Internet Summit Quotes

The Internet Summit (held in Raleigh, NC earlier this month) was productive and fun. Here's some quotes that resonated with me.

"The iPhone has improved my life"
John Kosner, Senior VP, ESPN Digital Media


"Raise a bunch of money then act like you don't have any"
Douglas R. Lebda, CEO, Tree.com

"..(smart phones) are really computers that happen to make phone calls.."
As stated in the Mobile Strategies session

Durham Bulls + Inc 5000 companies

I always look forward to receiving the Inc. magazine that lists the fastest growing companies in America. Instead of just reading about these companies this month I proposed to our CEO that we celebrate by inviting these companies to a Durham Bulls baseball game (since our building is in the outfield).

He liked the idea so I jumped in the car and personally visited about 30 companies in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area in about 72 hours. The energy that was felt inside these companies emphasized my belief that our current economic environment is filled with opportunity for those willing to be flexible.



One company I've really enjoyed following is Bronto Software (we are actually a client of theirs). Not only does their culture promote productivity but their leadership is in tune with the market. I met Joe and Chaz at the recent CED event and was impressed. I asked them what they would do when email was not the primary form of business communication. (I had mistakenly thought they just sent out emails for companies.) Their answer was simple. "We're not an email company. We are a marketing analytics company. Email just happens to be the medium right now."

$48 million Punch

Since I am in investment banking I tend to attach a monetary value to most things. My latest thought is on Mr. Blount from the Oregon Football team. He threw a punch that cost him approximately $48 million by my calculation (since his NFL draft position went from 1st Round to 3rd or 4th).

Watch the video below. One question Mr. Blount, "Was it worth it?"

Why the title, "In the Outfield?"

I really enjoy working in investment banking and at KeySource Bank. While the location of the office has little to do with that I must admit that being in the outfield of the Durham Bulls baseball stadium does have it's perks. Occassionally balls will hit our window in the lobby during batting practice. We collect those balls and will give them to customers.

The picture at the top of the blog is from our conference room and we make that available to the customers of the bank. If you are in the downtown Durham area, feel free to stop by and see me.

Social Networks Eclipse Email

Did you feel us move over the hump of email in February? According to this NY Times article, "time spent on social networks surpassed that for e-mail for the first time in February."

The questions for all of us is, "Are we holding on to our email and resisting the shift? Are we in that minority group that is hold back the rest of society from moving to social computing?

If yes, there are efficient conversations we are missing. That means sales leads, client/employee feedback, and industry knowledge.

About Scott Kelly

Currently Scott is Co-Founder of Startup High plus works with students at Elon University as an Instructor of Entrepreneurship, Coordinator of Student Entrepreneurship, and Advisor to the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community and Innovation House.  

Previously he worked with students through Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship including InCube.  He also founded Startup Madness, the ACC Tourney for Student Startups.

Scott was Vice President - Investment Banking at KeySource Commercial Bank. He provides clients with M&A advisory in the buy/sell process, private placement of debt, interest rate protection, and business valuation.

Previously Scott was a marketing consultant helping organizations such as Greenville Hospital System and other non-profits adopt social computing tools. Previously he was an Internal Sales and Marketing Consultant at IBM Global Services responsible for developing and implementing the technology strategy for the Application Services sales force. The past year new technologies have included social software, mobile computing, and browser add-ons. Day to day responsibilities include assessing the needs of the sales force, creating the technology strategy, leading web development teams in creating the tools, marketing the technology, and ultimately training the sales force. Key projects were TeamIQ and Social Software Stories Video series.

As part of his responsibilities, Scott was frequently asked to present business use case scenerioes to sales teams on how new technologies such as web 2.0 will enable them to find information and experts faster. He has authored several articles read by thousands of IBMers and authors a weblog at www.scottakelly.com.

Prior to his current role inside IBM, he was in IT Governance using ITIL concepts and policies. In this role he consulted with clients such as General Motors, Nationwide, and NiSource in their change management and root cause analysis processes.

Scott spent several years in the insurance industry working for State Farm Insurance before joining IBM. During his tenure there, he became a Kentucky Licensed insurance agent in property & casualty and life & health.

International experience includes IBM projects in Madrid, Spain and Leeds, England, study abroad at the Copenhagen Business School, and MBA Emerging Markets field trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

Scott holds a MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University where he was also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Management and Human Resources. His Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems came from Western Kentucky University. He currently lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife, two daughters, and one son.

Freedom

On April 27, 2009 I went to the IBM office in Dublin, Ohio for the last time. I packed up my IBM Thinkpad (my best friend the past 3 years) and sent it to my manager. I drove out of the parking lot that day and one word came to mind, "freedom" (see Mel Gibson in Braveheart).

As I sat on the couch with my wife that night planning our upcoming move to Durham, North Carolina I received a call from a friend at a local non-profit. They had been discussing plans to utilize social media and she remembered my responsibilities at IBM of helping our sales force develop a social computing mindset. She said they wanted to enter the social media world and wanted my assistance.

I thought I would have at least one day to relax after leaving IBM, but the morning of April 28, 2009 (the day after leaving IBM) I met with my first consulting client. This is only the beginning.

Mayo Clinic vs. Ohio County (KY) Hospital

In a previous post I discussed a conversation I had with the CEO of a hospital in a rural area of Kentucky (or as I like to tell my wife, "God's country"). We were discussing the value of social computing in his organization and I honestly did not have a one minute answer that would make him run and jump into social computing.

Thankfully David Payne, COO of InHouseAssist, shed some light on the subject after finding my blog via a Gooogle search of "Hospital CEO using twitter." Here are David's words:

"Social computing offers something different. It allows talent to evaluate those in my profession based upon our ideas and approach to our work and while tied together in a community loosely, one need not commit until really ready. Social computing allows talent to evaluate opportunities in the market when they want and with who they want. And if you're in rural America you can now compete for the same talent as the Mayo Clinic as long as you can pull talent into your loose network and educate them about what advantages exist for them in that particular community."



It's the classic David and Goliath story. Social computing is David's stone that can bring down the giant. (Photo courtesy of the Guam Museum)

Poor folk love their cellphones

(This is based on a article in the New York Times titled, Let Them Eat Tweets.)

“Poor folk love their cellphones!” said Bruce Sterling, the cyberpunk writer, at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin. His message was that the clearest symbol of poverty is dependence on “connections” like the Internet, Skype and texting.

Guilty as charged. I do love my iPhone. I do love being connected. I feel productive. However, I am learning to disconnect more and more as I realize my children are growing up. I spent the majority of Saturday with my 4 year old daughter and 3 year old son. We first went to Honey Dip Donuts where I talked my son into two donut holes. My daughter did not fall for that one. She said we could split a donut. However, by the time I finished checking out with my son, my daughter had eaten 75% of the donut we were suppose to share. She is her mother's daughter.

My favorite part was on the walk home. We took our time. I had no where to be. They looked for clues that led to buried treasure. That walk helps me better understand the following from the article:

"Anyone with a strong soul or a fat wallet turns his ringer off for good and cultivates private gardens that keep the hectic Web far away. The man of leisure, Sterling suggested, savors solitude, or intimacy with friends, presumably surrounded by books and film and paintings and wine and vinyl — original things that stay where they are and cannot be copied and corrupted and shot around the globe with a few clicks of a keyboard."

(Thanks to Scott and Anne Bean for the picture of Honey Dip Donuts.)

Finding a house via Facebook

My family and I spent the last week in North Carolina looking for house to rent. My last day at IBM is April 27 and I am really looking forward to the flexibility freedom to do some things I've been wanting to do for a while now.

We first approached our housing search in the traditional way of searching realtor.com and engaging a realtor to search MLS. We looked at few options but were not happy with the results.

Then my very intelligent wife posted the following on her Facebook status, "Looking for a house to rent in NC." In response to that post her friend sent an email to the homeowners in her community. Just so happens that there's a UNC-Chapel Hill professor that is planning to rent us his house for 7 months while he is away. The price is right and it has a community pool and play area.

Angie joined Facebook and began a blog before I did. She continues to teach me how to utilize social computing in our day to day lives.

Fortune Article

As a follow up to my previous post, Fortune published How to Find a Job on March 30, 2009. Ironically enough one of the individuals featured in the article has received two job offers. I am still not participating in the recession.

My Story of Twitter Power

I haven't read Joel's book yet but I can testify of the power of twitter. This is my story.

January 21, 2009 - Meeting with my manager titled "Update." Was told I need to find a new position due to budget cuts.

February 19, 2009 - In the process of searching internal IBM jobs I applied for a "Millennial Strategist." As an extension to the traditional resume I created a YouTube video and blog post that highlighted my previous work. Then I sent a tweet via twitter about my posting and asked my blog readers to comment on how they think I may be a good fit.

Februray 20, 2009 - The most interesting comment came from Carol Phillips, Marketing Instructor at the University of Notre Dame, who was searching "millennials" on twitter and found my tweet about the YouTube job application. She then posted my video on her blog, Millennial Marketing, and said "I think he should get the job, don't you, PK?"

February 27, 2009 - As a result of this creative approach, I had my first interview with the hiring manager. It went well and he told me I would hear something next week.

March 6, 2009 - I met with the hiring manager's manager. We had a very engaging discussion about developerWorks and I was more excited about the possibility of becoming the next Millennial Strategist.

March 15, 2009 - Received an email from a reporter at Fortune magazine who had found the YouTube video and asked if I would be willing to participate in a story about creative ways to land a job in this economy. Unfortunately IBM Communications advised me not to participate.

March 20, 2009 - Per the hiring manager they are seeking other candidates.

So I get to do something other than be a "Millennial Strategist." Wonder if anyone needs a Gen X Strategist?

Internal Use of Social Media

In this video Jon Iwata, SVP of Marketing and Communications at IBM, discusses using Social Media as an Internal Tool. One idea is that as employees become comfortable using social media inside the company they will be able to utilize those skills in communicating with external clients and business partners.



One quote from Mr. Iwata about maintaining control when using social media internally, "Are they (your employees) going to criticize management sometimes? Of course. But they are doing that anyway."

Too many organizations are worried about controlling their employees. I know many corporations that block blog and video sites on their intranets. Where is the trust? Social media will not work until leaders trust their employees and realize that much of this communication is already going on. They can "unearth ideas" if they will loosen their grip on employees.

Embrace Social Media: A Note to the Healthcare Industry

To Health Care Professionals:

After conversations with a few medical professionals including a neurosurgeon and a VP of Marketing of a hospital system about social media, I've come to the following conclusion:
Healthcare professionals must embrace social media and not attempt to "stretch forth their puny arm to stop the Missouri River."

I almost laughed when I read that Medical Justice "advices doctors to have each patient sign the non-disclosure agreement–and if the patient refuses, to turn him away." Seriously what would happen if a patient signed the form then logged on to Angie's List to post a negative comment? Would Medical Justice advise suing the patient? The media (including social media) would have field day.

Now I must also admit that I'm not a doctor and I know there are many complicated doctor type situations that need to be consideration when using social media. But at this point every organization (especially health care) needs to realize that social media is unstoppable and if they attempt to fight it, they will lose.

Hospitals using social media

I just had a tour of the impressive Dublin (Ohio) Methodist Hospital from a good friend, Nathan Burt, who is a graduate fellow working with the executive team. The design of the hospital allows maximum natural sunlight which helps in the healing process. When I get sick, take me there.

Part of our discussion was about how hospitals are using social media. Here are some examples:

Example #1:
Surgeons send tweets from OR
Why #1: Patients who may be undergoing that surgery soon would like to know the details
Why #2: Other surgeons who will be performing the same surgery would like to learn

Idea #1: What if we also encouraged the patient to send tweets before and after the surgery?
Idea#2: Would patient that underwent the surgery be willing to exchange tweets with the person about to undergo the surgery?

Example #2:
Running a Hospital Blog and Hospital CEO on Twitter
Why #1: Engage stakeholders in a conversation
Why #2: Proactive transparency vs. Reactive transparency (face crisis head on)
Why #3: Promote hospital brand
Why #4: Top down leadership approach that sets example for organization

Example #3:
Cleveland Clinic Florida Facebook Group
Why #1: Authentic client testimonials ("This hospital is the reason my wife is living a normal life again."
Why #2: Employees can share videos to build a sense of community
Why #3: Become part of the conversation that is already happening

Social Media and Culture

The following entry comes from my IBM colleague, Adam Christensen, and I repost it here because of the value it will bring as I continually promote social tools. Thanks Adam for this clear and thoughtful post.

"Following Jeremiah Owyang's post, I got a very practical comment from Beth Kanter asking the following:

I’m curious about your points about how to balance top-down mandates and completely grassroots adoption strategies? What works do you think? And, do you have a case study or step-by-step or some tips?

I was about to respond in the comments thread, but figured this warranted a new (albeit quick) post. Balancing top-down mandates and grassroots adoption can be tricky, but it's not impossible. Finding the intersection of corporate mandates and employee value can be summed up in one sentence:

Will it (social media project "X") help employees do the job you are paying them to do more easily?

Companies employ people so they can help them accomplish certain objectives. Employees are paid to help the company reach those stated objective. So there's inherent alignment of objectives and incentives. Social media should reflect that. If it can help employees do what their companies are paying them to do more easily, you've got a home run. Companies should focus on finding the tools that accomplish that.

But there's a big catch. The employees have to be the ones to determine what makes them more efficient. A few folks in the CIOs office, HR or corporate communications, really aren't the best arbiters of which tools employees feel will help them do their jobs.

Likewise, if a company's motivation to adopt social media tools revolves around something like solely saving money, it's likely to be met with a dull thud of non-participation. Employees aren't interested in saving the company money. They are interested in doing their jobs so they can be paid, go home and enjoy their lives.

So, when a company follows that model - listening to employees on what they think will make them more effective at what they are being paid to do, and then enabling them accordingly - it's a win-win.

All resulting in more time for employees to waste time on Facebook. (did I just say that?)"

Discussion with Hospital CEO

Last night I spoke to the CEO of Ohio County (KY) Hospital about social media. His question: "What will it do for me?"

I told him about the Running a Hospital Blog and explained how he could engage his stake holders in discussions. I also talked about transparency and how he could use "proactive transparency" vs. "reactive transparency" (from Hospital Impact).

After the discussion I also thought about the size of his organization. They are a small hospital in a rural area. Would my friend gain the same benefits from blogging as Marty Bonick, CEO of Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky? Would the ROI of his social media efforts be less since his stakeholder base is smaller? As with any other social media activity, it may be slow at first but would deliver some gems that would be worth the effort.

Millennial Strategist Application

(The following post is for an IBM hiring manager who is seeking a Millennial Strategist.)

Hello PK,
After seeing the Millennial Strategist position, the following question came to mind, "How would a true Millennial Strategist apply for this position?"

In answer to that question I have created a Blog entry seeking comments, YouTube video, Tweet on Twitter, LinkedIn Group, and Facebook group.

While those channels are powerful in getting my message to you (and the world), the real power is in the public's ability to respond. So in that spirit I invite those who have worked with me to comment on my ability to add value as a Millennial Strategist. I appreciate your feedback.

Millennial Strategist description:
This position is to increase the number of IT professionals from the millennial generation actively using developerWorks as their primary source for technical information, community, and learning. This position requires first hand knowledge of the millennial generation, their learning patterns and behaviors, and community preferences as well as an academic background in statistical analysis and marketing to consume market intelligence, combine it with first hand knowledge, and develop marketing plans to recruit and engage this generation of IT professionals in developWorks and get them using IBM technology in their jobs.

Status Reports via email?

Tomorrow I meet with my manager to review my IBM activities. I am excited about this meeting since she's in New York and I'm in Ohio and we do not interact on a daily basis. When I first started with her team I was sending excel status reports via email; now I use social media to document what's going on in my world.

I do not expect my manager to follow my every move, BUT she does have that ability with tools such as twitter. Some do not like their manager looking over their shoulder, but as I use twitter more anyone can find out what I am doing at any given moment. For example, she could find out via twitter that yesterday at 10:52AM I was "having my normal brunch of toast&peanut butter while I was reviewing IBM's business conduct guidelines."

Here are places she could track me down and understand better the value I am bringing to IBM...

Internal IBM Blog, External blog, twitter, cattail (like Google docs), Media Library (IBM internal), Dogear (like Del.icio.us), WikiCentral (IBM Internal)

Business Value of Twitter

I am envious of several of my IBM colleagues who are spending the next few days in Orlando, Florida. No, they are not hanging out with Mickey and Minnie. It's Lotusphere 2009! Even though I am not there in person I am able to get a very detailed report what's going on via twitter.

I'm a new adopter and the business value of twitter has slowly increased. Today that value culminated as I received live tweets on the iPhone via TwitterFon from Luis Suarez, Luis Benitez, and Chris Pepin while they attended Lotusphere. These individuals are leading the way in social software adoption internally within IBM and externally with our clients. I'm excited to attend Lotusphere via twitter the next few days.

Bad AT&T

I could not agree more with today's NY Times article, A Text Arrives. Oh, It's Just an Idol Ad.

I've been an AT&T customer for a week now and up until this point I have been happy with the service. While "the network" Verizon preaches may be better, I have seen no real network problems.

However, if they continue to send me more unsolicited text messages advertising shows such as American Idol. I may have to go back to Verizon. Hold on. No way...can't do it. I tested the Blackberry Storm yesterday and the iPhone is so far ahead of any Verizon device that I would put up with A LOT of unsolicited text messages before I switched.

iPhone Lesson #1 - Less Laptop Time

That's right...I am now enjoying less laptop time as I integrate the iPhone into my life. One task I have shifted to the iPhone is my gmail usage. While I still respond to some email via my IBM Thinkpad. I read 99% of my emails via the iPhone.

When I do respond to email via iPhone I make them brief and to the point. Shouldn't all our emails be like that already? Laptops give us so much space to write I guess we think we should fill it.

iPhone: Toy or Amazing Business Device?

I know all about toys. My children received many this year (mostly from grandparents).

Some have said that Angie's gift to me, an iPhone, is a toy. While it does have many apps that are fun (LightSaber) I must comment that it is an amazing business device that will enhance productivity and make life more enjoyable. Here's just a small snippet of my life this morning:

This morning:
8:00AM - On my way to work I checked my gmail and deleted unneeded messages. Thought about how to respond to other messages. (Angie..if you are reading this I promise to pay attention to the road and not rear end anyone else)

8:10AM - Listened to a my church lesson via the iPod

9:30AM - Showed my co-worker current pictures of the family (how often are you out somewhere and you only have outdated pictures of your family in your wallet?)

TeamIQ (Latest IBM project)

A few months ago I had an idea pop in my mind (can't remember if it was in the shower or not). You know, one of those ideas that you can't stop thinking about. An idea that you think will change the way your company works.

Since this idea was not part of my day job at IBM, I've spent any spare time explaining the concept to developers so they could help me make it happen.

The idea...drumroll please..TeamIQ, a new tool that aggregates the social tools of teams, is ready for prime time. We have tools inside the IBM firewall that are similar to those available to the public. The world has del.icio.us, IBM has dogear. The world has Google Docs, IBM has cattail. The world has facebook, IBM has beehive. The list goes on.

The new tool, TeamIQ, enables teams to input a list of their co-workers' email addresses and in response they receive a table that lists links to their coworkers' Beehive connections, Cattail files, etc. For example, if you are in a meeting you can paste in the Invitee list to find out what your co-workers are doing and who they are connected to.

I'm excited to evangelize and enhance this tool the next few months.