This is the time of year when most publications offer up their Best Of and Top 10 lists for the previous year. While we adore lists and general guidance on what was important in the world, we prefer to look forward instead of backward.

Resolutions that promise increased productivity and all-around happiness. Happy New Year.

In that spirit, we’re publishing our list of what you should focus on in 2012. We’ve separated it into two sections: one for IT leaders and one for employees. It’s not just a smattering of unattainable goals; these are resolutions you can keep. Get crackin’.

For IT Leaders

1. Formulate a social media policy. Yammer‘s Maria Ogneva wrote a comprehensive guide for Mashable, and in it she offers practical tips and sensible advice: “The best way to ensure buy-in to your social media policy is not through threat of disciplinary action. Rather, it’s by providing education and resources, and building the right processes.” We like how she thinks. Read it here.
2. Change is good. Embrace the mobility megatrend. See TechTarget’s big picture article here, and its how-to for CIOs here.
3. Help your folks help themselves – offer software support and training (read an old PC Helps Blog post, “Designing Graceful, Not Godawful, Solutions” – its message is still applicable).

For Employees

1. Use Excel formulas more, manually vet less. (See our repository of Excel tips here.)
2. Change your password when prompted, without the added griping.
3. Hoard mail less, archive more. Your email program will run faster, and you’ll find old mail easier. (Find email tips here.)
4. Save constantly (on a PC, Ctrl+S; Mac, Command+S), and, while you are at it, learn more keyboard shortcuts. (Get Windows keyboard shortcuts here; Mac shortcuts here.)

Happy 2012!

Jenny Sweeney Year in Review archive, Excel, keyboard shortcuts, Mac shortcuts, Mashable, productivity, security, Social Media, TechTarget, Yammer

Are You a Member of the Club?

By Joe Puckett, director of recruiting and training at PC Helps

The Rave:
It’s a well-known fact that who you know can be just as important as what you know. For example, the right person from your organization being a member of the
right golf club can make a huge difference.

Part 5 in the series: 
Are You a Member of the Club?

Personal links made on the golf links can drive business. In the location-independent global village we now live in, having the right people as followers or friends can be much like belonging to the right golf club. The increased integration of social media in iOS 5 makes it easier to be everywhere at once.

Joe Puckett iOS 5 Rants & Raves, iPad Handguns for Dummies, privacy, productivity, Social Media

While the Marines are busy banning social media and some corporations are clamping down on Twitter and its ilk, the state government of California is encouraging its workers to embrace Web 2.0.

California officially adopted the use of social media. But it’s hardly a Farmville free-for-all.

On Feb. 26, the state officially adopted the use of social media. But it’s hardly a Farmville free-for-all.

The state issued a policy that sets clear rules for its use, including a limitation to only authorized users who have been trained regarding their roles, responsibilities and security risks. (View a PDF of the policy here.)

The document states: “State agencies are encouraged to use social media technologies to engage their customers and employees. Many state entities, including the Governor, have used these communication channels with great success but as with most technologies, there is a measure of risk that must be addressed and mitigated.”

In addition to the policy, the state issued a five-page “Social Media Standard,” which includes a few interesting clauses (read the full document in PDF form here):

No. 8: “Users shall not utilize tools or techniques to spoof, masquerade, or assume any identity or credentials except for legitimate law enforcement purposes, or for other legitimate State purposes as defined in agency policy.”

No. 9: “Users shall avoid mixing their professional information with their personal information.”

And, No. 10: “Users shall not use their work password on social media web sites.”

Participating agencies must comply with the policy by July 1.

Related reading: “What We’re Reading: If  Harvard Says So Edition” | “Social Media: The Elephant in the Office”

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

Jenny Sweeney Social Media California, CIO, FACEBOOK, Farmville, government, Social Media, the Marines, Twitter, YouTube

It’s that time of year when we look back on what was and ponder what is to come. The year 2009 brought a number of significant tech developments — the iPhone as a legitimate business tool (AT&T’s bandwidth issues notwithstanding); the Cloud’s emergence; grandmothers embracing social media; Windows 7 — all of which promise to change the way we work.

Still, all our readers cared about was learning how to use a secondary axis in Excel, how to change BlackBerry calendar views, and why help desk techs are so surly.

Here’s a list of our top 10 posts from 2009. Read and enjoy.

10. Get It Together: 5 Ways to Stay Organized in Outlook
9. 5 Lessons to Learn Before Outsourcing
8. A Kinder, Gentler Help Desk
7. Top 5 Most-Asked Help Desk Questions
6. 7 Productivity-Boosting iPhone Tips
5. Out of Office, Out of Mind
4. How the Help Desk Earns its Bad Reputation
3. Follow the Format: 5 MS Word Tips for Managers
2. 4 BlackBerry Tips Every Manager Should Know
1. Management Tool Best Practices: 3 Excel Tips that Promise Charting Greatness

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

Jenny Sweeney Year in Review BlackBerry, Excel, FACEBOOK, How To, iPhone, Outlook, Social Media, the Cloud, tips and tricks, Twitter, Windows Mobile