Brendon Schwartz Collaborating on SharePoint

You might have already heard this, but SharePoint Designer 2007 is now free to download and use.  In the future Expression Web will support both web sites and SharePoint sites all in one.

For more questions and answers: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/HA103607621033.aspx

To directly download SharePoint Designer go here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=baa3ad86-bfc1-4bd4-9812-d9e710d44f42

As much as I love the social tools that have been built over the last few years they do not replace the need to actually do in person networking.  I have found that some of my friends over the last 9 months have had to look for jobs.  Many of these people I never thought would be in that position, but it turns out they were.

When I first talk to someone that is looking for a job there are few bits of advice I ask them to do before I can do much to help them.

First I ask them to fill out two profiles online.  Linked.com and VisualCV.com.  I bet you are wondering why I do that.  The reason is that both of these profiles help promote yourself and helps you network.  Make sure you let people know what the links to these profiles are in your resume, they aren’t going to find them on their own!  Also pick profile names that are easy to remember like your name.

• Linkedin.com - allows you to put your resume online and connect with other people that you have worked with in the past.  This gives a potential company a way to see if anyone recommends you, what you job history is like and lets them find you.  If you let them find you and they are interested they are more willing to talk to you when they reach out to you.
• VisualCV.com – this might seem like something not needed, but this is a critical step in getting into the job search.  It provides a number of valuable results if done right.  The obvious result is that it provides a nice looking resume that is better than 90% of the word only ones out there.  If you can get a company to look at it and the content is good you will probably get a call.  The other thing it does, is make you think about your positive skills and accomplishments.  It is very hard to get it right the first time and will take a good bit of time if done right.

Next you should make a list of what type of job you want.  This would be jobs like Consulting, Small Business, Medium Business, Enterprise.  All of these different types of companies have needs, but you need to figure out what type of company fits your life/work style.  If you get it right you will love your job and work much harder.

Once you have selected your type of job, pick 5 companies that you would like to work for.  Go to their site and make sure you know about them.  Submit your resume directly to them on their site and follow up with them if that option is available.

Lastly get out and network with people.  When you are out ask them if they mind connecting with you on Linkedin.com.  This is your critical first step in them really looking at you and reviewing who you are so make sure it looks good.  Online tools have made it easy to sit back and not work as hard on our networking, but meeting someone in person will be much better than just trying to connect online.  Go to meetings on topics that are similar in interest to what you are doing and find the local community in the area for what you do.  Remember that the online tools are just tools, use them wisely and correctly and they will improve and help your life.  Use them poorly and the results will be the same.

I would have released this earlier but I was only able to give it a little bit of attention at night.  I have been tremendously busy working on a new Enterprise Search Engine for Community Server.  Both cool projects, both tons of fun to work on, but work comes first.

This Mashup Framework is meant as Enterprise option to Microsoft Popfly and uses the same schema as the Popfly blocks you have already written.  The differences are very small and only require that you write your code in .NET.  With this framework you have control over the code, where it runs and the security of the blocks that request information.

This Mashup Framework is built for enabling Enterprise Mashups that build on .NET applications.  This simple framework allows you to add a few lines of code to and load configuration elements to build your mashup.

Currently the items available with this download are:

• The Mashup Framework in DevCow.Mashup.dll
• A set of SampleBlocks and Config files to show some very simple possibilities.
• Two applications for testing the Framework

There are many other items I hope to add to the framework.  For now the Sample blocks, sample applications and code for both can be found on CodePlex.

http://www.codeplex.com/mashup

If you have ideas for more Mashup Blocks join the site or write your own.  I will have examples on how easy it is to write your own block soon.

I bet that you want to see what the Framework looks like and how you would write your own blocks. Here is a bit of sample code on how to run in a console application.

MashupManager mm = new MashupManager();

//Get the blocks from the mashup manager
MashupBlock bi1 = mm.GetBlock("NameDateArrayBlock2");
MashupBlock bi2 = mm.GetBlock("BirthdayBlock");

//Create a new mashup
Mashup myMashup = new Mashup();

//add a mashup connection
MashupBlockConnection conn = myMashup.AddConnection(bi1, "MyArray").AddConnection(bi2, "Birthday");

//Map the inputs to the correct parameters
conn.mappers.Add("date", new BlockMapper { Source = "NameDateArrayBlock2", Value = "Birthdate" });
conn.mappers.Add("name", new BlockMapper { Source = "NameDateArrayBlock2", Value = "FirstName" });

//execute the mashup
myMashup.output = Console.out;
myMashup.ExecuteMashup();

Are you interested to see how to build a social networking site in SharePoint 2007?  You are in luck, I will be presenting a web cast titled MSDN Webcast: "SharePoint for Internet Site Development-Enabling Social Networking (Level 200)" that will take place early in Jan 2009 with Matt Ranlett.  We were both authors on the upcoming book "Social Computing with Microsoft SharePoint 2007: Implementing Applications for SharePoint to Enable Collaboration and Interaction in the Enterprise".   Make sure to sign up for the event and any other SharePoint related web cast that you are interested in the new line of events being put on by Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/sharepointserver.aspx?tab=webcasts&id=liveall

Since we have been talking about Cloud Services, one major area is cloud storage.  Where to store your documents as well as all other related data requirements.  To get a review of the current offerings from the big players take a look at ScottW's blog post.  He does an amazing job talking about all of the options for these services.  You can also find .NET code releated samples to many of the services on his blog.

ScottW's blog post: Cloud Options - Amazon, Google, & Microsoft

Get a free white paper on the how to use Social Computing to be successful in the current economy.

http://telligent.com/resources/white-papers/increase-the-impact-of-your-digital-marketing-spend-in-a-down-economy-how-to-use-social-computing-to-succeed-in-2009-and-beyond/

To see a list of all the avaliable White Papers and Web Casts from Telligent visit http://telligent.com/resources/

You might be asking questions like:

• I thought you liked SharePoint, why is there all of this talk about Online Servcies or Cloud Services?
• SharePoint is something I install in an Enterprise why would I care about services for Consumers?
• No company in their right mind would use Online Services, so what gives?

The short story is that if you are looking to move to Enterprise 2.0 or any type of social computing applications you *SHOULD* care.  If you are one of the people that are saying Online Services or Cloud Services don't matter for an Enterprise, then it might be time to open your mind a little and make sure you understand that even SharePoint can be avaliable online today.  SharePoint is avaliable in two forms for businesses.

• Small Businesses can use: Microsoft Office Live Small Business and Microsoft Office Live Workspaces beta
• Larger Businesses can use: Microsoft Online Services

Although these are some of the services avaliable for SharePoint, the number of Online Services continues to grow.  These services are like building blocks for your organization to allow them to plug and play components.  There are still some important items to think about when building your architecture.  The major pieces are security and permissions.  These are still items you will need to think about and determine how to handle even on an Online Service.

The longer story about why I keep talking about Online/Cloud Services is because I think that a part of the services are a critical component for the future.  They might not be ubiquoustly used today, but I think some of the components will be a part of many enterprise organazations in the future.  The days of building silos of information and products is over and it is time to have a good integration story for todays products as well as the products of the future that we don't even know about.  Online/Cloud Services are really just an extension of the focuses of Enterprise 2.0, SharePoint, and ASP.NET.  (obviously this is the Microsoft services) 

FolderShare is finally being moved to the Live Family of Services similar to SkyDrive and Windows Live Mesh.  This time FolderShare will be called Windows Live Sync.  This is great to see everything moving into the cloud and into the Live Services.

The only problem you might find is that your shared libraries.  Make sure and copy them off before the move in December.

What I still don't know for sure is what services I prefer.  I use Windows Live SkyDrive the most for storing data, Live Mesh beta and FolderShare I have pushed off for a more robust client, specifically Microsoft Groove.  Some of the major problems with all of these for me is the lack of version support.  It does appear that FolderShare is going to have Recycle Bin.

So you probably are wondering what this has to do with SharePoint?  How awesome would it be to have a data storage location of Windows Live SkyDrive or a document library type of FolderShare (Windows Live Sync)?  These systems could connect your hard drive to the cloud and the cloud to your Enterprise applications such as SharePoint.  There are many products in the cloud now so we will see which ones come out on top.  It seems we now need Architects just for the cloud services and integration points.

If you are looking for place to store documents and collaborate on them with many people, Office Live Small Business might be the right place for you.  You can get email, document storage, and a web site without having to manage the server yourself.  As the name states it is for Small Business and there are other offerings for larger business, but this is a great place to start collaborating for your company.

In many hosted solutions it can be a pain for non technical users to download files, upload files, or modify items on a web site.  The non technical users would like to use their rich clients that they are familiar with.  Office Live Small Business has made this simple by letting you download a plug in to make it happen.

1. Start by navigating to your Office Live Small Business site, then navigate to Workspace.
2. You will notice that there is a link that looks like the following
   
   
   
3. Once you install the Office Live Update, Open Microsoft Word and create a document like you normally would.
4. When you are complete with the document, click the Microsoft Office Button and then click Save to Office Live 
   
    
   

Here is a link to the help documents if you need more information: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX102382801033.aspx

I am excited to announce that I have the opportunity to join the Telligent team to work on a new product called Community Server Evolution.  This product is going to allow me to follow my passion for social computing in the enterprise while still working with SharePoint (and ASP.NET).  I have been using and following the Telligent team for many years now and currently use both Community Server and Graffiti CMS for the community web sites I run.  I am so excited to join a product team again and build a product I believe will be the next generation of software.

I have had a great time working for Slalom Consulting working on some of the most challenging projects that SharePoint can offer for some of the largest companies in the world.  I will take my years of working with Fortune 500 companies to hopefully solve the problems that I have heard.

I have been quite working hard on a new book that will come out in February of next year called Social Computing with Microsoft SharePoint 2007. Wish me luck and look for more posts about Enterprise 2.0, Social Computing, and Community Server Evolution in the next few months as I finish the first deadline for the book and join Telligent next week.

About Telligent

Telligent is a leader in enterprise ready, secure, scalable and fully supported solutions for online communities and social networks. Telligent’s flagship offering, Community Server, provides a fully integrated platform utilizing social media to enhance customer relationships, brand engagement, increased ROI and provide channels for valuable customer insight and feedback. With its software solutions and extensive development and customization service offerings, Telligent empowers digital marketing and Enterprise 2.0 collaboration for many of the world’s largest brands. Clients include: Associated Press, Conde Nast, Dell, Electronic Arts, GlaxoSmithKline. Honda, Intel, Mazda, Microsoft, MSNBC, MySpace.com, National Geographic, NFL, Visa. For more information, visit Telligent.com

About Slalom Consulting

Slalom Consulting (www.slalom.com) is a national business and technology consulting firm, headquartered in Seattle. Following its motto, “Business is a Race. Win it.” Slalom’s services range from broad areas including program management, business process improvement, and software development, to specialized solutions such as CRM, ERP and Sarbanes-Oxley. Slalom is best known for its highly experienced, locally-based teams and consultants who consistently take client projects from strategy through successful implementation. In addition to Seattle, Slalom has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Portland, San Francisco and Southern California.