Wednesday, December 30, 2009
How to Run a Meeting Like Google
No one wastes time searching for a purpose at Marissa Mayer's meetings—http://ping.fm/YGY9X
No one wastes time searching for a purpose at Marissa Mayer's meetings—http://ping.fm/YGY9X
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Join me in the mission of spreading a passion for the virgin-born, crucified, risen Lord of the universe Jesus Christ-John Piper http://ping.fm/u4l6U
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
I am now jealous of Don Dodge's Google Phone. "It is night and day from my Motorola Q phone". http://ping.fm/qWYNI
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
When people talk about what they know well & do well it is always interesting. Malcolm Gladwell http://ping.fm/DKsG2
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Do we believe what our feelings and circumstances tell us, or do we believe what God has promised to do? Jim Cymbala http://ping.fm/X6fUm
The great battle of our spiritual lives is, "Will you believe?" It is not, "Will you try harder?" Jim Cymbala http://ping.fm/qmf31
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Am I broken over sin? Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matt 5:4 from Pastor Lloyd Price http://ping.fm/PZXol
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
The American Legion has joined the fight...Legion supports veteran's fight for flagpole http://ping.fm/IxCOd
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Jack Earls' early career is proof that Sam Phillips and Sun Records had a much deeper and wider talent pool than "just" Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash. and Jerry Lee Lewis to draw on. His sides, all but two unreleased, are as good as anything the label ever issued and Jack Earls' later career is proof that there is occasionally justice in the cosmos -- 25 years after Elvis Presley was put in the ground, Earls was playing Las Vegas. One of Sun Records' first wave of rockabilly artists, Earls was there when Elvis Presley was writing the book on how to meld hillbilly music with rock roll, though his own impact on the music was more subtle. In contrast to Elvis, Earls only lasted at Sun for one single, "Slow Down," though that record did do well. By most accounts, he was also present in the studio the day that Elvis cut "Mystery Train," and ran home to get his copy of the single so that the Hillbilly Cat could learn the words.
Earls was born on August 23, 1932, in Woodbury, TN. One of seven children, he spent most of his childhood living on a farm in Manchester. He developed a taste for country music and a desire to make his own music, listening to the two owners of the farm play their instruments and sing. Already encouraged by his mother to sing, at 16 he also took up the guitar and by 17 he was living in Memphis. As early as 1949, he formed his first band, but pursuing music full-time had to wait behind other of life's considerations -- he was married in 1950 and by the mid-'50s already had a growing family to feed. Still, he loved country music and thought he could make a living at it and in 1954, Earls formed a group that included Johnny Black, brother of music legend Bill Black, on guitar. This was a country band that played local bars and roadhouses, doing hillbilly music, one of hundreds in the Memphis area. The band's decision to spend ten dollars to cut a demo at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Services during the summer of 1955 put Earls into Phillips' orbit -- the producer liked the song, an original by Earls called "A Fool For Lovin' You," and enjoyed Earls' singing, but told him he'd need a new band if they were to record anything.
Earls and Johnny Black stayed together, Black switching from guitar to upright bass, while Warren Gregory joined on lead guitar and Danny Wahlquist came in on drums. Their first recording session yielded a finished version of "Lovin' You" but also introduced a new original, called "Hey Jim," that Phillips liked even better for the A-side. Then Earls brought in yet another original song that Phillips liked even better than "Hey Jim" for his debut. "Slow Down" reportedly had the legendary producer jumping up and down with excitement when it was cut at Sun, and it became the A-side even though Phillips had already renamed Earls' band the Jimbos to capitalize on the expected popularity of "Hey Jim." "Slow Down" sold somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 copies without ever charting, getting enough exposure in and around Memphis to perform respectably as a local and regional release. It might've done better but for the fact that Earls, who held down a job at a bakery to feed his family, couldn't really tour and stuck to playing venues close to Memphis. "Slow Down" elicited interest from DJs from as far away as Texas, who played the record on their air and would happily have put Earls the Jimbos on live, had they made the trip to the Lone Star State.
The 2,500 that Earls received for the sales that "Slow Down" did enjoy would have to suffice in lieu of a recording career, especially when Phillips declined to issue any further records -- he was around the studio enough, including the date when Elvis was trying to cut "Mystery Train," and he cut enough sides to make a full LP, but Sun never issued any of them, possibly a result of Phillips' awareness that Earls couldn't do much to support their release with more than a few local gigs. It would have taken a truly exceptional record to overcome that handicap and Phillips evidently just never heard it in any of the sides that the man cut. Listening to those sides 40-plus years later, one's jaw drops at the stuff that was left on the shelf. Loose, hot rocking versions of "Crawdad Hole" that ought to have had teenagers bouncing off the walls and slow romantic laments like "If You Don't Mind" that were perfect for slow dancing and would've won over country listeners as well; ballads such as "A Fool for Lovin' You," frenetic rhythm numbers like "Let's Bop" that...well, the title tells it; and Warren Gregory's lead guitar underlines the key points with the kind of dexterity you usually got from the likes of Karl Farr, exceeded only by Earls' frantic vocal vamping. "Sign on the Dotted Line," a slow, burning country rocker sounds like Gene Vincent on a trip through rural Tennessee; "When I Dream," a slowie with elegant guitar and drum accompiment that could've been part of Elvis' repertory and ought to have gotten a try from Tony Bennett or maybe Bobby Darin; the ominous, raw "Take Me to That Place," based on Earls' observation of the inmates at an institution for the insane he used to drive by in his truck while making deliveries, that ought to have found its way into the repertory of the Stray Cats 30 years later. And finally, the minimalist "My Gal Mary Ann," where the hottest guitar and drum work is all muted behind Earls' frantic, powerful countrified tenor, sounding like Carl Perkins with some loco-weed in his feed. They were all originals and one would've thought the publishing alone might amount to something serious for all concerned -- the man was a natural musician and songwriter and deserved a lot more recognition than he got.
By January of 1957, Earls' contract with Sun was over and so was his recording career, despite offers from Meteor Records and King Records. He kept performing as his time and energy allowed until 1963, when he moved to Detroit. For the next few decades, he made his living exclusively on an assembly line at Chrysler, raising his family and living the life of a responsible middle-class citizen, while Elvis Presley's star rose, fell, and rose again, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins got in and out of dire straits, and Johnny Cash became the musical conscience of the working man. He made a few attempts at recording in the 1970s, resulting in singles of "Take Me to That Place" b/w "Mississippi Man," "She Sure Can Rock Me" b/w "Crawdad Hole," and "Flip Flop and Fly" b/w "Rock Bop."
Finally, in the 1990s, after 40 years of pursuing music in his spare time, Earls began to realize some of the glory that might've been due him. The burgeoning interest in American rock roll and rockabilly music in Europe in general and England in particular drew Earls over to Great Britain, where he was greeted like a superstar. His Sun sides were compiled, first on LP by Bear Family Records and later in the 1990s on a CD from Charly Records entitled Hey Slim, Let's Bop, which is only slightly less essential listening than Elvis Presley's Sun recordings. In the years since, Jack Earls has played concerts in America as well played Las Vegas in tandem with Janis Martin and other survivors from rockabilly's first generation.
- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
from http://ping.fm/Trx22
Earls was born on August 23, 1932, in Woodbury, TN. One of seven children, he spent most of his childhood living on a farm in Manchester. He developed a taste for country music and a desire to make his own music, listening to the two owners of the farm play their instruments and sing. Already encouraged by his mother to sing, at 16 he also took up the guitar and by 17 he was living in Memphis. As early as 1949, he formed his first band, but pursuing music full-time had to wait behind other of life's considerations -- he was married in 1950 and by the mid-'50s already had a growing family to feed. Still, he loved country music and thought he could make a living at it and in 1954, Earls formed a group that included Johnny Black, brother of music legend Bill Black, on guitar. This was a country band that played local bars and roadhouses, doing hillbilly music, one of hundreds in the Memphis area. The band's decision to spend ten dollars to cut a demo at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Services during the summer of 1955 put Earls into Phillips' orbit -- the producer liked the song, an original by Earls called "A Fool For Lovin' You," and enjoyed Earls' singing, but told him he'd need a new band if they were to record anything.
Earls and Johnny Black stayed together, Black switching from guitar to upright bass, while Warren Gregory joined on lead guitar and Danny Wahlquist came in on drums. Their first recording session yielded a finished version of "Lovin' You" but also introduced a new original, called "Hey Jim," that Phillips liked even better for the A-side. Then Earls brought in yet another original song that Phillips liked even better than "Hey Jim" for his debut. "Slow Down" reportedly had the legendary producer jumping up and down with excitement when it was cut at Sun, and it became the A-side even though Phillips had already renamed Earls' band the Jimbos to capitalize on the expected popularity of "Hey Jim." "Slow Down" sold somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 copies without ever charting, getting enough exposure in and around Memphis to perform respectably as a local and regional release. It might've done better but for the fact that Earls, who held down a job at a bakery to feed his family, couldn't really tour and stuck to playing venues close to Memphis. "Slow Down" elicited interest from DJs from as far away as Texas, who played the record on their air and would happily have put Earls the Jimbos on live, had they made the trip to the Lone Star State.
The 2,500 that Earls received for the sales that "Slow Down" did enjoy would have to suffice in lieu of a recording career, especially when Phillips declined to issue any further records -- he was around the studio enough, including the date when Elvis was trying to cut "Mystery Train," and he cut enough sides to make a full LP, but Sun never issued any of them, possibly a result of Phillips' awareness that Earls couldn't do much to support their release with more than a few local gigs. It would have taken a truly exceptional record to overcome that handicap and Phillips evidently just never heard it in any of the sides that the man cut. Listening to those sides 40-plus years later, one's jaw drops at the stuff that was left on the shelf. Loose, hot rocking versions of "Crawdad Hole" that ought to have had teenagers bouncing off the walls and slow romantic laments like "If You Don't Mind" that were perfect for slow dancing and would've won over country listeners as well; ballads such as "A Fool for Lovin' You," frenetic rhythm numbers like "Let's Bop" that...well, the title tells it; and Warren Gregory's lead guitar underlines the key points with the kind of dexterity you usually got from the likes of Karl Farr, exceeded only by Earls' frantic vocal vamping. "Sign on the Dotted Line," a slow, burning country rocker sounds like Gene Vincent on a trip through rural Tennessee; "When I Dream," a slowie with elegant guitar and drum accompiment that could've been part of Elvis' repertory and ought to have gotten a try from Tony Bennett or maybe Bobby Darin; the ominous, raw "Take Me to That Place," based on Earls' observation of the inmates at an institution for the insane he used to drive by in his truck while making deliveries, that ought to have found its way into the repertory of the Stray Cats 30 years later. And finally, the minimalist "My Gal Mary Ann," where the hottest guitar and drum work is all muted behind Earls' frantic, powerful countrified tenor, sounding like Carl Perkins with some loco-weed in his feed. They were all originals and one would've thought the publishing alone might amount to something serious for all concerned -- the man was a natural musician and songwriter and deserved a lot more recognition than he got.
By January of 1957, Earls' contract with Sun was over and so was his recording career, despite offers from Meteor Records and King Records. He kept performing as his time and energy allowed until 1963, when he moved to Detroit. For the next few decades, he made his living exclusively on an assembly line at Chrysler, raising his family and living the life of a responsible middle-class citizen, while Elvis Presley's star rose, fell, and rose again, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins got in and out of dire straits, and Johnny Cash became the musical conscience of the working man. He made a few attempts at recording in the 1970s, resulting in singles of "Take Me to That Place" b/w "Mississippi Man," "She Sure Can Rock Me" b/w "Crawdad Hole," and "Flip Flop and Fly" b/w "Rock Bop."
Finally, in the 1990s, after 40 years of pursuing music in his spare time, Earls began to realize some of the glory that might've been due him. The burgeoning interest in American rock roll and rockabilly music in Europe in general and England in particular drew Earls over to Great Britain, where he was greeted like a superstar. His Sun sides were compiled, first on LP by Bear Family Records and later in the 1990s on a CD from Charly Records entitled Hey Slim, Let's Bop, which is only slightly less essential listening than Elvis Presley's Sun recordings. In the years since, Jack Earls has played concerts in America as well played Las Vegas in tandem with Janis Martin and other survivors from rockabilly's first generation.
- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
from http://ping.fm/Trx22
Friday, December 04, 2009
Great New Blog: Reflections On My Life - Don Crane's Reflections on Life as a Missionary in Europe. http://ping.fm/WWsRd
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The problem today in youth ministry is not that we are irrelevant, but we are impotent. Perry Noble #nywc http://ping.fm/ZQeoN
"Leadership is as easy as listening to God and doing what He says." Perry Noble #nywc http://ping.fm/WIHvY
Honeywell Awarded Smart Grid Grant From U.S. Department Of Energy using Tridium technology http://ping.fm/9UqaY
“It Is Well with My Soul” Today in 1873, the steamship Ville du Havre was struck. http://ping.fm/sSgd1
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
"The sign of the Spirit at work is supernatural love, not gifts or successful results." Peter Scazzero The Emotionally Healthy Church http://ping.fm/HwEGS
Leadership is not always being the strong one; it is being the weak one who is made strong by God alone. Peter Scazzero The Emotionally Healthy Church http://ping.fm/bQjAH
Lead out of "my failures, weaknesses, & struggles, not my successes." Peter Scazzero The Emotionally Healthy Church http://ping.fm/UsQxK
Are we "Proud & Defensive" or "Broken & Vulnerable" Peter Scazzero The Emotionally Healthy Church http://ping.fm/EJ1gI
"The church will never mature beyond the leadership." Peter Scazzero from The Emotionally Healthy Church http://ping.fm/sI3Ue
"Dell just passed $3MM in overall sales direct from its twitter accounts." Debra Lavoy from #w2e http://ping.fm/HG2ha
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
"Companies like Dell, Comcast and Zappos have changed customer expectations" from http://ping.fm/TSXI2
Thursday, November 12, 2009
When you quit trusting, you quit obeying & then you quit believing from Andy Stanley's Pause series, http://ping.fm/0dLdE
Temptation is not just a test of your self control, but of your faith from Andy Stanley's Pause series, http://ping.fm/yd7cc
Always more at stake than we think, our Future, Family & Faith from Andy Stanley's Pause series, http://ping.fm/fRiXN
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Nuru founder & CEO Jake Harriman attended the U.S. Naval Academy & served over 7 years in the Marine Corps including Force Recon: http://ping.fm/IakvA
Richmond, "we may see between three to seven inches of rain over the next several days" http://ping.fm/r9tOc
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
What the Pelosi Health-Care Bill Really Says
Here are some important passages in the 2,000 page legislation http://ping.fm/DnHze
Here are some important passages in the 2,000 page legislation http://ping.fm/DnHze
Saturday, November 07, 2009
If you think today's shooting spree on Ft. Hood was an act of terrorism, the suspect's cousin in northern Virginia says "think again." http://ping.fm/HJKMX
Friday, November 06, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
"What question can I ask that I could never ask before?" Eric Schmidt, CEO Google http://ping.fm/WQ2gX
IT needs a flexible trust architecture to balance collaboration & risk. Eric Schmidt, CEO Google http://ping.fm/q7mEQ
There is a fundamental shift to user generated content. Eric Schmidt, CEO Google http://ping.fm/TcWg3
talk to a teenager about how they consume information. Eric Schmidt, CEO Google, http://ping.fm/1dAj6
IT Managers are frustrated with highly inflexible architectures where they can't get things done. Eric Schmidt, CEO Google http://ping.fm/eL263
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
"Do you hear God's voice & have the faith & courage to obey?" Scott Hodge from #TheNines http://ping.fm/gYwJr
Friday, October 16, 2009
Five reasons corporations are failing at social media
Five reasons corporations are failing at social media: "I could go on and on. So many of the speakers at IMS shared great examples of simple, effective social media strategies that have humanized organizations and allowed them to build better relationships with customers. But time and again companies are either rejecting social media or participating in a way that defeats the purpose."
Be The Starting Point Of Conversations
Be The Starting Point Of Conversations: "In time, those who continuously start conversations in a niche become referential for the rest of that niche.� And once people are conditioned to go somewhere on the web for certain type of content, it is a habit that may prove hard to break.� If this place is your site, you’ll greatly benefit.� This is because we have designed the web to be� a very social place – and so the places where people regularly converge will continue to grow."
Does Your Company Need A Social Media Policy? | Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Blog - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image
Does Your Company Need A Social Media Policy? | Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Blog - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image: "With more and more employees jumping on to platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn and years of Blogging and Podcasting already water under the bridge, most companies still don't have any kind of corporate policy or guidelines around Social Media, the company and their employees."
Social Media And The Gentle Art Of Management | Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Blog - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image
Social Media And The Gentle Art Of Management | Six Pixels of Separation - Marketing and Communications Blog - By Mitch Joel at Twist Image: "If there is one question that circulates around boardrooms, organizations and enterprises, it is: how do we manage Social Media from a management perspective?"
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog : Microsoft Dynamics CRM defined in 30 seconds
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog : Microsoft Dynamics CRM defined in 30 seconds: "CRM brings your customers into Outlook, along with their sales, service and communication history. A successful CRM implementation centralizes the key details and history for each person and organization - allowing your business to work as a team to meet the customer’s needs."
Rick Mears, senior vice president and chief information officer at Owens & Minor http://ping.fm/H1jAS
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Perot Systems’ new healthcare alliance appears formidable
Perot Systems’ new healthcare alliance appears formidable: "Perot Systems announced the formation of an alliance with The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) that will utilize the deep healthcare expertise of the three organizations to offer electronic health record (EHR)-related training and implementation services to newly established Health Information Technology (HIT) Regional Extension Centers."
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Acer Expects to Overtake Dell as PC Maker - WSJ.com
Acer Expects to Overtake Dell as PC Maker - WSJ.com: "Acer Inc. expects to overtake Dell Inc. as the world's second-biggest personal-computer maker by shipments sometime in the next two quarters, company President Gianfranco Lanci said Wednesday.
Mr. Lanci said rising demand from China and elsewhere in Asia would offset declines in other markets, ..."
Mr. Lanci said rising demand from China and elsewhere in Asia would offset declines in other markets, ..."
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Law Church, Gospel Church:read the entirety of Galatians every day for a month ( http://ping.fm/kxUif )
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"I'm not against topical preaching as long as it is done exegetically" Matt Chandler http://ping.fm/yTORL
Saturday, October 10, 2009
clarity evangelist: What are your tools for attunement?
clarity evangelist: What are your tools for attunement?: "I long for church leaders to pay the same attention to orchestrating their staff teams and lay leaders. Many church environments are filled with jangling discords rather than uplifting harmony when it comes to kingdom synergy. As a leader, what is your score? What is your constant point of reference to keep your people moving with synchronized steps? What is your vision that attunes the heart of your followers?"
clarity evangelist: Fellowbackgrangepoint Church
clarity evangelist: Fellowbackgrangepoint Church: "What’s the vision for your church? Who are you trying to reach? How good are you in identifying with your local community? What unique attributes make your church unique? How is God moving in your church?"
clarity evangelist: A Sound Investment
clarity evangelist: A Sound Investment: "Lencioni points out that even during good times, 'leaders should be investing in the health of their teams. �But with so many shining opportunities in front of them, they often fail to slow down and do what is best for the long term.' �Most church leaders fall also fall into this pattern and find themselves on the ministry treadmill, never slowing down to discern their church's culture, DNA and vision. Remember that those shining opportunities are often the good things that keep you from being great! �
What is stopping you from taking time with your leadership team to clarify your vision so your church can be healthier tomorrow? �"
What is stopping you from taking time with your leadership team to clarify your vision so your church can be healthier tomorrow? �"
clarity evangelist: Most Requested Vision Tool
clarity evangelist: Most Requested Vision Tool: "In my vision work I am indebted to MLK's mastery of vision casting. �His 16 minute watershed 'I Have a Dream' speech is one the best teaching tools I have used on the elements of vision. �In fact we have a cool listening exercise with churches, where we play the speech with a spider diagram in front of them to see how MLK weaves various elements of vision throughout the address. �Recently Auxano started developing new resources for Church Unique readers (yet to be released on churchunique.com). �The most requested tool is the vision casting 'spider diagram.'"
clarity evangelist: Groeschel on Thinking Different: Culture, Programming, & Mission
clarity evangelist: Groeschel on Thinking Different: Culture, Programming, & Mission: "THREE ASSIGNMENTS
1) Find somone one or two steps ahead of you and learn how they think.� Most want to learn what they do-not what they think.
2) Identify one wrong mindset and ask God to renew your mind with truth.
3) Identify one painful decision you’ve been avoiding and commit to make the decision no matter what the short term pain."
1) Find somone one or two steps ahead of you and learn how they think.� Most want to learn what they do-not what they think.
2) Identify one wrong mindset and ask God to renew your mind with truth.
3) Identify one painful decision you’ve been avoiding and commit to make the decision no matter what the short term pain."
clarity evangelist: Vision is your MVP: Most Valuable Property
clarity evangelist: Vision is your MVP: Most Valuable Property: "your�vision has a cascading effect on everything else in your organization. �Cloudy visions foster blurred and confusing priorities, employees, and�disappointing results. �Sharp visions foster clarity and powerful momentum.
Are you spending enough time creating and implementing your vision?"
Are you spending enough time creating and implementing your vision?"
clarity evangelist: Can Do vs Called To
clarity evangelist: Can Do vs Called To: "Andrew Patton of Covenant Presbyterian Church shared an exercise he is currently conducting with his staff. �As they define the Vision Frame, they are revisiting staff structure based on their strategy (missional map). In order to 'leverage existing strengths' on the team, Andrew is asking the staff to reflect every three hours. �At the point of pause, each person makes a list of the things they have done in the last three hours and puts them into one of two columns- 'can do' or 'called to do.' The the lists will inform staff team meeting over the next several weeks as the discern and refine how to best work together and move toward the sweet spot of their personal and corporate calling.�"
clarity evangelist: Resources, Motivation or Imagination?
clarity evangelist: Resources, Motivation or Imagination?: "Church leaders don't need more resources or motivation - they need to re-ignite their imagination!!! �"
clarity evangelist: Tweeting at Church TIME Article
clarity evangelist: Tweeting at Church TIME Article: "I have found personal value in tweeting in church:
I am able to really think about the main point of the message when I process in 140 characters or less
I don't take paper notes anymore; tweeting with hashtags keep my notes organized on the internet�
I enjoy seeing other people interact with the same message- I call it an 'emotional resonance spectrum' because you get to see what is impacting the congregation
My personal notes are retrievable by the pastor��
It's downright fun to let other people know and share what I am hearing and learning�"
I am able to really think about the main point of the message when I process in 140 characters or less
I don't take paper notes anymore; tweeting with hashtags keep my notes organized on the internet�
I enjoy seeing other people interact with the same message- I call it an 'emotional resonance spectrum' because you get to see what is impacting the congregation
My personal notes are retrievable by the pastor��
It's downright fun to let other people know and share what I am hearing and learning�"
clarity evangelist: Why You Should Attend Conferences Virtually Using Twitter
clarity evangelist: Why You Should Attend Conferences Virtually Using Twitter: "When it's all said and done, I am somewhat hooked on attending conferences via twitter. Sure, it may not replace being there, but this is a learning strategy I will engage for now."
clarity evangelist: Proof that Your Vision is Outdated
clarity evangelist: Proof that Your Vision is Outdated: "OK, I want you to prove me wrong, so here is the proof test.
Pick a phrase, a statement or some words that represents the most important aspect of your church's vision. We'll call that your 'vision nugget.' �Now run that nugget through this multiple choice answer list. �If you can answer 'non of the above' then you prove me wrong.
My vision nugget is:
A. So generic it does not differentiate my church from any others. (genera-vision)
B. Being used by another church and I picked it up at a conference or in a book (copycat-vision)
C. Locked inside of a long strategic planning notebook and I couldn't think of it (caged-vision)�
C. Totally unique, but I came up with it all by myself (ego-vision)
D. The same one I had at my last church (double-vision)�
E. Now being used by a younger staff person who planted a church in our area (di-vision)
F. None of the above
If you proved my wrong, I want to know!�"
Pick a phrase, a statement or some words that represents the most important aspect of your church's vision. We'll call that your 'vision nugget.' �Now run that nugget through this multiple choice answer list. �If you can answer 'non of the above' then you prove me wrong.
My vision nugget is:
A. So generic it does not differentiate my church from any others. (genera-vision)
B. Being used by another church and I picked it up at a conference or in a book (copycat-vision)
C. Locked inside of a long strategic planning notebook and I couldn't think of it (caged-vision)�
C. Totally unique, but I came up with it all by myself (ego-vision)
D. The same one I had at my last church (double-vision)�
E. Now being used by a younger staff person who planted a church in our area (di-vision)
F. None of the above
If you proved my wrong, I want to know!�"
clarity evangelist: Change has Changed: Your Vision is Outdated Part 3
clarity evangelist: Change has Changed: Your Vision is Outdated Part 3: "What's the bottom line? We need new words, new tools, and new processes today to help us with vision. (This need is the holy discontent behind the book Church Unique.) Until we regain an adequate model for visioning in this context of rapid change, the effectiveness of every other decision in the church will decrease.�"
clarity evangelist: Profound Partial Truths: Your Vision is Outdated Part 4
clarity evangelist: Profound Partial Truths: Your Vision is Outdated Part 4: "�Instead of living with a weak and outdated vision, I suggest that we need to define vision correctly.
Fixing Quote #1
The problem with Sam's quote is that we are left asking, 'How do you fix a toxic culture?' Ironically, the answer has to start with vision! �Therefore it is more accurate to say real vision shapes culture. And what Sam should have said is 'Toxic culture trumps the results of our �poorly conceptualized visioning processes' (Like borrowing a mission statement from North Point, or doing an old-school strategic planning process.)
Fixing Quote #2�
Again, Dave's statement that we need relationaries not visionaries is itself a statement of vision (ironically). Imagine for a moment where the church would be if we had all relationaries and no visionaries. �Now, I do get Dave's point as stated earlier. �But why not statement the real truth: We need visionaries who are strong relationaries. The first person who comes to mind now is Jesus not Mister Rogers- imagine that!�"
Fixing Quote #1
The problem with Sam's quote is that we are left asking, 'How do you fix a toxic culture?' Ironically, the answer has to start with vision! �Therefore it is more accurate to say real vision shapes culture. And what Sam should have said is 'Toxic culture trumps the results of our �poorly conceptualized visioning processes' (Like borrowing a mission statement from North Point, or doing an old-school strategic planning process.)
Fixing Quote #2�
Again, Dave's statement that we need relationaries not visionaries is itself a statement of vision (ironically). Imagine for a moment where the church would be if we had all relationaries and no visionaries. �Now, I do get Dave's point as stated earlier. �But why not statement the real truth: We need visionaries who are strong relationaries. The first person who comes to mind now is Jesus not Mister Rogers- imagine that!�"
clarity evangelist: How to Maximize your NINES Learning Experience
clarity evangelist: How to Maximize your NINES Learning Experience: "6) Act immediately.�Perfect learning is the enemy to good execution. The truth is that you don't need more information to do a better job as a leader. �You need perspective, conviction, passion and stretched imagination. I think LN should host a conversation about the results of the learning tomorrow. �Your leadership will be measured, NOT by the size of your NINES notebook or the number of your compelling retweets. �Your leadership will be measured how you act with what you gain. �What will you need to stop, start, enhance, plan for, or discuss immediately with your leadership team as a result of what you learn?�"
Friday, October 09, 2009
Iconic Hummer brand sold to Chinese manufacturer - Yahoo! News
Iconic Hummer brand sold to Chinese manufacturer - Yahoo! News: "DETROIT – Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomized America's love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy equipment maker."
The social media ban: Church of the Customer Blog
The social media ban: Church of the Customer Blog: "The 10 percenters can set up company Facebook fan pages, add more people to the company Twitter account, set up a YouTube channel, a Squidoo account, a LinkedIn group, a Yammer account or a Ning network for employees who can tell their Facebook friends about the cool things they're doing at work. Plus they'll hear about any problems fans or customers encounter and have a front-line response ready to tackle them."
Shareholders look to block Dell, Perot deal - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:
Shareholders look to block Dell, Perot deal - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area:: "The Booth Family Trust filed the lawsuit earlier this week, claiming among other things that Perot Systems’ directors unjustly obtained benefits for company officers and directors in the deal at shareholder expense. It also claims that directors failed to provide to Perot Systems’ shareholders with information that would have enabled them to make better decisions about selling their shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Cali and Jody � Blog Archive � ROWE and H1N1
Cali and Jody � Blog Archive � ROWE and H1N1: "f your definition of work is a series of actions executed by individuals and a group who collaborate to deliver specified outcomes, then you can get through anything."
Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Designing a Smart Healthcare System
Irving Wladawsky-Berger: Designing a Smart Healthcare System: "In roughly fifteen minutes, Denis Cortese laid out the basic principles underlying an effective healthcare system.� I am confident that if we design a system along the lines he outlined, we will evolve, over time, into the kind of high value healthcare system our nation badly needs.�"
The Open Space Policy for Managers - NOOP.NL
The Open Space Policy for Managers - NOOP.NL: "I want to suggest that we call this approach the Open Space Policy. In an open space you share the same air, and the same rules. It doesn’t mean there needs to be a physical open space (though it can help). But it communicates that everyone is in it together. We’re the same kind of people. We just have different jobs, with different responsibilities. And I would leave my Nespresso coffee machine at home. If I had one."
CodeThinked | Our Biggest Enemy Isn’t Developers Who Refuse To Move Forward, It is Developers Who Pretend To Move Forward
CodeThinked | Our Biggest Enemy Isn’t Developers Who Refuse To Move Forward, It is Developers Who Pretend To Move Forward: "We just have to make sure that we actually think and analyze, instead of agreeing because it is easier, convenient or more comfortable for us to do so. We have to make sure that we don’t fall prey to those who pretend to move forward, and instead listen to those who are sincerely trying to find a better way."
Our Biggest Enemy Isn't Developers Who Refuse To Move Forward, It is Developers Who Pretend To Move Forward (http://ping.fm/AxW6d)
An open letter to micromanagers � Scott Berkun
An open letter to micromanagers � Scott Berkun: "A healthy, confident, well-adjusted manager knows their job is to do three things:
Hire thoroughbreds, point them at the finish line,� and get out of their way unless they ask for help
Coach, teach, encourage and position ordinary horses to maximize their potential and approximate thoroughbreds in some of their work.
Fire those who can never do the work needed without your constant involvement to make room for those who can."
Hire thoroughbreds, point them at the finish line,� and get out of their way unless they ask for help
Coach, teach, encourage and position ordinary horses to maximize their potential and approximate thoroughbreds in some of their work.
Fire those who can never do the work needed without your constant involvement to make room for those who can."
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Not the best church in the community, but the best church for the community. Rick Rusaw http://ping.fm/V5ZiL
Monday, October 05, 2009
Are we reflecting Jesus (inclusive vs exclusive & desire over duty)? Brad Powell http://ping.fm/A0bRR
The Bible is not about what we must do, but what Christ has done. Darrin Patrick http://ping.fm/F8MRf
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Wouldn't it be great if they changed their opinion about God because of you? Reggie Joiner http://ping.fm/MaKcZ
Code-4 Ministries-To Present the Message of Jesus Christ to the Law Enforcement Community. http://ping.fm/FfvxN
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Which comes first; the social media strategy, or the social media tactics? - The Viral Garden
Which comes first; the social media strategy, or the social media tactics? - The Viral Garden: "But before you jump in and start using a particular tool, you have to make sure that it fits your strategy, and that it fits your existing human, skill, and time resources. I understand that many companies now feel the need to 'do something', but you still need to have a plan."
Health Management Technology
Health Management Technology: "Along with HVAC and life-safety equipment, Honeywell will incorporate access control and digital video equipment, and install the Hill-Rom NaviCare� Nurse Call system to help connect patients and caregivers. The system will provide a geographic view of where nurses are located across the facility using radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and a wireless mesh network, allowing faster communication when patients request assistance. Intelligent alerts also can automatically be sent from a patient's bed directly to the caregiver, improving response times during medical emergencies."
Friday, October 02, 2009
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
"The perpetual immaturity of the church" "Come & see to come & die" Rick Warren http://ping.fm/7zYoX
Climate & Culture of Innovation, Release & Empower Leaders & Minister from Overflow of the Spirit Craig Groeschel http://ping.fm/zBpFU
God can & will do extraordinary things through your life that only He can receive credit for http://ping.fm/q9tbi
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
SharePoint Best Practices – Context is Everything
SharePoint Best Practices – Context is Everything: "
"
What is a best practice? Ben Curry definitely one who has popularized and even trademarked the concepts around SharePoint Best Practices through the book and conference has decent explanations of best practices… “Best Practices is about doing things the right way: the most efficient, effective ways to achieve goals, distilled into adaptable, repeatable procedures you can use.”
Blogs are great for sharing your version of the truth and what you’ve learned about the product, but my concern lately is those who read one blog and get one version of “truth” they get one “best practice” and consider it golden. There’s a real problem these days of looking at a problem with only one pair of rose colored glasses.
Consider these “Standards” from SharePoint Hillbilly, one with a unique perspective, but not complete perspective. He makes some decent points in his recent post “10 SharePoint Deployment Standards,” but at the same time with only one perspective, I want to show you how this list of best practices apply in certain situations and and illustrate there is no one size fits all with SharePoint. After getting back from the land of rat temples, and goats on top of busses, I see there are more ways than one to get things done… it is said there is more than one way to skin a cat. Not sure where that came from, (maybe a hillbilly?) but the principle is once applied to SharePoint is real. I hope people have found in my posts despite when it sounds like I’m saying there’s only one way to go there are exceptions. It’s these exceptions… why the consultants get paid the big bucks! (I know @Mrackley rocks and won’t take this personally. He uses google ads a poor practice, so this makes him an easy target. :) ) He makes some statements, this isn’t to discredit him, but more to provide some insights and create an antithesis… I hope he understands the use of these as an example and continues to provide his great insights. Let’s look at a few of these examples of his deployment standards and under each of these I’ll explain how these wouldn’t apply in some deployments. You’ve wondered why Microsoft’s TechNet documentation has challenges and it feels like they should be be providing more guidance, seems very rare that you get the… it depends on X, Y, and Z… you should. There really are a lot of scenarios where one set of guidance is based on assumptions, and this is where SDPS and consulting comes into practice. Just make sure that guidance you are getting comes from solid experience and is based on the right assumptions.
Excerpts from the SharePoint Hillbilly’s 10 SharePoint Deployment Standards
HB 1) SharePoint Designer must not be required to update any portion of a SharePoint Site
For WCM, I can understand some of this, but for a collaboration environment, and one where people have been trained… SharePoint designer has a place. Note the word training, and I’d add qualified.
HB 2) No SharePoint Designer WorkFlows
The SPD workflows do have portability issues, but again if you aren’t using SharePoint for records management or have invested in a crack dev team using visual studio workflows, or have the ability to purchase a third party workflow system, (which I do find pays off) the SPD workflows can fit minimal requirements for many collaboration and non complex scenarios.
HB 3) All sites must be created using Site Definitions or Site Templates
This sounds like a tough requirement designed for serious WCM. I’m not a fan of custom Site Definitions, I have grown to accept a minimal site definition that essentially uses the blank template and then uses feature stapling, but custom site definitions and custom site templates really aren’t required for most collaboration environments which I personally find are the most common deployments.
HB 5) Large libraries (>2000 items) should be divided across multiple libraries.
Large libraries should definitely be optimized, but you shouldn’t split them by 2000 items per library that’s going to cause an explosion in a DM or ECM environment and render the SharePoint navigation difficult. Folders are better than more libraries, and I know folders are used in a different standard. I’m not a fan of folders either. Meta data should be used, and so should limited filtered views that return less than 2000, but ultimately 100 or so in any given query.
HB 7) Team Site Collections should not have more than 1 level of subwebs. (Subwebs should not have sub-subwebs.)
There’s a place for nested site collections. One example is with portals. An Intranet portal could have the Intranet portal at the top, then a set of site collections for the divisions, then groups or lines of businesses, and then products, and so on building a heirarchy. I wouldn’t say that’s where you then do collaboration… that’s where you should then have links to the projects, or documentation and so on in separate site collections. There is a place for nested webs, but super deep nested obviously should be avoided with URL restrictions.
HB 8) Content databases should have no more than 5 site collections (some larger ones should be the only site collection in the content db.)
The best example where content databases should have more than 5 site collections is my sites. Especially when you limit the size of your site collections with quotas such as 100MB or 1GB you could fit hundreds into a database, and save on database management. For division portals, document management systems, and ECM this does make sense to go with dedicated databases, but you don’t want to blow out tons of databases in the collab and my site space with a few exceptions.
When I first read the post, I was anxious to hear some new deployment insights, but it was what he wasn’t saying about his standards that I was thinking about as I read it. It’s great to be able to disagree. There are a couple of things I do agree with him 100%… HB 9) All images for a site must be stored in image libraries and not on the file system. Totally agree. Developers do need to learn to dance with SharePoint and not fight it.
In his concluding paragraph he sums it up quite well… “The more consistent your SharePoint environment is, the more maintainable it will be, your admins will be happier, your users will smile…” Standards within an environment are great. It’s so important to have rules to avoid chaos.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Unplug Your Laptop Regularly (When In Doubt) - Battery - Lifehacker
Unplug Your Laptop Regularly (When In Doubt) - Battery - Lifehacker: "BUT THESE DAYS, with all the new portable digital devices these days (iPods, MP3 players, mobile phones, and laptops), they are all based on Lithium (Li-Ion or Li-Po), which basically means that they behave the exact opposite! You should NEVER let a Lithium battery run low, because each time you do it will damage your batteries very badly."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
On Earth as it is in Heaven � Blog Archive � Trusting God When We Cannot Trace Him
On Earth as it is in Heaven � Blog Archive � Trusting God When We Cannot Trace Him: "Given all of the unexpected things that have happened and are happening in my life–in the life of our church–Packer’s lines are a great reminder that faith trusts God even when it cannot trace him. God is doing something in your life, in my life, and in the life of our one new church that is above and beyond anything we could ever ask for or imagine.
So, as hard as these days have been, hang on. God promises that the best is yet to come. Think big. This is going to be amazing.�"
So, as hard as these days have been, hang on. God promises that the best is yet to come. Think big. This is going to be amazing.�"
Touchpoint � Blog Archive � Why Denominations Cannot Complete the Great Commission
Touchpoint � Blog Archive � Why Denominations Cannot Complete the Great Commission: "Jesus left eleven men, some of whom doubted, standing on a hilltop.� Some were illiterate.� Others were rebels.� All would be considered ill prepared to fulfill the task Christ gave to them and the Church.� If Christ deemed these eleven-very-marginal-leaders fit enough to carry forward the Great Commission, perhaps we need to rethink what we are doing."
Chuck Colson Denounces Therapeutic Church Model-church's job is to make people holy (http://ping.fm/UXa90)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
About Hudson Taylor's clothing: Everything opened up after that in a new way. On the return journey to Shanghai he was not even recognized as a foreigner, until he began to preach or distribute books and see patients. Then women and children came around much more freely, and the crowds were less noisy and excited. While missing some of the prestige attaching to Europeans, he found it more than made up for by the freedom his changed appearance gave him in moving among the people. Their homes were open to him as never before, and it was possible to get opportunities for quiet intercourse with those who seemed interested.
Filled with thankfulness for these and other advantages, he wrote home about the dress he had adopted, "It is evidently to be one's chief help for the interior." And it was "the interior" more and more on which his heart was set."
Filled with thankfulness for these and other advantages, he wrote home about the dress he had adopted, "It is evidently to be one's chief help for the interior." And it was "the interior" more and more on which his heart was set."
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Transcending the Worship Wars | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction
Transcending the Worship Wars | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: "If church leaders try to establish a style of worship based upon their preferences or based upon satisfying congregants' competing preferences, then the church will inevitably be torn apart by the politics of preference. But if the leadership is asking the missional questions of 'Who is here?' and 'Who should be here?' in determining worship styles and practices, then the mission of the church will enable those leaders to unite around gospel goals that are more defensible and uniting than anyone's personal preference."
RT @SociaTropin: Seniors With Insufficient Levels Of Vitamin D At Increased Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease http://bit.ly/flHWi
Go Pray at the Pole , See You At The Pole 2009 Go and Pray 2Kings22:13a #SYATP Sept 23, 2009 http://www.syatp.com/
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Kors Engineering Leverages Twitter for Real-Time Data Updates from Systems Running Tridium Niagara AX (http://ping.fm/viQTW)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Intrinsic motivators beat external ones for creative tasks. Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose http://ping.fm/yYH09
I will work for Dell! DELL TO ACQUIRE PEROT SYSTEMS FOR $3.9 BILLION CREATING COMPREHENSIVE, CUSTOMER-FOCUSED IT-SOLUTIONS http://ow.ly/qh6z
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Opening Our Ears to Hear:Every time God's Word is proclaimed it changes all of those within its hearing (http://ping.fm/wvN8c)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tyndale House Publishers announces the November release of
The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book, a look at Chuck’s favorite Facts, from the man himself. http://ping.fm/TfwL1
The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book, a look at Chuck’s favorite Facts, from the man himself. http://ping.fm/TfwL1
Best Practice No 4:- Improve bandwidth performance of ASP.NET sites using IIS compression (http://ping.fm/WRXBa)
rarely have to ask people to invite their friends – they naturally do it every week (http://ping.fm/zzwG6)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
FACT 2008: New Congregational Research,a strong sense of identity & a shared mission (http://ping.fm/MXXmk)
Monday, September 14, 2009
238 F.3d 518
238 F.3d 518: "Coach Crute was charged with responsibility over the girls' track team at Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. Crute videotaped a female student after hours in a remote and isolated part of the campus, instructed the student to remove her underpants for the camera, and zoomed in on her crotch, moaning and groaning during the encounter. In response to Crute's actions, the Superintendent, Principal, and Director of Secondary Education took no disciplinary action whatsoever, characterizing Crute's behavior as 'not objectionable.' Unsurprisingly, in the events that give rise to this lawsuit, Crute was thereafter found videotaping, with a hidden camera, female students as they undressed and dressed in the girls' locker room --conduct for which the plaintiffs now seek to hold the School Board liable under 42 U.S.C. � 1983."
Portsmouth Olympian asked to return medal she won with Jones | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
Portsmouth Olympian asked to return medal she won with Jones | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com: "The most painful came in 1995, when her former high school coach, John Crute, was indicted on 24 counts of videotaping female athletes as they dressed in the Wilson locker room. Colander-Clark was stunned by the betrayal, and her mother, Hortense, said it was 'like a rape to LaTasha.'
Although criminal charges were ultimately dropped, the athletes filed civil suits. During her trial, Colander-Clark wept while the jury was shown the tapes.
Magistrate Judge James E. Bradberry ruled that Crute caused 'permanent harm' to each of the young women. In 1998, a Portsmouth jury awarded Colander-Clark $543,000, though it's unclear how much money she ever got from Crute."
Although criminal charges were ultimately dropped, the athletes filed civil suits. During her trial, Colander-Clark wept while the jury was shown the tapes.
Magistrate Judge James E. Bradberry ruled that Crute caused 'permanent harm' to each of the young women. In 1998, a Portsmouth jury awarded Colander-Clark $543,000, though it's unclear how much money she ever got from Crute."
A New Way of Thinking About Site Organization for End Users
A New Way of Thinking About Site Organization for End Users: "
"
Body:
One of the big shifts that people have to make when creating a SharePoint site is the fact they're used to a digital asset having a digital location, much the way an actual object would live in an actual location, such as a file drawer.
Just this last week, I had a client who kept asking me how she would mark a project as "complete" in the new system I'm designing for her. I started to ask her what "complete" meant to her, and she stated that when a project is "complete" in her old system, it no longer shows up in her "active projects" view. I explained to her that she has a meta data field called "Project End Date", so she can simply create a view of her projects based on whether "today" is before or after the end date; that way the view moves with her, so to speak, and she doesn't have to manually make the change to the project file to mark it "complete". She kept coming back to me with, "But how do you move the project to its archive location if you don't know it's complete?" I tried to explain it to her using the file cabinet scenario; instead of having 2 file cabinets (one for "active" and one for "archive"), there's just one really long file cabinet, and you just determine which five hanging folders you're going to look at within that cabinet.
To look at a different commonly asked question by end users, I saw this question on the Microsoft message board:
"I have products that are sold under two or more different business units, and I need to be able to replicate the product page to each business unit's location in the site, yet remain able to edit it from any of its locations.
What if any, is the best way to accomplish this?
Thanks"
What if any, is the best way to accomplish this?
Thanks"
Here was my response:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A key concept for SharePoint is the concept of taxonomy, or site organization. One of the big benefits of SharePoint is that it's possible to organize information in more than one way. I like to give people this example:
Say you have a folder in your "My Documents" folder on your hard drive, and it's called "Projects". Inside your "Projects" folder, you have a bunch of folders, each named for a name of a project. Inside each of those folders you have all the documents relating to a project, such as a project plan, status reports, etc. One day, your co-worker says, "Hey, I need the project plan for Project XYZ." You're in a hurry so you give her access to view your "My Documents" folder over the network. Pretty soon you have her calling, "Hey! Where's your 'Project Plans' folder?" She's asking that because on her computer, she doesn't have a folder for each project; instead, she has a folder for each type of document.
This example is just to show that there are multiple ways of sorting or grouping the same information. What if it were possible to view the same information, but grouped in different ways? What if you could see all your project documents at once, but your coworker could view all the project plans at once? The key is that where a document sits logically describes it in some way, but that's not the only way to describe it. It could also be "tagged" so that all the items tagged with the same tag can be grouped together.
In SharePoint, this is done with something called Site Columns. A site column is a piece of metadata that can be used to describe your page. The thing to wrap your mind around is the fact that on a file system, where a file sits is what gives it meaning, (i.e. "It's in my Projects folder so it's a project.") In SharePoint, you can have a single "Product" page, but you could simply tag it as being carried by one or more locations. The location of the product becomes metadata describing the product.
So, instead of having a web site for each location, and having a product page inside that unit's site, think of this scenario: you've got a site for each unit, but you've also got a common site for all your product pages. You tag each product page with the unit or units that carry that product. On your unit site's homepage, you use a web part called the Content Query Web Part to retrieve all the pages in your "Products" site that have been tagged with that unit's name.
This can be a big change from how traditional web sites are built, but if you can start thinking in this way, your sites become very flexible, and you can start showing different kinds of views of the same information - views which might be pertinent to different kinds of people (such as employees vs. consumers vs. business partners, etc.)
Say you have a folder in your "My Documents" folder on your hard drive, and it's called "Projects". Inside your "Projects" folder, you have a bunch of folders, each named for a name of a project. Inside each of those folders you have all the documents relating to a project, such as a project plan, status reports, etc. One day, your co-worker says, "Hey, I need the project plan for Project XYZ." You're in a hurry so you give her access to view your "My Documents" folder over the network. Pretty soon you have her calling, "Hey! Where's your 'Project Plans' folder?" She's asking that because on her computer, she doesn't have a folder for each project; instead, she has a folder for each type of document.
This example is just to show that there are multiple ways of sorting or grouping the same information. What if it were possible to view the same information, but grouped in different ways? What if you could see all your project documents at once, but your coworker could view all the project plans at once? The key is that where a document sits logically describes it in some way, but that's not the only way to describe it. It could also be "tagged" so that all the items tagged with the same tag can be grouped together.
In SharePoint, this is done with something called Site Columns. A site column is a piece of metadata that can be used to describe your page. The thing to wrap your mind around is the fact that on a file system, where a file sits is what gives it meaning, (i.e. "It's in my Projects folder so it's a project.") In SharePoint, you can have a single "Product" page, but you could simply tag it as being carried by one or more locations. The location of the product becomes metadata describing the product.
So, instead of having a web site for each location, and having a product page inside that unit's site, think of this scenario: you've got a site for each unit, but you've also got a common site for all your product pages. You tag each product page with the unit or units that carry that product. On your unit site's homepage, you use a web part called the Content Query Web Part to retrieve all the pages in your "Products" site that have been tagged with that unit's name.
This can be a big change from how traditional web sites are built, but if you can start thinking in this way, your sites become very flexible, and you can start showing different kinds of views of the same information - views which might be pertinent to different kinds of people (such as employees vs. consumers vs. business partners, etc.)
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As someone who lives and breathes Site Columns and Content Types, it's always good to remember that people are going to compare the system with a real world scenario they are familiar with, and I need to find a new point of reference for my end users.
Category: General
Published: 9/12/2009 7:34 AM
Sunday, September 13, 2009
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