IBM® Lotus® Connections 2.0: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise

IBM® Lotus® Connections 2.0: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise

by Stephen Hardison, David Brooks, David Byrd, Gary Wood, Saurabh Calla, Tim Speed, Michael Martin, Suzanne O. Minassian
Released July 2009
Publisher(s): IBM Press
ISBN: None

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Book description

The Practical, Complete Guide to Leveraging the Power of Social Networks with Lotus Connections 2.0

IBM® Lotus® Connections 2.0 gives businesses all the tools they need to make the most of social networking—easily, securely, and cost-effectively. Now, a team of IBM Lotus Connections experts thoroughly introduce this breakthrough product and covers every facet of planning, deploying, and using it successfully. IBM Lotus Connections 2.0 covers both business and technical issues and presents proven best practices for every step of the implementation process.

The authors first help you identify your best opportunities to use social networking for competitive advantage and demonstrate how Lotus Connections 2.0 places state-of-the-art social networking tools at your fingertips. Next, they carefully describe each component of the product, including profiles, activities, blogs, communities, “dog-ear” bookmarking, personal home pages, and more. They present practical coverage of administering Lotus Connections as well as detailed guidance on extending and integrating it.

Whether you’re an executive, IT manager, or technical professional, this eBook has all the information you need to put social networking to work—and deliver powerful, quantifiable results.

Coverage includes

  • Assessing the potential value of social networking to your business

  • Building dynamic networks of coworkers, partners, and customers that promote innovation and business agility

  • Understanding the core services Lotus Connections 2.0 provides and the unique way in which they integrate

  • Leveraging Lotus Connections’ consistent multitiered architecture

  • Successfully planning for technical infrastructure and organizational change

  • Walking through a best-practice installation and configuration process

  • Building effective communities for employees with shared interests

  • Using blogs to improve communications and overcome organizational silos or time zone differences

  • Helping individuals and groups organize their work through Activities

  • Performing administrative tasks such as customizing look-and-feel, collecting statistics, and troubleshooting

  • Using plug-ins to integrate with Lotus Notes®, Microsoft® Office®, Outlook®, Windows® Explorer, Lotus Sametime®, and WebSphere® Portal

  • Displaying useful, up-to-the-minute information with prebuilt widgets

  • Utilizing Lotus Connections’ REST-based API to create new integration points and build custom applications

    •

    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
    2. Foreword
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. About the Authors
    5. 1. Social Networking Concepts
      1. What Is Social Networking?
        1. “Traditional” Networking
        2. Social Networks
        3. Social Networking Software
        4. Social Network Analysis (SNA)
      2. Why Is Internal Social Networking Important to Organizations?
        1. The Business Environment
        2. Value to the Organization
        3. Value to the Individual
      3. Organizational Culture: Enabler or Barrier to Adoption?
        1. Assumptions
        2. Values
      4. Why Now?
      5. Endnotes
    6. 2. Introducing Lotus Connections 2.0
      1. Lotus Connections Software Suite
        1. External Features
          1. Profiles
          2. Blogs
          3. Communities
          4. Dogear
          5. Activities
          6. Home Page
        2. Shared Services
          1. Directory
          2. Notification
          3. Navigation
          4. Administration
          5. Virus Scanning
          6. Ajax Proxy
          7. Integration with Supporting Systems
        3. Feeds and the API
        4. Deployment Environments
        5. Client Platforms
        6. Lotus Connections Versions
      2. Profiles
        1. Profiles Features
          1. Header
          2. Contact Information
          3. About Me and Background
          4. Reporting Structure
          5. Colleagues
          6. My Links
          7. Tags
          8. Profile Types and Custom Data Extensions
        2. Business Card
        3. Searching
        4. Data Integration
      3. Activities
        1. Activities Features
        2. Entry Types
          1. Sections
          2. Files
          3. Bookmarks
          4. To-Do Items
          5. Comments
          6. Entry Templates
          7. Related Activities
          8. Content from External Plug-Ins
        3. Templates
      4. Blogs
        1. Blogs Features
          1. Creating Blogs
          2. Posting Entries
          3. Posting Comments
          4. Tags
          5. Recommendations
          6. Rich Text Editing
          7. File Uploads
          8. Themes
          9. Flagging Content
          10. Notifications
          11. Feeds
        2. Searching Blogs
        3. Blogs Home Page
          1. Latest Entries
          2. Featured Blogs
          3. Most Recommended, Most Commented, Most Visits
          4. Tag Cloud
        4. Blogs Administration
          1. Site-Wide Settings
          2. Administering Users
          3. Managing Flagged Content
          4. Managing Themes
      5. Communities
        1. Community Types
        2. Communities Content
          1. Bookmarks
          2. Feeds
          3. Forums
        3. Participating
        4. Searching
        5. Integrating
      6. Dogear
        1. Bookmarks
        2. Watchlists
        3. Additional Dogear Functions
          1. Viewing Person Cards
          2. Notification
          3. Flagging Broken Links
          4. Creating Feeds
        4. Searching
      7. Home Page
        1. Home Page Widgets
          1. Activities
          2. Blogs
          3. Communities
          4. Dogear
          5. Profiles
        2. Federated Search
        3. Home Page Administration
      8. Summary
    7. 3. Lotus Connections Architecture
      1. Tiered Deployment Topology
      2. Tier 3: Back-End Data Services
        1. Directory
        2. Tivoli Directory Integrator
        3. Globally Unique Identifier
        4. Relational Database
          1. DB2
          2. Oracle
          3. SQL Server
        5. File System
          1. Secondary Storage
          2. Primary Storage
      3. Tier 2: Application and Service Tier
        1. Pilot Deployment
        2. Simple Deployment
        3. HA Deployment Topology
        4. Large-Scale Deployment
      4. Tier 1: Front-End Web Tier
        1. Proxies
        2. Single Sign-On
      5. SOA Architecture
        1. Presentation Tier and REST API
        2. Common Service Enablers
          1. Secure Communication
          2. “Lazy” Authentication
          3. Search
          4. Notifications (DMX/JMS)
          5. Person Card and Awareness (hCards)
          6. Ajax Proxy
          7. Active Content Filter
          8. Common Bookmarklet
          9. Rebranding Lotus Connections
      6. Integrating with Other Systems
        1. WebSphere Portal
        2. Socialtext and Confluence
        3. Lotus Quickr
      7. Platform Requirements
        1. Hardware
        2. Space
          1. Shared Content Storage
          2. Nonshared Content Storage
      8. Conclusion
    8. 4. Deployment Planning
      1. Deployment Approach
      2. Vision
        1. Defining Social Networking Goals and Measures
        2. Choosing the Pilot Group(s)
      3. Planning
        1. Defining Use-Cases for Collaboration
        2. Gathering Requirements and Constraints
          1. Lotus Connections General Considerations
          2. Home Page
          3. Profiles
          4. Activities
          5. Blogs
          6. Communities
          7. Dogear
        3. Governance Planning
        4. Communications Planning
          1. Communications Campaigns
          2. Communications Media
        5. Training Planning
          1. Online Training Materials
        6. Defining a Deployment Architecture
        7. Defining Deployment Environments
          1. Environment Definition
        8. Deployment Topologies for Production Version
          1. Small Standalone Deployment
          2. Typical Standalone Deployment
          3. Basic Clustered Deployment
          4. Virtualized Environments
        9. Integration Planning
          1. Security
          2. Access to Lotus Connections Services
          3. Integration with Other Applications
      4. Analyze
        1. Additional Preassessment
      5. Implementation
        1. Advocate and SME Activities
          1. Communities
          2. Profiles
          3. Dogear
          4. Blogs
        2. Monitor Key Metrics
          1. Adoption Activity Metrics
          2. Perceived Value Metrics
          3. Organizational Benefits
        3. Culture Change
          1. Enabler Examples
          2. Behaviors
        4. Lessons Learned
    9. 5. Install Planning
      1. Preparing the Environment
        1. Defining the Software Environment
          1. Network Configuration
          2. Operating System Accounts
          3. Identifying Application File Paths
        2. Defining Data and Security Integration
          1. LDAP Configuration
          2. Considerations for Secure Access to LDAP
          3. Data Sources for Profiles
          4. Authentication and Web Security
      2. Lotus Connections Pilot Install
        1. Creating a User Information File
        2. Installing Pilot Version
        3. Designating Administrative User
        4. Considerations for Upgrading to Production Version
      3. Base Product Installation
        1. Installing WebSphere
          1. Installing WebSphere Application Server
          2. Installing Network Deployment for Clustered Configurations
          3. Installing IBM HTTP Server and WebSphere Plug-in
          4. Installing Fix Packs and Fixes
          5. WebSphere Profile Considerations
          6. Configuring Federated Repositories
      4. Database Creation
        1. Preparing the Database Server
          1. Database Platform Considerations
          2. DB2 Installation Considerations
          3. Staging of Lotus Connections Database Install Utilities
          4. Use of the Database Wizard
          5. Database Install Scripts
      5. Profiles Planning and Preparation
        1. Installing Tivoli Directory Integrator
          1. Performing Product Install
          2. Installing Fixes
          3. Deploying the Lotus Connections TDI Solutions Package
        2. Identifying Data Sources
          1. LDAP Data
          2. Database and Application File Assets
        3. Data Mapping
          1. Profiles Data Model
          2. Attribute Mapping
          3. Transformation Functions
          4. Attribute Mapping Examples
          5. Data Validation
          6. Adding Custom Data to Profiles
          7. Special Considerations for Manager and Assistant Identities
        4. Loading the Profiles Data Store Using the Population Wizard
          1. Advantages of the Profiles Population Wizard
          2. Limitations of the Profiles Population Wizard
          3. Preparing the Profiles Population Wizard
          4. Running the Population Wizard
        5. Loading the Profiles Data Store Manually
          1. Setting Up the profiles_tdi.properties File
          2. Mapping Profiles Fields
          3. TDI Solutions Scripts for Manual Loads
          4. Executing User Load Scripts
          5. Creating Report-To Chains
          6. Loading Supplemental Profiles Data
          7. Loading Photos into Profiles
      6. Product Installation
        1. Installing Lotus Connections Features
          1. Running the Install Wizard
          2. Validating Installation Log Files
          3. Capturing WebSphere Ports for Lotus Connections Features
        2. Installing Lotus Connections Interim Fixes
          1. Installing the Lotus Connections Update Installer
          2. Installing in Fixes Interactive Mode
        3. Configuring the IBM HTTP Server for Lotus Connections
          1. Modifying the LotusConnections-config.xml File
        4. Post-Install Configuration Tasks
      7. Clustering Lotus Connections
        1. Using the Cluster Installation Wizard
          1. Running the Cluster Installation Wizard
      8. Conclusion
    10. 6. Using Lotus Connections
      1. A Day in the Life Using Lotus Connections
        1. Searching for Expertise
        2. Learning About an Expert Through Content Sharing
        3. Finding Like-Minded Communities
        4. Bringing It All Together
        5. Using Your Daily Tools
      2. Using the Profiles Feature
        1. Searching Profiles
        2. Profiles Business Card
        3. The Profile
        4. Customizing Profiles Using Profile Types and Widgets
        5. Filling In Information
      3. Using Communities
        1. Finding and Joining Communities of Interest
        2. Members, Forum, Bookmarks, Feeds, and Mail
        3. Confluence and Socialtext Wikis
        4. Lotus Product Extensions
        5. Creating a Community and Privacy Options
      4. Using Activities
        1. Your Current Activities, To-Dos, and Templates
        2. Inside an Activity
        3. Adding New Custom Entry Types
        4. Adding Emails, Instant Messages, To-Dos, and Files
        5. Copying, Prioritizing, and Completing Activities
        6. Working with Activity Templates
      5. Using Dogear
        1. Posting a Bookmark
        2. Browsing Bookmarks
        3. Watchlist and Notifications
        4. Managing Your Bookmarks
      6. Using the Blogs Feature
        1. Browse Blogs
        2. Managing a Blog
        3. Creating and Rating Entries and Comments
      7. Using the Home Page
        1. Home Page Widgets
        2. Global Search
      8. Using Lotus Connections from Your Everyday Tools
        1. Lotus Notes Integration
        2. Lotus Sametime
        3. Microsoft Outlook
        4. Microsoft Office and Windows Explorer
        5. Feed Readers
      9. Conclusion
    11. 7. Administering Lotus Connections
      1. Lotus Connections Administration Interfaces
      2. Web-Based Administration
        1. WAS Administrative Console
          1. Feature Security Mappings
        2. Home Page Administrative Console
        3. Blogs Administrative Console
      3. JMX Administration Utilities
        1. Launching the wsadmin Client
        2. Lotus Connections Configuration Files
          1. Checking Out/Checking In Configuration Files
          2. Modifying Common Connections Properties
          3. Modifying Common Activities Properties
            1. Activities Management
            2. Activities Scheduler
          4. Modifying Common Communities Properties
          5. Making Feeds Trusted
          6. Modifying Common Profiles Properties
          7. Modifying Common Home Page Properties
          8. Modifying Common Dogear Properties
          9. Modifying Common Blogs Properties
        3. Lotus Connections Commands
          1. Activities Administrative Commands
            1. Working with Member Data
            2. Working with Activities: Retrieving and Deleting
            3. Working with Activities: Filtering Returned Lists
            4. Working with Activities: Importing and Exporting
            5. Working with Activities: Purging Activities
            6. Working with Activities: Scheduler
          2. Communities Administrative Commands
            1. Working with Communities: Removing Inappropriate Content
            2. Working with Communities: Managing Members
            3. Working with Communities: Fetching Communities
            4. Working with Communities: Managing Discussion Forum Topics
          3. Profiles Administrative Commands
            1. Working with Profiles: Removing Inappropriate Content
            2. Working with Profiles: Managing the Cache
          4. Home Page Administrative Commands
            1. Working with Home Page: Global Search
            2. Working with Home Page: Member Management
          5. Dogear Administrative Commands
            1. Working with Dogear: Deleting Unnecessary Links
      4. Collecting Statistics
        1. Accessing Metrics Using wsadmin
      5. Customizing the Navigation Bar
        1. Updating the Logo
        2. Adding Links to the Navigation Bar
      6. Conclusion
    12. 8. Extending Lotus Connections to Other Applications
      1. Overview of Integrating Lotus Connections into Other Applications
      2. Lotus Connections 2.0.1 Plug-ins for Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office, and Windows Explorer
      3. Lotus Connections 2.0.1 Plug-in for Microsoft Outlook
      4. Lotus Connections 2.0 Plug-in for Sametime
      5. Integrating with Lotus Quickr Services
      6. IBM Lotus Connections Multi-Service Portlet 2.0.1 for WebSphere Portal 6.1
      7. Third-Party Application Integration
      8. Custom Application Development
      9. Conclusion
    13. 9. Using the Lotus Connections API
      1. Overview of Lotus Connections API
      2. Representational State Transfer (REST) APIs
      3. Atom Syndication
      4. Authentication
      5. Accessing Lotus Connections
      6. Home Page API
        1. Installed Features
        2. Searching for Information
      7. Blogs API
        1. Accessing Blog Entries
        2. Creating Blog Entries
        3. Deleting Blog Entries
        4. Editing Blog Entries
      8. Dogear API
        1. Creating a Dogear Bookmark
      9. Profiles API
        1. Retrieving Profile Tags
        2. Updating Profile Tags
      10. Activities API
        1. Creating an Activity
        2. Creating a To-Do Item
        3. Creating an Email
      11. Communities API
        1. Community Bookmarks
        2. Community Feeds
      12. Summary
    14. 10. Plug-ins and Widgets
      1. Hosting Eclipse-Based Plug-ins
        1. Update Site for Lotus Connections Plug-ins
          1. Features
          2. Plug-ins
          3. site.xml
      2. Managing Widgets
        1. Home Page Administrative Console
          1. Uploading a Custom Widget
        2. Profiles Widget Administration
          1. Check Out profiles-config.xml
          2. Widget Definitions
          3. Widget Layout
      3. Widget Basics
        1. iWidgets
          1. Basic Components of a Widget
          2. Including JavaScript
          3. Incorporating Dojo
      4. Summary

    Product information

    • Title: IBM® Lotus® Connections 2.0: Planning and Implementing Social Software for Your Enterprise
    • Author(s): Stephen Hardison, David Brooks, David Byrd, Gary Wood, Saurabh Calla, Tim Speed, Michael Martin, Suzanne O. Minassian
    • Release date: July 2009
    • Publisher(s): IBM Press
    • ISBN: None