Wireless Society (sort of)

Increasingly we see our pop culture incorporating internet technologies into their normal routine. With the increase in wireless capability, we also see a dramatic rise in our ability to connect not just for voice, but data and rich-media as well.

However, the limitation we are finding is the lack of cooperation of those who control these networks. Organizations like AT&T, Nextel, T-Mobile, and Alltel have a challenge as they seek to protect their interests (which translates into revenue) while cooperating with a growing demand for portability and access. Bruce Meyerson identifies how some are challenging this lack of cooperation on the grounds that it violates free speech.

What do you think? Should we be able to send messages between carriers without charge?

SOURCE: Meyerson, B. (2007 December 24). Not On Our Network, You Don't. Businessweek, p. 34.

Who's Really In Control?

I came across a fascinating quote recently in Wired Magazine. Spencer Reiss was interviewing Nicholas Carr about the future of technology. They covered the idea of dummy computers, privacy, the global network, and how we interact with computers, but the most fascinating quote was:

We're beginning to process information as if we're nodes; it's all about the speed of locating and reading data. We're transferring our intelligence into the machine, and the machine is transferring its way of thinking into us.

How are you seeing this in your business?

SOURCE: Reiss, S. (2008, JAN). Do You Trust Google? Wired, p. 42.

The Not-So-Original Idea

The idea of a network of like-minded people connecting is certainly nothing new. This has been happening for ages. Why we are at the same time so enamoured and scared of MySpace and Facebook is interesting. It was also interesting to learn about The Well.

Launched in 1985 on a dial-up bulletin board system (BBS), The Well is one of the earliest online communities for collaboration, innovation and debate. In a recent article in Wired's 15th Aniiversary: A Look Back, Malinowski identified two key reasons for the success of this community:

Accountability versus anonymity Many sites today remove the identity which opens up some unprofessional behavior. The Well provided the ability for people to create unique "handles" but kept them linked to a real person.

Depth versus brevity Instant messing (IM) and SMS messages are increasingly influencing our communication patterns and expectations. Some discussions merit much more than can be communicated by texting a message on a PDA. The Well provides a mechanism where people can enter into deep discussion, some of which go back 20 years.

The implication for business' considering social networking include building in accountability and encouraging contributors to add meaningful thoughts and ideas to the discussion. This may require some well-trained moderators to keep the discussions on tract.

SOURCE: Malinowski, E. (2008, JAN). The Well Runneth Over. Wired, p. 49.

"Professional" Social Networking

Many professionals are warming up to the idea of using social networking tools to help extend their professional networks--especially those finding themselves in a job search. Popular tools are LinkedIn and Plaxo, but now that FaceBook has opened up to non-students, this is also emerging with some.

What concerns should professionals have when using these tools?

Should professionals keep separation between their "professional" and "personal" networks?

Should employers search these or other internet sources as they recruit or qualify candidates?

Virtually Everywhere

Semper International, along with many other organizations are turning to Web 2.0 technologies for social networking, blogs and other technologies to play a key role in it's recruiting initiatives. Read more in the December 10, 2007 issue of Workforce Management .

How does your organization use MySpace, LinkedIn, Second Life or Facebook for HR-related activities?

Unintended Broadcasting

One of the features of many social networking sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, MySpace and others is the ability to control the connections between family, friends, and colleagues and share information with them that others outside the network cannot see.

Whether it is contact information, lists of favorites, or other bits of information, this feature is in large part one of the strengths of these tools which draw people together because of some shared interest or experience.

Many of these sites are seeking ways to make a buck. The most common way to do this is either to provide features that are only available by agreeing to pay a subscription to access these features and the other way is to incorporate advertising.

Steven Levy asks an interesting question about FaceBooks move to integrate "social advertising" into its site. This feature essentially generates an "ad" based on products or services used by its members. The problem Levy identifies is that these ads are not controlled by the members but are rather auto-generated by the site.

There are numerous issues raised with this type of approach ranging from member privacy, control of information to unintended "sponsorship" of products and services used by members.

From a workplace perspective, what issues are raised as members make personal choices for products which may be from competitors? Should employees fear retaliation from their employer as this information is "broadcast" to their community (which may contain co-workers) without their knowledge or permission?

Levy, Steven (2007, December 10). Do Real Friends Share Ads? Newsweek, 30.

Social Networking Site Review

Confused by the many social networking sites available?

Are you thinking social networking is only for those under 30?

Check out reviews of feature/capabilities of the leading social networking sites, and find one that fits your needs.

Mobile Wave or Fad?

So I took the plunge and jumped into the latest wave. Some question whether this is more like a fad.

With the integration of video as well as the other expected features of phone, e-mail and web, the question is how can this device be leveraged for performance support with a geographically disperse workforce?

Time will tell...for now, it's not only a cool device that works, it is also a great conversation starter.

MySpace or OurSpace?

Most are now agreeing that social networking has taken the Internet by storm. This "storm" is due in part to the maturity of technical infrastructures and the explosion of self-publishing and social networking applications, but mostly because that is where individuals in mass are gathering.

The real challenge/question for organizations is should they offer similar tools in their corporate communities?

Read the following Talent Management article by associate editor Tegan Jones and join in with your thoughts.

QUESTIONS

What are the corporate fears?

Why the corporate hesitation?

What are the benefits?

How should it be/not be managed?

Socialite.com

Socialight is a fun, new community that lets you connect in totally new ways - by creating, sharing, and discovering virtual Sticky Notes placed at specific locations using your mobile phone or the web.

Socialight is a location-based information service. Geeks call it "geo-tagging". With this service, you can create Stickies anywhere in the world for your friends, for everyone, or just for yourself. They can now contain text and photos, and soon you'll be able to add sound clips and video.

Watch this video to learn more:


The company claims benefits like:

Looking for restaurant reviews from friends whose opinions you trust? Use your cell phone to access their creative take on the food and service…before you’re led to your table.

Want the inside scoop on the coolest, hard-to-find shops in London? Use your mobile phone to see what your fashion-forward friends have tagged in a particular shopping district.

There are obvious concerns and critics with anything new, especially as it relates to security. Not that I believe anyone will be stalking me, there are some who this may be an issue.

QUESTIONS:

What are your thoughts about how employees may use this service on business trips?

What policies (if any) do you feel the organization should put in place to protect their people and/or themselves?

Adjusting to Generation Y

Barbara Rose reported in an article in Hartford Courant (CT) (03/19/07) recently that:

Employers adopt high-tech training strategies to engage the growing number of Generation Y employees, according to experts. Generation Y is the most rapidly-growing workforce segment, currently making up 20 percent of the private sector. To entertain, teach, and impress those who grew up in the era of gaming and instant messaging, employers are now using computer games and simulations, animated training modules, and video blogs instead of traditional recruitment and training methods. These approaches help new employees memorize job details; the online games and quizzes also weed out those who are adverse to putting in time and effort. The new techniques--used by companies such as Nike, Cisco Systems, and Cold Stone Creamery--accommodate Generation Y's preference for short spurts of information rather than long explanations. Employers are also aware that Generation Y workers typically expect involved managers, rewards, and validation, which forces firms to reform their training strategies to accommodate those expectations. Nike credits its interactive "Sports Knowledge Underground" program with a 5 percent to 6 percent increase in sales. Cisco program manager Jerry Bush points out that after five minutes playing Cisco's binary math computer game, the employee solves 50 problems and is "highly engaged and having a good time."

Questions:

It seems possible that some content may be necessary but unavailable in the higher production values this audience seems to demand. How do you manage the expectations of these learners?

How do you ensure the "short spurts of information" do not lead the learner down an unproductive path or leave out critical information?

Community of Practice

James Paul Gee makes an interesting observation in his book What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and Literacy (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003):

It is common today for research on modern workplaces to point out that in today's high-tech and fast-changing world, the most valuable knowledge a business has is the tacit knowledge its workers gain through continually working with others in a 'community of practice' that adapts to specific situations and changes 'on the ground' as they happen. Such knowledge cannot always be verbalized. Even when it can be verbalized and placed in a training manual, by that time it is often out of date.

Questions:

What does this say about the role of social networking in the workplace?

What does this say about the nature of "formal" training versus "informal training in the workplace?

For more information or your own copy, click the link below:

Predictive Marketplaces

The Masie Center is conducting an experiment using a new online tool for "Predictive Marketplace" forcasting. The link below is a marketplace where hundreds of learning colleagues can place "play" bets on this question:

"What will employees, in 2009, use as their PRIMARY tools for everyday learning in the workplace?"

Go to this free site, register and you will be given $5,000 play dollars to buy stocks for answers such as Classes, PodCasts, Classroom, Video Conferencing and others.

The theory is to use a Predictive Marketplace as a tool for gathering the wisdom of the crowds. This marketplace will remain open until April 1st.

Cool List Feature and other Resources

I recently ran across a cool feature on Amazon.com called Listmania, which lets you include products you find interesting. Lists can have up to 40 items and include a short commentary.

I created on for my book reading list. But you can create these for just about anything listed on Amazon's site.

Looking for more information and resources on social networking? Check out the following:

How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Learning

In an intriguing work by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade (Harvard Business School Press, 2004), the authors describe the "basic principles" guiding a new generation of workers:

If you get there first, you win.

There's a limited set of tools, and it is certain that some combination will work. If you choose the right combination, the game will reward you.

Trial and error is the best strategy and the fastest way to learn.

Elders and their received wisdom can't help; they don't understand even the basics of this new world.

You will confront surprises and difficulties that you are not prepared for. But the sum of those risks and dangers, by definition, cannot make the quest foolish.

Once you collect the right "objects" (business plan, prototype, customers, maybe even profits), you'll get an infusion of gold to tide you over.

While there may be momentary setbacks, overall the trend will be up.

And the most basic rule: If you bump into a "game over," no problem. You can always either hit reset and play again just one more time, or turn off the machine and pick up normal life where you left off.

Is this what you see in the workplace? If yes, how is it impacting training programs?

MIT Weighs in on Collective Intelligence

Citing the work of MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence (CCI) and best-selling book The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki, CIO Magazine has an interesting article MIT Puts Its Mind to Collective Intelligence where they explain MIT's desire to study how individuals harness technology to act intelligently.

There are people who think that collective intelligence is magic, and if you just add it, it'll make everything wonderful.

--Thomas Malone, CCI Director

What do you do when the "crowd" is wrong?

Social Networking as a Learning Tool

I recently ran across an article from CLO Magazine which is worth wrestling with. After you read the CLO article, I am interested in your thoughts on the following:

Do you believe this "socially motivated Internet activity" has implications to the CLO?

In the article, Alterman says "social networking as a learning tool has to be fun." Do you agree/disagree?

How do you envision the empowerment sites like MySpace, YouTube, etc. have conditioned users will play in an organization that tends to want to monitor and measure what is said?

Friends at Work

I recently read an interesting book that reminded me of a colleague-Wayne-who opened my eyes to the importance of meaningful connections in the workplace and how this can positively impact workplace climate and culture.

The book Vital Friends by Tom Rath challenges long-held assumptions people have about their relationships. And the team's landmark discovery — that people who have a "best friend at work" are seven times as likely to be engaged in their job — is sure to rattle the structure of organizations. This research and subsequent assessment from the Gallup Organization reveals eight vital friendship roles in your work and life.

Builder

Companion

Connector

Collaborator

Energizer

Mind Opener

Navigator

Champion

Based on this reading and the recent blog Social Networking: How do we become Friends? GK raised several questions, which may merit some further dialog:

When considering how technology is used in the context of Social Networking, how would you answer the following questions:

How does one build this sense of sincerity using technology? What are some examples?

How does one connect with another using technology? What are some examples?

How do we create a safe environment for people to give and take opinions within a SN technology? What are some examples?

For me the bottom-line question is do we believe a culture of friendship at work makes a difference, and if yes:

What role should the organization take in fostering these relationships? and

What role does technology play?

Prairie Doggin'

Anyone who has worked in a "modern" office environment can appreciate the phenomenon that occurs with workers and their cubicles, especially when they are trying to solve a problem new to them: prairie doggin'

This is when an employee pops up to see if their neighbor has a tactic or solution that would help them solve their problem.

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, The Cost of Knowledge (November 2006), Al Jacobson and Laurence Prusak make the following statement:

"'Knowledge management' in organizations has become synonymous with 'knowledge searching.' Web crawlers and other data-mining programs swarm over terabytes of documents and e-mails looking for clues that can help connect information seekers with sources. Clever icons adorning desktops promise to instantly deliver users to the right expert."

They go on to state that by the year 2010 the sale of enterprise information-search systems will grow, tripling its current value to $2.6 billion.

The breakdown by how "knowledge workers" spend their time include:

6.2% scheduling meetings with experts

10.2% searching for knowledge

37.7% eliciting knowledge from experts (aka prairie doggin')

45.9% adapting knowledge gained

How do some of the new tools introduced by social networking technologies (e.g., instant messaging, blogging, podcasts) factor in to the "daily workflow" of information searching, analysis and application? In other words, do these help "speed" up the search for information and solutions?

Social Networking: How do we become Friends?

I recently read an article in Psychology Today (DEC 2006) about friendship by Karen Karbo. In light of our discussion on social networking, I would be interested in your reaction to a couple of statements from this article:

The conventional wisdom is that we choose friends because of who "they" are. But it turns out that we actually love them because of the way they support who "we" are.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" may well be the very words you say to someone who is about to become a friend.

We feel closer to people we do favors for. The fondness toward your yoga class buddy will continue to grow if she asks for a ride home.

A friend with too many opinions about our wardrobe, our partner, or our taste in movies and art may not be a friend for long.

Reactions? How does this play out when you introduce technologies of phone, blogs, podcasts, etc.?