Social networks like Facebook and Linked-In are amazing tools for creating and maintain connections while removing physical boundaries. My favorite social network is LinkedIn, because it provides a safe haven for professionals to connect. As I have found, some individuals leverage Linked-In purely as a marketing platform to push messaging; those people are short sighted. I have used Linked-In over the past 3 years as a way to harness the collective intelligence of colleagues and customers. Even more important, Linked-In has allowed me to keep in touch with the hundreds of people whom I have worked with over the years.

My organization, Centigon Solutions, has recently incorporated Linked-In as part of our process to expand our collective network. For example, inside of Salesforce.com we have a Linked-In widget where I can instantly see the profiles for any contact in our database. I was amazed to find that I was not connected with some of our beta users, product champions, and partners. As an individual, these are the creative, forward thinking people that I want to align myself with. As a business owner our most important asset outside of our company are champions who help us introduce Centigon Solutions products in the marketplace.

How do you harness social network sites?

We used to say that hardware is out-dated by time you get it set-up at home. Now mobile hardware is out-dated before it reaches the store shelf? This was true with the Samsung Galaxy Tablet and now with the Motorola Xoom tablet, that now ships missing a new high speed peripheral connector type called “Thunderbolt.” This technology developed by Intel and will possibly replace USB and Firewire. New Xoom customers must send their tablet back to be retrofitted with the new Thunderbolt connection. My biggest gripe about the Xoom is it does not ship with Flash. Announced last week, Flash will not be available for Xoom until a firmware update is released in a “few weeks.”

As competition heats up to catch up with Apple, it has become obvious how Apple’s control over its own hardware, software, and marketplace really does benefit consumers. So now I wait again for a full size, Flash enabled tablet.

When it comes to design, there is a natural gift that some have to make things look beautiful. When it comes to brand design, there is only one person on this earth whom I trust. Jeff Domke is a friend, trusted advisor, and award winning designer. For my organization, Centigon Solutions, Jeff’s branding guidelines helped build the DNA of how we present Centigon Solutions to the world. I wanted to plug our best kept secret as he is currently opening his doors up to new clients for a limited time. If your organization has been considering a re-brand, I would recommend reaching out to him quickly. jeff.domke@gmail.com

View Jeff’s portfolio site

Unfortunately we only sell software through electronic delivery, though I wanted to consider shipping product just because the boxes looked so beautiful!

I have been very quiet on my blog lately due to a recent product launch and ramp up on a variety of projects. We are awaiting the launch event for the next version of BusinessObjects Enterprise, which includes a new Xcelsius 2011 (Now SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards). You can expect plenty of information here about my experiences using the latest version of Xcelsius 2011, some of my favorite enhancements and as always new third party capabilities that we now use in projects.

Next week, I will be delivering a webinar about my experiences using Xcelsius in the enterprise and my discoveries working with Antivia XWIS. There are positive and negative connotations with Xcelsius in the enterprise, so my goal with this webinar is to share how I believe XWIS provides a path for success moving forward.

We are already almost to capacity, so make sure you sign up soon!.

SIGN UP

Click Here to view the official webinar description: