Blueprints

Some days after IBM released our Social Computing Guidelines, Sun Micro has done the same.  They too have moved from ‘policy’ to ‘guidelines.’  Do I sense a trend here in the world of social computing practices?  Yes.  Is this something your organization should be considering?  Yes. This goes beyond affirming your culture and leadership to conveying best practices for effective communications.  I suggest you give both a good read.     

Three years after we released our Blogging Guidelines, and once again created through IBM employee blog and wiki collaboration, the new IBM Social Computing Guidelines have just been published.  As participation in social platforms has grown by IBMers, both inside the company and out, it became clear that having disconnected Blogging Guidelines, Podcasting Guidelines, Wiki Guidelines etc. was no longer an effective way to share best practices.  These all needed to be pulled together into one document covering all of the current, and hopefully some future, platform publishing practices.  Self publishing is simply that, self publishing.  It made sense to consolidate.

This was a fantastic collaborative effort and the result is, in my mind, a reflection of some forward thinking. IBMers are on Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, and are on a wide variety of internal tools as well, publishing at rapid pace.  Having a clear and understandable set of guidelines will only help us all to understand this new freedom as we connect with the world.  My thanks to all involved in the creation of this new document.

Very cool blogging / Cinch undertaking happening right now.  Harald Fuchs is an IBMer currently traversing the polar ice cap in Greenland.  He has no access to the world outside beyond a satellite phone, yet has been using Cinch to call in reports of his travels and experiences.  Adam Christensen of IBM has been keeping the world updated through a blog called Greenland Crossing that has proven to be very interesting. I recommend a visit to the site, a listen to the recordings in the right nav, and heck, while you are at it, go check out how cool Cinch is.

Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson have just published (May 5th) an interview with Jon Iwata, Senior Vice President of Communications at IBM Corp (my employer).  The subject of the conversation is centered on the recent study done by the Arthur Page Society entitled The Authentic Enterprise (mentioned in this blog in the past).  I would strongly suggest you give this podcast a listen  to catch a glimpse into how Jon views the evolving world of Corporate Communications. 

In an effort to inspire IBMers to learn how to shoot, edit and publish audio and video, and in an effort to get them using our internal Media Library (for publishing, tracking, subscribing etc), our team has launched a few media contests over the years.  Nothing like an opportunity to create fun content mixed with the promise of cool prizes to get people worked up and participating. These contests work here at IBM, and accomplish all of the above while also getting employees thinking about the particular issues buried in the themes of these seemingly innocent games.  I could go on about other value these contests bring (amazing how different geographis react and participate in these contests), but I’m leading to a whole different point here.

A new contest is in its final days here. One that was launched by some folks outside of my team.  They are doing a ‘green’ contest, looking for employee stories about what IBMers are doing at home or in the workplace to make a difference in helping to behave more responsibily in regard to our environment.  It got me thinking about the kind of video I would make (if I were allowed to compete).

My initial assumption was that I am not doing enough for the environment and would not have a very compelling story to tell.  Then, as the days passed and I found myself thinking about it more, I realized I have enacted a whole bunch of things that are surely making a dent.  The following is my self-serving laundry list of positive actions I’m taking to make a difference in my world for our world.

Been buying / using those damned annoying eco-lightbulbs.  Getting used to them as well as relying on natural light more…

Public transportation has become the norm for all of my frequent NYC trips.  I walk to do quick and simple errands when home

Using the internet for my banking/bill paying and have reduced paper use considerably by going electronic in general

I stopped using supermarket bags, paper or plastic, and have a set of my own cloth ones I re-use

Family meat/dairy consumption has been halved and is now only the free-range organic / non-antibiotic or hormone style. Personally I’m basically a vegetarian.

Dish and laundry soap is now ‘eco-friendly’ Seventh Generation brand

I spend more time trying to fix things as opposed to just throwing out and buying new

In general, I pay much closer attention to choices now and figure that every little thing I do differently will add up over time and make a difference.  I’m sure I’m forgetting some things in the list above, but you get the idea.  Sometimes it’s the little things.

So, they did it.  iTunes became the top music retailer today.  A sad thing for me, a child of the 7” singles era, but no great surprise.  I have only just begun to shop there and have only just learned how to make it work for me.

Although I am now in posession of my 7th portable media device over the last 10 years, I have only just recenty succumbed to making content purchases on iTunes.  How have I made it through the past decade without performing online content purchases?  Well, I have a massive collection of CD’s and I record a ton of content on TV, specifically Late-Night talk show music guests.  Transferring that treasure trove into my devices has been a great experience over the years, but the novelty is wearing thin. I’m getting sick of my physical collection.

So why iTunes? Well, for one, I’ve moved to consuming all of my content on a Nano and an iPhone (sorry good old Zune).  Nano for the car, iPhone for all other times.  This, naturally, has me managing my content in iTunes… the temptaion is there to buy… they got me with their sexy little devices.  But it was a horrible experience attempting to learn how to shop on iTunes in a way that works for me.  Like, I would say a three month learning curve.  It was exhausing and frustrating.  I wondered if I would ever get to like it at all.  It is simply not built for people like me, the ones who spend an hour in the CD shop going through every single bin hunting for that one true gem.  It was designed for mass consumption of mediocre label-driven hit artists.  Surely, just like the CD shop, I could figure out how to get around the end-displays and find the gold, right?

Well, I finally found my groove.  It requires some patience and is not what I would wish for the ultimate experience, but it’s working for me right now.  Here’s how I attack…

1) I’ve learned to love shopping for only the one-to-three songs per album that I would ever have listened to if I had purchased the full CD anyway.  I look at it as saving big $ per album with the single tunes only costing a very fair .99 apiece.

2) I have tapped into the free podcast offerings and have been pleasantly surprised.

3) I’m enjoying the free cable TV programs, and have even purchased a few TV shows - perfect length and mood for a short train ride into Manhattan.

4) Movies on my iPhone have become a regular thing.  I have not rented yet, but silly films (ones that do not require the full movie screen IMO) for $10 is perfect, plus my kids can watch them too when they want.  Hot Rod is a perfect example.  Who would go to a theater for that?

5) Search works, recommendations works, the library of music is extensive, and artists with long and varied careers can be mined very effectively. 

6) I dig the ‘recently added’ and ‘new’ functions on certain pages.

There you have it.  I’m one of the folks who has made the move.  I openly admit it.  I am not ashamed.

I sat on a panel at a Public Relations Society of America gathering last night. The topic of the conversation was ‘Must-Use Technologies’ with a focus on the free and inexpensive. Without going through all of these items listed below and explaining what makes them so valuabe to me, I will say just this… each and every one of these things help me do my job everyday in regard to media content concept, creation, and delivery. Some are inspirational, some are simple software tools, some just extremely handy gadgets. Dive into the links if you are interested at all and feel free to ask questions about any of them.

Free:

Authentic Enterprise

IBM Blogging Guidelines

Audacity

Windows Movie Maker

Word Press

Google Reader

Blog Talk Radio

Common Craft Plain English

Inexpensive:

Alesis USB Mic Kit

Sony Fontopia Headphones

Sony MPEG4 Net Sharing Cam

Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio

Audio-Technica 2020 microphone

Electrovoice RE50B

Adobe Photoshop Elements

Mid-priced:

Marantz PMD 660

Nikon D40

JK Audio Inline Patch

iPhone

I guess this may be unnecessary but, I just wanted to point out a few of my favorite blogs - all of which can be found in the right nav of this blog home page.  Kudos to the not-updated-enough Devastationalist Manifesto.  My hands-down favorite.  Philip Shelley is a mad genius and fantastic writer.  Kudos as well to All Us Christensens, a ‘mommy-blog’ comprised of brilliant photography and wise and well written words.  A new favorite is Post Secret which may be a bit painful to read and consume, but gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that reality (sic) TV never does.  Lastly, a shout out to Wonderwebby who creates blogs of a personal flavor sprinkled with an insightful admission that yes, many of us juggle between work and family. 

I may find myself being pulled deeper and deeper into the blogosphere as the coming months unfold.  Based on the amazing sites listed above, I welcome it.

Every few weeks I’ll draft an updated statement on the status of the podcasting initiative at IBM and our current thinking.  Here is a short bit from this week:

Internal podcasting, media publishing and file sharing at IBM

The podcasting initiative at IBM was launched not only in an effort to enhance traditional forms of internal communications such as procedural enterprise knowledge-sharing and news delivery, but to expose our vast community of diverse experts to one another in a more immediate and personal way. Launching the platform provided us with the ability to enhance and support our deep culture, the intellectual power of our collective minds, and awarded us the unique benefits of social networking where the discovery of information and subject-matter authorities became possible through just a few clicks. Our intranet was transformed from being a set of content destinations and controlling structures to becoming a center of gravity where employees could not only easily find, consume and reuse the media files posted by their peers, but engage in open and visible discussion with their peers about the facts and information discovered within the files.

Providing IBM employees with the ability to freely self-publish on our intranet and to openly discuss issues raised through the programs was a powerful shift ever in our communications practices and employees embraced it immediately. They felt trusted and empowered to openly be the experts they were hired to be. In many regards, legacy employees are deeply impressed with the shift, and new employees jump in effortlessly and enthusiastically, as if this form of social activity were expected and natural to them. When employees find content created by their fellow IBMers offered in real-time and without the constraints of editorial calendar parameters, the content is accepted, shared and promoted in exciting and viral ways. IBMers go looking for it, it is most often not delivered through official means. They are more attracted to it and are more likely to share it with others. They post comments more freely and really get to the heart of the subject at hand, sorting through the issues and pulling in others they know may add value to the conversation. Networks begin to evolve, relationships build, culture is enhanced.

The IBM Media Library has had 5 million downloads to-date, and has had over 187,000 unique IBM visitors. It hosts approximately 17,000 media files. Content hosted on the Media Library that is embedded into intranet news stories is enormously successful and generates large hit numbers sending these particular stories into the top 10 view lists consistently. We host and support education around creating content in low-cost new media style but with a serious focus on content to maximize effectiveness and this strategy has worked out extremely well. Our intranet now favors agility and relationships over stability and authority… a radical shift, but valuable, and certainly very Web 2.0 

For some odd reason, I get some of my greatest ideas while in the shower.  Don’t know if anyone else experiences this, or if I’m just an odd duck.  Kind of reminds me of some of the creative thinking I used to do during my stint as a long-distance runner many years ago. Quiet times of repetetive manual chores bringing out some fun ideas.

Anyway, when podcasting was first introduced here at IBM I felt compelled to come up with content to publish quickly.  I wanted to do so many things…  it was as if I had been handed a dream assignment. I really love getting to be creative and this was a chance to shine.

As you would assume, there was a need to work on some deep knowledge-sharing content, and programs to help spotlight interesting and compelling IBMers from our vast employee-base.  This is good practice and essential to any large enterprise attempting to enhance its communications methods beyond traditional print forms.  But it was not enough for me.  I wanted to reach everyone somehow…  all 300,000 plus here at IBM, and I wanted something that would make a splash globally.

A former professional musician, I had met many IBMers throughout the years with similar backgrounds.  People who had written, recorded and published their own music that they ‘owned’ and controlled outright.  I had been talking to one of the principal owners of the IBM Club - an organization that manages and provides employees with some fun activities and events - about what seemed to drum up the most interest in their world.  Her answer surprised me.  They had repeated success holding contests.  Like huge success.  Specifically, contests where the employees submitted art that they had created such as paintings, sculpture and photography.  She also mentioned how massively popular ‘pet contests’ were.  Funny really, but let’s face it, people love their pets and a chance to submit a cute photo to share with a potential 300,000+ group just pulled them in. Maybe I could do something like this with music…

Another thought had been nagging at me.  My phone was ringing off the hook, and my email exploding with audio recording and podcast library/publishing platform questions.  I not only needed to create a fun podcast series with a community slant, but needed to make the series enticing enough to get as many audio-savvy folks possible aware that there was now a podcast library and publishing tool they could use.  They could prove to be outstanding ambassadors to spread the word about this new self-publishing platform here at IBM.

Back to the shower…  deep thinking…  wait for it….  rinse…. repeat….

The IBM Battle of the Bands was born.  I figured, why not give it a try and see what happens?  Perfect scenario… people get to ’show off’ their art, communities form around certain groups based on geography, business unit, friendship, etc, and to vote, you needed to go to the Library, use the comment field, and you just had to subscribe to see what would happen the following week (winners would advance at least once).  I used my own band in the first episode, pitted against The Ethan Rand Band (featuring my friend Ethan who happens to be an IBMer), and I sent out a couple of emails and posted one internal blog about it.

 Word spread quickly.  IBM musicians sniffed this thing out and started submitting songs.  Bands began coming in from all corners of the world.  There was passion in the voting, in the commenting on the pages, it accomplished everything I had hoped it would and more and ran for 31 weeks. 

Why this lengthy post?  I speak with so many folks who have social platforms but just cannot figure out how to make them enticing and fun, and generally don’t want them to be fun at all.  I argue that they simply may never get mass adoption and interest beyond what their traditional methods are already accomplishing if they cannot offer a bit more than the standard old fare.  It’s a scary thought to me to pretend you are doing things in a social manner, yet you are overlooking entertaining opportunities for education and community spirit enhancement.  Just my opinion. 

I’ll fill you in on what I did a few months later that took this idea to the video level.  One hint, it was not based around rock & roll.  It was dreamed up in the shower though.