Archive by Author
Reduce my carbon emissions by how much?
Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by Laurika.
Law makers have it easy don’t they? In my mind I see a bunch of people sitting around a large oval table drinking coffee and eating biscuits, all the while discussing the pros and cons of different laws. And then, finally, with a show of hands vote a new Act or Bill into being. I [...]
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Save our Mother
Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Laurika.
We all know that Mother Earth is in trouble. You only need to open a newspaper or click on a news site and the term climate change stares back at you accusingly. While there are some that say it’s all just hype, most of us believe what we’re seeing: the diminishing polar ice cap, the [...]
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Z is for The End
Posted on 01. Jul, 2010 by Laurika.
I’m a little ambivalent about this final post of the A to Z series. My right side is sighing with relief because sticking to such a strict list has been a challenge to my creative impulses. My left side is weary because it was happy for the fall back on those days that I felt [...]
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Y is for Yardstick
Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by Laurika.
Measuring the success of collaboration can be a very subjective thing because there are often no clear monetary results or return on investments. One person’s success is another’s failure. So how do you measure a successful collaboration strategy? Firstly, forget the monetary results. Instead focus on issues like increased employee satisfaction, getting tasks done more [...]
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X is for eXcellence
Posted on 17. Jun, 2010 by Laurika.
Three reasons why collaboration is good for you and the world around you. Charles Leadbeater on Innovation and Collaboration In this deceptively casual talk, Charles Leadbeater weaves a tight argument that innovation isn’t just for professionals anymore. Passionate amateurs using new tools are creating products and paradigms that companies can’t. A researcher at the London [...]
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W is for FIFA World Cup
Posted on 11. Jun, 2010 by Laurika.
My brain is stuck on one thing today. No amount of arguing, negotiating or even begging with it seems to change that fact. The only thing W can stand for is The FIFA 2010 World Cup. As a South African it has more meaning to me than ever before and I hope you’ll forgive me [...]
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V is for Value
Posted on 08. Jun, 2010 by Laurika.
Old school geeks have been collaborating since the beginning of the internet, if not before. I’ve seen it in action. A tricky piece of code gets posted on a forum and hours later the answer appears. How amazing is that? The first time I saw this I thought: “What’s the catch?” Cynical I know, but [...]
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U is for Users
Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Laurika.
Collaboration cannot happen without users. That’s pretty obvious right? People need to get together to collaborate, either online or in person. More than that, people need to have a similar goal in mind for the whole thing to work. Users are finicky creatures. We’ve all heard about the statistic that says only about 1% of [...]
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Social business software for PR agencies
Posted on 26. May, 2010 by Laurika.
PR professionals have a tough job. They have to keep many people with different agendas happy. First, there’s the client who wants coverage, pages and pages of coverage – sometimes for very little cost and with very little news to share. Then there’s the journalist who wants hard hitting news. And finally, there is the [...]
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Benefits of social business software for marketing teams
Posted on 14. May, 2010 by Laurika.
In house marketing teams have to balance creativity with business expertise. On the one hand, they have to be accountable for their budgets, show their worth to the organisation and achieve return on the investment for a campaign. On the other hand, they deal with issues like sharing large creative files and working on different [...]
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The case for social business software in IT
Posted on 04. May, 2010 by Laurika.
I feel for IT departments, more specifically, the people working in IT departments. They are often seen as the baddies, the ones holding the stick. Users want to install all manner of software that they believe will help them do their jobs. And the poor IT department has to remove those insecure, un-licenced programmes. I [...]

