’t act like a boiling frog!

Pedro Cardoso — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:32:00 GMT

I bet you’re a boiling frog and you just don’t know it. Think I am wrong? I don’t.

The internet has been around for some time, but it has really been the last 5-10 years where the growth has been truly exponential. It is estimated that about a quarter of the world’s population, or 1.6 Billion people currently use the Internet (see AMD’s questionably accurate, yet still very coolInternet Usage Counter). It took a while for the promise of the Information Superhighway to come to fruition, but not many realize how significant an impact that “Internet enabled social networking“ has oneverything - notmerely rewriting the rules on media, marketing and brand management, but also on democracy, censorship and the pursuit of truth and freedom.

In the video below, Clay Shirky talks us through how the ubiquitous internet has transformed the media landscape and as it continues to become more “social”, that all conventional media (newspaper, radio, television and movies) is converging and integrating into “the net”.

So where does this “boiling frog” come in? If you haven’t heard of this analogy, you can read about it on Wikipedia. The “boiling frog” is a metaphor for those who may not notice the change around them, until it is too late to react properly. Well, you might say hey - I GET IT - as I visualize the associated “inner” chest pounding that might accompany the statement. You’ll point to the fact that you’re all over Facebook which has all but replaced your “personal” email account activity. Heck, you think you’re bleeding edge because you have a LinkedIn profile. Oh yeah, you’re playing with the cool cats now.

Boiled Frogs Might Appear On A Menu Near You…

The challenge is when you say “social networking”, most people think “cool, fun but basically a time waster”. The information filtering, brand enabling, networking facilitation that these technologies bring just seem to be “lost in the translation” - it all seems too complicated and “fuzzy”, and the real business value doesn’t seem to be there for them. And then the trump card comes out - “besides, I don’t have the time to spend”.

What those words are really saying is, “unlike YOU, who seem to have the time”, I’m much busier and rather use the free time I have in other ways. And honestly, they are right. It does take time to “figure it out”. The problem is, others are figuring it out and for those who invest the time, it’s a competitive advantage for THEM. And once you “figure it out”, you realize it’s 10x better than your “old way” of engaging, advertising, branding and growing your tribe. But you might be late to the party…and the way that ends is always a toss up!

Cable Networks, Advertisers, Real Estate Agents, Recruiters, News Media - just a handful of paradigms that are getting turned upside down. And amidst all this, Twitter is poised to change the way we communicate in the here and now. Still don’t see it?

Stay Tuned. Making “IT” Work - it’s what I do. I’m back - hope you come back. Thanks for the time!