RodeWorks http://rodeworks.com Gather Ideas | Explore Trends | Develop Solutions Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:01:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Rodeworkshttp://feedburner.google.com Drupal 7 promises big UX improvements http://rodeworks.com/design/drupal-7-promises-big-ux-improvements/ http://rodeworks.com/design/drupal-7-promises-big-ux-improvements/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:01:40 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/?p=2023 The deeper I dig into Drupal as a content management system the more impressed I am.  Especially for creating community sites it has powerful core-based features for things like relationship behaviors, forums, and individual user blogs.  The coming release of Drupal 7 promises a much improved user interface, addressing the many legitimate user complaints.  If you have been disappointed by Drupal in the past I encourage you to take another look.

Drupal 7 User Experience Project » Blog Archive » Why is this on Wordpress?

We know Drupal is amazing and we love it (well, more to the point, we love the people all around Drupal), but unfortunately, for the time being, it is too broken for us to be able to do the work we need to do on this project at the pace that we need to do it.

Making Drupal 7 Simple to Use for Everyone | Acquia

Over the past year, the Drupal community has focused on improving the Drupal user experience, making Drupal more friendly to a less technical user-base and rolling those improvements into Drupal 7.

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]]> http://rodeworks.com/design/drupal-7-promises-big-ux-improvements/feed/ 0 Open Source Way in creating community http://rodeworks.com/design/open-source-way-in-creating-community/ http://rodeworks.com/design/open-source-way-in-creating-community/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:40:37 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/?p=2038 RedHat has started an on-line book on creating open source communities.  Much of the focus so far seems directed towards open source software projects, but there is plenty of relevance to a broader notion of open communities.  I like the description of communities of practice as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” This is exactly the type of energy I’m hoping we can harness in our workplace.

1.4. Essential terminology or ‘Read this even if you think you know what it means’

When we talk about community in the The Open Source Way, we mean the community of contributors who are a superset to all other communities…This is the group of people who form intentionally and spontaneously around something important to them. It includes the people who use or benefit from the project, those who participate and share the project to wider audiences, and the contributors who are essential to growth and survival.

The Open Source Way | php|architect

The scope of the handbook is not just limited to open source software development: the hope is to expand the understanding of the open source model in other domains. The interaction between people in a project is often a key variable that influences success or failure, and the public collaboration model may be valuable in different industries.

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]]> http://rodeworks.com/design/open-source-way-in-creating-community/feed/ 0 On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-4/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-4/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-4/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-4/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-3/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-3/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-3/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-3/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-2/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-2/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-2/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17-2/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-17 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/
  • But Feb is 9% shorter than Jan!-@davewiner Twitter Traffic Down -9.63% For February http://bit.ly/bCWcon #
  • Using this method in a community site planning workshop later today-wish me luck! Better + faster ux solutions http://bit.ly/97QkbU #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-17/feed/ 0     On Twitter 2010-03-16 : http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-16/ http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-16/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-16/
  • Experimenting with hootsuite.com as a way to tame my social networking maintenance. #

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    ]]>     http://rodeworks.com/technology/on-twitter-2010-03-16/feed/ 0     Harnessing Social Media for campus communication http://rodeworks.com/learn/harnessing-social-media-for-campus-communication/ http://rodeworks.com/learn/harnessing-social-media-for-campus-communication/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:05:02 +0000 Randy http://rodeworks.com/?p=2039 I am working on a project to create a networked information and resource tool for web developers on our campus.  This is a real grassroots, distributed effort that aims to create a community owned and operated system.  Think self-organizing, organic, leaderless, spontaneous, emergent.  There is a general plan, an intended direction and we’re working to develop a shared vision.  I’ve made a couple of presentations to various groups, done a couple of small brainstorming sessions, and have a big presentation/workshop planned with the web developers roundtable next Tuesday, who make up our core group.  Here is a basic, rough-draft overview:

    Who: Initially targeted at the needs campus people interested/involved with web information/application projects that utilize Drupal.  Eventual expansion beyond this group is an expectation.

    Concept: The Campus Developers Network is a web-based information tool that allows individuals to store and access elements of their own work, find similar examples from other members, and engage in discussion and communication with the member community.

    Goals:

    • Encourage small, frequent contributions through multiple channels
    • Easy to search/find my stuff and other people’s stuff
    • Allow individuals to self-organize informal groups/ private conversations, but default behavior is to share community-wide

    Through this process I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, research, and looking at other social/professional networks evolving at other campuses.  I’ve been looking at these as falling into two basic models — a top-down, help site type model, such as help.yahoo.com and a bottom-up, community type model such as developer.yahoo.com .   A more member-focused example in higher-ed can be seen in the faculty/grad student network at commons.gc.cuny.edu/ .  At MIT the new Hermes site is a help desk resource, making it feel more top-down, but it also allows end-user contributions which adds a community aspect.  Which makes me realize that this simple black-white, top down/bottom up view might be too simple.

    A recent post on the PR-squared blog discussed three models — distributed, centralized and coordinated.  It is a useful way to think about the issue, but I don’t find it entirely satisfying.  The Coordinated still feels a little too centralized to me, but the Distributed is too chaotic.  So I propose a fourth model, Structured:


    This model strives to harness the spontaneous energy of the distributed model, and provide a level of coordination while still retaining a de-centralized structure.  The elements of the model (in case you can’t read it) are de-centralized, connected, organic and emergent.  And that is the model we’re using as we move our professional network plans forward.

    Social Media in Corporations: Pros & Cons of Organizational Models

    Clearly the coordinated model in Jeremiah’s slide is the one to espouse. It’s beauty is that it is simple, reasonable and effective. Guidelines are set (simple). Monitoring and reporting mechanisms are deployed (reasonable). Everyone gets to play, but knows the rules-of-the-road (which will evolve as new lessons are learned), and also knows that there are consequences for derailing the company’s brand online (effective).
    Owyangslide

    InYourClass.com – CUNY student network -

    We wanted to do something different, something that isn’t the norm for online communities. Our mission is simple, create social value by simplifying the way information is processed.

    Nercomp 2010 – Presentation Focusing on Hermes Knowledge Base (Hermes)

    IT support providers and end users both want similar things: fast and easy access to up-to-date IT information and solutions. Why not contribute to and share the same IT knowledge resource? At MIT, we did just that. In 2008 a project was launched to broaden an existing Help Desk internal knowledge base to an Institute-wide IT help system

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