U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s to-do list (from Gerry Flahive, The Globe and Mail (Canada):

1.  Buy puppy.

2.  Return You Don't Mess with the Zohan DVD to video store; ask for refund as it kept skipping on special features.

3.  Fix global economy.

4.  Win war in Afghanistan.

5.  Choose puppy name from short list: Carbon Neutral, Alexis de Tocqueville or Mr. Giggles?

6  Buy chew toy for puppy (or several?  How fast do they go through these

things?)

7.  Renew our historically strong ties with the Dominion of Canada, asserting America's respect for its cultural and political independence, and ever-so-delicately renegotiating only several small clauses in the North American free-trade agreement, all the while assuring the Canadians of our sincere goal of improving trade without harming that nation's vital potash industry. (Canadians will laugh hysterically to this… the others will scratch their heads. It’s a cultural thing).

8.  Train puppy.

9.  Find out if suede is considered "presidential."

10.  Send change-of-address form to post office.

11.  Return the $150,000 worth of Nike basketball shoes to the Democratic National Committee.

12.  Change status on Face-book to "is now president-elect."

13.  Wean self slowly off Grecian Formula.

14.  Buy more Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer.

15.     Start work on inaugural address; appropriate to mention puppy?

It goes down the list to 44 items but rapidly becomes less amusing...

Here’s my (Toby Ward's) “Web to-do list” for President-elect Obama:

1-     Facebook friend invite Dick Cheney

2-     Horrified by his friends list, “remove” Dick Cheney from friends

3-     Redesign the country-western motif of the White House Intranet

4-     Mapquest “Taco Bell” with directions from 1600 Pennsylvania

5-     Do YouTube video serenade with Hank Williams Jr (see Toby’s video w Palin)

6-     Google “pest removal rednecks”

7-     Remove Flickr slideshows of me and Kid Rock by the lake “smoking funny things”

8-     Post flattering average-Joe (the plummer) pictures and comments of the White House on TripAdvisor.com

9-     Pre-order Barney and Miss Beazley tell-all biography on Amazon.com

10- Hire Dick Morris as guest blogger for new White House blog “What Keeps Me Up at Night” (hehe, you politicos will get that one)

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Seriously, intranets are boring. The Internet, is mildly more interesting There really is a lot more to life…

It occurred to me that while this blog / site is dedicated to business technology, I’ve noticed interest in non-business related blogs (from time-to-time). So, once in a blue moon I’m going to give you a little more insight into me and “what makes me tick” so that you might be able to place a personality to the individual that all-too-often is droning on about “2.0”, employee productivity, engagement… blah, blah, blah.

So I’m going to offer up a multi-part series on “What makes me tick” beginning with my favorite songs. For my birthday this year, even though we’ve separated now, my wife and daughters bought me an iPod. It was a fantastic gift, really, because I’d forgotten how important music is in my life, in people’s lives in general, and what an up-lifting and influential affect they can have on mood, attitude, energy level, etc. So while it was difficult to narrow this list down to something more manageable, and in no particular order, here are my all time favorite songs:

1. Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N’ Roses
2. Paradise City - Guns N’ Roses
3. Always on the Run – Lenny Kravitz
4. Learning to Fly – Pink Floyd
5. Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
6. So Lonely – Police
7. Message in a Bottle – Police
8. It Hasn’t Hit Me Yet – Blue Rodeo
9. Little Bones – Tragically Hip
10. Bolero – Ravel
11. Blue Danube – Strauss
12. Alive – Pearl Jam
13. Red Mosquito – Pearl Jam
14. Evenflow – Pearl Jam
15. It’s the End of the World – REM
16. Only the Good Die Young – Billy Joel
17. Chan Chan – Buena Vista Social Club
18. Definition – Kruder & Dorfmeiseter
19. Walk on the Ocean – Toad the Wet Sprocket
20. Little Heaven – Toad the Wet Sprocket
21. Kind of Blue  – Miles Davis
22. Pride – U2
23. Mass Romantic – New Pornographers
24. When I Come Around – Green Day
25. As Baile – Enya
26. LA Woman – The Doors
27. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
28. All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
29. Bad Moon Rising – CCR
30. Back Door – CCR
31. You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You – Dean Martin
32. Bring the Noise – Public Enemy
33. Can I Kick It – Tribe Called Quest
34. Enjoy the Silence – Depeche Mode
35. Blind Faith – New Order

Honorable mentions (just missed out, but I couldn’t pick just one song):

1. Collective Soul (too many to list)
2. Gin Blossoms (anything off the 1^st album)
3. Public Enemy (most anything from first 4 albums)
4. Sarah McLachlan (my neighbour)
5. Odds (played my high school)
6. 54-40 (went to my high school)
7. Stone Roses
8. Oasis
9. Velvet Revolver
10. Beatles
11. Mark Isham
12. Celine Dion (ha ha, just kidding )

Feel free to post your own favorites below… or to disagree with me by posting below. Part II next week on my favorite books.

“The Web content management market is mature and expanding,” says Gartner’s latest MarketScope for Web Content Management (MacComascaigh, Gilbert, Bell, Shegda, Andrews). “Vendor consolidation has fallen (slowed)… functions such as workflow, ease of use and multi-site management are no longer differentiating factors; they are the norm.”

Findings:

• Open source solutions (OSS, represents only 3% of the total WCM market) are increasingly stable, robust and growing in market share
• Web 2.0 phenomenon is driving WCM innovation
• Change management and user adoption will need to be applied to both internal and external users
• The total WCM market, at $750 million per year, will grow at an annual rate of 15% through 2012 (representing 25% of the total ECM market)

Recommendations for implementing a new WCM system (CMS):

• Develop specific business goals and link these to business objectives
• Understand the cultural shift represented by Web 2.0
• Interoperability (multiple systems working together or migrating from one to another) needs to be considered, as does rationalization of multiple WCMs
• Hosted SaaS solutions are not growing as fast due to business and technical reasons
• Total cost (TCO) of OSS solutions should take into account initial price tag

Highest rated vendors (strong positive):

• Interwoven
• Ektron

Lowest rated vendors (caution advisories):

• IBM (Lotus)
• Mediasurface

Also of note:

• Vignette gets a positive rating but with caution due their financial performance (also read Vignette still in transition)
• Microsoft SharePoint (MOSS) is listed as a very average “promising” with lots of caveats and listed weaknesses (see What the experts say about SharePoint (MOSS)
• Gartner estimates a typical replace of a WCM system to be around 5 years

My analysis:

Gartner’s MarketScope is somewhat different from the average Magic Quadrant in that the qualifying vendors must have $10 million in licensing revenue to qualify, and there is no magic quadrant but rather a 5-point rating scale:

• Strong negative

• Caution
• Promising
• Positive
• Strong positive

While there are hundreds of WCM solutions (thousands, really) only 17 qualify.

The report is concise and solid intelligence for a representative snapshot look at the current marketplace. This report is a good starting point to understanding the market, but is not an adequate tool for helping an organization select a CMS. If you have significant experience with WCM (CMS) and have very detailed and documented requirements and plans for WCM, then a better report is the CMS Watch Web CMS Report 2009. If you don’t have a solid understanding of the market and solutions, and what to watch out for then you better consider Prescient’s CMS Blueprint service.

Additional notes on vendors:

• Interwoven – Though due for a major tech upgrade, I like how Interwoven has evolved in the past couple of years. The updated, AJAX-powered U; the campaign management functions, etc. This is a very powerful system, but overkill for an intranet… it’s sweet spot is the external, product marketing website.
• EPiServer – the Swedish-based vendor is a real up-and-comer – and it’s average contract value is below $10,000 which gives all the others a run for its money.
• IBM (Lotus) – despite its caution rating, this is still a reasonable solution… if you’re a Lotus shop and/or use WebSphere. Outside that, there are far too many good-looking alternatives.
• Microsoft – I think it’s generous to label SharePoint (MOSS) as WCM. It really is a portal / development platform that is really quite weak bang-for-the-buck for WCM. Garter cites its weaknesses particularly “ease of content reuse, multisite management, workflow and enterprise-level federation capabilities such as replication and multi-farm synchronization.” MOSS is a good enterprise portal solution in a small to medium-size organization.

What is absent:

The Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) specification or standard was ignored in this report.  CMIS defines a model or framework ensuring that content can be used by one or more Enterprise Content Management repositories or systems. Frankly, I wouldn’t buy a WCM (CMS) if the selling vendor hasn’t agreed to implement this standard.

ALSO SEE:

CMS Blueprint service for selecting a WCM (CMS)

CMS Watch Web CMS Report 2009:

• See the list of 42 vendors covered
• Scan the table of contents (pdf)
• Review a free, 67-page sample excerpt
• Buy and read the report now

ALSO READ:

Content Management Proves Costly Without Planning

SharePoint overview (pros & cons, MOSS)

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(GENEVA, SWZ) I rarely share my adventures with readers simply because… who cares what a Canadian does (beer… blah, blah…. Hockey... blah, blah…. Doughnuts… its all been done before)?! However, I’m going to make a special exception today because people need to be warned – the world needs to be warned about Gare du Nord.

I’ve been through Gare du Nord (GRD), the preeminent rail station in Paris, a half-dozen times or so in the last couple of years. Traveling to and from GRD via Eurostar is a breeze; other rail lines are a little more chaotic, but manageable if you’re not in a rush; the RER is a f—king nightmare.

Yes, I swore on this blog – for the first time in the nearly four years I’ve been writing it. Let me repeat myself for the record – just in case you thought I was drunk or just slipped on the keyboard –the Gare du Nord – RER combo is a f—king nightmare. (Caveat: this Swiss beer I’m presently drinking – only my first today so I’m quite lucent thank you – isn’t helping my mood, nor is the Geneva Airport, one of the most annoying in the Western world… good thing I’m not in Tampa drinking Busch Light).

Where to begin…

1-     Behemoth - If you’ve never been through GRD then it’s worth a look at some point. But if you’re traveling into Paris or traveling by rail, it’s very difficult to avoid. As far as I know, it’s the biggest rail station in the World (I’m not a rail roadie though so I’m only guessing… it dwarfs Waterloo in London. If there’s a bigger one then I’m damned impressed.). GRD is a monstrous network and labyrinth of rail tracks, caverns, cafes and tens-of-thousands of people (I swear there was 150,000 people there today at 2pm when I was passing through) divided into multiple levels, untold sections, hundreds of platforms and spread amongst hundreds of retail outlets and ancillary services. You’ve heard of the 10,000 pound gorilla? This is the million pound uncle – whacked-out on baguettes and Merlot, and really friggin’ mean, smelly, and vengeful.

2-     Signage – Hartsfield (Atlanta) and O’Hare (Chicago) International Airports are behemoths. Last time I checked, they were #1 and #2 in the World in terms of total passenger and cargo traffic; phenomenally complex cities that are stunning in their magnitude. Despite their size and complexity, it’s easy to get around these two giant airport cities because the signage and layout is so well done, and the terminals are so well organized (yes, flight delays at O’Hare are unrelated and an entirely different blog). Bear with me here… I’m building up to a point before the Swiss beer buzz kicks-in. The layout and signage at Gare du Nord... well it sucks – it sucks eggs (oeufs en francaise… or ‘ass’ if you’re on the playground). There are signs on the floor, sandwich type boards, signs on the walls, signs hanging from the ceiling, sign posts mounted on the floor, television screens of all kinds and sizes everywhere, and signs waved in your face by drivers and gypsies begging for money (or out-in-out stealing it from your pockets… more on those urchins in a bit). But these signs don’t help… they confuse, distract, and bewilder. Oh, they also come in all shapes, sizes, colours and fonts too. The signage is so bad, and the layout and organization of all the platforms, tracks, levels, and lines are so garishly awful, that station employees and other Parisian’s are confounded. I waited 30 minutes on one track after two different people, and one station employee (security guard) had told me to do so… and they frequent the place… only to find I was waiting on the wrong platform. The locals were confused; and all I was trying to find was the line to one of the world’s biggest airports, Charles de Gualle!!!!!

3-     Pick-pockets – The pick-pockets are bad (though I’ve never been burned as I’m too paranoid and hawkish)… but the wandering gang types are truly wonderful: they make English football hooligans look downright seductive. Aggressive street types openly wander the areas waiting to make eye contact so that they can start up a conversation, usually initiated with a “Can you spare a cigarette, buddy?” But there’s nothing ‘buddy’ about the approach or their tone… the question is not so much a query as it is a statement: “Answer my question so I have an invitation to murder you for what ever measly Euros are in your pocket because I need crystal meth something bad.” One guy asked me for change and I just ignored him without saying anything (really it’s the best policy as you most definitely want to avoid physical contact, and absolutely don’t want to get into a conversation that could distract you while his buddy robs and rapes you). This particular Don Juan didn’t take kindly to the silent treatment and started yelling at me while following me through the crowd. I’m pretty certain he had a ‘shiv’ and was gonna shank me, but I wasn’t too worried as there’s always an elite commando squadron close by. “Hah, ha Toby, very funny…” You’re thinking the Swiss beer has finally kicked in and I’m exaggerating for affect, but no, I’ve now switched to Carlsberg (god bless those Danes) and I’m quite sober thank you. In all seriousness, there are combat squads patrolling the station… multiple squads. Not single guys, or pairs, but they patrol in formations of three – two in the front, and one in the back. And they have machine guns; not on their shoulders, or over the back, or in a case, but guns-in-hand, at-the-ready, with their fingers on the trigger guards. Full fatigues, battle-ready, army personnel. You ever see Aliens (not the first, but the sequel)? Those are the bad-asses prowling GRD, and they’re everywhere. Okay, I’ve painted a bit of a canvass for you and I’ve barely scratched the surface…

4-     Tickets – God this one is painful and maddening to write about; the dentist or a Barry Manilow marathon are joyous holidays in comparison. I don’t know who in the hell is in charge of ticket systems at GRD, but they should be fired – instantly. Do they still have the guillotine hanging around from that little revolution they had…?!?!? I’m going to spare you most of the details here but I’ll summarize: their ticket machines don’t take credit cards (most of the time; they work some of the time… but most of the time they ask for your PIN or reject your card outright. PIN?!? For a credit card purchase?!?! Who in the hell remembers that?!?!). Your debit card won’t work either; the machines don’t take cash; and unless you have 12 euros in coins tearing a seam in your pocket, you’re S.O.L because there’s no change machines either!!!! The only thing these idiot boxes take is change and there are no change machines!!!! But they’re very pretty machines… wonderful colours. So they’re trying to sell you tickets, but you cannot buy them. But you’ll discover this after you wait in line at the machine for 15 minutes while all the other folks ahead of you try and figure out how to pay for a ticket and storm-off fuming with the frustration you’re about to wear like a Dick Cheney hangover from a hunting party. There was a couple with a child that up-and-left and went to hire a driver to take them to the airport… (the taxi line-up at GRD is another blog unto itself). Sadly, I wasn’t as smart. So now what…? You have to go buy a ticket from a human. Okay that’s reasonable, right? Get in line. The line is 30-people deep and your flight leaves from Charles de Gualle in 60 minutes – and you’re still in the purgatory otherwise known as Gare du Nord. Once you finally get your ticket, avoid certain death from a street thug, and survive the maze that could easily have doubled for the one that claimed Johnny in “The Shining”, now you’re ready to find your train…. That’s the funnest (go back and read paragraphs #1 and #2 again).

I could go on but I think you get the point: the next time you’re in Paris, take a taxi to the airport.

PS – The Danes make good beer, the Swiss don’t… but they’re all owned by the Belgians. But now that I’ve got the aforementioned off my chest, I’m just a happy Canadian on my way to Portugal. Cuidado!

PSS – I normally read history and business books, but my Kruschev biography is too big and heavy for this trip… so I bought and am half-way through the autobiography of Slash, lead guitarist for Guns ‘N Roses and Velvet Revolver. In a word, it’s frigging awesome! What insanity and debauchery… it doesn’t matter if you don’t like the music or disapprove of the scene or rock n’ roll lifestyle, this is a must-read look into the music world without the MTV filter, make-up, and half-rate PR shroud. Anyone read Nicky Sixx's book? Recommend?

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One of the biggest questions I’m confronted by attendees at the conferences I speak at, as was the case at jboye08 in Denmark this week, is how do we blog? Or rather, how do we get approval to blog? Okay, to be perfectly frank, the question is more often a comment: “We have no idea how to begin a blog…”

Bill Ives is a blogging expert, has been walking-the-walk for years, and is paid to

blog. He offers a number of suggestions for starting corporate blogging:

Phase One: Setting up the Blog and Getting it Ready for Prime Time.  Before you start to promote the blog you will want to get it in decent shape. Here is what needs to be done.

Ensure the Blogging Strategy is Aligned with Business Strategy. Review the business objectives of the blog and how they fit within your firm’s overall marketing and business strategies.

1. Decide on a descriptive name for the blog and write a two sentence description to go along with this name.

2. Pick the content coverage of the blog and consider the types of posts you will write. This can be enhanced and modified as you continue.

3. Write the “about this blog section” which covers your objectives, content coverage and any relevant policy issues.

4. Decide and name the major categories of content, or themes, that will be covered in the blog. Make sure they align with your key words and all the significant key words are covered. You can add more later.

5. Pick the original bloggers. Match expertise with selected themes. This group can be extended later.

In fact, Bill has developed an entire action plan that is well worth reading: Sample Action Plan for Business Blogging.

For engaging senior executives and management to play a role, I recommend a business case that demonstrates the employees’ need for more direction communications from the top, and highlights winning case study examples from others…

KEEP READING:

Bill Ives’ Blogging Consulting Services

Blogging the intranet

Case study: PNM Resources CEO blog

IBM leads corporate blogging pack

Should you blog the intranet?

Study: Intranet blogging on the rise

Blogging policy examples

(AARHUS, DENMARK) “There’s a lot of stories and expirments about wikis… and misconceptions’ says Dorthe Jespersen, an analyst with J. Boye, and co-author of author of the report, Wiki in the Enterprise.

Jespersen cites three major myths (or perceptions) of why organizations choose a wiki: