June 22, 2005

The blog has moved   The present version of this blog will not be updated in the future.   Please visit Fred On Something at his new address at http://fgiasson.com/blog/   I hope that you will enjoy the new format and the future things I will write on it,   Salutations,     Frédérick 11:19:55 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

June 6, 2005

Using blogs to manage tacit knowledge in enterprises?     There are 2 types of knowledge in enterprises: explicit and tacit. The explicit knowledge is easily explained, documented and verbalized. This type of knowledge is easily handled by today knowledge management systems.   However, what is a tacit knowledge? This type of knowledge is much more subtle and hard to define, grab and communicate. We can call it the savoir-faire, the know-how, of employees. Normally, the organizations do not know the presence of, or take care of, this knowledge before that a worker possessing a lot of tacit knowledge stops working for them.   The goal of an organization will be to try to identify, to collect, to classify, to verbalize and to diffuse all the tacit knowledge present in the enterprise.   These personal experiences, that create the tacit knowledge, are hard to grab. How could we try to diffuse them, and crystallize them into the organization, if we have difficulties to define them?   The problematic of enterprises is to:   Find the knowledge Preserve it Valorize it Actualize it Manage it   The real problem is not to perform these tasks on explicit knowledge, but on the tacit knowledge. How could we find, preserve, valorize, actualize and manage the personal experiences of our workers? How to handle this precise experience, that savoir-faire, which makes the tacit knowledge so critical for our enterprise?   A possible answer: Blogs   I will take a small development team of 5 or 10 people to do my demonstration.   A way to try to crystallize the tacit knowledge is to diffuse it into the enterprise. The problem is that tacit knowledge is not really the knowledge that you will find on the knowledge base of the MSDN library. The tacit knowledge, as we described it, is composing of personal experiences. However, personal experiences could be anything: past working experiences, scholar experiences, personal experiences, etc.   Then, how could we take on this type knowledge? Is there a way?   I think so. A solution would be to implement a blogging philosophy into the working group. Take into account that there are 2 or 3 old school developers into the development team with 7 or 8 fresh graduated university students. The 2 or 3 old schools developers have experience, savoir-faire, and this is that knowledge we need to transmit to the 7 or 8 others.   The best way to transmit the tacit knowledge is probably by informal interactions. It is exactly what is behind the blogging philosophy: a formal interaction between a blogger and his readers. So, think about it. You would give 2 or 3 paid hours to your employees to blog into the internal blog system of the enterprise.  You tell them: wrote what you want. Wrote about your past experiences, wrote about your family, wrote about the way you resolve problems, wrote about anything.   These informal communications will give critical information to the enterprise. First of all, the old school developers will diffuse their tacit knowledge to the fresh university graduated students; our first goal is then reached, or at worse partially solved. In addition, the managers will know how their employees think and are. It will help them to manage them more effectively and find if something goes wrong with one of them or a whole working team. Depending on the blogging system they will use, they will be able to find knowledge, preserve it, valorize it, actualize it and manage it.   It is how I think that blogs could help enterprises to grab and diffuse their tacit knowledge: by implementing the blogging philosophy into their enterprise, into their working teams. Technorati Tags: [tacit] [knowledge] [management] [gtd] [blogs] [blogging] 5:07:49 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

June 2, 2005

Tagging for Getting Things Done What could be an application of tagging for me       Some days ago I was questioning myself about the utility of tagging everything we find. Today I found a good application of tags when I was reading Getting Things Done. There is what David Allen wrote in his explanation of "The Next Actions List(s)":     "[...] If you have only twenty or thirty of these, it may be fine to keep them all on one list labeled "Next Actions," which you'll review whenever you have any free time. For most of us, however, the number is more likely to be fifty to 150. In that case it makes sense to subdivide your "Next Actions" list into categories, such as "Calls" to make when you’re at a phone or "Project Head Questions" to be asked at your weekly briefing".     There is a good utility of tags: a way to dynamically categorize or multi-categorize resources.   ·        Resources. Anything; in this case the resources are items list. ·        Categorize. A way to classify a resource under a tag, a keyword or a folder name. ·        Multi-categorize. A way to classify a resource under multiple tags, keywords or folders names. ·        Dynamically. The system, and not the user, will put the resource in the good categorize(s)     GTD software that manages "Next Actions" lists would probably benefit by implementing a tagging system to handle this feature. The users' experience would be enhanced. They would only have to put some keywords to a "Next Action" and this "Next Action" would by classified automatically by the GTD system. This is, I think, the good way to use tags. However, I beg you not to share these tags over the Internet. I do not think that I really want to know what is the most popular "Next Action" that Internet users have to do today or yesterday.   However, it is just the perception I have of this tagging hype. Am I right or totally off the track? Technorati Tags: [tags] [tagging] [gtd] [organization] 12:11:30 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

May 16, 2005

The place of mind maps and traditional writing in the creative process     Some days ago I had a discussion with Niall about mind maps. We were talking about the fact that mind maps are far more flexible than linear notes. However, one method could be better than another depending of you and your needs. I mused about the place of mind maps and traditional writing in the creative process.     Vincent Ryan Ruggiero in his book The Art of Thinking describes the creative process in four stages:   1.      Searching for challenges ·        "The first stage of the creative process represents the habit of searching for challenges, not at one specific time, but constantly. Its importance is reflected in the fact that you can be creative only in response to these challenges that you perceive." 2.      Expressing the problem or issue ·        "The objective in this stage is to find the best expression of the problem or issue, the one that will yield the most helpful ideas "A problem properly stated," noted Henry Hazlitt, "is a partly solved". Because different expressions open different avenues of thought, it is best to consider as many expressions as possible. One of the most common mistakes made in addressing problems and issues is to see them from one perspective only and thus to close off many fruitful avenues of thought." 3.      Investigating the problem or issue ·        "The objective of this stage is to obtain the information necessary to deal effectively with the problem or issue. In some cases, this will mean merely searching your past experience and observation for appropriate material and bringing it to bear on the current problem. In others, it will mean obtaining new information through fresh experience and observation, interviews with knowledgeable people, or your own research." 4.      Producing idea ·        "The objective in this stage is to generate enough ideas to decide what action to take or what belief to embrace."     Now, what are the places of mind maps and traditional writing in these stages?   At stage one, the mind maps are well designated to answer to the need. Mind maps would be created each time we face a new challenge, each time we see a problems or an issue with a certain process. What is important to remember at that stage is that we need to constantly review the mind maps we have done, we need to find links between them. It is important to find these links because it will help us to view the problems or issues with a different eye.   At stage two, mind maps are also privileged. The links previously found will help us to aboard the problem or issue with many perspectives.    At stage three, mind maps always best fit the need. However, in this case what we like is the flexibility characteristic of mind maps: their ease updatability. As Niall said, they are much easier to update than linear notes. Then we can easily update old mind maps facts with new ones.   For the stage four, I will divide it in two sub-stages: (1) the act of producing many ideas and (2) the act of defining some of these ideas. In the first sub-stage, the mind maps or free writing always have their place. We do not need to bother us with clarity; the only things we need are ideas, many of them. However, we will eventually need to clarify them, to structure them for us and for other. We enter in a stage of writing for others. In this sub-stage, we try to refine some of our ideas. We need to put a light on some of them; we need them to be reviewed by our peers. In this process we will ask ourselves many questions. We will write and rewrite our most promising ideas. In this stage, the mind maps of these ideas are here to help us to make a plan for the writing. However, they are useless for their presentation to others. Mind maps are the expressions of our cognitive process but are worthless to others and lack depth. The traditional writing will structure, refine and deepens our ideas. It will make them clear and usable for their communication to others. Technorati Tags: [mindmaps] [notetaking] [creativity] [process] [writing] 1:55:33 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

April 21, 2005

How I use my Moleskine pocket diary A lightweight version of my Analog Blog concept as classification system for my personal pocket journal       What I like with the Moleskine pocket daily diary is his size and his number of pages (much more than the Moleskine pocket ruled notebook). He is just perfect to slip it into your coat's pockets; and have enough pages to be useful as a personal journal. When I bought it some months ago I first thought that I would use it as a pocket diary. I quickly realized that it would not be a good idea and that it will be much more useful as a pocket personal journal. Then I started to use it as an idea repository organized as a lightweight version of my analog blog concept that I developed some months ago.       Why do I opt for a lightweight version of my system to use with my Moleskine pocket diary?   Because the pocket diary is too small to efficiently implement the whole concept. I don't want to write my life in it; only ideas that come up in my mind and quotes that I found during my journeys. Given this, a lightweight version of the concept is all designated to fulfill my needs.     Why to use this classification system to organize my pocket personal journal? Because I want to rapidly and effectively organize my ideas. I could put my thoughts without any classification system. I could put my quotes here and there. I could put book excerpts at random. The problem with this is that if I search for something, I don't want to check every of the 300 pages before finding it. But I don't want to put as many time to organize my journal that it take to write it. It's why I adopted a lightweight version of the analog blog system.           The lightweight version has only 3 sections:   1.      The content pages. 2.      The categories pages (build as the index of the journal). 3.      The external references pages.         This is what looks like a typical page of my pocket personal journal. It's literally a repository of my ideas, my thoughts, quotes and book excerpts. There are only 5 features that I implemented in these content pages:             1.      The page number. 2.      A possible reference to an internal ( ->[x;y] ) resource. 3.      A possible reference to an external ( [x;y]-> ) resource (see the section bellow for more information about this feature). 4.      A date (in this case I used the date of the original Moleskine pocket diary; but you can explicitly write it near your entries). 5.      Possibly Meta Data words at the top corner of your pages.          The categories page(s) is essential. The idea and his functioning is the same as in the analog blog system. You can see it as a dynamic index. You can create your categories when you start your personal journal; you can also create them when you need it. When you'll put a new entry in you journal that have the same semantic meaning as a category, then you'll only have to add his page number at the end of the category's line.   These categories pages will be in the first pages of your journal. Remember, this is a sort of index or table of content. When you'll need to find something, or check what you already thought about something, chec'k this section to quickly find what you want. It has the same utility as the Synopsis of Categories of the Roget's International Thesaurus. You can easily use it as a source of inspiration; a place where ideas emerge.   [Category's name] ·        This is the name of a category. Use words with clear and rich semantic meaning to name your categories.                         [x - y - z] ·        This is the pages of your journal where you can find entries with the same semantic meaning.     I put the external references pages at the beginning of my journal (some pages after my categories pages). You can also put it at the end pages without any problems. This is the place where you'll put the external resources references referred by your journal's entries. In my case, it's usually a reference to a book where I wrote an excerpt of it in my journal. It could also be an internet URL, an address, a phone number, etc. The purpose of this section is to put references to resources that you don't want to rewrite every time you refer to them in your journal.   [x : y] ·        This is the reference's identifier. X is the number, the ID, of the external resource's reference. Y is the page where the external reference is viewable. Then if you check the page content excerpt above you’ll see: [3;6]-> . When I read this in one of my content pages, I know that if I'm checking at the page 6 of my journal, I'll find the external reference #3 that refer to a resource (in this case it's a book called "Page after Page" that refers this journal's entry).           I used this lightweight version of the analog blog system since some months and I'm really satisfied by it. It's simple (much more than the original version) and effective (I use it often to find ideas to write about on this blog).   The whole aim of this is system to save time while using my journal as a personal source of knowledge. The axiom is that if I can't find the information I want; it's that I don't have the information. The personal journal concept is a way to backup and/or create the knowledge, the information; and this classification system is the way to find this knowledge, this information. The union of the two concepts is the foundation of my axiom.     Technorati Tags: [moleskine] [journal] [diary] [organization] [notebook] [notetaking] 10:10:43 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

April 5, 2005

Mind maps to handle the non-linearity of the brain     Our memory is associative. You'll remember complete scenes when you will ear a sound, see an image or smell an odor. Our brain doesn't work linearly. It does multi-tasking, link ideas, thoughts and sensations one between the other.   Why don't we try to take these characteristics into account when we are taking notes, doing brainstorming or just trying to clarify our thoughts? This is exactly what Mind Maps try to handle: the non linearity of our brain's processing.   What are mind maps? There is a Mind Map I done to write this article:         It's easy to write a text based on these keywords and the links they have one between the other. There is my presentation of what are a Min Maps, how it works and their benefits compared to traditional linear note taking.               Mind Maps are based on the fact that the brain doesn't process things linearly and that our memory is mainly associative. They take these characteristics into account to help us to structure a subject. By this method, it will be easier to remember what the subject was about with a simple look at the Mind Map.   This is a new note taking method. It will present, consolidate or summaries information on a selected subject. The system will relate each idea between them. These links will show you the relation, semantic or symbolism, between your ideas. This note taking method will help you to clarify your thoughts, in your brain storming and will show you new facts. It's much easier to incorporate new ideas to these schemas than in a linear text.   How these mind maps are created? It's firstly the result of your personal style. It's recommended to personalize your Mind Maps because it reflects your thinking. They are composed of colors, images, keywords and lines. To express the non-linearity of the method, you should put the main subject of the Mind Map in the center of your page. To know how to build these Mind Maps, I suggest you to visit these web sites: here, here and there.   What are the benefits of using Mind Maps? It helps you in your creativity process. It will help you to see things with another point of view. Why is this working? Because it take into account the non-linearity of your brain. It takes into account that your memory is associative by only using keywords, images and colors. The whole process will made your notes much easier to review and remember.                 Why I talked about Mind Maps? I know this method since a while but I was reading this article and I found the idea to handle the non linearity of the brain and memory with such a system really interesting and I wanted to write about this idea. Technorati Tags: [mindmap] [brain] [notebook] [writing] [idea] [creativity] 3:15:37 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

February 4, 2005

Create your words repository Use Word to keep track of your words search       I'm using Word as a translation tool since some months. Why? Because it's easy, powerful and it's integrated in the environment I'm using to write these posts. With Word 2003, Microsoft comes up with an interesting language side bar. If you select the "All Reference books" and search for a term, you'll have answers from many, more than useful, works. Encarta English dictionary, English thesaurus, the French translation and French thesaurus (dependent the translation language you selected). His that not perfect? In a single click I have access to a word that I didn't know with his definition, his synonyms and his translation. Okay, there is why I'm using this tool.   I also use it as a words repository. A word repository is especially interesting when you are learning a new language. It's a place where you'll put new words that you learn with his definition and translation. What make Word interesting as a word repository is that you only have to create a Word document call "word repository.doc". Then when you are searching for the translation of a word that you don't understand, you open this file, you search for the word's translation in the translation tool; you copy the definition and the thesaurus entry and paste it into your document and save it. Then you have, in few seconds, keep track of your new learned word. Your words repository is now started.   What's the purpose of a word repository? It's a way to keep track of new learned words. It's a place where you'll be able to easily find words that you already searched for. The problem with languages is that this is not because you use a work once that you know this word. You need to use it few times in different contexts to master it. It's where a word repository is interesting. You can easily get tracks of your own words and rapidly search through it. You also can enhance it with an excerpt of where and how you are using it.   I said that it was really useful when you are learning a new language; but keep in mind that it also can be really useful with your native tongue. Use it to refine his writing and speaking; to master his subtleties.     Technorati Tags: [writing] [words] [language] [translation] 9:23:15 AM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

January 30, 2005

Introduction to XML concepts A way to share knowledge and information                   This is a small post on the concept behind XML. This is a non technical article that can be read by anybody interesting in information sharing technologies.               What is XML? It's a language used to organize information. Any written information can be organized with XML. It can be a documents or an article; it can be a database, etc.  The whole concept resides in the fact that XML detach the content of a document with the way to display it on a specific support (on a screen or a printer for example). Then information and information display become two completely separated things. XML is a portability system for data, independent of the display system. This is the equivalent of Java for data description.   By this fact, the exchanges of data between two completely different systems become really ease. The source of information doesn't need to care of the way the destination will display the information. They only need to care about the way they will ship the information; how they will package it to be understandable by the destination. This concept of information sharing language is used by many systems to communicate one between the other.   We'll take Amazon as an example. There are 4 agents that share information in the system. There is the client that will buy products on Amazon. There is Amazon, the seller, who needs to buy stock at his supplier. Then the supplier needs to buy his stock to the editors. All these agents need to communicate with information of all kinds. Many types of systems, using different technologies, are implicated in the process of a single transaction. We need to be sure that the destination agent will see the same thing that you see and have the same information. Without a technology like XML it would be virtually impossible to be sure of this fact. But with it, you simply don't care of the information's display and you only develop a DTD (Document Type Definition) with the other agents you interact with.   Another example that you use everyday if you are reading this post is RSS feeds. They are XML documents generated by software that need to share some type of information. All RSS feeds have the same DTD. Then when you receive the information, you can display it the way you wish the view it. You can display it on your MyMSN homepage, in your browser. You also can display it on a stand alone feed reader like Omea Reader or FeedDemon.   Finally the main and only concept of XML is really simple and can be written in a single sentence: XML detach the content with his display. This simple sentence of 7 words had changed the way system communicate one between the other.       4:42:38 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

January 23, 2005

Analog Blog Organize your Moleskine notebook as a blog                 This January I was introduced to Moleskine notebooks. It seems that there is a little frenzy, on the blogsphere, on the subject, these days. I was recently searching for a good, beautiful and classic looking notebook for my next trip. I found it in the Moleskines.               When I found a discussion on it on the blogsphere I followed references and discussions. There is literally a small and beautiful community of bloggers that are passionate by them. They transmitted me this passion for Moleskines. You can find many posts on Moleskine hacks to optimize it's usage [1][2][3][4][5].               Personally I was interesting to try to use some of these ideas, enhancing them, and use my Moleskines as an analog blog. Okay, it can seem crazy, it can seem really, really geek (and it is) but I'm curious to found if it can be effective and practical.               We first need to remember the main blog's characteristics:   ·        A blog is a sort of electronic personal journal that you use to put thoughts in and get comments by the community. (Have in mind that this post is about analog blogs. Then this is a paper personal journal and you'll not get comments from the community). ·        A comment system is implemented for each post. (In our case, it will be your own comments on past posts. The concept will be strengthened if you suffer of multiple-personality). ·        The posts on the blog are usually classified in categories. ·        Blogs sometimes refer to external resources. ·        Blogs usually reference internal thoughts.     Is that not beautiful? Okay, there is how you can see it on paper:                             Figure 1   [Date : Location] ·        This is where you enter the date of your post's entry. This is probably one of the most important feature. You'll be happy to have it in 20 years. With it, you'll be able to track the evolution of your thoughts. After you can optionally add the location where you write the post. It's a way to help you remember the circumstances of your writing. The mind work this way; with a simple smell, image or word you can remember a whole situation.   [Title] ·        I personally think that the title is really important. It can help you to know, in a single phrase, what the post is about. It helps a lot while skimming the pages of your analog blog.   [Meta Data] ·        This is a good idea of Merlin Mann. You can put some words that act like the title, help you rapidly remember the object of your post.   [Comments Pages References]   ·        This is the place where you put the page numbers of the comments you done on the post. I'll come back to this feature later.   [Category] ·        This is the category name to which your posts belong to.   [x : y]  ·        This is the permalink of your post. You'll use these numbers to refer to this post. X is the number of the book where the post is present. Y is the current page of this book.   *Note: In the whole post I take in count that you are a Moleskine freak. So every reference has 2 numbers, one for the book and the other for the page. So if you have only one and don't think about buying another one then you can erase the book number reference.   [v : w] ·        This is an optional reference. It refers to where the post continues if he is made on more than one page.   [a : b]-> ·        This is a link on an external reference. Basically an external reference is a reference that is not in your analog blog. I'll come back later on external references. A is the number of the book where the external references link page is and B is the page of the book where the external reference is viewable.   ->[c : d] ·        This is a link on an internal reference. An internal reference is another blog entry in your analog blog. It can be in the current book or another one. C is the number of the book where the internal references page is and D is the page of the book where the post is viewable.                                   Figure 2   The categories page is essential and is the second main feature after the posts' pages. You can see it as a dynamic index. You can create your categories when you start your analog blog; but you also can create them when you need it. When you'll create a new post that enters in one of these categories, you'll dynamically add it on this page. This page will be the first or one of the first of your book. Remember, this is a sort of index or table of content.   [CategoryX] ·        This is the name of a category. This is the same name that will be writing in the [category] section of the Figure 1.                         [1 ; 2-4 ; 8 ; 12] ·        This is the pages of the current book where you have posts that belong to this category.                           Figure 3   This is the page where you'll enter your comments on your posts. For this special page, I suggest you to begin at the next to last page. When the next to last page is full, continue to enter you comments on the previous one. Why working in reverse order? You think that all will be upside-down? You are right, it will be. But you will always be sure that you'll not lack space for comments as long as your Moleskine is not full. There are two problems that will rise if you say, when you'll start your analog blog, that you'll take the last 20 pages for you comments. First, it's possible that your posts entries reach the start of your comments and that you have only use 10 pages of your 20 dedicated ones to comment. You can also use the 20 comment pages and you don't have any place left to continue adding comments. It's why I suggest proceeding like this.   [e : f] ·        This is the back reference to the post you comment. E is the number of the book where the commented post is situated and F is the page of this book where the comment is viewable.                           Figure 4 The external reference page will be you last one (or last few ones). This is the place where you'll put the external references referred by posts in the book. These external references can be an internet URL, an address, a phone number, etc. The purpose of this section is to put references that you don't want to rewrite every time you refer to them in the analog blog's current book.   [g : h] ·        This is the reference number. G is the number of the current book. H is the page where the external reference is viewable. As you can see, you can use this reference in another book.           Finally you have your own analog blog ready. Now I just hope that this whole thing is effective and usable. Only the time will tell me it. I'll probably not see the benefit of it in the first days, but month after month after month I hope that I'll see them.   Okay, okay, I'll do the security review of the analog blog system. It's 100% safe over the internet as long as your Moleskine is not open and in the view of a broadcasting web camera. And it's physically secure as long as he is on me and that I'm not assaulted with a .45.   So, this is a little post that I wanted to write. Share your thoughts, comments and additions by commenting it. I'm sure that the "system" is not perfect and it's why I hope you’ll comment it.   ----- [Update: 21 April 2005] I published a lightweight version of the system for Moleskine Pocket Daily Diary (or notebook) [Update: 29 January 2005] I published a reaction and clarification post on the subject of analog blogs. 7:17:00 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]

January 22, 2005

Personal Wiki One of the best ways to create your daily journal.                 My mind was at another place this week, it's why I lacked posting on security. So I experimented a new really cool tool (okay, I'm possibly a big out to date).               Do you know what a Wiki is? There is the definition. It can appear as another blog like way to archive knowledge and distribute it. It can seem another fantasy of the open source/open mind society. It can look like the product of the cool techno wave with a urban name. Yes, this is probably all of them but there is a reason why it's getting really popular. Basically it's an elegant and ease way to make a public repository of knowledge on one or many subjects. The main features are: (1) the possibility, to any visitor, to edit and add their knowledge on a subject and (2) the possibility to link WikiWords to reference knowledge. The editing will be logged and other visitors will have the possibility to check what had been modified, when and by whom. If everybody agrees on what is written then the text will remain as long as another person add his own knowledge to the community's.               I searched and tested many Personal Wiki programs for my own purposes. I wanted to know if this technology was interesting for personal uses. Web based Wikis are really powerful and full of features. The problem is that you need a web server with a database and a server side programming language (like PHP or ASP depending of the Wiki program). The installation is long and sometimes painful. You need to know what to do and how it works. So I started to search for an ease to use and install Wiki program for my personal purposes. I tested some but I found exactly what I needed with WxWikiServer. Basically it's a home made web server. The only thing that you need to do is running the program and connects to it with your web browser. After you downloaded it, it takes about 2 minutes to begin to use WxWikiServer as you daily journal.               Why a Wiki as a daily journal? Because it's a simple and quick way to organize your thoughts of the moment. You only have to start you browser and type. You can easily search your diary. You can link every of your thought one between another with a simple click. All additions and changes you made in your diary are logged, over time. You can visualize the changes of a page of your diary, over version, by a simple click. You can track the changes of the whole journal over time. You can organize it the way you want. You can backup it; you can publish it over the internet. Definitely, this is an awesome tool and probably the perfect one at the moment with a Moleskine.                           There is how I personally use it. I created a list of WikiWords on the startup page. They are main categories. After, I create WikiWords in these categories as sub-categories. There is a part of my diary's WikiWords tree:   ·        ToDo ·        Writings o       HowTo o       Diaries §         Paper Diary ·        Moleskine o       Moleskine Hacks ·        Readings o       Quotes ·        Thoughts ·        Travel o       Travel Blogging o       India     This is the knowledge tree of my daily diary. This is just a snippet and it's astonishing to view how it grows rapidly! The ToDo page is used to put everything that I need to do the current day or during the week. Finally I have a daily diary. I can easely search in it; know where and when I changed entries; have access to all the changes, over time, which I made. Old ideas are not necessary wrong, it's why it's helpful to always have access to them.     Security? No know security holes are known for WxWikiServer. It's sure that possibilities exist but it worth the risks. You can easily manage who can read or write it. A suggestion, if you need that your diary was only viewable and writable by you, then erase the anonymous account in the Users.wkc file accessible at the Admin Login section. Also, change the default password of the admin account. Then you'll be the only one able to view and edit it. It's sure that the files are plain text on you local hard drive but no one (theoretically) without access on your hard drive will be able to access them. You can always ask this additional feature to Ryan Norton: "Encryption of the local file".     Definitely, Wiki is an awesome simple idea for linking singles thoughts one between the other with the possibility of being revised and enhanced by the community. They are not blogs but they emerge from the same stream.   7:29:47 PM        [comment []]    [trackback []]