Benjamin's Posterous

At the Apple store in Chicago picking up my new iPad!

The store was crowded and busy and I was quite surprised they had any of the iPads in stock no less the specific model I was looking for. 

After purchasing and opening the device they activated it in the store and I was on my way, leaving the packaging behind.  I will not be taking this thing back.

5 Tech Presentation Tips Learned By Experience

• Close Outlook
  Many times I have seen someone giving a presentation or application demo via projector while leaving their Outlook notifications turned on, alerting them and everyone in the room of every incoming message.  If left unchecked, this can also be used by attendees to place prank messages on the presenter's screen.  Funny but distracting.

• Clear Browser History
  Regardless of whether or not your presentation requires the use of your web browser, you still may have the unexpected need to pull up an online document or site.  While the audience may be both entertained and interested in your most recently visited sites while your typing in that URL, it will just distract from your message... and cause embarrassment.

• Have an Offline Backup
  If access to the Internet/Network is critical during your presentation, have a backup plan ready for when that connection fails.  Screenshots in a PowerPoint file can work just fine and will allow you to continue delivering your message without much delay.

• Guard Your PowerPoint File
  One day, before a company presentation on Internal Knowledge Organization, I left my computer unattended and unlocked for a few minutes.  When I returned and began the presentation, I saw, as did my audience that many of my slide titles were terribly mis-spelled.  Embarrassed, I apologized for my bad spelling and pressed on.  After about three slides I realized that it was a prank and that most in the room had been in on it.  We all had a good laugh about it but I always lock my computer now.

• Check Batteries, Cables and Plugs
  This may sound trivial, but as nerves start to set in before that big presentation we tend to forget the simplest things.   The computer should be charged and the power cable handy.  The wireless mouse and laser pointer should have new batteries.  An extra network cable or VGA cable might come in handy as well.   

Of Lifestreaming and Multiple Personalities

Whether or not we realize it, the more we participate in online social media, the more we are lifestreaming.  While the benefits of connecting with the people around us on the Internet are significant the more we share the more we realize that what we share has different audiences.

In a recent post by Steve Rubel, he discussed the art of maintaining two distinct online personas, one public and one private.  The public persona is managed and driven via services such as Twitter that generally make information available without authentication.  Services such as Facebook on the other hand, can be used to target lifestreaming data to a controlled audience.

While many say that one should seek to merge these personas and not worry about the audience, this does not mimic reality.  Nearly everyone's actions are self-goverened depending on their immediate group.  Things said within a family may not be appropriate for sharing with colleagues.  What is shared with friends may not be necessary to share with family members.  Structuring our online presence in this same way feels natural and follows existing social constructs.

That being said, many online services do not make this separation easy to manage, if available at all.  Facebook has tools available for managing privacy and grouping contacts, but the implementation seems a little complicated and incomplete. Twitter, Flickr, Last.fm, FriendFeed and the like however encourage openness.

My efforts to evolve my lifestream are in their infancy and I have much to explore and learn.  Moving forward I will be looking for ways to effectively manage these multiple personalities.  Any suggestions?

Meet my Mii, Ben

Lifestream Mapping

For a while now I have been considering how best make use of all of the incredible services available for Lifestreaming.  However, as I began to publish more, I realized that I was not only duplicating my efforts but also duplicating my content on various services.   This problem grew almost exponentially as I signed onto new services and I found myself spending far too much time managing each individually.    

While I still connect to many sites directly, Posterous is greatly simplifying the publishing of content to various services and is acting as a central location for much of that content.    To further organize myself in this Lifestreaming endeavor, I decided to map out my approach in Visio.

The primary goals in planning my Lifestream are:

• Consolidate stream inputs

• Reduce duplicates in the stream

• Increase stream outputs

Avoiding the "Edsel" Implementation

Large software implementations require planning, time and resources. The process begins when companies recognize deficiencies in their current systems and desire a change.   After selecting the software, allocating the time and acquiring the resources, they bring in the Consultant.  The role of the Consultant can be both demanding and rewarding, and the end result can either be a success or a solution that satisfies everyone but pleases no one, the Edsel. 

In the late 1950's the Ford Motor Company created a new brand, the Edsel.  Designed to introduce a new type of car to the American consumer it is now perceived as one of the auto industry's largest blunders.  What started out to be and energetic initiative failed quickly and publically in its implementation and execution.  While there are many theories and even more finger-pointing as to the cause of the failure, three key problems parallel the world of software implementations. 

The result must address a specific need

Ford initially planned the Edsel brand to fill a perceived gap between their Mercury and Ford brands but ended up competing with their other offerings.  This not only exhausted company resources by duplicating existing efforts, but failed to fill a specific customer need.   Customers were left confused and ultimately declined to accept the new product, favoring the more familiar and functional products instead.

At the onset of planning software implementations, the need must be clearly identified and addressed.  If replacing old systems, the new systems must for example, increase efficiency while decreasing maintenance.  They must extend current capabilities or increase participation.  If adding to current systems, the implementation must properly integrate and communicate with older systems without duplicating their processes.

Timing is everything

Along with poor product placement and questionable designs, the Edsel was introduced during a period of significant economic downturn.  Had other factors not been realized, this alone would have posed a threat to the success of the new brand.

The parallel here is that the introduction of new software systems must be timed appropriately within an organization’s calendar.   For example, scheduling an implementation before or after seasons of peak business activity may minimize production distractions and lessen the risk of over-burdening key resources (people).  For software implementations, slower economic cycles can be seen as opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of existing business processes in preparation for economic rebound.

Customers must remain in focus

Had customers been kept closer during the design and review of the Edsel line, Ford may have been able to respond with needed revisions or even delay the release all together.  As it turned out, despite some innovative product ideas, customers were generally not attracted to the new car and did not identify with its placement within the carmaker’s family.

The success of a major software implementation in an organization depends heavily on the buy-in from our customers, the users.  Understanding the users and how they work and then incorporating that into the final design is imperative to gaining acceptance and meeting requirements.