February 2021 Content Wrap-Up

February was gearing up to be another incredibly busy month, with the re-launch of the M365 Office Hours live stream on the AvePoint channel, a number of interviews lined up, and lots going on with work. On a personal note, we also spent part of the month (the weekends, mostly) preparing for the wedding of my youngest son, Joshua, taking place on March 5th. And then I got the news that my college roommate and one of my closest friends, Preston Green, had suddenly passed away. It was a real shock, but I was happy to work with his sister Andrea to coordinate an online memorial, which took place on the 27th, and share some of my favorite memories and adventures with his kids, extended family, and friends who participated.

It’s these kinds of experiences that make you stop and look around, and have a greater appreciation for what you have. Life is not perfect, but there is so much to be thankful for. I am especially grateful for the Microsoft community that I am apart of, and all of the friendships that I have built over the past 15 years. Looking forward to getting back out to events and seeing more friends in the community later this year.

Office Hours

As you may be aware, we ended the M365 Office Hours hosted on the CollabTalk YouTube channel (and simulcast to LinkedIn, Twitter, and facebook) in January and retooled the format to better align with an Office Hours program that AvePoint had been running for a couple years. We ran through 8 episodes (4 weeks) and made a few tweaks, before deciding to go back to the original AvePoint format beginning in March — so watch for those updates.

So….the new format (from march forward) will be me + guests + a single topic on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month. And then every Monday morning at 8am Pacific, we’re going back to the old CollabTalk Office Hours format. Both formats provide great value, but the webinar format focused on a single topic was just a better fit for our content strategy within AvePoint. But look for crossovers!

• Office (365) Hours Re-Launch [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: The Evolution of Mobile and Productivity + Questions from the Community [YouTube]
• Office 365 Hours: The Evolution of Mobile and Productivity, by Sherian Batalliones [AvePoint blog]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 43 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: The Introduction of Microsoft’s Worklab Blog + Live Answers to Community Questions [YouTube]
• Office 365 Hours: Microsoft’s Worklab Blog and Q&A, by Sherian Batalliones [AvePoint blog]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 44 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: What You Need to Know about the Microsoft Viva Announcement + Q&A from the Community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 45 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: The Future of Employee Experience (EXP) Technology + Q&A from the Community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 46 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: The Microsoft Lists Adoption Center + Q&A from the community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 47 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: Internet Explorer retires and Microsoft Edge updates + Q&A from the community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 48 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: Task Management across M365 + Q&A from the community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 49 [buckleyPLANET]
• #O365Hours​: Preparing for Teams Pro + Q&A from the community [YouTube]
• Microsoft Community Office Hours, Episode 50 [buckleyPLANET]

#CollabTalk TweetJam

For the February TweetJam, the topic of Microsoft Viva was an obvious choice, with Microsoft making a lot of noise about their new employee experience platform (EXP) solutions and marketing push. While Viva is more incremental than something “new,” there’s still a lot going on — and new updates and features continue to be released at a rapid pace. If you’re interested in learning more about Viva, be sure to check out my discussion with fellow Office Apps & Services MVP, Heather Severino (@heatherseverino) found below:

• Community Feedback on Creating an Employee Experience Platform (#EXP) [buckleyPLANET]
• Community Feedback on #MicrosoftViva and #EXP [buckleyPLANET]
• February 2021 #CollabTalk​​ TweetJam Summary [YouTube]

#MVPbuzzChat Interviews

Things continue to plug along with the #MVPbuzzChat interview series, this month with MVPs Daniel Anderson, Emily Mancini, and Oleksandr Olashyn, as well as RD and dual MVP Tobias Fenster. Already have a couple more MVPs lined up for March. If you are an MVP or RD and would like to participate in this series, please ping me.

• #MVPbuzzChat with Daniel Anderson [buckleyPLANET]
• #MVPbuzzChat​ with Daniel Anderson [YouTube]
• MVPbuzzChat Episode 114 with Daniel Anderson [Soundcloud]
• #MVPbuzzChat with Tobias Fenster [buckleyPLANET]
• #MVPbuzzChat​ with Tobias Fenster [YouTube]
• MVPbuzzChat Episode 112 with Tobias Fenster [Soundcloud]
• #MVPbuzzChat with Emily Mancini [buckleyPLANET]
• #MVPbuzzChat​ with Emily Mancini [YouTube]
• MVPbuzzChat Episode 113 with Emily Mancini [Soundcloud]
• #MVPbuzzChat with Oleksandr Olashyn [buckleyPLANET]
• #MVPbuzzChat​​ with Oleksandr Olashyn [YouTube]
• MVPbuzzChat Episode 111 with Oleksandr Olashyn [Soundcloud]

More Blatant Self-Promotion

My blog had its 17th birthday in February. Pretty amazing. While I was writing for my former company website (the now defunct QOSES.com) before we even knew to call it a “blog,” it was February 2004 when I created my Hello World post on the Typepad platform, which I (finally) upgraded to WordPress a few years back. Other self-promotions to be aware of: an on-demand recording of the webinar I did last month with Dux on “which tool to use when,” and an upcoming panel webinar (March 17th) with Dux and I and a couple customers discussing data risk management for the healthcare sector. Follow the link to register!

• January 2021 Content Wrap-Up [buckleyPLANET]
• Happy Birthday, buckleyPLANET! [buckleyPLANET]
• What Microsoft 365 Tool To Use When & Top Collab Considerations [on-demand AvePoint webinar]
• Secure Your Non-Profit Healthcare Data and Reduce Risk in 5 Simple Steps [upcoming AvePoint webinar]

Oh, and if you’d like email reminders about upcoming episodes of the AvePoint Office Hours live streams (every 1st and 3rd Wednesday), you can register for the mailing list at https://avept.it/o365hours