Grassroots Community Building through Social Networks

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Grassroots Community Building through Social Networks is the topic that John Gunn (Moncton ITA) and I will be discussing at PodCamp Halifax on Sunday. Lisa Rousseau can’t make it, so we’re pinch-hitting.

John and I have decided to take a look some of the professional and social networks in New Brunswick and ask the question: How can we develop community networks that address the social and professional issues unique to Atlantic Canada?

For example, I came to NB in 1995, when The Information Highway was the hot commodity and fiber cables were being strung from end of the province to the other. I even wrote my thesis on Learning in the NB Information Technology Workplace in 1998. One of the now defunct associations with which I had some contact was the NB Information Technology Alliance. The NBITA was supposed to grow the industry but by 2003 its government funding was cut and it was gone.

In 2004, I was involved in an initiative to use the Web to link organisations and individuals in the more specific area of R&D for e-learning:

With this in mind, I will try to foster communication and discussion in this forum, not the selling of a vision or a marketing plan. This community will be a place to discuss R&D issues, which will remain loosely defined for the time being. Specific deals or collaboration can take place “off-line” or outside of this venue – but this is where you can float an idea and see what happens.

This venture never gained much traction, for several reasons.

Later, more effort and a lot more money were put into LearnNB, which tried to represent both companies and individuals, a tension that was never resolved, and hence its current status on ice, awaiting an uncertain future. I gave my own prescription for the NB learning industry three years ago.

Other group-forming activities have been more social. The Cybersocials were designed to get “knowledge industry” professionals together in the main cities for a monthly social event. They waned, as many people found them to be boring, in dull venues, with more government than industry attendees and full of job seekers carrying resumés. The Fredericton Cybersocial is still active. These events originally had some government sponsorship.

This past year has seen the creation of Third Tuesday NB, which is a completely grassroots initiative. It was initiated by Dan Martell and Lisa Rousseau, who ensured that all available social media  (LinkedIn, MeetUp, Twitter, Blogs, Facebook) were used to connect people. So far, the gatherings have been quite successful. What I like about the MeetUps are that they are driven by individuals, not companies, and they attract people from many industries, not just IT or e-learning.

Now I’m starting to hear calls for another NB IT industry association, more government involvement and even a Minister responsible for ICT.

Some issues that I’d like to discuss here, at PodCamp Hfx, or elsewhere:

Is there a need for industry associations? Should they be based on companies or individuals?

What would you prefer or be willing to pay for or attend?

Are unconferences and Pod/Bar Camps the way of the future or just an alternative for the fringe? If so, are there enough of us in Atlantic Canada to have a fringe movement?

Cities-Provinces-Regions => do these boundaries matter to you?

What’s your experience? Come out and share with us on Sunday, here, or on Twitter @hjarche or @johnsgunn

* Update *

We’ve decided to start with the theme of ridiculously easy group-forming and whether media tools such as Twitter are having any influence on our communities of practice/interest. As media become more persistent and pervasive, do group-forming norms change? Is the “professional association” with its membership fees and costly qualifications to get letters behind your name, a thing of the past? We’re also going to highlight some NB people whom you may want to get to know, so stay tuned to Moncton ITA as well.

Throwing sheep in the boardroom

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Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom could be sub-titled everything you wanted to know about social media but didn’t have the time to ask. The book is definitely comprehensive and is complete with hundreds of stories about the effects of online social networking. Anyone who is active in using and understanding social media may find this a bit of a repeat of the last few years of commentary on the subject, but those new to the field can find it here in one book, with plenty of end-notes.

The authors cover in detail the banning of Facebook and other sites by government agencies, schools and corporations. They also address some of the more positive aspects of social networking but I would not accuse them of being cyber-evangelists. There is some good analysis around open versus closed social networking sites. Citing the French aristocracy as an echo-chamber that failed to realise the factors that led to the Revolution, they use many other historical examples to place today’s situation in context. For instance, readers of this book will also get a short history of the Knights Templar.

This sums up the authors’ intent, and I think that they have achieved it:

What has interested us most is the Web 2.0 revolution’s impact on the three social dynamics that gave this book its structure: identity, status and power. It will be recalled that we describe our analytical approach to these themes as “3-D” – dis-aggregation of identities, democratization of status and diffusion of power.

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom reads a bit like an academic treatise on Web 2.0 and would be useful for someone wanting a lot of information in one book. It could make a good course text book. For excellent analysis, without all the details, I would recommend Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody and for a deeper look at the fundamentals underlying the Internet economy I still consider Benkler’s The Wealth of Networks the most comprehensive examination to date.

Accountability

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Last month I wrote that it’s time to invert the pyramid and integrate learning into all that we do. Part of the research that led me to that conclusion was the notion of complexity and Dave Snowden’s cynefin framework. The cynefin framework comes up again in Patrick Lamb’s post looking at 3 different types of accountability via Glenda Eoyang [lots of background reading here if you’re interested].

Basically:

Stable systems => Outcome-based accountability

Active, self-organising systems => Learning-based accountability

Random & chaotic systems => Sharing-based accountability

Most of our HR and work practices are premised on the assumption of stable systems, but we are realising that is no longer the case. Some of the project-based work that I do uses learning-based accountability, where we are all responsible to help the rest of the team learn. For those who live and work on the Web, this becomes a natural way to work. The same can be said for sharing-based accountability, especially amongst bloggers and others who share online. We have learned that the more you give, the more you get back in the form of feedback and more learning opportunities. Last year I changed my copyright license to a more open one because I felt that would encourage sharing. I felt accountable.

If an organisation is only focused on outcome-based accountability can it thrive in more active or random environments? It seems that most markets and socio-economic structures are becoming more chaotic – just try to predict the price of gas for next month. Re-framing the concept of accountability is an important  conversation to start with HR professionals and executives.

Resources and Tools

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I was asked to develop a list of important resources, especially the blogs that I find most valuable in my work. Since my work is focused on the intersection of learning, work and technology and especially how learning and working are becoming integrated in networked organisations, these are not just edtech blogs. These are not the best, but a good representation of some of the better resources. A more complete list is available on my Bloglines public feed.

Focused on Learning

Internet Time Blog and Informl Learning Jay Cross has informed much of my work, which is why we continue to work collaboratively.

OLDaily Stephen Downes’ daily coverage of the widest range of learning-related items, making it an excellent meta blog.

Eide Neurolearning is a good source for me to get up to speed on the science of learning and cognition.

Workplace Learning Today This is a new multi-author blog that is becoming an important source of information for me.

Focused on Work & Business

Wirearchy discusses new models for the networked workplace.

FastForward Blog and The AppGap are both multi-author blogs looking at enterprise 2.0

The Creative Class Richard Florida has added several other authors so there are wide ranging opinions on the new nature of work here.

Focused on Technology

Read/Write Web if you only follow one site on Web technologies, this should be it.

Michael Geist is the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law and this is where I get a Canadian perspective on digital copyright and Net neutrality.

Miscellaneous

Polymeme is a potpourri of information that introduces me to new fields and ideas, without overwhelming me with frivolous information.

TOOLS

I’ve recently taken to using Twitter and I’m finding it to be a great tool for finding information. I liken it to lobbing comments over the cubicle walls. With twitter, I’m picking up more divergent points of view.

I’m also on the lookout for a decent comment aggregator, having used CoComment, Commentful and co.mment, and not been satisfied with their spotty service. I’m trying out BackType but it misses out on many comments and does not pick up follow-on comments. I’m currently awaiting the launch of Ubervu and hope that it fills this gap in my online collaboration.

I tried out Jing this past year and may use it more for quick video casts and Jay Cross just introduced me to EyeJot for sending quick video messages.

Drupal for Education and E-Learning

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Bill Fitzgerald has written a comprehensive technical guide for the Drupal open source content management system with a focus on its use in formal education. Drupal for Education and E-Learning, by Packt Publishing, walks you through the setup of a Drupal installation, step by step. This is a how-to book, covering everything from themes to modules to backup and maintenance. The core of the book is on education-specific aspects, such as teacher blogs, forums, enrolling students and managing classes. It also covers the use of various media and there are many comments on considerations from a learning perspective.

Drupal is not specifically designed for education, as Moodle is, but Bill gives a good map on how it can be used. The Drupal developer and user community is also larger than Moodle’s and an important factor in choosing an open source system is the strength of the developer/user community. Also, Drupal can be used for other aspects of the institution, such as alumni relations or digital asset management

I would think that this book would be excellent for the system administrator at an institution, the project lead or senior instructional designer. Parts of it would be of interest to individual teachers. Since Drupal has no licensing fees, institutions can afford several copies of this book.

Open source for learning costs less

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In my 2009 predictions for eLearn Magazine I said that “There will be an increased interest in open source software as well as tools and methods that enable online collaboration.” Ryan Cameron took me to task on open source in the comments:

Open source is not, actually, free. Someone has to build it, someone has to maintain it. Open source is simply transferring an up front and usually meagre licence fee for a long term highly specialized labour cost, which in many cases ends up creating situations where organizations are completely hamstrung by their IT department/gurus.

I agree, OS is not free, however it is free of licensing fees and free from many other licensing constraints of proprietary systems. If it is GPL it is free to hack, modify or build upon, with some restrictions.

My research and experience over the years shows open source, especially in training and education, to be significantly cheaper. One example is a Moodle installation that had a total cost of ownership at 3-10% of the compared proprietary system. Another example of open source versus a proprietary learning management system showed a savings of $345,000. Here’s a study from the Quebec Provincial Department of Education that showed savings of 59-75% over 5 years.

While OS is not free, and does incur some costs for implementation and support, I have yet to find examples where open source learning management systems cost more than proprietary ones. An OS learning management system may not meet all your needs, but it won’t be because it costs too much.

It’s not about the technology?

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INATT makes sense because most of us realise that people make things happen, not technology. It’s not about the technology is a rallying cry amongst many in education or in fields that are being disrupted by information technology. Perhaps INATT, but:

  • Imagine organising an international group of collaborators without access to Voice over IP (costs increase) or without presence monitoring (who’s available in what time zone) or without shared documents online (what’s the latest version?).
  • Try to understand a different geographic market with no travel budget. Using Twitter, you could follow people who live and work in that area and get to know what’s important to them (free competitive intelligence).
  • Create a presence in a field while living in a small town far from a major urban centre (that’s me, using my blog for the past five years).
  • Keep up to your professional field without access to paid journal subscriptions, lectures or conversations with experts (many experts now publish material online – TED.com, as well as universities publish lectures online, and you can engage other professionals on blogs or Twitter).

Just think about the advantages that these technologies provide us in connecting, collaborating, sharing and learning. Now imagine organisations that do not use them. Would you say they are at a disadvantage? It’s not about the technology but it’s definitely not about ignoring the technology.

Learning Industry Predictions 2009

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eLearn Magazine offers predictions for 2009 and Editor Lisa Neal Gualtieri says that the people polled “unanimously agree the global economic downturn is the overwhelming factor coloring their forecasts, [however] they do see a great array of opportunities and challenges in the coming 12 months.”

Here are the predictions from my Internet Time Alliance colleagues:

Jane Hart: As the recession bites and training budgets are slashed, organizations will no longer be able to afford the production of sophisticated courseware. Instead they will become more reliant on employee-generated content and increasingly appreciate the potential of Web 2.0 approaches for informal, social, and collaborative learning, and knowledge sharing throughout the enterprise. There will also be a growing trend toward adopting a top-down approach to using social media in organizations by building a social media/learning strategy and implementing a platform that integrates a number of social media tools for enterprise use.

Jay Cross: Wrenching changes in business and society accompanying the global transition from the industrial age to the network economy will kill off much of the training and education programs as we have known it. In its place will arise a more natural approach to learning through collaboration and sharing. There are great times ahead, an era of fulfilling, bounteous learning unprecedented in human history. However, the journey to this promised land will be brutal and unforgiving for people and organizations who resist change and lobby for “back to the basics.”

Clark Quinn: The extraordinary: Semantics will arise; we’ll start realizing the power of consistent tagging, and start being able to meta-process content to do smart things on our behalf. And we’ll start seeing cloud-hosting as a new vehicle for learning services.

You can find my predictions in with the rest as well.

PodCamp Halifax 2009

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PodCampHalifax2009 seems like a great mid-Winter activity. Time to get away from my computer screen and meet some folks. This year’s event is at the Aldernay Gate Public Library on 25 January, from 9 to 5.

This is an unconference, focused on social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, video, etc). The goal is to have an open, participatory, user-generated series of workshops and the people who attend are the presenters.

There are several folks from New Brunswick listed to attend, so sign up and come on out. If you plan on staying overnight, you may want to put yourself up for adoption. I’m sure that we can organise some kind of car-pooling as well.

Make commenting easy

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Blogs have 3 primary characteristics that make them different from other media. 1) Blogs have a permanent resource identifier that does not change over time, 2) Blogs publish an RSS/Atom feed to notify services of updates, and (most importantly) 3) Blogs allow comments. What differentiates blogs from other published information is that there is a feedback loop.

I should note that there are now third-party services that let you comment on articles and blog posts without using the blog’s comment function. For example, Facebook allows comments via their platform.

For bloggers, comments add depth and insight to what would otherwise be a monologue. I think that it’s very important to make it as easy as possible for people to comment on your blog. However, too many services do just the opposite and I have passed on writing a comment many times when confronted by multiple-step comment forms. Captchas are one example.

I’ve made it as easy as possible to make a comment on this site and I get very little comment spam. First of all I use WordPress, designed specifically for blogging. The first line of defence is Bad Behavior, an easy plug-in for WP.

If this does not catch the bad guys, Akismet is the next line of defence. Akismet is another simple plug-in that will hold identified spam for 30 days or until you check it. It learns from the entire community of users, so it’s pretty darn good.

I also have my comment controls set so that first time visitors must be approved by me. I even allow pseudonyms and fake e-mails if the comment is relevant. Once approved, you are free to post at will, or until I revoke your privileges, which I have never done. This works very well and lets the conversation flow, even when I’m not online.

So if you’re wondering why you don’t get many comments, perhaps you’re just making it too difficult.