by Joshua-Michéle Ross
February 12, 2009 at 12:53 pm · Filed under
FASTforward'09, FFC09 Interviews
Euan, who participated in the wrap-up panel discussion at FASTforward’09 with Jevon, Jon, and Lynda, discusses his effort at the BBC, as director of knowledge management, and since to put the emphasis on “connecting people and helping them have conversations with each other [rather] than about helping them search for other people’s badly written, out of date documents.” Euan touches on the sophisticated and subtle ways in which people search, find and use information, the “non-trivial” challenge of getting employees to engage, who’s often purchasing and owning the products that companies are using (and the attendant downside of that), and more.
BIO: Euan Semple is an independent advisor on social computing for business. He is a well known writer, thinker and public speaker on the subject and in recognition of his many accomplishments he was voted Information Professional Of The Year (2005) by Information World Review. Euan pioneered the use of weblogs, wikis and online forums while at the BBC and his work there continues to enable staff to work more effectively and more collaboratively across the entire organisation. While at the BBC Euan also worked on their award winning leadership programme and gained unparalleled experience in how to engage and inspire people with the possibilities of social computing as a business tool. Since going independent Euan has worked with wide range of clients including the NHS, BP, AIG Insurance, Bell Pottinger PR, ARM Processor Design Cambridge and Scottish Enterprise. He has also run workshops for The World Health Organisation, the UN and The British Council. He can be reached at euansemple.com and his blog is The Obvious?.
by Joshua-Michéle Ross
February 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm · Filed under
FASTforward'09, FFC09 Interviews
Christian weighs in, from a Microsoft perspective, on the rise of social computing in the enterprise and its implications for organizations. As he and others note, consumer adoption of social sites and tools have put pressure on companies to contend with new issues, think hard on how to provide such services to their employees, and wrestle with their concerns about losing control. But, says Christian here, the reality is corporations don’t actually work in that hierarchical construct and that it’s a false mental model to say they ever really did. He goes on to discuss the benefits of unlocking these tools and technologies, how social computer in the enterprise is enabling knowledgeable people within organizations to connect and surface useful information, and suggests that the theme of the conference – “Engage Your User” – might even be a “half-note” off… That it’s more about creating an environment where users can engage each other and help themselves and their organizations.
by Joshua-Michéle Ross
February 12, 2009 at 11:59 am · Filed under
FASTforward'09, FFC09 Interviews
Kamran talks about his company, issues of security as it relates to search, and how search can grapple with huge volumes of data being created by customers such as the U.S. government.
BIO: Kamran Khan is the President and CEO of Search Technologies. In addition to Search Technologies, he has developed and led international sales, marketing, engineering, and customer support units at ArtinSoft, Convera Corporation and its predecessor Excalibur Technologies, and PAFEC Ltd. before its acquisition by SER Systems. A native of Manchester, Kamran earned a B.S. degree with honors in aeronautical engineering from Manchester University.
by Joshua-Michéle Ross
February 12, 2009 at 10:02 am · Filed under
FASTforward'09, FFC09 Interviews
Pekka carries a natural enthusiasm for technology and innovation, particularly around mobile devices (as one would expect from a Finn). Pekka feels that the current recession is the ideal climate for new innovations around search.
BIO: Pekka Viljakainen is an executive vice president of Tieto and the Head of Customer and Market Operations and Tieto International. The company develops innovative IT solutions that realize and digitalize the visions of its customers. For many years, Mr. Viljakainen has analyzed the fundamental change in consumer behavior and its implications for corporate strategies in information-intensive businesses. He is involved in promoting the necessary preparations for a true revolution of services and the deep strategic role of digitalization across Europe. Prior to joining Tieto in 2000, Mr. Viljakainen had established Oy Visual Systems in 1986 and studied engineering at the University of Technology in Lappeenranta.
by Joshua-Michéle Ross
February 12, 2009 at 9:57 am · Filed under
FASTforward'09, FFC09 Interviews
Nate has the enviable job of being search evangelist for Microsoft.
In this interview Nate shares some of the things that surprised him during the conference, particularly the rich, emerging possibilities of allying search with gestural interface design on Microsoft Surfaces…
