A few months ago I got an e-mail comment on my blog from a guy named Sergio (not his real name—or was it?). Sergio was impressed with something I’d written about people who hoard data. Or was he? He wanted to demo a product for me next time I was up north to show me the true power of search. He wanted to teach me some stuff that he thought I should know. His e-mail was condescending, but in a solicitous way. He was friendly yet finger-wagging. Was he trying to educate me, insult me, or stir me? Sergio’s invective was so confusing and cryptic that I couldn’t figure out whether he was flaming me or inviting me out to dinner.

A few years ago a guy who called himself Jaguar (not his real name—or was it?) gave my CRM book a one-star review on Amazon.com. Jaguar’s grammar was a bit off, as were his facts, but that’s beside the point. Jaguar came across as preternaturally angry in his on-line review. Was it something I said? I would have sent him a peace offering, but that kind of thing is hard to do when the source is anonymous, and clearly detests you.

Experts have called unsociable behavior in cyberspace the “online disinhibition effect.” It suggests that people who wouldn’t address you impolitely to your face are more than happy to abuse you under the cloak of on-line anonymity. You simply can’t gauge someone’s mood in an on-line forum, save for the trite mechanisms reserved for the web world. You know what I mean, don’t you, BFF? ;>) TTFN!

Technorati tag: data hoarding, on-line disinhibition, The CRM Handbook

I wanted to post an entry on the Jillblog last week during TDWI's MDM Insight conference in Savannah, but the event was so jam-packed with fabulous speakers, meaty panel presentations, great vendor demos, and a fantastic set of attendees that it was all I could do to keep up with everything.

My co-chair Wayne Eckerson and I will feature some highlights in an upcoming trip report. In the meantime, this letter from conference attendee Becky Miller from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, just about says it all:

Lynne, Wayne, Evan, Jill, and all of the others for whom I can have no appreciation,

I just wanted to write and express my thanks for the wonderful work you all did in putting together the excellent event that Master Data Management Insight was. It exceeded all of my expectations - completely blew me away, frankly. In terms of content, it was utterly eye-opening for me on a topic that was timely and critical. MDM was not something I would have taken the time to learn about, I shudder to admit, in the daily course of things, being as busy as I am to keep up with the normal workload at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Yet, I am struggling with exactly the matters of MDM every day, but without the tools of MDM to help me. Having TDWI and you-all knock on my email inbox and pick me up out of my normal environment to take me to a magical place with all of the incredible minds of the business to focus on this problem for several days was a boon I could not have anticipated. I am incredibly excited to bring back what I have learned to Nationwide Children's and help steer us onto an entirely better course than we would have been headed towards otherwise - much sooner and much wiser. I have no doubt that with this conference you have steered our entire practice to new levels. You should feel very proud.

When’s the last time you went to a conference that was so good you felt like writing a thank-you note? To Wayne, the TDWI team, PPM Media, industry luminaries Rob Karel, Claudia Imhoff, and Andy Hayler, Evan Levy, and David Loshin, and my roster of extraordinary MDM best-practice speakers, thanks for helping us put on the best MDM event yet!

Technorati tags: MDM, master data management, MDM Insight, MDM conference