Gartner is just loving cloud computing at the moment. The analyst has released quite a bit of information about the potential for cloud-based services during the last couple of weeks.

Today's slab of research from Gartner suggests security applications delivered through the cloud will have a 'dramatic impact' on the industry:

• In messaging security controls, such as malware and spam detection/exclusion for e-mail and instant messaging, cloud-based services account for 20 per cent of revenue in 2008
• By 2013, cloud-based services in messaging security controls will account for 60 per cent of revenue

Gartner says the increased use of cloud-based services, such as salesforce.com or Google Apps, means users will be accessing data without traversing the corporate network - and will increase the need for security controls between users and the cloud, says Gartner principal analyst Kelly Kavanagh:

"It also will allow security technologies and techniques that are cost-effective to be used only with cloud-style computing. The massively scalable resources provided through the cloud also will be available to people who develop attacks that require intense processing, pursue cloud providers, or both."

Further reading

• Cloud computing will change business technology
• Simon Pitt to lead IT at the Environment Agency
• CIO concerns: Rob Fraser switches Boots for CSC
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Yesterday was 'No Internet Day' (NID). Well, it was in my house. My wife has become tired of my reliance on the internet at home. But you know, checking if Aston Villa have signed a right back is important.

And there's always some vitally important question that needs to be Googled. My wife does not agree, however.

"I don't believe you can go a whole day without using the internet," she said yesterday, before announcing it was NID.

But I successfully rose to the challenge - and only really started to get withdrawal symptoms by late evening. By then, my mind was starting to crumble under the weight of questions that needed to be Googled.

Still, I managed it. And it turns out NID is a bit of global phenomena (Google "No Internet Day" and see what I mean).

Maybe next weekend should be NGD ("No Google Day" - you can use the internet, but not to find pointless answers to pointless questions).

Further reading

• Dane-Elec Zpen - better than over-hyped iPhone?
• Instant messaging is a slippery fish for some firms
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

A healthy dose of scepticism is always good, especially when it comes to new technology. My colleague Bryan Glick hammers the proverbial nail on the head when he talks about the hype surrounding the Apple iPhone. El Glicko says on his blog:

"Perhaps I’ve been in this game too long and the cynicism has set in after seeing too many product launches, but if anything is more likely to turn me off the iPhone – already the most over-hyped technology product in history – it’s the stage-managed artifice surrounding a me-too, catch-up phone."

Lots of people have commented on his blog, telling him he's wrong. But as I said, a healthy dose of scepticism is always good. Which brings me on to the Dane-Elec Zpen.

I got invited to the launch of the Zpen the other day. Very nice it was, too - sipping champagne on the London Eye. Dane-Elec UK country manager Mark Thuilliez demonstrated the digital pen, stating how the intuitive device allows the user to write on any kind of paper - and convert handwritten notes into digital text for word processing.

I was not convinced. For a start, I have a childish, joined-up scrawl - surely indecipherable to a digital device. Anyway, after quaffing the posh wine, I returned home and charged up the device. And I was amazed - this pen is the business.

Apart from translating my name as Hard - which you have to admit, is pretty cool - the pen was word-perfect. That was only about 30-or-so words; not had time for much else yet. But I'll give the Zpen a thorough work out ASAP.

Given the device is intuitive, I expect the response will improve. Also, just think of the potential business applications - such as time-saving for chemists that struggle to decipher the doctor's scrawl.

Nice gadget, me thinks. And better than an over-hyped iPhone? You'd better ask Bryan about that...

Further reading

• Instant messaging is a slippery fish for some firms
• Vodafone deal boost mobile social networking
• Mobile social networking is a community thing
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Flexible working is one thing - but do you work like a gentleman? Travelling in on the Underground this morning, I had the pleasure/misfortune of being stuck next to a couple of city workers that were intent on discussing everything they knew about everybody.

And very loudly.

After I listened to half an hour of 'new money' rubbish - who lives where, who has a second home, etc. - one of the commuters said: "Well, he's changed now, hasn't he? He's working gentleman's hours."

Am I missing out on something? Is that a city-only term, because it's not something I've come across before. If in doubt, turn to Google - which suggests a couple of possibilities. I found a couple of references to 8am to 4pm, so that men can get home to have dinner the family. Another definition referred to 10pm until sunrise. I also found a lot of stuff about fishing.

Anyway, "gentleman's hours" seem to be the new way of flexible working. Any other definitions out there?

Further reading

• Smart firms take the flexible working route
• Would you recommend a career in IT to your child?
• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Excuse me while I 'pop out' from this blog posting and message one of my mates: "Is an eel a fish or not?" Be warned - using instant messaging (IM) technology for such crucial business questions is likely to become increasingly prevalent.

For a start, researcher IDC says IM is set to overtake email as the preferred form of business communication by the second half of 2010. If that sounds fanciful, then the research - sponsored by Nortel - also shows European firms are already heavily reliant on IM. More than 50 per cent of respondents – twice the number of North American executives - use instant and text messaging for business.

But with regards to non-believing businesses, there is at least one significant barrier to overcome: security concerns. Research from ProcessOne suggests the majority of UK businesses miss out on instant messaging benefits because they fear workers will leak confidential information. As much as 74 per cent of firms say IM could provide collaboration benefits, but 72 per cent ban the technology because of security concerns.

As for eel question, forget your mates; turn to the all-knowing Wikipedia, which says: "True eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish, which consists of 4 suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 600 species." The order of the fish? Sounds like a niche members club...

Further reading

• Vodafone deal boost mobile social networking
• Mobile social networking is a community thing
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

So, I was recently a judge for the Highams Business Technology Book of the Year award; had a couple of months to read the following short-list:

• Wikinomics - Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
• IT and the East – James Popkin and Partha Iyengar
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days – Jessica Livingston
• Riding the Whirlwind: Connecting people and organisations in a culture of innovation – Fons Trompenaars
• The Cult of the Amateur – Andrew Keen

There were five judges in total - "all influential individuals from the IT and business space," says the press release. Which is nice, I guess.

Anyway, the award ceremony took place earlier this week on the top floor of 'the Gherkin' tower, near Liverpool Street station in London. It was a posh early morning bash, with exceptionally tasty fresh orange juice. Good views from the top, too.

The eventual winner was Atlantic Books' Wikinomics, the best-selling book about the future of collaboration. If you haven't already read the book, here are my thoughts:

"Collaboration is a fascinating area and 'Wikinomics' does provide a thorough investigation of the significant issues – such as leading pioneers, effect on the workplace and key platforms."

Other judges thought the following:

“Wikinomics zags whilst others zig and it is counter intuitive. It opens up for those who embrace the sharing approach, and offers a unique way of generating competitive advantage and acceleration on the value proposition,” said Sir Eric Peacock, chairman of The Academy of Chief Executives

“A challenging book, in so much that it presents the opening of a totally different world and one that changes the very way we will think and act,” said Alan Howarth, chairman of Highams Group

A worthy winner, methinks.

Further reading

• Fair play is affected by social networks
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, who remain keen to spend on social networking platforms.

LinkedIn announced last week it had secured $53m (£27m) in funding. The new investment, which represents about five per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn (£515m).

The news followed Microsoft’s $240m (£122m) investment in Facebook last year, which helped value the platform at $15bn (£7.6bn).

Such valuations illustrate the potential strengths of social networks, with firms such as LinkedIn drawing revenue from advertising, job search and subscriptions.

The problem is that there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing and have the time to participate in.

Future growth will rely on regional variations, says LinkedIn managing director Kevin Eyres.

The firm expects to invest more heavily in the European market, and hopes a regional approach will help members to “derive more value from their network”.

Some individuals have already attempted to make more from their network, such as a former employee of recruitment firm Hays who allegedly used LinkedIn to approach clients for his own agency. The High Court, however, ordered him to hand over the business contacts he built up on his personal page.

Employers will see the decision as a potential step change ­ particularly firms that struggle to understand how to provide and monitor social networking.

Executives often worry that workers are using networks to leak corporate information.

Such concerns are understandable, with one-third of IT professionals saying that they use their privileged rights to gain access to information that is confidential or sensitive, according to Cyber-Ark Software.

The High Court decision shows firms will go to significant lengths to protect confidential information.

While venture capitalists will be keen to back innovative ideas, entrepreneurs need to think carefully about how their intellectual property has been generated.

Modern forms of collaboration can help create value, but only if you play by the traditional rules of business.

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

A cheeky lie-in, a cup of tea in bed, a quick check of email and a half hour of the BBC’s To Buy, or Not to Buy.

Sound familiar? Spend too much time hanging around the house in your underwear? Chances are it doesn’t and you don’t, but would certainly welcome the flexibility to work when and where you choose.

As many as 94 per cent of employees want flexible working, according to research from communications specialist Avaya. Yet only 17 per cent of companies extend the privilege to all staff.

Avaya suggests the results highlight a new “digital divide” between firms that offer flexible working practices and those that do not support requests from staff. For the 83 per cent of firms that fall into the latter category, there are probably two key reasons why flexible working is not a tempting strategy.

First, there is the business factor. Certain jobs are performed better in the office; others are completed easier in the peaceful surrounds of the home environment.

Without the distraction of colleagues and contacts, home workers should be able to work quickly and efficiently. But the extraneous distractions of the kettle and the TV mean bosses remain sceptical about the potential for their staff to stay focused.

Second, there is the technology factor. Secure flexible working requires a bunch of new tools and applications, such as BlackBerrys, laptops and virtual private networks all purchased and provided by the employer.

You can, of course, take short-cuts and allow your workers to use their own technology. But the payback from that approach comes when hackers access your corporate network via an unsecured port.

Fears of work avoidance and unsecure access mean many firms are taking an inflexible approach to flexible working, with small firms less likely (57 per cent) to offer alternative conditions of employment.

Blue-chip companies are at least keen to offer flexible options that meet the current legislation governing homeworking. But smart businesses will go beyond the minimum and offer a range of flexible working opportunities, because allowing your employees to check emails in their boxer shorts is likely to increase productivity and loyalty.

Further reading

• Would you recommend a career in IT to your child?
• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by Powerpoint
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Who says crazy dot com valuations are dead? Not financial investors, with today's $1bn valuation of professional network LinkedIn following on from last year's $15bn valuation of social networking site Facebook.

LinkedIn has just announced it has secured $53m in funding. The investment is led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional reinvestment from the company’s existing backers including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners.

The new $53m investment, which represents about 5 per cent of LinkedIn, values the company at $1.015bn. Microsoft's $240m helped value Facebook at $15bn last year.

So, why the £1bn valuation of LinkedIn? Well, the firm's revenues draw on advertising, job search and subscriptions. The network has 23 million members worldwide and membership growth rates are currently at 361 per cent year-on-year.

But there are only so many social networks that individuals will be willing - or more importantly, have the time - to participate in. Future growth will rely on regional variations, says Kevin Eyres, European managing director at LinkedIn:

“The new funds will enable us to invest more heavily in the European market - a geography for whom networking and business knowledge-sharing continues to accelerate and will help our members derive more value from their network so that each individual and business can more effectively compete on the global market.”

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Cheerio, China. When it comes to innovation, the fast-developing economy is moving quickly and will soon leave western economies in the distance. Research firm Evalueserve reports the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China received 694,153 patent applications in 2007, an increase of 21.1 percent over the previous year.

With regard to invention patents, China is currently third in the world behind the United States and Japan. And if patent filings in China continue to grow at the current rate, the SIPO will overtake the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) by 2012.

China has prepared well. Evalueserve reports the country has developed its patent system significantly during the last two decades. It has incorporated an online and searchable patent database, a robust appeal mechanism and a hierarchy of courts for handling intellectual property disputes.

As a result, patent processing speed has increased. More than four million patent applications were filed from early 1985 to December 2007. And while the first million applications were filed over 15 years, the last million took only 18 months.

Further reading

• Take a risk on innovation and you might just win
• Growing risk of litigation threatens IT innovation
• How can the CIO gain respect for IT innovation?
• Making best use of Gartner's reports
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Potentially good news for email users - spammers are now concentrating on a range of other communication channels, too. The bad news is that spammers are using other forms of interaction - such as email - to increase spam on social networks.

Research from messaging specialist Cloudmark and researcher Harris Interactive suggests spam is now clogging social networks and creating a potential barrier to further growth.

More than four in five social networking site users (83 per cent) has received spam “friend” invitations, messages or postings on their account during the past twelve months.

The problem is apparently severe enough for two-thirds (66 per cent) of users to say they would be somewhat likely to switch to another social network.

The research suggests the qualities that make social networks successful – the wide variety of communication channels, the openness of the networks and the size of the audience – are powerful lures for spammers and hackers. The survey also suggests that:

• The majority (80 per cent) of social network users are at least somewhat concerned about spam, phishing and virus attacks on their social or professional network account
• Many users (37 per cent) have noticed an increase in the number of unwanted messages they have received in the last six months
• Nearly one in five users (17 percent) say the increase has been significant
• On average, users have reported receiving 64 spam “friend” invitations, messages or postings in the last 12 months

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

The future of the web has arrived. Earlier this month, internet startup Powerset revealed its Semantic Web search service - a way of searching that should provide users with a more satisfying experience.

In theory, the Semantic Web allows computers to search all the content on the web through the collaborative use of information.

In practice, Powerset is limited to searching Wikipedia. But this first version at least provides a taster of semantic-based searching, showing how users can search via conversational techniques rather than keywords.

More importantly, Powerset shows a significant step towards a more intuitive web experience. Such movement should be welcomed, especially as the concept of the Semantic Web has previously been more niche than mainstream.

Father of the web Tim Berners-Lee has been espousing its potential benefits for the best part of a decade. And some key businesseshave released semantic-like tools.

Back in the late 1990s, honorary professor of linguistics David Crystal spent three years analysing 100,000 words from the English dictionary and found an average of 2.5 meanings associated with each.

The research allowed his software firm, Crystal Semantics, to create search tools based on the relationship between words and the contexts in which they occur.

Such developments led Robin Mannings, university research programme manager at BT Exact’s Adastral Park research centre, to declare four years ago that the Semantic Web would give deeper meaning to data. “Part of the future is about trying to make computers less stupid, or less difficult to use,” he said.

So what will the future of the web be like? In truth, it is a bit disappointing. Being limited to Wikipedia searches does not necessarily provide more useful information than traditional search platforms such as Google.

The good news is that Powerset intends to expand the search technology to other areas in the coming months.

The bad news is that some IT experts are already re-tagging the Semantic Web as Web 3.0.

Semantic searching might provide a more satisfying web experience. But as ever, the hype that accompanies innovation is likely to prove stultifying.

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

There was recently an interesting debate about social technology, collaboration and sport on BT CIO JP Ranagaswami's blog. The debate concentrated on Ebbsfleet United FC - the club now owned by web-based venture MyFootballClub. Members are allowed to vote on a series of management issues, potentially including team selection and player transfers.

Participants at JP's blog seemed to think the experiment was 'changing the world for the better'. I responded - saying I disagreed. No-one commented. So, in what must be seen as huge slice of self-referential behaviour (quoting yourself on your own blog), here are my comments:

Ebbsfleet? Changing the world for the better? Frankly, I’m not so sure. Collaboration, community, interaction… Yeah, I can see that side of the Ebbsfleet ‘experiment’. But there’s also a much darker side.

So, participants are mailed with questions concerning the day-to-day running of the club. Fine. But the end point of the interaction has always been for fans to ‘help’ manager Liam Daish select the team. The group running the ‘experiment’ suggest it could be logistically difficult. How would you feel if a bunch of strangers told you how to do your job? Positive? Pleased? I doubt it.

Fans were recently asked if they would like to have an input on team selection - the majority said they would, in some form. Not exactly fair play, is it? I thought football was a sport, not a social software toy…

Further reading

• Father's day, starting fires and Aston Villa FC
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

"It can be quite difficult to find the perfect gift on father's day." So begins Prezzybox.com's press release about finding the right gift for your old man. The online firm suggests a couple of presents, which I'll run you through in a minute. But to be honest, the following is basically a memo to my one-and-a-half-year old daughter (and my wife, who will have to buy the gift).

Prezzybox - who according to the release, pride themselves on a wide range of gifts suitable for any occasion - suggest a bunch of stuff for dads:

"Created especially for dads with a passion for fast cars, the Personalised Stig Poster gives you the opportunity to out the biggest mystery on television. Who is the Stig? Is it your dad?"

Daughter, take note - I am not Stig. In fact, as you may have noticed, daddy doesn't even drive. What else is on offer?

• For dads who like to play, the micro pico z mx-1 extreme, is ideal. The world's smallest remote controlled helicopter which promises to drag the inner child out of any dad.
• Its no secret that Dads love fire and the urban safety firepit brings a fiery centrepiece to your garden, patio or decking. It can even double up as a barbecue to cook his steak on.

"It is no secret that Dads love fire" - which pyromaniac fathers are we talking about here?

Certainly not me and my dad. As for us, two season tickets for Aston Villa would certainly suffice. I'll buy one, my daughter/wife can buy the other...

Further reading

• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Red is probably not the key to technology success
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

You have a child who is about to make a decision that would dictate its quality of life for the next 40-or-so years. This is big news, particularly for readers who are unaware they have any kids. But bear with me on this one.

Because it is time for your real, or theoretical, flesh and blood to decide what they want to be when they grow up. We have all been there, of course. I wanted to be a professional footballer, but I was rubbish.

Some children are more grounded, and make the decision that they want to work in the IT industry.

You made a similar decision yourself once, probably when anything technological seemed to lead to the land of opportunity. But that well-worn path seems to have become increasingly desolate during the past few years.

Companies are struggling with the downturn, and their risk-averse actions increasingly stifle the development of innovative IT.

Such actions do not stop executives sticking their noses into technology, with agile IT managers  expected to respond quickly to line-of-business demands.

When they are not pushing their beaks into your department, executives are coming up with ideas for themselves based on consumer technologies.

And the pace of change in the information age means IT skills are often out of date before professionals are even certified, let alone employed.

The above conditions mean recommending a career in IT might appear like the equivalent of a life sentence at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

Not so, say IT professionals ­ – with 75 per cent of technology workers suggesting they would recommend a career in IT to a child, according to online recruitment specialist The IT Job Board.

Such positive souls should consider the government estimate that 60 per cent of the job titles that will one day be available to the UK’s 2008 primary school intake have yet to be created.

If that fact is not enough to blow your mind, think about how your own job could change.

By all means recommend a career as an IT professional, but today’s children are more likely to be tomorrow’s “Web 4.0 business collaboration executives”. Or something like that.

Further reading

• Forget dreams of working abroad, or in Cobol
• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by Powerpoint
• There is a depressing lack of innovation in UK IT
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

The technology department has traditionally been the heart of innovation within a business; new processes and systems are created by IT experts and trickled down to users as required.

However, over the past year or so the game has changed. UK chief information officers (CIOs) now face pressures from a number of significant directions: the finance department, the firm’s line-of business managers and the fast-developing Asian economies.

The financial director demands tight fiscal prudence and more IT leaders are choosing to outsource in-house technology operations.

At the same time, users need on-demand innovation, with CIOs required to create an agile technology process where the technology team listens to the business, rather than the other way round.

Finally, innovation in the UK is being challenged by the up-and-coming technology presence of China and India.

This month’s Computing Business looks at how IT leaders can build the organisation in the face of increasing fiscal prudence, fast-changing user requirements, and global research and development.

The good news suggests UK and other EU member states are showing signs of fighting back against the tidal wave of innovation and patenting in Asia.

At 9.1 per cent, the UK had the highest rate of growth in Europe for international patent filings last year, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

There is, however, much work to be done. Research from consultant Capgemini shows two thirds of CIOs believe IT is critical to business innovation, but only one out of four technology leaders felt their IT function is actually driving business innovation.

The survey suggests there is a risk IT departments will be spectators, rather than participants in the innovation-led evolution.

CIOs need to assert their presence and demonstrate how technology leadership ­ through best practice and operational excellence ­ is crucial to business innovation.

Also IT leaders will need to embrace social approaches to innovation because six out of ten new collaboration-related IT projects will incorporate suppliers, partners and customers by 2009, says analyst Gartner.

Creating a dominant­ but collaborative position on innovation will be no easy task. But the rewards for taking a strong stance are likely to be plentiful.

Further reading

• Growing risk of litigation threatens IT innovation
• The CIO must act now to prevent project lethargy
• How can the CIO gain respect for IT innovation?
• Making best use of Gartner's reports
• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Researcher Datamonitor says social networking increasingly provides "ad hoc unified communications for the general population". That's a nice way of looking at everything Web 2.0, I think.

People are choosing to communicate and receive communications through an ever-increasing array of collaborative devices and platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and RSS. Datamonitor's argument suggests consumers are using social networking services to maintain presence across a unified network - and that mobile phones will be the latest and greatest extension of such an effort.

The researcher says added proof came at the end of last week, as Vodafone acquired Danish company ZYB for 31.5m Euros - a firm that has developed a social networking and online management tool for backing up and sharing contact information. The deal represents further evidence of how vendors are attempting to facilitate the movement of social networking services from PCs to the mobile phone, says Ri Pierce-Grove, analyst at Datamonitor:

“Consumers will increasingly be able to move seamlessly between the PC and the mobile phone, keeping their friends and contacts aware of their movements as they choose. This has a number of positive consequences for providers like Vodafone. It increases consumers' use of data plans, and, potentially, provides a new source of revenue via advertising. Both mobile providers and social networking services are competing to find the right mix of platforms and partnerships in order to meet consumer demand.”

Expect similar deals soon. Back in February, analyst Informa Telecoms & Media released research that told users to expect mobile social networking to be a multi-billion business by 2012.

With more individuals logging on to social networks to join productivity, entertainment and social shopping communities, the analyst reported the growth in user registrations will continue at 30 to 50 per cent a year. Informa estimated there could be up to 23 per cent penetration of mobile social networks among users globally by 2012.

Further reading

• Mobile social networking is a community thing
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

"I love Charlie Brooker, but then doesn't everyone? I also hate people," is a great way to start an email, methinks.

A PR chum of mine emailed the above comment in response to my blog posting a couple of days ago; the one about The Guardian's Charlie Brooker - and strangers thinking you're an IT nerd. While agreeing that working in technology creates a bunch of unwelcome perceptions, she also had the following to say:

"You should try telling people you work in PR. To begin with they assume you lead an Ab-Fab-esque existence and will either be superior about what an airhead you must be, or will get over-excited at the prospect that you have some sort of incredibly glamorous, drug-fuelled existence. If you then tell them you work in technology PR you may in fact redress their initial assumptions, but not for the better. Instead you get the standard tech-inspiring dismissal."

Further reading

• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Red is probably not the key to technology success
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by powerpoint
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Who said Web 2.0 was a load of hot air? Certainly not Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has been busy setting up a new social technology awards programme.

The press release for the UK Catalyst Awards states that "the search is on" to find the community activists, social entrepreneurs, software developers and Web 2.0 technologists who are enabling individuals and neighbourhoods to connect with each other in a positive way. Cool, man. There are nine Catalyst awards up for grabs:

• The Shock for Good Award: for something that shocked people into doing something good
• The Revolutionary Award: for something that makes people in power more aware of the need for change
• The Self-Help Award: for something that helps the creator to help themselves
• The Chalk & Cheese Award: for something that brings two different groups of people together
• The David and Goliath Award: for something little that made a difference to a something big and powerful
• The Young Achiever Award: for someone under 25
• The Individual Hero Award: for an individual
• The Community Award: for a community association or group
• The Enterprise Award: for an innovative new technology solution developed by a business

There will also be a public vote to decide an added extra - the People’s Choice Award. According to the Catalyst web site, every entrant gets entered for the People's Choice award.

But be warned - entering some of the Award categories might be a challenge in itself. Take 'The Shock for Good Award: for something that shocked people into doing something good'. Shock for what? Sounds like a load of hot air to me, which is ironic seeing that we're talking about the hyped-up world of Web 2.0.

Then there's 'The David and Goliath Award: for something little that made a difference to a something big and powerful' - which also sounds a bit broad, in my opinion.

Maybe the categories are knowingly broad, given the context of fluff surrounding Web 2.0? But it could be interesting to see how social technology is rewarded across the selected areas. After all, more elucidation of how social technology can create collaborative benefits is no bad thing.

If you're keen to compete, the applications deadline is Monday 16 June 2008. If you want to find out more, visit: www.ukcatalystawards.com

Further reading

• How can you make money from social networking?
• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Everyone is doing it, but no-one is allowed to do it at work. What are we talking about? Social networking, the addictive habit of the UK masses. Researcher Datamonitor says Britain has the highest membership of social networking sites in Europe.

Continent-wide, usage is predicted to more than double from 41.7 million to 107.4 million. But at the same time, companies remain sceptical about the benefits of social software, with 32 per cent of firms now choosing to block social networking sites, according to ScanSafe.

Time to wake up, says analyst Gartner - who suggest retailers, in particular, need to be more open to social networking - possibly creating a social community to gather feedback, or creating a marketing presence on large social networks.

The analyst has created a top ten tips for retailers considering a social network, summarised below (for full list, visit Gartner).

1. There are Social Sites, and Then There are Social Platforms - Social sites can include features such as discussion forums and consumer reviews. A social platform is a large public site that enables users to do the same things as on a social site, but also creates a platform that encourages and eases the development of applications, widgets and mashups.
2. Social Network Sites Go Way Beyond MySpace and Facebook But Reconsolidation Has Started - Gartner estimates that an individual is able to participate in one to three social networks in any meaningful way. Because there are only so many social networks to participate in, consumers are starting to shift to the large centres of gravity (for example, MySpace and Facebook in North America). Analysts believe that the social network market has not yet settled, so retailers should be cautious with their investments on any one social network.
3. Social Networks Are Rich in Word-of-Mouth Discussions About Retailers and Products - Retailers should view social networks as a lead-generation channel just as they would search engines, review sites, and price comparison sites. Lead-generation vehicles range from banners, to search term bidding, to application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable social networks to access the retailers’ consumers.
4. Social Graphs Make Word-of-Mouth Relationships Known and Usable - Social graphs describe how friends are formally linked to each other on a social network. Word of mouth is effectively amplified by making social graphs usable by friends and business entities on a social network.
5. Viral Propagation is Boosted in Social Networking - Viral marketing is the most obvious route to take with viral propagation but must be closely monitored and managed. Communication between friends about something as simple as a pricing or promotion mistake on a Web site can propagate very quickly in social networks.
6. Applications for Social Networks are Easier to Build - The latest push in the social network world has been the focus on creating a platform that allows individuals and companies alike to build applications (sometimes called widgets) that are designed to run on the social network. Social platforms, especially Facebook, have been providing a platform and technical guidelines to make building these applications easier.
7. Social Networks Are a Huge Source of Consumer Data, but Retailers Cannot Easily Access It - Already some people are regretting having made available so much information available on social networks and access to this information will decrease further over time. However, access to some of this data can be gained by building applications that require members to agree to share some of their data in exchange for using the application.
8. Communities, Groups and Networks Can Be Created By Anyone and Are Impossible to Control - If a social network provides corporations too many capabilities in interacting with members (for example, advertising and selling), there is a risk that members will leave the network. Gartner advises retailers to build their social network presence on content produced by members and create applications that engage members in providing feedback in areas such as product design.
9. Social Networks Are Not Capable of Commerce, Yet - Gartner advises retailers against becoming an early adopter of commerce capabilities on social networks. This lessens the chances of being part of a movement that may drive away social network participants because of the perceived commercialisation of the social network.
10. Social Networks Are Merging Into the Real-Time World - For now this remains an emerging consumer practice, but the ability to access social networks from mobile phones is being promoted by the wireless carriers.

Gartner's tips range from the obvious (social networking is more than just Facebook and MySpace), to the more interesting (social networks are not yet capable of supporting commerce).

The analyst says retailers should stay away from commerce-based social networking - a rule of thumb that might apply to all sectors. I guess the follow-up question might be: "How can you commercialise a successful social network?" After all, the security issues are so significant that most individuals are not keen to give away valuable personal information.

The continuing consolidation - which Gartner refers to as reconsolidation (has there been a previous consolidation stage, then?) - of social networking sites might help provide some clarity. As individuals find useful platforms and begin to trust the methods of operation, more firms should be able to create commercial operations.

Well, that's the theory anyway. If not, expect to be drowned by more and more social networking "opportunities" - most of which offer few benefits and little in the way of commercial viability.

Further reading

• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

How can Web 2.0 work for business - and which social software tools will help CIOs collaborate? Computing Business posed the question to a collection of IT leaders in this month's 'Ask the experts' section.

With analyst Gartner suggesting half of global chief information officers (CIOs) are planning to invest in Web 2.0 technologies for the first time in 2008, the Computing Business panel thought leading-edge IT leaders should concentrate on conception, difference and collaboration:

Could you make better decisions if more people contributed what they privately know? Could you build a repository of high-value content from people who would give it for free? Could your dialogue with customers be richer and quicker? Stop looking at mash-up technology tool comparisons, start fermenting social business ideas.
Mark Raskino, research vice president and Gartner fellow

I find it difficult to get too excited about Web 2.0, however, because social networking is just another platform for communication. I am on Facebook, and occasionally I will be “poked” by my daughter ­ which often means she is running low on cash. But she will contact me through other ways ­ such as email and phone ­ so what is so new and different about social networking?
Fahri Zihni, director of ICT, Aston University

However, the benefit of deploying any Web 2.0 technologies depends on having a corporate culture that is flexible enough to embrace the tools. The open, collaborative, uncontrolled and unmediated nature of Web 2.0 working fits with some firms better than others. Any CIO hoping to choose the most valuable Web 2.0 technology must first understand where and how it would fit with their company’s culture.
Ollie Ross, director of research, The Corporate IT Forum

CIOs must accept that Web 2.0 technology is not a panacea; a wiki will not generate best-practice documentation and social networking will not force employee collaboration. Traditional concerns, such as participant incentives and corporate culture, still go a long way to determining success or failure.
Oliver Young, analyst, Forrester Research

The biggest opportunities are for smart IT leaders to identify new business opportunities using Web 2.0 technologies. Sites such as Epinions.com and e-Rewards.com provide useful customer feedback.
Dharmesh Mistry, chief technology and operations officer, edge IPK

The full 'Ask the experts' feature from May's Computing Business can be found here:
www.computingbusiness.co.uk/2214478

Further reading

• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Hold on to your routers, folks - everything on the web is changing (again). A press release from marketing firm All About Brands explains:

"Barely has Web 2.0 established itself than digital strategists are looking at how to make the next leap to Web 3.0 - and the victims of change will be the big publishers, some of whom may vanish with some rapidity."

Vanish with rapidity, eh? Sounds painful. I mean, vanishing is bad enough - but with rapidity? Yikes.

John Straw, digital strategist at All About Brands, basically says you ain't seen nothing yet: "With Web 3.0, everyone becomes a publisher of content with the nett result that many traditional publishing businesses simply being drowned by the crowd of amateur publishers."

He has a point, actually - search for something on the interweb and it is often difficult to see the useful wood from the dead trees; everyone has an opinion and everyone is search optimising their content.

Such developments mean traditional publishers are often fighting against a wave of free content. But most media outlets are attempting to surf the wave, so to speak.

Computing, for example, encourages industry experts to blog and for technology users to debate the content as part of a wider community. The Telegraph goes a step further, allowing readers to start a my.telegraph blog, join debates and bookmark articles. More features, says the web site, will be added soon.

Finding an easy and successful middle ground between editorial and reader content is no easy task. And All About Brands' John Straw refers to EPIC 2014/2015, Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson's dystopian vision for the future of the web and its effect on journalism.

Changes are undoubtedly afoot. But whether such changes will manifest as yet another "Web.0" is debatable. Surely everything is just part of a greater web that is continually evolving?

To paraphrase Larry David, we're talking about improvement, rather than innovation.

Further reading

• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish
• Web 2.0 technologies = five hours of depression

Want to subscribe to this blog? Click here for the options

Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels