Trends about our culture today show us people are busy and tolerance for complicated things seems to be getting lower with each passing day. Twitter tapped this culture trend of time commitment by keeping post limited to 140 characters and with it’s User Friendly / People Focused Design. The Mobile Market is exploding, more people own mobile devices than computers. Twitter tapped this trend by integrating a mobile strategy early in their plan. People like things to fit their needs, this is why Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) should be a critical part of any technology strategy. Twitter empowers people through it’s API with the ability to share custom information across multiple environments.
Happy Fav Five Friday!
Fav Five Places
I actually have a few more than five favorite places. I hope you don’t mind.
The Famous Twitter Sketch
You can see the birth of the idea for Twitter in this sketch and you can read Jack Dorsey’s thoughts about this sketch here. Notice the simplicity of the design and how the idea of sharing across multiple channels was an early thought. The discovery (”find-em”) part toward the bottom is a very smart piece to include early in the design too. Sharing ideas (Collaboration) is the main point of Enterprise 2.0. This sketch reminds us of how a simple idea, shared with others can grow into something beyond your imagination.
Twitter Talk at TED
Evan Williams of Twitter talks about integrating his ideas about SMS with Jack Dorsey’s ideas about Twitter. Evan goes on to talk about the Fundamentals of Twitter. He quickly describes how people discover uses of Twitter for Business and in Government.
A great quote here is, “One of the many ways that users shaped the evolution of Twitter”. I can’t wait to here this in the Enterprise, “One of the many ways that USERS shaped the evolution of Enterprise 2.0″.
Twitter’s design and API make this tool so simple to use, that a common house plant can communicate to the world. This reminds us of the power of simplicity. Technology should lower barriers, not create new ones.
“Going far beyond the original idea” is another great quote. I believe Enterprise 2.0 is designed to support doing this very thing.
There are many things taught about innovation in this video
Twitter CEO Evan Williams speaks to users in Tokyo
“What we learned time and time again from listening…” is an important quote in this video. You can also see the chart of all the tweets over the course of the World Cup. This got me thinking about what would happen to your business if an idea had this much collaboration through Enterprise 2.0 tools.
Biz Stone and Evan Williams on Twitter
In this more recent video we hear Biz and Evan talk about how relationships are important. Listening to customers can help avoid PR disasters and improve brand loyalty. A little communication can reverse a customers decision about going to your competitor. They also share some important thoughts on privacy.
How Twitter Changed My Life
This is an impressive presentation about Twitter and how to harness it’s value.
Twitter provides a nice collection of case studies. These case studies include reports from big businesses, non-profits, and government.
The Power of the API
In the first video Evan mentions there were over 2,000 applications using Twitter’s API. Their API enables people to share filtered customized data across multiple environments. The ability to share information across multiple environments increases the opportunities for collaboration. What if your Enterprise 2.0 Solution had an API to support sharing data when you need it, where you need it?
Twitter API Mashups and Apps on Programmable Web
You can discover and learn from a huge collection of APIs and developers at Progammable Web.
Twitter API Mashups and Apps on Yahoo Pipes
You can discover some new ways of using Twitter at Yahoo Pipes.
Fav Five Faces
Who is on your “Fantasy Innovation Team” this week?
Here are just a few new friends that have connected me to new people and new ideas this week. You might be familiar with “Fantasy Football Teams” and such, well this is my “Fantasy Innovation Team” this week. I recommend following these smart, creative people on Twitter.
Communication strategist. Digital Something. Connector. Entrepreneur. Anime & SciFi lover. http://twitter.com/db
VP of Product at Spigit, the SaaS enterprise innovation management platform. And a Dad who misses running marathons. http://twitter.com/bhc3
IT consultant, managing software development/ integration projects for a living; .Net, CMS, intranet, collaborative workplace, knowledge management, e-learninghttp://twitter.com/dzhu
Technology consultant/architect at IBM in Cambridge MA, enterprise search, social computing; piano, a cappella, cyclist, origami, iPhone; my tweets are my own!http://twitter.com/eric_andersen
social media strategist, technological optimist, blogger, consultant, father, spreker, innovatie, php, wordpress | I collect and tweet interesting links http://twitter.com/rickmans
Evan Williams @ev, the CEO of Twitter gives a TED Talk about Twitter. In the birthing room of ODEO, Twitter is born from Jack Dorsey’s @Jack idea of sending status updates. Evan covers many fundamental keys to success in this video. Thanks to Dr. Harish Kotadia @HKotadia for bringing this to my attention.
How many minutes does it take for someone to mention Facebook or Twitter in an Enterprise 2.0 presentation? Usually I hear someone explaining Enterprise 2.0 by saying “It’s like facebook inside the firewall. You may also hear references to Twitter when covering enterprise 2.0 communication channel topics. We also hear about twitter and facebook when people are discussing “Activity Streams“. Dion Hinchcliffe covers “Activity Streams”, Microblogging, & more in this article: Ten emerging Enterprise 2.0 technologies to watch Other interesting news about “Activity Streams” is the patent granted to Facebook. These are great tools in the Social Media/Networking space, however, most Successful Enterprise 2.0 Solutions are created around specific business needs & workflows. Enterprise 2.0 is not facebook or twitter, but it is important for us to understand why these Social Media and Networking sites are so popular and apply our knowledge within our Enterprise 2.0 Architecture.
Shinjuku architecture by Stefan (Flickr)
Enterprise 2.0 Architecture
Enterprise 2.0 Architecture is a complete expression of the enterprise. The equation values of collaboration and communication provide solutions for supporting goals, visions, & missions of the enterprise. The equation of business remains fluid, therefore the structure should not be rigid. You can see more of my thoughts and resources on Enterprise Architecture in this article E 2.0: The Strategic Planning of Enterprise Architecture
Seems like most people in the Social Media world have adopted these services like a fish to water. Most features are very intuitive, which leads to rapid adoption. This experience feels like a result of Design Thinking.
Design Thinking
Design thinking is a process for practical, creative resolution of problems or issues that looks for an improved future result. It is the essential ability to combine empathy, creativity and rationality to meet user needs and drive business success. Unlike analytical thinking, design thinking is a creative process based around the “building up” of ideas. There are no judgments early on in design thinking. This eliminates the fear of failure and encourages maximum input and participation in the ideation and prototype phases. Outside the box thinking is encouraged in these earlier processes since this can often lead to creative solutions.
In organization and management theory, design thinking forms part of the Architecture/Design/Anthropology (A/D/A) paradigm, which characterizes innovative, human-centered enterprises. This paradigm also focuses on a collaborative and iterative style of work and an abductive mode of thinking, compared to practices associated with the more traditional Mathematics/Economics/Psychology (M/E/P) management paradigm. [Wikipedia]
5 Quick Dev/Design Tips from Twitter & Facebook
How we interact with technology is evolving. Our expectations are higher and our patience is lower. The World Wide Web is a very competitive place, but twitter & facebook are seeing unbelievable growth. Solutions inside the Enterprise have less competition and should experience rapid adoption. Adoption rates may vary, so here are some areas to review, if adoption rates are not meeting expectations.
Adoption by Design is superior to any well written manual with petty pictures.
User Experience using Web 2.0/3.0 technologies to improve speed & behavior.
Use of standard Design Patterns for intuitive interfaces.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) supporting sharing information across multiple devices in multiple formats & views.
Experimenting with Features along with collecting feedback, helps to keep users interested and shows you care.
Verizon Fios Twitter Widget Displays Tweets on TV During Shows
This is a picture of my TV with the Fios Twitter Widget on during Jon and Kate plus 8.
Notice the Tweets on the right. I assume the names to the right of the profile images are twitter account names.
The idea of Twitter on Your TV
“will be able to see tweets from the entire Twitter community based on either a category or topic they’ve selected or based upon what they’re currently watching on TV” Read the full story.
Lizzar
The first Twitter account in the picture above looks like @Lizzar
