Web Worker Daily

Traction TeamPage5 Goes Beyond Blogs & Wikis Posted: 03 Nov 2008 03:00 PM CST There is no shortage of small team wiki and collaboration platforms available to us as Web Workers, and we’ve certainly covered our share of them here. While feature sets and functionality certainly vary between products and services, it seems that most systems assume that because our teams may be small, our needs and requirements are as well. Do we really need to forgo the functionality that we are really looking for when choosing a small team solution? Traction Software says “no,” and they are offering up TeamPage5, a free 5 user version of their Enterprise TeamPage workspace system, as proof. Traction’s TeamPage was one of the first blog and wiki products to reach market with their 1.0 release in 1999. It is a mature system that has garnered good reviews, and their prior release was awarded Best Enterprise Wiki in the InfoWorld 2007 Technology of the Year Awards. TeamPage uses a familiar Project metaphor, with each space having its own permission structure. It incorporates all of the standard features you would expect from a wiki / blog like linking, journaling, edit history, tagging and categorization, threaded comments and moderation. It’s the advanced features that make it stand out though. The collector lets you bookmark articles within the system for later reference or action while the ability to view the site in draft view lets you prepare multiple pages before content is published. Traction TeamPage is a complex system with a comprehensive feature set, actually doing far more than I can cover here. Even common features seem to have an extra layer of functionality designed to make the system more powerful. For example, TeamPage takes a common feature like tagging and then adds a tremendous amount of functionality to it. Instead of just being an organizational tool, tags are also time based so they can be used for building custom workflows. Track newly tagged items like to do assignments and status, bug priority changes - any combination really. In conjunction with the permission system, tags can be used to pull and aggregate content from across spaces while still maintaining and adhering to your access rules. The advanced features do add an extra layer of complexity though. That isn’t to say that TeamPage5 is hard to use but there is a learning curve, and some serious thought and planning is recommended to set up a system that can fully take advantage of its capabilities. The challenge for Traction is to balance a very powerful feature set with ease of use, and for the most part I think they pull this off. Even though it is marketed as an Enterprise Wiki, the system isn’t inherently enterprise. It doesn’t require extensive infrastructure and has a low to moderate bar for deployment. It is Java based with modest system requirements. I was up and running with a local installation and slightly modified base journal in about an hour. Obviously additional configuration and customization can add significant time to that based on your needs. The free TeamPage5 version is great for small teams and can be upgraded to a full server license as your needs grow. If you’re looking for a powerful collaboration system and are willing to put in a bit of thought and effort to define how it will best be used, TeamPage5 might just be a good option for you. The free Traction TeamPage5 version supports 5 projects / spaces and 5 named users. Support is provided via an online forum and knowledgebase or additional paid support is available. Upgrades to a full TeamPage license vary based on license type and number of named users. Are your Wiki needs being fully met by your solution? Is TeamPage5 a contender for you? Television is being revolutionized. What are the business opportunities for you in net video? Attend NewTeeVee Live (at special $450 rate) to find out.

Enterprise Microsharing: The Next Wave? Posted: 03 Nov 2008 01:00 PM CST Everyone (at least, everyone in our corner of the world) knows about Twitter. But have you ever thought about the possibilities of setting up something Twitter-like on your own intranet? If so, you’re not alone. That’s one of the basic messages of a new comparison of enterprise microsharing tools from Pistachio Consulting. You may have heard about some of the Twitter alternatives like Identica and Yammer. But the Pistachio team has identified a solid 20 applications in this space already - and undoubtedly there are more lurking in the wings. With this overabundance, it’s useful to have some sort of mental framework for organizing things - especially if you’re trying to decide which ones to evaluate for your own use. The report breaks up the available applications into six groups: pure-play applications, enterprise-built, open source, pseudo-microsharing, integrated microsharing, and self-serve microsharing. Understanding these distinctions can help you quickly narrow down to applications that may be a good fit for your organization. The comparison charts here will help as well. Key findings of the research here indicate that this is an area poised for rapid growth. With many organizations testing microsharing for a year or more now, we should expect case studies to appear soon. The best thing about this research is that it’s written in a way that enterprise decision-makers will understand - so if you’re trying to sell your management on the benefits (and needs) of microsharing, it’s a great tool.

Coworking Roundup… Posted: 03 Nov 2008 09:00 AM CST Coworking is a workplace trend that Web Worker Daily has been following closely of late and one which seems to be experiencing an emerging global acceptance - indeed, myself and Aliza Sherman here at WWD have directly (though separately) been involved in developing coworking spaces and communities. A confluence of technology, culture, a faltering global economy and fuel costs are helping this fringe working pattern move closer to the mainstream. So here’s a roundup of recent developments in coworking… Will the Recession Drive Coworking Demand? The global coworking mailing list has been discussing the impact of recent global turbulence in the economy and its implications for coworking. Commenters have concluded that freelancers and the demand for coworking will rise as the economy shrinks and people decide to take their careers into their own hands. Others go on to discuss that hotdesking isn’t enough, but a powerful and helpful support network of other coworkers is desirable. Interestingly, some predict that coworking spaces will see the arrival of non-digital workers, from realtors to financial professionals. Holy Coworking! Jerusalem recently saw the launch of it’s first coworking community, backed by PresenTense, an organisation seeking to energize grassroots Jewish innovators. FlyTheCoop: A Coworking Co-operative in Manchester Manchester in the UK hosts one of the country’s thriving digital communities and a number of enterprising individuals have come together in the past to host coworking days sponsored by public bodies at various venues. Now, the nascent coworking community is close to securing its own premises and is promoting collective ownership of the economic risks and rewards by offering all residents the chance to invest in a cooperative structure - called FlyTheCoop. The venture’s ownership structure  was no doubt inspired by the presence of Manchester’s Co-operative Group, the world’s largest consumer owned business. Corporate Coworking in London We’ve previously written about companies like Timbuk2 making spare desks available to coworkers as a means of bringing external creativity and influence into their corporate culture. Last week, Sun Microsystems’ Startup Essentials program announced a collaboration with London-based Huddle to offer free hotdesks to members of its program. Decline of the American Commute? A recently published study from the US Department of Transportation, shows that between August 2007 and August 2008, Americans drove fifteen billion fewer miles. An astonishing statistic implying a rise in telecommuting, but also signaling that the development of public transport alternatives - funded by gas taxes - may be under threat. Coworking resides at an interesting nexus of technology commerce, politics and civic development. Though increasingly mainstream in the technology sector, its remains a concept which many find baffling to grasp outside the creative and digital industries - here’s where all of us involved in using or operating coworking communities and spaces need to think more broadly about the applicability of this lifestyle beyond our immediate horizons. Television is being revolutionized. What are the business opportunities for you in net video? Attend NewTeeVee Live (at special $450 rate) to find out.

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