I did a fair amount of reading this weekend, two stood out as worthwhile to share.
1) Wharton Interview of Ray Ozzie…it’s not just the content, but something different here in terms of tone and manner that I really like in this discussion about Microsoft and software as a service / software plus services.
2) John Hagel, author of Net Gain, was the keynote at the recent Community 2.0 Conference. I wasn’t there, but he took the time to author his notes from the speech which I think is an exceptional read for anyone investing in virtual communities and business.
My actions from John’s notes:
- Critically review current online plans with his notes in mind
- Add Net Gain to my "to read" pile
- Add Ambient Findability to my "to read" pile.
I’m also reading The Starfish and the Spider. I’m about 50% done with this book. I really should finish before blogging my thoughts on it, but honestly I’m having trouble sticking with it. It falls into a category I describe as "Interesting, but not Fascinating." It’s an enjoyable enough read with some nice relevant stories about the Apaches, the Quaker’s, AA, Open Source, Wikipedia, etc. The problem is, I think anyone who is likely to pick this book up and read it will not learn anything new. I suppose if I was just digging into Web 2.0 / communities, I might like it better, but if I was just getting started, there are better books / resources.
Sean