salesforce.com rolls out Chatter (easy now social media bandits, it’s only in the beta period)
at the november dreamforce conference, salesforce.com announced it’s attempt at jumping into the social media ‘ring’ with Salesforce Chatter - “a facebook for the enterprise”. today, salesforce.com rolled out the beta version of Chatter which will be tested on 100 companies before officially going live later this year. So, we’re all thinking the same thing, right? We’ve seen how many attempts of re-creating the Mark Zuckerberg phenomenon? And why should we believe this attempt to jump on the social networking bandwagon is any different? So here’s what makes Chatter unique: any pre-existing salesforce.com users, the program builds itself into the existing user platform. anyone currently using the Cloud concept (SalesCloud or ServiceCloud) will be able to incorporate chatter into their existing interface… seamlessly. it makes perfect sense for small and large businesses alike to take the facebook technology (which, let’s face it, we’re ALL addicted to) and have it integrated directly into your current crm system (duh?). I found the interface to be extremely user-friendly, albeit without the addicting apps (adios farmville addicts)
(click on the picture for a demo)
listen up, gmail users…
Google plans to add filtering components to Google Buzz.
After a recent intense user-testing was completed for various forms of Buzz - the results are in and according to valuable user feedback (you’re welcome) this product is far from being completed (duh?!?!). No one’s life is private anymore - that’s where we’re all at, right? Between tweets, status updates, away messages, bbm availability, etc - everyone know’s where we are, what we’re doing, who we’re with, and so on an so forth. For those of you being a bit too ‘public’ - I could personally do without the nightly dinner menu rundown or your daily trips to your local coffee establishment; along the same lines, no one probably cares when you are cleaning your dishes or taking your car to get it washed. Nonetheless, our status’ have become addicting and often in an uncontrollable way, especially to the many who search through the facebook newsfeed’s on an hourly basis. Google has realized that not all of our gmail contacts should be privileged to our minute-by-minute thoughts/actions and not everyone we’ve ever sent or received or been cc’d on correspondence with, is our ‘friend’ - hence the new filtering option need and the recent ‘off switch’ to the auto-following feature and auto-link to Reader and Picasa albums. social media enthusiasts are impressed, that goes without saying, but it needs some cleanup and organization from the currently cluttered feel as well as privacy preferred capability. A sneak peak for what’s to roll out next would be the ability to collapse comment threads as one of the priority tweeks. rest assured, google has confirmed the new functionality and platform will be rolled out shortly. what WILL they think of next?
CanGoogleHearMe.com introduced the beta version of BookLamp.org back in 2008 and the growth in the past 2 years alone has been quite impressive. This system will match it’s users to books based on a full-text analysis of the novel, like how Pandora matches music. BookLamp offers the capability to measure elements like action, dialog, and description - then graphs them for you scene-by-scene, and uses the end data to find other books that have similar writing style. Although the site has a lot of growing left to do before it’s more widely recognized as ‘valuable’, it does help bring aspiring authors (underdogs of the book world if you will) recognition and accolades.
mohr and mcpherson opens up new cafe this saturday - 2/13/10 - 460 harrison ave
harrison ave in the south end is known to many as the inspiring artist’s mecca of boston. mohr and mcpherson features a bi-level collage of eclectic and conservative pieces made right here in the city and then more exotic antiques, artifacts and decor scoped out from hidden cities around the globe. any nomadic souls searching for an ancient egyptian camel saddle? this saturday marks the opening of the new cafe on the lower level of the store! come cozy up with a latte and scone or a locally-made MEM TEA (Cambridge, MA). what makes this cafe stand out? i had the privilege of a sneak-preview tour yesterday and can assure you that this will become boston’s coziest little “coffee shop”. the sitting area of the cafe is comprised solely of mohr and mcpherson chairs, stools, tables and cushions; Local artists/decorators and store owners can use the elongated bamboo table in the center of the floor for weekly client meetings/discussions. my favorite perk? all residents that live above 460 harrison ave can simply throw on their slippers and take the elevator down to the first floor for a morning treat… talk about convenience (be on the lookout for an increase in rent!)
love south boston’s rush to save parking spaces… some space holders noticed on this morning’s commute (have i mentioned that it STILL has not started to snow??)
1. kitchen table
2. kitchen chairs
3. wheelchair
4. can of paint
5. dog bed
6. a 12 pack of bud light - empty bottles in the box
7. a pan/skillet - a nice one too!
8. pack-n-play
… I could go on but you get the idea…
quite an assortment for the cost conscious to the uber fancy love birds. some great packages around the city for you to indulge in alone or with your special someone. my favorite would be the ‘guys only’ gourmet cooking class… nothing gets my heart pounding more than delicious food (…and wine).
get on that, boyfriend. ;)
central bottle in cambridge.
looking for something ‘new’ to do and LOVE wine and gourmet food? central bottle is a one-of-a-kind wine shop with a heartwarming story of 4 restauranteurs who traveled to italy together, cooked amazing food and sipped on the country’s finest organic wines before returning to the Boston area and sharing their experience with the city. i had the privilege of attending a gourmet ‘guest chef’ class with ‘how2heroes’ yesterday evening; my favorite pairing for this dessert-focused event were the mini chocolate raspberry cupcakes accompanied by a quinta do noval ruby port wine. Some upcoming events that might have your taste buds dancing:
http://www.centralbottle.com/wine/thursday-wine-bar/wine-bar1
love brian andreas and his storypeople art. visit www.storypeople.com to browse brian’s prints, furniture and other unique gifts. great present for ANYONE. … hmmm? Valentine’s Day is coming up…
Seaport Square.
southie continues the climb ‘up’ as a new development project adds some flare and a facelift to the once industrial ‘eye sore’ of boston’s waterfront community. the seaport district, or should I say “South Boston Waterfront” (after virulent protests from natives and local politicans) - is set to undergo some major reconstructive surgery starting in 2010. gale international is spearheading a development plan (along with morgan stanley and ws development) which will overtake 23 acres of south boston real estate (currently being used as a 3700 space parking lot - goodbye eyesore). buy now southie devotees, investment opportunity is knocking… the seaport square community is a city in itself proposed as a massive 20-block, 20-building development with 2.65 million square feet of residential space, 1.5 million square feet of offices, 1.25 million square feet of retail stores and restaurants, a half-million square feet of hotels, and 600,000 square feet of cultural, arts, and educational use, including a proposed private Nations Academy School. rest assured green team - you can put away your picket signs!! the proposed plan is not only going to offer over 30,000 jobs but these ‘daily do gooders’ are spending an approximate $25 million on open space and landscaping. Some new ‘book n’ blanket’ options you can look forward to are:
Seaport Square Green, Seaport Hill, Courthouse Square, Seaport Blvd, Harbor Way & Autumn Lane.
how does the ‘older’ generation feel? well, who can help gentrification.
