Archive for August, 2012

Trends in Information Overload: is it Getting Better or Worse?

Posted on August 27th, 2012 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

I was a panelist in a webinar about email overload and was asked by the moderator whether I can describe some trends of the Information Overload problem over the years. Well – I’ve been leading the battle on information overload in the workplace for 18 years now, so at least I have a long span of years to seek trends in… and it was a good question. How has the Email Overload problem evolved since 1995? My answer: I can give some bad news, and some – though not dramatic – good news. The bad news is that Information Overload.. Read more

Just Published: New Article on HR’s Role in Social Media Adoption

Posted on August 23rd, 2012 · Posted in Uncategorized

The August issue of HR magazine, which is devoted to Knowledge Management, published an article I wrote titled אתגר והזדמנות: ארגון משאבי אנוש כקטליזטור בהטמעת מדיה חברתית בארגון (Challenge and Opportunity: the HR Group as a Catalyst in Social Media Adoption in the Enterprise). It derives from my passionate belief that organizations need to embrace employees’ use of advanced IT and Internet tools, while guiding adoption sensibly. And being in an HR management journal, it speaks specifically of why HR is ideally positioned to facilitate the adoption of Gen Y tools and mindset in organizations often led by older managers… Read more

Do What I Mean: Is DWIM a Blessing or a Curse?

Posted on August 19th, 2012 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

Remember Alta Vista? I do; I’ve been a search engine junkie from day one, back in the mid-nineties when the explosion of web servers made these miraculous tools indispensable. At the time I was driving Intel’s adoption of the Web, and was teaching a “Searching the Internet” course I’d developed; I believed that proper searching know-how will become a critical skill in the years ahead. I was right with that prediction, of course, but I hadn’t foreseen one development: my course had put emphasis on Boolean search syntax and the related mindset; and these have slowly been driven out by.. Read more

How You Can Stop the Abuse of Reply to All

Posted on August 14th, 2012 · Posted in Individual Solutions, Organizational Solutions

Reply to All: probably the most hated feature of Email. How do I know? Because whenever I work with clients to reduce Email Overload, one request pops up right at the beginning: Can we put a stop to the abuse of Reply All? Yes, you can. But before I talk about solutions, let’s consider why anyone would misuse Reply to All in the first place, if they hate it so? Part of the problem, and the reason the feature is retained, is that it is really about enabling two very different functions: Conversation: When communicating within  a small team, it.. Read more

Ubiquity

Posted on August 2nd, 2012 · Posted in Analysis and Opinion

I was at an event where graduating college students were presenting their projects. One student was showing a software system that allows you to use a Smartphone – with its motion sensors – as a 3D controller for a video game. On one slide he compared his tool to a Wii setup, and under “Cost” he pointed out that a Wii system costs a couple hundred bucks and the software he was presenting would cost under $5. I couldn’t resist pointing out that for his system you needed to also have a smartphone, which would cost more than the Wii;.. Read more