Tuesday, December 11, 2007

A Social Media Oracle?

I must admit I don't know much about Oracle as a company. I know they have a database product, but apparently they do much more.

Blog
A while ago I started to follow the blog of Oracle Appslab. I picked up one of the posts on my radar and found it interesting enough to follow the blog. Sure enough, it has provided interesting reading. And it is from that blog I have picked up most of the things I mention below. Thus this blog have been my main interface towards Oracle as company, and has shaped my impression of Oracle. And that has been a positive experience.

But that's not all. Oracle seems to have their own blogosphere. Have a look at blogs.oracle.com - a long list of blogs both by Oracle employees and others blogging about Oracle stuff.

Appslab
The blog I started to follow is the voice of Oracle Appslab. If you read the first post from March this year you get a short introduction to the objectives. And quouting from oracleappslab.com:

Oracle AppsLab is a think-tank developed to drive adoption of new web patterns
and technologies across Oracle’s business and products. We’re a small group
dedicated to living and breathing Web 2.0.

Connect
One of the outcomes from Oracle Appslab seems to be something called Connect. An internal, Web 2.0-ish, social networking, thing. Read here for some part of the story. As this is an internal application I have not seen it in action, but I'd love to.

Mix
Mix, howver, is something I have tried. Mix is a community for all Oracle customers, where you can interact and discuss product features. read more about the Mix objectives here.

The Working Group
And a few days ago I noticed that Oracle have started The Working Group. A group to discuss how to drive Enterprise 2.0 change from the inside. Sound interesting, and a perhaps a more live-as-you-learn approach than the Blog Council? This is an initiative I will monitor closely, and try to participate.

OpenSocial?
The last item is OpenSocial. Oracle was part of the initial announcement, but it is not clear to me how Oracle will participate. And apparently it was not clear to Jake from Appslab either.

All in all, Oracle is definately more than just a maker of a database. I am especially impressed by the overall approach around Social Media. What I highlighted here is probably only a subset. So they might be moving towards a Social Media Oracle?

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2 Comments:

Blogger Jake said...

Thanks for your kinds words. We spend a lot time challenging and trying to change people's existing impressions of Oracle.

So, it's uniquely refreshing to see that you have only a positive experience with Oracle through our little blog.

Please keep following our progress and chip in your thoughts.

December 11, 2007 at 5:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Don't forget the Oracle Wiki (wiki.oracle.com), as well as the fact that Oracle ran an unconference in parallel with Oracle OpenWorld in November.

December 11, 2007 at 6:13 PM  

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