Corporates and Web 2.0 in practice

Something I came across while surfing the IBM website. I'm usually a regular visitor here for all the good content they put online.

And then, I scroll down to the bottom of the page, looking for the email option to share it with my friend and I see this....



Now though it may seem like something very very obvious to do in this day and age, this was the first time I saw Digg and del.icio.us on a corporate website. Maybe I'm just slow.....

But that got me intrigued enough to check the websites of all the big corporates I could think of. And the score was 3 out of 15 big brands using newer non-conventional tools to reach out to larger audiences faster......

This tells me two things:

• The company cares about its visitors. So if those visitors are adopters on the Internet curve, they just care that you can connect to them in a way that you care about. And then you tell everyone you know about it.
  
• They care about their web presence and brand. They're not shy to use tools that only social networking sites, bloggers or otherwise tech geeks would use. Effectively leveraging every available way of reaching out to whoever wants to listen.

As Seth would say, "Being safe [read conservative] is dangerous". No wonder I keep going back to IBM's site..........

Eureka Moment: VisualCV

Each time I visit Guy's blog, I get a "eureka" moment [minus the "running naked in public" act]!!! So I've decided to put in a new post type in my blog, called "Eureka Moment". Its going to be the place where I post about new stuff that I find neat.... or as Seth would say.."remarkable"!!!

The latest is a cool thing called VisualCV. According to the creators:

"VisualCV makes a traditional resume come alive with video, pictures and a portfolio of your best work samples and other supporting documents. Informational pop-ups provide background data on the companies you’ve worked at and the colleges you’ve attended. You can securely share different versions with your own network of employers, colleagues and friends, and control who sees what. "

I signed up immediately and checked out the features. Its pretty neat, considering I've always wanted a Flash-type resume like all those hotshot web developers... but was limited to Microsoft Word Hell!!!

The best features I like are:

1. Its on the Internet. So no more gripes about not having access to my mail to send out my resume to someone who asks for it.
2. Its easy formatting, so your resume looks real nice and you don't have to go Cntrl-Z Cntrl-Z over and over again.
3. You've got lots of jing-bangs like pop-up keywords, pictures, videos and the rest. You won't find me integrating it with my Orkut or Facebook sites, but hey, it's possible!!!!

But my pet peeve is the data entry. I hate filling up forms, especially the long online CV ones. I know about cut and paste magic, but its so damn boring!!! One reason you won't find me on a matrimonial site.....

But I loved LinkedIn, and I'm sure this is going to be as useful.... but its just cool pointing someone to a link when they ask for my CV.

Have fun, people!!!

In search of practicing Presentation Zen.....

Through my general reading of Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki, I was introduced to a great book called Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Garr effectively says that the best presentations are the ones that deliver the message effectively, in the simplest manner possible. He draws on the profound simplicity of Zen principles to illustrate how Presentations can be made more effective and essentially more communicative. After all, that's what presentations are supposed to do, right? Oh, and its not a How-to for Powerpoint, Keynote or the OpenSource Impress.... Its a great book. Garr also evangelizes about it on his supporting website.

But I have a small doubt [I usually have one with all the popular stuff, but then, that's just me!!!] Its great, when you're doing presentations like Seth or Guy or any other Management guru.... you have the choice of content, flow, design and many a time, delivery methodology.

But what about the little guy at the bottom [LGATB]?? Chances are, he works on more presentations than Guy and Seth together work on in a week. And chances are, someone else decides the content, the flow, the design [usually official] and even the delivery!!! So what's a LGATB to do if he's read Presentation Zen, the Laws of Simplicity and knows Guy's 10-20-30 rule by heart??? Some of the reasoning not to practice zen which come his way are:

1. Its not the official template and format. The big guys will object to that....
2. You're not going to put in the explanation text?? What do you mean "text heavy"??
3. This is a business presentation. We can't put cartoons in there....
4. Just one word?? Just the word "THINK" on a black background?? You're gonna waste the rest of the slide??? [I'm sure there were others who came up with that idea before IBM and its ad agencies did!!!]
5. What do you mean you won't put this graph?? Its not relevant and there's no space?? Increase the number of slides, but that graph stays. What if the boss comes with a question on that??

And the number one reasoning:

I'm the boss/presenter/speaker/the guy with his neck on the line!!! Just do it my way!!! No need to get creative!!!!

Ouch!! That last one kinda nails it!! If I had a penny for every time I heard that one.....

So I believe you have to write a few books, be a VC, start-up a few firms, make tons of money or in the least, be way up in the hierarchy to start practicing Presentation Zen.

Achieving nirvana, however, is a personal thing...........