Let’s begin with the obvious — it’s Monday.

[I tried posting the iMeem player here, but I failed. Instead, you get the clickable link.] [UPDATE, 10/1/08, 10a: Now you've got the clickable link and the iMeem player. Yes, the phrase "live and learn" comes to mind.]

So not only did a week of Oracle OpenWorld pretty much max me out, but now we’re heading into production week on CRM‘s November print issue. Another cycle goes by, and another opportunity to improve our offerings slides away with it. So I’m left to console myself with the knowledge that

(a) there’s always next month (these cycles are called cycles for a reason);

(2) we’re making strides (we’re better now than we were, and as long as that continues to be the case, I’ll count myself lucky if not satisfied); and

(iii) we’re working to offer the CRM community the very best content we can, delivered in the best and most sophisticated context possible.

And then I’m reminded that others often are there ahead of us. To get at what I’m getting at, check after the break…

It’s OK if we’re not the vanguard, or the first movers — I was reminded last week, by Anthony Lye, the senior vice president of Oracle CRM On Demand (and the mastermind of the company’s Social CRM movement), that it can be just as effective (and sometimes more so) to be a nimble fast follower.

That said, somewhere down the road I’d like to offer the kind of transparency that Wired has recently delivered:

blog.wired.com/storyboard

It’s a generic URL — which means they’re likely to replace it eventually with whatever feature is current, but at the time I’m writing this, it links to a play-by-play of the development of a profile of Oscar-winning screenwriter (and debuting director) Charlie Kaufman. The story’s due to run in the November issue, and while it’s turned out not to be the cover story this time around (something I learned by following the Storyboard), it’s been a worthwhile process just the same. The editors have uploaded everything from email transcripts to interview audiofiles to design mockups to fact-checking proofs. For anyone interested in how a major consumer magazine goes about its business, it’s heady stuff to be allowed behind the curtain. (It’s also singularly appropriate to get all “meta” about a guy like Kaufman, who was responsible for such mind-benders as Adaptation. and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Being John Malkovich. [His newest, Synecdoche, New York, opens later this month -- here's the trailer.])

(In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that the story’s written by a buddy of mine, Senior Editor Jason Tanz, who was also responsible for the recent top-selling Wired cover story on Julia Allison, as well as the book Other People’s Property.

A cool cat, he is.)

That’s just one example, of course — and I’m not surprising anyone to reveal that Wired has more resources at its disposal than we do; other examples are more glaring and more galling to me, because I know they’re within our reach.

At OpenWorld, for example — links to coverage by Lauren McKay and me can be found here, btw — I had the interesting experience of having the tables turned. Twice I was the interviewee and not the lucky soul who gets to ask the questions from behind the safety of a reporter’s pad.

Our old friend Paul Greenberg (who writes for us, and whom we named an Influential Leader this year for a reason) took some time to ask me a few questions about Oracle and my views. For what it’s worth, our conversation can be found here, on his MyCRMCareer MyCRMcareer site. [UPDATE, 10/1/08, 10a: For someone who cherishes the power of the brand, I certainly made an "oops" by capitalizing Paul's site incorrectly. My apologies. Not entirely clear, though, if there should be a space in there.] Please feel free to visit and comment there, but I’d love to hear your comments here on our site, as well. [I'm not the only one Paul interviewed, btw -- there are at least three other interviews posted there.]

[UPDATE, 9/30: I left out the 2nd table-turning moment, of course: Steve Diamond, of Oracle (and a man with a storied CRM career), tapped me on the shoulder during the waning hours of Thursday's final day at Oracle OpenWorld, asking if he could ask me "a couple of questions" in a kind of exit-poll feedback thing. Twenty minutes, and 15 questions later, I'm signing a release form that sugested the video (video!) might end up on YouTube or something -- especially since Oracle had the wherewithal to create not one but two YouTube channels, one of them loaded with material from the company's Karen Tillman, who roamed the halls of OOW with a flip camera in tow, getting some of the best one-on-one interviews of the week. (Access to the principals immediately after their keynotes was a plus, of course.) At any rate, Steve was charming, and the conversation was a breeze — at least, it seemed that way to me. When we get the link, we'll see what the reality is.]

And Senior Editor Marshall Lager was part of an online panel discussion today, with another of our old friends, Brent Leary. When we get that link, we’ll add it here. [UPDATE, 10/1/08, 10a: And adding it here, we are: http://snurl.com/LagerLearyTFBSold ] An UPDATE to the update, 10/1/08, 5pETL Apparently that original link was the **old** TFBS broadcast. Here’s the newer, better, 100% improved broadcast link (I’ve also tweaked the old link): http://snurl.com/LagerLearyTFBS100108.]

But the point is this: It’s no longer enough for us to rely on the advances of others. When it’s clear that advances are taking hold, a fast follower needs to prove its worthy of the title, and start following.

j.