Web/Tech: October 2004 Archives
Some how I missed this link about SharePoint resources, but being a SharePoint user this is a great find!
Very nice, a help file that contains information that can be used by "normal" users who want to work with Windows SharePoint Services sites, lists, document libraries, ... Download here.
This compiled help file provides searchable, up-to-date information about using and managing sites based on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services technology. The topics covered in this file include the following:
- Basic concepts
- Viewing information
- Sharing files and documents
- Sharing information
- Deleting information
- Organizing meetings
- Customizing lists and pages
- Customizing sites
- Customizing pages by using Web Parts
- Managing permissions and security
- Managing sites and settings
- Troubleshooting
- Reference
The content in this file is different from the content you can find in a Windows SharePoint Services site when you click Help. This content has been updated to correct errors, add information, and be easier to browse.
[The latest blogs from your friends at OfficeZealot.com]
Well, this web sites author isn’t going to complain http://techpreview.search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=wss
[Ian Morrish's WSSDemo Blog]
Google has launched a desktop search product and as often is the case John Battelle has the full info. And like nearly everything Google has done of late, this move scares the shit out of me. Why? Because Google is not in the search business, they are in the datamining business. The information on your hard drive is both personal and valuable, do you really want to give it to Google for free?
More soon..
[Abstract Dynamics]
Wikis: "Wikis are one of those internet phenomena that are confusing, intruiging, powerful, and often misunderstood. Many users and even some programmers of wiki software have missed the point completely, and from what I've observed in scholarly discussions on the subject, most teachers "using wikis in the classroom" are so far off the mark that I am at a loss whether to laugh or cry. When I read these reports, it's like reading about how someone completely and utterly failed to use their shiny new Ferrari to properly tow a horse trailer."
[elearnspace]
Google Desktop and its impact on Lookout
So, Lookout Fans, anyone tried the Google product yet? What do you think? I'm completely unbiased, of course, but here are some of my thoughts. I think the Google product is a good product and will definitely be received well. They did a great job of making a small, compact product, and the desktop-into-web-results is really cool. There are lots of articles out there on this already. But, it also definitely misses on a few things that I had hoped Google, being the king of search, would address: Notably: * Finding email is at least 4 clicks away from outlook: go to IE (click), type in a query (click), select a result (click), hit the "view in outlook" button (click). Thats a lot of clicks! * The search is pretty primitive. No fielded queries (e.g. search by folder, recipient, sender, etc). No wildcard searching. No date ranges. * The search results is even weaker than Lookout's - only 10 results per screen. Can't sort by subject, sender, recipient. Can't do full actions on results - delete, move, copy, categorize, print. * Doesn't search contacts or calendar items. * Doesn't search public folders The approach of doing web-first probably resonates well for Google. But for solving the problem of finding email items, it seems like it is a pretty entry-level offering. So, what do you think of my unbiased opinion? :-) Thanks, Mike BTW - these ideas are solely mine and do not represent those of my employer.
The term 'social software', which is now used to define software that supports group interaction, has only become relatively popular within the last two or more years. However, the core ideas of social software itself enjoy a much longer history, running back to Vannevar Bush's ideas about 'memex' in 1945, and traveling through terms such as Augmentation, Groupware, and CSCW in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
By examining the many terms used to describe today's 'social software' we can also explore the origins of social software itself, and see how there exists a very real life cycle concerning the use of technical terminology.
The Seed of Apple's Innovation: Steve Jobs interview in Business Week
[del.icio.us/popular]
Introduction Microsoft generous effort to bring together a unique group of technology users, evangelists, reporters, entrepreneurs, developers and passionate bloggers for a 2-day collaborative review of the new and upcoming Microsoft Search engine tool(s) paid back handsomely to both the hosts and the highly diversified group of participants. Having been invited by Microsoft to participate in this event was as much surprise to me as clear indication that my conspicuous personal investments in independent reporting and knowledge sharing was finally getting some mileage. As Robert Scoble so effectively puts it: “good bloggers get noticed”. Here is my personal report on...
[Robin Good's Sharewood Tidings]
More great stuff from Donna Maurer, this a brief summary of card sorting applications.
You know what would be wonderful? Reviews of relevant classes of software tools from the IA perspective. Search engines, CMS, portals... AIfIA IA tools people, are you listening? :-)
[Bloug]
Wikia is a free content search engine being created collaboratively by contributors from around the world.
Wikia runs on wiki-style software, allowing users to add, remove or modify listings. The project replaced 3Apes in March 2004. This earlier project, which started in September 2002, had been a directory-style search engine. As of October 2004, Wikia is at a beta stage and has not been publicly launched.
One of its aims of this site is to apply the organizational model of Wikipedia to search.
At wikia.com, users can add URLs to our search index, assign keywords to them and give them ratings to show how relevant each keyowrd is. Sites can also be rated for quality, and given a tag of "adult" or "family". The language of the site can also be specified.
Wikia provides a new direction in search. Our user-editable search results are free, both in terms of cost and freedom. The data is available for anyone to download and use as they like. All content is licensed under the GFDL, and the software under the GPL, allowing others not only to work with it, but to build upon it. See Wikia copyrights for details.
Anyone can add and edit the search index. 360,000 sites have already been added, and you can add more. See the forums to discuss the project and read the FAQ and the tutorial to find out how you can participate in the development of Wikia.
The software is in a beta stage and Wikia has not yet launched on a large scale but feel free to add URLs to the index and report any bugs you find.
Site are chosen and assigned keywords and descriptions by Wikia users. There are no hidden formulas; just thousands of people classifying links and giving their own rating of how relevant those links are to the keywords assigned to them. Because decisions are made by humans, not computers, Wikia is less affected by search engine optimization techniques as non-relevant sites won't be highly rated in the Wikia index. Keywords are assigned to real results, not to link farms, giving you quality results when you search Wikia.
iPodder, the cross-platform Podcast receiver.
[del.icio.us/popular]
I wanted to amplify the posting of this conversation since I agree that their are benefits of an "always on" business environoment. I have blogged about this earlier and taken part in the debate about "Continuous Partial Attention". I like the idea of increasing your own bandwidth and to listen for weak but important signals amidst the noise, but critical thinking requires attention, something that I do not think has been addressed properly in this debate.
Instant Messaging in the Attention Economy -- 26 Oct 2004 ( Posted by Stowe Boyd)
You're invited to this complimentary seminar, covering business topics from leaders in today's leading companies—delivered via web conferencing from Microsoft Office Live Meeting. All you need is a web browser and a phone. We hope you'll join us.
Instant Messaging in the Attention EconomyOctober 26, 2004
9:00AM - 10:00AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
12:00PM - 1:00PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Speaker: Stowe Boyd, President/COO of Corante
Seminar Overview
The discussion around instant messaging generally centers on the first order effects of its deployment: costs, risks, and direct savings. This was true of all preceding communication media as they were being adopted by business, as well: telephone, fax, email, and cell phones. But as we now know, the second order effects – that generally take much longer to become manifest – are significantly more important in the long run.
We now live in the world that email built; but are headed for a world where instant messaging will become the foundation technology of communication. What will that world be like, how will it be different, and why should we work to adopt the new modes of interaction and communication that this medium requires?
We are in a time of unparalleled information access, but this paradoxically limits our ability to absorb information, because we have limited bandwidth: only so much attention to go around. Herbert Simon, the Nobel laureate, once wrote, ‘What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.’
Linda Stone coined the expression “Continuous Partial Attention”, characterizing it as an aberration, a disorder, and an unnecessary disruption in business. But the benefits that arise from reorganizing around real-time coordination, collaboration, and communication pathways – most importantly the acceleration of response and increased parallelism – outweighs the apparent change in social mores needed to accommodate this new form of interaction.
This seminar will cover:
· What are the first order benefits from IM, and why are they less important than generally argued?
· What is “Continuous Partial Attention” and why does its adoption offer advantages, not disruption?
· Why does IM etiquette matter, and what can we learn from the biggest users of IM?
· How can we gain the acceleration latent in massive real-time communication across projects, the enterprise, and the extended enterprise; and what role can instant messaging play?
