> > There's also a new feature coming that makes it really easy
> >to move a conversation from email to QuickTopic --
> >'revolutionary' might be too strong a word, but I think it can
> >change the way people work. I'm really excited about that, and
> I
> >may announce it along with the release of QuickTopic Pro.
>
> Just for clarity's sake - will that new feature be only
> available in Pro, or is that something we can expect on the
> existing Quicktopic service?

These new features are for QT Pro. That doesn't mean I've stopped working on the free service. But I'll be able to spend more time on all of it if it's paying a few more bills :-)

>
> Now that's interesting. As someone who once tried (and failed)
> to get a team of people in a corporate environment to share
> knowledge via a mailing list, I know how hard it can be to
> foster collaboration in a workplace, especially electronic
> collaboration.

Me too. It always falls naturally back to email. That's why it's important to work in email (like I'm doing right now). And it has to be a tiny step to upgrade a 'native' email conversation to QuickTopic, and it has to cause no interruption in the email flow. People don't want to go somewhere else to collaborate -- the group inertia is extremely strong.

>
> But to return to your point - what's going to be the biggest
> hurdle to overcome on the path to getting people to make use of
> a Quicktopic-style tool in the workplace?

I think the biggest barrier is the social inertia I mentioned above.
> Is it your job, as the
> creator of the software (and presumably of the UI) to make
> simplicity the key to encouraging participation, or is it the
> job of the company that decides to implement it?

It's entirely my job, and it's got to be simplicity combined with a compelling advantage over plain email. Company policy can't -- and shouldn't try to -- enforce social behavior patterns. And collaboration is, above all, a social activity (so it can actually be fun!) So the collaboration technology has to be transparent, with no learning curve, and it needs to make things easier for everyone. It needs to supply its own motivation. When the technology can add benefits beyond keeping your inbox organized (like being able to unsubscribe from a big conversation, or bring someone in late, or have a central thread instance to point to, or search archived conversations), you've got something that'll stick.