This has been a great week for reading. The current issue of Information Week has some great articles beginning with the Global CIO by Bob Evans and that followed by The Right Place For Social Networking? By John Soat. The latter is part of an ongoing series dealing with internet evolution.
My thoughts are that in order for a wiki or blog to work within the corporate environment you must have a team that can get something out of reading and responding beyond email. You need people that are involved, committed, and working in the present. The old gung ho team greatness. You also need leaders to implement, guide, develop and show the way - and they have to understand and know.
Uniquely this is not a managers position as this is not something you manage. This could be difficult for the current CIO's since most have a manage outlook. Most managers (not all) like the status quo and change requires learning, which, unfortunately, a great number of people are not into. There are more people opposed to evolution of any kind than the church.
One thought that I think is important is that for some, sharing the foundation of collaboration, is difficult due in part to fear. They feel their knowledge is their ticket and they are not always willing to put it to the team in the form of a blog or wiki.
There is also an article on Chrome the Google browser and soon to be OS by Andrew Conry-Murray.
Chrome as an OS - one promise that is interesting is Instant On. We go from the computer is a fad to wanting instant on. We surely have come a long way in almost 30 years. A few years ago there was discussion about ubiquitous computing and it is almost upon us and net books are leading the way.
I have said previously that if Chrome as on OS cannot run standard windows applications then it will not be anymore than an occasional toy used my a minority, a niche market item, but not a power application. This is brought out in a sidebar - What We Know About Chrome OS. "People won't be able to install client-server apps on Chrome OS, so users will have to depend on Web tools such as Google Docs and online versions of Microsoft Office." Chrome will be just another also ran unless this changes.
One quote from the article that I take issue with is: "Meantime, Windows will have another year to build it's lead on netbooks, more than 90% of which were sold with Windows in the first half of this year, …". Before that can happen Microsoft will have to recognize the fact that netbooks are a viable market arena.
I do think that Microsoft has misjudged the net book. I have been using one for the last 4 to 5 weeks and I find it fantastic for most all my daily communication. I am using Word and Excel (Office 2007) as well as OneNote and Windows Live Writer (with which I am posting this).
I am online everyday with either my Verizon EVDO card, AT&T Wi-Fi at Starbucks or the wireless network that I have at home (and even with the office wireless). I find it easy to read, easy to type on (and I can use all of my fingers and not just my thumbs). It is lightweight and can be easily carried in the "man purse" (thanks to Leo Laporte) purchased by my wife.
I leave you with a question; is it netbooks or net books? I see it so many ways.
