MiramarMike.co.nz blog

So Tweets Are The New Thing To Steal

2009-11-10T09:19:00.002+13:00

It used to be blog posts but, hey, thieves have gotta get with the times as well you know!

Open Letter To All New Zealand Google Apps Resellers

2009-11-03T14:18:00.008+13:00

Have recently sent the following to all NZ-based Google Apps resellers.

In the spirit of openess AND knowing the current list probably doesn't cover everyone:

SUBJECT: NZ Google Apps eco-system wants you

You're a Google Apps re-seller and I work for one (WaveAdept based here in Wellington)

This would normally mean in the NZ IT/tech industry we should only ever see each other over the fence of competing RFPs
However, I believe Google Apps users within NZ are suffering from a lack of local support, information and "mates to call upon".
There are also myths galore ("What if NZ loses its one Internet cable to the world"), misrepresentation ("Google Apps is just not allowed within the NZ Government agencies) and plain old "who knew that?!" ("Wow, I didn't know Google was more than search!?")

Whilst Google can provide a swag of information it is up to us, the local representatives, to mould this collateral to suit our particular audience.
Unfortunately I don't think New Zealand resellers (big or small) are doing this particularly well, hence the ongoing issues/views people have of Google Apps.

Yeah, so what are we doing about it?
One small step to help address this was to create two (free & independent) online groups aimed, primarily, at NZ Google App re-sellers such as yourself but also existing and new users:
LinkedIn: NZ Google Apps
Google Group: NZ Google Apps
(there's also an associated Twitter List if that floats your boat, ask and you shall be added :-)

What was the point in that?
Whilst I believe the market here in NZ will be big enough for all, the market is currently small and stifled in its growth (see above).

This doesn't take away the great work all re-sellers are trying to do, we just need a period of focussing some of the "base" education and knowledge.

Why should I ("what's in it for me")?
Well, if grasping at every opportunity and making them your own is the approach then probably you'll see nothing in it for you.
However, if we can't serve the current NZ-based Google Apps community I question how on earth we can grow the market to the benefit of us all!

And other vendors are going to have a far more concerted approach come the new year (think Microsoft rallying it's already present eco-system and you understand the challenge).

To answer the question: because it will help grow the market.

But isn't that Google's job
Yes, ultimately a local Google Apps presence from Google will need to be more permanent, vocal and sustained.
However, are you willing to wait until NZ is big enough to make a blip in the Googleplex - no, neither am I.

And don't forget that these online groups have already had some official Google input.
The more active, engaged and connected they are the more active and engaged will be Google.

But isn't this just a WaveAdept self-promotion gig?
I work for WaveAdept but this is not a WaveAdept run initiative.
But hey, let's be honest WaveAdept are already up and running in the groups and will gain as much commercial benefit from growing the Google Apps market as you and all the other vendors.

In order to alleviate any perceived benefit of my workplace I will, a) never use my WaveAdept detailss; b) share ownership of the groups with someone else ... you?

I'm also posting this email (without your name, of course) on my MiramarMike.co.nz blog as an open letter to all to join and share the facilitation/ownership.

OK, now what?
Sign-up:
LinkedIn: NZ Google Apps
Google Group: NZ Google Apps
And then be as brave as you care sharing the problems, solving the issues and asking the big questions.
You will have full edit rights to the groups and be able to invite whoever you want.

And finally from a purely commercial stance, we're always looking to extend our re-seller partnerships throughout NZ, Dave at WaveAdept is the person to talk with (gotta keep myself outta all that :-)

Cheers, Mike Riversdale

tel: +64 (0)21-169 1359
Skype: mike.riversdale
email: mike.riversdale@miramarmike.co.nz
web: http://www.miramarmike.co.nz
---------
MiramarMike.co.nz - Connecting people to people via information

Great Company Name With Top Logo

2009-11-03T10:27:00.003+13:00

From an email correspond to the The Register ("Biting the hand that feeds IT")

Consumer vs Corporate - The Power Has Long Moved From One To The Other

2009-10-20T13:37:00.005+13:00

One of my long time and constant sayings about the sea shift within IT Departments of corporates/Government agencies around New Zealand is that they have not grasped that the power has long moved from them to the consumer world.

Back in the day the only people with enough money to afford computers were very large organisations and these electronic beasties performed very specific (usually batch orientated) computational work that, to be honest, no-one outside of these organisations really cared about ... except on pay day.

In the 1980s companies, such as Microsoft, could see that this computing power was becoming cheaper and cheaper as well as smaller and smaller and quickly jumped on board to supply software to this burgeoning massive market - smaller organisations.

It wasn't long (late 1980s and into the 1990s) before every organisation worth its salt had a computer, normally one with Microsoft software running. But this was still the corporate world, you still went to the office to use a computer which, frankly, were still performing the sort of boring-ass functionality that the normal person had no need of at home - spreadsheet budgeting anyone?

And then the sea change happened.

Two things, I believe have slowly, but with exponentially increasing pace, shifted the power out of the corporate world and into our homes:

Gaming
The Web

Initially gaming was limited to a select few and the Web was for geeks.

But we all know where it is now - ubiquitous machines doing computational work for the consumers ("games" initially but also music, movies, streaming videos) and services ("social networking" anyone?) being delivered over the web. Both these high volume and non-corporate needs are still viewed as "playing" and nothing to do with "serious work" - ask about getting a blog inside your work and see what they say! Well, see what they say in NZ at least ;-)

The consumers now demand that computers do things for themselves and on a scale and a speed of delivery that no organisation has ever dreamed of. And because the demand is from the consumer ("real people") it is "of the people" and the people are then going to work of a Monday and demanding they have the same from their corporate computer world.

This is the power shift in action.

NZ companies are struggling with it.

NZ IT staff are really REALLY struggling with it.

But NZ companies/government departments will catch-up, those that grasp the nettle early and with determination are likely to be the leaders in the future. Those that are already engaging with this consumer world of IT are ahead of those that aren't. Those IT staff that "get it" and up skilling themselves, fitting it into their world view are going to survive.

Those that believe it's a "fad" will struggle, big time.

And it seems Microsoft has been one of those that has struggled.

They are of the corporate world and are struggling with the fact that the power has shifted from them. I could not explain that better than FakeSteve's post, "Why the Borg's copycat business model no longer works":

Another difference was the customer set. In the old days you were talking about selling to corporate America, and consumers just followed suit -- remember the marketing shit about how you want the same stuff at home that you have at the office? Selling to corporates was easy. You have lots of levers you can pull to make them do what you want and pay what you tell them to. We all had a playbook -- we just studied what IBM had been doing for decades, and we copied them. (Larry stopped and chuckled a little bit when he said this, and for a moment just stared out the window with this glazed, happy expression on his face.) The Borg's other customer set were hardware OEMs. Again, easy to coerce, and no messy dealing with end users. Perfect.

But on the Web things changed -- now you were selling to consumers, and the Borg had no way to coerce or control consumers the way they could coerce corporate accounts.

Other posts around this "change for IT Depts":

In Christchurch Next Week - Love To Talk Google With Us?

2009-10-19T12:41:00.006+13:00

As part of WaveAdept's drive to create an "ecosystem" of Google Apps users around New Zealand two of us are on the road from next week.

First call, Christchurch - Thursday 29th / Friday 30th, October

With any collaboration discussion and particularly the breadth offered by Google Apps the discussions can be wide ranging and so we are targeting our time around the following topics:

What the hell is Google Apps?
How can it help my business and how much does it cost ($70/user/year!)
We already use it but not sure we're getting the most value out of it, now what?
I know/use it personally and know my work would benefit but ... how do they get it?

Of course, like all the best conversations nothing is written in stone so don't hold back :-)

We've deliberately left time for those that we don't know to get some free time with us.

(those that know and have already booked us are cool as but what about those that just want to hear more - this is YOUR time)

How to get time with Dave and I:

email: mike@waveadept.com
mobile: 021-169 1359
skype: mike.riversdale
this blog: leave a comment

Look forward to talking with you one-on-one OR at the Canterbury CloudCamp event on the Friday afternoon.

How To Facilitate A Barcamp/Unconference

2009-10-15T10:24:00.034+13:00

I have been privileged to help create a number of successful barcamps (Wikipedia) alongside an ever growing number of committee members here in Wellington over the past few years both public and internally at client sites. I've also attended others around the country which have been mostly awesome but sometimes missing a certain "something".

During this time I've managed to crystalise what I believe helps create and facilitate (NOT "run) a successful barcamp - here it is, by all means share it around.

Oh, one more thing - barcamps are traditionally held within the realm of the geeks but there's NOTHING about a barcamp that limits it to such an industry and, much like you can hold a traditional conference on any subject under the sun, so you can with a barcamp.

What do you need for a barcamp?

I've always said you only need the following to get have a barcamp

A venue
A date
A logo
People

On reflection I should also add, "a need" - dur.

The date/venue and people are obvious, I trust.

The "need" is also fairly self evident but be aware of trying to tie it down too much. The whole point of a barcamp is to facilitate conversations and if the scope of "allowable topics" is too fixed it can lead to a stifled experience and issues of control and rule setting.

As for the logo it instantly gives everyone else something to hang off with the next part ...

How to get it going

Ok, so you think you want to get a barcamp going, you only need 5 things for it to happen ... now what, how do you get it kicked off and organised. You require:

Conversation
A meeting point (normally online)
Some people to sort out the logistics

As a barcamp is all about conversation it must start with exactly that.

Start talking about it, ask people if they'd be interested in it, let people know you're just thinking about it and get them to talk about it with others. It can sometimes be the hardest part but once you've done it you're at least 50% on the way.

Once you've spoken to your immediate circle of peers/colleagues you'll need to expand the conversation out and allow the conversations to happen without you. For this you'll need a central meeting point and, due to the nature of my business, this has traditionally been one of the following online spaces but if you have a geographically restricted audience (ie, a head office building) then it can easily be the kitchen, a meeting room ...

a Google Group
an OnlineGroup (great for NZ-based barcamps)
Barcamp.org.nz
Barcamp.org

My advice - choose one and stick with it. Don't try and have the conversation occur in many places, even limit your use of Twitter at the beginning :-)

So there you all are, talking about the barcamp, that's right THE barcamp as you really should steer away from the phrase "YOUR barcamp" (and never "my barcamp"). THE barcamp because it is for the participants to own, love and cherish. If there is too much of a dominating voice in the conversation it can lead to a one-sided conversation, and who wants that?

What are you talking about though - the following ...

What people "should" talk about

People normally cluster around the following conversations. Of course these are only clusters, the conversation should be about anything that helps everyone have a great experience at the barcamp:

Who's going
Potential topics
Hastags (make 'em short and easy, please!)
Logo
T-Shirts (yes, no or alternative)
Sponsorship
Organising committee
Helping with the logistics of the day
Supporting resources - links, info people want to share etc
How many people can the venue take and what to do when you reach that number
Publicity, if required
...

Whilst it's best to have the conversation in one place so that everyone can follow along you can use all manner of tools to direct people to the conversation - Twitter (get a barcamp specific account and share the password), blogs, other related barcamp ... this is where the logo really helps tie it all together.

Some other thoughts.

Potential topics: make sure everyone knows that anything proposed is a "potential" and not a guarantee of a slot as the barcamp schedule is (as we all know) generated by all those present at the barcamp kick off. The list of potential topics can give people a flavour of what the barcamp could look like on the day and help others join in or frame their participation.

Sponsorship and committee I'll tackle later on.

Who's Going - the key is to get people to (easily) edit a page allowing them to add themselves to a "I'm coming" list. You can ask people to add a little more info as well, maybe a link to more about them, their Twitter name, required T-shirt size - best way to do this is to seed it with a few people such as YOU!

Who is the "organising committee"?

How does this committee come about?

From everyone/anyone that can contribute - normally people who are already coming to the barcamp but that's not a golden rule. Remember as well that not everyone has to be helping with every aspect of the organisation; you may decide you can help with the logo and that's all or that you really can only pass on the word somehow - perfect! If everyone contributes one little bit the barcamp will be swimmingly successful as it is owned more and more by the participants.

Committees that include someone passionate about the barcamp theme, someone crazy about community and someone ensuring the details are covered seem to work really well.

What needs to be there before everyone arrives?

This is where all those fine volunteers on the "organising committee" come into their own - on the day you will need to have arranged the following:

Named rooms with plenty of chairs (don't worry, you will get the configuration wrong but they'll work it out on the day)
Marker pens
Large sheets of paper
Schedule slots ready to be filled in
Whiteboards
Yellow stickies
BluTac
Recycling & rubbish bins

If you have those you are totally ready!

You might also want to think about these "nice to haves":

Registration
Food
WiFi
Sponsor acknowledgements (logos on doors is normal)
Enough power sockets
Datashows for those with laptop presentations (if you must ;-)
After match drinks

Some people like registering, getting a name tag etc and some people don't see the need - check with those signed up what people want.

Food is always an interesting one to which I say, if you've got enough sponsorship don't hold back! Whilst this is a community lead conference it should still provide all the comforts and amenities of a paid for/traditional conference and every barcamp I have attended has surpassed my expectation. Don't be daunted by it; ask around to see who has experience in catering or knows someone who knows someone.

Sponsorship - is it really free?

No, nothing in life is free and someone somewhere is paying for this event.

After admitting that you'd like to run a barcamp getting someone to stump up sponsorship can usually be the next hardest task. But, do not despair as we've already made it easy by ensuring that everyone and anyone can be on the committee and by limiting what you need.

Firstly, get the venue as sponsorship - maybe your workplace can be opened on the weekend, you know of a public space not used during certain times (schools, libraries etc). Approach businesses and government agencies that shut during weekends and ask if they sponsor the event by providing the venue. Of course having someone on the committee who works for such an organisation can make this fly.

Once you've sorted out the venue sponsorship create a budget - what's the maximum number of people it can hold and you can quickly get a price for lunch.

Then it's all hands to the deck and everyone to find sponsors.

Traditionally barcamp sponsorship has been limited to $250 per organisation which may mean you need to get a lot of sponsors but you're not calling on large amounts. I am, though, of the opinion this is a minimum and anyone that gives more is thanked appropriately once the money falls into the (newly created for the barcamp) bank account but receives no more or less thanks/presence on the day.

Start early and start with those organisations you know will have people coming along. With every request for sponsorship be professional - explain to the sponsors what a barcamp is; what this barcamp is about and what the benefits for their organisation will be.

Do not be embarrassed to ask for help outside the committee as any barcamp can only happen if everyone pulls together and chips in somehow, maybe writing a cheque for $250 will assuage the guilt of not doing anything else - all good.

Bookending the day - kick-off and wrap-up

Even if your participants are old hands at barcamps please make sure someone stands on a chair, gets everyone's attention and does the following:

Welcome everyone
Covers the venue housekeeping - toilets, fire alarms/exits
Outlines the start, lunch and end times
Reminds everyone that a barcamp is about participation

vote with your feet (Kiwis hate this ;-)
get the most by joining in
do not be a lone voice, particularly the session convener

Reassure session conveners to not take it personally if no-one attends your session, get up and join in with another
That we are all to stick to the timetable - be respectful of those waiting for the next session
Remind people that the timetable is likely to change during the day, keep checking back
Points out the official barcamp hashtags
Explain how to create the schedule

Paper with session times on wall
Yellow stickies and pens for all
Put topic on paper (title, your name, brief description)
OK to move other sessions around
OK to join two sessions together if similar topics - ask conveners

There is also a great tradition within barcamps of everyone introducing themselves at this welcome session with their name and three words. Your call but I would suggest that if you skip this because of attendee numbers or timing then you replace this "ice breaker" / "I want to know you because of your three words" exercise using another means - three words on name tags can help.

And then let everyone get on with creating their barcamp schedule.

I've noticed that there is always a lag as everyone mills around asking themselves, "Am I really allowed to put up my topic?", "Can I truly move Joe's to a later slot?", "What will everyone else talk about? I'll wait and see.", "What if no-one comes, god that'll be so embarrassing". If no-one is moving put up a topic of your own and buddy up with someone who looks close or you know has already indicated they have a "potential topic" - once one or two do it the rest will follow. Of course this might just be reported Kiwi reticence and in the States it's a mad rush of egos to get the prime slots, who knows :-)

And then can come the hardest part for the long standing committee members ... let go!

The barcamp is now on its way and no longer needs anymore input from you. Sit back and relax, congratulate yourselves for kicking it off ... and then rush off to your first session and the rest of the conference.

How formal you want to make wrap-ups are entirely up to you and your community.

Don't forget that it will have been (hopefully) a long and productive day and most people will be thinking, "Man, I am bushed. My brain is so full!" Any wrap-up should be future focussed and quick.

Also, thank everyone for coming, re-thank the sponsors and ask that everyone does one little bit to help clean the venue (if required). Also remember that the people who started the day may not be those that end the day as people will be coming and going - expect around a 15-20% churn so if there's anyone particular you want to thank check in the morning if they will be around at the end.

In my experience there has always been an after match function in a nearby pub to which about 40-50% of the attendees come along to. And no, this isn't the reason it's called a bar-camp ;-)

Further resources

There are a number of excellent places to gain from others experience of running barcamps, check out the following:

UP Free Event: Wellington To The World (Tue 17th Nov)

2009-10-14T19:44:00.006+13:00

Last year's inaugral event was quite fun AND was my first introduction to Aptimize which has gone from strength to strength since then - check out the presentations from them and the others at the W2W YouTube channel.

So, who will be this years stand out performer from those that will present during the live technology showcase featuring pitches from selected and groomed Wellington technology companies?

Another top reason to pop along (apart from the attractive price of $0) is to hear Richard MacManus talk around this year’s theme, ‘Going Global with Your Technology Business’. Other speakers are Ben Young (entrepreneur, author and marketing guru) and John Watt (nanotechnology pioneer and MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year).

Reserve your free ticket at: http://www.up.org.nz/w2w09/

Tuesday 17 November 2009, 2:00pm - 8:00pm
Civic Suite, Level 2, Wellington Town Hall, Wakefield Street, Wellington [map]

Unlimited Potential's W2W event aims to build bridges between academia, technology entrepreneurs and investor communities. The focus for this year's event is "internationalising your technology venture". Appropriately, our keynote speaker will be Richard MacManus, local web entrepreneur and founder of ReadWriteWeb, one of the world's leading tech blogs.

This year W2W will be an official Global Entrepreneurship Week event and represents a huge opportunity for our local tech sector to gain global recognition. Stay tuned for updates @UPnz as we announce more cool speakers and activities.

Don't You Work For Them?

2009-10-13T10:09:00.004+13:00

There's a little confusion about who I work for which is my error in not communicating with you all the changes I love having around my life.

So, here ya go:

WaveAdept is who I work for (cloud computing, Google Apps re-seller).
I am not the only person working for WaveAdept.
MiramarMike is my professional, sole trader existence ("open" advocate)
Knowledge Cue (SharePoint gurus) is who I am proud to be an associate of

Anyone else you may have associated with me are either past, present or future clients. WaveAdept is, however, also partnering up with like minded companies so you may catch my name alongside others in the near future.

For a little more on the difference between Mike @ WaveAdept and MiramarMike read my earlier post, Welcome To WaveAdept

The Hierarchy Of Digitial Distractions

2009-09-22T21:00:00.003+12:00

Thanks to Lulu (from Lushai.com) for this link from the quite fabulous InformationIsBeautiful.net blog:

Click on the diagram to see why you need to Get. Off. Line ... now and again

Software Freedom Day 2009

2009-09-09T11:32:00.002+12:00

When: Sunday 20 September 2009, 9.00am-5.00pm
Where: Michael Fowler Convention Centre, Wakefield St
Twitter account: @WLGSFD
Twitter event tag: #sfdwlg09
Flickr tag: #sfdwlg09
Google Group: http://groups.google.co.nz/group/software-freedom-day-wellington
RSVP essential: http://www.softwarefreedomday.org.nz/

Software Freedom Day is an annual, global celebration of the use and development of free and open source software, open standards and open participation.

This year, Unlimited Potential and a large number of community groups and companies around Wellington are coming together to organise another great event. Come and take part in the hackfest, installfest, a makerfest, barcamp and techtalks, and our 2 new streams: a kids programme and a student programme.

Visit the Software Freedom Day website to find out more and register - RSVP is essential: http://www.softwarefreedomday.org.nz/

Many thanks to our event sponsors - NZOSS, SuperHappyDevHouse, Unlimited Potential, WellyLUG, Amberdms, Ascent, CafeNET, Capital E!, Catalyst IT, CWA New Media, Egressive, Grow Wellington, Havana, iWantMyName, Morphoss, Mozilla, OLPC, Openside, Ponoko, SilverStripe, Sun Microsystems and 3months.

There are still opportunities to sponsor the event, so if you are interested please get in touch with Jayne Wallis, jayne@up.org.nz

I Love This "ToDo" Tip For GMail Users

2009-09-04T17:06:00.001+12:00

Awesome: Using Your GMail As Your ToDo List

Links From The Company

2009-09-02T16:51:00.003+12:00

Posts that in the olden days would've been posted here are now appearing over at the WaveAdept blog, such as:

Enjoy

10 Tips For Hosting On-line Discussions

2009-08-28T11:27:00.004+12:00

An excellent set of tips gleaned from a number of clients that are dipping their toes into the "online/real-time discussions" (think whole company same time IM and/or blogging).

Ensure someone guides the group towards its purpose.
What is the outcome we want to achieve?
Help create a sense of community at the beginning - introduce fellow members, introduce the topic (include some of your thoughts) and encourage people to share their thoughts
Acknowledge contributions and support discussions with further questions (eg how to achieve this etc)
Stimulate/throw open discussions.
Manage what's 'lost in translation':

its much easier for things to be misinterpreted on-line - assume goodwill/positive intent in the first instance to avoid triggering conflicts
check out assumptions being made in the discussion

Inclusion – appeal to both common ground and diversity e.g. "has anyone had any experiences/thoughts that have been similar/different?"
'Moderating' - manage any 'over-contributors', ensure contributions meet corporate principles etc
Summarise and 'harvest' - close the topic off with a synthesis/summary of what evolved during the interaction.
Connecting people - Spot opportunities to encourage ongoing discussions after the on-line chat session.
Provide a visible closure for the event.
Ensure the event doesn't dissolve into nothingness and dissipate group energy.

With all of these types of "hints and tips" I think we all agree that they are mostly comprised of commonsense and politeness. The only one that warrants a little extra focus is #5, we all know that sarcasm and ambiguity thrive in the online world, be careful. Especially be careful around the trap of thinking you are closer (emotionally) to someone than you really are just because you've had a long online chat with them - you don't, and witty and clever banter usually misfires.

I also applaud #9 - the best communities are those that exist and thrive beyond the on-line world.

In essence, be polite, be focused and act as you would talking face-to-face.

Is Your Intranet Full Of Broken Lego?

2009-08-18T15:09:00.006+12:00

Here's one of the most awesome analogies I've heard for a while about "semantic web" (huh?) from an old TED Talk given by Richard Baraniuk on open-source learning:

XML is like the nubs* on top of Lego bricks that help you join it all together

And the nubs of a Lego brick is great example as they are standard in size, everyone knows how to use them and they are ubiquitous.

Taking that analogy a little further, I think that when we want to use information from a website or, more importantly to those within the walls of an organisation, the Intranet we experience:

PDF/Flash/Silverlight - completely created toy, no Lego involved, it is what it is and there's not much anyone can do about it
Bad HTML - a toy made out of specific/customised Lego bricks that aren't much good for anything except that one toy
HTML - A box of Lego with instructions for 3 or 4 toys but you'll need a lot of skills to build your own creation
XML - basic building blocks that can be put together however you want

What the techies of the world keep talking about is XML as the building blocks to free the data and let the world get creative. What I believe is still missing though is examples of what can be done and how to get there.

What is your site/Intranet made up of?

Are you stuck with content like this - something our of the box, does one thing well but there's not a lot more you can do with it?

Or do you have your information like this - everything build upon other blocks that can quickly be molded to whatever you need it to be.

From Nathan Sawaya, BrickArtist.com

* Yes, that is the technical term

Yes, I Am Going - NZ Open Govt Data Barcamp and Hackfest

2009-08-10T19:34:00.006+12:00

I'm going are you?

FREE: Saturday 29th August: Barcamp - registration 9:15am+ / sessions 10am-5pm
National Library of New Zealand (70 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, 6011, Wellington - map

FREE: Sunday 30th August: Hackfest - registration 10am+ / into 10:30am-4pm
Southern Cross Bar (35-39 Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, 6011, Wellington - map

Get your own website badge at http://groups.google.co.nz/group/nzopengovtbarcamp/web/yes-i-am-going---code-to-add-to-your-website

Last Day For Your "Plain English Awards" Submisions

2009-07-27T09:30:00.002+12:00

Today is the final day for your submissions to 2009 Writemark Plain English Awards so I urge you all pop over to http://www.plainenglish-conference-awards.org.nz and nominate your entries and be in to win an award presented on 18th September 2009 at the Museum Building, Wellington:

Category 1: Plain English Champion

Best Organisation
Best Project
Best Individual or Team

Category 2: Best Plain English Document

Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Private Sector

Category 3: Best Plain English Website

Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Private Sector

Category 4: Best Sentence Transformation (the easiest one to enter!)

Category 5: People’s Choice

Best Plain English Document
Best Plain English Website
‘Brainstrain’ Document
‘Brainstrain’ Website

It's On! NZ Open Govt Data Barcamp/Hackfest

2009-07-23T21:15:00.012+12:00

Yaay, we have confirmed dates and venue:

Saturday 29th August - barcamp
Sunday 30th - hackest
National Library (Wellington)

Subscribe to NZ Open Govt Data Barcamp and Hackfest
Email:

Visit this group - ttp://groups.google.com/group/nzopengovtbarcamp

The following is from the group to promote the group (excuse the use of <table>)
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Welcome To WaveAdept

2009-07-22T21:01:00.005+12:00

It's been a long time coming but Dave Livesey (@daveadept) have finally launched our new company - WaveAdept (@waveadept)

What is it already doing:

Connecting your people, tools and information to make you more productive.

Whether you use Microsoft Office, Open Office, or a different set of tools, we streamline your business with simple tools that you will actually use.

Very similar to the work MiramarMike.co.nz has been doing ... which begs the question, "So, what does that mean for this blog and MiramarMike.co.nz?"

WaveAdept will be the name on the business card for organisations that want to use our services. MiramarMike will be be used to represent myself in all facets "professional" that fall outside of WaveAdept.

To give you some guidance, Mike from WaveAdept will be:

The person engaged by companies around collaboration
Presents at "cloud computing" events
(come along this Friday - http://wellingtoncloud.eventbrite.com/ - $0, 2 hours)
Who helps organisations shoot old intranets
Implements Google Apps for you
Introduces and runs agile/Scrum development

The current MiramarMike will still be the person that:

Advocates for open data from the Government
Presents "using of the Web" to communities/groups
Promotes Open Source use
Is sarky, challenging but always thought provoking
Is involved with barcamps and the like - NZGovtOpenData anyone?

There's bound to be fuzzy boundaries between them both and in those circumstances expect to get two business cards as we all work it out :-) Plus there will be cross-posting on both this blog and WaveAdept, if that looks like changing I'll let you know with plenty of advance warning.

Neither will ever wear a suit.

Both will sport the awesome brooch from Sue.

Any questions just ask - you can choose to go formal with WaveAdept or professional yet informal with MiramarMike :-)

Here We Go Folks, It's All On ...

2009-07-08T22:25:00.005+12:00

Here we go folks, it's all on ... strap yourself in for the ride of your life ... weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ...

If you thought Google had lost it's mojo, it's panache, it's disruptive nature by being bloody wealthy then you were wrong.

THIS is battle lines drawn.
THIS is bringing it on.

.... but THIS (Google Chrome OS) is where we (some) think it's going:

... today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be

This battle will take around 18 months (ever had a child, it's such a short time looking back eh!).

Can you feel the difference, are listening to the way your IT people are talking, feeling the weight that incumpents are carrying ... the world is changing folks, are you?

BTW: I remember being at a IT conference in the 1980's when someone stated that they, "... want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot ... " - 20 years to wait for something JUST TO BLOODY WORK, not too long to wait ... is it?!?

NZ SharePoint Conference - my preso for Friday

2009-07-02T21:37:00.003+12:00

It's really just pictures so you'll have to come along and hear the words.
Having said that I will post the commentary over the next few days.

Um, if you're wondering about the Barbie slides, blame Joel Oleson and Paul Culmsee

Bringing In The Cloud

View more documents from Mike Riversdale.

3 Reasons To Go To The NZ SharePoint Conference PLUS The Agenda For Your iPhone/PDA/Outlook

2009-06-23T10:03:00.018+12:00

[Updated] There is also a Twitter a/c to follow, @NZSharePoint, AND the Slideshare event (sign-up required, sorry). All with official hashtags of #NZSPC #SharePoint

The two days are a must for anyone currently using SharePoint, thinking of moving to SharePoint or considering SharePoint and, to be honest, if you're moving your Intranet/collaboration environment into something useful and a "doing place" you will be in one of those camps.

Thursday 2nd / Friday 3rd July
http://www.sharepointconference.co.nz/
Register ($500/person - 20% for parties of 5+)
Venue: Duxton Hotel, 170 Wakefield Street, Wellington 6110, New Zealand

And now the three reasons!

1: Two days of fantastic local and international speakers for only $NZ500
Really, there are some amazing speakers for you and, like Webstock, I am amazed how New Zealand manages to draw such talent to us - we must be so cool.

2: Your SharePoint peers from around New Zealand will be there

The best conferences happen in the corridors between the sessions. With all those people rubbing shoulders at tables, at the lunch tables and walking between the sessions it is almost impossible not to make a new contact that has the answer to your particular SharePoint angst.

And if you see me and want to talk just walk up and say hi!

3: I intend to stir up the crowd during my Friday 3rd, 1pm-2pm, "Bringing In The Cloud" talk

I can say no more except I intend to bring a little bit of "barcamp" to the proceedings.

Which is causing the organisers angst as I delay sending them the preso ;-)

* Here's the details around your awesome organisers amended from the official conference site:

The New Zealand Community SharePoint Conference is organised by three SharePoint MVPs from the New Zealand SharePoint Community. The trio of hard workers participate and support the community through organising and sharing their knowledge at user group events

Debbie Ireland, Mark Orange and Chandima Kulathilake

Being The First Is A Lonely Position

2009-06-14T22:04:00.003+12:00

It takes courage, tenacity, a self belief when others are giving you a hard time but when it works all of a sudden those on the outside become the lonely ones. To those that we regularly drink with that are working in Wellington/NZ-based startups we'd like to say, "The dancers are coming!"

Thanks to Zoli at CloudAve for the video

How To Run A Birthday Party AND A Business

2009-06-11T21:25:00.002+12:00

One of the well known analogies used by Dave Snowden to how knowledge management works well within companies/organisations/communities is the "Child's Birthday Party".

He recommends They did not respect or sit still for the devotional sacrifice as the 'definitive' reworking of that analogy (original here in a PDF).

In a nutshell:

... we have a birthday party strategy. The goal is for everyone to have a safe and enjoyable time. We have specific and measurable objectives we want to accomplish. We have identified the key milestones from now until the party. We have a timeline to follow, including a tabletop exercise. We are assuming a three-hour operational phase followed by a two-hour recovery. That evening, we will conduct a hot wash to identify any lessons learned to build into next year’s birthday party planning.

...

Socrates: It did not go well?
Glaucon: Let me count the ways. It rained for most of the day. More children and parents attended than we planned for. Some of the people arrived hours before we were ready. They brought food, gifts, and animals and changed our careful arrangements into utter chaos. Some of the animals went into my study and scattered my projects everywhere. Organizing the children was like trying to get puppies to march. They did not respect or ...

...

... make boundaries, create attractors, stabilize the patterns we desired and disrupt the patterns that threatened danger and harm.

Whilst we would like to think we can control outcomes using projects, task lists, review sessions and many many Word documents we know deep in our souls that they don't give the best result, a result that includes a satisfying outcome for all those involved and not just the 'stakeholders' ("those holding lumps of meat" as a colleague recently called them).

We could be forced into pipelines using officially sanctioned behaviours and language but I suspect we would all rise up and storm the HR/PMO pods within weeks. Or we would simply slag off the company and leave.

Of course the alternative is harder. It involves people (and not tasks, outcomes and budgets - which are factors but not the only ones). People are hard to control - as Jim Morrison would have it, "People are strange when you're a stranger" - if you don't know the people, their quirks, their likes, their dislikes then it's bloody hard. Getting to know people takes time and effort which isn't instantly rewarded and therefore justifiable in a 'time is money' organisation.

It also takes acting/thinking from the emotional side of our beings as well as the intellectual (where the "ToDo" list is held). It's both the centre path and collaboration between these two facets of our selves.

This is hard for a middle-manager who sees themselves as a 'cog in the corporate wheel' to do, the environment/culture "provided" doesn't allow for such 'fluffy thinking'. Of course the concepts don't have to be sold as 'fluffy' and the language used to talk around how this might be a way of working is key to being able to progress such an approach.

Also - it's hard, but then again most leadership is.
But so worth it for your 'self' and for those that are affected by your behaviours. I ask you to think passed the project deadlines (false as they generally are), think more on what people really want, how you can "influence" it (make boundaries, create attractors, stabilize the patterns we desired and disrupt the patterns that threatened danger and harm) and letting them get to it. As we've recently heard from Creating Passionate Users:

... support people in doing what they're trying to do, and stay the hell out of their way

Bailing Out Your Business with Open Source

2009-06-11T13:07:00.001+12:00

A great slide deck I've just stumbled over looking for something completely unrelated which answers all (well, OK, some) of the questions non-Open Source fanboys typically ask.

(as an aside, Slideshare made this sooo easy to post - one click, an authorisation as it was my first time and type this in without once having to go over to Blogger, very me/user-centric)

Bailing Out Your Business with Open Source

View more Keynote presentations from mjasay.

Plain English - Write A Letter Of Support + Nominate For The Awards

2009-06-02T08:47:00.004+12:00

Speaking and writing "plain English" is such a fundamental to open information that the idea of having to promote it seems plain weird! But heh, not all policy analysts, business analysts or internal communication advisers agree with me and the desire o use 20 business wanky words when 1 or 2 plain English words will do seems insatiable.

Not that I am advocating the dumbing down on English, if there is a word that fits, use it and then people can use Google ("other search engines are available") to find out what it means - always good to be educated.

But, we obviously do need to advocate for plain English as tweet examples/outbursts from my immediate circle constantly highlight :-) And advocating has never been so easy - write a letter/email and nominate best use of English - voila, done, sorted, in the bag :-)

1: Write A Letter In Support of Plain English Power

This from Rachel of Plain English Power:

Update on our lobbying efforts
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
On 18 June four of us will sit down with the Minister of State Services, Tony Ryall, and put our case for plain language in government communications. We're delighted
he has agreed to meet with us. We will ask him to champion the Plain Language Act 2009 within Cabinet and steer it through the legislation process.

This is Step One of Plan A. We'll keep you posted with progress.

How you can help us right now
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
At this stage we would appreciate letters of support, especially from organisations—but also from you personally, as an individual.

Many thanks to those who have already written to us!

Whatever you have to say is extremely valuable. You see, our credibility depends entirely on support from organisations and individuals. Collectively we are strong.

So please do take the time to send in a few words, either by email or on paper. If you speak for an organisation, please use your organisation's letterhead. Members of
Parliament need to know what you're thinking about the benefits of plain English.

Your letters will make a difference. We will pass them on to the Minister on 18 June.

Please send a letter of support to:
The Chairperson
Plain English Power
PO Box 19184
Wellington 6149

or
contact@plainenglish.org.nz

Warmest thanks for your support so far.

Rachel McAlpine
Chairperson, Plain English Power

2: 2009 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards

Pop over to http://www.plainenglish-conference-awards.org.nz and nominate your entries and be in to win an award presented on 18th September 2009 at the Museum Building, Wellington:

Category 1: Plain English Champion

Best Organisation
Best Project
Best Individual or Team

Category 2: Best Plain English Document

Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Private Sector

Category 3: Best Plain English Website

Public Sector / Non-Government Organisation (NGO)
Private Sector

Category 4: Best Sentence Transformation (the easiest one to enter!)

Category 5: People’s Choice

Best Plain English Document
Best Plain English Website
‘Brainstrain’ Document
‘Brainstrain’ Website