“Getting Things Done” in The Enterprise
Jason Rothbart ponders, in light of a recent conference session he attended with the author of “Getting Things Done”, how GTD concepts can be implemented on an enterprise level. For all the talk of tools and methodologies, the most important element by far, he says, is “the discipline and commitment to do it.” One key aspect he argues – managment commitment: “There is no way that an entire group will practice GTD if the management team is not fully committed and emphasizes it every day. Managers (and team members) need to conduct meetings with GTD principles and plan work in the same way.”

Is Mainstream Media Really Ready to Get Social?
Steven Hodson touches on the seeming imminent social media crossover into the mainstream – “With its scaling problems seemingly behind it, Twitter may finally be ready to cross that line between the techies and the rest of the Web using world.” – but also suggests that experiments such as CNN’s don’t necessarily indicate that big media companies really get the appeal of Twitter.

Can Web 2.0 Survive the Cancer of Comment Trolls?
A look at the pros and cons of an important feature of many of today’s social media experiences – comments - and the sentiment of some who argue that vitriolic comments, particularly those posted anonymously, are eroding civil discourse and degrading discussion. The article provides examples of a few nasty episodes and offers up a few tips on “giving good comment” and how sites can combat unconstructive comments.

Do Social Networks Bring the End of Privacy?
Daniel Solove, a law professor who’s authored several books on the topic, comments in Scientific American on the issue of privacy, or lack thereof, in the Internet age. The key points made in the article: 1) “Social-networking sites allow seemingly trivial gossip to be distributed to a worldwide audience, sometimes making people the butt of rumors shared by millions of users across the Internet.” 2) “Public sharing of private lives has led to a rethinking of our current conceptions of privacy.” And 3) Existing law should be extended to allow some privacy protection for things that people say and do in what would have previously been considered the public domain.”

How to lose 10 pounds of junk in one day
Digital Nomads’ Chanpory Rith offers his ideas on how to slim down – your daily gadget baggage, that is: “Get a smaller bag. ‘But wait,’ you say. ‘My briefcase/purse/backpack is already too small. I need a bigger bag, not a smaller one!’ But let’s remember Parkinson’s Law: data expands to fill the available space for storage. In short, it’s always too small.”

Are we ready to declare the “time of death” for the enterprise data center?
Dion Hinchcliffe argues that the age of sprawling data centers will soon be over: “The relentless forces of commoditization and competition are having their say as well and cloud computing offers up very substantial bottom-line returns. Throw in an economic downturn and a round of enterprise cost-cutting and the market and cloud computing seem ready to meet…”

Do ‘Clouds’ Get in the Way?
Offering another perspective, this article engages in the hot debate about the actual term “cloud computing”, and quotes an IBM Senior Vice President stepping into user’s shoes: “I know you guys use stupid terms… Just show me the pragmatic results and don’t try to deliver something to that doesn’t meet my business needs.”