IJ Solutions' Blog

2010-07-09T21:03:58Z

We're proud to announce that we've just launched several best in breed exam study guide systems based on the new TestBench platform - most recently, a fire fighter study guide system for people prepping to become police offices in the United states. You can check it out here: http://firefighterexamstudyguide.com/index.html

SportForge

2009-06-17T20:16:52Z

We're working rapidly towards launching a better way to manage Sport communities online. We're really excited about it, and the limited beta that we've been running has given us great insight into the kinds of problems that are facing provincial, local and national sporting organizations.

It turns out that they're not so different from companies struggling with the same problems - which makes the work we've done in Social Networking a pretty darned good match. We're going to change the way sport organizations are managed online. If you want to find out more stay tuned. If you're interested in access to the system while we're still in Beta, let us know.

Just want to be informed? Sign up for our newsletter for early info.

You shouldn't have to sacrifice your life in order to keep group communications flowing.

2008-09-27T00:36:44Z

The thought of taking a vacation should fill us with excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately for most organizational leaders today, vacations are accompanied by anxiety and dread. Time off would be great if you didn't return to a mad house of disorganized projects where communications are falling apart. Like it or not, keeping group communications flowing is usually a full time job and being in charge has become a curse. It's synonymous with an overflowing task list where most of your day is spent putting out fires and organizing work for other people.

How did we get here?

In an effort to make things faster, better, and more efficient, we made everything digital. While we succeeded in moving information around at lightening speed, the result is a complete mess of digital communications where conversations are disposable and information critical to group work is stuck in someone else's Inbox.

This is a huge problem. It's turning the joys of leadership into an oppressive task of communications management. Instead of making positive changes within your organization, everyone is just trying to survive. People work tirelessly. They contribute more hours of their week towards work and spend less time with family. Despite dedication and commitment, you don't seem to be able to get ahead. Frustration sets in and you start to doubt your ability to get things done.

Here's the good news. For years now we have been managing digital communications for group work using email simply because it's the one tool to which everyone has access. Fortunately, this is no longer true. High speed Internet is now common at work and at home. Within the social arena we are learning to use tools like Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Blogs, and wikis to connect, communicate, and do stuff more efficiently. Only in the workplace do we still do things the 'old way'. Despite the advantages these tools bring, getting these technologies into the workplace has been a challenge because these free tools are open to the general public. To make matters worse, you don't own the information you post in an environment like Facebook. For most work environments this represent far too much risk. So we use email.

Until now.

What if you could own your own online workspace? What if you could stop being the funnel through which all communications must flow. You'll be able to host group conversations, coordinate the evolution of working documents, and post shared files all within in your own private online environment. You'll be able to form groups. You'll be able set your teams free and watch as work gets done.

I invite you to stop doing the same tasks over and over again. Stop sending the same emails over and over again. Let's schedule an appointment so you can find out how a FlowThink workspace can put you back in the driver's seat where you can regain control of your life.

Work Together. Get Stuff Done.

2008-09-03T17:04:35Z

"People often misconstrue social networking as the latest technological fad. And while yes technology might be responsible for the features that exist, at its core it is much more a sociological phenomenon." - Kyle Arteaga and Rene Bonvanie, Serena Software

Social Networking within the work place.

The CIA, an organization with a global reputation for secrecy, uses a community wiki to collaborate both within their organization and with other intelligence agencies.
Serena Software, a company that did around $270 million in licensed revenue last year, is using Facebook as their Intranet.
An entire work force is graduating from high school and university. They understand social networking as a way of life rather than a new technological fad. They will not arrive at work next week and ignore the advantages these technologies provide.

A motivated and intelligent work force has arrived. They know something. You should listen.

Take a quick look around. Soak in the work force that surrounds you. The baby boomers are retiring and a new generation is taking their place. It has happened before and it will happen again. Instead of being frustrated with the 'inexperienced new hires' that need training, perhaps you should consider that they are in the process of trying to teach us a better way of working together online.

Smart, successful companies are listening to their work force and are investing in social networking technologies. They understand the value of providing every single intelligent and motivated individual within their organization with the opportunity to contribute the full breadth of their talents. If you didn't need their help then you wouldn't have hired them in the first place. With the right tools in place, your work force can share information that is critical to your success. They can work together, form relationships, and acquire a sense of ownership towards your company's mission.

Social Networking is changing the way we communicate. It creates cohesive groups that enjoy working together. Its impact is as dramatic as email and the telephone.

When you put all these facts about social networking together you will likely conclude, much the same as Forrester Research did in April of this year, that the Enterprise 2.0 industry is an emerging market that is on its way to $4.3 Billion by 2013.

A Better Way to Work Together

On 23 July 2008, IJ Solutions launched VoisinHQ. Over the past month IJ Solutions has solidified over 60 working relationships within our collaborative environment, with over 10 new working relationships forming each week.

Without a collaborative platform, how do you manage your working relationships? Can you maintain 20% growth?

Be part of the phenomenon!

Installation options:

Do-it-yourself: Download and install Voisin yourself, free.
Buy Hosted Voisin: Hosted Voisin is $5000 per year. Hosting, installation, setup, and support are all included.
Hire IJ Solutions: A team of collaboration consultants will guide you through the implementation process of a complete collaborative solution. Results are guaranteed. Contact IJ Solutions and strengthen your company's working relationships.

Facebook is NOT a proper work environment

2008-08-27T19:44:03Z

Facebook should be admired as the most significant application in social networking of this decade. It has touched millions of lives across the world and contributes countless working examples that fuels the global discussion about social networking.

With that said, Facebook is not an ideal work environment. It is a social one. Some of the reasons Facebook makes a bad work environment is

a large noisy crowd,
a lack of content ownership, and
a lack of collaborative tools that are instrumental in hosting effective collaboration.

Too many people. Facebook's goal is quantity.

As a social utility, Facebook's biggest advantage is having so many people in one place. It's the key element to its success. These same people also provide the most significant barrier to being an effective work environment. Who occupies your work environment matters. Friends and family have a drastic impact to the context of the conversations taking place and mixing family, friends, and co-workers doesn't often work. For many people Facebook is only a social environment and conversations about work aren't welcome.

And yet conversations about work do happen within Facebook. Then what?

Where are the collaborative tools?

A proper work environment supports work discussions by providing your team with collaborative tools beyond group discussion boards. A good example is a wiki which facilitates group notes and enables knowledge capture. In the absence of the these collaborative tools, the results of your work remain within group discussion boards that provide a poor level of permanence.

The other issue is that your work is permanently stored within a public utility that you don't own.

You wrote it, but it's not your content.

In a business setting, lack of content ownership is an important issue. The working conversations and collaborative documents being generated within today's digital work place are of enormous value.

Not only do you not own the environment where your information is being stored, your content isn't readily available when you need it. An effective search tool is a must when dealing with a work environment that is managing hundreds, if not thousands of group projects and discussions.

The trouble is, Facebook doesn't encourage you to mine through group notes to identify the trends that will impact your future. That level of access to network data represents a possible breach of trust amongst their users. Again, it's a social utility and not designed as a proper work environment.

But so what? Why does anyone care about working in Facebook?

The reason this issue receives so much attention is that work is being done in Facebook. Not only that, despite the limitations listed above Facebook has proven to be a better work environment than many employers are providing for their work force.

The question then becomes, "How do you enjoy the advantages of working in an environment like Facebook without experiencing the down sides?"

Collaborative platforms represent the ideal work environment.

While a collaborative platform incorporates the core concepts that are critical to Facebook's success at managing relationships, managing relationships isn't the goal.

The goal is to facilitate group work, capture knowledge and produce results. The primary difference being who these relationships are with and the results these relationships produce.

The production of tangible results is woven into the fabric of a collaborative platform because everything is designed to encourage work.

When you provide quality leadership to a dedicated group within a collaborative platform, success is guaranteed.