I really don't like the current state and implementation idea of activity streams. There, I said it. Now I can explain more about why.
IBM made a grand showing of integrating activity streams into the Notes client with the Social Edition and the expansion in IBM Connections with OpenSocial. However, they introduced this idea well over a year ago (below image from Feb 2011) with no traction. I believe that expanding capabilities is always a bonus for any product if it allows more adoption and usage.
I have been quite verbal since R1 and R2 of Lotus (now IBM) Connections about the easier inclusion of public services. Activity Streams are not what I had in mind. I feel that they will become a distraction more than a productivity tool.
By default, all the implementations of activity streams cause users to oversubscribe. This has happened in email lists, RSS feeds and even friends on Facebook. Oversubscription causes you to lose focus and no longer pay attention to any part of the stream. Look at Twitter and Facebook. In their natural state they become fairly useless since you miss a ton of data and cannot keep up unless you only watch the stream.
Once a user is oversubscribed (think tons of time working with projects, users, communities, email and more) the only way out is stream bankruptcy. Mass unsubscription from everything. Then the cycle repeats itself. No productivity is gained building the subscriptions, during the over subscription, during the bankruptcy and then the restart.
Filters are far more than being able to sort hundreds or thousands of threads that have come through, full text capability found in todays databases and email are a stating point. Email will not go away anytime in our future as IT administrators, there is too much history, information and workflow built in.
Users creating the inherent ability to share everything to a stream will also not become second nature. The intimate feel of email communication is a stop factor for many in tools like Twitter. Keep in mind the activity stream in Facebook is forced, not something the user does consciously. User need the structure and compartmentalized approach that databases, such as email, offer to be productive.
I do applaud innovation, integration, portfolio expansion and more than IBM has undertaken. I just don't think a full onslaught of activity streams will be easily adopted in a productive manner. Yes it is optional for everyone. I am talking about what they showed as the current tool state to be clear.
IDC reports the future of email is social - sponsored by IBM
Thu, May 24th 2012 6:12a Chris Miller An IDC report came out in February 2012 stating how the future of email is social. I was interested to see that IBM was the sponsor of the paper. This IDC white paper takes a look at the current state of enterprise email and the perceived and real problems that surround its use. The paper discusses the changing nature of collaboration and work fueled by the social web by examining current email trends and the emergence of new social collaboration tools. Rather than envision "a world withou [read] Keywords: collaboration
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IBM Websphere Portal 8 launch announcement
Tue, May 22nd 2012 2:12p Chris Miller IBM had a launch event in Paris and Yves Darnige, IBM Marketing Manager, had the following confusing comment Portal V8 brings in social network services on top of the Portal framework to enable a multi-channel approach of the market for a deepen customer relationship. Anyone care to comment on what they think this means? I am slightly confused what a multi-channel approach is [read] Keywords: ibm
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Webcast tomorrow: Kathy Brown and Jess Stratton presenting
Tue, May 22nd 2012 10:13a Chris Miller There are still spaces left for this awesome session from Kathy Brown and Jess Stratton was given at Lotusphere 2012 and we are happy to have them present Collaboration, Party of One : When You Are Both the Dev and the Admin to the Consultant In Your Pocket series on May 23rd at 1pm EST. When your administrator and your developer are one and the same, and they’re both you, things can get confusing. As the administrator, you’ve got a lot of power. Frequently, the role of administrato [read] Keywords: admin
collaboration
domino
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Demystifying the Cloud - a great free download ebook
Tue, May 22nd 2012 6:12a Chris Miller Apparently the success of free ebook downloads last week prompted another offer from the publishers for Demystifying the Cloud. NOTE: This one has a maximum of 200 downloads or two weeks, whichever comes first. This time I bring you Demystifying the Cloud by Janakiram MSV of GetCloudReady.com. He is an independent cloud consultant with a terrific 55 page ebook I was able to get downloads for my readers. Janakiram was the Web Services Evangelist for Amazon and a Technology Architect i [read] Keywords: lotus
google
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IdoNotes Episode 124 - IBM PureSystems
Wed, May 16th 2012 6:12a Chris Miller IBM has launched a large initiative called PureSystems which offers built-in expertise, integration by design and simplified experience. Expert integrated systems combine the flexibility of general purpose systems, the elasticity of cloud and the simplicity of an appliance tuned to the workload. I was able to get access to a demo account, which by all means did not showcase all of the physical capabilities and on demand sclaing. It was more of a layer inside of the IBM SmartCloud which was di [read] Keywords: ibm
integration
Cloud for Dummies by IBM - Free download ebook
Thu, May 10th 2012 9:28a Chris Miller I had the chance to get the new Cloud for Dummies (IBM Midsized Company Limited Edition) compliments of IBM. It is a quick roadmap helper and looks at the economics and security of working with cloud services. A quick read you should get your hands on. The book is ~70 pages in 6 chapters and was written by Judith Hurwitz, Marcia Kaufman and Fern Halper with the assistance of a bunch of IBM names we know. It stars with why cloud computing should be investigated by your organization an [read] Keywords: foundations
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Webcast Invite: Collaboration, Party of One
Wed, May 9th 2012 2:19p Chris Miller This awesome session from Kathy Brown and Jess Stratton was given at Lotusphere 2012 and we are happy to have them present Collaboration, Party of One : When You Are Both the Dev and the Admin to the Consultant In Your Pocket series on May 23rd at 1pm EST. When your administrator and your developer are one and the same, and they’re both you, things can get confusing. As the administrator, you’ve got a lot of power. Frequently, the role of administrator is to lock things down, keep [read] Keywords: admin
collaboration
domino
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