Hi all.
Wow. This evening I spent time with my son who is 7 years old (soon to be 8 as he reminds me) watching the, “Naked Brothers Band” on TV. For those of you who do not have kids or have not had the pleasure of watching this, well… let me remind you….
Sometimes… OK…. Almost always… It is important to spend time with your kids doing (or seeing) what they love. So tonight was a special night (and my 7 (soon to be eight) year old really appreciated me hanging with him).
The next posting will be tomorrow.
Yes. I have the cartoon (smile) and it is a good one.
For now… remember…. as I have to remind myself…
It is important to have a life. My kid (and he has a little brother) is a great artist too; he has been a guest artist on the site in the past.
Really.
Thank you and also remember the comic strip tomorrow is brand new and really applicable to Scrum.
And.
Your Business.
You know…. The thing that generates revenue to do what you do on a daily basis??!?!?
Right now, I need to read a story to my oldest kid. As he tries to go to sleep for the night.
Hope you have a great day (or evening, depending on where in the world you read this!).
Thank you!
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
Hi,
Let’s take a quick moment and talk about the business of running a blog. As with anyone using Scrum today, we have to remember that one of the key things we all have to be good at is “inspecting” and “adapting” to the markets out there.
For those of you Blogging today… PLEASE read this (and participate please!).
For those of you who are not Blogging today… PLEASE consider doing it (and participate please)!
If you know people who are Blogging today who may be interested in this… PLEASE send them to this link!
I get a lot of people asking me to link to their sites (or blogs) AND I ask a lot of people out there to also link to my site (www.implementingscrum.com) or blog (www.implementingscrum.com/blog). This method helps all of us in both the short and long term because, as you may (or may not) know, Google and other search engines like to see people cross-linking other relevant sites to your own site.
In addition to talking to other bloggers around the world, I stumbled upon a tool last month from a friend called “Blog Rush.” This can be seen on my pages in the right column located in a box entitled, “From the Blogosphere.” If you have a blog or site today and want to see if this tool can help increase traffic (in a month, I am seeing an increase!), please click on the following link (it is free and does not cost you anything):
If you want to try it out, please let me know you have enabled it on your blog and let’s see if we can get more blogs about “Scrum” and “Agile” in general out more into the mainstream computer media.
Now back to our normal blogging fun…. Let’s see if this thing helps all of us get better results for Scrum and Agile overall in the rankings out in cyberspace. I am trying to do my part to promote a tool that could quite possibly change the way our sites are viewed by people today!
Can we make that big of a change?
We’ll see! And let me know your thoughts.
Thank you
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
In French
Welcome back to a new day at www.implementingscrum.com.
Good day.
I am sorry I was unable to write about this topic further last evening. Life happens and I thank you for staying with us.
You know how some days you just know things will not come out sounding correct? Last night I had one of those feelings.
So. I stopped.
Until tonight.
Without further ado….
I am blogging about Social Networking Sites.
Now…. before you think you hear crickets singing in the trees from the dead silence you may think this topic deserves…. please hold on and let me explain. There is actually a reason for using Social Networking Sites when you are on Scrum Teams.
Can you think of some off the top of your head?
Seriously.
Think of the possibilities!
Got some? Write them down, as that list — I hope — will motivate you to sign-up or become more active in some of the sites I mention this evening.
Trust me. I know there are a ton of Social Networking sites out there (heck, I am working with a few clients who are developing their own portals for niche markets today!).
I’d like to talk about the main Social Networking sites I am using today, along with “why” I am using them, and for how long. Will it be an exhaustive list?
No.
Do they work for me?
Yes. In different ways.
And.
In an Agile fashion, if it is delivering the results you expect, maybe that is “good enough” for now.
Will these change in the future?
Of course.
So.
Here is a snapshot of a few “Social Networking Sites” I use today (along with my links to them) with the main reasons why I use them.
I use three main Social Networking Sites today.
They include the following:
- Plaxo
- Twitter.
I use Plaxo to keep my address book on my computer and iPhone up-to-date.
Why is this important?
I see a lot of people move around quite a bit — both personally and from company-to-company. As people become members of Plaxo, it keeps me up-to-date. If I have a business relationship with a person who moves from Company A to Company B, at least I am aware of it. As people then move from Company B to Company X, I know about it and stay informed.
From a Business standpoint, I find this information valuable so I can keep in contact.
Or at least try.
Which brings me to the next one I use, LinkedIn. I have been a member of that service since the product was in Beta many years ago. My personal network has over 500 people (who I have worked with in the past!) and the way this works is to “link you” to other people’s connections — out to what they call “degrees.” From spending the time using this tool, I am approaching almost 4 MILLION other people I can actually contact through the connections my direct contacts with me have.
My link to this profile is just below on the button.
This has been a powerful tool for me at the business level both for introductions to others — and making connections for people that I know and trust. Also, this is a place where people can find out more about me at a professional level, and even feel free to leave (or read) comments from people I have worked with in the past. It is something that I also use when talking to new people I meet and may want to do business with.
At the personal level, I got pulled into 2008 with FaceBook. OK… so this is what I thought would be a totally “personal” kind of site. It turns out that a lot of my contacts from the two services listed above also use FaceBook… and I am learning more about them too.
My “profile information” can bee seen in the little signature thingee below.
Are there other Social Networking sites out there?
Yes.
Will I join them.
Maybe.
I do think as the “open standards” (where the different Social Networking Sites start “talking” to each other and “sharing” information) come about in this space, it will be a lot easier for people to become even more involved.
If they want.
I have personally not hopped on the Twitter bandwagon yet, since I really do not think people need to know everything I am doing every second of every day. Um. I don’t even want to remember that sometimes LOL.
OK. I am now on Twitter. Follow me! Man, how hip am I now!?!?!?
What does this all have to do with Scrum?
Remember.
Scrum deals with what?
People.
Not technology. There are plenty of other Agile Software Development techniques out there for that.
People.
People.
People.
Are you beginning to see how there may actually be a connection to these Social Networking sites and Scrum?
Do some thinking about it.
And get out there and do some personal and professional networking.
It is a small world.
Trust me. I travel it regularly (smile).
Gotta run!.Please send comments, questions, criticisms, ideas, or whatever here.
You can also enter The Scrum Community to discuss this entry and other Scrum topics. Thank you!
January 15, 2008
Hi.
Wow.
Well…. reality has set it and Tony (the artist) delivered the cartoon on time (as usual). And, as usual, it is a great one (nothing but the best here!). Unfortunately for you, it will not be visible until my next posting.
I have been teaching a class today (and the rest of this week) and ugggg…. I am sorry to say the posting that I was going to deliver this evening (today) is going to have to wait until tomorrow. I am out of steam today and want to make sure what I deliver to you is of the best quality.
So…. tomorrow it is (smile).
Here is a preview….
Think about social networking.
And what it can mean for you personally.
And for your team.
And organization.
It can be pretty mind-blowing.
And.
I will cover it in my next posting!
Sorry for the delay. Thanks for understanding.
- mike vizdos
www.michaelvizdos.com
www.implementingscrum.com
Hi all,
At the end of this month a friend of mine (another CST who I co-train with regularly) is hosting a public Certified ScrumMaster Course in Paris, France. The course will be conducted in French on January 28-29, 2008.
If you are interested in attending the course, please contact me and I will get you in contact with them.
Or if you contact them directly, please let them know you saw it on www.implementingscrum.com!
For a full list of my upcoming workshops and public speaking engagements, please visit www.michaelvizdos.com.
Thank you!
- mike
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