In these heady days of transition, as we think about ways to improve government, it’s temping to over-sell the benefits of “Web 2.0.”
All in Social Networking
A recent AP article titled Census: Big Brother anxieties could hurt count reports official concern that the next US census is threatened by public anxiety about government activities such as immigration control and anti-terrorism measures. This made me wonder how the Census Bureau will be training its employees to overcome this public concern, and how collaborative technologies such as social networks might be used to share “best practices” among Census staff with community relations responsibilities.
The Knowledge Management Section of the U.S. Army’s Field Manual FM 6-01.1 is a classic example of the formal structure and organization one can apply to just about any organizational process that requires management.
Questions of control and responsibility inevitably arise when strategizing about the role of social media and social networking in the enterprise.
In Marketing middleware socially Paul Gillin discussed why social software is already used in connection with the marketing of middleware:
Using Grassroots "Collaboration" to Promote Local Energy Conservation
This post discusses how social networking can be used to help promote local energy conservation.
Social Media and Enhancing the Engineering Profession's Image
In my blog post Can Social Media Help Change the Public’s Perception of the Engineering Profession? I commented on the National Academy of Engineering’s report Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering. In my original post I lauded the NAE report but suggested that any implementation program designed to change the public’s perception of the engineering profession should incorporate social media and social networking elements. In this post I discuss some of these elements.
Agile Software Development and Project Collaboration Tools
Viewed from the perspective of project-related collaboration management, the Thoughtworks podcast Distributed Agile Software Development reinforces what many project managers already know about managing a project where key staff have to work from multiple locations:
Can Social Media Help Change the Public's Perception of the Engineering Profession?
The National Academy of Engineering has published a report called Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering. Given the importance of the engineering profession to US competitiveness and innovation, I’m hoping that the important research described in the report hasn’t overlooked the opportunities social media provide for engaging the public in the types of “conversations” the title of the report seems to promote.
Facebook Connect Raises Complex Data Portability and Data Sharing Issues
Successful system operation frequently depends on the quality of the data it contains. Social networking systems rely on the ability their members have to manage and keep up to date information about their identities. They also rely on the ability to describe and act upon data about relationships with other network members. If identity or relationship data are faulty, unstable, or inconsistent, the operation of the social network, and the performance of network based transactions related to it, will suffer.
Associations -- and Social Media -- Are Only Human
Ben Martin’s provocatively titled blog post As long as people don’t really care associations will survive addresses the common (these days) idea that social media and social networking somehow “compete” with the traditional idea of a professional association. After all, if anyone can throw together an online group of like-minded individuals at the drop of a hat, won’t professional associations inevitably lose members to such grassroots movements?
A friend, a professional engineer, asked me for tips on establishing a “web presence.” This is what I wrote:
Stage 1 - The Joining
A meatspace friend tells you about a new service that all the cool kids are using. You join.
What's So New About the Outsourcing of Innovation?
This is a followup to the comments I received on my post Should You Outsource Your Organization’s Innovation Processes? I wrote that in response to some of the (semi-controversial) things that Jeffrey Phillips had said in his own blog post, You should outsource innovation if…
Listen to Radiolab’s City X. It’s a history of shopping malls told through slickly edited sound bites and Muzak.
Do Real People Care About Disruptive Technologies?
One of the most interesting blog post I’ve read recently is 8 Disruptive Technology Changes by Robin Bloor. Here is his list:
How Much do People Need to Understand Technology to Manage It?
Jeremiah Owyang’s post Gen Y Enter Stage Left, Baby Boomers Exit Stage Right got me to wondering how much people should understand about technology in order to manage it in an organization.
Jeremiah Owyang’s LiveBlog: What’s Wrong with the White Label Social Networking Industry?, especially if you read the comments, delivers a good snapshot of the gaps that still exist between product evangelism and the realities of implementing specialized online social networks.
How To Avoid Common Strategic Planning Mistakes
For the past few months one of the most popular posts on this blog has been A Short Definition of “Strategic Planning.”
I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because the term “short definition” is in the title. Why read a “long definition” if a “short definition” is available?
How Can Collaboration Systems and Social Media Complement Agile Project Management?
I recently met with Thad Scheer, President of Sphere of Influence, Inc. Thad’s company specializes in agile and lean project management methods. During our meeting Thad and I discussed some of the changes occurring in project management methods and practices.