#BNLF - 7 Key Takeaways and Other Impressions from Day 1

#BNLF I've learned means Blog Now, Live Forever. Pretty cool I thought! 

This weekend—31^st Oct and 1^st November -- was spent at the #BNLF conference held at The Lalit, Mumbai. Intrigued by the name and impressed by the lineup of speakers consisting of people like Purba Ray of the A-Musing fame (I have always been intrigued by that hyphen), Arnab Ray, the author of May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss, better known as the @greatbong, Anshul Tiwari, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Youth ki Awaaz, Christoph Trappe, the writer of The Authentic Storytelling Project blog, Jeff Bullas whose blog I have been following from years, Preeti Shenoy and none other than Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden – decided how I would spend my weekend. This post is a summary of my impression of Day 1.

This was my first BNLF, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the blogging fraternity. I had somehow assumed that a hundred odd people would turn up and most would be fans of writers like Arnab Ray and Purba Ray… . I turned up at The Lalit well-ahead of time as I’m wont to do, and was ready to meander in the lobby when I encountered at least 300+ people generally hanging around – some in clusters, some alone and some evidently #BNLF organizers wearing the hashtag T-shirt. Hmm! Not quite what I had envisaged for sure. Within a span of 15~20 mins, the 300 swelled to 500+ with more coming. And registration was yet to start. I learned that this amorphous bunch of people consisted of #BNLF regulars as well as the uninitiated like me. “Welcome to the tribe,” someone said. “Are you’ll all bloggers,” I asked? “Yes, of course,” was the somewhat astonished response. That shut me up for sure!

Purba Ray on Stage

There were bloggers from all over India—from Delhi, Chandigarh, Pune, Kolkata, Banglaore… There were bloggers writing on every kind of topic imaginable—from gardening to lifestyle, urban yoga to urban homes, from quilling to political spoofs – if you can think of a topic, there was probably a blogger there writing on it. There were bloggers ranging from 21 year olds to folks in their 50’s. I couldn’t have been more mistaken in my assumptions. And everyone had come to learn, to improve their blogging skills, to pick-up techniques and methodologies to take their blogging to the next level. I was impressed and a little bit awed.

Being used to conferences like #SHRM, #HRTech, and other corporate affairs, I was in for another dose of shock when we entered the main venue post registration. It looked nothing like a conference room. It resembled a rock-show arena with a brightly lit, kaleidoscopic stage, laser lights doing their thing and various musical instruments (I don’t know all the names so won’t get into the details) casually strewn about. The long hall held rows and rows and rows of white chairs – at least a 1000 it seemed -- and looked somewhat surreal to me. I quickly grabbed one in the first row and settled down. The day began with rock music—yes! no corporate affair this one! 700+ people were on their feet rocking and swaying and clapping to “We don’t need no Education” and other favorites. What a start!

The day maintained the momentum and the speakers didn’t let us down either. Each had their unique story and perspectives to share. I’ve made a holistic list of my key takeaways from the day that I felt would be worth sharing for other bloggers like me. 

1. Bring Constancy and Commitment: This theme cropped up in everyone’s talk and the masterclasses that followed on Sunday. More about these in my next post. Without exception everyone spoke about being committed and regular with one’s blogging schedule, to post on a specific day of the week, and even at a specific time. The trick is to have a set of posts ready and scheduled to publish. This not only helps loyal readers keep track of your writing but also helps in search engine rankings. While I theoretically knew all this, I had not gotten around to being this disciplined. Coming from some of the most respected bloggers and writers, it was a hard-hitting message for me. 
2. Keep it Conversational: Apparently, while we all like to sound erudite and believe that obfuscating points make them more interesting, it is not true. I pondered a while and realized that the blogs I like in my domain are all written in the simplest language without any loss of depth or impact. The first example that came to my mind was @AbhijitBhaduri ‘s blog! So, keeping it simple, using short words, and writing as if we were explaining a concept to a friend is a good approach to follow. 
3. Make it Authentic: In their various ways, each of the speakers emphasized this with Christoph Trappe making it the core of his piece. Of course to be authentic, it is essential to feel deeply and passionately about our domain of blogging. It is impossible to be authentic without being passionate. It also implies being vulnerable and open, considering readers as friends. A stilted and fake voice will neither get us loyal readers nor make us feel satisfied with our writing. 
4. Re-purpose Content: I often forget that I can use my blog post to create a SlideShare presentation, craft unique tweets or use the images for Pinterest boards. Re-purposing content across different social media channels in different forms not only ensures a wider and more constant reach but also addresses varied audience preferences and needs. 
5. Keep an Eye on the Headline: According to research, listicles are a great way to get attention for primarily three reasons -- 1) provide a container around content pieces; 2) make it easy for the readers to keep track, and go back and forth; and 3) make it easy to recall. While definitely not all my posts can have a title beginning “7 ways to…” and “9 things to keep in mind…”, it is an advice worth remembering. Headlines are very critical, especially in this era of content abundance and attention deficit. Headlines should clearly tell readers what they can expect from the post. 
6. Remember the 60-30-10 Rule: This specifically struck a chord with me. Christoph Trappe mentioned that successful blogging is defined by this rule of time and effort breakup – where 60% is devoted to creating authentic and original content; 30% should be given to listening and conversation because blogging is not a siloed activity; and 10% effort can be spent on sharing and linking on different social platforms. This is a good rule of thumb I intend to practice more consciously. 
7. Don’t be Over-Dependent on Social Media: Jeff Bullas emphasized the importance of focusing on search and doing keyword research for those serious about growing their readership. Good content is of course a must and a given. According to him, the power of headlines, images and email lists should not be ignored. I’m going to explore these one at a time and test for impact.

All in all, Day 1 gave me plenty of food for thought and action. I know consistency is going to be my key issue, with procrastination my Achilles’ heel. Look out for posts on the Day 2 Workshops and other unique moments. 

Revisiting My Learning Journey on Social Media

On my way to office today, I was pondering about my evolving use of social media. Six years have passed since I joined Twitter in 2008, when twitter was in its infancy, and I was clueless about its use. In hindsight I realize how immensely lucky I was to have stumbled onto the learning network I did. I got to learn from the experts – individuals who were charting the path and devising ways to use the tool as an avenue for learning, sharing and innovating – building a strong global community of learning professionals. Here’s my heartfelt thanks to people like @janebozarth, @janehart, @hjarche, @jaycross, @charlesjennings, @jeanmarrapodi, and many more for generously sharing their learning and experience and for changing the face of learning – for individuals and organizations. As I see colleagues and friends and peers still struggling to comprehend how to use social media for “learning” and often expressing skepticism, I thought I’d share my journey in brief. This is also a journey back in time for me to trace my own learning pathway through the maze called social media. I hope my journey will encourage others like me to embark on this path. 

I stumbled across twitter quite by accident or should I say serendipity. It was perhaps a case of opportunity meeting the prepared mind. Just prior to that, I had finished reading Jay Cross’ Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance and was primed to explore new ways of learning. Needless to say when I found the same person on Twitter, I was part excited and part overawed. I lurked and waited. I observed the interactions. I followed the links being shared. I read avidly hoping to reach a level where I would be able to contribute or at least understand part of what was going on. Driven by curiosity and a deep desire to learn, I entered a wondrous world. It was equivalent to an online library being personally curated for me by some of the best learning curators and designers. I found out who followed whom and started following some of the people. I didn’t know then that I was building my Personal Learning Network (PLN) and that it would change how I learned and thought forever. It’s no exaggeration to say that Twitter and my growing PLN contributed to what became transformative learning for me. And I guess this was the Seeking time for me (if I were to map my journey onto Harold Jarche’s Seek-Sense-Share Framework).

I discovered the blogs of several of the people mentioned above and was amazed by the power of the platform – a free tool to share thoughts, ideas and get feedback and inputs. I started blogging—albeit very tentatively. It took me a while to realize that blogging is not about other people – unless you are blogging to market something. Blogging is one of the most critical and powerful personal learning and reflection tool. Just like I am blogging now to delve into how I’ve learned from social media and my PLN. Here’s a link to my first ever blog post called Games in Corporate Training written at a time when most organizations thought that gamification in corporate training was a sacrilege. While the post leaves much to be desired from the point of view of analysis, knowledge and maturity, it’s still a critical part of my learning journey. No one tweeted it. And I didn’t have a Share option on my blog then. It looked very different then from what it does now. It was the March of 2009, and I have completed 5 years of blogging this year. Blogging took me to the next stage of the framework – Sensing. I started to analyze, assimilate and connect the disparate dots – things were beginning to make sense.  

Sometime later, I stumbled on to my first ever online learning community, #lrnchat. Little did I know then the influence that it’d have over me. I think it was one of those days when I was just lurking on twitter (as had become my habit), and I saw a series of tweets with the hashtag #lrnchat stream past. I didn’t know what was happening but found that clicking the hashtag showed me all the tweets related to it. I sat through the entire one hour and found out that this “phenomenon” took place at a fixed time and day every week. Intrigued, I was back the next week and the week after and the following week... Again unknown to me, I was following the classic behavior of a community member going from lurking to participating to contributing to lurking again. All that l learned here, I took back to my work. I started to view elearning and instructional design through different lenses. I felt empowered. Such is the power of a learning network and community. Here’s an old post from one of my early #lrnchat days: An Impromptu #lrnchat. It was an exciting time. I saw everyone contributing in the community, and understood the importance of Sharing.

When I trace the path back, I can very clearly plot my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) approach. But that’s only in retrospection. Here’s an old post on the various learning tools I used way back in 2010. Some of the tools are no longer in existence. But they facilitated my learning journey when they did exist.

Since then, I have learned to curate, filter, aggregate, save and share. I consciously follow people who I trust and who become my curators. I use different curating and aggregation tools like paper.li to share content. Today, my list of social media tools—apart from Twitter and my blog—includes Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, and occasionally, Tumblr. I'm still trying to streamline my sources. I want to avoid the trap of homophily, and try to keep my sources as diverse as possible. However, that seems to be becoming increasingly difficult as we keep receiving “more of the same” kind of content with the web acting as a giant curator. I am not sure if I want everything “irrelevant” filtered out automatically…but that is a topic for another post. 

Tweetbook: Save all your Tweets and Favorites...

Inspired by the post TweetBook: Create a PDF diary with all your Tweets by David Hopkins, I went ahead and did just that.


I generated a PDF of all my tweets (of the last one year and that is pretty substantial) as well as one of all my favs. Neat!

sahana2802's Tweet Book


sahana2802's Favorite Tweet Book

HPT and Social Learning: David Wilkins via Skype #ISPI -Sharing some key points...

I just attended an #ISPI session hosted by the Massachusetts ISPI chapter (@MASS_ISPI).  

The session was on HPT and Social Learning: Organizational Performance in the Cloud by David Wilkins, VP of Product Marketing at Learn.com. Jean Marrapodi (@jmarrapodi) in her inimitable fashion made it possible for me to attend this session via Skype. And Dave (@dwilkinsnh) made getting up at 4:00 a.m. so totally worth it. 

A keen and passionate believer in the power of Social Networking (SN) in improving organizational performance--not marginally but manifold--this session was an eye-opener for me.

Before I launch into my take on this one, I have pasted below some of the tweets from @jmarrapodi capturing the key points of the session.

1. SoMe is largely driven by groups other than L&D. We need to get w/the program!
2. No one owns SoMe. We should! ~@dwilkinsnh #ISPI #ASTD
3. GenY has a tribe. People move in tribes. Your SoMe group always moves w/you. ~@dwilkinsnh
4. Much of using SoMe is abt trust.Putting name on the line helps. Can't be anonymous. Shared expertise builds credibility. #ISPI 
5. 
   
   "We should no longer teach a man to fish. We should teach a man to teach & share expertise." ~@dwilkinsnh
6. Organizational network analysis (Rob Cross) shows how companies really work. Sometimes reveal that C-level disconnected. ~@dwilkinsnh 
7. @dwilkinsnh is talking about @hjarche & @jaycross Inverted Pyramid needs of training.Not mgmt down but collaborative work http://j.mp/aRxfQT

At the same time, sort of fortuitously, Guy Wallace (@guywwallace) was tweeting some very pertinent questions about the viability of implementing SoMe in organizations. I have pasted those below as well since they form a part of the larger whole. 

1. Don't expect executives to see the value in what you propose if you don't understand how they calculate value in the first place. Homework.
2. What is the philosophy in your Enterprise about using ROI, ROA, EVA, etc.? What business metrics are the most important? How do you link?
3. What is the typical expected payback period for investments in your Enterprise? And what total payback will there be x2 or x3 years out?
4. When you suggest/ask the Enterprise for funds for Training - do you look at both First and Life Cycle costs in the ROI forecast?
5. What costs could be avoided/lessened, and to what extent, if Informal Learning tools were embraced in work processes? That's part of the R.   
6. What types of Performance would you recommend which SoMe tools for - if you had a 90 floor ELEVATOR ride w/ the CEO - and she asked?
7. Could SoMe help remote Sales Teams respond better to RFPs? What would that be worth? And then how many times might that be repeated a year?
8. Could SoMe help Field Marketing Teams do their work? What would that be worth? And then how many times might that be repeated a year?
9. Could SoMe help a Global Team do their work? What would that be worth? And then how many times might that be repeated a year?
10. Activity measures (results) without the Value measures (results) don't tell enough of the picture to make a decision on anything.

Highlighting the movement from the one:one to one:many and now to the many:many model with the rise of different SoMe platforms, Dave stressed on the importance of the network, of being connected.   

My take:

With the increasing availability of informal content via different networks, customers are more connected than ever before. The "Cluetrain" effect is here to stay.     

Thesis #12: There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.      

Networking, exchanging and sharing, learning from one another--be they partners, clients, competitors, subordinates--is imperative. Connecting is no longer an option. An organization that refuses to break down the rigid walls of hierarchy, top down management, one way communication, control and command approach will stagnate.

Stagnation is a notion of false comfort. There is no such thing as status quo. Nothing stagnates. It just decays and dies.

 

An Incisive Report: Social Marketing Analytics

Social Marketing Analytics: A New Framework for Measuring Results in Social Media talks about marketing analytic, the need for standardized measures, and most importantly, about different measurement framework.

If you are foraying into the social marketing arena or want to understand how social marketing impacts CRM, or wish to make a case for it, this is a highly recommended read.

You can read the report here:

Altimeter Report: Social Marketing Analytics

View more documents from Jeremiah Owyang.

The Science of Social Media Marketing: What do people share?

I don't usually upload videos directly, but this one from O'reillyMedia on the The Science of Social Media Marketing is a must watch for all interested in using Social Media to reach out, influence, spread ideas, create memes. The webcast draws parallels with natural biological development and the growth and spread of an idea using concepts like longevity, fecundity, and reproduction to drive home the points.

I have listed some of the key points the video covers that are of special interest to me (interspersed with some of my takes as well in italics and blue font):

1. How ideas become viral/contagious, become a meme (a term coined by Richard Dawkins in his The Selfish Gene--a must read by the way; good ideas don't necessarily become memes and sometimes silly ideas stick--anyone who has read Made to Stick knows that, e.g., Urban Legends...)
2. How will you test which marketing efforts are working--through iteration 
3. What is "selection pressure"--how will you create something that can withstand today's selection pressures
4. Proverbs stick; to make Tweets stand out from the stream, is this a good standard to follow
5. Spread of ideas by imitation; what kind of ideas are people likely to imitate (read retweet here in the world of Twitter; imitation can raise the "perceived value of an idea" and this leads to it eventually becoming a meme if passed along enough)
6. Don't let a void develop around your brand; lack of information can lead to rumours (Tiger Woods is probably a case in point from recent times)
7. An idea changes a little bit as it moves along (remember the game of Chinese Whispers)--generate ideas that will become better and better as it moves along virally... 
8. The marketing funnel beginning with exposure to the idea, awareness about it and motivation to spread it can be tapped using SoMe platforms
9. Key steps: seeding, identifying influencers, cutting through the clutter (take advantage of human's selective attention by being more relevant and personalized)
10. Avoid link fatigue--don't post too many links at a time
11. Identify time of week when a social media platform like Twitter is likely to be less active (like a Friday evening) to post links and Tweets; likely to get the most attention
12. What sort of psychological or linguistic traits are people likely to RT and thus move along--use of words like I, us, and so on
13. People will pass along links and ideas when it is of personal relevance to them (know the audience well; just as when designing a learning course)
14. Re-tweets tend to be more NOUN HEAVY, novel, where the original tweet had words like Pls RT
15. Be RT worthy by creating RT worthy content
16. Self references work the least...!!! 

A related article you may like to read: Rethinking Online Course Marketing: Build a Tribe in Six Steps

Do see the webcast below...The Science of Social Media Marketing...

An Impromptu #lrnchat: Monday Morning Blues All Gone!

Today morning started on a wonderful note. An impromptu #lrnchat!
It was triggered by a question posed by @marciamarcia: In your opinion, what's the problem social media for learning solves? Please weigh in!

And as she commented 90 minutes later: 168 unique responses (not including mine) in 90 minutes. Organized spontaneous on point educational delicious.

In between her query and her last wrap-up response were innumerable amazing comments/replies that goes to show:
1. the power of collective knowledge
2. the power of a platform like Twitter
3. the power such "conversations" have in helping us to create meaning and see the pattern (refer to: I finally get it--why social networking is so important)
4. the power such collaboration has in helping us to "co-solve" problems (via @hjarche)

Here are some examples of the responses from the thought leaders of this industry (in no particular order and just examples, so not everyone may be cited here; lack of #hashtag did make locating the tweets a little difficult ;):-

From @hjarche:

~SoMe 4 learning bypasses info gatekeepers & reduces software license fees - it enables connections on learners' terms

~Problem: 20th C orgs (trg dept) only focused on formal-directed learning, leaving 80% of workplace learning needs unaddressed

~formal training addresses 20% of workplace learning: OK when enviro is complicated, not when complex: SoMe enables adaptation

~SoMe 4 learning enables a biological & adaptive model vs mechanistic model of ISD et al. CEO: Wanna hang out with dinosaurs?

~more of our work requires dev of emergent practices; training cannot address; need to connect with others to co-solve problems

~centralized & institutionalized is good but doesn't address the root cause, IMO

From @JaneBozarth

~@marciamarcia PROBLEM: WP learning treated as event rather than process.

~@marciamarcia PROBLEM: External entities inappropriately & ineffectively co-opting elearning (per Harold's earlier comment re vendors)

~@marciamarcia PROBLEM: Gatekeepers blocking sharing of knowledge/learning

From @marciamarcia:

~The question on the table: In your opinion, what's the problem social media for learning solves? Please weigh in w/a problem-statement.

~Ya'll at least making me feel better, pointing out it's hard to write a problem statement. Keep em coming, together we're better!

~@rickladd so problem statement: Orgs lack ongoing participation in discussion and resolution of problems ?

~@minutebio: so problem statement: educators are too far from the front lines to be relevant ?

~@gminks so problem statement: you aren't competitive if your people aren't learning what they need fast ?

~@Quinnovator so problem statement: organizations haven't had infrastructures to support widescale collaboration ?

~@courosa Is problem statement: education lacks transparency, collaboration, ease of publishing, authenticity & access to good practice?

~@hjarche Another: learning is perceived as a centralized & institutionalized responsibility, not a natural responsibility of everyone?

~@hjarche I want to clearly show readers there are problems, not just solutions in search of them.

~rlavigne42 New Years Resolutionathon: Let's aim to be more specific in 2010 & clearly define problems b/f offering solutions. (via @marciamarcia)

~Finally, my favorite one from @JaneBozarth: The person who complained that #lrnchat was spam is probably blowing a fuse right about now.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the great tweets that flowed but just a flavor of the experience I had in the morning. Imaging all of these tweets flowing in from different directions, like the confluence of several turbulent streams, and the sheer experience of it. I would barely finish reading a tweet before the next five would be in...

I began this post not to collate the tweets (because in the collation the ebb and flow of the live stream will be lost) but to re-read the tweets and mull over them.

In the process, I found myself visiting the Twitter pages of @marciamarcia, @JaneBozarth, @hjarche, @gminks, et al and forming a list of the tweets purely for my clarity. From that act evolved this post in celebration of the power of virtual conversation, collaboration, sharing and learning.

For me, a lurker on this conversation, it was an eye-opener. This #hashtag-less, unplanned conversation just emulated what we thrive on in real life too. And the power of this conversation was such that it attracted twitter followers of twitter followers of twitter followers who started the discussion.

The ever widening circle of contributors showed clearly and strongly how powerful this medium can be if used by passionate, intellectually bonded, sincere individuals keen on expanding their knowledge and understanding, individuals unafraid to ask questions and willing to accept diverse viewpoints, stimulated by opposing points of views and willing to mold and change their own viewpoints, if need be.

A special thank you to @marciamarcia for beginning this one.

5 Minds for The Future and The Conceptual Age

Just read the post, 5 Minds for the Future in Darcy Moore's blog.

I have pasted the points here so that I can mull over these. I have added my response and reaction to each inline.

1. Disciplined – we all need to have mastered one discipline to prosper or run the risk of being limited to menial tasks.
My thoughts: With the advent of web 2.0, the concept of expertise has become diluted and highly distributed. This makes it imperative not only to master a discipline but also to keep up with the evolving "knowledgescape" in that field. A few days back, we had discussions around the core skills required by an instructional designer and how can one achieve that. The conclusion was that a formal training program coupled with a Personal Learning Network to facilitate collaboration and ongoing learning are the solution. Keeping up with the shifting and growing knowledge base in the field is a requirement to excel and stay on top today.

2. Synthesizing – traditionally valuable, now being able to synthesize from a ‘dizzying’ range of sources becomes even more invaluable or the individual will be personally and professionally overwhelmed.
My thoughts: It has become one of the core skills today. With information and data pouring in, it is very very important to be able to make sense of these, to be able to connect and see the emerging pattern. Again, web 2.0 with its collaboration platforms play a role here. It is only through shared and sharing of experiences that we can make sense of the data, weave stories and see the emerging patterns without getting caught in the trap of micro-details. It has become virtually impossible for anyone to keep up with the flood of information individually. It is whom we know, network with, who form our PLNs that will drive how easily we make sense of the seemingly endless data. Only then will data become knowledge. And this is why social networking is important. I wrote about this in an earlier post: Data, Information, Insight...A Fine Balance!

3. Creating – builds on the previous and allows the individual to step ahead, even of technology, so not to run the risk of being replaced by computers.
My thoughts: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink talks about this at length. I was reading this post , which talks about the book. The para below from the blog post struck me as very very relevant and mirrors my thoughts but says it much better than I ever could. I am pasting it here verbatim:
We are rapidly moving from an economy and culture built on the logical, linear, computer-like capabilities of the Information Age to one built on the creative, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place: the Conceptual Age.
The original post is a must read!

4. Respectful – the need to understand others is fundamental in the home, workplace and in a global sense
My thoughts: The Information Age belonged to a certain kind of people as the post says. That is rapidly changing with organizations becoming flatter, knowledge flowing downwards as well as upwards, hierarchies blurring, creative thinking to come up with solutions becoming the need of the hour...The future belongs to the creative thinkers. And these creative thinkers demand respect and empathy. Mere material reward will no longer appease such people. They will move on to work where they have flexibility, respect, power to exercise creativity...

5. Ethical – going beyond self-interest and able to ponder the greater issues of existence if we are to flourish responsibly
My thoughts: This has probably been always desirable. However, in the Conceptual Age, where we are moving beyond hard numbers with their black and white connotation to areas that have plenty of gray, where it is not always easy to pin down accountability or hols one individual responsible, where collaboration is often the key to outstanding work, ethics play a major role. Moreover, unless we can see where our work/contribution fits into the larger pattern, the work we do will remain illusory and of not much use to anyone.

Data, Information, Insight...A Fine Balance!

"Data is raw material! Analyzed data lead to assumptions. Assumptions can lead to mistakes. Don't assume...know! Don't settle for information, demand insight!"

I don't know who is the originator of the quote above, but it appears on almost every wall here in the form of posters, banners, wall stickers, table stands...

The first few weeks here, I did not fully appreciate the depth of this message till I came across the following video by Nick Milton of Knoco.com discussing data, information and knowledge. Even this alone may not have struck a chord but for the fact that it was a part of a blog post by Kevin D. Jones:
I Finally Get It – Why Social Networking is So Important.



A combination of the post, the video and a couple of experiences brought about my Ah ha! moment today.

Here's an excerpt from the post where Kevin J is quoting Luis Suarez:

"In fact, it’d be right to say that we already *know* way too much. KM isn’t about helping us to know more. It’s about helping us to understand. Knowledge without understanding is like, well, information."

Nick Milton says about Knowledge:

"Knowledge can come from others, it can come from your experience...it is the factor that allows you to take the right decision and do the right thing. KM is a managed system that systematically ensures people have the knowledge they need in any circumstance to make the correct decision...It is providing them with capability, with know-how."

I have been mulling over this for some time when like a jigsaw puzzle, things seemed to fall in place.

I know there is a process for transforming data to knowledge and all kinds of graphs and charts show the process. But they don't really say what knowledge is that data is NOT.



Data, and this is my understanding, is "context-less pieces/bytes of information."

Just hang on to this thought for a moment, and I will come back after a short digression.

The Anecdote:
I recently finished reading Garr Reynold's Presentation Zen. In the book, he recounts his initial encounter with the Japanese. The Japanese, as a culture, do not present their opinion immediately. When presented with any information and asked for their conclusion, their typical answer is, "It depends!" Coming from a data-driven culture, he used to find this slow and frustrating till he realized the philosophy behind it.

Analyzing a set of data out of its context can only lead to assumptions. And assumptions can be misleading. And the same set of data can take on different interpretations depending on the context. The Japanese, a wise culture, realized this long ago and made it a part of their philosophy. And this is also the root of knowledge.

An Experience:
I recently went through an experience where the same set of data led to completely different interpretations by about 6 different people.

1. Who was wrong? No one!
2. Who arrived at the truth? No one! and that includes me...
3. What was missing? None of us asked or answered the right questions. All of us focused on the four Quantitative W's of Who, When, Where, and What. We never addressed the two Qualitative W's of How and Why?
4. What was the key flaw? All of us--some 6 people in the mail trail--had the same set of data but not the same context.

For quite a few days, I have been pondering about my utter inability to communicate my need and the sheer desperation to even one person. I began to doubt my communication and e-mail writing skills. And this was agonizing me more than the incident...my absolute failure to communicate with even one person out of the six...

Then, just at the spot you can see below, while I stared into space, it all just came together. No one had the context. Everyone had only the data. And this knowledge without the understanding, is well, information. I wanted to jump up shouting Eureka! At least, I know my English was not so flawed that no one understood...



Everyone on the mail trail must have forgotten the whole incident by now but I like to arrive at the root of my emotions and reactions...

My Key Learning:
Address the How and Why and make sure the context is clear. Never assume! Look for insights. I put this up on my Skype handle to drive home to myself the lesson I have learnt...

This applies to all life situations--personal or professional. Half our problems begin because we jump to conclusions...we don't stop to ask, "Why".
Why did you do this, say this, write this...?

How do we make sense of data?
This brings me back to the original thought of Data vs. Knowledge management. In daily life, discussions help. This is, as Kevin Jones says, the primary reason for the existence of social platforms. The people help us--through shared experiences, inputs, insights--to make sense of the endless stream of information bombarding us each second, every day.

Collaborative Enterprise - Social Learning Introduction

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Social Media and Love

This is in response to a post put up by my co-blogger. The post highlights in a very straightforward, and therefore hard-hitting, terms the values and commitments one must bring in when engaging with social media. You can read the original post here.

Two statements that leapt out and struck a chord with me:

“Social media is your own child and once you are committed to it, you cannot stop loving it.”

“There is no room for translucency in the name of transparency.”

Absolutely true! I am first and foremost a mother before anything else. I know, no matter how troublesome, demanding, unreasonable and everything besides my daughter could be, I would gladly go to the end of the world and back for her.

It’s the same with social media too. Because we are interacting with real people. We are building relationships—of trust, of intellectual bonding, of respect. We sometimes forget the people for the tools we are using. We try to pull a fast one, try to create a quick impression, and fail miserably. Social media (the organic mass of thinking, living, breathing human beings) will catch you and make you an outcast. They can be as ruthless as they can be warm and caring.

As in all successful relationships, engaging with social media requires us to be patient, caring, respectful, and most of all, giving. The more you give, the more you will receive. If you can give without stinting, without holding back, you will gradually reap the benefits. But this giving has to be whole-hearted, uncalculated and honest. And you’ve got to be willing to listen—carefully and patiently listen.
Here are a few unwritten codes of conduct that rules the world of social media. These, I have gradually discovered are close to the values you’d bring to a love-affair or a friendship that you have committed to for life.

Honesty: There is no pulling the wool over the eyes of the people there. Be totally transparent. If you ask because you don’t know the answer, you will find a hundred friends out there ready with the answer for you. If you pretend, you are done for. You will be coldly shunned.

Patience: It takes time to get recognition, to form your own groups and get your own followers. No matter what Twitter says about getting 1000 followers and what not, it takes time. And the number is not important at all. What is important is to form engagements where you can share and receive, learn from, and expand your understanding. This is what is also called Knowledge Networking, a topic I will cover in a later post.

Being giving: Give of what you have, of what you know—no matter how meager this seems. If you keep your ears to the ground, this giving will lead to you receiving so much more in return that you will wonder why you did not do this earlier.

If something interests you on the web, if you have read an article that you honestly learnt from, put up the link on Twitter with a few words capturing the essence of the piece. This is sure to help someone out there the way it helped you. You will see how one response of gratitude from a completely unknown individual can make your day. Because you have helped someone to learn something new.

Being consistent: Just as you would expect your friends and lover to be there for you when you need them, to be consistent in their attention, to be dependable, it’s the same with social media. If you have formed a group, have followers, they expect you to be there. If someone asks you a question or directs a response at you, the worst thing you can do is to ignore it. If you don’t know the answer, admit it and experience the trust that develops.

Willingness to listen and engage: Whether you are using social media as a marketing tool or to expand your learning the way I am doing, LISTEN. Listen to the voices out there! It’s not only about accessing the links and re-tweeting what you like, it’s about engaging in a dialogue—a rich, multi-voiced, many-dimensional conversation that brings in people with diverse opinions and makes our thought processes so much richer.

One of the reasons I make it a point to attend #lrncaht is primarily this one. You can see the transcripts of different sessions here.

Although I am more of a lurker in these sessions, these have introduced me to the spirit and power of social media. Even as a lurker, I can feel the web and flow of the conversations, the multitude of opinions and the respect for each of those view-points though they may be vastly different. Where else would you get a comment like this: “God grant me serenity to train who I can train, dismiss who I cannot, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Willingness to change views and adapt: As we delve deeper, engage with others, reflect on the conversations ebbing and flowing around us, many of our pre-conceived and earlier held notions may appear shallow, one-sided, immature, biased, or plain wrong. This is the time to step back, take a hard look and discard notions and ideas that can actually be an impediment to your intellectual growth. In short, you’ve got to be OPEN TO LEARNING ALWAYS when you are out there. And be willing to let go off your dearly held notions.

Sometimes, it will be intended learning, information you have been seeking that comes your way and makes you go “Aha!” Sometimes, it can be something that completely throws you off kilter and makes you rethink…It’s the latter kind that we have to open our minds to accept and truly commit to being a lifelong learner.

Courage to accept mistakes: We all goof up! The biggest and the best do it. And when you goof up in a social media platform, it’s out there for all to see, comment on, criticize. The web has a long memory and spread… If you goof up, say sorry. And with sincerity. Your followers will love you for it and your customers will respect and trust you for it. Then, most importantly, follow up the sorry with an action that is genuine and shows you have listened and care and are willing to change. Simple rules you’d follow with a friend you love too.

These are some of my beliefs garnered from my experiences over the past one year. It’s a very short span of time to have gained any form of expertise in the use of SoMe and am looking forward to evolving my thoughts…

I would love to hear your thoughts and learn from you.

Some interesting reads:

1. For those interested in the ROI of Social Media from a marketing perspective, here’s an interesting post: http://www.altimetergroup.com/2009/07/engagementdb.html

2. A post by Chris Brogan about how you can extend yourself across the social media spectrum but I think should be attempted by the more mature users: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/extending-yourself-into-a-platform/

3. Interesting perspective here-- What Social Media Can Learn from Multicultural Marketing: http://adage.com/bigtent/post?article_id=138864

Homophily, Group Think, and the Internet

Homophily is a fancy word for the human equivalent of birds of a feather flock together.

The past few months have been one of exploration for me—within and without. As I forayed into social media, social networking, informal learning, knowledge sharing, connecting, collaborating—topics that fascinate me—I found myself connecting with people around the world. People hailing from different countries, continents, cultures with singularly different world views. However, some similarities brought us together—these are shared passions, interests, professions, and the willingness to learn and explore and connect.

Technology (read Twitter, FB, LinkedIn, etc.) helped me to find such people. Our human tendency to bond, to create communities, to be part of and accepted by a group(s) is all supported by technology today. My world suddenly seemed to have opened up from my very desktop and this world was populated by people who thought and felt the way I did. I was in bliss till I came across the term Homophily and its connotations. I call this serendipity.

Three posts and a paragraph from a book gave me a jolt. The following question raced through my mind: Was I expanding my horizon or just looking for verification of my existing beliefs, prejudices and world views so that I could rest in complacency in my comfort zone. So that I would not need to transform myself, challenge myself, but be happy with incremental learning and think of that as self growth.

I retraced the means through which I connected—content. Be these in the form of posts, links to posts, tweets…they are all different forms of content that attracted me because of the shared passions displayed.

I will quote the passages that jolted me out of this self-induced bliss and made me reflect.

1. Worse, I think we're living under this delusion that we're actually BROADENING our experiences because we're connecting to such large groups of people. I suspect all that does is further reinforce our pre-existing beliefs while at the same time making us believe that somehow we're being broad-minded because there are so many more people in our network. More of the same thinking isn't exactly a recipe for learning. (Read the remaining post for a wonderful exposition on how Homophily is actually encouraged by technology. Even Amazon suggests books we would like to read based on our current choice.) http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog//2008/04/why-the-interne.html

2. “Cass Sunstein, an amazing legal scholar, says that one of the dangers of the internet is that we’re only hearing like voices, and that makes us more polarized. Homophily can make you really, really dumb. What’s incredible about the net is we have this opportunity to hear more voices than ever. But the tools we tend to build to it have us listening to the same voices again and again… Search in the future needs to lead us to people, to places, to voices. My hope is that in the future we get over homophily and we start looking for really productive serendipity…” http://www.contentious.com/2008/04/20/breaking-out-of-the-echo-chamber/

3. From Wisdom of the Crowds: The wisdom of crowds comes not from the consensus decision of the group, but from the aggregation of the ideas/thoughts/decisions of each individual in the group. Quoted in “One of us is smarter than all of us” : http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/03/one_of_us_iisi_.html

Some questions I am still struggling to find answers to:

1. Are the aggregation and collective wisdom we are talking about only of “like-minded people”?

2. Does such an aggregation contain conflicting voices, different world views, radically different representations of situations?

3. Are we trying to “deliberately” find disparate voices so that our understanding can be more holistic, rounded?
   

4. Is “mass collaboration” also reinforcing the feeling of Us vs. Other?
   

5. Is “Wisdom of the Crowd” only the dominant voices we are hearing, the privileged with access to the Internet? What about the remaining silent part of the world? How do we gather that wisdom?

   
   

In response to Twitter Quitters - 40% leave after one month.

Why am I writing about Twitter? Because it is a powerful social networking tool that is fast becoming a social learning tool. The connotation of the word social is changing from one of "connect" to bring into its fold other meanings like collaborate, learn, share, give, participate, hear, be heard, ask, be answered...This is not a litany in praise of Twitter--it is in support of all social networking sites (SNS) that will help us to collaborate and build collective knowledge. The latter will be our saviour in this time of recession when corporate training budgets are at an all time low.

I think like all new applications/technology, Twitter will face its share of scepticism and rejection.

Refer to the article on Twitter Quitters.

One primary reason why people would quit in a month:

It takes about a couple of months to get the hang of how to “use” Twitter in a way that brings in returns–that is, makes one a part of a community of practice, helps to build a knowledge base, and connects one to like minded people. All of this takes about two months of diligently pursuing twitter. This learning curve often proves to be the hurdle and people who are not adventurous or naturally willing to explore are likely to quit before they have found the true usage.

Also, I feel Twitter falls into the slightly advanced category of social networking site–more complex than Facebook or MySpace. For non-believers in social learning/advantages of social networking and first time users of social networking, Twitter is probably not the place. One has to come to twitter willing to be a part of the huge collaborative learning space–prepared to give and receive.

Global Conversations

Blogging is no longer what it used to be--outpourings of an individual's thoughts and ideas. To be honest, a somewhat narcissistic activity. Today, even as a very sporadic blogger, I feel the hum of "conversation". The blogging community is like a huge, gigantic meeting room--where the participants are invisible to each other but nonetheless responding to each other. One post is a trigger for thousand others with layers of links and trackbacks. Globally spread conversations are taking place--not in real time, true but making up for that in quality, thoughtfulness and depth of research and response, the willingness to share knowledge. No longer are blogs disconnected entities--private pages of individuals.

It is exciting times we are living in, and I am so glad.