December 2007 Archives
There are a number of chart types that are not included in Excel or PowerPoint that I would like to use, but I have not found the right graphics creation tool. Mekko Graphics: the graphics tool for strategic thinkers promises to be an application that can do these types of charts. I downloaded the trial version and I will try it out.
One that I find especially frustrating is called a Marimekko chart:
In the past I have calculated the areas and plotted this kind of chart by hand. I like this chart type because it can provide a quick snapshot of a market. Because of this it is frequently called a Market Map and displays relative market share within a total market as well as individual geographic segments.
I was led to this graphics software site by a blog by Stephen Few, the author of Show me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten. Stephen also publishes a site called Perceptual Edge. In the site he describes his objection to Marimekko charts:
In the case of Marimekko charts, however, separate values are encoded by the length and the width of each rectangle. As such, all of the variables in a Marimekko graph are spatially encoded. We can easily view some pairs of visual attributes independently, but others we can only easily view together as a whole. For instance, we can easily see the area and the color of objects independently. These are called “separable” visual dimensions. It is easy, for example, to quickly find all of the large rectangles, all of the blue rectangles, or all of the large blue rectangles in a display that consists of red and blue rectangles of varying sizes. Other pairs of attributes are called “integral” visual dimensions. In this case, we tend to perceive the dimensions holistically, not independently. For instance, the lengths and widths of rectangles are perceived holistically as their areas. If we try to find all of the tall rectangles in a display, our eyes will be drawn to the tall rectangles with the largest area, even though there might be other rectangles of similar heights that we have trouble noticing because they have small widths. In order to search for differences in only width or only height, we are required to work harder and spend more time than we would if focusing on the differences of two separable visual dimensions.
I tend to like this type of display because it gives you a quick gestalt of a market, the data can be teased apart in other ways, in my opinion the magnitude of the differences in area are quickly apparent.
At the end of the year there are lots of lists of the best web-based applications. On Bnet, I noticed an interesting app reviewed by Rick Broida called PPT to YouTube. YouTube only accept video formats such as WMV, MP4. To put a PowerPoint slide show on YouTube, you need to convert PowerPoint file to WMV or MP4 video.This is exactly what Wondershare PPT to YouTube can do for you. Other PowerPoint slide sharing software includes Docstoc and SlideShare.
I have become a big fan of Gmail, but I miss the task management functionality in Microsoft Outlook. Recently I started to use Remember the Milk, which is integrated with Google Calendar and offers a very quick, stripped down task management web-based service. Imagine my excitement when I read the Remember The Milk - Blog and found that they built and have released a plugin for Firefox that presents a task management column on the right side of your mail screen in Gmail. Task management is fully integrated into Gmail... It seems to work great and I am already procrastinating!
I don't like the term KM 2.0 because I don't think that knowledge management and the technologies that support it has evolved much beyond the initial stages of development. The slide show: The Evolution Of Knowledge Management Km 1.0 Vs. Km 2.0 presented on slideshare presents examples of how our thinking has progressed with regard to knowledge management. Knowledge managers and software developers recognize that the richest knowledge sharing happens in a community in which ideas are shared rapidly via conversation. Static repositories and one to one communications via email do not provide a channel rich enough to build understanding of concepts. Many professional service firms have invested in static repositories and while these still have a place as knowledge sharing repositories, they can not substitute for face to face conversations.
I have been reading Richard Ogle's new book, "Smart World" which proposes that the world of ideas thinks for itself. This means that the community does the thinking collaboratively through conversation and sharing idea. Ideas and the generation of new ideas cannot therefore be understood outside the context of the conversation occuring at the time. Anne Zelenka discusses this in a post on Gigaom: The Web Mind at Warp Speed and in fact refers to Richard Ogle's book. Essentially she argues that the faster we discus and converse about new technologies or new approaches to solving problems increases the likelihood that new and interesting ideas will emerge along with useful analysis.
I do, however, continue to wonder about reflection and thinking. We no longer seem to give our selves the chance to reflect on what we have learned. Our instinct now is to immediately pull up and shoot. Perhaps that is required in today's hyper fast world .
Robert Scoble pointed out a list of Office 2.0 applications which covers most of the types of applications I use frequently in my work. Office 2.0 Database - My Office 2.0 Setup provides a list, compiled by Ishmael Ghalimi, of the Web 2.0 applications he uses and then lists the competing apps. Our lists overlap a lot. I have become a big fan of GMail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Notebook, and I am in the process of switching from Outlook. I use MindMeister with my colleagues when we are brainstorming. I still however use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio and Project since I know them and it is hard to switch. I also use the Adobe CS3 Suite since they have the best products in this area.
I do have an unsolved problem with Instant messaging. I would prefer one app for IMing and now I have three: GMail, Microsoft Live Messenger, and Skype. I can't seem to combine all the channels. Meebo is close, but does not provide a connection to Skype since a lot of my collegues use that. One combined app would be really appreciated.
A critical skill in today's multimedia world is to be able to create .flv files to upload to video sites. I have had this trouble with seesmic.com which requires flash files of the short videos that people make. I am not a video professional by any means, so if I make a video, I want to see it before uploading it and if it is stupid, I will edit it or throw it away. If this is how you work too, then read this page on Wimpy - How to make FLV files
I have begun to migrate all my mail usage to Gmail from Microsoft Outlook. Using Gmail as Your Universal Email Account is a post by Peter Jalbert, a prolific writer of articles about Google at Google Tutor. Once you begin to understand GMail's approach to organizing mail in threads, how to filter emails with meaningful labels, and how to incorporate Chat, you can appreciate the power of this application. In fact, I am finding GMail faster and more stable then Outlook.
I found this video by mistake on You Tube. I sometimes feel like this!
One of the most read posts on this blog is a post I did in 2004 on ITunes and Windows registry settings, so I thought I would update it a bit since Apple has come out with instructions on you to fix problems with CD issues caused by device filters.
Device filter entries from third-party optical drive software can conflict with iTunes for Windows. This can cause issues like these:
- iTunes does not detect any supported CD burners.
- iTunes does not recognize audio CDs.
- Windows does not recognize audio CDs after installing iTunes.
- You are presented with this message even after reinstalling iTunes:
"Warning! The registry settings used by the iTunes drivers for importing and burning CDs & DVDs are missing. This can happen as a result of installing other CD burning software. Please reinstall iTunes."
For ITunes for Windows XP look here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302976
For Windows Vista: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305422
Let me know if these solutions work for you!
I started writing this blog five years ago on November 14, 2002. I was a much more prolific poster at that time; I was also unemployed. Since then I have created two businesses and become a partner in Bridge Consulting International. My kids have been to college. And I still blog. I even have another blog at www.learningtochangebusiness.com. This blog focuses on executive education, strategy and innovation, which is my business focus as well. Please continue to follow both blogs, I want to improve the content, my frequency of posting, and the presentation of the blogs. I host them myself now, so I can make adjustments as I see fit.
