Collaboration, even simple collaboration, seems to make people feel closer

We have a Aussie Rules Footy tipping competition running for the company. The system is a Domino database that allows our customers to register for the competition (the prize is an iPod) and then tip on a weekly basis. Each week reminder emails are automatically sent out and people need to submit their weekly tips before the cut off date and time. They can then see what everyone else has tiped and where they are on the ladder etc. It is a pretty simple system that was just whacked together but it does a really good job.

It is really pretty cool and we have developed quite a following of customers and friends that tip every week. The competition is hotly contested and monday morning conversations are often about who tiped the best this round. It is pretty exciting. Many emails and messages bounce around with people braging or commenting that they pipped someone on the tipping.

An interesting thing that I have noticed is how the whole process seems to bring us all closer, customers, our staff, and friends. This simple bit of collaboration means that we all have more in common. My sister Georgi lives interstate and while we are still very close we don't get to see each other often enough. We are also pretty slack on the phone calls and even emails updating each other. So this year Georgi joined the tipping competition (she wants the iPod bad.) and while I am sure I will beat her (she is ahead at the moment but it is early season yet) the great thing is that it is encouraging us to chat more. Even just that simple email saying "good tipping" seems to make it feel as though we are closer and that being interstate isn't really an issue. Our Dad has joined the competition as well which is great. (P.S. To Georgi... You still owe me that money for the shoes;)

Extend this simple collaboration to how we work with people and collaborate every day. Products like Sametime and Groove mean that we have an awareness of who is online. We can see where they are (in the office, at home, on the road etc) and we can instantly interact with them. We can connect to people far easier than we ever have before, share resources, work together and generally collaborate. Even though they maybe 1000's of miles away they seem to be closer. I have experienced this feeling with many people around the world now, many of whom I have never actually met face to face. Even though I still consider them good friends. I think that if organisations can take advantage of this capability it can only encourage greater collaboration and teamwork across teams and boundaries. This can only be for the better. 

Sametime 7.5 New Features Tour

I just can't wait for Sametime 7.5 to be released. Since IBM announced the new features etc at Lotusphere in Orlando this year I have been looking forward to the beta release. As soon as it is available we will be into it.

As well as the 100's of new features the most exciting news is the fact that it is built on the Eclipse Framework. As such the Sametime client will be extensible. In simple terms this means that 3rd parties, such as us, will be able to build plugins for the product and extend its capability. We have some ideas floating around that I don't really want to give away but essentially it is about leverage the real time capability of sametime into other applications such as MS Office. The potential for collaboration tools is just awesome.

Summary of the new features:

• Brand New modern user interface with great new features.
• Place Awareness. ie When I am logged on at home people will know where I am.
• Emoticons, Spell Check, Time Stamps. Maybe these are little but they add a lot to the experience.
• Apparently it is brandable. I have yet to see this though.
• Fantastic improvements to the web conferencing. I was playing with Microsoft's Live Meeting Server the other day and was very impressed in that it was far more user friendly than Sametime Web Conferencing. However I think IBM will trump Microsoft again with Sametime Web Conferecing 7.5
• Streamlined meeting startup. This has always been a sore point with Sametime particularly when having external parties join the meetings. Hopefully all the JVM compatability issues will be resolved.
• Integration with VOIP & telephone vendors.

Anyway have a look at the tour of the new release and let me know what you think. 

Quality of Wiki contents

An often asked question regarding Wiki's is:

"So if anyone can update the content what stops people putting up misleading comments or incorrect information on a topic?".

It is a really good question that I also thought about. Today I noticed a great example of what prevents this kind of abuse happening. On wikipedia.org there is a topic about Lotus Notes. It has heaps of info on the history, use, and future of the product. It was noted however that some people had been rather negative and opinionated on the entry rather than objectively explaining the products (good and bad of it). While this did happen the interesting result was that before long many other people had read the entry and it was very quickly corrected with more factual and accurate information.

So the answer to the question is in fact the real power of the Wiki concept. A Wiki allows people to correct others errors. Off course there may be some disputes but these seem to work themselves out pretty quickly when people start being objective rather than expressing personal opinion. 

Your personal DNA Report

I came across this web site that will analyse your personal DNA (character I guess). Only takes about 5 minutes.

Apparently I am an Animated Leader that should consider taking some more time to day dream. I think I will leave day dreaming for when I am old!

My Personal Dna Report

Check it out and analyse yourself. 

Mind Mapping

I regularly use a product called MindJet MindManager. I think this tool is simply awesome. My typical use is for writing proposals and performing requirements analysis but it can equally be used for brain storming and strategic planning etc. The tool enables you to very quickly flesh out a framework for the document you are creating and then you basically fill in the gaps.

I was using it this morning with a colleague to prepare a proposal for a Lotus Notes development. Tim basically drafted the MindMap up with his thoughts on the project. You basically create blobs of information and then link them together into some structure. How often when writing a document do you think of another area that you need to document but then forget to add it later. With a mind map you just create the blob, give it a title, and then later on you drag it into the appropriate place in the document.

Here is an example of what I mean:



Each blob (node might be a better term I guess) represents a heading in the document. You then add Notes to each node and your document takes shape. If you want to change the structure you just drag the nodes around the screen. Once you are happy you just export it as a Word document and you are done.

You can use MindMaps for far more than just what I use it for. Steve Richards (which is where I first came across the product) uses it for book reviews amongst other things.

Now the ultimate feature for this product would be to enable 2 or more users to update the MindMap in real time over a network or the net. We typically send the map back and forth in an asynchronous manner. We use Groove Virtual office to do this which is probably another discussion on another day.