Michael Hickson seems to have an enterprise complex. He doesn’t like the idea of IBM micro-blogging behind it’s firewall. In his blog, E-piphanies, he writes a rather harsh slur in gossip-column style stating that this is a bad idea.
So, Michael, you are surprised to discover that IBM has been using micro-blogging behind the firewall? You want to couch this as a sensational critique? Common!
The world’s 14-year leader in number of patents didn’t get that way by NOT engaging in everything new. There are lots of things behind the firewall with which early adopters are having a blast: blogs, wikis, podcasts, broadcasts, micro-blogging, tagging, social photo sharing, social video sharing, social file sharing, IM for over a decade now, online communities, 3D internet / virtual reality, online friends & connections, rating & reputation systems… there are over 100 innovations available within our early adoption program. The list goes on. We don’t gate our innovations. We promote them!
Do you think that each of these innovations are perfect before we try them? Well, that’s not the way it goes. It’s survival of the fittest.
We have about 400,000 people inside our firewall to try this stuff out and give us feedback. Before we roll something into full production, and before we send it down the product development path, we tap into that feedback and learn as much as we can about the new creation. It makes the final solution stronger.
And guess what… We need these tools. The workforce has changed. The standard for the online social interaction experience is set across the internet. The corporation that doesn’t embrace this functionality will be the corporation that doesn’t stand the test of time. In case you haven’t noticed, IBM is Built to Last.
None of that would be possible if it weren’t for our willingness to embrace new things. Don’t damn IBM for that. Congratulate us. Applaud us. Follow our lead, because it’s very very successful. Over $90 billion a year is no accident.
photo by magandafille
and by faultier.at
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.7MB)