So I’ve been using the Nexus One for just over a month now, and I’d thought I’d write down some quick thoughts about what I think of the device so far.
As far as the device itself goes, I’m extremely satisfied with it. The Android user interface is snappy on the Nexus One and the operating system itself is a huge improvement over Windows Mobile 6.5. But let’s not turn this into a review of the phone — that’s not really what I’ve been thinking about in terms of the Nexus One.
After using Windows Mobile for a good 4 and a half years, I’ve finally decided to call it quits. While part of me wanted to wait for the new Windows Phone 7 launch, it seemed that Windows Phone 7 was just too little, too late. So instead, I ordered a Google Nexus One last Thursday (which is currently en route to me here in Toronto). The Android user interface was what really sold me on the phone (see below for a short video of that interface — not created by me).
Thinking back, my original decision to go with Windows Mobile was largely based on interoperability — I run Windows at home and at the office, and I wanted a phone that would work seamlessly with my work and home machines. Funny enough however, my Windows Mobile phone ended up having pretty much zero interaction with any of my machines, except occasionally moving some music from my home computer to my phone.
The services I did end up interacting with the most on my mobile were almost all Google services — I use Gmail, Google Maps and Google search by default, and ended up using pretty much nothing made my Microsoft (I access my work email through Outlook Web Access on my phone, since my firm doesn’t support non-BlackBerry mobile devices here in Canada).
I’ve owned knowledgecog for a few years now, and the site has went through a few radical transformations. For about the last year, I was working on a few ideas for knowledgecog, but nothing really definitive came out of it. So instead of coming up with something completely new, I decided to get back to basics.
Originally, I had the idea of publishing some of the news feeds I’d created for myself using Yahoo! Pipes — and I’ve decided that since that was the original point of knowledgecog, why not just get the site working as I had originally intended it? So I put 4 feeds (business and competitive intelligence, enterprise search, knowledge management, and social networking and collaboration) on the main page, and I’ve got a few other lists of potentially useful information about KM at the bottom. It’s simple, and it’s going to stay that way.
You can click through to a longer list of feed items from the main page, and you can also subscribe to the Pipe itself using the RSS link beside the title (which will take you to the RSS version of the Pipe page). I’m going to be working on the news feeds over the next few weeks in order to refine the results as much as I can. Enjoy the new knowledgecog! And of course, any suggestions or feedback on the new site are always welcome. Just leave a comment or get in touch with me through the contact form.
I was speaking to my father last week (who is recently retired), and he told me a story about a friend of his who was going to be doing some public speaking. His friend was feeling rather nervous about the prospect of speaking in front of a group.
My father, who’s done his fair share of public speaking over the course of his career as a manager, wrote up the 10 points I’ve detailed below. I thought these points were great and wanted to share them. So here you go:
Tip #1: Remember that no one in the audience knows as much as you do about the topic. You are the expert.
Tip #2: The audience is interested in what you have to say. Slow down and take the time to think between the points you want to emphasize. This will demonstrate your confidence and the depth of your knowledge of the subject.
Engadget posted a bunch of info and analysis on Windows Mobile 7 yesterday (now called Windows Phone 7 Series — no more Windows Mobile), and the new OS looks pretty serious. It’s a complete minimalist, monochromatic departure from Windows Mobile 6.5 (which in my opinion is a very, very good thing).
Microsoft has desperately needed to reinvent themselves in the mobile marketplace, and it looks like this may be exactly the sort of dramatic change they needed (and hopefully indicates the direction they’re heading in).
While I’m not crazy about the inability to install apps not sanctioned by Microsoft inside their Marketplace, the visual appeal and improved user experience of this new OS may still be enough to win some folks back to the Microsoft mobile platform.
Here’s a video from Engadget showcasing the Windows Phone 7 Series and some of its features.
I’ve always found the transformational nature (data turns into information, which turns into knowledge, which turns into wisdom) as well as the lack of focus on context (‘wisdom’ — whatever wisdom is — is not always necessarily better to have than data) a bit annoying. But read Patrick’s post, it’s very informative and makes some great points.
With any system, there is the inevitable volume question — how do we derive the quality information from the mediocre but high-quantity information. As Jack correctly points out, using collaboration tools (think Twitter, FaceBook, etc.) can actually make it more difficult to track that conversation down later on, whereas an email conversation (thread, basically) might be easier to search through.
In addition to Jack’s points, I can also envision situations where client confidentiality or other sensitivities would prevent you from having this sort of public conversation — where you would want the flow of any conversation to be tightly controlled and monitored (counter-intuitive to collaboration, I know, but unfortunately, sometimes a regulatory or legal reality).
I’ve always believed that most of the time, frustrations arise due to people picking the wrong method of communication for a particular conversation. There is nothing inherently good or bad about email, we just sometimes need to give a bit more thought as to whether it’s the appropriate mode of communication for what we need to talk about.
I was sitting on the subway last week (which is unusual for me, as I tend to avoid the subway at all costs), and during one of the brief moments where the train goes above ground, was sending a few emails. After giving myself a mental pat on the back for being so productive, I took a look around the subway car. Guess what everyone else was doing?
Exactly the same thing I was.
It was then that I had a sudden realization about productivity: while technology may enhance our productivity when compared to how productive we used to be without (or with a ‘lesser’) technology, I seldom think about how little my productivity actually increases compared to others.
The video has to be your own work and publicly available for people to watch, but other than that, there’s not really many rules as far as content or subject matter go. So if you’ve got something to say about knowledge management, or are just super-talented at making viral videos, why not submit something?
Patrick’s also giving away some prizes: KM Method Cards, KM Approaches, Methods and Tools – A Guidebook, and his Organisation Culture Cards (worth US$140).
I just wanted to write a quick post to wish all my readers a great 2010. It’s hard to believe that the first ten years of this millennium are already behind us — it sometimes seems that time just keeps moving faster (I sometimes wonder if there is any correlation between how much time we spend using technology and the perception of how quickly time passes… but I digress).
I know that 2009 was a rough year for many, but let’s hope things continue to pick up in 2010. Hopefully you all got to spend some time with friend and family before the end of the calendar year (and some rest as well!). All the best in the upcoming year.
