Say goodbye to e-mail – wikis are bringing the workplace together

I just ran into this story run by the Globe and Mail buried deep down in my bookmarks. It is an interesting take on how wikis are tending to replace email as a means of group communication and collaboration. As ScrumMaster, I’ve been running my sprints since February using wikis. I find that if used consistently, collaboratively and with discipline, by the entire group, they make for a powerful solution to:

1. Reduce time lost in reading, archiving and tracking emails (wikis provide for pull-style information access whereas I find email a solid push distraction)

2. Effectively track progress and ownership

3. Maintain transparency in the group as well as the organization

Erstwhile wiki hosting service JotSpot is now Google Sites. There are several others out there as well.

Excite and JotSpot founder Joe Kraus maintains an inspiring Google Site here.

Day 103 - To HobbieVille…

_Captain’s Log, StarDate 2007.10.18-17.04_

After yesterday’s meeting hangover, I actually started getting some work done today. In the evening, we went to the grocery store and I discovered HobbieVille… the number of scale models and R/C (radio controlled) models that they have is astounding. Cars, trucks, aircraft, boats, ships, submarines, trains… you name it, they have it. The trains reminded me of my Hornby Railways “OO” guage electric train set, something that I have since my first birthday. And it still works

I’m planning on giving away all my clothes to make space for all the scale models I want to take back with me. W00t!

I discovered something called “scrum” at work today, which could turn out to be a potentially life-changing event. Will write more about it later. I also discovered g00gl3 4 l33t haxx0rs (incidentally, google uses scrum, too).