I’ve frequently used Alan Kay’s definition of technology as “anything that was invented after you were born”. The following perspectives from the late Douglas Adams and from Bran Ferren are richer and perhaps more useful. I found this material originally from Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian, who’s been following these issues for as long as … Continue reading When does technology stop being technology?
There are a variety of articles and papers that I continue to draw insight from and find myself recommending to others on a regular basis. I decided it would be a useful exercise to assemble them into one set of pointers, add a little bit of commentary, and make it available. I limited myself to … Continue reading A dozen papers you should read in the world of Enterprise 2.0
The critical leverage point for an organization seeking more effective innovation is establishing new attitudes toward curiosity. Industrial organizations were optimized to extract value from tiny doses of curiosity and cannot tolerate larger doses. Today’s organizations require more frequent and intensive invention and innovation, which depends in turn on learning to foster and effectively channel … Continue reading It’s not about creativity, it’s about curiosity
My latest column at Enterprise Systems Journal appears today. In it I take a look at the notion of developing an ongoing learning agenda by focusing on the boundaries of your ignorance. One key graf: The late Isaac Asimov once observed that “the most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new … Continue reading Circles of knowledge and boundaries of ignorance
[Cross posted at Future Tense] “Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.” Paul Saffo Last month I had an opportunity to listen to Paul Saffo of the Institute for the Future speak at the CIO Magazine CIO|06 The Year Ahead conference in Phoenix. I was there as part of CIO’s Enterprise Value Award … Continue reading Paul Saffo on rules for forecasting
The Click Heard Round the World. Fifteen years before the Mac, Doug Engelbart demo'd videoconferencing, hyperlinks, text editing and something called a 'mouse.' He tells Wired magazine writer Ken Jordan about his part in the point-and-click revolution. [Wired News] Great overview of Doug Engelbart's work from Wired. Alan Kay once told me that you could … Continue reading Engelbart profile in Wired and tools for knowledge work
Classic Video Games And Computers. While looking up music lyrics i found myself clicking on one 1980s site's link to classic video games. They turned out to be implemented in Flash — yuck, but in the usual Net way it lead to me reading up on early VideoGameHistory. The real gem on that front is Stewart … Continue reading Rolling Stone's classic coverage on Spacewar and computing
Surrounded by new opportunities. Ray Ozzie on ZDNet : Surrounded by new opportunities Even though our current use of PCs, productivity tools, e-mail and the Web seems quite sophisticated, we’ve only just begun to understand how to apply them and effectively realize their benefits. The next 10 years will find us moving decidedly from an … Continue reading Knowledge workers and productivity tools
I had an opportunity to listen to Mena and Ben Trott talk about Moveable Type last night courtesy of AKMA at Seabury Western. They sparked a good discussion around the role of weblogs in creating and sustaining community (two good live blogged accounts from AKMA and Gabe Bridger by way of Mike Marusin). At least … Continue reading Weblogs and passion
Boyd and The American Way of War. It’s one of the apparent paradoxes of conflict that technologies can change the nature of battle, but not win wars. Col. John Boyd’s insights into that conundrum produced some important thinking, and led to the concept of 4th Generation Warfare (4GW)…. [Blogcritics] This leads into a whole series … Continue reading OODA Loops and point of view