I’m here at Office 2.0. It’s a terrific conference. I’d say the enthusiasm is outweighing the skepticism so far, but the day is not over.
In the meantime, Anne Zelenka has taken up the initiative to create a podcast for the conference. Be sure to tune in:
“The Office 2.0 Podcast Jam launched Monday with podcasts on the Office 2.0 revolution, technology usage in Afghanistan, and 2.0-style enterprise content management. This experimental project provides a virtual alternative to the Office 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Check in today for a discussion of Office and Web 2.0 in higher education, a proposal for an IT 2.0 toolkit, and coverage of the unified communications landscape underlying next-generation web technology.”
Visit the website at www.office20podcasts.com
Well said, Alan. I see both sides of the “IT as enemy” issue. Afterall, I used to be a champion of outsourcing in the early days; you can imagine how welcome my views were with IT management. But similar to outsourcing, IT started to recognize the value in “letting go.” Today, outsourcing is common practice and can be initiated by IT. On the other hand, I see firsthand how users are clamoring for a non-IT solution to their departmental issues. That’s why I’m sticking with the “revolutionary” language. Cliched yes, but time will tell.
Susan,
Any one of Dion’s blogs had more content than the entire panel session he moderated. No reflection on him–that panel just degenerated into a lot of vendor squabbling that didn’t have to do with much.
How can IT truly be the enemy when many of the most enlightened early adopters are in IT? There are constituencies within IT, of course, that resist the unfamiliar, particularly when it involves non-technical, fuzzy business issues and they think their turf is threatened. Then there are others who get it. We have to forge alliances with IT. It’s a matter of building critical mass….
Not everyone was drinking the kool-aid at Office 2.0, thankfully. It’s always helpful to have people who keep their distance and critique, as long as they do so thoughtfully, particularly when the tide of religious zeal starts to crest.
Hi Alan. Thanks for tuning in to the ITSinsider blog! Yes, I agree there were a lot of like-minded Office 2.0ers at the conference. Yet, I was surprised by the disagreement on a few key issues. For instance, is IT the enemy? It sparked some heated debate. I felt sorry for Dion Hinchcliffe. I thought with a little provacation it could have turned into a Jerry Springer-esque panel smackdown… 🙂 Thank goodness Dion is a gentleman!
Did you get the impression everyone was drinking the koolaid?
Susan,
I was really amazed at how like-minded people at this conference were. So many were tuned to the same frequency. Then, when I left and walked downstairs and out onto 3rd Street, that feeling left me immediately.
It must be a very tight group, at this point, anyway….