Realizing I need to keep business and perosnal musing seperate this will revert to my own area again.
Some topics will be how to buy a ferrari with a hyundai limit and other interesting tidbits.
Best to start at DealTaker, link is on the side and Deal News.
Why 2? Because sometimes the grass is grener.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, June 01, 2007
Can an Evangelist not be Invincible
A good question. No, an excellent question.
Sometimes you venture out beyond your scope of knowledge, for clients.
And when you go asking for information you sound like a jr. tech geek.
But I will always be the first one to say "I don't know" when I don't. I learned enough to know when to reach for help, rather than make something up for clients.
Such is the case I find myself while asking the very knowledgeable Nathan of OpenNTF.org fame. My appdev knowledge died years ago, around the same time Windows enabled databases.
So I needed some help with a DB2 integration question for R7 and he gave me an answer which was concise and to the point and even financially astute(licensing costs).
It's a great thing to be able to contact people who can help you, true evangelists.
So while the answer is not definitive, my client is sending me more details on their request, it does help me to understand some basic issues which in my head down admin path I forgot.
My bad.
On a lighter note, I proved the IRS wrong in billing me for some corporate taxes which were paid, yet they did not properly code them. All in a day's work.
Sometimes you venture out beyond your scope of knowledge, for clients.
And when you go asking for information you sound like a jr. tech geek.
But I will always be the first one to say "I don't know" when I don't. I learned enough to know when to reach for help, rather than make something up for clients.
Such is the case I find myself while asking the very knowledgeable Nathan of OpenNTF.org fame. My appdev knowledge died years ago, around the same time Windows enabled databases.
So I needed some help with a DB2 integration question for R7 and he gave me an answer which was concise and to the point and even financially astute(licensing costs).
It's a great thing to be able to contact people who can help you, true evangelists.
So while the answer is not definitive, my client is sending me more details on their request, it does help me to understand some basic issues which in my head down admin path I forgot.
My bad.
On a lighter note, I proved the IRS wrong in billing me for some corporate taxes which were paid, yet they did not properly code them. All in a day's work.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
SLUG follows its name
Well it's done. The first meeting came and went and the numbers were small.
BUT life is good, lined up 2 more sponsors for future meetings, so I get to try again to grow the LUG.
Some good conversations around R8 and the buzz at Lotusphere, was it really 4 months ago?!
Motorola was great, gave away a Treo700 from a Verizon network and some nice padfolios.
Hotel was excellent, I recommend it for events, Radisson Miami in downtown.
To all who did not come, shame on you and don't complain about no Lotus help down here.
But call me, email me, suggest something.
Since the IBM person did not show I was the evangelist and am perfectly happy to be so.
BUT life is good, lined up 2 more sponsors for future meetings, so I get to try again to grow the LUG.
Some good conversations around R8 and the buzz at Lotusphere, was it really 4 months ago?!
Motorola was great, gave away a Treo700 from a Verizon network and some nice padfolios.
Hotel was excellent, I recommend it for events, Radisson Miami in downtown.
To all who did not come, shame on you and don't complain about no Lotus help down here.
But call me, email me, suggest something.
Since the IBM person did not show I was the evangelist and am perfectly happy to be so.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Southeast Lotus User Group Premiere
Well I have finally nailed a date down, May 30th.
Radisson Miami for the premier event of the SLUG.
Came up with some logos too. I like the religion thing. Perhaps IBM's ad campaigns can do some comparative religion courses for CIOs.
:-)
Anyway, now I need to find every Lotus perosn in South Florida, so please let them know if you know any to contact me.
Motorola's Good technology is sponsoring, but I hope to have some Lotus support for speakers or presentations for me to give on the future and updates on Connections.
By the way I have I said how much I love spam-sentinel?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
More Lotus ads that may never see the light of day
Lotus leverage, less baggage, more functions.
Lotus lives!
Golf ad/commercial:
Comparing golf clubs, the ball is behind a tree, but enough to pop over it, do you want the 9 iron? Or do you want an 8 iron? Your software should be as open to choices as you are.
Lotus software...you've got to take a shot...we have the choice of clubs.
Wall street ad:
Do you buy on the gut or the computations?
Sometimes everyone needs options.
Lotus software...you've got choices...we have the options.
Football ad:
3rd and goal from the 3 yard line, run or pass?
Having a half back option pass would be helpful.
Lotus software...prepared to go the extra yards...can you?
Legal ad:
Some clients require heavy caseload upfront. Others want everything at the last minute.
Lotus Software...legally we can't say much...but some lawyers are golfing with more clients.
IT ad:
Keep the lights on, keep the lights on, that's all they think of IT even though you try to plan for the future.
Sometimes what you need, you already have and don't know it.
Lotus software...we planned for this day...so you can plan for the future.
ad:
2 guys on a golf course, 1 says: what do you do? The other says: I help my clients retire young and wealthy.
Lotus software...helping businesses with risk...because the reward is worth it.
I share because I care. (apologies to Monsters, Inc.)
Lotus lives!
Golf ad/commercial:
Comparing golf clubs, the ball is behind a tree, but enough to pop over it, do you want the 9 iron? Or do you want an 8 iron? Your software should be as open to choices as you are.
Lotus software...you've got to take a shot...we have the choice of clubs.
Wall street ad:
Do you buy on the gut or the computations?
Sometimes everyone needs options.
Lotus software...you've got choices...we have the options.
Football ad:
3rd and goal from the 3 yard line, run or pass?
Having a half back option pass would be helpful.
Lotus software...prepared to go the extra yards...can you?
Legal ad:
Some clients require heavy caseload upfront. Others want everything at the last minute.
Lotus Software...legally we can't say much...but some lawyers are golfing with more clients.
IT ad:
Keep the lights on, keep the lights on, that's all they think of IT even though you try to plan for the future.
Sometimes what you need, you already have and don't know it.
Lotus software...we planned for this day...so you can plan for the future.
ad:
2 guys on a golf course, 1 says: what do you do? The other says: I help my clients retire young and wealthy.
Lotus software...helping businesses with risk...because the reward is worth it.
I share because I care. (apologies to Monsters, Inc.)
Retirement and Lotus
I just came back from my mom's retirement party. Nearly 25 years with the same organization.
And now she says she wants to illustrate children's books.
Well it's a better answer than golf in my opinion when asked what she will do after she retires.
So what does this have to do with Lotus?
Well, it's been almost 20 years since Notes came out and is it ready to be retired?
Hell no!
Businesses keep buying it, using it, licensing it.
But at the same time, are we making it a mainframe?
Is it becoming legacy or is it about to reincarnate itself?
Perhaps someone in Lotus or IBM should or did write a memo similar to the ones of mythical status from Gates and Ozzie at Microsoft.
What would it say and how would we get there?
The journey has been hard, but we have gotten to the top of the mountain, and when we see the guru, he says: 42.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
So perhaps the question is the problem. It is NOT how do we promote Lotus?
Nor is it a case of this brand for this product.
You could argue it's a maze and we are on the right course, presuming we could see the way out.
No it's more deeper than that even.
In a world where anything is possible, could Lotus find its way to the top of the hill again?
Can it beat Microsoft at it's own game?
Did Lotus miss something by not setting up Domino to be SaaS? Yes it can be, but is rarely done that way.
Lotus was always ahead of the curve from a technical/cultural perspective and is again, but the problem is the world is not quite ready to listen as intently as they used to in the early days.
I see an open jar of honey with a Microsoft logo stuck in it and the IBM bee swirling around stinging it.
And now she says she wants to illustrate children's books.
Well it's a better answer than golf in my opinion when asked what she will do after she retires.
So what does this have to do with Lotus?
Well, it's been almost 20 years since Notes came out and is it ready to be retired?
Hell no!
Businesses keep buying it, using it, licensing it.
But at the same time, are we making it a mainframe?
Is it becoming legacy or is it about to reincarnate itself?
Perhaps someone in Lotus or IBM should or did write a memo similar to the ones of mythical status from Gates and Ozzie at Microsoft.
What would it say and how would we get there?
The journey has been hard, but we have gotten to the top of the mountain, and when we see the guru, he says: 42.
"Forty-two!" yelled Loonquawl. "Is that all you've got to show for seven and a half million years' work?"
"I checked it very thoroughly," said the computer, "and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is."
So perhaps the question is the problem. It is NOT how do we promote Lotus?
Nor is it a case of this brand for this product.
You could argue it's a maze and we are on the right course, presuming we could see the way out.
No it's more deeper than that even.
In a world where anything is possible, could Lotus find its way to the top of the hill again?
Can it beat Microsoft at it's own game?
Did Lotus miss something by not setting up Domino to be SaaS? Yes it can be, but is rarely done that way.
Lotus was always ahead of the curve from a technical/cultural perspective and is again, but the problem is the world is not quite ready to listen as intently as they used to in the early days.
I see an open jar of honey with a Microsoft logo stuck in it and the IBM bee swirling around stinging it.
Lotus Ad Campaigns
I posted this on Ed Brill's blog:
(My apologies to animal house)Was it over when 123 ran adrift? Was it over when OS/2 disappeared? Was it over when Exchange came out? Hell no! And it ain't over now, 15+ years later Notes is still going strong across 6 OS's, 3 client OS's and one excellent annual event.
Who's with me....
Lotus, we never stopped working together, when did you?
And maybe some other ways of looking at this exist, like:
Remember your first car? Sure it worked, but it leaked oil, had some braking issues, right?
But you still remember the great feeling of driving, even if you don't have the car anymore.
What if you could have that same car, in modern times and it took care of itself?
Well you can.... show matching cars 20 years apart.
Then cut to a Lotus Notes Release 1 box and then R8 box.
We'd let you test drive it whenever you want..lotus.com/testdrive.
More ideas later
(My apologies to animal house)Was it over when 123 ran adrift? Was it over when OS/2 disappeared? Was it over when Exchange came out? Hell no! And it ain't over now, 15+ years later Notes is still going strong across 6 OS's, 3 client OS's and one excellent annual event.
Who's with me....
Lotus, we never stopped working together, when did you?
And maybe some other ways of looking at this exist, like:
Remember your first car? Sure it worked, but it leaked oil, had some braking issues, right?
But you still remember the great feeling of driving, even if you don't have the car anymore.
What if you could have that same car, in modern times and it took care of itself?
Well you can.... show matching cars 20 years apart.
Then cut to a Lotus Notes Release 1 box and then R8 box.
We'd let you test drive it whenever you want..lotus.com/testdrive.
More ideas later
Thursday, April 26, 2007
SPAM Has Stopped, Wish R8 would stop it too
Finally found the gold. SpamSentinel from http://www.maysoft.com/ Mayflower is the key.
Now before I or you go too far, remember I use Notes as a POP3 client without a Domino server, usually.
So all those who like the other ones, I tried 3-4 already, none would work. Not mentioning names since I am sure they work in other cases not as unique as mine.
You see the problem is Lotus never enabled mail rules on the client side to work without a server. And in R8, this continues. Bummer. So even though I blocked 100's of emails, it never will work without a server.
But now, I have to shell out $50 to Mayflower, but I don't mind, it's unbelievable!
Excellent support staff and very responsive and accepting of advice for enhancements even.
Why did it take me so long to find them, well until the last 6 months I never had more than a handful of spam in my inboxes(under 30 usually), now I get over 100 a day!
So kudos to Allison(she does the video on their website) and Chris(the tech guy who helped me sort out some questions I had). See you in Orlando next year!
Now before I or you go too far, remember I use Notes as a POP3 client without a Domino server, usually.
So all those who like the other ones, I tried 3-4 already, none would work. Not mentioning names since I am sure they work in other cases not as unique as mine.
You see the problem is Lotus never enabled mail rules on the client side to work without a server. And in R8, this continues. Bummer. So even though I blocked 100's of emails, it never will work without a server.
But now, I have to shell out $50 to Mayflower, but I don't mind, it's unbelievable!
Excellent support staff and very responsive and accepting of advice for enhancements even.
Why did it take me so long to find them, well until the last 6 months I never had more than a handful of spam in my inboxes(under 30 usually), now I get over 100 a day!
So kudos to Allison(she does the video on their website) and Chris(the tech guy who helped me sort out some questions I had). See you in Orlando next year!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Lotus Evangelism is alive and kicking
I posted at another site https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21077086&postID=5366527023338273982 that asked where are the Supermen of Lotus. And Women.
Well they exist, and like Clark Kent, do not want to be known in the public eye.
It's easy for Ed, Alan and others because that is not their true job, they are high profile people and deserve to be evangelists by default. One would hope more would come out to blog as well, I know Ed encourages them so there is hope.
But having been a Lotus EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa to the uninformed) "technology advocate"/"Product evangelist"/"IT Specialist" , my team and I preferred being more anonymous.
Why?
Think about it, if everyone knew us, we would be blacklisted from conferences and certain competitor events(ya ya, it never happens, right we just get funny colored badges).
We covered everything we could from ancient times(OS/2, cc:mail DOS) to the mainframe to advanced application design(way out of my field) and java/linux you name it as it came up.
AND we had to be fully knowledgable on every announced product or demo'd at Lotusphere or just downloaded. e-suite? Extended Search? Death of cc:mail? You name it we had to know it.
Calls at anytime of day/night because we could be anywhere in the world, emails/IM's everywhere on everything, meetings with clients in Saunas in Helsinki, yep we did it all.
Sometimes you were saving Lotus during a merger, sometimes it was a "tell us what's new" discussion, other times it was just "so happy someone from corporate came to meet us". Sometimes it was a premiere like R5, Domino.Doc, Quickplace were some of my big ones.
The equivalent of a rock star life within the IT profession, we joked about tour shirts but figured we would run out of space on the shirt.
Demo's, multiple laptops(before vmware), 4 versions of servers, 8 clients running on a thinkpad and someone wants to know how you did it? Magic my friend, and a long plane flight with electrical power.
I was privileged to work with some of the smartest and funniest people I ever could imagine. People who equalled my knowledge in messaging or OS's with their appdev ways or A/V or telco understandings.
Finally after many years some of those people are running the SWAT teams and thank god, because unless you have done the work, you can't possibly understand how to manage a group like us. These guys were all over Orlando, but you had no idea, you watched some of them on stage, maybe on BP day(which is when I used to do most of mine). Maybe the guy in the lab you visited that seemed to know way more about your topic than you expected from them.
So yes, Supermen, and women do exist and they regularly come to your town, but don't tell them I told you.
Well they exist, and like Clark Kent, do not want to be known in the public eye.
It's easy for Ed, Alan and others because that is not their true job, they are high profile people and deserve to be evangelists by default. One would hope more would come out to blog as well, I know Ed encourages them so there is hope.
But having been a Lotus EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa to the uninformed) "technology advocate"/"Product evangelist"/"IT Specialist" , my team and I preferred being more anonymous.
Why?
Think about it, if everyone knew us, we would be blacklisted from conferences and certain competitor events(ya ya, it never happens, right we just get funny colored badges).
We covered everything we could from ancient times(OS/2, cc:mail DOS) to the mainframe to advanced application design(way out of my field) and java/linux you name it as it came up.
AND we had to be fully knowledgable on every announced product or demo'd at Lotusphere or just downloaded. e-suite? Extended Search? Death of cc:mail? You name it we had to know it.
Calls at anytime of day/night because we could be anywhere in the world, emails/IM's everywhere on everything, meetings with clients in Saunas in Helsinki, yep we did it all.
Sometimes you were saving Lotus during a merger, sometimes it was a "tell us what's new" discussion, other times it was just "so happy someone from corporate came to meet us". Sometimes it was a premiere like R5, Domino.Doc, Quickplace were some of my big ones.
The equivalent of a rock star life within the IT profession, we joked about tour shirts but figured we would run out of space on the shirt.
Demo's, multiple laptops(before vmware), 4 versions of servers, 8 clients running on a thinkpad and someone wants to know how you did it? Magic my friend, and a long plane flight with electrical power.
I was privileged to work with some of the smartest and funniest people I ever could imagine. People who equalled my knowledge in messaging or OS's with their appdev ways or A/V or telco understandings.
Finally after many years some of those people are running the SWAT teams and thank god, because unless you have done the work, you can't possibly understand how to manage a group like us. These guys were all over Orlando, but you had no idea, you watched some of them on stage, maybe on BP day(which is when I used to do most of mine). Maybe the guy in the lab you visited that seemed to know way more about your topic than you expected from them.
So yes, Supermen, and women do exist and they regularly come to your town, but don't tell them I told you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
