Ever since I was invited to The Greater IBM Connection, I've been asking myself what I want or expect from this initiative. I've been trying to express those desires as specifically as possible, since abstract goals are a poor motivation to drive concrete investment.

Here are a few:

1. Networking: meeting other local technologists, local meaning folks with whom I could grab lunch.
2. Personal Marketing: increasing the readership of my blog, The Noisy Channel.
3. Connecting to IBM: getting to know people at IBM (particularly in Research) with whom I could share ideas.

Note that only the third of these goals is specific to IBM. I don't think I'm unusual in this respect: "Greater IBMer" is only one of many facets of our identities.

It's important that we all realize this as we invest in making the Greater IBM Connection a success. Initiatives like these only succeed when they fit into a greater context.

How does that translate concretely? Let's return to my three goals as examples:

1. Events like the gathering at the Shake Shack are a great example of facilitating local networking. But we can do better, either with larger-scale social events (karaoke, anyone?) or more targeted professional ones (e.g., tech entrepreneurs). IBM could catalyze such events by providing a small budget, but the success of an event will ultimately reflect members' readiness to invest in it.
2. Personal marketing is, on the face, a completely selfish goal. But tell that to my avid readers, who see my ego-fueled diatribe as an act of selflessness. Or to the delighted viewers of Single who might not have heard about it had Jane Scandurra not zealously marketed it. Or to likeTribe's users who are thanking Nigel Beck as they hunt for bars and restaurants in the urban jungle. The Greater IBM Connection is a great forum for such marketing, and we would do well to encourage it while keeping an eye out for abuse.
3. Of course, there should be some IBM in the Greater IBM Connection. Ideally, there should be a communication channel so that alumni can know what's going on inside IBM and IBMers can know what alumni are doing. A small step towards this goal would be to invite alumni to attend non-confidential IBM events, and conversely to allow alumni to advertise events likely to be of interest to current IBMers.

I hope these ideas at least provide food for thought. To steal a line from Tony the Tiger, let's make the Greater IBM Connection grrreat!