Content Matters tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters/9 2008-05-08T09:22:30Z A blog for people that make the Web worth reading Movable Type 3.33 Microsoft wants Facebook tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.1032 2008-05-08T09:19:18Z 2008-05-08T09:22:30Z After failing in their US$47.5-billion bid for Yahoo, the giant Microsoft is looking more closely at Facebook. While the Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft bankers have begun to look into a Facebook purchase, neither side has commented on the... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html Intranet Global Forum). “The problem for any business considering Facebook is that it’s a determinedly consumer play, to the extent that I don’t think it can ever seriously fly in the enterprise,” says analyst and ZDnet writer Phil Wainewright. “Facebook trades free functionality in return for attention and relationship data — and users give up a lot of their control over that data. Businesses aren’t willing to make that trade-off. Google is far ahead of Facebook in this respect with the Google App Engine (Google Gadgets), and already has made impressive inroads in the enterprise software business with the Google Mini and Google Enterprise Search. And now you can see why Microsoft is particularly interested in Facebook (more than just acquiring those eyeballs). The Facebook Platform is not a legitimate enterprise or intranet platform… yet. But it’s only a year old and continuing to evolve; don’t think for a second that Facebook’s management isn’t looking at your business and the revenue potential of becoming the host of collaborative employee applications – or the entire intranet. Microsoft knows it too, and wants a bigger slice of that multi-billion dollar pie.]]> Print content resembling lazy web content tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.1019 2008-04-25T22:10:24Z 2008-04-25T22:21:36Z Have you noticed a lack of formal grammar or punctuation in your kids’ homework? How about in correspondence with friends? Informal communications and writing styles adopted in text messages, email, and new social media tools like blogs have begun to... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html new study by Pew Internet reveals that nearly two-thirds of surveyed students (700) say their Web communications style sometimes bleeds into school assignments. Roughly 50% admit to omitting proper punctuation and capitalization, and, shockingly, a quarter of them admit to using emoticons such as smiley faces. “The state of writing among teens today is marked by an interesting paradox: While teens are heavily embedded in a tech-rich world and craft a significant amount of electronic text, they see a fundamental distinction between their electronic social communications and the more formal writing they do for school or for personal reasons,” says the reports authors. I’ve been saying for about 8 years that the Internet would spawn a writing revolution. I must admit however that I didn’t forsee a possible re-writing of our English language :) LOL! IMO!]]> BOOKMARK THIS: Digg this Post to del.icio.us Share on Facebook]]> One Laptop Per Child abuses donors tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.994 2008-04-10T19:11:07Z 2008-04-10T19:28:07Z I have a profound respect for charities with great vision and execution. However, I possess a monstrous disdain for those that manipulate the disadvantaged, use them as a platform to further their own personal goals, and take for granted, or... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), I immediately stepped-up and supported it. I immediately wrote about and promoted the campaign to encourage the world to buy one of their computers, so that a like computer could be donated to a child or classroom in a third world country. In fact, the Internet and its denizen of bloggers have helped turn this charity into a massive darling that has received heaps of wonderful, international praise. I encouraged friends, colleagues and readers to support it, and instructed my company, Prescient Digital Media, to spend thousands of dollars on the program. In fact, we were a relatively early contributor during the Christmas campaign of 2007. At the time, OLPC promised the delivery of their computers before Christmas. Four months later, and five months after they took our money, no computers have been delivered.]]> Now as far as I’m concerned, OLPC does not owe me a thanks, special notes or consideration, or promises about making the world better. In fact, I don’t care if the computers are cheap pieces of crap. Some have been very vocal about the computer’s lack of performance and power (a group of patrons that have had the good fortune to actually see and use one of the mystical laptops). I could give a damn. I don’t need a high-powered laptop, neither do my children, nor do most others in the Western world. These whiners deserve our scorn for the nobility of such a fantastic intention as to build a low-cost computer that so aims to improve the quality of life for third world children is far above and beyond the trifling and sniveling of spoiled, self-consumed computer addicts. My praise for OLPC ends here. OLPC has promised millions of computers to the third world, and has failed miserably. If you’re to use the disadvantaged children of the third world as a platform, a platform that has so richly bolstered the fortunes and reputations of OLPC and its founders, you better dam well deliver on the promises made. It is grossly unacceptable for any charity to use children to promote the collection of funds, and to break the promises based on the disadvantaged use to promote the campaign. I don’t care who donated $400 for a computer for third-world children, that computer must be delivered as promised. OLPC has failed to deliver computers, broken their promises, and in my opinion, violated a sacred trust. For when you use poor children as a subject matter for raising funds, there is ZERO MARGIN FOR ERROR. For all of my adult life, I have been a supporter of UNICEF. My wife and I have sponsored programs and individual children through World Vision and UNICEF for as long as I can remember. I put these charities, and the individuals that make them work, above everyone else – in my opinion, none can compare nor come close to those noble souls that dedicate their time, and often their lives, to improving the lives of those that deserve the most care. While the computers have not been delivered, I continue to clutch to a sliver of faith that OLPC will find some competence and deliver sometime soon. For this reason, I have not demanded the thousands of dollars we have spent, despite the pathetic communications (or lack thereof) and assurances OLPC. Yes, we’re told that OLPC is fixing the problems… the computers are already made, there are warehouse problems, blah, blah, blah. We’ve been given the same vague and ambiguous reassurances for months – months. My blind faith reassures me… for now. In the meantime, the founders and chiefs at OLPC have received international praise, kudos and promotion, and are fleeing with the good PR in their pockets. Co-founder and former technology officer, Mary Lou Jepson, left to start her own company. All that goodwill and PR will no doubt be very profitable! Co-founder and Chairman Nicholas Negroponte is looking to distance himself too and has begun a search for a CEO. Ah well, the charity has proven to be a very profitable PR machine, but since it’s not delivering on those promises, he better get out while the going is good. Performance issues are acceptable. Lack of communications and gratitude are expected. Delays in production and delivery are expected and acceptable. No delivery, and broken promises made on the backs of third-world children are not acceptable. Shame on you, OLPC. Shame on you, Nicholas Negroponte. -- If you disagree, feel free to phone me directly at 416.986.2226 but I will not respond to anonymous posts or flame mail. IRS on YouTube tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.975 2008-03-27T19:20:48Z 2008-03-27T19:26:46Z Wow, now I've seen it all. The IRS has several video spots on YouTube talking about the rebates that are coming our way. I only hope the videos didn't cost $93,421 each to produce, thereby taking yet another bite out... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html here.]]> MyStarbucksIdea.com – patronizing content… or really good idea? tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.974 2008-03-27T16:55:19Z 2008-03-28T20:13:01Z As part of an initiative for “transforming the Starbucks customer experience” the Seattle coffee maker has launched a new, social website for customers. MyStarbucksIdea.com is part of a greater strategic thrust for bettering their coffee business and engaging their customers.... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html MyStarbucksIdea.com is part of a greater strategic thrust for bettering their coffee business and engaging their customers. The site actively engages customers for their ideas on improving Starbucks, allows customers to vote on and comment on the ideas, and serves as a vehicle for implementing those ideas at Starbucks coffee houses: “What’s your Starbucks Idea? Revolutionary or simple—we want to hear it. Share your ideas, tell us what you think of other people’s ideas and join the discussion. We’re here, and we’re ready to make ideas happen. Let’s get started.” My first reaction to learning about this new site: how bloody patronizing and pretentious! Who do they think they are, The Body Shop? Why not just launch a new website dedicated to “Going Green” in an effort to convince me that the millions of disposable cups they add to the landfills of the world somehow actually benefit our forests and drinking water (errr, coffee)? ]]> To my surprise, my initial grumpy skepticism was brutally arrested when I visited the site. The site is clean, easy to navigate and digest, and declares a massive customer engagement. Massive engagement. Customers are encouraged to: • Post an idea: “…from ways we could improve to things we’ve never even thought of.” • Vote on ideas: “Check out other people’s ideas and vote on the ones you like best. The community votes. The community decides.” • Discuss ideas: “Talk about ideas with other customers and our Starbucks Idea Partners and help make them even better.” • Hold Starbucks accountable: “This is the proof. See which of your ideas were the most popular and watch as we take action.” The site itself is fine, but the initial customer reaction – in only one week, with little fanfare and virtually no advertising – is what alighted my taste buds like no mochachino or KABOOM Organic Wellness Juice ever could. MyStarbucksIdea.com has elicited a monstrous first week response: • Hundreds of ideas • Thousands of comments • Tens of thousands of vote ideas • More than a dozen ideas under consideration (“under review”) • One idea already implemented (free wi-fi) for Starbucks Card holders Wow. It’s not lost on me that many of the comments are probably employees, but my hunch is that most are in fact customers. It may be pretentious, but MyStarbucksIdea.com has been a very tasty, initial success – a web case study for the ages. At the very least, it’s something to do when you’re sipping on that Organic Wellness Juice while waiting on that sea kelp body wrap down the street. Does hemp clothing make me look fat while sipping mochachino? -- My writing notes: • Don’t add an ‘s’ to MyStarbucksIdea as you’ll go nowhere. • MS-Word froze on me while writing this and my first, complete article on this subject was completely lost… even after I saved it. • Internet Explorer is a brutally awful piece of software. It constantly froze on me while researching this article. I almost always exclusively use Firefox now but I like the fact that MS-Word picks up “recently browsed pages” that allows me to very easily turn text into a hyperlink. But IE 7.0 is just too horrendous. It belongs with Vista. Can I really believe that research? tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.967 2008-03-21T06:36:08Z 2008-03-21T06:43:53Z My recent article Web 2.0 fails the grade, according to executives, republished on www.Ragan.com (membership required) drew a string of visceral responses. Most couldn’t agree more with my assertion that “Web 2.0 does not deliver the ROI, does not live... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html My recent article Web 2.0 fails the grade, according to executives, republished on www.Ragan.com (membership required) drew a string of visceral responses. Most couldn’t agree more with my assertion that “Web 2.0 does not deliver the ROI, does not live up the hype, and is not even close to being a top priority for senior management (not all, but most).” Supporting my assertion is a recent CIO study, Top Technology Priorities for 2008, that reveals that even techies don’t consider Web 2.0 as a priority. A couple of people disagree including a colleague of mine, Shel Holtz, who points to contrary research from CIO and Forrester. Research is a big business. And there are so many forms and so many formats that it is in fact quite easy to develop a research study that produces just about whatever results you want. Genuine researchers, and there are many, will wince at the suggestion and leap to defend their industry and practices. They are right most of th time and their defense is well-based as most studies are astutely conducted with no smoke and mirrors, but understanding the research source, type and sample or target audience is the most critical part to understanding the study and its conclusions. A Guidewire Group Market Cycle Survey, “Blogging in the Enterprise” finds that 53% of respondent companies are already blogging and an additional 35% of respondents plan to begin corporate blogs within the next year. While the survey is not a scientifically significant sample and should be taken with a great grain of salt (a very small sample of 140 respondents and the survey was self-select (voluntary) of tech magazine readers), the Guidewire study does provide some excellent insight into corporate blogging. Does anyone in their right mind believe that 53% of companies were blogging in 2005? Hell the current level is no where near 50%. It’s no surprise to learn that the study was conducted by a company selling blogging software and the study concludes with an advertisement for the sponsoring company. But wait, a lot of people are blogging, right? And there are plenty of case studies of corporate blogs… • and books • and trade shows • and sites dedicated to blogging • and blogs about blogs Numbers from some of the research firms such as Forrester reveal that in fact that perhaps even more than 75% of the Fortune 500 have adopted some form of blogging (whether real, piloted or once-tried-but-now-abandoned). A lot of those blogs don’t amount to much, but they have them. But what percentage of the total number of business are represented by the Fortune 500? Answer: Less than 0.3% (see Entrepeneur.com). Here’s the important point about sample type: just because 75% of a group of 150 or 200 highly innovative CIOs with massive IT budgets have tested or experimented or evaluated blogging software doesn’t mean that 75% of businesses are blogging. The vast majority of for-profit employers in corporate America, Europe and the world-over are small and medium-sized companies and, believe me, they don't get and understand or embrace Web 2.0 (don't even get me started on government). I belong to a group of CEOs (called Vistage the largest group of CEOs in the world) and believe me, a massive majority have no clue what Web 2.0 is. Oh sure, the concept is growing and catching-on by leaps and bounds, and more and more executives are catching-on every day. But these trail-blazer executives (or rather slow-to-convert luddites) represent a very small majority amongst the executive ranks. It's upwards and onwards, but there's a lot of education and promotion of Web 2.0 still needed to educate the board rooms of the World. Finally, I have to say that I am one of the biggest converts of social media. Not only are you readnig this on a blog, but I work with just about every type of social media tool either for myself or with clients or at home in my leisure time. I'm not trying to "rain on the parade" but I am trying to provide a accurate reflection of the real world. In other words, just because your company doesn't have a blog, doesn't mean you should panic. On the contrary: take your time and do it right. But don't look to senior executives to come beating down your door demanding you launch a motherload of wikis for customers. They have other priorities and need to be educated and sold as to the value of Web 2.0. As your mother told you: “Don’t believe everything you read.” More importantly, do read every study that pertains to your work and your business that you can get your hands on. But be sure to look at the survey type, methodology and sample and fully understand the context of the study before drinking the Kool-Aid.]]> Pepsi “Tava” fails initial web test tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.959 2008-03-16T19:14:50Z 2008-03-16T19:27:14Z Known for its glitzy TV ads with star power (though they haven’t done much for Michael Jackson nor Britney Spear’s career) Pepsi-Cola is launching their new beverage line without traditional media. Pepsi-Cola North America will market its new no-calorie, carbonated... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html www.Tava.com), banner ads, and free samples to movers and shakers at MTV and other ‘hot’ organizations crawling with mavens of cool. ]]> For a New Brand, Pepsi Starts the Buzz Online) Tava is being primarily marketed to women and me ages 35 to 49:
“There used to be an assumption this target was not online,” said Frank Cooper, vice president for flavored carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America in Purchase, N.Y. “But there’s a group in that category that’s ‘reborn digital.’ They’ve lived through the change and learned to adapt to it.” “This consumer spends significant time online, although what they do may differ from the younger consumer,” Mr. Cooper said. “They’re not I.M.-ing their friends; they’re looking at e-mail or looking up information about travel, music, food.” The online aspects of the campaign extend beyond local markets. The Web sites on which the Tava banner ads are to appear include AOL, chow.com, CitySearch, dailycandy.com, discovery.com, Evite, MSN, oprah.com, People and weather.com. The content of tava.com goes beyond pitches for the product, including downloadable songs from emerging musicians like Deccatree, a rock band from California, and Stephanie McKay, a singer from New York.
Relying primarily on the web of course is not without risks. In 2005, Pepsi launched Pepsi One without TV with limited success. To quote the New York Times regarding Pepsi One, “When was the last time you saw someone drinking one?” Unfortunately for the marketing team responsible for marketing Tava, the initial web splash appears to be no more than a ripple: • A search for “tava” finds the actual Tava site ranked 8th (below the fold) • No website or presence to be found at Facebook • No website or presence to be found at MySpace • A search at Pepsi.com offers no results dedicated to its new beverage While a search on Technorati shows some ‘buzz’ about Tava, almost all of it is exclusively focused on the NY Times article and focusing namely on the Pepsi decision to eschew TV advertising. Perhaps the mavens at MTV will create all that desired buzz amongst the 35-49 years-old set The Tava.com website is decidedly thin, but features some catchy music. Despite the weak start to its web campaign I must admit that I’m already thirsty… I could use a Tahitian Tamure right now. ]]> iTunes, with a bullet tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.949 2008-03-09T22:23:24Z 2008-03-09T22:35:56Z Very interesting to see that iTunes is now the second largest retailer of music in the country. Only the big box Wal-Mart sells more, and iTunes is expected to eclipse it later this year. What a juggernaut. Who would have... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html Very interesting to see that iTunes is now the second largest retailer of music in the country. Only the big box Wal-Mart sells more, and iTunes is expected to eclipse it later this year. What a juggernaut. Who would have thought that Apple would be such a dominant force in a relatively short period of time. This info, from market research company NPD Group, includes this tidbit: 48 percent of teens didn't buy a single compact disc last year, up from 38 percent the year before. The company also notes that a million people stopped buying CDs in 2007. Talk about a favorable trend for iTunes and a not so favorable trend for music retailers. Do you still buy CDs? The last one I bought was The Rising by Springsteen. I bought Magic, though, his latest, on iTunes and now have The Boss fully represented on my iPod nano. Just makes so much more sense to use the iPod as my music source, especially since I bought an Altec Lansing dock, which I love. Great sound, recharges my iPod, five-hour battery, and an FM tuner, to boot. Bill, where are you? tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.939 2008-03-03T13:54:09Z 2008-03-03T14:37:43Z So I read that Bill Gates, yes that Bill Gates, has joined LinkedIn. I jump on and hunt for Mr. Microsoft only to find a question that he posed but, alas, I can't access his profile. It seems he employed... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html So I read that Bill Gates, yes that Bill Gates, has joined LinkedIn. I jump on and hunt for Mr. Microsoft only to find a question that he posed but, alas, I can't access his profile. It seems he employed the privacy setting that limits his profile to folks who share a connection with him. That's not me, aparently; I'm obviously not connecting with the right people. His question -- How can we do more to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and technology? -- spurred more than 3,000 replies. And it has helped LinkedIn advertise the fact that it will be offering its users ways to update their status through a new tool it's developed. The whole idea of "status" is an interesting one. I use Twitter now and again, which is a way to let folks know what i'm doing, thinking, planning that exact minute. My AOL IM allows for a status message to be shown and, of course, there is my facebook profile that I update with "Tim is .....". Who needs to know what I'm doing at 10:15 a.m. compared to what i'm doing at 2:33 p.m.? Why do I need to know what folks are doing that exact minute? Fair questions, no? I follow a couple web guys who talk about interesting projects they are working on, in between Twitters about how hungry they are. Not sure what I'm getting out of those kinds of conversations. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are Twittering. At least their appointed staff members are Twittering. Maybe that builds a sense of community around the candidates, but the Twitters are pretty boring. Does status matter online? Maybe, but I'm not yet convinced. Content is the focus of new Academy of Digital Signage tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.937 2008-02-28T17:33:02Z 2008-02-28T17:36:50Z It is said that our ability to create Web content vastly outstrips our ability to digest it. Consistency in how content is structured, catalogued and managed is consistently inconsistent, to say the least. The problem also persists in the world... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html It is said that our ability to create Web content vastly outstrips our ability to digest it. Consistency in how content is structured, catalogued and managed is consistently inconsistent, to say the least. The problem also persists in the world of digital signage. Digital signs are the electronic or digital signs that you find in elevators, in lobby kiosks, or even the billboards in Time Square. It is believed that China already has more than 100,000 of these digital signs. Cisco® today announced the development of a new qualification program for those creating content for digital signage. The Cisco Academy of Digital Signage (ADS) will offer a specialized curriculum focusing on the three vital areas of digital signage: • content creation • content management • content distribution Enrollees are expected to include media professionals looking to add a marketable credential to their skill set, staff members of companies interested in creating digital signage content, and employees of Cisco channel partners planning to expand their digital signage solution capabilities. "We value Cisco's contribution to developing content for the industry and feel this program is dedicated to the thousands of digital media professionals worldwide who are looking for ways to advance their skill set and achieve specializations in their areas of focus," said Kenneth Gisstennar, president of digital signage company Spinitar. After completing a three-day training program and passing the required tests, media professionals will receive a Cisco Qualified Digital Signage Media Professional (CQ DSMP) credential. This credential helps assure expertise in the following curriculum topics: • Content Creation will highlight best practices and methods for creating high-definition video on demand and network-broadcasted live video, multimedia and Web design, flash animations, still and animated images, text, dynamic content, and modular designs. • Content Management instruction will involve ingestion, organization, playlisting, dayparting and scheduling, and digital signage management and administration. • Content Distribution will include best practices and methods for content delivery networking, store-and-forward, IP multicasting, and streaming video (architecture, design and protocols). If you're interested in this new Digital Academy or the curriculum visit: http://www.cisco.com/go/dms Now if only we could come up with this type of curriculum and credentials for all those who create web content. Facebook spoof leads to jail and beating tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.927 2008-02-23T19:41:02Z 2008-02-23T19:44:48Z Setting-up a spoof Facebook site in the name of a celebrity, athlete or politician is a popular past time. For a Moroccan computer engineer and father, his spoof has delivered him to jail -- three years in jail for setting... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan, BBC).
The prosecution had urged the court to impose a sentence which set an example for others. Mr Mourtada was convicted of "villainous practices linked to the alleged theft of the [prince's] identity". In his defence, he said he admired the prince, and that the Facebook entry was just intended to be a bit of fun. A website supporting him published a letter addressed to the prince apologising for the incident. Earlier this week some Moroccan bloggers went "on strike", suspending their regular blog entries for 24 hours in protest at Mr. Mourtada's detention. According to the website, he told family members who visited him in jail that he had been blindfolded and beaten unconscious at the time of his arrest.
Apparently using Facebook is dangerous after all. While I can’t imagine such severe punishment in the Western World, there undoubtedly will be some price to pay in severe cases of liable and slander when misusing Facebook and other social media that make it easy to spoof people. ]]> Web 2.0 fails the grade, according to executives tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.914 2008-02-14T05:22:22Z 2008-02-14T06:08:27Z “Collaborative tools are overloading employees and killing productivity—to the tune of $588 billion a year, according to a January study by Basex, a collaboration technologies consulting firm,” writes Brian Watson of CIO Magazine (see Web 2.0: Too Good to Be... Toby Ward http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttobyward.html Web 2.0: Too Good to Be True?). “It’s the money-saving argument that’s getting pushback lately.” Web 2.0 does not deliver the ROI, does not live up the hype, and is not even close to being a top priority for senior management (not all, but most). A CIO Magazines study, Top Technology Priorities for 2008 finds that even techies don’t consider Web 2.0 as a priority. A survey of 250 “top IT executives” from a collection of small, medium and large organizations doesn’t even touch on the issue of Web 2.0. ]]> Intranet 2.0 on the rise, but barely, the deployment and use of Web 2.0 on the corporate intranet has barely advanced in the past two years. Jane McConnell’s Global Intranet Trends Report reveals that very few organizations have implemented or optimized Intranet 2.0 tools for general use in most organizations: • Only 6% have blogs in general use (another 23% have them implemented it in some form) while 45% are still in test mode. • Only 7% have implemented commenting tools (e.g. post a comment to a story on the intranet) in general use (another 35% have implemented it in some form). Still worse, security and privacy are major concerns and a huge barrier to widespread adoption of Web 2.0. An Economist Intelligence Unit for KMPG found that 52% of executives (of 472) say securing and protecting sensitive data was the top barrier to adopting the Web 2.0. It’s not that there isn’t value in Web 2.0 – I believe there’s tremendous value, and I live in breathe it with my blogging – it’s that most companies to don’t agree, don’t see value in it (or are scared by the security experts), aren’t realizing the value, and have better things to do. If Web 2.0 tools are to become common place on the corporate website and intranet (and open to general use by most if not all users and employees), website managers will have to continue to address bigger priorities first, including getting the attention of senior management with reliable intelligence and thorough business cases that support Web 2.0. ]]> Blogs as CMS tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.912 2008-02-12T18:59:25Z 2008-02-12T19:42:36Z As the search for the ever-elusive inexpensive, user-friendly, stable, Web 2.0-applicable content management tool continues, one option to consider is a blogging platform, such as the one I use for this blog and for posting news stories to www.colgate.edu Using... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html news stories to www.colgate.edu Using Movable Type as a content system is one method we're considering for posting the stories and features that appear in our main alumni publication, The Colgate Scene. ]]> We want to build on the interaction that the blog has given us on our news pages and extend it to the stories we do for the magazine. Since we launched the news blog on Oct. 17, we've received 108 comments on our stories. This time period includes a four-week winter break when the number of stories we posted slowed considerably. Since last Monday (Feb. 4), we have received 13 comments on our stories, a particularly busy period. We want to be able to give readers the same ability to comment on our magazine stories that are moved online and continue to build community and interaction with alumni readers. We're in the early stages of this process, so we'll keep you updated as we go. Webcams tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.878 2008-01-14T22:17:22Z 2008-01-14T22:37:00Z Who has time to watch webcams? Apparently, lots and lots of people. At least lots of parents of students currently enrolled at Colgate and lots of alumni who want to stay connected to campus. An effort to reposition our webcams... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html Who has time to watch webcams? Apparently, lots and lots of people. At least lots of parents of students currently enrolled at Colgate and lots of alumni who want to stay connected to campus. An effort to reposition our webcams resulted in a mini-flood of e-mails from cam users who were upset that they were temporarily unavailable, eager to offer suggestions for new vantage points, and then thrilled that they were restored and offering nice, new views. It's been a great exercise in learning how this type of social media tool can really build community among constituents. I've had some great e-mail exchanges with webcam users who feel appreciated, at least I think they do, that we've taken the time to listen to their concerns, and who now feel "plugged in" to campus via our tiny Axis cameras. here.]]> Gmail fun tag:blog.ragan.com,2008:/contentmatters//9.876 2008-01-11T21:30:38Z 2008-01-11T21:47:40Z We're looking at giving our students g-mail accounts that will replace their existing Colgate e-mail accounts. There have been some twists and turns in how this will play out, but the goal is to provide students with a much greater... Tim O'Keeffe http://blog.ragan.com/contentmatters/abouttimothyokeefe.html We're looking at giving our students g-mail accounts that will replace their existing Colgate e-mail accounts. There have been some twists and turns in how this will play out, but the goal is to provide students with a much greater storage capacity than we're able to offer while reducing the server maintenance and upkeep required on our end. One of the interesting conversations concerns how they will access the new e-mail account. A nice option is to develop a new channel on our internal portal that will allow direct access -- and most importantly -- single sign-on to their g-mail accounts. There are server issues here and security issues to consider. But we want to keep everyone using the portal system, and this would be a strong inducement. Another goal: provide a seamless transition from the portal to Facebook. There is an API out there for that, but now we've got to sync that up with our Luminous system. Anybody made the move to student g-mail accounts?