SharePoint: Is The Dorian Gray Effect in Play?
June 21, 2011
“Is the SharePoint Community Past Its Prime?” sparked some discussion at Search Technologies. Our firm works with a number of search and content processing systems. We find that no single system is perfect and that most search systems can deliver significant return on investment to their licensees.
The article by the SharePoint Hillbilly raised several questions. Although the author’s focus was on Microsoft SharePoint, the implications of the author’s argument resonate across the search landscape.
The jumping off point for the article was an analysis of Microsoft’s role in the SharePoint community. In this case, “community” refers to the developers (certified and uncertified) who manage SharePoint installations, develop add-ins and add-ons for SharePoint, or support SharePoint implementations with management or engineering services.
With the rapid uptake of SharePoint, the SharePoint community has grown rapidly. Growth brings both challenges and opportunities. Among the challenges the SharePoint community faces are:
- Ego collisions
- Conference exhaustion
- Microsoft.
The issue in the article is not that SharePoint is unique. In our experience, user groups have been an important part of most major software companies marketing. The Dorian Gray effect is that the user group ages rapidly, often passing through a complete life cycle quickly and then fades away. I suppose there are some stalwarts from the DEC 20 user group that once met every month in Washington, DC, but the action has shifted.
The question becomes, “How can a community of those actively involved in a particular enterprise system maintain the freshness and excitement of the pre-gray hair stage of life. The answer is, “User groups cannot.”
The community begins with a handful of people, expands, and then shrinks. Email, LinkedIn, and other types of communication methods make it possible for those who want to be involved and stay connected can. However, the buzz of the face-to-face meetings, coding sessions, and heated arguments about the best way to accomplish a specific task mellow and often fade away.
The author says:
I want the SharePoint community to stay strong and inviting and growing. I don’t want the cracks I see to start causing division and fracture the community. I don’t want to see SharePoint Sundays pop-up because they don’t want to be associated with those Saturday guys. So I blog… I shout to the wind… and have a SharePint… or three…
We agree. However, the task is not to preserve the community around SharePoint, Autonomy IDOL, or Exalead CloudView, among others. The job is to recognize that individuals, consulting firms, third party developers, and even the “owner” of the enterprise software system form an interdependent ecosystem. The “community” is one part of that ecosystem.
At Search Technologies, we participate in multiple user groups. Some are relatively small and fast growing. Others are mature and shrinking. Our professionals are encouraged to participate, and we make an effort to monitor many groups which we are unable to attend.
The reason is simple: We think that the knowledge we gain from these interactions makes us better and more informed problem solvers. Furthermore, we think that our active participation in user groups contributes to our success. Some software systems fade away, but the value of the personal relationships continues.
Point your browser at www.searchtechnologies.com to learn more about our company and our services. We can help companies gain a business advantage from search applications. Alternatively, look for us at your next user group event, on LinkedIn, or at a conference.
There is no Dorian Gray effect if you remain active. Time is reversed with engagement and continuous learning.
Iain Fletcher, June 21, 2011
Search Technologies
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