Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Work Stories: Web 2.0 and an Internet Titan

I was scheduled this morning to show Steven W. (in the Cambridge office) how to use Adobe Connect for collaboration and screen sharing. Duck meets water. Sheesh. After less than five minutes he diverted me from the script and we took off in all sorts of directions. First diversion was "let's put down the phone and try the audio conferencing". I hadn't used it before so we sort of stumbled around a bit, but shortly got it working and didn't use the phone for the following hour and a half. The audio cut out a few times - predictably when we switched layouts - but we figured out how to restore it. He's probably the best user in the company now besides me and Chris, and I'll have to continue practicing with him to keep up.


In the mid-afternoon I had to give a presentation on collaboration and associated techniques technologies, and social implications and ramifications, i.e. Web 2.0. I based it on Tapscott's business theory of wikinomics and included many of my own observations. It was a success inasmuch as we (Chris and I) didn't get thrown out of the room. We didn't get a go-ahead either, but at least we planted a seed.

After that I went straight to a "retirement" party for Bob Anderson. Bob didn't really retire, in that many people of his stature and seniority don't really retire from there, they just go to 1/3 time and move to adjunct status. He'll retain a shared office, a phone line and his email address and will probably continue to do occasional project work, but he won't be in the building regularly anymore.

the toll to date

Another month has passed since last post. Three weeks after that post (on 30 March) I got word that Tom, a good friend of nearly 35 years, died on 21 March. And I'd also been deeply concerned over another friend who I'd learned in January had had unprecedented brain surgery to remove a cyst. She survived, but barely. The first three months of 2007 have been challenging, thus the dearth of posts.