lanigan stc using web 2.0 to power collaboration
TRANSCRIPT
Using Web 2.0 to Power Collaboration & Knowledge-
SharingChuck Lanigan, MA
Agenda
For Your Consideration:– Web 2.0 Definition and Potential– The Evolving Technology– The Changing Nature of Work– The Impact of Organizational Culture and Goals– The Skill and Motivation of Personnel– 50-Cent Tour of Options (Time- and Technology-
Permitting)– Suggested Guidelines for Using Web 2.0 to Power
Collaboration & Knowledge-Sharing
My Background & Interests
• MA in Instructional Design & Technology (Focus on Literacy, Critical-Thinking & Computer-Mediated Work)
• Interested in How to Facilitate Collaboration & Knowledge-Sharing Among Individuals and within Organizations
• Published an Article in March 2007 CIO Magazine on Preparing a Capable Workforce for the K-Economy
• Involved in Social Networking Initiatives at PNC
Web 2.0 Defined
• Not a single technology, but a collection of web-based applications including:– Wikis– Blogs– Mashups– RSS Feeds
• Social networking and the web evolved from– Static HTML pages with links maintained by
developers– To buying and selling products and services– To interactive, interconnected sites
A Brief Look Under the Hood
Web 2.0 is Built Upon:– Java and Javascript – Web Services and Service Order
Architecture (SOA)– Interoperability Among Applications– XML (Extensible Markup Language)– Ajax Programming (Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML)
Web 2.0 Characteristics
• Audience-Generated Content• Allows Creation for specific audiences and services• Inherently:
– Grass-Roots– Non-bureaucratic– Spontaneous– Organic
• Examples: Facebook, Google+YouTube, LinkedIn • Vendors: IBM, Google, Microsoft, Socialtext
The Good News
Anyone can create a web site and maintain a wiki or a blog practically for free.*
*Allowing for the cost of time, labor and attention
The Bad News
Anyone can create a web site and maintain a wiki or a blog practically for free*
*Whether or not they have anything significant to say and know how to communicate it.
What Does it All Mean?
• Why would I or my organization want to utilize Web 2.0?
• Who will maintain and regulate our site (if, indeed, we will do so)
• Who will participate and contribute short- and long-term?
• Who cares? (What do we hope to achieve?)
Reasons & Rhetoric
• Turn a Profit• Engage Our Employees and Customers• Promote the Brand• Practice Innovation• Gain Efficiencies• Be more Responsive with Vendors & Customers • Facilitate Communication and Collaboration Across
Corporate Silos• Create a Virtual Workplace that Allows Teams to
Operate Non-Stop in the Global Economy 24/7
The Changing Nature of Work
• From the Dark Satanic Mills*of the 19th Century to the Bright Fluorescent Cubes of the 20th Century and…
• The 24/7 Mobile Workforce of the 21st Century
*William Blake, Jerusalem
Rough ChronologyUntil 1790-1800 Farming, Craft, Artisan Work (&
Slavery)
1800 – 1900 Industrial Revolution Water Steam Electricity
Telegraph Telephone
1900 – 1970 Rise of Modern Office & Bureaucracy
Electronic Communication (Telephone, radio Television)
1970 - Present Computing, Information Technology & the Web
The Virtual Workplace Idealized
• Teams of individuals work together seamlessly across geographical and cultural boundaries
• Time & Space Irrelevant in the Global Marketplace
• Collaboration Occurs Automatically, Inspiring Innovation and Productivity
The Virtual WorkplaceIn Reality
Misunderstandings arise caused by a failure to articulate Ideas and communicate across interpersonal or cross-cultural differences
Raises issues over achieving & maintaining work-life balance
Depends on availability of technology & skill of personnel (Digital Divide)
Produces bureaucratic infrastructure (IT, Risk, Compliance)
Creates information overloadRaises legal issues over intellectual property and liability
that cross international boundaries
Knowledge Work
• Abstraction of labor• Involves mainly intellectual rather than
physical tasks• Interact with symbols and data more than
materials & people• Create and share collective meaning from
information• Mediated through technology (cell phones,
computers, PDAs)
Knowledge Work Challenges
• Difficult to measure & control productivity
• Difficult to define & quantify necessary skills:– IT and programming?– Logic and analysis?– Critical thinking?– Communication?
Evolving Web Technology
• DARPA-Net* (1960s – 70s)• Old-school text-based bulletin boards (e.g.,
Compuserve)• Static HTML web pages with links• Rich Media• Interactive web sites• Web Services• Web 2.0*The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Contemporary Workplace
• Still Mostly 9-5
• Going Global & Virtual
• Characterized by So-Called Knowledge Work
Social Networking & Cultural Dynamics
• Web 2.0 Applications Developed as the Antithesis of Rigid, Top-Down Control
• Developed by and for Gen Y and adapted to their lifestyle (e.g., Facebook developed by Harvard Students in 2004)*
• Don't need to be a programmer or have your own server to set up your own, low-cost interactive site. (MS OfficeLive Example)
*Though a significant and growing number of users are now over 50.
Web 2.0 Ecology*
• Will the Technology Use Us or Will We Use the Technology?
• Does technology automatically change culture? Or does it reflect it?– "All of our inventions are but improved means to unimproved
ends.” – H.D. Thoreau– What problem does this technology solve? What problem(s)
does it create? – Neil Postman• Even as they Try to Capitalize on and Adapt to New
Technologies, Large Organizations Struggle with Questions of Authority and Control
c.f. Gregory Bateson, An Ecology of Mind
Web 2.0 & Organizational Culture
• Originally dismissed (as with most new technologies) as domain of the few enthusiasts. Examples:– Automobile (circa 1910)– Radio (ca. 1920)– Personal Computer (ca. 1978)
• Now companies and organizations are jumping on board and seeking to capitalize (or subvert?) Web 2.0
Culture Clash?
Corporate Business Culture Stereotypically:– Dogmatic– Bureaucratic– Top-down– Rules-driven– Risk-averse– Inflexible– Conservative
Web 2.0 Inherently:– Flexible, dynamic– Interconnected– User-centric– Spontaneous
The Goal
• Facilitate Collaboration and Knowledge-Sharing Among Groups and Individuals
• Engage New and Existing Customers and Business Partners
The Elephant Teaches Itself to Dance
• To Compete in the Global Marketplace Large Organizations are Now Trying to Reinvent (or at Least Present) Themselves as:– Agile– Engaged– Hip Responsive– Cutting-edge
• Governmental Agencies, Banks and the U.S. Navy Have All Undertaken Web 2.0 Projects
Virtual Workspaces
• Function in an environment in which you work with people you never may see– Different cultures– Different ideas– Different assumptions and mores– Different abilities
• Why can’t we all just get along?
Dynamics of Virtual Behavior
• Cross-cultural communication• Code-switching• Assumptions/perceptions• Conscious and Unconscious Biases• Level of expertise (novice vs. expert; newby
vs. mentor)• Motivation• How we see ourselves (and awareness of
how others see us)
Other Dynamics
• Questions of:– Personal and Tribal Identity– Motivation– Recognition– Reward
• How do these play out in a virtual environment?
Organizational Guidelines for Web 2.0 Success
• Create an environment that is conducive to collaboration and sharing of knowledge
• Think carefully about goals and criteria for success
• Recognize and reward participation and contribution
• Engage advocates when planning who will carry the torch in person and online at the beginning and as things progress
People
Leveraging Web 2.0 technologies successfully depends as much upon the skills of the personnel using them as the technology itself.
Comparison
Skills and Factor that Come Into Play When Interacting in Person (Face-to-Face):– Manners– Physical appearance and
tone of voice– Verbal skill– Emotional intelligence (EQ) – Body language/confidence– Personal reputation and
connections (who you know)
Skills and Factors that Come into Play When Interacting Virtually:– Netiquette (online skill and
courtesy)– Reading & writing
proficiency (critical in the absence of auditory or body-language cues)
– Clear purpose (goal-directed)
– Technical skill and expertise (what you know)
Who are WeWhen We Interact Virtually?
http://www.unc.edu/depts/jomc/academics/dri/idog.html• Our Facebook page• Our avatar• Our skills• What others perceive we are• A product of our culture• Our company profile
Netiquette & Civility
• Pay attention to small courtesies (e.g., “Do you have a minute?”)
• Practice tolerance. Be willing to suspend judgment till the facts are in.
• Reserve flaming for dire situations (if at all)• Define your terms and assumptions explicitly• Acknowledge contributions &
misunderstandings • Maintain a sense of humor
Personal Guidelines for Web 2.0 Success
We interact over the web almost exclusively through reading and writing (with a phone call or meeting maybe thrown in). Therefore, it’s important to: – Practice clear communication – Promote civility– Articulate and share ideas using common points of
reference– Work toward a common goal (after negotiating
agreement and understanding)
Web 2.0 and Writing Skills
• Know your audience– Know what you want to say and the results you
want to achieve– Use grammar, spelling and language proper to the
context and audience
• Practice online writing conventions– Chunking of text and ideas– Using upper and lower case
• Avoid brain dumps
Web 2.0 & Reading Skills
Reading (Active vs. Passive)– Decoding– Comprehending– Relating to previous knowledge and
assumptions– Questioning – Deciding
50-Cent Tour
Brief Review of Options for Creating and Maintaining a Virtual Workspace– Microsoft Office Live– Lotus Greenhouse and Quickr– Google Apps
Possibilities for Research
Apply the following to analyzing or thinking about collaborating and sharing knowledge using Web 2.0:
• Social Network Analysis (David Krackhardt, CMU)• Semiotic Analysis
– Semiotics = study of signs and symbols and their referents (what they refer to in terms of meaning)
– Historically with info. technology, relationships to referent (what is being worked or interacted with) and people have become ever more abstracted and mediated (depersonalized, once, twice removed)
Some Related References
Bateson, G., An Ecology of MindHyde, L., The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of PropertyKellerman, S. and O'Connor P., You Send Me: Getting It Right When
You Write OnlineLawson, S., U.S. Air Force Lets Web 2.0 Flourish Behind Walls, CIO,
July 17th 2008Rosen, C., Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, The New
Atlantis, Summer 2007Standage, T. The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the
Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers Zuboff, S., In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and
PowerNot a Site, but a Concept: Tapping the Power of Social Networking,
Knowledge@Wharton, July 9th 2008
