Free, Objective Technology Insight
The practice of blogging has come full-bore to HR technology, where you can now access free, objective and often very useful knowledge and insight with nothing more than your Web browser.
By Bill Kutik
While researching "Hot New Technologies for HR" for a bonus session of that name for the HR Technology Conference
®
in just five weeks, I came across all sorts of innovative uses for HR of what used to be considered consumer technologies. They include using iPods and videogames for training and employee orientation.
Most famous was the use of blogging by
recruiter Heather Hamilton at Microsoft
to establish and grow relationships with potential candidates. In case you've never read one, a blog (from Web log) is what the Web was always supposed to be: personal and interactive, rather than corporate and passive.
A typical blog includes lots of personal remarks by the writer, interesting links they've found to other related material, and -- most importantly -- published responses from readers. The best ones become public online conversations about important issues. So what you're reading now is a column, not a blog, because it's one-way. But feel free to e-mail me.
As part of a conference session, just showing a blog seemed a little boring, so it didn't make the cut. But it made me realize that everyone interested in HR technology should know about some of the experts out there who are blogging: posting new thoughts nearly every day, reading and culling through a lot of published material you wish you had time to read. They could very well help you solve some of your most pressing technology problems.
Some vendors have jumped in and now pay an employee to run a blog, but since those are inevitably part of their marketing budget, I haven't included them.
Foremost among the ones to read is Jim Holincheck, the research vice president for HR applications at Gartner, the largest IT analyst firm. One of the most respected thought leaders in our industry, Jim will be on his seventh "Analyst Panel" at the HR Technology Conference
®
, Oct. 5. Gartner is a pricey subscription service, and Jim is obviously not giving away his published reports on his
BlogERP site
. But he does share his always useful thinking on various big topics of the day, reads voraciously, is very discerning about what he recommends and will link you directly to the best stuff he's found. Nothing beats having a free research assistant who knows as much as Jim.
Yankee Group analyst Jason Corsello is also not giving away his firm's reports online. But he is even more blunt and honest in his
The Human Capitalist blog
, than he is already justifiably famous for in his paid reports. He always has something interesting to say about the HR technology world. Or his own life within it.
The oldest blog in our industry,
Sysematic HR
, is anonymous. The blog's author (who works at a major HR consulting firm) doesn't hide behind it and will tell you his name and company if you e-mail him. Sometimes his honesty hurts.
Finally, try not to miss Vinnie Mirchandani, once a Gartner analyst in our space, and now a leading intellectual mercenary. His blog,
Deal Architect
, ranges far beyond HR, but he occasionally returns home to tell us how to do it. And he's often right.
HRE's Technology Columnist Bill Kutik is also co-chairman of the 9th Annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition
®
in Chicago, Oct. 4 through 6. Admissions discount expires on Sept. 15. Full program is available at
www.HRTechnologyConference.com
. He can be reached at
bkutik@earthlink.net
.
August 28, 2006 Copyright 2006© LRP Publications
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