We were certainly thrilled to be CODiE finalists in the category of Best Online Science and Technology Service, but we weren’t primed for the win, except when Meagan who is Director of Content Strategies and I, Director of Product Management (Platform delivery) joked about going to the podium to accept the award smiling and holding hands.  During the past year, we’ve developed a symbiotic relationship; Meagan’s stellar management of Knovel’s unrivaled content, and my focus on a feature-rich technology platform combine to make Knovel the product of choice among engineers.

We were up against stiff competition in our category: UniPHY, AIP’s literature-based, professional scientific networking platform; and ChemMobi, an iPhone app from Symyx that provides mobile access to chemical reference information.  The nominees for our category were announced, and  KNOVEL appeared on the screen as Winner.  We made our way to the podium to accept the award, surprised and thrilled.  As we headed back to our seats, a microphone and camera appeared, then the question, “What does the CODiE award mean to Knovel?” Last night, I was overwhelmed, tongue-tied and surprised by the journalistic assault, so allow me to answer in the clearer light of morning.

The CODiE Award is the acknowledgment of a decade of hard work by our dedicated and visionary product development team under the direction of our fervent, zealous CEO Chris Forbes,  as well as the consistent and steadfast efforts of our active customer community and design partners who continue to partner with us to make Knovel a more powerful solution with each iteration.

I’ll admit, I’m still reeling from a 2010 product strategy meeting  yesterday morning, which was heady in itself. Because of the grand plans we’re undertaking this year, the thrill of last night’s CODiE recognition was just icing on the cake.

Our team has survived the long journey and we’re really excited about finally unveiling the personalization features of My Knovel. It’s the product of nearly a year of collaboration with Knovel’s team of design partners, who patiently cooperated as we observed them working, quizzed them on how they gather and store information, and asked them all sorts of questions along the way that influenced our design and style decisions.

In other words, My Knovel is a data driven response with our engineering users leading the way. The librarians and information professionals were right there too, most notably explaining that our best bet is to label features with names that are clear and unambiguous. My Knovel, which sits prominently on the new navigation bar, is where users can create folders, organize and store frequently used titles, search queries and content – including PDF sections and interactive tables. We also took the advice of users who encouraged us to clarify G.E.T. (Graphs, Equations, Tables) Search, to reflect a simple and explainable name. We reverted to Data Search, which seems to appeal to our wider audience of users.

We also listened to users who were confused by the different filter controls for Browse and Search that reflect All Knovel Content and My Subscription. We have made it a global setting to eliminate the confusion.

Last but by not least, during the past few months, a small dedicated team has been busy developing and working with our customers to upgrade them to our new authentication and reporting system. Knovel User Registration may be less flashy, but without it, we could never have brought My Knovel to fruition. Our Knovel administrators are delighted with the Self-Serve Administrator’s Toolkit and the improved organizational and reporting capabilities. We’ll keep up the pace until we have upgraded all of our accounts because we know that users are going to love the personalization features of My Knovel.

So I’d like to propose a toast to both teams tonight for a job incredibly well done! Thanks to them for all their hard work. And we know you’ll love it too.

Knovel is introducing a whole new set of features enabling users to configure and personalize their Knovel desktops.  What I hear from engineers all the time is: “Could you make a bookshelf where I can store my favorite titles?”  Or “I’d like to have a project folder where I can store complex searches I can re-execute with a single click.”   Or,  “I’d really like to email a Knovel search result to my colleague down the hall. Can I do that?” With our newest release into Knovel Lab, it’s all there for the taking.  But you have to have a Knovel user account to create your personal space.

We’ve been busy contacting our Knovel “champions” (aka administrators) and working with them to upgrade to our new user registration system.  In my humble opinion, implementing this new user authentication system is akin to taking a cruise in a hurricane  (I’m an old sailor). To say that Information Resource admins are protective of their roles and of their end users is an understatement. They have good reason though, they’re trusted with the responsibility of ensuring that their users know how to access information products reliably at any time and from anywhere; and that users are protected from intrusive use of their  identities; all while defending their organization’s investment in the product. We respect and honor these needs.

We’re close. Really close.  The proof is in Knovel Lab for anyone willing to take a look. We’re also holding a conntest to name the personal bucket, currently dubbed My Notebook.  You have another week to check out the new personalized Knovel and submit your naming entry in the Exit Survey.  I have to say that we have some seriously imaginative users out there! I’m enjoying the submissions so far and I’ll share the winner and runners up at the end of the contest, next Friday, (just in time for Halloween). On that note, a search for Halloween in Knovel results in 13 hits (perfect!) and reveals some interesting results including an ANTEC conference paper about new metal-oxide phosphorescence used in – what else? – Halloween costumes.    Trick or treat everyone!