Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a roundtable luncheon at the Chicago Tribune. The topic was small business in Chicago, and while IBM itself is anything but small, we do routinely work with small businesses. I know, the market perception is otherwise, but across IBM, the Express Advantage offerings -- hardware, software, services -- are all designed for companies with less than 1000 employees, and our own tools like Lotus Foundations or LotusLive scale down to single and double digit numbers.
In some ways, I was at the lunch to hear what was on the minds of small business owners and advocates throughout Chicago. Though I was invited in part because of my contributing columnist role in the Chicago Tribune's TribLocal Highland Park, I chose to lead with my IBM executive identity only as I was introduced to the Tribune reporters and other guests. Eventually, I was outed by an editor who thought my name looked familiar, and, interestingly, from that point forward, I was like a new best friend to many of the journalists...more than some generic corporate suit from IBM (note, as you'll see in the picture, I chose to go with a modern interpretation of "IBM executive" -- khakis, iPad, etc. -- to try to reset some stereotypes. The other corporate exec who was there -- well, let's just say he also brought his media relations manager...).
It was interesting to represent "IBM" as a whole in this setting. It was the first time I was, well, a bit anxious about the whole back of my business card, with references to planetlotus.org and OpenNTF. I hesitated over words like "cloud computing", though almost everyone in the room had a familiarity with social media. One interesting wrinkle was that few had contemplated it in a business-to-business context, mostly thinking about social media in the business-to-consumer space. Perhaps some opportunity comes from that.
There was much swapping of business cards, connecting up on LinkedIn and Twitter, and invitations for coffee. 30 people I had never met before, never even heard of before in all but one case, now wanting to connect. When the invite came, I didn't really think of it as a networking event -- I thought I was going to talk to the reporters. Instead I found myself immersed in a rich tapestry of multi-vector thought, around issues of the day -- for the community, the industry, and the future.
When you have lunch with a group of people who set out on their own to run their own small businesses -- or who work with those people all the time -- you are going to hear some passionate conversation. ... Well. The enthusiasm was palpable.
But, of course, small business affects more in American society than small businesses themselves. Jason Rosado's business is coaching other small businesses. Ed Brill, IBM director of product management for Lotus software (NOT a small business), helps craft tools for businesses of all size. Jerry Furby, executive vice presdient of business banking at PNC Bank, helps entrepreneurs to launch. So there was a lot to listen to and consider -- and I know the journalists in the room came away with a lot on their minds.
So, thank you to James Janega for the invitation. It was well worth the trip downtown, and hopefully it is the start of the conversation, not the end of it.
Changes to my March+April schedule
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 5:11p Ed Brill In a previous blog entry announcing last week's trip to Germany, I also mentioned plans to visit the Business Gets Social roadshow in Taiwan in March, and a possible stop at the Belgian Lotus User Group (BLUG). Well, a personal conflict came up around that timeframe, and I had to back out of both. Instead.... I will be keynoting the 2nd Australian Lotus User Group (AusLUG) on 29/30 March in Melbourne. Subsequent to that, I'll be in Singapore on 4 April for the Business Gets Social roadsh [read] Keywords: collaboration
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New from IBM Press: XPages Portable Command Guide
Sun, Feb 12th 2012 5:11p Ed Brill IBM Press has followed up on last year's "Mastering XPages" book with a new title on XPages.... XPages Portable Command Guide offers fast access to working code, tested solutions, expert tips, and example-driven best practices. Drawing on their unsurpassed experience as IBM XPages lead developers and customer consultants, the authors explore many lesser known facets of the XPages runtime, illuminating these capabilities with dozens of examples that solve specific XPages development pro [read] Keywords: ibm
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Information Week: Jive CEO: Social Tools Are Essential, Not Extras
Wed, Feb 8th 2012 1:55p Ed Brill We agree in principle... Social software is the best way for organizations to organize "their single biggest investment, which for most companies is their people," [Jive CEO Tony Zingale] said. "They must adopt social business strategy or risk falling behind their competitors."Couldn't have said it better ourselves. However, I'm surprised where he goes from there: IBM Connections is the "refurbished Lotus email system"Um, OK. Even the reporter isn't buying it:His slams agains [read] Keywords: connections
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Wired: Clive Thompson on Analog Designs in the Digital Age
Tue, Feb 7th 2012 2:00p Ed Brill On my flight over to Europe this week, I read Clive Thompson's column and was intrigued:When we get to the last week of February, open your Google Calendar and choose the Month view. You'll see the previous three weeks grayed out. Only the next few days will be "active." If you want to see what you've got planned for more than the next couple of days, you have to flip forward to March. Now ask yourself: Why does Google Calendar--and nearly every other digital calendar--work that way? It [read] Keywords: lotus
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Dominoplus introduces D+ Everywhere
Mon, Jan 30th 2012 7:31a Ed Brill When I was in Spain last fall for the ESLUG event, I met Alejandro and the team from Dominoplus. They were excited to show me their "D+ Everywhere" application, which uses XPages to deliver offline mobile applications over HTML5. Now they have commercialized the solution, so I can highlight it more broadly:Domino+ has developed a solution based on Lotus Domino, xPages, HTML5 and jQuery Mobile which allows Lotus Domino xPages applications to be used off-line when there's no data connection. It [read] Keywords: domino
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ibm.com: What versions of Lotus Notes support Citrix XenApp 6.5?
Sun, Jan 29th 2012 6:30a Ed Brill After hearing from many customers that support for Citrix XenApp 6.5 was important even before the release of Notes/Domino Social Edition, a plan for supporting 6.5 has emerged:IBM will support Citrix XenApp 6.5 with Notes 8.5.3 Fix Pack 1 Basic and Standard clients, per the standard recommended Citrix XenApp installation guidelines provided, for the usual length of product life cycle/End of Service and/or terms of customer Support & Service agreement. Support will not request that customers [read] Keywords: domino
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New book-IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.3: Upgrader’s Guide
Fri, Jan 27th 2012 7:30a Ed Brill Packt Publishing has just released another new Notes/Domino book: IBM Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.3: Upgrader's Guide. The authors are IBMers Barry Rosen, Tim Speed, and Scott O'Keefe. This updates their earlier book on Lotus Notes/Domino 8.5.1. IBM Lotus Domino software is a world class platform for critical business, collaboration, and messaging applications. With Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.3, IBM has once again provided business users with an intuitive, fully integrated platform to enhance [read] Keywords: collaboration
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