An ode to Google Reader

When I was recently locked out of my Google Account (because I had 2-step verification and the phone wasn't available) I didn't miss Gmail much. I could still see the emails on my phone. The two Google services I realised I missed the most were Blogger and Reader.

When people ask me how I have blogged close to 2900 posts over 10 years, I tell them a big part for that is I consume a lot of content too. And since 2006 (after the Bloglines era) Google Reader has become my default way to consume content from a myriad of sources.

And now Google is shutting down Reader from 1st July.

I guess the writing was on the wall. After they shut down AdWords for Feeds. Google is a business enterprise and has to think about monetization vs resources.

So, thank you whoever worked on the Google Reader team. Before the days of Twitter and Facebook you gave us a way to keep up with our favorite sources of content on the web.

And I'll still use Reader till 30th June.

Social Media and Knowledge Management inside organizations

So I was invited to give a talk at the first K-Cafe event at Mumbai. The topic was how can the principles of social be used to embed KM in an organization's DNA. The audience was the Mumbai KM Community.

The folks at iGate (which hosted the event) took a video and shared it on YouTube. Have embedded it below. The event photographs are on Flickr.

Pizza Hut's 140 second interview is a bad idea

Seems like Pizza Hut is trying a recruiting stunt at Austin's Digital and Music festival, South by South West Interactive or SXSW as it's known.

Forbes reports that it will hold 140 second interviews to select its Social Media Manager. Crazy or inspired? You decide. One thing is that is a great PR-able story. But as a HR person, I worry that Pizza Hut is focusing on the bells and whistles too much than actual potential.

Here are the details:

The interviews will last just 140 seconds as in the hyper speed, think-on-your-feet social media space, Pizza Hut wants applicants who can actually demonstrate their credentials
Candidates are asked to bring nothing more than their smartphones and ID to the interview.
Also, Pizza Hut notes that those who are interested can officially apply for the position on the Pizza Hut careers page or during the interview process, which will include a review of each person’s LinkedIn profile live via mobile device. No paper resumes! 
The official job description and responsibilities will be posted to the Pizza Hut career’s mobile site and the company will conduct a another round of interviews via Google+ on March 14.

 What do you think? Leave your impressions in the comments below?

Altimeter on the 6 stages of #socbiz evolution

Altimeter Group, which regularly brings out reports on how large organizations surveyed about 700 people working in social media within large firms (not agencies) and this is what they found.

The main points:

1. Only 34% of businesses felt that their social strategy was connected to business outcomes
2. half of all executives are not informed, engaged, or aligned with their company’s social media strategies

Most social media efforts are either led by Marketing or the PR/CorpComm groups.

But as this graphic shows, one Full Time Employee is also working on social media in other groups - take a look at the percentage of companies in which a person in HR is also looking full time after social media - 20% of companies that have Marketing leading social report that while 34% of companies that have PR/CorpComm leading social have at least a full time employee in HR focusing on social.







And this is how an organization grows as it matures in social.




And the budgets they have for external and internal social


You can download the full report from here