Needed: Enterprise Strategies for Innovation, Content Management, and Social Media Infrastructure

Jeffrey Phillips’ blog post Innovation Location suggests that one of the management challenges that the innovation process creates is “… where should it be done, and who should be doing it?” He lists the following possible locations: * Within R&D and/or a product group * Across product groups * White Space innovation * Innovation between a business and a partner * Innovation in the open

Social Media and Disaster Management

The recent flap about “social media press releases” reminded me of a topic I’ve been batting around for a while — the use of social media to assist public communication about recovery activities during emergency and crisis situations. I’m not taking about PR crises, I’m talking about natural disasters or terrorist attacks. After Katrina all kinds of online sources and blogs came into play, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about how important citizen perceptions of source authority are in communicating effectively.
It's amazing what you can find by searching the web -- if you know how to look. I've been heads-down for the past few weeks on a client project, a strategic market analysis for an international outsourcing firm. I've been researching available public sources of sales and technology trends in a variety of markets. I've been aggressively pursuing a variety of web based research options as well as purchasing research documents in a few key areas.
I am reminded that at one time in the past the idea that EDI standards for electronic interchange of detailed product information was viewed as science fiction. Now modern industrial supply chains cannot operate without EDI. As we stumble towards a world where communications are tied into an interconnected semantic web, will we also see similar kinds of structure evolving in our personal and social communications?
I'm an independent consultant. I move from place to place a lot. Sometimes I hook into a client's network, sometimes not. I'm constantly on the web and I'm increasingly using web based resources to support my work.
I recently demonstrated social networking and social media concepts to a group of professionals via a special version of this blog. I showed among other things how easy it is to locate RSS feeds and subscribe to them as well as the various ways you can view them. I even showed how easy it is to see what Netflix DVDs I have at home, courtesy of a special RSS feed. In retrospect I realize how confusing this topic can be to some people who are accustomed to the concept of “web sites” and “web pages.”

Mr. Lincoln's Telegraphy Practices and Modern Email

A while back I published an announcement about a new book by Tom Wheeler called Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War. Tom sent me a note suggesting I also check out the book’s web site, which is here. One of the things listed on the web site is a discussion of how Abraham Lincoln used telegraphy and how this might relate to modern usage of email.