Jeff's Zone 2

More about persistent chat from the folks at IMRoadmap

IMRoadmap has published a few posts about persistent group chat and its use in knowledge management: Chat is knowledge management, and more on persistence and knowledge management. Both good reads.

A lot of this thinking mirrors some ideas put forth in a recent McKinsey Quarterly article on the value of tacit interactions and commented on by Nick Fera recently. We think that this article really sums up why persistent group chat has proven to be so valuable in the world of financial services (key words: "has proven") and also shows how it can be beneficial in other industries.

Some recent coverage on MindAlign 2007

Here are a few recent articles on Parlano and MindAlign:

Sandra Guy from the Chicago Sun Times wrote a story on Parlano last week.

Patrick Hoffman from eWeek published a story on MindAlign 2007 that has good thoughts from IDC, Forrester, and Microsoft.

Speaking of great coverage, Michael Sampson posted some great thoughts on our recently published white paper on persistent group chat.  He makes great points and I am very happy to get feedback like this. I am going to post a few thoughts on his comments in the next day or so, but I think its a great conversation to be part of. 

Parlano MindAlign 2007!

As I mentioned last week, we have just launched MindAlign 2007!

MindAlign 2007 represents a significant advance in the MindAlign family of products and includes complete integration with Micorosft LCS 2005 (including message management for group chat, and not just IM/presence as in previous releases) and the industry's first federated persistent group chat capability utilizing SIP/SIMPLE. Other new features include a sleek new user interface, increased user configuration options, advanced high-availability features, simplified compliance architecture, and more advanced security configuration tools.

Integration with LCS provides unified identity management, protection from spam and viruses, and word filtering with other Microsoft products. With upcoming support for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, MindAlign 2007 users will be able to easily transition between different forms of communication, such as voice, web conferencing, and video conferencing, directly within MindAlign, making it an important part of a unified communications solution and providing strong validation for the Microsoft UC vision.

Some key new features and capabilities of MindAlign 2007:

• Sleek new interface – Vibrant design elements, emoticons, configurable contact lists, and a thin-format "channel-only" view.
• Improved user configuration – More powerful filters, alerts and folder management capabilities.
• High-availability architecture – Unlimited scalability through a peer-to-peer architecture that eliminates single points of failure and supports hot backup/recovery.
• Simplified compliance – Simplified adapter framework that integrates solutions from all the major compliance vendors and provides easy enforcement of "ethical walls" for highly regulated industries.
• Enhanced security administration – New administration console, increased integration with Microsoft Active Directory, and channel categorization, permitting fine-grained access to group chat channels and automated group invites.
• Integration with MindAlign Mobile – The first mobile client for persistent group chat available for Windows Mobile® devices.

Also, if you haven't checked it out, we recently published a new white paper on persistent group chat. I am anxious for feedback!

Twitter? You have to be joking

Someone told me the other day that Twitter is getting a lot of media attention these days. So, I went to check it out, and.....

Are you kidding me?

I mean, c'mon. I really want to get a bunch of  messages all day long telling me what a bunch of strangers and friends are doing and thinking? Like I really want to know what everyone is doing every other minute? Do I have time for this?

I didn't think anything of it until I came across this article by Rachel Metz from AP which seems to verify what I initially thought.

Hey, I got a better idea. I'll set up a website that arranges for your phone to ring every 5 minutes. Sound fun? Sign me up.

I mean, seriously. Someone PLEASE leave a comment on my blog and tell me what I am missing.

I wouldn't be all up in arms over this if it wasn't for the fact that some people are calling this "chat" and for someone trying so hard to demonstrate ways in which web-based chat can really be useful and not kill productivity.... well, this just hits a nerve.

That said, consider my mind open.... please, someone, tell me what I am missing here! I really want to get it. If you convince me I promise to tell you what I am doing every 5 minutes for the next week. Not!

P.S. speaking of chat that makes a difference.... we just announced MindAlign 2007 this week! More on this shortly.

IMRoadmap comments on the value of "persistence" in group chat

Eric Kristoff at IMRoadmap has a great post on the value of persistence in group chat.

I especially like the conclusion:

Group chat goes beyond simple one-on-one instant messaging and establishes that place of congregation around which a community can form. Persistence is what makes it feel like the community is around to stay.

This is a good read for anyone interested in hearing about the value of persistent group chat (versus IM) from the people who pioneered its use in the enterprise.

Ironman California 70.3: Race Report

Just got back from San Diego where I competed in my first triathlon of the season: Ironman California 70.3 (a Half Ironman). Overall it was a good day. I finished in 5:54 which is slower than I had hoped, but as the first race of the season my main goal was to keep fit over the winter and assess my status at the beginning of the season, and with those goals in mind the race was a success. Here is a breakdown of my day and some thoughts:

Swim: The water temperature is usually quite cold (around 55 degrees F) however Saturday it was warmer: 60 degrees. It was actually warmer than the air temp at the start. That meant that it was not as much of a shock to the system when I got into the water (a good thing). I ended up completing the 1.2 mile swim in just over 35 minutes, which is not a super time relatively speaking but is a PR for me in a half ironman swim. I actually found the start to be more hectic than Ironman (read: I got kicked and pounded a lot) but that was OK… just need to put that out of your mind and swim. The return leg was tough because it was right into the sun. Makes you think how amazing the pros are at open water swimming given they don't get to follow the crowd like I could!

Bike: This was a touch bike course (lots of hills along the 56 miles, including 3 nasty climbs). I don't think I have driven hills that bad in the last few years, let alone cycled them! But, I was very encouraged by the ride. My legs felt stronger at the end of the ride than usual so I definitely improved biking fitness over the winter. I finished in approximately 3:05 which again is not stellar but just about what I expected this early in the season with this type of course (note: this was the first ride outside since NOVEMBER!!! All my other rides over the winter were on a computrainer) On a few of the climbs I could feel my back tighten up, and that meant….

Run: Ouch, lower back spasms. My run was disappointing. I had hoped to do the half marathon in something in the 1:45 range but a mile into the run I could feel my back in pain and knew I needed to just grit it out and survive the day. It was a shame because I could feel that my legs were strong and I was not overly exerted. The run was a double out and back along the ocean and it was really awesome. But, by then I was pretty much suffering. I finished the run in 2:05, way off my goal and PR. But, there wasn't much I could do…

I do have a couple special thanks:

First to my family (immediate and extended) for coming out to cheer me along. That was awesome, and much needed along the run!

Second to the other folks with Multisport Madness (my triathlon club) for cheering me on along the course.

Third… and this is a long story…. But the day before the race I lost my wallet along the boardwalk in Oceanside during a warmup run. It was in my tri suit. Big mistake. In addition to losing cash and credit cards, I lost my only picture ID, and that would have prevented me from completing my registration. Fortunately, the folks running the event were able to verify my identity and let me register. And, thankfully, another triathlete found my wallet and returned it to the event organizers later in the day. I won't publish his name for privacy reasons, but to the guy that returned my wallet rather than just ignoring it on the sidewalk… THANK YOU!!!!!!Note to files: this is not a good way to spend the day before a race… in the future I won't take my wallet on a run!

Overall, I am pleased with the result. A half Ironman is a hard race, and should never be under-estimated. I am satisfied to finish and assess where I stand for the next big push into the season. Now on to Memphis in May!!