Friday Morning Report

The other week was the Enterprise 2.0 conference, typically highly hyped and loud this year I almost missed it since it seemed a lot more subdued than normal. However, I have to say reading this post by Susan kind of reminds me of the whole “Lightblub going off”.

“Yes, the baby was born in ‘06, started crawling in ‘07, and now is running around like a maniac with boundless energy in ‘09. The Enterprise 2.0 movement is now a healthy child, growing stronger and more willful every day (just a cabinet door away from getting into trouble…) I returned from the Enterprise 2.0 conference this week rejuvenated, as I’d hoped to. The number UNO issue on the minds of this year’s customer conference attendees was: HOW THE »» DO WE DO THIS??? Customers wanted to hear from other customers, not us (the so-called experts in Enterprise 2.0). The best sessions for me were definitely the unconference sessions where real practitioners could talk frankly about their challenges and share their successes.”

— ITSinsider | What (2006), Why (2007), now How (2009) for Enterprise 2.0  Being one of those “customers” as well as one of those “other” people it’s been a conflict at best when I talk about these concepts and methods associated with this strange new world we live in. So seeing this post was one of those moments when you realize that their is meat behind the hype and hope that the Enterprise will finally start to progress forward. Looks like I’m not alone as in a new post today Susan shares some of those who have already signed on board.

“Within 24 hours, the 2.0 Adoption Council has amassed an impressive showing of large enterprises who are wrestling with adoption issues for 2.0 tools and practices.”

— SoCo Partners | The 2.0 Adoption Council Hits a Chord… Nor does it seem that I am misunderstood

I’ve decided the time is right to launch a community for “Internal 2.0 Evangelists.” As I’ve been a 2.0 Evangelist for the broader sector (and I thought my job was difficult), I realized the job of the internal evangelist is far, far more difficult. These folks toggle between fighting the good fight every day and then slipping uneasily into a sort of DMZ where they can peek out into the broader community for support and the rejuvenation they need to go on fighting another day. It’s often a thankless job with no clear roadmap for advancement, yet the majority of them do it because they believe in the principles of the 2.0 movement. I celebrate them!

Since joining SAP back in 2005 I’ve been working the “skunk works” and installing OSS software packages that helped make my job and those around me both easier as well as more efficient knowing the whole time that I was not alone yet not knowing who else was out there. I know now…