Since early 2003, when the first version of MySmartChannels was robust enough handle it, at MyST we started using using content channels for all sorts of knowledge capture... R&D notebooks, server administration notes, developer journals, technical knowledge bases, idea management, time tracking, contact management, project management, and so on. Over the years, as the company grew, we continued to automate more and more tasks, work flows, and policies. In most cases, the MyST Platform provided the central knowledge persistence layer and MySmartChannels the web application layer. With the Public (Free) MySmartChannels Service reaching "End-of-Life" status, I recently re-deployed our oldest internal project blogsite using the latest MyST Blogsite platform technology. The experience was truly pleasant on two distinct levels. First, in a techno-geeky sort of way, it reminded me of just how powerful and agile the MyST Platform really is. Second, in a pragmatic, chief knowledge officer sort of way, it reminded me that blogging inward is an excellent way to achieve knowledge continuity and reduce the costs of corporate amnesia. From the ground up, the MyST technology stack is a service oriented architecture (SOA) based on XML, XSL, and web services, and other standard. The pieces fit together so elegantly, that I was able to take nearly 200 channels of content, created by various people and processes over the past five years, and in about two hours, meld them together in a single, seamlessly integrated blogsite. And the new site is not just a hodge podge of linked together pages. It is a single, coherent information space--a SmartSpace--where content can be sliced and diced and navigated along countless axes. By virtue of the MyST Blogsite framework, the new site automatically inherits powerful capabilities, including: - a "What's New" channel roll-up view
- secure XML web feeds (e.g., RSS, Atom, OPML, MyST-ML, etc.)
- topic cloud, text search, and smart points
- integrated tag server (i.e., a private, Technorati-like service for this site)
- persistent search (e.g., the ability to subscribe to a dynamic search result)
- flexible and customizable archive views (e.g., monthly, weekly, seasonal, etc.)
- audio/video content integration
- sophisticated usage analytics and click tracking
- Microsoft Office smart tags integration
- e-mail publishing gateway (Mail2Channel)
Although the original content channels had been presented in a variety of different sites, each with their own look and feel, the new site presents the content consistently using the new MyST Project Blogsite "skin" (a presentation model in MyST platform terminology), thereby creating a consistent site branding that carries through everywhere--web browser, iPhone, RSS aggregator, etc. Once the new site was up and running, it was fun to peruse the site and wax nostalgically (an sometimes wince <g>) on the early days of MyST. But more importantly, the site represents a valuable knowledge asset that makes it easy for us to leverage past experience and accumulated know-how. |
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