The Social Networker

by Chris Miller at 06:52:00 AM on Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Lotus Connections Dogear, your enterprise social bookmarking service Lotus offers, just took another hit.  This was something I expected, don't get me wrong.  When you have something that shows signs of taking off, the wolves come out with new products or product changes right after it.  So here is the scenario:

IBM releases Lotus Connections as the first enterprise ready social networking software.  No really, that was said.  I was there.  Dogear is a flagship portion, comparable to the hype of the Profiles portion.  Tagging takes on a name in Lotus Domino shops.  Then the pack starts to sniff the scent.

LinkJam took the first leap, writing a native Lotus Domino application to provide the same services.  At way below the cost of Connections.  Not to mention the ease of installation compared to the hair pulling Connections.  Ouch.

Then we read of how Magnolia is offering open source hooks for version 20 while they were at Gnomedex last week. Plenty of blogs show it, let me know if you need a link.

Today I read of how Reddit is now offering a fully brandable, customizable and your own domain version.  Reddit has offered and open source version since June, this is a hosted solution.  You can pick whether it is public, private or restricted.  With design features like CSS and cnames, in DNS who would know that is was not your own internal system?

Where does that leave Dogear inside of Lotus Connections?  As a high cost, implementation headache that is just as easily consumed from an outside service or open source movement. So where does your company fit in?  Open source? Domino based database? Lotus Connections?

by Chris Miller at 12:30:03 PM on Monday, August 25th, 2008
The argument evolving is that comments, commentary, reader feedback and honestly, the hits, go somewhere else outside of your blog.  You post the good content, and then people are on social sites having conversations about your postings.  Without you contributing, responding or growing your reader base.  How does that help you as a blogger, podcaster or whatever.

I was standing fast on the "No" side where it doesn't hurt, while one of my recent conversation opponents was arguing the opposite. Then I sat back and reflected some.  I can see points on both sides of the argument while FriendFeed grows.  If someone brings your article into FriendFeed, it can then be "liked", commented on and evolve into it's own thread.  Does the conversation link go to your blog? No.  That is why sites such as Mashable have been embedding the current FriendFeed status into the end of their postings.  Go look, I will wait. You, the content and blog owner, become responsible for tracking down everything about you on the web.

So what happens as your conversations that normally would occur on your blog get sucked into the ether? Your readership stays stagnant for the most part.  You then rely on the Digg, Google Readers shares, FriendFeed and StumbleUpon hits to shed light on your postings. You slowly dissolve into a one hit wonder of the blog world, or an icon of good postings that shows immediate readership growth. The ether either weighs you down or floats you to the top like the old saying of cream rising to the top.  The social sites become the giant stirring of the churn.

It is almost like Social Stalking.  They are there talking and watching, you feel the eyes, but never know who it is.

by Chris Miller at 07:03:00 AM on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
I read Ed's posting the other day and wrote a blog posting which got put on hold and turned into a Mashable article you can find right here.  Join the conversation.  Here is a excerpt:
1. What are the rights of the user and the responsibility of the social site or online company?

2. Does every company, no matter the size need a policy defining what steps need to be taken to tackle this growing battle of identity squatting?

by Chris Miller at 01:33:38 PM on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
We begin yet another feature with roundtable discussions with Wayne Sutton, Jeff(isageek), Corvida and myself (IdoNotes) in what will be the start of a bi-weekly event. We will discuss all the hot and interesting news in the social media space.

Today we cover the following items, which you can find by following our groups bookmarks on Diigo here.





by Chris Miller at 01:56:14 PM on Monday, August 18th, 2008
Have any of you ever thought about this?  You create a profile on a new social network and start using the service.  You forget about it for some time, and then run across it (link or news article) saying, wow I haven't been there in a while.  When you go back to the site, it has turned into a business site. One that still has your credentials and is now serving such customers as retail chains.

Well it happens.  The actual knowledge site that has me writing this blog post is there still there.  However, all the main pages are now about their SaaS offerings and bringing customers/users with gained topical data together.  What topical data?  Mine?  The one that you have had for some time that I typed in?  I should point out that the same info they have is the same I would put on any public profile.  But how it is used is the question I am asking.

The "Who owns the data" game can be played for now (news coming here), but I don't think any of the social networks you would participate in state in their agreements that they will maintain your data while creating a business model based on that profile, at the exact same address, that is meant to glean topical (read as profile) information for business to learn how to market against.  While ads are currently targeted for sites based on age, groups and whatever, we understand that premise going in.  At least I do.  In order to stay in business, social sites run ads.  No secret.  But when you take my profile data and create a possible business from it, we have entered a new realm of unwillingness to share any information.

I have found no rules or past postings on this, so what is your take?

by Chris Miller at 12:19:21 PM on Friday, August 8th, 2008
Corvida and I dig deep into Social Median, the beta site for collecting and sharing social media news. It offers groups to join and people to follow.  Listen in to hear our ratings and review






by Chris Miller at 05:36:29 PM on Thursday, August 7th, 2008
I started writing articles for Mashable a few weeks ago and the first 2 took hold quick.  Catch up on the conversations:


Conference/Article Materials

My Files

Yes this is a blatant theft of the outline that Jess uses on her page, but I asked permission. Why?? Because I am a hardcore admin and can make ugly tables to make you developers frustrated, but this was too nice to pass up.

Also Known As: Chris Miller (when awake)

Boring Certifications: (only because someone asked twice)

  • Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 - Team Collab and Messaging
  • Domino 7 Certified Security Administrator
  • PCLP ND7
  • PCLP ND6
  • PCLP R5
  • PCLP R4
  • CLP Collaboration (soon to be retired Aug 2006)
  • random former R4 exams
  • CLI for numerous admin areas including Domino, Sametime and Workplace
  • CLP Insane

Yes, I write some of those dreaded admin cert exams you take. I won't say which ones so you don't come looking for me, but I will say they are the real good recent ones that have been coming out.

Weapons/Equipment:

  • At work an IBM 2 GHz
  • At home a plethera of 6 machines with various Windows versions and Red Hat on a wired/wireless LAN
  • A Toshiba E740 with 802.11b (yes geek toy)
  • An Apple 40GB iPod that is filled to the brim
  • Compaq RioPort MP3 player (now in storage)
  • An EBook (REB1100) also for travel (Love that darn thing)
  • Verizon and they always seem to know how to find me, damn cell

Animals:

One dog, a Pug. He has been on this world before and seems to understand slippers and a fine cigar. Mind you that is him in the chair and not me.

Let us now also add a deranged cat that is in the process of being toilet trained. Update: Toilet traning was very very close.

Music:

Non-stop. At my desk, in my car, walking to work and back to my car downtown. In the house there is a crazy zoned set-up for you home automation geeks.

I am a self-proclaimed MP3 fiend, to which I have tried rehab 4 billion times to no avail. Next is the MP3 hard-drive for the car that I found. Now what kind of music you ask? I will never tell.

Languages:

  • Incredibly fast English
  • Very slow Spanish
  • Emoticon-ese
  • Learning Korean
  • HTML
  • Advanced Sarcasm

Geek class special abilities:

  • Notes/Domino overdrive
  • Workplace
  • Sametime
  • Active Directory (huh? kidding)
  • Quickplace
  • LMS, LVC and the other L's of elearning
  • Windoze junk
  • MS Exchange versions
  • LAN
  • TCPIP
  • Server Iron
  • Yeah, yeah it goes on some

Skills:

Get back to you here

Spells:

Hershey’s Stomach of Holding: Jess and I are fighting over who eats more chocolate. TWDUFF can help me out and vouch for me.

Character Bio:

This will take far more time than I have today. I will start with I was born and still live in St. Louis, MO. Even though for a couple years I was never, ever here and always on the road, this is smack in the middle of the US. Everything is just a few hour flight. That part is nice. No beach/ocean/coast isn't the best. But with the travel I make up for it.

Don't Panic

Looking to find me in person? Here is where I will be.




DatesEventLocation
delayedcustomer visitMinneapolis, MN
Mar 31 - Apr 4Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarCopenhagen, Denmark
Apr 30 - May 2Admin2008Boston, MA
May 10 - 15Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarLondon
Jun 4 - 6Irish Lotus User Group 2008Dublin, Ireland
Jun 16 - 19Lotus Notes and Domino 8 Upgrade SeminarSan Francisco, CA
Jun 21 - 29VacationSome island I am not telling you
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