Blogging

ALSO NOTED: IRS vulnerable to social engineering hacks; Nortel begins trolling for takeover targets;

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

> IRS vulnerable to social engineering hacks. Article

> Nortel begins trolling for takeover targets. Article

> Cisco plans to hold onto Linksys brand. Article

> General Motors' CIO in favor of Oracle's latest acquisitions. Article

> San Francisco's voters to weigh in on municipal WiFi network. Article

And finally... After 14 months of blogging anonymously and assuming the persona of Steve Jobs, the 'Fake Steve' finally reveals himself. Article

Vendors Jump on Web 2.0 Bandwagon

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Vendors are responding to the new Web 2.0 trends of blogging, instant messaging and wikis with many new technologies and products that can track and control corporate communication. Companies are introducing passive monitoring type products, including technologies that can warn employees if they are about to violate a corporate rule by using profanity or sending confidential documents. Others block employees from saving content to portable devices like a USB thumbdrive or censor offensive pictures or videos sent via email or IM. "Passive monitoring is the place to start but not the place to end," Michael Rothschild, senior director of product marketing for Orchestria, told ComputerWorld. "It's like having border control that only tells you after the fact if a terrorist has gotten in."

For more on Web 2.0 monitoring:
- see this ComputerWorld article

ALSO NOTED: Survey: Experience most important; Mapping out a data protection plan;

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> Mapping out a data protection plan. Article

> Where to begin with ITIL and configuration management. Article

> Survey: Experience more important than qualifications for IT management. Article

> New Bluetooth 2.1 spec will fix security flaws. Column

> Executive buy-in and project success. Article

> Blogging for effective marketing. Article

And Finally… The three-minute meeting. Blog

Study: Web 2.0 as a competitive maneuver

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:39 -0400

A recent survey of CIOs by Forrester Research found that many large companies are using one or more Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS, social networking and content tagging. Using these collaborative tools is the best way to compete in today's business world and can increase internal efficiency, the survey found. Many CIOs noted that they accepted the use of these tools because they were afraid that their companies would lose market share if they didn't keep up with their competitors' use of the technologies. Of all of these tools, CIOs found wikis, RSS and tagging the most useful and social networking and blogs less useful. But with time, the report noted that all of these tools will make even greater headway into the enterprise.

Read more about Web 2.0 in the enterprise:
- read the article at ComputerWorld

ALSO:
- read this about Web 2.0 for the enterprise
- this on reasons to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon
- this on wikis entering the corporate consciousness
- this on wikis bringing some business tools into play
- this on making the most of RSS
- this on a new data delivery stream via RSS
- this on tapping into the world of social networking
- and this on corporate blogging

Do your homework when hiring bloggers

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Blogging can be good for your business, improving the corporate image, raising visibility and bolstering customer relationships. But with little time, many companies are turning to outside sources to write those blogs. Choose your bloggers carefully, though. Otherwise, you could experience some of the high-profile gaffes recently in the news, such as bloggers for the John Edwards campaign, who were found to have written some inflammatory postings earlier in their careers. Know what people have published, and have policies on which words are owned by your organization and which aren't, as well as what's acceptable and what isn't.

Read more about responsible blogging:
- read the article at CIO Insight

ALSO: read this on corporate blogging as a productivity tool

Corporate blogging: The next productivity tool?

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Corporate blogging can save companies money and time while improving the corporate image, raising visibility and improving relationships with customers. Often thought of as a place for executives to rant a bit, blogs also can be used to track customer comments, providing insight to senior executives that can lead to productive change. Blogs also perform very well on search engines, making them a great tool to increase website traffic. By using tracking codes in links from the corporate blog, you can identify which visits click through to offers or order forms. That makes it a good way to identify sales that arise directly from blog traffic. Blogs can also be used to float ideas or inform customers about corporate developments or new products. But evaluate the ROI carefully: blogs are cheap to start, but employees spend two to three hours per week maintaining their online journals.

For more about corporate blogging:
- read the column at TechTarget

Related Articles:
Beware of employee blogs. Report
Practices for a corporate blog effort. Report

ALSO NOTED: Microsoft adds a "shield" against phishing in latest IE version; New Yahoo upgrade also boasts a Trojan surprise; a

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 19:01:33 -0500

> Microsoft adds a "shield" against phishing in latest IE version. Article

> New Yahoo upgrade also boasts a Trojan surprise. Article

> Big Yellow worm requires patch for Symantec flaw. Article

> Analysts see the peak of the blogging craze coming next year. Article

> 2007 will be the year hackers aim at phones, social sites and messaging. Article

> Analyst: Big companies aim to cut IT spend next year. Article

And Finally... Some gift ideas for today's tech leaders in the news. Article

Editor's Corner

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:01:40 -0400

What's the true value of corporate blogging?
There have been a number of articles recently about the value of corporate blogging, and the latest one at BusinessWeek got me thinking about how truly valuable this communication format can be and about whether most enterprises are doing it, just now considering it or are dismissing it. A few jobs back, the company I worked for turned to a Wiki strategy for communicating on projects and updates with company issues. While I thought it was a pretty cool tool, I found it difficult and clumsy as I had to put reminders in my email calendar to check the Wiki on a regular basis. It would have been nice to have an alert when information had been added or updated so I could jump over to it and check it out. The same issue I fear will come into play with a blog scenario. The key would be including an RSS feed or email alert to let employees know of recent additions. Otherwise interest will stall and little use will come from the blogger's time. What's your take on using blogs for IT information dissemination? Have you considered it? Are you already doing it? Send me your insights and I'll share them here next week with your fellow tech leaders. Hope you have a great Fall weekend.
- Judy

SPOTLIGHT: Social networks are proving valuable for HR tasks

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:01:34 -0400

It's been a little slow to catch on in the corporate world, but using social networks to investigate potential hires and learn information about competitors is clearly grabbing traction within the business sector. While there are still quite a few hurdles before business networks become a favored connection with corporate leaders, the technology is proving to be a useful tool. Article

PLUS: Why CEO blogging is catching on. Article

ALSO NOTED: Financial titan poo-poos online banking system flaw; A look at today's top 10 security issues; and much more...

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 20:01:33 -0400

> Financial titan poo-poos online banking system flaw. Article

> A look at today's top 10 security issues. Article

> AOL's data incident isn't prompting Google to make any changes. Article

> New software tool will provide automated code testing capability. Article

> Why following all best practices may not be a good practice. Article

> Book offers insight on the good and bad of corporate blogging. Review

And Finally... Future mobile capabilities that will change our lives. Article