> Following Andrew Moreno and John O'Neill, I'd like to know whether
> groupware, like Lotus Notes, is anything more than a heap of electronic
> stickies? Can a corporate knowledge base consisting of a stream of
> consciousness be of any value unless validated in some manner? In any of
> today's working systems is there an example of a moderator who decides
> what information is valid? How does he do it?
"...heap of electronic stickies..." represents, oh, about
0.3% of Notes, in my estimation :-) You might say, as well,
"is an automobile anything more than a horse-and-carriage
that doesn't eat oats?"
Groupware includes group scheduling, message-reliant appli-
cations, video conferencing, structured dialog tools (like
GroupSystems, TeamTalk, Share), electronic whiteboards, and
much, much more.
Notes is not a discussion database. It is a unique kind of
development environment, aimed at coping with all the poorly
structured data in the world. We'd done a good job in the
industry at payrolls, and inventories, and accounting...but
handling file cabinets full of ideas, of creating, nurturing
and disbanding *ad hoc* teams with participants spread over
five continents? That is the space that Notes addresses.
If you're serious about enriching and enhancing the organi-
zation, you can't afford to ignore groupware (including
Notes, in particular). And, to be sure, it's not enough.
My consultancy exists because people buy the latest tech-
nology in hopes it will solve their problems, but they
forget that it's half "group-" and half "-ware."
Incidentally, Groupware '95 is in San Jose, California, next
week. The host of this list and this writer are on a panel,
and I know there are other lurkers in this list who will be
there too. There is huge intersection between LO and group-
ware.
--
Carol Anne Ogdin "If we fixed a hangnail the way our
Deep Woods Technology, Inc. government fixed the economy, we'd
CAOgdin @ DeepWoods.com slam a car door on it."
--Cullen Hightower