From Tactical to Strategical

I started blogging here to learn and practice…for who knew what would come? I’ve been helping the Intel Global Communications Group and others inside Intel better understand how to create stories for Podcasting for almost two years. Prior, many others were Podcasting and sharing their wisdom about using social media — pioneers like Josh Bancroft and few others.

Note: Josh just encouraged me to get my own domain and hosting, so this blog will be movin’ ahead to http://www.kenekaplan.com, if things go well this weekend.

While other groups were experimenting, the corporate PR team started doing audio Podcasts at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2006, working with PodTech. We quickly moved into video Podcasting. We already had broadcast (TV and Radio) writing and production skills, but together with PodTech our team began learning how to share our stories online. It’s much different than TV and radio production — and I’d say more fun!

We learned how to tag, create categories and link to related stories. This helped us build — literally link — one story with the next. We moved from tactical to strategic…or from trying to doing things to actually asserting thoughtful purpose. The purpose of telling good stories that we believed would be interesting to our audiences, with full intentions of sharing stories so they could be shared among any online discussion people might want to have — bloggers, journalists, investors, consumers, clients.

Jump to this month. I’ve seen the momentum growing for a long time, but this month Intel stepped further ahead into social media with our Intel Developer Forum planning efforts. Our plans were rolled straight to the top of Intel. Plans peculated by several teams teaming up resources, ideas and energy to share the experience we’ll be having at IDF. We’ll have more tools and ways to connect and share with our audiences, who will also have new ways to participate with IDF — a gathering of top engeineers and companies from around the world learning how to build future technologies based on the latest Intel chip designs and technologies. Look for more video, live blogging and even livecasting using UStream.tv.

This year I helped compile guidelines and an Intel University course about Social Media. The aim is to encourage every Intel worker to participate and to do so freely and smartly. Guidelines are based on long-standing employee codes of conduct, but we put things into context and provided some do’s and don’ts. Many of us truly believe having many voices participating is better than having a select few. And that group of “many of us” is growing and some are even getting new official roles as evangelists and leaders. These energized people are putting in great work to help bring great social media tools to more people inside Intel, including Intel IT pro and original blogger Jeff Moriarty. This is how we can change and improve things, by getting our people to connect more freely and flexibly with their audiences and communities.

This post is turning into a long tale/tail, but it’s analogous. This week I wrote my first official Intel blog post “Where IT Pros Talk Shop,” which features a video I shot and edited. While working on so many things on so many fronts, it’s good to celebrate victories and steps that show progress. Things that show we’re movin’ ahead! I’d say now things are leapin’ ahead.

Next, much attention will need to go towards communicating and understanding core audiences and audiences that welcome us and value what we can give and take.

Office 2.0 — Baby Needs New Shoes!

I’ve been buried under a rock, digging it seems.  But this week I learned from my pals at Open Port about the Office 2.0 event. It looks like a GREAT gathering of social media pioneers, professionals and providers all together in San Francisco on September 5-7. Many friends are going, and it looks like there’ll be lots of people there whom I’d like to meet. Just look at the list! I put my special request into my boss this morning — hopefully not too late of a notice. Come on, lady luck!

If you’re going, check out some of my Intel Open Port pals on this Online Communities panel. See them in this video:

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012309/Podtech_Intel_Open_Port.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3953/intel-launches-social-media-experience-open-port            &totalTime=267000&breadcrumb=193d9db9e8c443d1848829f88797a659]

Facebook App-makin’ in Silicon Valley

Tom Foremski captures a group of Facebook application creators in Palo Alto. I’m one of the millions loving the fun apps on Facebook that help tie together different social media tools I’m using. Great stuff! Thanks, Tom.

From the PodTech site:
Video | 13:45 | Posted by Tom Foremski | August 28th, 2007 9:30 am

I spent Saturday afternoon crammed into a room in Palo Alto with a couple of hundred people listening to presentations from young developers creating Facebook apps. The enthusiasm was great and there was a sense of being at the start of something big.

Also on TechOne: RedMonk’s Michael Coté interviews Zane Rockenbaugh from Liquid Labs

Tags: Facebook apps, Coté, Zane Rockenbaugh, Liquid Labs

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Gaming Gets The Reboot

PodTech’s Rio Pesino has been producing some cool reports on gaming for a while now, so it’s GREAT to see his new show hit.  The intro is sweet!  The graphics are slick and the pace is just right.  Nice production and big variety of game-lovers interviewed.  Gaming is not just for boys and girls, grappas are in on the action, too!

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012318/Podtech_TheReboot_Show_EP1.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3958/the-reboot-debut-program            &totalTime=503000&breadcrumb=eea14852abdf4c029c98405155397d4b]

Silicon Valley History — People Doing Things That Change The World

 Even if you’ve read about it, seen photos or event stopped to visit, seeing the HP founders’ garage is inspiring. It’ an icon of for that spark of imagination and innovative spirit that still spreads through the arteries of Silicone Valley.

Watching this made me think how cool it is to have a legacy.  For HP it goes back a while.  They skyrocketed to greatness and managed through tough twists and turns to become one of today’s leading computer companies.

Even short-run start-ups have legacies in Silicon Valley.  While many seem to disappear, their efforts actually are the growth seeds, ideas and drive that drives the innovation collective.   And sure it’s the great breakthroughs and computer applications that blow the mind, but it’s the people, characters past and present, who are the core of the best stories about Silicon Valley.

This is a nicely produced visual story (kudos!) about people and technology inside HP.  The second video is another nicely produced video that looks at a major change to the tiny, ever shrinking transistor — arguable the real engine of possibilities we all think of when we hear two words:  Silicon Valley.

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[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/01/PID_001917/Podtech_Intel45nM_revised.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/1971/intel-says-45-nanometer-microprocessors-due-later-this-year            &totalTime=520000&breadcrumb=89644d6cb92645c9a273c74ec410a090]

I just Got a WetPaint Wiki!

Funny thing is that I saw Scoble’s video just hours after setting up my first Wiki on WetPaint. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for my corporate PR team’s social media efforts to show how we’re not dabbling but actually swimming with others using social media.

I’m fist going to set it up as a private site then go from there. I will add videos we produce and distribute, new social media guidelines and courses we’re creating for the company, as well as fun stuff. If it’s done right, we can point our bosses to the site whenever they ask, “what have you done for me lately?”

Last night I also opened a Tumblr account so now I can see which tool will work best for my needs, and which site will grow with my growing needs and interests. It’s open but I’m still gathering my wits for how I’d use it. It’s here.

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012322/Podtech_WetPaint_demo.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3962/demo-of-the-easiest-wiki-service-wetpaint&totalTime=255000&breadcrumb=90b16f2f0e9a45e1b5c364e100003baf]

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012284/Podtech_WetPaint_int.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3939/the-unwiki-wiki-wetpaint            &totalTime=1355000&breadcrumb=2b85be90925e4140964126cab195171a]

Sustainable Strategies: Energy Star* – Intel Chip Chat – Episode 6

Andrew Fanara, Team Leader for the Energy Star Products Group with the EPA, discusses how Energy Star impacts computing platforms from both a client and a data center perspective.

Related stories:
Intel, IntelMooresLaw

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012242/Podtech_Intel_Chip_Chat.mp3&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3904/sustainable-strategies-energy-star-intel-chip-chat-episode-6&totalTime=673000&breadcrumb=70a8cd723e744222b76a375f62ffd5d3]

When Talk of IT & Social Media Has an Open Port

Tom Foremski of PodTech and SiliconValleyWatcher posted a timely video about the challenges of getting your company’s IT department to use or implement social media tools.  Timely because Tom will be hosting a similar panel at the Intel Developer Forum, but this panel will feature IT pros, legal experts and bloggers rather than marketing and communications pros — more here.

More people are having these kinds of experiences at work and it’s helping us all learn and actually try new things with some grounded expectations — i.e. getting people to engage and interact rather than clocking the number of hits or downloads.

Before we move to the video, here is a brand new effort by Intel — Open Port, where IT pros and enterprise technology experts/enthusiasts can come and learn, ask questions, vent, meet people and help people understand how to use the latest tech tools for businesses.  At first this will seem heavily voiced by Intel propaganda, but most of the stories, studies and information is about things Intel IT pros are learning as they work inside Intel and with IT shops at other companies.  I hope this helps break down any walls that are keeping IT pros from running as fast as they’d like to use new technologies that help people do what they want, like and need to do in life.  Of course security and risk awareness is important, but these are two issues that IT pros will has out when they gather around together with open minds and share.

Here’s video posted by Tom Foremski.

Josh Hallett and Alex Kim, from Solution Set, talk about building social media platforms within enterprises and the roadblocks that IT departments create. Lots of good advice on overcoming those obstacles. A Silicon Valley Watcher report from a meeting of the Third Thursday club held at Voce Communications, in Palo Alto. Also on TechOne: Larry Magid’s report on Google Docs and Spreadsheets; and Michael Cote talks with William Hurley about commercial open source.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/08/PID_012315/Podtech_JoshThirdSent.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/home/3960/social-media-in-the-enterprise-how-to-deal-with-it-roadblocks            &totalTime=627000&breadcrumb=bb70bcf0188f418481981d4ae0b8eabe]

Chipleading the Road to WiMAX

BusinessWeek strory online today but dated September 3 leads with an anecdote about Intel exec Sean Maloney and his Andy Grove-inspired revelation that Intel could help speed the spread broadband by using wireless. Sean embodies Intel’s innovative spirit and vision for bringing to life the benefits of Moore’s Law — benefits are better computing performance at lower prices over time.From the title down through the first few paragraphs, this is a fun ride…great writing here from BusinessWeek.

clipped from www.businessweek.com

Intel’s role as head WiMAX cheerleader makes sense. WiMAX is similar to Wi-Fi, which was embedded in Intel’s Centrino line of chips, but it offers dramatic improvements. Wi-Fi extends traditional wire-based broadband networks for just a few hundred feet, and Internet access speeds slow to a crawl when lots of people are online in the same area. Meanwhile, high-profile schemes for blanketing whole cities with cheap or free Wi-Fi networks aren’t working out.

  blog it

Clipmarks — Will it Help Improve My Blog?

This was one of the first Firefox add-ons that caught my eye a few months ago.  Today I’m pledging to give it a better try than I did when I first downloaded it a few months ago.  My blog is really about things I’m learning and interesting people I find or meet as life moves ahead.

Inside Intel — in my opinion — there’s a huge variety of people, personalities, paces and tastes, but everyone’s passionately believes they can help Intel become more innovative, relevant and meaningful to people around the world.  There are many pioneers and there are many organizers and their are many supporters.  The pioneers step out and try and they help break new ground.  Organizers make sense of things and create strategies (and processes if possible) for mass adoption — i.e. getting more people to embrace the best of what the pioneers are finding/doing.  Supporters share the fruits of all of this work with the outer edges where clients, friends and family are found.  From there you can look backward to catch a glimpse of what makes up Intel culture.

Intel culture is restless and eager and sometimes bullheaded.  But today there are many engines of change being driven by many new pioneers who are working to grow Intel’s culture from being soley a force of innovation to being a source of innovation that works together with others to help make great things happen for people, businesses and governments wherever they may be.

So what gives with Clipmarks?  I believe it can help people more easily feed their blog with things they find and like during the day.  As we move from pioneers to organizers (or settlers) of social media inside Intel, we’ll soon be encouraging all employees — and their clients, families and friends 🙂 — to participate more with the information they find and the people they meet.  People who aren’t blogging typically say they don’t have the time or interest.  I always say give it a try and let it grow as you go.  You’ll find things like Clipmarks that will jettison you to new levels and new delights, or you’ll try and discover that blogging just isn’t for you.  That’s fine, too, because it’s not just about blogging, it’s about participating, commenting on news, sharing your wisdom and feelings with others.

Heck, tomorrow’s another day.  I’ll start clipmarking today.