Stories about Collaboration

• User Revolt on SharePoint … In a recent discussion with a CxO executive, Todd discovered that while the IT department thought that SharePoint was a technical failure, the end users in the organization revolted when the CIO wanted to remove it. They showed how they were using it to create business value. Collaborage
• Knowledge Worker Processes … An ethnographic study sponsored by IBM found that knowledge workers create ways of doing work and reaching outcomes that are dependent on what’s required; structured processes don’t work very well given the fluidity required. However, best practices can be learnt and shared. Stronger Teams Blog

Technology for Collaboration

• TimeBridge Launch … TimeBridge came out of private beta and opened its public beta registration to everyone. “So what are we launching? A brand new web application designed to be your personal scheduling manager. It helps busy people find a time to meet– fast. Scheduling a meeting becomes as simple as sending a single email invitation. TimeBridge collects the responses, selects the best meeting time and updates everyone with the details.” TimeBridge Blog, TechCrunch
• Social Bookmarking in the Enterprise … eWeek reviews four social bookmarking products aimed at the enterprise: IBM Lotus Connections, BEA Pathways, Connectbeam, and Cogenz. There’s some suggestions on what to look for when evaluating social bookmarking offerings for the enterprise. Pricing is vastly different, with Connectbeam being the least expensive for 5000 users. eWeek
• Softalk Share Server … Softalk offers the Share Server, for sharing of Outlook folders across users without requiring an Exchange Server onsite. “ Softalk Share Server lets you share both personal and public folders. An easy-to-use administrator program makes it effortless to grant access to both personal and public folders.” Available immediately. Softalk
• Notes and Domino 8 Launch Date … IBM announced that Notes and Domino 8 will ship on Friday August 17. Ed Brill
• Leverage Software 5.8 … Leverage Software released Version 5.8 of its enterprise social networking and online community platform. New features: social tagging and tag clouds, meeting and scheduling enhancements, chat room enhancements, and new group discussion capabilities. Available immediately. Leverage Software

Being Productive and Effective

• Increasing Engagement … Wally talks about seven ways to increase “engagement”, or that feeling that you want to go to work: (1) safe and friendly workplaces, (2) interesting and meaningful work, (3) clear and reasonable expectations, (4) regular and usable feedback, (5) fairness, (6) consistency, and (7) maximum control possible over work life. Three Star Leadership Blog
• Busyness = Heart + Killing … “The Chinese join two characters to form a single pictograph for busyness: heart and killing. This is stunningly incisive. The heart is the place the busy life exacts its steepest toll.” Bob Hyatt
• Keep a Paper Work Journal … Dave argues that a paper-based work journal is much more effective than any digital variant: (1) more immediate access, (2) easier drawing of diagrams, (3) greater flexibility in drawing and writing, (4) easier to share with others, (5) no power cords required, and more. Dave outlines his system for using a paper-based journal effectively. DIY Planner

Other Stuff

• A One Line Daily Journal … Keep a one line daily journal to remember what happened. “My hope is that, years from now, when I’m trying to remember what life was like at this point, I can look back at my one-sentence journal. Of course, I’ve missed a lot of days. Although I’ve been trying to keep it up for a year, it still hasn’t quite solidified into a habit. I’ve let ten days go by, without thinking about the journal once. But still, I’ve managed to get a lot of memories down on paper.” Happiness Project
• Scanning Books … Tracy gives an overview of how to create a PDF book by scanning and using Adobe Acrobat. Student Tablet PC
• Mobile Operating Systems … Craig argues that the OS of mobile devices is going to become less-and-less important, and web-based services for mobile devices more-and-more important. SearchMobileComputing
• On-Demand Book Printing … The future looks bright for on-demand book printing at every bookstore, through the Expresso Book Machine. Michael Hyatt