What will be the Internet for my apps?

Maggie Fox, September 17 2007

That’s the question that popped into my head while listening to the Social Computing panel at Office 2.0 in San Francisco two weeks ago. John McCrae was pointing out that Facebook’s strategy of not allowing users to get data out – that is, the inability to extract data from the platform in order to have it interact with software outside – was actually something that would limit the social networks’ growth in the long term. The reality is there’s stuff outside Facebook, and people are going to want to do and use that stuff – trying to force them to live their lives in exclusively your space is foolish.

Which was underscored by a recent post from Chris Keene, called 5 Show-Stoppers That Cause Enterprise 2.0 Apps to Fail. #2:

Look but don’t touch widgets. Although this is changing (see here for the latest on Google’s pub/sub widgets), the vast majority of widgets can’t exchange data. This allows for an infinite variety of cute clock and horoscope widgets, but a paucity of useful business functionality in widget form.

So aside from widgets we have all these wonderful communication and collaboration tools – all online, all different. All completely separate and mostly unable to talk to each other. Which begs the question – what standard or tool will emerge that will be the Internet for my apps and allow me to leverage all this incredible interconnectivity to its’ full potential?

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How to Get Buy-In for Your Web 2.0 Project

Maggie Fox, September 11 2007

I’m doing a webinar this week (my first, actually) – here’s the official verbiage, and if you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. I wonder if it will be weird? I’m used to speaking to groups, but not like this!

How to Get Buy-in For Your Web 2.0 Project
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2:00-3:15 PM Eastern

You understand the incredible transformative power of social media in the hands of millions of users. You know that a properly executed strategy can propel your firm well past the competition in the hearts and minds of your consumers. But how do explain all of this to your boss? In this engaging and informative seminar, leading social media practitioner Maggie Fox will share her numerous experiences in getting corporate buy-in at the highest levels, giving you the understanding and ammunition you need to get the Web 2.0 ball rolling within your firm.

Learning Topics:
1. Statistics and Usage
2. Best Practices/Case Studies/Benefits
3. Metrics, Measurements and ROI
4. Risks/Risk Management
5. Resource Requirements/Planning for Success

Questions that will be answered:
1. The numbers – bosses may not know social media, but they know numbers. We’ll talk about how many people use web 2.0 tools and platforms and provide you with the ammunition you need to provide context and justification for your social media plans.
2. Who’s doing what? Using practical facts and case studies we’ll examine emerging best practices and give you examples of how companies have successfully leveraged social media.
3. How can you measure the success of a social media program? There are no metrics “formulas”, but we’ll talk about setting benchmarks, measuring engagement and touch on the idea of calculating ROI
4. The risks – what are they, and what do you need to be careful of? How can you neutralize them? Do’s and don’ts.
5. Resources – using real-world examples, we’ll talk about basic resource requirements and how planning ensures success.
6. Open Q&A – bring your questions. There will be an open Q&A session following the formal presentation.

Who should attend?
1. Executives and managers who “get” social media but need buy-in from key decision-makers to move forward.
2. Executives who have heard about “Web 2.0” and are trying to assess whether it’s important or not.

Hope to “see” you there…

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