First, study the hype-curve for all it's worth. ( http://static7.userland.com/oracle/gems/reynolds/hypecycle.png ) There, that should be about all it's worth -- useful, but no longer a new idea. Now here's the formula: When you find an idea gaining early mind share -- talk it up. You...

My experience with Facebook has been great. I'm somehow engaged with Facebook nearly every day -- sometimes multiple times a day. Of course I'm there not only as a participant, but as an analyst. That changes the experience. Think of it this way -- if you read several books on the subject of writing...

Recently I found myself wondering about a comment from Sean discussing the order in which an organization should implement web 2.0 features . Sean's answer was this: "So, what’s the answer? Simple ( simple to say, not do ). The answer is none of the above . The most important feature to implement in...

(This was accidentally published in "note-to-self" form. Excuse me. It must have seemed more than a little incoherent.) Anyway, In a recent paper, The Significance of Social Software, Dana Boyd makes the following point: "While early social technologies were about finding people with similar interests...

Bear in mind, Claimspace has yet to ship in any form. It's sooo close to shipment (if only partial shipment), it's painful for those of us that have been waiting. Also, be aware that most of the capabilities I discuss below will not be apparent in the first release. This post is about potential, appropriate...

My new organization uses these terms. We didn't. We used some others, but the end game is the same. Just to be clear, tenets call out what we value (though not necessarily why), and the KPI's (key performance indicators) are intended to help us measure our effectiveness against those things we've said...

The factors influencing the rate at which any given innovation spreads throughout a population are well known. Applying those factors remains a bit of an art, but the exercise is always instructive. That's especially so when we start thinking about marketing investments. The single best source of...

Josh has an excellent post reviewing Amazon's investments in social software. (Thanks also to Brian for all the analysis ). I agree they're good, and we've taken a number of clues from them including a hard-core focus on purpose-driven social software design. And clearly they're a reasonable general...

Great post by Infotangle. "Information design for the Web has changed. People are changing the way that they consume online information, as well as their expectations about its delivery. The social nature of the Web brings with it an expectation of interaction with information and modern Web design is...

Here's an article I wrote explaining a few of the reasons customers should care about the new community services we've built. Microsoft should care, and does, for a variety of reasons. Most of them having to do with customers being happier, better connected, and more productive. But there are other reasons...

This article describes the value of the next generation of Microsoft community investments to the customer. Actually it does so three times: short, medium, and large. Short and sweet answer: In the experience of most people, the internet makes available too much information. The new community services...

From Wikipedia: A social network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations. It indicates the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds. Social networks, then, cover a range...

I can't help myself. I'm bent on doing my utmost to come to some agreement on the meaning of terms under discussion. It's become top-of-mind for me recently because my group has been part of a general reorganization and the slow process of understanding between the new housemates has only just begun...

Of what? Of the notion that weak tie community of the online sort does constitute enough connection between people to activate the social aspects of your brain. If you're interested in more detail about the "social" aspects of the brain, Social Intelligence is a good introduction. ...

Why is investment in online community communications -- specifically, enabling social networking and social computing -- unlike most innovative efforts you'll ever undertake? Two reasons: the strategy is rock solid, and the community will do all the real innovating. How can the strategy be considered...

This OPML Generator idea is clearly right up my alley. Kudos to Andyed for pulling it together. I've been whispering about the relevance of social network placement in every Live(.com) ear that would listen for well over a year. I took my present position at Microsoft.com in part to deliver a service...

It should go without saying -- but I'll make it clear anyway -- that the views expressed herein are exclusively my own. If my boss should see this, or his boss (or heaven forbid his boss), please consider this in the spirit in which it is offered. And that is pretty spirited. Anyway, a short while ago...