Getting a Handle on Bitcoin

Gavin Heaton

Founder
Disruptors Co

Gavin is the Founder of Disruptors Co, one of Australia’s leading independent strategy and innovation companies. Gavin advises firms on strategy, marketing, product development and innovation. He is also a member of the Orbits program, the influencer network of award winning analyst and advisory firm, Constellation Research. Gavin advises boards and leadership on innovation strategy, marketing, data-driven product development and corporate venturing. Gavin is on the board of Vibewire, a youth-led social enterprise based in Sydney, Australia and on the Technology Advisory Group for Good2Give – the workplace giving platform. ...

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I must admit to being more than a little intrigued by Bitcoin, the open source, peer-to-peer digital currency. In fact, anything with the words “open source, peer-to-peer and digital” in its description is likely to pique my interest. But as a currency, Bitcoin operates independently of central banks or a central organisation – which in times of sovereign debt crises adds to its attractiveness.

Very few of us go through the process of thinking through how our currencies actually work. We know enough to understand our local banking systems – and the way that they manage transactions, the money supply and so on – but Bitcoin operates in a completely different way. As a peer-to-peer currency, there is no centralised control. There is no gold standard. To purchase Bitcoins, you need an account with a Bitcoin exchange, like Mt. Gox, which requires a form of verification. But Mt. Gox is not a bank – and once you have purchased Bitcoins you need to store them in a wallet. You can then use those Bitcoins to buy and sell – to transact with others who trade in Bitcoins.

Sounds complicated, right? And it is. Thankfully Duncan Elms has put together a video explaining the way Bitcoins work. It goes some way to clarify some of the complexity that underlies this new, and growing digital currency.

But once you know all this, what will you do? Will you throw caution to the wind and setup a trading account? Will you use Bitcoins to buy and sell real and virtual world things? Or will you watch from afar?

Bitcoin Explained from Duncan Elms on Vimeo.

Dynamic Market Changes Necessitate New Customer Service Strategy

Constellation Orbits
Constellation Research, Inc.

Elizabeth is a well-recognized industry-leading analyst. She was previously Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research.  Prior to Constellation, Elizabeth spent eleven years at Forrester Research as vice president and principal analyst.  She has managed large consulting projects for business and government organizations and provides technical insight and guidance to business and government organizations on their communication issues. Prior to her role as an industry analyst with Communication Initiatives and Forrester Research, Elizabeth held senior management positions with IBM, ROLM and Siemens ICN where she was a senior manager for strategic planning and alliances. Expertise Elizabeth’s expertise includes in-depth knowledge of unified communications,…...

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Customer support organizations are scrambling to accommodate their changing customer behaviors and preferences.   The move to social media, mobile applications and online communities triggers customer service organizations to search for applications that deliver the same level of support on emerging channels as their traditional channels.  Without an actionable plan for accommodating customers equally across all channels, support organizations find their customers’ experience suffers.  This fragmented approach also causes integration issues, which often require extensive fees for professional services to bridge the legacy applications with the newer ones. 

Constellation Research Publishes Customer Service Strategy for a Disruptive World

Video Interview On Purposeful Collaboration

Alan Lepofsky

Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Alan Lepofsky - VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. With almost two decades of experience in the collaboration software industry, Lepofsky helps organizations improve the way their employees work together to get their jobs done. Lepofsky’s primary research area The Future of Work, focuses on: integrating collaboration and business processes (Purposeful Collaboration), structuring work via Social Task Management, leveraging analytics and digital assistants to work more productively, the strategic impact of mobile computing on business transformation, and measuring workforce culture based on Digital Proficiency instead of age. Twitter: @alanlepoLinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/alanlepo     , Title: Big IdeasIntelligent Collaboration: The Intersection of…...

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The following five minute video was recorded following my keynote on Purposeful Collaboration at Oracle CloudWorld Mumbai on April 2nd, 2013.

Note: the caption for the first question is incorrect, they asked "How has collaboration changed..." not "How has Constellation (where I work) changed..."

The Rise of Purposeful Collaboration: From Simply Sharing to Getting Work Done

Alan Lepofsky

Vice President & Principal Analyst
Constellation Research

Alan Lepofsky - VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. With almost two decades of experience in the collaboration software industry, Lepofsky helps organizations improve the way their employees work together to get their jobs done. Lepofsky’s primary research area The Future of Work, focuses on: integrating collaboration and business processes (Purposeful Collaboration), structuring work via Social Task Management, leveraging analytics and digital assistants to work more productively, the strategic impact of mobile computing on business transformation, and measuring workforce culture based on Digital Proficiency instead of age. Twitter: @alanlepoLinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/alanlepo     , Title: Big IdeasIntelligent Collaboration: The Intersection of…...

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The Rise of Purposeful Collaboration

From Simply Sharing to Getting Work Done

Collaboration tools enable people to discover and interact with, the content, colleagues and communities, that can help them get their jobs done.

Culture, Technology and Business Practices are evolving to adapt to todayâ??s more social working environment.

The first era of enterprise social was about collaborating more effectively by working more transparently and increasing participating via â??social softwareâ?.

With Purposeful Collaboration, â??socialâ? is built directly into the tools and business processes people use to get their jobs done.

Why Your Future Depends on Engaging with Customers and Employees

In the age of social media, effective customer and employee engagement is becoming an increasingly important business initiative. Companies that effectively engage their customers experience greater customer loyalty and repeated patronage. Companies that effectively engage their employees can expect greater employee satisfaction and productivity. However, as the number of social channels continues to grow, engagement becomes increasingly difficult as constant bombardment of these channels often leads to alienation and fatigue. 

Enter the 9 C's of Engagement. Employ the 9 C's of Engagement to connect with your customers and employees in an increasingly saturated social environment.

In this interview at SXSW 2013, R "Ray" Wang explains how companies should be using the 9 C's of Engagement. 

Why Your Future Depends on Engaging with Customers and Employees

In the age of social media, effective customer and employee engagement is becoming an increasingly important business initiative. Companies that effectively engage their customers experience greater customer loyalty and repeated patronage. Companies that effectively engage their employees can expect greater employee satisfaction and productivity. However, as the number of social channels continues to grow, engagement becomes increasingly difficult as constant bombardment of these channels often leads to alienation and fatigue. 

Meeting Tim Berners Lee

What is Enterprise Social?

“Enterprise social … an important method for enhancing communication, coordination and collaboration for business purposes.” – Gartner