Ah, I am back from a much needed, non-technical vacation and ready to make a mark in 2009.  To that end, I started catching up on some recent tweets and found, as always, a rich assortment of Awesome.

1. First, @elsua called my attention to two essential reads by @stoweboyd, “Nature Or Nurture In Social Networking,” and @valdiskrebs, “So many people, So little time.” Both may change the way we think about social networking.  Boyd’s post is essentially a warning to associate with those you wish to emulate, and not with those you do not.  Seemingly obvious advice, but as a I walked through some of those I was following in Twitter, I confess to having removed a few. Krebs’ post crystalized some of my own fleeting thoughts, as will often happen when I see good data visualizations. First, when we strive for simple metrics of human behavior, we often cannot capture the real value we deliver through interaction.  Either the metrics are wrong, people are gaming them, or they simply do not tell the whole story. So, can we just stop trying for a bit, thus freeing up time to see if the value becomes more obvious to more people. (I mean I don’t remember anyone counting how many emails I sent or how long they were or who forwarded them when that was new tech.) Second, as I began to discover late last year, the number of people you follow and the value you gain are rarely related.  As in all networks, it is the quality of the nodes and relationships between them which delivers value, not merely the quantity of them.  Finally, keeping those you follow to <= 100 is sage advice.
2. @dhinchcliffe then referred me to a great “list of seven reasons why cloud computing works ‘in a tough economy’.” This was also something that’s been rattling around in my brain before the holidays. Though IT is still being looked at to reduce even more costs, in many enterprises with whom I work, it is no longer an answer of headcount reductions or outsourcing efforts. They have already gone down that particular path and trimmed the fat to the extent they are now cutting into muscle. IT must, therefore, begin to do things differently, more innovatively, more effectively, in order to continuously remove costs and still enable enterprise and customer capabilities. Cloud computing in many cases could be that answer. Coincidentally, I perused Carr’s blog and found his recent post, The Cloud 20.  A list of the companies he profiles in his new book showing the current breadth of services offered in the cloud.
3. Finally, as in my answer to @MelKirk’s depressed tweet, this always makes me giggle when I’m grumbly. I aim to whistle all through 2009, please join in! (if you’re easily offended, don’t watch this):

I’ve recently stumbled upon (no pun intended) a number of insightful best practices and tips centered around enterprise collaboration, community management and social networking in general as well as around specific technologies/sites.  What are yours?

• How Your LinkedIn Profile Is Connected To Your Company’s Success
  [Steve Patrizi]
• Twelve best practices for online customer communities
  [Dion Hinchcliffe]
• 2008 Tribalization of Business Study
  [Deloitte, Beeline Labs and Soc. for New Communications Research]
• Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise: McKinsey Global Survey Results
  [McKinsey & Co - see When Web 2.0 Works chapter - req'd reg]
• 13 Tips From My First Year Of Blogging
  [Dave Fleet]
• 42 Top Social Media Tips And Tools
  [Dave Fleet]
• Enterprise 2.0 Blueprint
  [Todd Stephens]
• Some Questions You Might Get Asked
  [Andrew McAfee]
• I Freed Myself From E-Mail’s Grip
  [New York Times - Luis Suarez - req'd reg]
• When Group-Think Poses as Collaboration
  [Roy Youngman]
• Some Suggestions for a “CIO 2.0″
  [Vaughan Merlyn]
• The Trade-Off For Transparency
  [ThreeMinds - Marta Strickland]