Adam Gartenberg’s Blog

Grand Opening of new Raleigh Weight Watchers center this Saturday

Adam Gartenberg — Thu, 4 Dec 2008 17:31:29 -0400

I wanted to let my readers in the Raleigh/RTP area know that Weight Watchers is opening its first new center in Raleigh in over 35 years, and will be hosting a Grand Opening this Saturday, Dec. 6th from 10am to 6pm. The opening will be handled health fair style with free weigh ins, free registration, cooking demonstrations and prize giveaways.

The new Leesville Weight Watchers Center is located in the Leesville Town Centre shopping plaza at the corner of Leesville Rd. and Strickland Rd, right off 540.

> More: Leesville Town Centre Weight Watchers Meeting

(I know this is off topic from my usual posts, but my wife and her colleagues have been working very hard towards this, and I wanted to do my part to help spread the word!)

New Data Studio Releases

Adam Gartenberg — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 15:51:04 -0400

The folks over on the Data Studio team have been busy! Curt Cotner provides updates on yesterday's product announcements.

It's been less than 5 months since we announced our 1.2 releases of Data Studio, which I blogged about back in July.

Since then, we have talked to thousands of people, provided demonstrations to hundreds, and visited dozens of customers. People are starting to understand Data Studio and the value of Integrated Data Management better.

With this latest release, announced today, we are really targeting the DBA with enhancements across the portfolio to help DBAs improve application performance, security, manageability, and TCO. In this release, the enhancements are particularly targeting Java applications that access DB2 data, but you'll see we're starting to branch into .NET as well.

Yesterday's announcements include:

Please do head over to the Data Studio blog for more background on the announcements and highlights of what's new in these releases. Oh, and my favorite line from the blog post?

Just a head up. We're not done. We have more announcements coming soon!

Link: New Data Studio releases bring us one step closer to realizing the integrated data management vision

Please join me in welcoming Brian Leach to the blogosphere

Adam Gartenberg — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 14:25:57 -0400

Please join me in welcoming Brian Leach, an independent IBM U2 consultant and one of the inaugural Data Champions, to the blogosphere.

You can find Brian's blog here: Brian's MultiValue Blog. (And as I commented over there, of course all of his work on website(s), books and wiki would have been enough!)

Welcome, Brian!

(And as a reminder, if there's someone who has made a difference in how you do your job, nominate them to be a Data Champion. It's an easy yet very meaningful way of saying thank you!)

Presentation for tomorrow’s Blogging 101 Session

Adam Gartenberg — Wed, 3 Dec 2008 14:23:00 -0400

Here's the presentation for tomorrow's Blogging 101 session (12/4 at 11:00 AM ET). Please join me if you've been thinking about going from blog reader to blog author and want to learn more about what's involved!

Blogging 101 (12/04/2008)

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blogging social)

Google Calendar

iCal (ics file)

Location:
Toll free: 877-421-0030
Toll: 770-615-1247
Passcode: 937475
(Please leave a comment if you'd like international toll-free numbers)

Web Conference information:
http://www.sametimeunyte.com
Meeting ID: 24289

(Reminder: I've also had to move this month's Blogging 201 session to Friday, 12/12 at 11ET due to a conflict that I'll be writing more about shortly.)

"Head and shoulders above anything that Oracle had to offer"

Adam Gartenberg — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:48:36 -0400

Chris Eaton has also been blogging about the DB2 customer videos recently added to Channel DB2, and received this comment in response. I hope no one minds me excerpting it outright, as this unsolicited testimonial speaks both to the ease of use of moving from being an Oracle DBA to a DB2 DBA, and of the benefits he sees when it comes to working with large amounts of data.

I was an UNIX sysadmin and Oracle DBA before taking on the role of a DB2 DBA. The company I was working for at the time was bringing in a data warehouse application that ran on DB2 LUW. As you stated, the problem solving skills and the discipline are pretty much the same across the major RDBMSs. I'll admit that for the longest time I thought Oracle was better. I suppose that is because that was my "comfort zone" since that is where I started. But after I became more familiar with DB2 (which did not take long), I found that I preferred it over Oracle. The LOAD utility is head and shoulders above anything that Oracle had to offer for inputting large amounts of data in a short period of time.

> More

Free Training

Adam Gartenberg — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 09:28:20 -0400

Kate Dawson alerts us to a free training opportunity. Space is limited, but if you sign up soon, you can get attend Basics of the Data Studio Environment (3E060), which normally costs $199 USD, on Dec. 16 for free.

This is being done as a promotion for our Instructor-Led Online (ILO) training, which lets you get the same high-quality content and instructor interaction as an in-person course, but without any travel or associated expense.

On December 16, 2008 you can take an ILO Select course for free! Sign up for the Basics of the Data Studio Environment (3E060). This course normally costs $199 USD but is available on December 16 for free. I could go on and on about why you should sign up, but this is such a deal that no superlatives are required! Spaces are limited so sign up now!

See Kate's blog post for more details.

Reminder: Attend Blogging 101 Session this Thursday at 11 ET

Adam Gartenberg — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 13:24:22 -0400

Just a reminder that I'll be holding the next monthly Blogging 101 session this coming Thursday (12/4) at 11ET. Please join me if you've been thinking about going from blog reader to blog author and want to learn more about what's involved!

Google Calendar

iCal (ics file)

Blogging 101: Everything you wanted to know about blogging but were afraid to ask
Have you been thinking of starting a blog but aren't sure where to start?

This session is designed for anyone who might be interested in learning more about blogging and seeing whether it may be right for them. I'll also walk through some of the resources that can help you get started. (And trust me, the hardest part is taking that first step - it gets much easier from there!)

(I am also going to be holding Blogging 201 and Blogging 301 sessions on how to create a blog and tips for keeping the blog going.)

Date & Time:
Thursday December 04 - 11:00 AM ET

Location:
Toll free: 877-421-0030
Toll: 770-615-1247
Passcode: 937475
(Please leave a comment if you'd like international toll-free numbers)

Web Conference information:
http://www.sametimeunyte.com
Meeting ID: 24289

(One additional note: I've also had to move this month's Blogging 201 session to Friday, 12/12 at 11ET due to a conflict that I'll be writing more about shortly.)

Webcast for IBM Information Management Business Partners

Adam Gartenberg — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0400

Are you an IBM Business Partner who focuses on Information Management or WebSphere-based solutions? If so, you may want to join a Webcast this week to learn more about Lotus software (it's a lot more than just Notes) and how you can add them to your existing solutions.

Please see below for all the details:

Webcast: Expanding Your Business with the IBM Lotus Portfolio

Attentions ISVs! Join us for this brand new webcast and walk away with greater knowledge
of the IBM Lotus portfolio. Learn how you can grow your business by extending your existing
Information Management and WebSphere-based solutions with the latest in collaboration and
portal capabilities.

In this 1 hour session, we will explore how leading edge Lotus and WebSphere Portal offerings
can be a natural fit for you and your customers, enhance the value you provide, and drive
increased software and services revenue and profit for your company .

Don't miss this great opportunity to explore how you might further delight your customers and
leapfrog your competition in 2009.

Date: December 4, 2008
Time: 10:30 - 11:30 AM EST

Registration Link: https://www.ibm.com/events/swgeer/swgeer06.nsf/signin?openform&seminar=
kwobats7l4shg&lang=en

Note: Dial-in Number (including International) and Web Conference details available at
registration)

IBM Mashup Center receives VARBusiness 2008 Tech Innovator Award

Adam Gartenberg — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:25:32 -0400

Congratulations to the IBM Mashup Center team for receiving the VARBusiness 2008 Tech Innovator Award in the Enterprise Business Software category!

From an internal note sharing the news of the award:

IBM Mashup Center received the VARBusiness 2008 Tech Innovator Award for being the most innovative product in the category of Business Enterprise Software! The 2008 VARBusiness Tech Innovator Awards, held last week in San Jose, Calif., honored 14 technology vendors for their technological creativity in products launched over the past year. This award is particularly significant because IBM Mashup Center beat out all enterprise software entries to take home the prize for demonstrating significant innovation and business value. This award complements the five-star technical rating given to IBM Mashup Center by ChannelWeb in August 2008.

You can also read more about the award over on the Mix and Mash blog.

This has been a busy time for the Mashup team, too, as they launched IBM Mashup Center 1.1 last Friday. Nicole has all the details, including a "what's new" video, over on the Mashup blog.

Links:

New Optim video

Adam Gartenberg — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:22:15 -0400

The Optim team has put out a new video highlighting the need for, and benefits of, Optim's Integrated Data Management solutions. You can hear first-hand comments from IBM customers, Business Partners, and Analysts on why the explosion of data we're experience today makes these solutions more important than ever before.

IBM Customers, like Colgate-Palmolive discuss how Integrated Data Management solutions and Optim allows companies to manage and archive data in heterogeneous environments and mask confidential customer so that it can be used safely for application testing.

Link: IBM Optim Enterprise Data Management Solutions

Information Agenda viewing/reading for a holiday week

Adam Gartenberg — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:21:24 -0400

For those of us here in the US, this Thanksgiving week is often a slow one (at least for those of us not off for the holiday yet). I'm guessing that there are enough of us off that it lightens things up for many of you not in the US, too.

I find weeks like this are often the perfect time to catch up on some of my reading. If you find you've got a little spare time and want a good overview of the Information Agenda or IBM's Information on Demand strategy, may I suggest some reading or viewing material for you. (Registration is required for some of these links.)

Webcasts

Analyst Reports

Whitepapers

Presentation for Blogging 301 Session

Adam Gartenberg — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:05:59 -0400

For those who can't join me live, here's the presentation I'll be using during today's Blogging 301 session. I'll post a recording as soon as it's ready.

Blogging 301

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blogging database)

Blogging 301

Are you new to blogging and want some advice on what to write about? Or have you been at it for a while and need to make sure you keep your visitors (and yourself) engaged?

This session will provide tips and best practices (from myself and others) on how to keep things fresh and avoid blogging burnout. Please come prepared not only with questions, but with your own experience on how you've kept things going.

(Please see my Blogging 101 and Blogging 201 sessions if you are just getting started with Blogging.)

Date & Time:
Thursday November 20 - 11:00 AM

Location:
Call-in information:
Toll free: 877-421-0030
Toll: 770-615-1247
Passcode: 937475
(leave comment for int'l toll-free numbers)

Reminder: Attend the Blogging 301 Session this Thursday, 11:00 ET

Adam Gartenberg — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:28:12 -0400

Just a reminder - please join me this Thursday, 11/20, at 11:00am ET for the Blogging 301 Session.

If it makes it easier, you can add it to your Google Calendar or download an iCal file (courtesy of Anyvite, a new service I'm trying out. I'm also beta-testing the Anyvite widget over on the sidebar; thanks for the shout out, guys!)

Google Calendar

iCal (ics file)

Blogging 301

Location:
Call-in information:
Toll free: 877-421-0030
Toll: 770-615-1247
Passcode: 937475
(leave comment for int'l toll-free numbers)

Web Conference information:
http://www.sametimeunyte.com
Meeting ID: 24289

Marketing 101: Don’t make fun of your target market

Adam Gartenberg — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:35:39 -0400

It appears there's been a little brouhaha this weekend over a particularly misguided ad for Motrin that the folks at J&J's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit put out there. Since they seem to have already realized the error of their ways and have pulled the ad (and I do have to commend them for responding so quickly), I'm not going to go after them for the content of the ad.

Rather, I'm going to take this as a good opportunity to remind us all that when creating a marketing campaign, it's probably best NOT to make fun of and put down your target market! (If you haven't seen it, it was a campaign aimed at Moms and the pain that can be associated with wearing their babies... only it wasn't exactly coming across in a "we feel your pain" kind of way as much as a "we think you're silly for putting yourself through that in the first place" kind of way).

The sad thing is, this could have gone another way. Our family is big into baby wearing (between my wife and I, we must have at least a dozen slings, pouches, wraps, side carriers, backpacks, etc. - not to mention the one you can see Noah wearing here). And, yes, while wearing a baby can actually alleviate many of the aches and pains associated with carrying your kids, there can still be aches and pains associated with it. We might even represent a non-trivial segment of the market (not to mention representing someone at the beginning of what could be a lucrative lifetime value should they be able to lock us in now as a loyal customer.) Showing that they sympathize with what we go through could have gone a long way.

Oh - and the next time someone tries to question the business value of Twitter (or puts down your request for a listening strategy for your products), just point them here.

Links:

UKIUG in photos and content

Adam Gartenberg — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:54:18 -0400

Spokey Wheeler has posted a recap and a number of photos from this week's UKIUG event. It sounds like it was a very informative gathering (and looks like a fun place to have held an event).

Please head on over to his blog to read about a market update and product futures from Jerry Keesee, security and OAT from Jonathan Leffler, and Mach 11 from Jon Ritson.

And don't forget to visit here for the photos.

Links:
UKIUG 2008 -- The content!
UKIUG 2008 -- The photos!

Lotusphere session not accepted? How about an Un-Lotusphere?

Adam Gartenberg — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:56:42 -0400

Here's a random idea of the day:

My team and I have been working on some brainstorming around how to increase awareness and support for DB2 and Informix and the rest of our data management products. One of the ideas put forth by a colleague was "Find a way to leverage all of the good presentations rejected for IOD."

We all agreed this was an excellent idea and worth following up on, but more than that, seeing all of the acceptance (and regrettably some rejection) posts flying around PlanetLotus and Twitter this week makes me think this would be the perfect time for all of you in the Lotus community to jump on board with it, too. (It's just a hunch, but I'm guessing it'll be easier to get something going on this while abstracts and sessions ideas are still relatively fresh in people's minds, vs. at a time when the conference has already taken place.)

So here's my proposal: Hold an Un-Lotusphere with all of the sessions that didn't get accepted this year.

My guess is that many (if not most) of you who proposed sessions for Lotusphere either have a baseline presentation on the topic already put together, or have enough knowledge on the topic in your head that you could without too much difficulty put together a presentation of sufficient quality that it would be worth sharing and would add value for people who read it. (And one of the bonuses of not delivering the session live? You don't have to worry if you would have come in under or over a fixed time limit. Who cares if it's a 20-minute presentation and not a 60-minute presentation?)

Take your presentation, upload it to SlideShare, and tag it UnLotusphere2009. Just because there physically aren't enough rooms along the Boardwalk or hours in the day over one week, it shouldn't mean that others shouldn't be able to benefit from your expertise and experience.

What do you think? (And who wants to run with this... I've got to head back to my day job now. Anyone up for an Un-IOD? :-)

***Update - 11/14, 1:00pm ET - Please head and read Ben's post on this topic. He has some great suggestions regarding focusing this more on "supplemental" sessions rather than ones that didn't get accepted, and has created a post on IdeaJam, as well.***

Must See TV - 16 new videos on ChannelDB2

Adam Gartenberg — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:10:02 -0400

If you've been following PlanetDB2 like I have (or are a regular on ChannelDB2), you've likely seen a lot of videos coming through in the past few weeks. In fact, it actually looks like there have been 16 videos posted since the week of the IOD conference. While that's far too many to embed here, you can find them all in one place by heading over to ChannelDB2.

You'll find a wide range posted, ranging from captured clips from the IOD Keynotes to interviews with DB2 customers, advocates, and executives. Personally, what I found really compelling are the interviews.

For example, you can hear Paul Turpin from Wachovia explain how his company uses DB2.

In this clip, Bashir Khan explains why Dow Jones chose DB2.

And here you can find a number of perspectives about how easy it is to learn DB2

Other videos include IBM VP Curt Cotner discussing future trends, and IDUG president (and Data Champion) Julian Stuhler discussing DB2's ease of use, compression capabilities, and his experiences working with IDUG.

My thanks to Rav, Jenny, Linda and everyone else involved in filming, editing and posting these videos. And something tells me we're not done yet!

Link: ChannelDB2 - Videos

Some big Sametime news from VoiceCon: OCS interoperability

Adam Gartenberg — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:15:18 -0400

From my friends over on the Sametime Blog:

If you were at VoiceCon today and sat in on the UC Software-Based Architectures panel discussion, you heard IBM and Microsoft fulfill a promise we made earlier this year. We are currently testing interoperability between Lotus Sametime and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and plan to deliver it later this year.

> More

Join the "DB2 for z/OS Terabyte Club" and show your pride!

Adam Gartenberg — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:38:07 -0400

Willie Favero and Gary Crupi are starting a new club, and while I can't join, many of you probably can!

Tell everyone how you can control your cost, stay ecologically sound (think GREEN), and how you are "Best of Breed" at what you do. Show them your stripes, your green stripe that is. And it's so amazingly easy; you'll wonder why we hadn't thought of the idea years ago.

The membership rules for the "DB2 for z/OS Terabyte Club" are pretty simple, and the name says it all.

This could easily be the coolest club you have ever joined. Of course, the best part is that it has only one, very straightforward criterion to qualify for membership. You have to be running one terabyte or larger of raw data in a data warehouse (DW), operational data store (ODS), data mart (DM), reporting system, or any decision support system using DB2 for z/OS on System z.

That's it. See? I told you it was easy!

Please do read Willie's post for all the details and benefits of club membership, but I did want to point out there are opportunities for Silent Partners (e.g., companies that by policy don't want their names out there publicly) and Full Partners (companies willing to be on the record as club members).

Link: Willie Favero: Tell the world you use the mainframe; and you’re proud of it!!!!

Announcing regularly scheduled Blogging 101, 201, and 301 sessions

Adam Gartenberg — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:34:31 -0400

Have you been thinking of starting a blog? Or has someone (like yours truly) been strongly hinting that it might be a good idea for you to do so? Do you have a blog already but are interested in suggestions to keep things fresh and interesting?

I'm going to start holding regularly scheduled Blogging 101, 201 and 301 sessions for any of you who may be wondering about what the big deal with blogging is, who need help getting a blog set up, or who are just looking for best practices and new ideas for blogging.

I'll be holding the sessions the first, second and third Thursday of each month at 11:00 ET, and would welcome you to join me for the sessions that would be of interest to you. I'll aim to keep these informal and interactive, so feel free to come with questions, and you can always leave a comment here, find me on twitter, or drop me or a note beforehand if there is a particular topic or question you want to make sure I cover.

Details
Blogging 101: Everything you wanted to know about blogging but where afraid to ask
Blogging 201: The first step doesn't need to be the hardest... from blank-slate to blog in under an hour
Blogging 301: Blogging tips to keep your visitors (and yourself) engaged

I will make sure to record and post at least one version of each session. Slides will be posted prior to the session and shared live in the Web conference.

Upcoming Sessions:
Blogging 301 - Thurs, Nov 20, 11:00AM ET
Blogging 101 - Thurs, Dec 4, 11:00AM ET
Blogging 201 - Thurs, Dec 11, 11:00AM ET
Blogging 301 - Thurs, Dec 18, 11:00AM ET

Call-in information:
Toll free: 877-421-0030
Toll: 770-615-1247
Passcode: 937475
(Please leave me a comment or e-mail me for international toll-free numbers)

Web Conference information:
http://www.sametimeunyte.com
Meeting ID: 24289

(Please visit http://www.sametimeunyte.com prior to the meeting to test your browser.)