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Judging by the good number of positive comments I have received both online and offline, it looks like the first of the series of blog posts on My Top 5 iPad Apps of the Week has been somewhat helpful to a good number of folks. So, like I have mentioned on the initial blog entry, here I am, once again, wanting to share on this blog the top picks for Week #2.

You would remember how I am putting together these short articles based on the Daily #iPad App series I keep sharing over in Twitter, more than anything else as a reference for myself that I can keep mentioning back and forth, whenever people would be asking me about my favourite iPad apps. And also as a way to provide a more permanent basis for those recommendations, other than Twitter, since its search engine can only go back up to so many days…

The purpose of this exercise is to keep it on the short side as well, so you have an opportunity to read briefly why I have gone for those weekly picks and then provide you with a link to where you could download the apps, as you may see fit. So I am also going to continue with that plan for this particular blog post on Week #2. And without much further ado, here we go, once again:

• Twitter for iPad: Last week I mentioned how my all time favourite Twitter client on the iPad is Osfoora HD; this week, it looks like we have got a pretty decent rival in the shape of Twitter for iPad, the official Twitter client that has put together some pretty nifty features that would surely bring you a new Twitter experience on a mobile device. Now, I will still continue to make use of Osfoora HD, but you cannot deny one of the biggest advantages from this Twitter client: it is free! Worth a try, for sure!
• MindNode: Like I have mentioned in the past, I have been a big fan of mindmapping for several years now and time and time again, whenever there is a new mindmap app out there worth while having a look into I just can’t resist the temptation. Check MindNode. One of those mindmapping applications for the iPad that surely is quite interesting and worth while having a look into, more than anything else, because, if you have got MindNode Pro installed in your Mac, there is a full, and rather nifty, integration between the iPad and Mac apps, so you can take your newly created mindmaps where you would you would to. Pretty neat, don’t you think?
• GoodReader for iPad: There are quite a few file sharing apps available for the iPad, but if I would have to pick one that I enjoy quite a bit, I think that one would be GoodReader. One of the reasons why I have been accumulating a good number of PDF files, and other file formats is because I now have a lovely way of interacting with them through GoodReader, no matter how large they are. There is one other app I enjoy quite a bit (That I will probably talk about in another blog post from the series), but I think this one will make it into the top list of essential ones to get without any doubt. Another must-have.
• Newsy: If you are a news junkie, like I am myself, if you have a tendency to enjoy a cup of coffee (Or tea) in the morning and / or in the afternoon while you are catching up with the worlds and its various news, Newsy is one of those resources you just can’t do without. From an innovative approach towards delivering news (“Multiple Sources. The Real Story”), to a rather refreshing user experience of how you are actually going to digest the ones you would be interested in, Newsy is the kind of iPad app I am sure you will be checking out a couple of times a day … 
• Words with Friends HD: And, finally, the iPad game of the week! This one, Words with Friends, is actually one of my all time favourite ones, as I have mentioned, and blogged about, not too long ago. It’s like playing Scrabble, but with friends, so it gives you an opportunity to chill out in between activities, on a break at work, while you are travelling, while on vacation, etc. etc. and be just one short message away from those friends who may have hit that magic word that will get you in trouble. In a good way, obviously… And all of that in a matter of a couple of minutes. Here and there. Ideal for those idle times while you are waiting for things to happen 

  (Feel free to reach out over there, if you would want to play a game or two, because I guess you already know what my handle over there will be, right? )

And that’s it, folks! That’s My Top 5 iPad Apps of the Week for Week #2. Hope you have enjoyed the post and stay tuned for next week’s where I will be sharing the next round!

Have a good one everyone!

Technorati Tags: #elsuapps, Apple, Collaboration, Games, iPad, iPad Apps, Mac, Mindmapping, Osfoora HD, Productivity, Productivity Tools, Scrabble, Words With Friends, MindMaps, Recommentations, MindNode, Twitter for iPad, GoodReader for iPad, Newsy, Words

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One of the things I’ve been considering for a while is having an official comment policy.

It’s not because I feel I need one, per se – the community here is one of the best on the web.

I feel incredibly lucky to have you guys come here and share your views, because you always treat both me and your fellow commenters with respect when discussing something I’ve written.

That hasn’t changed.

So why a comment policy? Simple – it keeps everything upfront, so if anyone ever does “step out of line”, they’ll know why I either edited or deleted their comment.

Again, I’ve probably only had to do that 4-5 times in the 34,000+ comments made here since this blog started. That in itself goes to show what a great community you are.

I also want to make sure that you, the reader, feel safe and comfortable when sharing your views. As my comment policy states, I will not accept anyone attacking another commenter for having a point of view. You help make this blog what it is; the least I can do is help make it somewhere you want to hang out.

The blog policy can be found here, but I’ll also replicate it now:

When I write a blog post, it’s obviously my point of view. Once it’s in the open, though, it then becomes a shared point of view with you, the readers – and your point of view is what builds the discussions around a post. Sometimes you’ll agree with me; other times, not so much. And that’s what makes the comments after a post such a fervent breeding ground for ideas.

I don’t mind if you attack me for my views. Heck, I’m big and ugly enough to take your shots, and it shows me that you’re passionate about a topic – and I would never discourage passion.

Besides, I’m the person that’s invoked that reaction, so if it’s an attack, let’s have it open and unfiltered (although keeping it respectful would be nice).

What I won’t accept, however, is attacking other commenters. They’re like you – simply offering an additional view on the starting topic. By all means, attack me – the blog is my home and as the owner, I’m responsible for what goes on inside. But attacking another commenter – that’s poor form.

I’m a firm believer in an open comment policy; I don’t moderate before publication, because I feel that stints genuine interaction and conversation. Going by the conversations that have happened over the months, it would appear that most agree.

Let’s play nice and keep it that way. Like I say, attack me if you wish – as the instigator of discussion, I’m open to all views and words. But let’s treat the guests (and that includes you) nicely. Otherwise, you will be moderated and deleted where I feel it’s applicable.

And let’s keep the bigotry, hate, sexism, profanity and all that other fun stuff off here too. You want that, hit up TechCrunch, YouTube or similar.

What say you – fair?

I think that covers it pretty well.

Good to go?

Image: Bob.Fornal

I love it when it happens! You know, that “Serendipity Doing Its Magic” thing. It just happened once again! Earlier on today, as I was recovering from the @RWW effect, I was catching up through my Twitter timeline stream and I bumped into two wonderful YouTube video clips that come from two completely different worlds, yet, they are so well interconnected with one another that it is rather amazing how wonderfully well they combine each other’s powerful message: Knowledge is all about working smarter, not necessarily harder!

Those two video clips will take you about three and a half minutes to go through; I know, very short, very straight to the point, but incredibly inspirational. The first one is coming from IBM under the heading “IBM Business Solutions: CIO Collaboration Tools for a Smarter Planet” and it lasts for nearly one minute. Don’t worry, this blog post is not going to be one of those marketing pitches on how wonderful blah blah blah blah. Just follow the drift for a little while longer and watch it over here with the embedded code below:

Right, that wasn’t too bad, was it? Ok, you have watched that one already and you saw and heard a good bunch of interesting data of how unproductive work seems to be nowadays. You could probably say that it is not even knowledge work altogether, right? Well, what if it were. What if it were, but with a different twist to the whole equation? What if we would have that unique opportunity of injecting both smart collaboration and open knowledge sharing into the mix? How could we make it happen, you may be wondering, right?

Well, have a look into the second YouTube video I bumped into earlier on today and which I think would perfectly pave the road towards that smart collaboration that is mentioned on the first video clip as well. This time around this clip is the inaugural video from the 3rd International Conference on Managing Knowledge for Space Missions and you will be able to see it over here. It lasts for a bit over two and a half minutes and it starts with that brilliantly provocative heading of “Knowledge Is…“.

Now, I am not going to go much further into this blog post and spoil all the fun. I would encourage you all to click on PLAY on the embedded code below and in just a couple of words I will summarise quite nicely what you are about to watch further: be inspired!

You will probably have to watch it twice to capture all of the evocative messages, as you watch them pass by and let them stick around inside your brain, but, I tell you, this video is one of the more inspiring ones I have seen in months! And I am surely glad that it made my way today, because it surely confirms, if you have been reading this blog for a while now, how, indeed, Knowledge Is All About Working Smarter, Not Necessarily Harder. Because, after all, “knowledge is … passion and desire to learn!“

Passion for Knowledge (!!)

Technorati Tags: Collaboration, Communities, Enterprise 2.0, Events, Hippie 2.0, IBM, Innovation, KM, Knowledge Management, Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge Workers, Leadership, Learning, Life, Personal Knowledge Management, Personal Knowledge Sharing, PKM, PKS, Productivity, Productivity Tools, Social Bookmarking, Social Computing, Social Media, Social Networking, Social Networks, Social Software, Web 2.0, RWW, ReadWriteWeb, Serendipity, Business Solutions, Smarter Planet, Smart Work, Smart Collaboration, Managing Knowledge, ESOC, ESA, Conference Events, Germany, Space Missions, Space, Science, Inspiration, Knowledge, Working Smarter, YouTube, Videos

Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook are not a social media strategy. They are merely channels for your content and containers reflecting your presence. Your presence and content mean nothing to others unless you can add value to others.

Everyone seems to be pursuing social media strategies and many, if not all, call themselves a strategist. Most of the actions in the social space today are consumed with marketing and advertising using the same thinking with new technology. The essence of all things social is relational while the market uses all things social as institutional mediums for traditional marketing.

A relationship strategy  differs from a  marketing strategy in that it recognizes the long-term value  of  forming lasting relations, as opposed to most “Intrusion” marketing strategies.  Old marketing strategies focus upon acquisition of new clients by targeting majority demographics based upon prospective target lists.

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According to new figures released by a joint survey between Exact Target and CoTweet, Facebook users use the Like option for a brand for one overpowering reason – discounts and special offers.

Surveying 1,550 U.S.respondents aged 15 and older from March 2009 to April 2010, the results found that a whopping 40% of consumers like a brand or company on Facebook to “receive discounts and promotions.” When it comes to getting freebies, 36% would like a brand who offered giveaways.

Add to that 30% of those surveyed would like a brand to get updates on upcoming sales, and it’s clear that having a Facebook page offers a great opportunity for businesses to build loyalty with a willing customer base.

So how can you use this information for your business’s Facebook page?

Coupons and Customer Coding

The obvious way to market would be through coupons of your own. If you have flyers or discount coupons for your brick-and-mortar retail store, you can easily transfer that to your Facebook page.

Grab the artwork from your existing flyer (or make one unique to Facebook) and then transfer that to a tab on your page’s navigation menu. Currently this is created using the FBML application (and some HTML coding), though soon you’ll have to change to iFrame.

Call your tab something simple like Coupons or Discounts to grab attention. Then, to encourage folks to Like your page, only make the coupon or discount available to people after they like you. If you’re unsure how to do this, my friend John Haydon has a great guide on using Facebook HTML as well as hiding offers until people click your Like button.

I used this method when I offered a free Facebook Marketing ebook exclusively to folks that liked my Facebook page, and as you can see by this overview on the metrics, exclusive content definitely works.

Of course, getting folks to like your brand through coupons and discounts is just part of the process – keeping them is a whole other story.

Loyalty, Lists and Like Highlights

So now you have a bunch of folks that have liked your Facebook page because of your discount coupons or freebie offer. But how do you stop them from un-liking as soon as they have the coupon?

Simple – you market. But not just any old marketing – now you use the strengths of the Facebook page platform and make it a no-brainer for folks that like you to continue to do so.

• Facebook Insights are available for admins of any Facebook page, and will give you information on demographics, content popularity, interaction on offers and other useful insights into how people are acting on your page. Use this to tailor audience offers and time-sensitive specials.
• Facebook Updates are the equivalent of email lists, and will send a targeted message to people that like your page. The great thing with updates is that you can completely tailor them so that instead of everyone receiving a message, only those in a certain city, country, age range, demographic, etc, will receive the message. Perfect for gender-specific offers, or cultural events, or national holidays – anything you like, really.

On top of these two options, rotate your coupon and offers, and make sure they’re only available to people that like your page. Don’t settle into a routine – have an offer one week, then change two weeks later, then 2 days, etc. Mix it up so people will always have to be connected to your page to know when a new coupon is available.

Highlight your most valuable users as well.

Folks that interact the most; or use their coupon the most; or share your offer the most – give them special discounts and rewards to say thank you. It shows you value them, and also offers incentives to your other “fans” to become more involved.

These are just some of the ways you can be the brand that customers won’t just like, but be loyal to instead of being a fairweather friend.

And at the end of the day, isn’t that what you’re in business for?

Image: Exact Target and CoTweet

Admitting that one cannot control one’s addiction or compulsion;

• Don’t try to structure every process. Most of the world’s business processes are currently unstructured and executed using email and documents. Many of these just can’t be structured. Even though more and more processes will get structured over time, an even greater number of unstructured processes will be continue to be created.

Recognizing a greater power that can give strength;

• The reason that there are so many unstructured processes is because in the world of knowledge work, that is how people get things done. Don’t try to structure processes that are inherently unstructured – you’ll fail. Here are some basic questions to help ascertain whether your process can be structured or not:
  • Does the process have a lot of ad-hoc, unpredictable activity associated with it (i.e does it change each time it is executed)?
  • Are there a lot of exceptions associated with process?
  • Is the process a people process that is heavily dependent on the skill and knowledge of the participants –do they need to be in charge of the flow? Is negotiation and discussion between participants a major part of the process?
  • Does the process require investigation and research?
  • Is the process generating and gathering (for the most part) unstructured data and content (i.e. documents)?
  • Does the process flow change based on the accumulated documents and content?

Examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);  

• Get an adaptive case management (ACM) mentor (come join us at the ACM mentor camp on Sept 17) and learn to ask some basic questions about your processes and their structure.

Making amends for these errors;

• Take a look at your processes from a new angle – maybe they should remain unstructured, and you need to provide just enough of a framework to make them manageable, but not so much as to strangle them. Maybe there is a reason people stick to email and documents for certain processes.

Learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;

• Don’t think every process should be modeled.  Maybe your process can’t be rigorously modeled. Maybe the structure will emerge over time, or maybe never. Maybe tracking and monitoring can take place of control and rigorous modeling. Maybe “trust but verify” works better than “lock it down”. Maybe a BPMS and BPMN just aren’t the right tools. Think about the social and human aspects of your process and process participants (and the process experience).

Helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions

• Help spread the word in the process community. There are structured processes – which is where BPMS excel. Unstructured, unpredictable human processes – they exist, and aren’t just “processes that haven’t yet been structured” – that is where ACM can help.

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Social media are communications. While there are a lot of attention given to social media in essence the attention is more about communications than this thing we call social media.

Who Is Communicating?

Doc Searls coined the term "markets are conversations" and markets encompass suppliers, employees, customers and prospects, your market. While markets have always leveraged communications the dynamics of social technology are changing how markets interact with all constituents. When markets dynamics change then all things must change otherwise you will not keep the markets attention. If you can't keep and expand the markets attention about your brand then someone else is likely to do so at your cost.

A Forbes article by Bruno Aziza titled "Where Social Media Meets Strategy" states :Bad strategy execution originates from communication and engagement failures. The worst symptoms include employees disregarding the strategy and management ignoring employees' input about their strategic decisions.

Communication and engagement failures inside the organization are analogous to those outside the organization. Since social media has been identified as a key tactic to help organizations better talk with, rather than talk at customers, why shouldn't these organizations use social media similarly with their employees?

Beyond simply using social media as a mechanism to communicate among employees, leading organizations are using these tools to build better strategies, communicate them better and execute them.

Can Crowd Communications Help  Predict Outcomes?

Outcomes of strategy are determined by  what goes into building a strategy. What goes into a strategy is data, analysis, knowledge and creative thinking. Communicating with all stakeholders and getting proper and effective feedback is relevant to developing an effective strategy.  Predicting outcomes of your strategy is paramount to designing and executing strategies effectively. How can one predict outcomes?

In the past predictions were based largely on past data and assumptions about future events. Today there is an emerging science called "predictive markets" which using technology to determine the consensus, or wisdom, of the crowds. The technology enables "crowds" of people whom have an interest and affinity to outcomes on the horizon. Imagine knowing how the crowd feels about an event, a product, a service before such things have entered the market? Knowing whether your "bet" on the future is a valid bet or not is now predictable because "as the crowds speak, so shall it be".  Still don't get it? Stay tuned and we'll demonstrate it to you soon.

Employee Communications in a Global Economy

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First, a caveat. Not all affiliate marketers piss me off.

I’m not against anyone making money through products they endorse.

Heck, I promote the Headway theme and BlogOnCloud9 web hosting services (both affiliate links) because I believe they offer the best combination for WordPress bloggers.

But you’ll notice there’s an affiliate disclosure there, and that’s the part that pisses me off about certain affiliate marketers.

I’m seeing a lot of blog posts where affiliation isn’t disclosed. That’s bad enough, but you can always check if it’s an affiliate link by hovering your mouse over the link (and if it’s not a direct link but one with numbers and ID’s, you can usually bet that it’s an affiliate link).

Where I’m getting really annoyed is on Twitter. I see a bunch of recommendations for products that you just know are affiliate links and, true enough, if you click on the link you’ll see the affiliate URL before the normal one kicks in.

But there’s no mention of the affiliation in the tweet. Instead, it just looks like someone’s had a great experience with a brand, or they really like something and want to share it with their followers.

Fine, go for it. But you can’t disclose? Seriously? It’d take six characters to show it’s an affiliate link – (aff.). Would that really eat into your 140-character tweet limit? You have space for a ten-letter hashtag, but not the space to disclose the affiliation?

To me, that’s false advertising. You’re not disclosing your ties to the company, and that’s something the FTC was meant to be cracking down on in social media. Seems they still have a way to go.

Marketers get a bad rep from a ton of people, saying we’re only out to make a quick buck. Marketers in social media get much more stick, and we’re akin to the bubonic plague in some quarters.

But it’s no surprise when you seen crap like this hidden affiliation happening.

Does $20 a sale really mean that much to you that you give up the decency to be honest?

Image: Fr. Stephen, MSC

via gigaom.com

"Chartbeat, which launched last April, says it is tracking more than 1.2 million concurrent visitors to the various websites that use its analytics platform. Customers include Gawker Media — which has a beta version of the site that displays real-time reader information on its webpages, as shown in the screenshot below — as well as Time Inc., the Chicago Tribune, Starbucks and AOL. The company has 2,500 paying customers for its service, which starts at $9.95 a month (after a 30-day free trial), and wants to use the financing from Index and the other VCs to expand internationally." [Mathew Ingram]

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