Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Accidental Technologist at #11NTC Me & Phil being mobile - Vol 2

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Having my picture with Phil the Penguin was a lot of fun, I was hot just walking around and this Arctic friend had to have been melting!

Day Two was a continuation of Day One in the life of the Accidental Technologist at #11NTC except . . . . the Science Center was now available and with it came a slew of partners and solution providers that was for me a great time to meet and exchange ideas and see some cool solutions.

One idea in particular remains the Mobile front.  Mobile is plentiful.  Media and Mobile - Mobile is Media, or rather mobile brings media to an untethered audience.  The sessions focusing on this topic at 11NTC will touch on many of the mobile questions and standards the folks I have spoken with seem to crave.  I keep wondering though if standards are really out the window? For many of us we see mobile as a personal preference especially when it comes to device choices.

So what are we using mobile for and is there a way to move some of these mobile apps into the enterprise?

The two groups I spoke with who have taken mobile giving apps to new levels are Charity Dynamics and M-Give.  They are putting something as basic as the text to give programs we have seen groups like Red Cross and NWF use via mobile devices to work on web sites and as part of social networking apps.  http://apps.facebook.com/text-giving/campaigns/g9FlOWL6dpj/donations/new?sn=fb

I like this concept - think about how you could offer payment options other then credit cards for events or registration fees.  Plus I don't know how many times I'm online and I don't have my credit card handy but I know my cell phone! Maybe I'll ring up Phil the Penguin and see what he thinks.

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Accidental Technologist at #11NTC - Vol 1

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Fellow 11NTC Newbies and Old-fogies, that last definition wasn't my idea but the #11NTCStory group liked it - I am writing to report that the T in NTC is alive and well and after the first night at the StoryTelling session #11NTCStory led by Michaela and Roger followed by the "Peter Campbell BeerFest" @peterscampbell it seems the energy of how organizations are using tech to tell their stories continues to be a theme.  

I was very happy to share several tools from the Droid App world like Cinch, Posterous and TweetCaster to help better make the Droid mobile devices more integrated with the messaging and in the process learned from others - for instance about how the newer versions of the FlipCam ( thank you Cisco ) auto compresses the videos depending on the upload source.  All this time I've been using third party compression tools.

This blog entry and the theme of "Tech" will focus on what I hear from others, no matter the significance, newness or pros or cons as the story is sharing, the sharing is key to learning.  I've mentioned in the past how this conference is much like a "family reunion" where we see faces we knew from previous sessions but also new faces and voices of NTC community.  Hooking up with old friends like Divas @blondegeek and @cariegrls but also fast on their way to becoming rock stars @SLianne and @BRCTweets makes for good conversation and lasting friendships.  

As we all share our stories don't forget to get out of your comfort zone, don't be afraid to go up to a total stranger and simply say:  "Newbie or Old-fogie" see what they say and don't forget to tweet about it!

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Sunday, March 13, 2011

2011 NTC | NTEN - why am I not nervous?

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This week I am anxiously awaiting the #11NTC conference in DC - this is an opportunity to hook up and learn from some amazing talent of our industry who are putting tech to work in so many unique and innovative ways.

One of the sessions I was lucky to be selected for was an invite only workshop for Story Telling on Wed evening. On top of that I will be one of many honored by the NTEN team as a contributor to our genre. I really felt humbled getting that notice and silly wearing my "aNTENna" but the contributions and help I have shared with so many is what I do, I don't even think about it. Sharing information, taking time to blog, tweet, call and present is what all of us need to do on a daily basis, inside or outside of NTC.

The "storytelling" session is going to be a real learning experience. The workshop will cover how to tell stories across various media and social networks and is limited to 25 people, so getting some one-on-one advice and training is a real thrill. After the workshop, participants will form the official 11NTC Storytelling Team, capturing the spirit of the conference through writing, photography, video, blogging and other media. So look out participants, I may be armed with a flipcam and looking for you!

This years NTC will not only mean catching up with some good friends but meet new ones I have had the pleasure of engaging online. I always look at NTC as a reunion of sorts, brings good like minded people together where we all learn from each other - how do you say no to that?

I don't think I mind missing SxSW, in fact I just checked the Tweets and my liver is happy I sat this one out. Saving my brain cells for 11NTC is just what the Doc ordered! See ya at the Tech Track: Veritably Valuable Virtualization – Voila! (#11NTCttvirt) on Friday Morning, I'll be the guy speaking and holding a camera, ready, set . . . . action and story tell!

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Friday, March 04, 2011

Motorola Xoom vs the Apple iPad - why competition will drive me mad and racing for the store

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Don Reisinger did an interesting comparison of the benefits the Motorola Xoom has vs the iPad. The tablet market is ready to explode on this front and as you follow his piece it's clear Apple will have it's hands full trying to embrace new users. http://bit.ly/dTgYed

The one thing that will set all these devices apart however is going to be the APPS - who has the best access, who is developing them and for what device, which ones make the most sense for us as consumers and LOB folks to use. We keep hearing how there is an "app for everything" and with a plethora of devices about to drive us mad I worry about who will have access to the apps, how do we as technologist apply real solutions and more importantly how easy will they be to deploy.

At first it bugged me to no end that when using the iPad app store I was forced to use an iTunes account - but I understand the logic. If I have a device not connected to a billable service it makes sense to tap an existing provider like iTunes to process the revenue. It's an extra step, even for the freebies but I can respect the process. Should I be worried about the bean counters? At some point the cost of apps will need to be addressed on our mobile policies and who gets to in charge of that in our organizations?

Wondering how the Xoom will work in this field? Guess I'll find out - part of my evil plan for tech domination is to go out and test all the toys I can get my hands on. ( insert evil laugh here )

Michael Sola heads up the IT program at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own