Blogs are only useful if you post things on a regular basis! It seems that life after Telstra has been busier than when I was there! Since then, I have started work on a number of projects in my new role as an independent consultant, and I have now managed to update this site to reflect my new status. So time to get back into the blog-posting saddle…
The new projects I have been working on have mostly come via the network of people that I have had the privilege to meet and work with over the last four years or so. Much of my contact with these people has been via this site, and via Facebook and LinkedIn. (Which have also helped me to find a new car!) So it was very timely that one of my network colleagues has drawn my attention to this NY Times article on LinkedIn’s recent capital raising. (Thanks, Sharon!)
LinkedIn has just raised $53 million (USD) in capital. Based on this – and recent valuations of Facebook and MySpace – these three social networking sites are potentially worth something like the following (in USD):
- MySpace: $580 million
- LinkedIn: $1 billion
- Facebook: $15 billion
LinkedIn is planning to use the new capital to add further functionality, making it a more flexible collaborative working site.
The new mix of increased business applications and the existing personal applications is yet another sign that the traditional boundaries between work life and personal life are becoming even more blurred than when I wrote about it here last year.
Collaborative tools are all the rage at the moment. In my new role (and without corporate services to rely on) I have been finding great benefits in such things as DOPPLR, Skype, Google Docs, Google Calendar and yes, even Twitter (in spite of earlier doubts). In fact, Matt Moore and I spent a very fruitful few hours the other day working together on Google Docs and Twitter* to put the final touches on a 4,000 word magazine article (on Knowledge Management for B2B Sales Teams).
I recently heard Michael Sampson speaking on collaboration, and he has developed a great model for assessing the effectiveness of collaborative tools – 7 Pillars of IT-Enabled Team Productivity. We (at the KMLF) are arranging for Michael to come to Melbourne to speak on Wednesday 23 July – keep an eye on the KMLF blog for further details.
So, here’s to more regular blogging again!
* Hmmm… Just realised that the reference to producing the collaborative article should have read: “…working together on Google Docs and Skype…”
The article is now available here.