Last week Knovel convened a panel of sustainability experts at The Discovery Science Center in Anaheim to provide engineers a forum to learn, share and collaborate on the subject. The event, co-sponsored by our partner Elsevier, attracted a motivated and enthusiastic crowd that lingered long after the panel discussion. Some, in fact, drove more than an hour and a half to attend. Although, that had more do to with LA traffic than distance.

The title of the session, “Green Engineering, Sustainability and Its Impact on Design and Engineering,” evokes a range of opinions based upon personal experience, so the panelists opened with introductions and remarks about what Green means today. The Q&A based discussion covered a range of topics including cradle-to-grave design, policy & standards, US competitiveness, business drivers and, of course, money.

We polled the audience throughout the session to determine corporate expectations and priorities with respect to sustainability. When asked, “how important is sustainability for your organization/company,” 16% of attendees indicated top priority, 28% indicated very important and 35% indicated important.

One of my favorite quotes is by Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  Yes, it’s a bit altruistic, but it’s true and inspiring. Often change is made by an individual, not a company. Grass roots efforts will likely continue to lead sustainability initiatives. Companies and respective leaders want to understand the economic viability of “green.”  We can all take a role in that educational/learning process. This includes collaborating with peers and colleagues to share knowledge.

On the topic of economic viability, one example discussed during the session was the availability of green cleaning products. Until people vote with their dollars and buy green products, why would a company drop a profitable and established product line? They would not.

We all have the opportunity to make responsible decisions and lead initiatives. The current economy is driving a “less is more spirit” and innovation.  With information people make better decisions. Before I knew about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I didn’t think much about using plastic grocery bags or water bottles. Now when asked “paper or plastic,” I cringe. Yes, I still use plastic bags and drink bottles of water, but I also recycle and use less when I can. Ignorance is bliss.

In many ways, California is positioned to lead with environmental initiatives- not just on the consumer level. Is the conversation different in other cities/states? What are you working on?

For those not able to join us in sunny southern CA, we recorded the session and will make segments available online shortly. We hope you will continue to engage in the discussion of sustainability. Keep in mind, we offer a wealth of information in our Sustainable Energy and Development subject area. That should get you started.

Last week I spoke with John Patrick after reading a post on his blog regarding Genesys XVI. I got in touch with John to get more insights into the past, present and future of the internet.

John is a former Vice President of Internet Technology with IBM, and currently serves as president of Attitude LLC. John is also the author of Net Attitude, an essential primer on e-business strategies. John has served on Knovel’s Board of Directors since 1992.

K Exchange: First off thank you for agreeing to interview with us. To start with, I have to get your impressions on the topic-of-the moment, the Apple iPad. To me, it seems way more evolutionary compared to the then-revolutionary iPhone. By extension, is the iPad just a larger version of the iPod Touch but with more bells and whistles? Will this device ultimately mean anything?

John Patrick: I am quite enthusiastic about the iPad and can’t wait to get my hands on one. Some people are saying the iPad is just a big iPhone. Yes! I can’t wait and it is much more than an iPhone. It has applications galore. On day one it will run 140,000 iPhone applications plus significant upgrades to calendar, contacts, mapping, and email. I see the iPad lightening the load in briefcases when travelling. It will also take up a lot less space on the kitchen counter and while resting there in the new iPad case it will double as a picture viewer. (See complete review by John on his blog at http://www.patrickweb.com/weblog/archives/2010_01_31.php#Amazon and the iPad)

KX: In conjunction with that, do you see mobile devices becoming more important? Or do the limitations of 3G/4G speeds and device memory mean people will be relying more heavily on computers for the time being?

JP: Mobile is taking over. There are hundreds of millions of PC’s. There are billions of mobile phones. Today most of them are “dumb” but soon most of them will be “smart”. Most people in the world will access the Internet from their mobile device. The PC will become less and less relevant, accelerated by the iPad and the flood of tablet competitors who will follow.

KX: You mentioned in your blog the massive disparity between public WiFi in the US and overseas. Does the possibility of widely available WiFi (or WiGig, as you posited for the near future) make the question moot, and suggest that netbooks will be preferable to mobile devices?

JP: WiFi is growing all over the world. The netbook is just an inexpensive Windows PC. The only thing it has going for it is price. Do we really need another Windows PC? There is no innovation in netbooks.

KX: Switching gears, you also believe that social networking is going to be crucial to collaboration in the future. Are you talking about public social networks? Or about private intra-company or intra-industry networks?

JP: Both. All of the above. The days of just “plain” content are over. People expect to be able to compare notes on things. Inside or outside the firewall. The number one source that people use to pick a doctor or a hospital is not a website per se, it is asking their friends and family. Social networking is a tool to do that. In a corporate sense, the most valuable source of information on a topic may be somebody down the hall but again, social networks is a tool to reach them.

Collaboration is not new but the social networks provide enhanced tools to make collaboration work. It goes deeper than writing on someone’s wall. Specialized tools are emerging such as Kindling to make social networking concepts into serious business tools. The largest source of
content is user generated content. That is part of social networking too.

KX: Along those lines, we have statistics from Outsell that suggest that while 40% of engineers are on Facebook, only 4% are on Twitter. An interesting fact that may make more sense when you consider the recent stats suggesting that Twitter’s growth is stagnating. Why do you think Facebook’s adoption has been so much stronger among the engineering community?

JP: They are totally different types of social networking tools. Facebook is a people oriented way to establish a presence and connect with friends or colleagues. It is frictionless to achieve. Twitter is more of a protocol — a way to send a message or “tweet”. Twitter as a company may or may not survive but the concept of sending short messages and following companies or people is a fundamental and new “channel” on the Internet.

KX: Finally, I want to end on the question you asked to finish your post: “will we trust the internet?” You were talking in terms of security, but the question brings up an interesting point, do people inherently mistrust information that comes from the internet? Obviously Wikipedia is a flawed source, but does a company like Knovel have to fight the impression of being an internet company rather than an information provider?

JP: The Internet is the communications network. It will be a constant battle against those who want to disrupt it, but I am optimistic that the good guys will stay on top. I don’t think people inherently distrust the Internet — perhaps to the contrary. It is no different than a book. How do you know a book is accurate? The key is to test veracity through cross-checking just like doing any basic research. Knovel has a huge opportunity to leverage the Internet as the delivery mechanism to make engineers more productive. In the long run it will be important to use technology to provide digital signatures and authentication of data.

John’s post on Genesys XYI can be found at http://www.patrickweb.com/weblog/archives/2010_01_26.php#Genesys XVI.

Posted 2/3/2010

I admit it.  Last night, when I attended the 2010 SIIA CODiE Awards dinner I was thinking about having a glass or two of wine, meeting some old business acquaintances, making some new contacts, and enjoying a congenial dinner with colleagues Ross Graber and Meagan Cooke.

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.

In a post about a month ago, I wrote that:

“The founding of YouTube in February, 2005 stands as one of the greatest moments in internet history. The implications of easily available streaming videos were boundless. Our favorite result of YouTube? Wacky science and engineering related music videos!”

While  I still wholeheartedly stand by my love of goofy music videos for entertainment, I can’t help but consider the benefit of using YouTube and streaming videos for education and training purposes.

Ensuring Knovel is accessible and easy to use is a high priority. As we continually add more features, content and functionality, it’s good to know that we can provide videos that enable our users to quickly adopt new offerings.

Before I get into Knovel’s new videos, I’d like to highlight videos produced by our users. Many information professionals have taken the time and effort to create instructional videos that raise awareness and encourage use of resources available in their libraries.

• One of the best videos that we’ve seen came courtesy of Jay Bhatt and Dana Denick of Drexel University’s Engineering Library. The video provides a quick and easy overview of Knovel’s search capabilities and interactive tools, while also providing specific information to help Drexel Engineering Students access the library. Terrific job Jay and Dana! If you have any Knovel tutorials that you’ve created, we’d love to see them! Drop your links into the comments section or send an e-mail to nschulman@knovel.com.

See this video on YouTube

With our recent spate of product updates, we at Knovel have created new tutorial videos to keep pace with the changes. I’m proud to debut our new videos, right here on K Exchange!

• First, we have a new video that demonstrates our Basic Search capabilities. The video details how the search function works and illustrates how to use Basic Search to determine the best materials to use to avoid the negative effects of weathering. Take a look!

See this video on YouTube

• Next, we have a new video that demonstrates the use of our Data Search function to develop improved liquids for cleaning the mixing vessels used in a production process.

See this video on YouTube

• Finally, we a have a new video that demonstrates our Interactive Tools. This video includes a chemistry problem in which the user needs to analyze the physical properties of ammonium compounds.

See this video on YouTube

What do you think of our new videos? Did you learn anything new about Knovel? Have you created any videos, or has anyone in your organization created a tutorial? We’d love to see them if you have!

Anyone connected to the software development world can attest that the last weeks leading up to a big release are the most stressful. Fifteen-minute daily meetings stretch into hours. Nerves are on edge. Every decision is analyzed and reanalyzed. Marketing activity escalates to a fever pitch. The team is up testing and instant messaging at 7 AM on Sunday morning while the rest of the world sleeps.

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.

When something wreaks havoc on my computer, I tend to scan message boards for a solution. I know that I’m not the first person to have met with the “blue screen of death” or other unexpected program failures. I read about others’ experiences fighting the same issues, commiserate (silently) over their frustration and leverage the solutions offered by the sage (and similarly unlucky) users and applauded by the rest of the community. I’ll download the software patch, buy a different software package or try the freeware that, according to the community, will run rings around the program that has failed me.

The open web is a great place to share experiences and piggyback on the lessons others have learned. This is true in our work as well.

Today we launch Engineering Cases. This is a regular content feature with the same goal in mind – to leverage the experiences of the experts among us and to share their wisdom in the crowd of engineers.

We asked engineers to write about their success stories in solving problems and developing solutions. We specifically asked writers to highlight the process, to discuss the solutions not explored and to share unexpected lessons learned.

The topics can be far-reaching – how an engineer has developed technology to solve nagging problems, applied existing technology to new challenges, or learned rules of thumb that save time and effort. Beginning this fall, Knovel has begun publish these success stories in four topic areas

• Mechanical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Sustainable Energy and Sustainable Materials
• Product Lifecycle Management

Engineering Cases will be released on an ongoing basis on Knovel. We invite you, our users, to submit case studies about the common and uncommon challenges that you’ve met your work. And we welcome feedback on the new regular content feature. Are there additional topics we should cover? Do you think there are ways we can enhance the format? As with every other aspect of Knovel, we welcome your feedback on Engineering Cases as well.

Engineering Cases will be published at http://engineeringcases.knovelblogs.com

Do you know what I obsess about more than anything in the product area?  NAMING. We’re coming down to the wire preparing to roll out the feature set of the year and give users what they’ve been requesting for a long time: a personal space to store their favorites, their saved search queries and their  saved content for easy, one-click access.  Our working title is My Notebook, and if you go to Knovel Lab, you can play with it.

What is it?  It’s a personal space that you acquire by registering and creating a personal profile.  You’ll be able to organize your saved stuff into user-named folders; and create a bookshelf of favorites, a collection of your saved searches, and a folder with frequently-accessed content. A user recently told me that she downloads PDFs to her hard drive so she can organize them better for retrieval;   after viewing Knovel’s new personalization features, she said we’ve given her a better way!

Today it’s personal space, but 2010 is the year of community and we’ve got big plans to address the second-most popular request from users – workgroup collaboration. Which brings me to the conundrum.  Granted, we are not naming a company or even a product.  But to me, getting this name right really matters, hence my questions: Is My Notebook too confining? Too Boring?

Experts say that a good name should:
1.    Appeal to the target audience (engineers, librarians & scientists just to name a few.)
2.    Imply the benefit
3.    Strategically distinguish the thing and convey its uniqueness
4.    Be original
5.    Be legally allowable
6.    Create user loyalty
7.    Motivate customers to sign up

I even held a naming contest. There were some good ideas from our users (my personal favorite was Persaknovel)  but most folks voted to retain the name My Notebook (with or without the silent K).

Late last week, an internal naming team came up with the idea of K-Pod, combining the visualization of a pod as a sort of storage vehicle, with the familiar K of the Knovel brand.

Because we are all about customer feedback (see #1 above) I would really appreciate your thoughts on the name. What do YOU think?

The Knovel product development team will try to get a good night’s sleep tonight after the deployment of the latest round of changes coming from Knovel Lab into the daylight.  Our team is small and that makes us nimble; which is a good thing and what many software development organizations can only dream of.

On the other hand, the news is out that our development team is (and has to be) Herculean in responding to change, and that’s where the project police need to be on patrol.  As the ersatz ‘owner’ of the product, I feel a bit like the Wizard of Oz,  behind the curtain pulling the strings as thousands of decisions are made concerning navigation, functionality, interaction with content, brand and aesthetic design. We answer, not only our customers, but also to a team of executives who have had a long history of wins and a few sidesteps, and who have a personal stake in Knovel’s success.

I am bolstered by the strong showing of customers to Knovel Lab – thank you for all the thoughtful comments -  and I stand behind the design decisions driven by our Design Partners whose willingness to let me watch over their shoulders as they worked resulted in the cleaner, simpler and – we posit -  more aesthetically pleasing search experience of today’s Knovel.

At the most visceral level, there’s functional design and there’s aesthetics.  If we get it right, MOST users will enjoy an overall positive experience. I confess that I am generally more interested in delivering the best answer to a search query, but we can satisfy both.  While the vast majority of our users confirm that we have taken a big step forward, we still have work to do. Not everyone loves the new look; in fact, some even ‘fessed up that change is hard and familiarity is almost always preferable. But in order to progress, sometimes you have to ignore those who fear change, and we believe that this new iteration of Knovel represents progress.

Love the changes? Hate the changes? Need changes for a dollar? User feedback drives what we do here at Knovel, so please leave any and all comments below.

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Today, Knovel announces the formation of an Editorial Advisory Board. The Board is composed of a multidisciplinary group of industry experts and academic luminaries who will work with us to ensure Knovel’s product development is in front of engineers’ workflow needs. All together the Board has more than one hundred years experience in engineering; Knovel only has been around for nine years. Beginning this summer, we’ve been tapping into the Board’s broad and varied experience and their keen insight to continue honing, and in many cases expanding, our content plans.

I’m pleased to act as liaison for the Board, and to work with such an exceptional group of engineers. They act as a sounding board for our ideas and keep us informed of engineering research “hot spots.” In the past six months we’ve added new content areas such as project management and signed licensing deals with leading societies such as AASHTO and ASHRAE based on their recommendations.

Of course, we’ll continue to follow up on our customer requests. We value customer feedback. But we want to be proactive. We want to publish content before it’s needed. The Editorial Advisory Board is yet another way for Knovel to keep our collective ear to the ground. Rather than ask customers, “what do you want on the website?” we’re working with industry experts to ensure that the content needed to do an engineering job is there before you have to ask.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the Editorial Advisory Board members to the Knovel team. We’re excited you’re here.

To read the press release, click here.

This is a special message for Engineering Students only, sorry professionals.

How would you like to win a Kindle? What about a Wii? An iPod Nano? Maybe some Gift Cards?

By nature, engineers are problem solvers and make technical decisions every day. Knovel’s University Challenge allows you to get hands on experience finding and using tools and information essential to your studies, work, and future projects. All while competing to win great prizes.

Enter at http://info.knovel.com/challenge today!

Knovel board member John Patrick was interviewed as part of the 2009 SLA conference back in June. A sincere thank you to SLA for this video:

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