Archives for 2007

Facebook Just Ain’t For Business, Get Over It (Business Needs Social Networking in Context)

Posted on October 14, 2007 ·

I’ve stolen the first part of the title: Sam Huleatt’s best contribution to the New York Times article is giving it a new title that says it all.

The Facebook vs LinkedIn debate heated up again today, for the millionth time. The Facebook Fanclub’s recurring theme in comparing LinkedIn to Facebook is just how resume- and jobsearch-oriented LinkedIn is: go there, get what you want, then there’s nothing else to do there.

I’m sorry, but since when is this a complaint? Isn’t business all about having an objective and efficiently reaching it with minimum the time and effort? I suspect most of the LinkedIn “deserters” who switched to Facebook are independent types who have the time to hang around in Facebook, and are striving to enhance their personal brand.

Jeremiah’s Web Strategy Group is thriving which certainly helps boost his own brand. Robert Scoble wants to have more than 5,000 friends:

I think it sucks because it isn’t scalable and falls apart at 5,000 contacts. It pisses me off more and more every day because of that scaling wall.

Robert is a celebrity, and this is his fan-club. For the rest of us, I still believe less is more, (update: Doc Searls feels the same) and our online network should reflect our real-life one, instead of being an inflated collection of data records. We already saw the initial “link-mongering” on LinkedIn, but after a while things settled down, and the majority of LinkedIn users max out with 2-300 contacts, which is about the number of people you really, truly can know well. Now, somehow with Facebook all the netiquette is thrown away: I’m sure I’m not the only one flooded with invitations by people whose name does not even remotely sound familiar, and frankly, it’s frustrating.

I also fail to see the usefulness of seeing when my contacts watch a movie, pack for a trip, make coffee, or go to pee. This is a lot of noise with the sole purpose of gluing us to the screen (it works!), and made sense for on-campus dating, Facebook’s heritage, but let’s be real: how is this relevant to business? I’m not saying Facebook can’t be used for business at all – Jeff Nolan quotes a few examples:

Victoria Secret has a group for their Pink product line, 380k members and great interactivity, downloads, user generated content.

Ernst & Young is recruiting through Facebook and experiencing great results as a result of being connected with their candidates where they live.

So, yes, Facebook can be used for business, but these examples are all about external outreach, marketing, communication, recruiting. The point I’m making is, let’s not, while bringing everything Web 2.0 into the Enterprise 2.0 umbrella try to push Facebook to the corporate market – is has no value there. Let’s not equate Facebook to Social Networking, which is, and will be important for the Enterprise, but it needs context.

To illustrate my point, I’ll bring an example originally not “labeled” as Social Networking – oh, and the story has a Facebook-y twist, too.

ConnectBeam started their life as del.icio.us for business, but arguably they have developed into a business-focused social networking tool: in context, with purpose. Ironically, it was Facebook that drove ConnectBeam into this market in the first place.

Founder Puneet Gupta launched CourseCafe in 2005, with the intention of becoming for students’ academic life what Facebook has become for their social Life – in fact I called it “The Other Facebook” for a reason: We thought that while Facebook dominated 80% of students’ life, the fun part, there was room for CourseCafe to help organize the remaining 20%, their studies. They had a good product, received good reviews and started to get traction, spreading through several colleges. Ultimately Puneet became worried about potentially clashing with FaceBook, and at the same time he received interest from the corporate world, so he reinvented his business, this time focusing on the Enterprise.

The new business, ConnectBeam is social bookmarking for the Enterprise – but soon they took a new spin, expanding towards social networking. But doing it in the right way, in context. The context is finding co-workers who are likely engaged in similar activities to yours, or at least have similar interests, since they execute similar searches and are using the same tags you do. Their product is tightly integrated with Google’s Enterprise search, showing a combined result of what Google finds, what is tagged by how many people, and the list of users sharing that item or tag.

Tight integration to Google has become their “secret sauce” in terms of sales success, too: just about any large organization has already a Google (or Fast ..etc) appliance, a dedicated person with a mission and budget to spend on Enterprise Search – so in fact what they sell is “search enhancement”. ConnectBeam has only launched recently, but they already have Honeywell, CSC, Booz Allen Hamilton and other big names as paying customers.

They’ve come full circle: driven away from the college market by Facebook, now offering context-specific social networking, beating Facebook to the Enterprise. They will not get 40 million users, and Puneet will not become a billionaire, like Mark Zuckerberg (likely) will. They follow the good old-fashioned model: deliver value to businesses, who pay for it. That’s pretty good in my book.

Update: Of course the “LinkedIn vs Facebook” and “Facebook Sucks” stories are all over TechMeme:

TechCrunch, All Facebook, vanderwal.net Off the Top, CenterNetworks, Workbench, bub.blicio.us, Scripting News, /Message, WinExtra, Insider Chatter, mathewingram.com/work, Thomas Hawk’s Digital …, even Mini-Microsoft (wow!), PDA/Guardian,

Update #2: The you-don’t-need-more-friends lobby by Robert Scoble. I still belive he does not have 5,000 “friends” but a 5,000 (or more) strong fan-club. When you have 5,000 contacts, it’s a Rolodex (a term Robert used, too), not “live” contacts. And I suggest you read the comments to my old less is more post – re. the same subject, even though it’s on LinkedIn.

Update #3: Pfizer teams with Sermo, the “doctors’ Facebook” – Nick Carr writes about another contextual social network.

Update (10/15): Getting (Anti-) Social, the Web 2.0 Way – @ Wired & TechCrunch.

Wow! I’ve became Doc Searls’ Quote du jour. I’m honored.

Update (10/26): Naughty “Business” on FaceBook

Update (10/28): Beginner’s 5 Step Guide to Using LinkedIn and Facebook

Facebook Isn’t A Social Network, LinkedIn Is

Aussies as Adults: an Enterprise Facebook Story

LinkedIn and The Future of Business Networking

The Facebook Fad

Filed Under: Collaboration, Social Networking, Startups · Tagged: Collaboration, ConnectBeam, coursecafe, del.icio.us, enterprise search, facebook, link-spam, LinkedIn, search, social bookmarking, Social Networking, Social Software, social tagging, tagging

Now We Have an Excuse for Chocolate Craving

Posted on October 13, 2007 ·

People who crave chocolate daily show signs of having a certain type of bacteria in their gut, researchers say.

OK, so we don’t have to feel guilty anymore.

Full story on AP.

Filed Under: Misc · Tagged: bacteria, chocolate, milka, science

Firefox Gone Mad

Posted on October 11, 2007 ·

Firefox has gone completely mad on one of my PC’s. The pic shows the lower left area: the status line has become a thick, dead area, I can’t reduce/resize it, and there is a funny little red ^ sign in the corner. At the same time all my book marks are gone.

My plugins appear to be working. Reinstalling Firefox did not help – any advice?

Thanks.

Update: I can find writeups of the same problem, but no solution… here, here, here… oh, there’s a whole lot of them, no conclusive answer.

Update #2: Wow, I can’t believe how fast help came! Thanks, Craig and Paul. 🙂 In the meantime I also suspected plugins, so disabled them all, and the problem was gone. Then it was a matter of playing around with restoring them one by one and in different order. The culprit appears to be the Diigo plugin. It’s a cool tool, but for now I had to kill it. They are a good team, I bet they’ll be here soon 😉

Filed Under: Software · Tagged: browsers, diigo, firefox, firefox bug

Angry Mom Spanking Ballmer Over Useless Vista

Posted on October 10, 2007 ·

Well, it’s not the Microsoft CEO’s mother – it’s analyst Yvonne Genovese who interviewed Ballmer at the Gartner Symposium.

“My daughter comes in one day and says, ‘Hey Mom, my friend has Vista, and it has these neat little things called gadgets — I need those.'”

Said Ballmer: “I love your daughter.”

“You’re not going to like her mom in about two minutes,” said Genovese, while the crowd laughed.

She went on to explain that she installed Vista for her daughter — and two days later went right back to using the XP operating system.

That must have been one entertaining session. Read the full story at Computerworld. But first, here’s another quote from Ballmer, clearly on the defensive:

“There is always a tension between the value that end users see — and frankly, that software developers see — and the value that we can deliver to IT.”

Yesss. The key word is IT. As in “expert only”. Perhaps it’s time Microsoft recognize that they failed to serve two “masters”, and in catering strictly for IT, delivering a super-secure (?) system they created a monster quite unusable by individual consumers.

I’ve been ranting about Vista enough here, let me just add another gem to prove my point.

It’s probably fair to assume that a lot of Vista (home) users will have at least one older, XP machine around – and if they do, they want these to see these connected on a Home Network. This should be a piece of cake… or not.

Your Vista PC won’t see the XP ones on the network at all.
There’s no documentation whatsoever, but after Googling around you can figure out that you need to patch the XP machines (!) for them to be seen by the Vista. (Incidentally, the patch requires WGA, which fails on one of my perfectly legit computers, but that’s another story)
When Vista still can’t see the networked machines, back Googling again.
After some research you’ll discover a well-hidden statement that it may take up to 15 minutes for a Vista PC to see a networked pre-Vista one. Fifteen minutes!!!! in 2007!!!!

This is just one example of the many idiocies crippling Vista. Nothing major, just stupid little things that don’t work and there is no easily accessible info about.

Vista is for the corporate world with IT departments, period. I can hardly think of better promotion for Apple then releasing Vista to the consumer market. Oh, and since a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s one from Princeton University (by way of Espen Antonsen)

Update: It’s not just kids anymore 😉

Update: Ballmer speaks; Can Microsoft be everything to everyone? at Between the Lines. More on the Computerworld Blogs

Filed Under: Software, Technology · Tagged: Apple, ballmer, Gartner, microsoft, vista, vistasucks, Windows, windows vista, windows xp, xp

Customer Support, the HP Way

Posted on October 10, 2007 ·

I briefly wrote about my dismal customer support experience in Everything on this Vista PC is an Afterthought. The one piece I really like in this PC setup is the screen: 22 inches of shiny black beauty, sharp screen, it tilts and moves around in every imaginable way, even pivots for a vertical view.

There’s only one problem: colors are way off without detailed calibration. HP provides an easy-to-use (albeit not too effective) software product, which allows me to save my new defaults in a file. Too bad the configuration file is user-dependent, and I have two User Accounts on this machine. I really don’t want to go through the configuration hassle twice, so I thought I’d copy the file to the other user account… however, I could not locate it in any of the usual suspect directories, not even search by name. That’s what online support is for – so I thought, naively. This is the template response I received to my 3-line request to locate the file:

Hello Zoltan,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.
I gather from your email that you have downloaded and installed HP My Display and you would like to know if you can make this software user dependent.

I understand the importance of your query and look forward to provide you with the appropriate information.

Zoltan, the display settings for each user can be saved, providing an
easy way to select display characteristics in a multi-user environment, or to
save multiple defined presets for a single user based on content and ambient
lighting.
HP My Display enables monitor adjustment and color tuning using the Display
Data Channel (DDCommand Interface C/CI) protocol. All adjustments to the
display are controlled through software to eliminate the need to use the
monitor on-screen display (OSD). HP My Display runs in the background and can
be accessed through the Task tray, Start menu, or by right-clicking in a blank
area of the desktop. The HP My Display utility enables quick, accurate tuning
of the display, with the ability to easily save and use monitor configurations
that are best suited to the user.
HP My Display has two modes of operation: Wizard and OSD mode. The preferred
method of use is Wizard mode, which provides a step-by-step process to
accurately calibrate the monitor. OSD mode enables changes to any single
monitor setting without stepping through a predefined sequence. This method is
less accurate than Wizard mode, but enables easy access to any monitor
adjustment.

For more information you can use the Manual as how to use the software:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00834092.pdf

I also want to inform you that the downloaded files gets saved to temp folder as default location if the location is not given while downloading the file and the setup file can be located by any user by following the steps given below:

Click on Start >Computer.

Double click on Local drive (C:)

Double click on Program Files.

Select HP My Display folder and open the same and you will get the setup file.

If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.
You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support experience. We would appreciate your feedback.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare

What’s wrong here? I’m looking for a solution, don’t give me this pompous BS on how great your software is, HP, especially when you don’t address the one and only question I had. In fact the first and only non-canned sentence clearly shows you did not even listen (read): you think I want to make configuration user dependent : it already is, I want it user independent! If you read my original inquiry, you should know all this crap on how to install and use the configuration tool is useless, since I have already completed these steps.

OK, cool-off, send HP another email:

Thanks, but this template answer is a complete nonsense. I have succesfully used the software, saved it to a file. The ONLY question I had, and still have is this:
A: Can I save the confguration in a non-user-dependent area, so the same settings apply
B: If not, where is the config file stored, so I can copy it to other user directories.

Same-day response:

Hello Zoltan,
Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

Zoltan, it is our goal to answer questions presented to us as quickly as
possible. From reading your e-mail I will need to do some additional
research to provide you with a resolution to this issue.

As soon as I have gathered this information I will e-mail you again. I apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause.
If you need further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.
You may receive an e-mail survey regarding your e-mail support experience. We would appreciate your feedback.
For information on keeping your HP and Compaq products up and running, please visit our Web site at:
http://www.hp.com/go/totalcare

Locating a file needs additional research. Two days later I’m still waiting. Customer Support, the HP-way.

Filed Under: Customer Service, Technology · Tagged: calibration, Customer support, hewlett-packard, HP, LCD, technical support

Jaikus Hiatus

Posted on October 9, 2007 ·

Now that Jaiku is part of Google, for many observers the question is why Jaiku, not Twitter? Scoble sees it as part of Google’s social networking arsenal, and predicts Orkut 2.0 to be a Facebook killer.

Tim O’ Reilly says:

Jaiku isn’t a “lifestreaming” company per se. They are a mobile company in the business of creating smarter presence applications. Far from being a runner up behind twitter, they are a leader in a category most people haven’t fully grasped yet. Google is clearly thinking a lot about mobile, and so they do grasp it.

Ben Metcalfe and Ross Mayfield also believe Google got themselves one of the best mobility teams.

My only question is why Google had to apply it’s standard process of freezing newly acquired applications, like they did with Writely, JotSpot..etc? (Existing users can continue Jaiku-ing, but new signups are on hold.)

I admit I don’t use Jaiku, or Twitter, for that matter, but even I get the importance of the networking effect. Google can sit on JotSpot all they want, release it in 2010, it will still be a good wiki, new users will come. It’s used by a well-defined, typically small group, and Writely was a personal productivity tool – neither depended on the network effect. But as soon as Jaiku users can not interact with new friends-of-their-friends, they will defect to the service that still accepts new members: Twitter.

Update: Dodgeball? Jotspot? Jaiku! by Robert Scoble.

Filed Under: Social Networking, Startups · Tagged: entrepreneurship, Google, jaiku, Jotspot, lifestreaming, mobility, Startups, Twitter

Zoho DB for Data Manipulation & Reporting

Posted on October 3, 2007 ·

Impeccable timing: just days after Computerworld named Zoho Creator one of five web apps they can’t live without, Zoho DB is released today. While Creator is an application generator, DB is primarily for data manipulation, analysis and reporting. You can create a new database or import your dataset from an existing spreadsheet, be it Zoho’s own Sheet or MS Excel. The UI is instantly familiar, as it reminds us of a spreadsheet, but one with drag-and-drop goodness, allowing the user to easily analyse data, create charts, reports, which, as typical with Zoho apps you can embed in your web page or blog, and of course other Zoho Apps.

Fur deeper analysis you can create Pivot Tables with simple drag & drop. Zoho DB Supports Query Tables – tables created based on a select query from a different table. It understands queries in many SQL dialects: Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, Sybase, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Informix and ANSI SQL. This sets Zoho DB apart from the rest of the industry, and it’s made possible by leveraging another Adventnet (Zoho’s parent) product: SwisSQL. In the near future it will also allow users to import and export database schemas.

The best way to get a feel for the capabilities is to watch the video introduction, then get your hands “dirty” by diving into Zoho DB yourself.

Some of Zoho DB’s features will soon be available in Zoho’s spreadsheet application giving users a choice where they analyze their data – and of course you will be able to access the same data via applications built with Zoho Creator.

Attendees at the recent Wiki: Beauty & Beast event heard Zoho’s Raju Vegesna talk about how eventually Word processors like Zoho Writer and Wikis should morph into each other. This may sound off-topic, but it’s another hint to Zoho’s philosophy of allowing users access their data via their application of choice, no matter which other application they used to create it. It’s all about the (work) flow, not data formats.:-)

Update: Ouch, Rod reveals Zoho’s most secret plans: Today – Zoho DB – Tomorrow – Zoho Beer

Update (9/6): Ask Zoho: What’s the difference between Zoho DB, Creator & Sheet?

Filed Under: Personal Productivity, SaaS · Tagged: data analysis, data query, databases, excel, ms access, online database, pivot table, spreadsheets, sql, Web Applications, web office, zoho, zoho creator, zoho db

Would You Like a Free Computer with your Wi-Fi?

Posted on October 1, 2007 ·

At these prices, I assume they must be giving free computers away with their wi-fi service:

Filed Under: Humor, Technology · Tagged: hotel wi-fi, las vegas, mandalay bay, wi-fi

Netbank: Online Banking goes Offline. Permanently.

Posted on September 28, 2007 ·

If you think sub-prime mortgage defaults can’t effect you, think again. At first reading, I thought this was a bad joke:

The Office of Thrift Supervision closed down NetBank Inc. (NTBK) a thrift with $2.5 billion in assets, and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver.

But it’s not a joke. The online bank I’ve been using for almost a decade is reduced to this:

On September 28, 2007, NetBank, Alpharetta, GA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

The FDIC has assembled useful information regarding your relationship with this institution. Besides a checking account, you may have Certificates of Deposit, a business checking account, a Social Security direct deposit, and other relationships with the institution.

The NetBank web site will be closed from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm EST, on September 28th and will reopen in a read only mode. Normal online services will be restored in the early evening Sunday, September 30th.

To read more about this event please select the link below:

FDIC Bank Closing Information for NetBank

Frankly, under the circumstances I find the “Connect with your money” slogan rather comical. I guess fixing it is the last thing on their mind.

NetBank ~~isn’t~~ wasn’t some shaky Web 2.0 outfit, it’s been (well, appeared to) a solid bank for 10 years. They pioneered the concept of “brickless”, internet-only bank long before online transactions became the norm. I switched to them because at the time they were the only bank offering decent integration with both Quicken and Microsoft Money.

Now as a final act, they offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience: I’ve never seen a bank failure up close, personally. I guess I will soon (?) find out just “FDIC insured” means. I can’t even think of further implications now, but they can’t be good. We’re heading into shaky times.

Update: Peach Pundit wins the Best Title Award: NetBank becomes NotBank.

Update (9/29): Not everyone reads Friday afternoon news releases, but many do their online banking on the weekend. Or at least they try – now the Netbank failure is being noticed:

Filed Under: Business, SaaS · Tagged: bank failure, fdic, Microsoft Money, mortgage, mortgage defaults, MS Money, netbank, Online Banking, quicken, recession, subprime defaults, subprime mortgage