Collaborpedia

Seesmic Desktop 2 will be released from Beta testing next week. It is being branded/marketed as the first open social platform developed using Microsoft Silverlight.

The exclusive launch event will take place in San Fran. Look to see reps from The Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, Ning, MSFT, and more in attendance. Expect Flickr integration, and add-ons such as Bing maps and a marketplace of over 40 plugin services.

In addition to the launch, Loic Le Meur is delivered a series of 30 videos targeted on Building Your Brand. The content is based on his conference participation, speeches, and conversations with the top worldwide brands large and small.

View videos here

Written by: Shadeed Eleazer

Outlook Social Connector Brings Your Networks to the Enterprise

Written by: Shadeed Eleazer

The trend of enhancing the user experience from inside his/her inbox continues as Microsoft has announced the BETA release of the Outlook Social Connector. The timing of its release comes at a perfect time for the software giant, as the tech industry is buzzing over the announcement of the Windows Phone 7 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain this week.

For a corporation that many viewed as ‘behind-the-times’ in comparison with rival Apple, the recent announcements have many wondering with enthusiasm how the combination of Windows Phone 7, Outlook Social Connector, and the enhancements of the 2010 Suite of Office Applications will shake up the marketplace.

OSC connects the user to the social experience via a provider that connect the social and business networks that you utilize. The surprise in this initial offering is that it has partnered with LinkedIn amongst the other networks introduced which are: Facebook, MySpace.

Impact on Productivity
How will information workers be impacted by the increase in “social media noise” within their respective inboxes? Many organizations have completely blocked social media within corporate settings and have been either reluctant or dismissive about creating a solid Social Media policy that addresses the upcoming changes in the workplace. Is there a business reason for employees to use Facebook or MySpace? Time will reveal these answers as decisions will need to be made.

Particularly (but not only) in the German speaking world (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Xing is much more popular than LinkedIn for professional social networking. Any chance to get a connector for Xing? And what about Facebook? I have over 200 friends there, at least half of them I know professionally…

Microsoft announced the Outlook Social Connector as early as Nov 2009 but additional testing has lead to the integration of Facebook amongst additional new features.

Features Include:

• The People Pane - This includes a profile appearance of your friends/colleagues when you receive a message from them.
• Rich history - Instant access to a history of recent message traffic and attachments from each incoming/outgoing message.
• Activities Real-time updates from social networks
• SharePoint 2010 Integrate your Social networks right into the revamped MySite. I believe that Windows Phone 7, SharePoint 2010, and Outlook 2010 will be a killer trio. Joel Oleson put together a great post on Win Phone 7 and SharePoint 2010 capabilities
• Extend A The OSC Software Development Kit will enable developers to integrate a variety of social networks. The possibilities to build a true Social Media Center are becoming apparent.

From the Microsoft Outlook site regarding compatibility:

“NOTE: The Outlook Social Connector included in the Office 2010 Beta is not compatible with the beta providers currently available online. Office 2010 Beta users must install the Outlook Social Connector 32-bit Beta in order to successfully use the social network providers currently available. Also, you cannot install the 32-bit OSC Beta on Outlook 2010 Beta 64-bit.”

Download the 32 bit connector here.

Written by: Shadeed Eleazer

The Philadelphia Area SharePoint User Group will be unveiling SharePoint 2010 at their next meeting scheduled for October 28th starting at 5:30pm.

The meeting location will be the Microsoft Greater PA District office located in Malvern, PA.

Meeting Overview

We will discuss the business momentum and investment areas in the new release including demonstrations of new functionality that makes SharePoint the premier choice for a business collaboration platform. We will drill into the new functionality in Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and the benefits it provides to end users, IT professionals, and developers.

Areas such as SharePoint Communities, Insights, and Sites will be discussed and demonstrated to show the value that the new Microsoft SharePoint 2010 can bring to enterprises of all sizes.

Explore the Business Connectivity Services (BCS) and the remarkable changes to the Business Data Catalog (BDC).

5:30 - 5:45 Registration, Food and Beverages, Networking and News

Discussion of events and news in the local SharePoint community.

5:45 - 6:00 Topic: SharePoint Tips and Tricks

Audience: All
Technical Level:  100 - 200

6:00 – 7:00 Topic: SharePoint 2010 Unveiling

Audience: All
Technical Level: 200

7:00 – 7:45 Topic: SharePoint 2010 Composites

Audience: All
Technical Level: 200

7:45 - 8:00 Round Table Q and A, Raffles and Giveaways

Round table discussions will be held on specific challenges facing the members. If you have an issue that you would like to have addressed by the group submit your questions to phillysharepoint@rjbtech.com

Written by: Shadeed Eleazer

The Federal Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, has announced that the Federal Govt will officially begin the usage of cloud computing.

In accordance with this announcement, Kundra has revealed a new government site Apps.gov. This site is the location where you can find pre-approved cloud computing applications that are to be used by agencies, departments, components, and sections.

Applications are broken down into 4 categories:

Business Applications which contains 33 sub-topics

Productivity Applications which contains 7 sub-topics

Cloud IT Services which contains 4 sub-topics

Social Media Applications which contains 9 sub-topics

The government is making a big push with the adoption of approved social media applications.

FriendFeed, YouTube,  MySpace, TwitVid (video app for Twitter), and photo sharing application Flickr are all subsequent to open enrollment.

Implications

Cloud computing will greatly reduce IT costs within the federal government. There will be issues to be ironed out with security issues and policies will have to established in Phase 1 of this new approach to computing within the federal sector.