Agility Loop

Today at Web 2.0 Microsoft announced a new product called Spindex. From the quick look during the presentation, appears to be Friendfeed with some semantic search. MS Live account needed, and it appears it is an invite model for now. Gonna try to grab an account tomorrow. Definitely could see some uses for the government and the IC.

There has been an increase in discussion over the past couple of weeks regarding the overuse of PowerPoint in the military and the commercial world, and how it can sometimes be a detriment.  In fact, some articles are actually suggesting that the overuse is costing lives. While I agree that the “PowerPoint Ranger” mentality of the military CAN be a detriment, PowerPoint does have its uses when used properly. This became very apparent yesterday during a session here at Web 2.0.  The topic was Security in Code Development, clearly a complex topic.  The presenter chose to eschew PowerPoint altogether and instead handed out ten copies of a 25 page paper so that the audience could follow along while he presented it.  It wasn’t a page by page review, but selected sections were presented to help facilitate understanding to the audience. What it underscored to me is the power of pictures and diagrams to facilitate understanding.  This is not something that is PowerPoint specific, but tools like PowerPoint provide a good forum to present concepts.  In a complicated discussion about cross site scripting attacks, it would have been very helpful to level set the knowledge of the room to further the discussion.  Instead, I felt that some of the audience (frankly myself included at times) was lost in the discussion.  I also see this in briefings for the Government…the simple “cartoon” picture is a great way to level set discussions, especially with senior level folks who are less technical. Of course I am not suggesting that this cartoon picture replace real diagrams.  Instead I believe it is a great tool to have in your quiver to enhance buy-in, stimulate discussion, and further your project.

This is a somewhat refreshing approach.  Rather than ban social networking services altogether like the Marines, the British military has decided to encourage their troops to Tweet or post on Facebook their experiences in the military.  This past week the MOD issued a 13 page document outlining the guidelines for using these services.  Granted, the document has a bit of a CYA tone for the higher ups, but at least it addresses the issue head on rather than bury its head in the sand like some organizations.  Instead you have the Marines who have banned it outright, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff still tweets and has said he will continue to do so. Of course DoD has kicked off a study to determine the vulnerabilities of technologies like Facebook and Twitter.  Wish I got that cherry contract. My thoughts on this issue are fairly simple.  If you simply prohibit an effective way for people to communicate, they will find another way to do it, and it will NOT be on your terms.  Instead users will find a workaround that is probably less secure. and may even expose your data and network more.

Word is that E-Collabcenter, IBM's NCES Collaboration Service offering (also referred to as "Button 1") will be shutting down in early June.  This comes from a notice on their home page. E-Collabcenter was the first of two NCES Collaboration Services acquired by DISA.  The intent was to foster competition between the vendors so that enhancements would come quicker in order to capture the DoD market.  The second service or "button" called Defense Connect Online (DCO) is based off of Adobe Connect and utilizes XMPP for IM/Presence. The question is, will DISA purchase a third button, or extend DCO?