Blognotes

With its 90.000+ apps ecosystem, the iPhone /iPod is a fantastic tool to organize one´s life and work, to boost individual and team productivity, to read more while being either home or on the move, to keep current with the latest news  & trends and to build up one´s knowledge. Among lots of cloud applications that I use these are the services that I like most and that simplify my daily life.

Tasks,  Contacts &  Time Management

Personal Notes & Bookmarking

File Sharing, Publication & Collaboration

RSS Aggregators  & Reading Tools

Social Networks & Communication

Twitter Clients & Buzz Tracking

French & International Newspapers

New Apps & Content Suggestions

CES - the biggest fair for consumer electronics - opened its doors yesterday in Las Vegas. Ultra thin displays, 3D television and gaming, Google Nexus and other smartphones as well as Internet tablets are the big stars. We have selected here some of the most interesting headlines. 

- Samsung Unveils Application Store For TVs, Blu-ray Players, Home Theater Systems and Select Mobile Phones http://bit.ly/6Vd17l 
- Sony to bring 3D concerts live to the living room http://bit.ly/6Wkohy 
- Panasonic unveils the world’s largest Full HD 3D TV http://j.mp/4LxBj8
- From LG comes CF3D, the world first full HD 3D projector http://j.mp/5OgZmD 
- Samsung C9000 Ultra-Thin TV and Sweet Wi-Fi Video Touchscreen Remote http://j.mp/6VgbOP 
- Yahoo Further Bridges the Gap Between Internet and TV http://j.mp/4DCuGI 
- 3M Unveils Multi Touch LCD http://j.mp/61gF9E 
- LG introduces ultra-slim 3D INFINIA LE9500 TVs http://j.mp/7uYWBV 
- Samsung unveils Slim 2010 Plasma Series HDTVs http://j.mp/68BszM 
- Samsung reveals 0.3-inch thin flagship LED HDTV; as thick as a pencil with touch.. http://j.mp/6WqqnM 
- Intel's Double-HD MultiTouch Wall Is Incredible http://j.mp/4EZNXs 
- LG unveils 7mm TV at CES http://j.mp/4A3fwh 
- Skype goes beyond computers and phones into TV sets http://j.mp/8HCTxW 
- 3M MPro150 Pico Projectors Show At CES 2010 http://j.mp/4q1ZGr 
- Panasonic unveils world’s first fully-integrated Full HD 3D camcorder http://j.mp/6DwN7f 

- Project Natal Xbox 360 motion control coming Christmas http://bit.ly/5oeOSR 
- Sony Reveals Big Plans for PlayStation Network http://j.mp/4MAy3I 
- 3D PlayStation 3 Playable http://j.mp/7nUMbM 
- Two Firmware Updates Planned For The PS3 In 2010, Will Bring 3D Gaming.. http://j.mp/7lJEQc 
- Lego Universe Massively Multi Player Online Game Rocks CES http://j.mp/5SEagA 

- Google Nexus One Hands-On http://j.mp/8DD0kG 
- Motorola Adds Additional Android Device to Take on IPhone http://bit.ly/4p03At 
- Samsung and TI demonstrate first WVGA beam projector-embedded mobile phone at CES http://bit.ly/6kJXJ7 
- AMOLED Displays Starting to Appear http://j.mp/5jUcJc 

- Samsung unveils a transparent Laptop - http://bit.ly/6021x 
- ASUS's Waveface concept computers know how you're feeling http://j.mp/8yN9a8 
- ASUS introduces new N Series, K Series and U Series Bamboo Collection notebooks http://j.mp/7q5XB4 
- HP demos Snapdragon-powered Android smartbook prototype http://j.mp/8dFF4W 

TABLETS 

- Sony Reveals Pocket Internet Devices- DASH http://j.mp/81Cpms 
- Samsung Launches Pair of New E-book Readers into Crowded Waters http://j.mp/6Jkldd 
- Dell Shows Off Mini-Tablet http://j.mp/6yuafG 
- MSI's Dual-Screen Tablet http://j.mp/8UgD7P 
- Steve Ballmer reveals HP’s new tablet with Windows 7 at CES http://j.mp/7HRUmw 
- Amazon Kindle under threat from 'unbreakable, light-as-paper' Que e-re.. http://j.mp/6rhxjM

Mobile Devices

Will Google Nexus and other Android phones (Samsung, LG, HTC …) redefine the market landscape? Will the iPhone still dominate in that new competitive landscape  ? 

This will be a major discussion subject starting january when Google finally unveils Nexus on tuesday 5th and when Apple counter-attacks during their MacWorld in February 9-13. The other question is about Nokia and its ability to come back, pressurized between the Americans and the Asians.

Another major event would be the long awaited Apple Tablet that started making a lot of buzz already in early 2009.  A large iPOD-like tablet would for sure be a killer. It might event put the rising netbook segment on hold. Amazon´s star reader Kindle would also be under pressure. HTC, the strategic partner of Google and Nexus maker, has also announced a tablet PC for 2010. Having those two heavy-weights would surely rapdily boost that new segment. 

Mobile TV will be a more difficult subject. Despite a clear interest, especially in Europe, the offer is still unclear and confuses most consumers who fear unexpected bills. And most of all, infrastructures ans standards are still under question. Besides, most displays are considered too small. The strong kick-off in Europe might rather take place in 2012 during the "Olympics 2.0" with huge plans to foster public viewing in London (mobile TV and digital signage will be king).

The star product 2010 will be OLED-TV, a technology that will be quickly taking on other technologies, namely LCD and plasma, thanks to superior design (1cm thin, frame like design), better picture quality and energy saving (30 to 40% vs. LCD).  

Article in progress …

The last decade showed an amazing increase of publications with the emergence of new channels that include blogs and microblogs (Twitter).  Everybody is writing on anything, any information is immediately available to the world, the information is not controled anymore, qualitative and poor or even fake contents live together, realtime is the new stuff and snacking is the new way to consume on a large number of devices that include the pc, smartphones and multimediaplayers. Everybody has its own information, feeds are the new normal to digest and share information. In that landscape, the complexity to keep current with relevant and fresh content is rising dramatically.  Mastering the information is the new game, the game that provides expertise and superiority in the new information economy. Discipline and good tools are the new prerequisites to stay ahead. This post delivers a list of tools to meet that challenge of good reading in the new decade. The art lies in the intelligent use, combination, and balance of those tools. 

Reading with an RSS Aggregator on the PC
Feedly is probably the best ónline RSS aggregator. Based on Google Reader, that aggregator offers newspaper like design, smart feed management, customization and suggestions, easy sharing including Twitter, etc.

For those who are too lazy to select information sources or want immediate readings on a specific topic, Lazyfeed is the perfect tool.: pick a subject on the fly and the system fulfills your reading appetite with tons of feeds. But the best thing with that new generation aggregator is the realtime refresh. The design and navigation are also excellent.

Another great online service is Guy Kawasaki´s MyAllTop : you pick a subject and a full list of relevant sources is provided. You can then customize your readings. 

Following  Realtime News from Twitter and likes
Twitter is the new channel to get the latest news right from the people around the globe. A tremendous channel to get the best insights from local people and from experts on specific topics.

The best client to read, filter, and track specific topics from Twitter and other realtime channels is probably Hootsuite. That platform aggregates all your feeds from Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Ping in one single page. You can also track statistics and filter with key-words.

Listorious provides lists of valuable content organized by category. Another tool which I like very much is Tweetree which enhances the reading experience of your Twitter channel: the links in your tweets are replaced by the contents themselves  including text, pictures and videos. Check my Tweetree channel to learn more. Last but not least, Twitter Tim.es delivers a nice newspaper feeded with your trusted twitter and blogs sources. My own edition is here.

There is an impressive Twitter ecosystem. To find relevant tools and tips, Twitip is one of the most interesting blogs to follow

.

ARTICLE IN PROGRESS  …

Thanks to List of Tweets (a must have if you tweet a lot) I have filtered my last 60 days tweets and come to this shortlist of useful resources in marketing, productivity, twitter and enterprise areas.

MARKETING

* 10 Must-Read eBooks for Social Media Lovers http://bit.ly/8PbsxS
* How to Easily Increase Blog Subscribers http://bit.ly/8ZIWN4
* The Future of Interactive Marketing http://bit.ly/5Fei5y
* How IBM is integrating Social Media into its Marketing Mix - http://digs.by/zXD
* Les Meilleurs Conseils Marketing de 2009 – Le Livre ! http://bit.ly/6fe2Pp
* 30 Useful Small Business Email Marketing Apps http://bit.ly/8o5gpb
* How to advertise your business on Facebook http://bit.ly/4Xm1rn
* Guide gratuit AFMM 2010 du marketing mobile (pdf, 48p) http://digs.by/tOk

TOOLS / PRODUCTIVITY

* Stribe is a plug & play service to instantly create a social network on any website http://bit.ly/zVOUe
* Most Popular Free iPhone Apps (and Posts) of 2009 http://bit.ly/4YgZ1d
* The Guardian - 100 essential websites http://bit.ly/8ilqyl
* with SocialCalc spreadsheets are now distributed and dynamic. Ideal #tool for budget processes http://bit.ly/7WR5Ne
* MindTouch Cloud: The Open Source Alternative to Sharepoint and Salesforce.com? http://bit.ly/4Nj5tX
* Send Large Files Of Any Size: Guide To The Best Tools And Services To Transfer Large Files http://bit.ly/7NHz7u
* Top 10 Semantic Web Products of 2009 http://bit.ly/6LfIDm
* Easily track your Google Analytics accounts with Trakkboard http://bit.ly/4mHUnS
* Facebook pages to the next level with Tigerlily http://bit.ly/8ZCQUs
* How to stay ahead of emerging technologies http://bit.ly/7xeHbX
* Gladinet Cloud Desktop maps cloud storage as a virtual drive and automates online backup with local files http://digs.by/t8q
* TVDeck: Internet television on demand http://digs.by/smJ
* Useful and powerful: search your contacts across facebook, linkedin, flickr, gmal and ymail http://digs.by/sbW
* Guide en ligne du chef de projet efficace http://digs.by/sYq
* 8 Excellent Tools to Extract Insights from Twitter Streams http://digs.by/r7B
* 9 new marketing tools you need http://digs.by/oe3
* Améliorer son efficacité commerciale avec les outils du Web2.0 http://bit.ly/38SHj0

TWITTER

* 10 Twitter Tools to Organize Your Tweets http://bit.ly/8fG7FT  * Listorious: discover the best twitter lists http://digs.by/r2e
* How Can Twitter Help Your Business http://bit.ly/5OVFH7
* "Twitter comme outil Marketing ?" - une présentation efficace et concise sur le sujet http://bit.ly/7JVReI

We are back again onboard with a new layout. OK, a new layout is nice but articles are even better. After using Twitter quite a lot as a research and bookmarking  tool, we feel like blogging again with a couple of subjects in mind including knowledge management, business intelligence, advanced marketing and digital innovation.

No matter if you're an independent, starting a new business, working for a large company or looking for a job: Linkedin should be fully integrated in your business  strategy and considered a major piece in your communication. The leading platform for business networking has much more to offer than just a static page where you would describe yourself, your career path and company profile. Linkedin can dramatically boost your business, brand and personal attractivity. I would like to share here a couple of tricks, some you might not be aware of.

- Create a Profile Page for Your Company as you would do for yourself and make it a hub to connect with your co-workers, clients, partners, prospects, users etc

- Embed Multimedia Content on your Personal / Company Page (video, powerpoint etc), use it as an additional channel to connect with your brand / self-brand. To do that, use the Box.net application.

- Get your Colleagues, customers and partners link back to that Company page, and let them have your multimedia material and embed in their own profile so as to widespread your brand message.

- Connect your Linkedin page consistently with Your Corporate site, communities  and other social networks. Draw on paper the whole online architecture and work on its effectiveness.

- Connect your corporate or personal blog with your Linkedin page by using the Blog Link or Wordpress application.

- Create Business Groups and generate Discussions that will link back to you

- Use the newly created subgroups for better targeting and to enlarge your networking capabilities (subgroups are not included in the 50 groups limitation).

- Work collaboratively with your customers, colleagues and prospects by using workgroups. to do that, use the Huddle application.

- Update your Status and use it to Tease Customers, Prospects etc.

- Invite visitors to interact with you / your brand by showing the Polls or Compnay Buzz application on your page.

- Emphasize your professional expertise by showing great management books you´ve read and intend to read (Amazon app.).

will be upgraded

I've been thinking all I would be doing during those crisis times if I were running  a business.  I came up with this list focusing on marketing and sales management points. It' s a mix of own experiences, thoughts and readings. I will try to upgrade and enrich it with third parties articles and best cases later on. And some points I will detail in separate posts. I chose to concentrate especially on mid and long term action points: you shouldn't expect too much from your short term activities in those crisis times if your markets are really depressed; but it's highly important and the right time to prepare for better times and set ready to harvest later on. And it's not just about crisis and after-crisis times; it's about a new paradigm: not only the financial system has collapsed, but many other parameters have actually changed dramatically, driven by the global hyper connectivity and competitiveness, by the emerging power of the masses and by a new generation that has a stronger voice to denounce failing models and to claim new values and perspectives as a citizen, as a consumer and as a worker.  Therefore, It's important in those deep times to think on that new order and adapt your business practices accordingly.

A Non-Exhaustive Business Check-List, in Progress :

1)  Refocus on your end-users as a starting point in your decisions, listen to what they say on your business and brand, what they actually want and what they imagine you should/could be doing. Leverage web 2.0 platforms to secure a permanent and interactive discussion with them.

will be continued ...

I research quite a lot online. Over the years, I've developed a structured approach which I call the '5 steps from the single Google Search to a Collective Intelligence'. I will detail that approach and related tools in this article. 

1. Search Better
1.1 Fine-tune Google
1.2 Enhance with Add-ons
- Surf Canyon
- Deeperweb
1.3 Use Alternative Engines
1.4 Focus with Specific Engines
- People: Pipl, Spock, 123people
- Business: business.com, bnet
- Press:
- Blogs: icereocket
- Discussions: Twitter Search
- Scientific:
1.5 Use Meta Engines
1.6 Dig into the deep Web

2. Structure
2.1 Organize your engines 
2.2 Use RSS feeds
2.3 Compose & Filter RSS
- Yahoo Pipes, Grazr
2.4 Organize alerts

3. Socialize
3.1 Join conversations
3.2 Contribute
3.3 Interact

4. Systemize
4.1 Organize an ecoystem
4.2 Interconnect
4.3 Feed & tease

5. Specialized Software
- AMI Software
- Arisem
- Digimind
- Qwam
- Iscope
- KB Crawl
- Ixxo

ARTICLE IN PROGRESS

Don Tapscott (co-author of "The Wikinomics", refer to my related posts) and Steve Papermaster (CEO of nGenera Corp, a business innovation platform for next-gen. enterprises) have a fantastic white-paper on the next generation enterprise - also called enterprise 2.0 which I´ve embedded in this post. This is a must read to understand the concept and how companies must reinvent their management so as to harvest the global pool of talents and resources and co-create in a  global connected world. They also started a great community of thought leaders who write on enterprise 2.0.