The times they are a changin'

I was talking with an old friend last night about social media, web 2.0, and the various tools and devices that are out there to help manage and add value to our lives.
She is somewhat of a newbie when it comes to these issues,but her eagerness to learn as much as she can was palpable.
She mentioned that despite having had a computer for a number of years, she really wasn't connected due to her home being in a rural area with no broadband. But recently (at last!) broadband has come to her area and she can now truly be connected.
The most interesting thing is that despite our different backgrounds and experience with computers, her excitement and interest in connectivity at least equals my own. Of course this gets back to our human need to connect to people outside our immediate environment.
As I mentioned in a much earlier post, surfing the net used to be more of a screen watching activity than interactive platform we now enjoy. My friend spoke of this in our conversation. I think she said, that despite being online for a number of years, she had never really found any aspect of the web to be particularly compelling and simply used it as I once did which was to search out specific information.
But today web 2.0 offers so much more. And she is seeing that too. We discussed our mutual fascination with forums such as linkedIn. Finally there is an offering on he web that is compelling enough to not only draw interest but sustain interest for web users across the continuum from newbie to the completely tech savvy.
The ability to interact with people all over the world on subjects of mutual interest is not only a great experience, but one that also provides insight and best practices on the topic of interest to the users. It seems there is a linked in group for just about any topic area one
can think of.
It appears now that both of us are hooked! Each for different reasons, but the bottom line for both of us is that web 2.0 technology is fundamentally changing the way we work, learn, and communicate.
I have long posited that new technologies only enjoy rapid adoption rates when they do in fact fundamentally change the way we behave. Take the VCR for example. VCRs were on the scene in the early 1980's yet it was another 20 years for it to reach high household penetration levels. Similarly the DVR and the ability to time-shift viewing has been available in one form or another since roughly 1999 or so. Today only about 25% of households have a DVR and even fewer people use it frequently. In fact the TVB reported in 2010 that the average adult spends 5 and 1/2 hours watching live television every day but less tha. 30 minutes per day watching DVR'd programming.
Neither of these technologies fundamentally changes our behavior. But guess what did? You got it--the smart phone and the Ipad. Both of these devices are in fact fundamentally changing our behavior and how we communicate. More than 13 million ipads have been sold since April 2010. By this time next year, it is likely that figure will substantially more than double. Or at least that is my own humble opinion!

Until next time!

How the Ipad changed my life!

Photo credit picasaweb.google.com/alexindigo.com

Early this year, when first confronted with advertising for the Ipad, I predicted it would be a big hit;  now CNN is reporting that it is the most desired christmas present for 2010 and is already in the hands of 13 million plus users.

I first purchased an Ipad in September and was immediately enthralled. While notebooks have been out for a while, none match the Ipad so far in terms of ease of use and applications. Once I began using it, I found it so much easier to keep track of my RSS feed, my Linked In discussion threads, Facebook and of course my own blog stats.

In this world of instant gratification, I have found myself less willing to turn on my laptop and wait several minutes while it boots up and becomes functional, yet I can be on-line in mere seconds with my Ipad.  With it I can scan blogs, RSS feeds, discussion threads etc in between commercials while enjoying the comfort of my sofa, armchair or even my bed! If I get a sudden thought or idea I want to check out...the answer is truly seconds away.

Now comes the real question. Is this immediacy and our human need for immediacy a good thing? I mean really...nothing good comes easy they say. Which is why, probably, one must remain ever more vigilant against on-line predators of all kinds. Those who would prey on us for financial or personal satisfaction are not just across the street anymore. You could in fact be inviting them into your home. So like all things, perhaps a bit of caution and moderation goes a long way!!

Until next time

Connections and Getting Connected

Photo Credit: Flickr.com

Among the many joys of our web 2.0 technologies is an incredible professional networking site called  Linked In. For those not familiar with linked in, let me help!

I have had a Linked In account for several years now but until recently did not recognize its power--power that has certainly been enhanced through the capability of web 2.0. The basic premise of Linked In is to provide a professional networking platform that has some degree of exclusivity (you cannot link with someone you do not know for example), an opportunity for members to interact with each other, a credible job site, and most importantly allow those with similar interests to participate in discussion threads on any number of topics that include participants quite literally from all over the globe.

Joining groups within Linked In allows one to align themselves with people within the same industry; some located just next door, others more than half a world away. The opportunity to gain insight into best practices in industries from neurosurgery to marketing to higher education is simply enormous. On the other side of the coin, it can be quite easy to get "sucked in" to a discussion thread and the debate can be quite heated. I have witnessed alleged professionals make some very unprofessional statements on what are supposed to be professional groups with limited membership. I have also had the dubious honor of being personally insulted by a fellow commenter! Perhaps that might be the mark of a virgin in this virtual reality. Unless you have been officially and personally insulted, you really aren't linked!

Fortunately group members exist to "police" the conversation, but given that some threads can generate more than 2000 comments, it can be difficult to stay vigilant against those who would cause harm. After following a particular thread for the past week that generates an average of 50 comments per day, I am mystified, stupefied and down right brain-fried! The thread related to the weight that should be given a lie in the hiring process on the part of the applicant.

2200 comments later, people are bickering back and forth about topics like "the nature of a lie" and "when a lie doesn't really count". Many think the lie is a predictor of future performance, the rest say the latter have no heart. Which is the correct view? While I don't know the answer, there are 100's of people on Linked In that do!!!

Take my advice, Get Linked!!

The Ubiquity of Social Media

Wasn't it just a couple of years ago that smart phones became the rage? And only really since that time that Facebook and twitter have achieved household status, now everyone is posting blogs. It is amazing just how quickly our vernacular has changed. And it is even more amazing the lack of uniform understanding of these new words in our vocabulary.

Many believe social media simply means keeping your status updated on Facebook or making catty remarks on Twitter. What so few truly understand is that social media is not only much more than that, it is the basis for a new generation of communication.

Forget about Facebook for a minute--as that site is mostly for recreational networking--start thinking about Twitter. My first thought was that Twitter was simply an outlet for people with too much time on their hands to shout to the world their opinions on everything, anything and nothing.

Clearly I was just following the wrong tweets. Personally, I follow the NPR tweet as news is often released there before it is announced anywhere else. I also follow tweets from authors and researchers in the field of learning and technology, sales and marketing and other areas of interest to me. These tweets are informative. They tell me where I can find additional information. They lead me to other sites of great interest to me. So for those of you who thought tweeting a waste of time, why don't you tweet yourself and see first hand?

Blogging is another social media tool people often fail to understand. First among whom are the bloggers themselves. A recent discussion thread on a social media sub-group of Linked-in, someone asked the question, why do people blog?  They may as well have asked why do people speak? For those on the blog bandwagon, many have found it to be an excellent creative outlet for their thoughts and reflections. It also does something no other mass media tool has been able to do. And that is to give voice to the man (or woman) on the street. Before Web 2.0 and blogging technology became available, there were few opportunities to really be heard outside your own small social network. But through the power of blogger, my voice is heard all over the world. Granted my audience is small, yet they hail from six different countries and three continents. And of these, most are regular readers, showing up as page views multiple times in my stats page. Not so shabby for a lil ol' gal in Iowa.

Finally, I have to mention Linked In. This may be one of the most valuable tools of all. This site which is designed for career networking has little patience for the type of postings one might see on Facebook. People on Linked In are pretty serious about their involvement and most join multiple groups related to their career, area of expertise, or research interests. Within these groups one can participate in discussion threads that again involve people from all across the globe. This morning I had a great conversation with a gentleman from Dubai for example on social media trends.

Am I naive to be so excited about these tools? Part of me will allow that I have all the enthusiasm of a newbie, the other part recognizes that these tools and others we have not yet discovered are fundamentally changing our world, making it smaller, more collaborative and hopefully more peaceful in the long run.

Until next time

Technology: Do we use it just because we can? Does it matter if it's useful?

The country is atwitter regarding the new screening machines that show a person's skin and body parts...the debate as I see it is two-fold. First, there is some evidence that the advanced imaging technology does nothing to prevent attacks. With this evidence in mind, is it an appropriate use of time and resources to even be using the technology.

The second part of the debate revolves around privacy issues vs. Public safety. Just how much are we willing to undergo in order to ensure the highest level of airplane safety.

Chris Mathews brings up a good point...one he has made before; if we get hit again (with a terrorist attack) the level of airport security will become more intrusive than we can even imagine today. So what do we do? Err on the side of personal privacy (an entirely western concept by the way)? What happens if we do suffer an attack? Who will we then blame?

Something to think about as we plan our holiday travel in this brave new world with such people in it...

Another dinosaur bites the dust

Let your fingers do the walking.  Anyone who grew up in the '70s and '80s has heard that tag-line originally introduced by Ma Bell. Well it looks like the phone book will be the next medium to travel the way of all flesh as phone companies announce they will no longer be printing residential phone books.
According to the Associated Press, in the past month alone, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania approved Verizon Communications request to quit distributing residential white pages.

With telephone companies now arguing that consumers are more likely to check the internet rather than flip through the phonebook, they are not acknowledging the same is true of yellow pages.

But take it from this career advertising guru...it won't be long before the business model for hard copies of yellow pages follow the trend already set by the newspaper industry.  If people would rather check the internet for residential listings, why in the world would they prefer flipping through yellow page ads rather than performing an internet search--which can actually yield more relevant information, faster.

Reach out and touch someone

New web 2.0 technologies have given me the opportunity to stay close to my family in ways I never thought possible.
Last night I enjoyed a long catch up with 2 of my nieces and one of my nephews on tokbox.com.
For those of you clinging to 20th century modes of communication, tokbox.com offers free on-line video conferencing. So armed with a laptop with a camera, several people can participate with each person represented on the screen along with the caller. Clarity is good, only occasional "freezes". And of course, in line with web 2.0 guidleines, it is free!

I was able to use even more free technology to video capture our conversation using Jing. Jing allows for free video and/or audio capture of your computer screen. It is limited to five minute increments but that is no problem...just do five minute sections!

Today I had a skype conversation with my brother-in-law that I was also able to capture on Jing. Then I was able to upload these videos to my Any Video Converter program I had downloaded free from the Internet to convert them to .avi files so I can edit them with Windows Movie Maker--another essentially free program.

So now, armed with interviews and old video I converted from VHS, along with 100's of pictures that I will edit on piknic.com--you guessed it a free online photo editor--I will combine these elements for a mashup video of my family story. It should be interesting!!!

Until next time!!

Going viral

With the speed with which technology is changing these days it's no wonder that we went from the first iPhone only about 3 years ago (yes, I know, eons in the digital world!) to affordable smart tablets like the iPad achieving ubiquity in it's first 9 months on the market!
I have previously remarked on the brilliance of the negotiation between iPad and CBS television network where Ipads can be found in every storyline that makes sense...essentially any storyline that is.
Now the e-trade baby can be found secretly checking his stocks on his iPad during a "timeout"!
In both of these case a, iPad is not mentioned, simply used has one would use any other communication tool...creating a culture in which it's natural to pull out one's iPad to face life's daily challenges! Somewhere around 9 million of them have been sold since April 2010--that may not seem like a lot but it took DVR devices more than 10 years to achieve that level of US penetration.
When technology fundamentally changes how we communicate, adoption is rapid. For technology that is simply cool, it can take much longer. Herein,lay the fundamental challenge facing new technological development in the 20th century. Technology must be cool, affordable, and fundamentally change critical methods of communication in order to go viral! If it has these three elements it's destined for success!

A temporary step back into the dark ages!

Ok, something happened to me today that deserves discussion in our 21st century world of instant everything!  First, as I generally do on payday, I woke up this morning and checked my bank balance to ensure my direct deposit had been properly posted to my account. In addition to my normal paycheck, today I was also expecting a rather large distribution from an old ESOP to post to my account as well. Imagine my surprise and distress when I discovered by balance showed a balance of $0.42!!!

I went to work and checked with our business manager, who was not much help. I then called my bank. Apparently due to a new vendor, none of the debits or credits from the previous night had posted to ANYONE's account. It took just about the entire day to fix the problem making me wonder how I was going to buy gas, or get cash for the weekend.

At lunch I went to the post office on a quest for stamps. I had only cash. I went to the Automatic Postage Machine only to find that it did not take cash. So, I found myself paying the price, in terms of my time, for using cash. I found myself standing in line at the post office to buy stamps.

Who does that???

The other side of the coin on healthcare

Yesterday I wrote about the general hypocrisy regarding "access" to healthcare. But today I suggest we look at the other side of the coin.

With all the amazing technology that has been developed in the bio-med field, cures for certain diseases as well as disease management tools are now available that were not a mere ten years ago. However, these new technologies are not free and are more often than not, prohibitively expensive.

So the question becomes "at what cost to society, are these treatments worth the cost?". I am not talking about rationing healthcare. I am talking about the difference in spending $100k+ on a cancer treatment that will extend the life of a 75 year-old by a few months, vs. using the same money to restore an individual's mobility for up to 20 years or longer so that individual might be a productive member of society.

Not to say that cancer treatments are not valuable as they often lead to a better understanding of the disease and new tools with which to treat it.

There is an underlying cost to society under both scenarios; are either or both worth it?

I wonder what you think?

When Access isn't Really Access

OK faithful readers, today I digress a bit from emerging technologies to address what I consider to be one of the most serious domestic issues facing our country today.

Among the debates currently disrupting our national identity is of course health care. Everyone is talking about the new health care law; at times eschewing its value, other times in praise of it's new guidelines. The stated goal is access to health care for all right?

Wrong. Access to health care cannot reasonably called access when the monthly cost to participate is exhorbitant. Such is the case with an employer I know. This organization provides access to health insurance which is terrific as long as you are healthy and never face a serious illness. However, because there is no stop-loss on prescription drug coverage (something many plans now provide for), the consequences could be tragic for anyone diagnosed with a serious and/or chronic condition that requires specialty medication.

For me, under this plan, I would have to pay $540 every 4 weeks for just one medication. The fact that I also take about a dozen other medications to manage what is a serious and chronic health condition for which there is no cure, only disease management, complicates the issue even further. Ultimately the monthly cost to me to participate in this group health insurance plan would exceed $1200 monthly. By the way, that is for the individual plan.

There are few individuals I think, who can afford healthcare that exceeds their mortgage payment. So can this reasonably be called access to health care? Its hard for me to see it as so.

Add to this heated debate, the new Well-Mark office in downtown Des Moines where no expense has been spared to provide employees with a great place to exercise!!  Please tell me who pays for this? Oh, that's right, those who are insured through Well-mark are paying for it.Through the nose I might add as they raised rates by 18% earlier this year.

I wonder how any executive in today's economy could justify a business plan that calls for an 18% increase in costs to customers so that employees can have their own professional gym.

What about you?

Dude, where's my smartphone?

I have written a lot lately about the impact of technology on the way we communicate and search and find information. In a recent blog I noted that I had bought may first cell phone 10 years ago and it went from being an emergency communication device then to the master of may universe now!

Here's an example. A few nights ago I had plans to take a client to dinner and a show at the Civic Center. We were going to meet at 530pm for dinner and then go see the broadway musical 9 to 5.

Earlier that day, I had accidentally left my wallet at home, so I left work early to get it before meeting my client. I was so rushed in leaving the office that I accidentally left my cell phone on my desk. I realized I didn't have it a little after 5pm...making it too late to really do anything about it. But it left me with no way to reach my client if there was a problem. Rushing out the door, I suddenly realized I didn't know exactly where I was going. As I reached for my phone to look it up on the web browser, I realized that not being able to call my client was just one problem! I had to run back inside to look in the telephone book of all things to find the address! I cannot remember the last time I used a telephone book...I am lucky I even had one!

It was then that I realized just how much I have come to depend on technologies that did not even exist 4 years ago! The world is changing, and with it the business model for media like the the phone book and newspapers also demand change. Will yellow page advertising even existing in it's current form in 10 years?

Free directory assistance is available through Google just by dialing 1-800-466-4411 (aka 1-800-GOOG411) making directory assistance charges a thing of the past. So I just wonder what these services will look like in five years. Will they even exist at all?

Creep, crawl or shuffle into the 21st century!

I have been thinking lately about the shifts in my own behavior as a result of technology. Ten years ago, 10/10/00, I owned a computer with Internet access and I had just purchased my first cell phone. I used the computer primarily for email, occasional web surfing and most significantly, on-line shopping which was just taking off; I remember the thrill of being able to buy new clothes without an exhausting trip to the mall. I became an instant fan of on-line shopping and as a direct result, my trips to brick and mortar businesses dropped sharply.

My cell phone I used primarily for work as minutes were expensive and the roaming charges simply outrageous! I learned quickly to use my company provided long distance code on a land-line phone when I first turned in an expense report that included over $200 in roaming charges.

Which brings me to the first area of inquiry for me today. There has been a sharp drop in land-line telephone usage in the last 5 years. Between cell phones with unlimited minute packages and free long distance, to VOIP devices like Skype, Google Voice and others that allow free communication for anyone with a laptop and a headset, the need for a land-line telephone in addition to these other devices has declined. Center for Disease Control reported that less than 5% of households were cell only. According to their studies, that number has increased to 25% in 2010. I believe that number will at least double in the next five years, reaching critical mass in less than ten years. At least that is my opinion.

Devices that fundamentally change our behavior tend to reach critical mass quickly. Think about VCRs for example. It took more than 25 years for VCR usage to reach critical mass yet it has taken Iphone's less than two years to do so. DVR usage, available since the late 1990s. has yet to reach critical mass--yet online video consumption has grown exponentially. Ipads will likely do the same within the next 12 months. Not only does it fundamentally change the way we we communicate and interact with web 2.0 but they are already ubiquitous. Watch any CBS drama and you will see the characters using Ipads within the storyline. Great product integration package on the part of Apple, I must say. Brilliant marketing will ensure the success of this ground breaking new product. But I digress.

I also read this morning about an AP reporter who experimented with going without a bank for a month. What an experience...Vs 10 or more years ago when many people used check-cashing services and money orders to manage their affairs. Today, the cost and hassle involved certainly seems to supersede any monthly fees that might be charged for checking account services.

Today, I could not imagine living without my bank, my cell phone, my laptop, my Ipad, my USB wireless adapter for my laptop, my livescribe pen oh and just whatever other new gadget comes next!!! These days I'm a sucker for killer apps and learn every day about new ones.  This is me, creeping and crawling my way into the 21st century!


Until Next Time!

From Covered Wagons to Boeing 787 or....From Telegraphy to Skype

About a hundred years ago, the little boy that would one day be my maternal grandfather traveled across Texas in wagon trains with his family. Each stop in a town along the way gave him a chance to go over the Western Union office and watch the telegraphers at work. He was driven, I believe, by the same curiosity we have today when we open up our FaceBook page or when we use other social media to connect with one another.
Imagine how amazing it must have seemed to that young boy that with the right codes (morse) and finger movements, one could connect with people all around the country. Not much as changed really, just telegraphy on steroids. Today we use the right codes (the alphabet) and finger movements (typing/texting) to communicate with people all over the world. It was telegraphy then, today it is Skype!


So with all this new ability to communicate, comes a new ability to collaborate in ways that even the authors of Wikipedia hadn't dreamed of. The book discusses the success of the global plant floor operation that produced the Boeing 787 and how it could never have been possible without culture-changing collaboration among Boeing's business partners and suppliers. 


Think today, just a few years later, we have all types of on-line collaboration tools that are free and open to public use. Applications like Google Docs will change the way I do business in terms of collaborating with my clients. 


And then I think of the collaboration involved in a "successful" wagon train, and I realize, that from  the covered wagon to the Boeing 787, not nearly  as much has changed as we may think!

More on-line Sharing

While reading the paper this morning, I discovered yet another example of an organization making their information available on the internet for no charge.

This one is not a programming code, or an opportunity to develop new products; rather it provides information for academia.

According to the news piece, The British Library is making more than a quarter of it's 1000 volume collection of handwritten Greek texts available on-line, free of charge. In the past, one could view the volumes for free but only after making the trip to the British Library's reading rooms.

Connectivity

Yesterday, while listening to the local Oldies station in my car, I heard the 1976 Hit by CW McCall "Convoy". For those who do not have a clear memory of 1976, there was an awful lot happening in the world at that time. It was the nation's bi-centennial; a time that should have been filled with national pride. Yet people were apathetic, still recovering from the scandal of Watergate and the subsequent pardon of Richard Nixon.
But it was also a time when the general population gained the ability to "reach out" to others beyond standard telephony. It was the time of the CB (Citizen's Band) radio. So 44 years ago we saw the inchoate form of some of the first cell phones--which had to be installed in your car just like the CB.

But what I remember most about the CB was the idea that I could get on the air and just start talking to a stranger. At 13, this fascinated me. Think about how much has changed in the last 4 1/2 decades...first, we had a CB radiio in our car. In 1981 we had cable installed in our home. After I left home for college (electric typewiter in hand) I remember my parents getting a car phone. It was in this big black bag in very large and cumbersome to use. In retrospect I wonder what made them think they needed one. Few people had one at that time so they were really only good for emergencies because minutes were so very expensive back then. But just like the CB, the car phone of circa 1985 was another attempt to reach out beyond the walls of our previous world and connections.

Then I remember getting in my first computer in 1993. With a phone line I could connect to Prodigy and AOL--the two primary web portals at the time. But again, you could only communicate with others who had the same technology. You couldn't send an email to a Prodigy user for example from the AOL portal, and vice versa. But I remember spending time in chat rooms--mesmirized by the on-going communication happening between strangers in chat-rooms on any variety of subjects. Again, low market penetration notwithstanding, it was just one more way of reaching outside our traditional walls of communication.

In 1999 I got my first cell phone. It was bulky and cumbesome (but I never had a problem finding it in my purse!) and the minutes were ungodly expensive not to mention roaming fees. But finally, a method of instant communication became available. In a short time, everyone had a cell phone and today 11 years later, I do not know anyone who does not have a cell phone. More than 80% of households have a computer and spend time on the  internet on a daily basis. I recently read that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is Adults 65+.

Today, through convergence, we are instantly accessible and are able to instantly express our own views in a public forum regardless of who we are or our station in life.

As I consider this evolution of communication devices, it speaks to me of the basic human need to not be alone; to not feel alone and insignificant in this massive world of ours. As human beings we need to reach out and to be part of a group, or many groups, but to be connected to something outside ourselves. Its almost an existential question. I am if I am connected.

I believe this is what drives social media today. In a few short years we have reached critical mass in terms of the number of people using social media to connect with others. The technology increases every single day but ultimately it all comes down to one thing. I exist to be connected.

Accelerated Learning and the Traditional Thirty Second Commercial

While I have been studying emerging technologies in learning, I have also been studying the concept of Accelerated Learning. The more I synthize the two studies in my mind, the more I realize that everything we try to do as advertisers is all about AL and I just wonder if anyone has ever noticed it.

Many strategies exist within the traditional advertising model that range from simple direct response advertisements to :30 episodes of an extended storyline. But they all have something in common whether they were produced with famous actors and directors or some local production company or tv station. All the effective ones do anyway.
And when I say effective, I don't mean ads that win national CLIOs or ADDYs that benefit a graphic designer's book more than it does the client. When I say effective I mean that the ads made the register ring for our clients.
The best indication of a successful ad campaign is an increase in sales or market share, not an award displayed in the lobby of the advertising agency that created the spot.
I see myself beginning to digress...so to get back on track...what do successful advertising campaigns have to do with Accelerated Learning...besides everything I mean?
A successcul advertisement does four things. First, it interrupts the viewer--creating an attention level that did not previously exist. Second, it engages the audience, providing the reason that it was worth the shift in attention. Third, it educates the audience--who, what, where is the product or service and why it is unique in relation to it's competitors. Finally it provides some type of call to action. A low-risk offer perhaps, or a limited time availablity.
In AL, there are also four factors that impact success. First, is Somatic Learning where we learn by doing. In advertising circles, we call these kinesthetic learners. They are people who learn by feeling, touching and physically experience. The second is Auditory Learners; these are individuals who best learn through talking, dialogue and hearing. In our television advertising sales model, we stress that by one study indicates that 35% of people are auditory learners.
The third is Visual Learners; clearly these individuals learn with their eyes, They are visual people who best learn by seeing and observing. Ands of course Auditory and Visual are the senses of television. So in our sales model, we stress that people learn about products  best through television because it engages the two primary portals for learning.
Finally there are the Intellectuals. These are the individuals who learn best through reflection and problem-solviing. It is to these individuals that a low-risk or a call to action may actually be most effective. Invite the consumer to experience the product for examle.

I don't think the thirty-second commercial is dead as we know it (as I referred to in an earlier post). In fact if we can manage to integrate the four facets that define success for a successful commercial with the four facets that make up AL, the thirty-second commercial can indeed live on as the most efficient way of reaching large demographic groups at one time as has long been one of the greatest benefits of broadcast televsion advertising.

I think this video, which focuses on AL is actually just an advertisement in disguise. Watch it, and see if you can find the four facets of a good commercial. Does it also have all four facets of AL?
You know, I'm just sayin'.


*Please note that the information above regarding Accelerated Learning can be found on pages 42-44 of The Accelerated Learning Handbook by Dave Meier, published by McGraw Hill in 2000.

Learning Tools for Fun and Profit!

Today I learned a great tool (among many) for training sales people in the use of our syndicated research programs. Using Jing screen capture and video capture, I can create short videos in the use some of these tools without requiring each person to be in front of a computer screen.
This tool is one I can see myself using frequently as I develop different training programs within my organization.

Also thought I would talk to our general manager about using podcasts in place of weekly e-mail newsletters. Since we are in the business of selling tv, he often asks why we don't make better use of tv (or video) in our sales presentations. This would create a greater audience for his weekly message to our clients and likely provide greater perceived value that the email newsletter which may, by some, be viewed as spam.

Its an interesting idea and one that can help our station increase our interactivity both with our audience and with our clients.

Until next time.

The New Economic Model for Telephony

As everyone seems to know these days, you no longer require a land-line telephone in your home to communicate.
Long gone are the days of $300 long-distance bills, but soon to disappear are those clunky things we call land-lines. Think of the impact this is having and will continue to have on the business model for traditional phone companies like Qwest or AT&T. The revenue stream for these businesses will no longer come from land-line subscriptions and long-distance charges. Instead these companies are branching out to meet the needs of a totally converged society.

Convergence refers to the idea of bundled communication services reaching your home. Ten years ago, my boss gave a speech to a local media group in Kansas City concerning convergence. His prediction was that someday very soon, all the communication--be it two-way with phones or one-way with television products, would all come to your home through one box.

Today that is true. In my home, I bundle my cable, internet and phone services with one company and it is delivered to my home through one box. His question to the media folks at the time was "what kind of impact will this have on your jobs in the next 5 years?" and "Do you think you will have a job in 5 years?"

There was a certain profundity in his predictions. Not just because they have come true but because the change that has enveloped society as a result.

The ability to have free phone conversations on your computer is another step in the evolution of telephony. Where once you were tied to your land-line, now with a headset and a laptop, you can communicate with anyone, anywhere. Now that is change!

Until next time.

The Social Media Revolution

Today I read of two separate situations that made me reflect on the massive change under way in the way that we communicate, share ideas, and speak out as individuals in ways that once were not even dreamed of.

First this morning, I read in the newspaper about a  small Pennsylvania college has banned the use of social media on campus for one week. It is apparently a test to see just how hard it might be to go without facebook, twitter, AIM and texting. For me I am not so sure it would be all that difficult, I have a twitter account, but I don't really have anything to twitter about. I use texting but only to a limited degree. But then I am from a different generation than the college students of today. It will be very interesting to see how this experiment turns out.

The second thing I came across was about a blog post from a young swedish girl about her mother losing her health insurance. Sweden has a safety net for those who lose their jobs due to poor health, but some government bureaucrat decided not to believe the woman was that ill. Despite have posted only a few bolgs up to that point, with very few readers I might add, this post went viral.

Web 2.0 has created a podium for those who once had no voice. If one is disgruntled or even disgusted with some social policy, one need only post it in a blog. Readers will find it. Evidenced by the fact that my own humble blog has several readers some of whom are actually coming from a few different countries, I find it highly plausible that were I to publish anything controversial or of real note for the world, it may go viral as well.

Social media may seem like a fad for some, but as this video that social media is ubiquitous This is especially important for those of us in the advertising and marketing trade. We like to think that consumers are motivated to spend based on the ads we create, but that influence is waning and being replaced by peer influence. A failure on the part of marketers to understand and exploint this phenomenon will likely seriously hamper their ability to be successful in a world of increasing immediacy.

Is this really different? You Betcha! (sorry couldn't help the Palin jab).

Until next time.

The Open Source Revolution

The ever growing list of open source platforms that are being made available on nearly a daily basis--or perhaps an hourly one for all I know--is changing everything, not just about the way we communicate, but it the way we think.

In past years, if there was something I needed to research, I would go to the library and with the help of card files and those pamphlets that used to provide article information found in journals (what were those called again?) to learn about my topic. It was an awful and at times mind-numbing process. Not to mention that the information found was nearly always dated.

Today, if there is something I need to know, I go to Google. It doesn't much matter what I am looking for, I can nearly always find what I am looking for in the Google universe. From back-tracing phone numbers, to finding a reference for a long out-of-print book or article, Google never lets me down.

Recently I have learned of so many other capabilities within Google that I would never even have imagined. One of the most interesting to me is Google Reader, because with this tool I can have research find me vs. the other way around. Now that is something I can wrap my head around! As my learning curve gets steeper rather than flatter as I get older, one thing becomes crystal clear. Get on board, because the train has left the station!

My Antennae Are Up

In the past 7-8 days, I have somehow become more aware of different examples of peer-collaboration, prosumerism and other models disussed in both Wikinomics and in my class on Emerging Technologies.

It's not unlike what happens when you purchase a new car. You suddenly become aware of all the other Corrollas or Ford F-110 pickups that are out there. You had never noticed them before, but suddenly here they all are.

Its called top of mind awareness among those of us in the advertising industry.

But seriously folks, here are some of the things that caught my eye.

On August 29th, an article in the Metro section of the Des Moines Register, that was actually syndicated through the San Jose Mercury News.
The subject of the story is how Google "stays in touch with the world's curiosity". Highlighted in the story was Ben Gomes who's department is responsible for what you see when you perform a google search query. Those auto-suggestions you see as you type in a search are all the result what Google now calls User Interface.

A week ago, on August 30th, an article from the Associated Press appeared in the Des Moines Register that suggested that the Oxford English Dictionary, which weighs 130 lbs.) may go eventually stop publishing hard cover editions. The idea that people will pay an on-line subscription fee for it's use however may be a poor strategy. I can look up the meaning of any word on google or find any similar word at thesauris.com for free. Wikipedia put Encylcopedia Britannica out of business, dictionary.com can do the same for the Oxford English Dictionary.

Other items of interest include mention research by the Pew Research Group. It notes that just two years ago, Americans rated the television just below automobiles and land-line phones as a necessity in their lives. According to Pew, 64% of Americans rated the Television as a necessity where 42% feel the same way this year. "Only 29% of Americans 18-29 consider the TV set a necessity".

Finally I say an advertisement for a local grocer promoting a contest in which customers invent their own healthy snacks and submit the recipes with video on-line for a chance to win up to $5000 in free groceries. Prosumerism at the grocery level...I like it!

The New Alexandrians

The sharing of knowledge. Is that not what learning is really all about? We know a study cannot be considered research until it is at least shared within one's peer group. We share our knowledge, experiences, and world-view within certain peer groups whether they be of an academic nature or a commercial one. Yet we remain somewhat close to the vest when it comes to the applications we construct from that shared knowledge.

Don't we?

I believe our society is under the influence of a massive cultural shift. Western culture has traditionally lauded personal achievement and individualism. Capitalism is based on these factors. Our existing society is largely based on these factors; the peer-sharing achievements of IBM and P&G nothwithstanding. Ours is essentially a system of meritocracy in which those who produce the greatest amount of IP or perhaps the greatest number of applications to their IP receive the greatest rewards.
Its no different in an academic setting. As much as we are taught to collaborate and work as a team, individuals may still be prone to a certain level of egoism that if expressed might seriously deteriorate the mission of the team.

But this tendency is shifting in small degrees. First, the N generation or Z generation as some have called them--those born since 1995--may just change everything.

This generation has never known a time when they could not instantly communicate with the world whether through the internet or their own cell phones. Those born 10-12 years earlier would communicate with short beeper messages, an inchoate form of texting you might say. But these kids, those of the tech generation have grown up under a different set of rules than we baby-boomers!

First they are taught that everyone wins! When they play in T-ball tournaments has small children, both teams get trophies. I don't know if it is a growing trend of parents trying to prevent hurt feelings among their children, or something else entirely. But really, losing at T-ball may be one of those things that teaches a child coping skills.

Second, they are told they are special and unique by everyone close to them. They are allowed a whole new level of permissiveness than we were as children. They are taught to believe that their every word is an effusion of brilliance.

Finally, they have been taught that many things can be had for free, if one knows how to go about it. Napster first opened this door of free sharing of music files. There are many who believe the IP of musicians and TV and Movie producers, and even authors should be freely available to those who want it.

Personally I take the somewhat unpopular view that owners of IP, creative IP in particular, have a right to earn a living from their creation.

But I digress. My point is that while these cultural boundaries of individualism and egoism may continue to exist for a time to come, it will be this new generation that truly embraces collaboration.

Let's hope they can do it with collectivity and not collectivism.

Peer Sharing at its best....

Up until now, I have thought of peer-sharing and open source platforms as either social or business applications such as facebook for the former and Linux and Linked In for the latter.

However, upon discovery of the ease of creating an RSS feed in Google Reader which allows me to not only follow my fellow bloggers in our class, but also to follow news sites and other blogs that I have long considered following but never found the time or inclination.

This is heady stuff. A web-site that feeds me the information that I want, when I want it. And I thought time-shifted TV viewing was going to change things! With both an RSS and a DVR anyone can choose the time and place for their news and entertainment consumption. Its important to think about these things because they have and will continue to change the way advertisers reach their potential targets.

I remember attending a CAB conference in New York in 1999 when one of the panelists stated emphatically that "the thirty second commercial as we know it today is dead!!! Well that was 11 years ago and his daunting prediction has not yet come to pass...at least not for the masses. His point was well-made however, in that as advertisers we need to be thinking about different ways of communicating with our potential targets.

Something to think about!

Wikinomics Chapter 5

The new prosumer is truly here. Thinking about these words: consumer and prosumer, I can’t help myself—I have to check the latin word roots. Maybe I could make better meaning that way? Well the Latin sumere means to consume and the Latin pro means for or forward. So do I get forward consuming out of this? It seems maybe I do. The Lego example is a perfect example of this. Lego has been working on improving their products long before I amused myself for hours on end trying to build a structurally sound house out of my own Lego bricks. The idea that I now could go on-line and design the house I want to build and a program would design the kit and directions and mail me the kit the next day simply amazes me. Which sort of brings me back full circle to the client I mentioned earlier. Given that a software program exists to create or design just about anything you might want, why would someone hire an architectural planner for a remodeling project when they can buy a program at Office Depot that will do the very same thing—and for a much lower cost. It may even be possible that there is already an open-source platform for architectural design ideas. If there isn’t then therein might lie this client’s only opportunity to reap some success from her business idea of providing architectural remodeling design. Perhaps she could create an open-source platform with drawing tools and design ideas that can be customized to a user’s specifications. Instead she sits at the phone for the individual who just might have accidently found her website to gain new customers who are looking for expensive remodeling advice.


Ultimately, the examples provided make me think of forward-thinking consumers. Those consumers who know better what they want to consume than the organizations that provide the raw goods. While the I-phone had not yet been introduced at the time of publication, Wikinomics makes some very interesting predictions regarding where they say Apple is heading with the Ipod. At the time, an app that was a walking Wikipedia or even web browser was hard to imagine. Today it is common place; with most adults carry a smart phone that offers video texting, web browsing, calendar management and email all in one, not to mention their complete music library. As protective as Apple has been over elements of their IP, they have in fact loosened up a bit in the last couple of years—inviting users to submit their own I-phone applications and allowing them some level of compensation for their IP. In fact, I had lunch with someone just yesterday who had invented an I-phone app. Everyone is doing it.

The same is true with You-tube. What was once a loosely organized group of amateur movies is now the go-to service for on-line video of all types. Unfortunately not every post is meant for good. As evidenced by the recent case of Shirley Sherrod, who suffered at the hands of a right-wing blogger who chose to take her words completely out of context in a malicious manner in order to make a particular political statement. Before the truth came out, Ms. Sherrod was forced to resign and the Secretary of Agriculture was begging her forgiveness. So yes, prosumerism allows us to edit and even create out of whole-cloth news items on the internet, but it can get in the way of the truth, at times with serious consequences. I believe the same to be true of an tangible product as well. To a large degree, allowing the consumer to design their own products and the platform on which they use them does democratize things for the average consumer. But again I ask “Is this all for good, or should we have societal concerns”?

This Weekend's Reflections

Holy Heuristics Batman!

I learned so many different tools for learning, communication, collaborating and  sharing in the past 13 class hours than I imagined I would learn in the entire semester. I am excited to try and check out new technologies like polleverywhere.com and use them for certain business applications.
I also have long thought about the idea of sharing my ideas publicly, and with my new blog I am able to do just that.
I myself getting sucked in......

Wikinomics Chapter 4

Now this is interesting. On-line marketplaces where searchers for answers and solvers of problems come together for R&D answers seems almost to be the natural consequence of the dynamics of intrinsically motivated individuals possessing the ability to instantly connect with people and corporations around the world who are themselves in search of new talent and ideas. Working in a field that is fiercely competitive—the broadcast television industry—I try to imagine a world where such an ideagora might exist to, say, develop new programming ideas, research capabilities or promotional opportunities. In 2010 it is hard to envision such a world. I just do not see the general business model of local television stations changing very much. A station might out-source certain types of production, or use barter agreements in order to include strong syndicated programming in their line-up. The local television industry is in many ways a zero-sum game. The number of viewers at a given times of the day and year tend to remain fairly constant; the only way for a station to gain audience is for another station to lose audience as the size of the audience pie never really changes much. The distribution of ad dollars within a market is also a zero-sum game. An advertiser will have only a given budget to spend so for one station to receive a better share of the budget, another station must receive a smaller share. Zero-sum situations do not seem to lend well to open-source sharing!


The advertising industry as a whole, however, frequently out-sources with free-lance writers and producers, not to mention media planners and buyers. It is much easier to envision an InnoCentive type of on-line community in which advertisers could anonymously tap into a broad community of independent providers. But of course they really could not be completely anonymous. It would be a bit difficult to write copy for an unknown product!

This concept of ideagoras does completely change the requirements to develop a small business. High out-of pocket costs have traditionally been a significant barrier to entry for many industries. But what could not be done 10 years ago, is easily done today. In 2010 anyone with an internet connection can operate an on-line business. They can use Linux as their operating system, an on-line ordering system, dramatically reducing the need for employees required for phone-based or brick and mortar businesses, not to mention the ability to operate with little to no inventory costs. Kind of reflects a reality where IP is really just a commodity like anything else. There is a part of me that finds that scary. But I grew up in a world without cell phones or computers. The N generation by contrast has never known a time they didn’t have instant connection to their friends, parents and the internet community at large. They don’t believe in IP the way their parents do. They think music should be available on-line for free not to mention movies, games and other forms of on-line entertainment. This is not a copyright generation. But I believe that because of the deeply-rooted capitalistic animus of corporate America, it will likely be the children of the N generation that best exploit the economic and social advantages of true ideagoras in any given industry.

Wikinomics Chapter Three

Now this is really where the rubber hits the road. Sure it’s interesting that Linus Torvalds brought peer-sharing and collaboration to life, but that was an operating system. Can this idea of peer-sharing really have an impact on the way business is done? Yeah I guess so. When I learned that the BMW I used to drive operated on a Linux system it brought to life the idea that non-monetary based peer collaboration could in fact create its own economy of systems designed to work together with inter-related parts and technical specifications that could result in billions of dollars in industry.


But still, we are talking about something I don’t much understand—the inner workings of my automobile being primary on that list. But then I look at Wikipedia and I see how not only it has changed, but the perception held by most individuals and a growing number of academics have also shifted. Once considered a poor choice for an academic reference—as indicated in Wikinomics, in more recent years Wikipedia has become increasingly accepted as a reputable source of information. Despite its obvious weaknesses, I am a big believer in Wikipedia. I in fact expect to be a contributor one day soon. I am working on my own article on Followership. Wikipedia currently has no entry for this subject and I expect to be the first.

Wow, with peer-sharing I can do what I have always wanted with a minimum of fuss. I don’t need a magazine publisher to be interested in my story; I don’t have to sell it to a newspaper. But it is a subject I believe should be included in the world’s on-line encyclopedia. My opinion is that it is a very important avenue of study as sub-set of leadership studies. You can be sure that Wikipedia has many entries under the subject of Leadership! So I have self-selected to work on a project that has merit and should be studied by more people. I will not likely earn any money, or even recognition. But I will gain value (and find meaning) in the knowledge that a coherent reference for this subject will then exist on Wikipedia! Imagine, little ol’ me, a member of the peer-collaboration world. I can imagine few things that are more exciting for me.

Wikipedia Chapter Two

I must remind myself that some of the information presented in this book is now dated. First published in 2006 and then updated in 2008, the rapid generation of change that has occurred just since 2008 has transformed how we process information. At the time of publication, MySpace was the principal source for social-sharing and networking and even today boasts 66 million users as reported in Wikipedia. But Facebook, which launched 2 years earlier than MySpace, now, boasts 500 million users—also according to Wikipedia.


This is interesting to me because it is only in the past 12 months that I myself created a Facebook page and while it has been fun catching up with old school chums, I lose interest pretty quickly during my rare visits to the site. I find myself not caring much that someone had a dentist appointment or that someone had a bad day. These are things I never felt were fodder for public sharing or explanation. It seems the interactivity of Facebook has created an entirely new universe of “people watchers”. I am amazed at some of the things people will share in the most public of forums. I fear a generation brought up on publicly sharing the innermost details of their lives on the internet. Yet it is happening. I have seen my nieces arguing with each other on Facebook! They were of course in the same house at the time. Is internet communication going to undermine the value of face-to-face communication? And if so, what does that mean for in-person social maturation? I am just wondering.

I am reminded of a client I worked with recently. This client had a website that was simply not searchable on Google. After entering just about every possible combination of words that would describe her business, her business did not appear anywhere in Google. I explained to her that this was a serious problem and would absolutely stand in the way of her success. I then spoke to her of “tags”. Even I, the non-techie, knew what tags were and what they meant to the searchablity of a website. I was amazed that her website developer had not inserted any tags whatsoever in her website and therefore her service, which was very much a niche service, did not appear in a Google search. She is also one who wants to create content, but she wants to be paid for it. I did not explain that this was inconsistent with the business model of most web-based businesses—and in fact antithetical to the entire premise of Web 2.0. and peer-to-peer collaboration. This client is an ideal example of a business that will likely fail due to a lack of understanding of Web 2.0 capabilities. People want interactivity. They are no longer content to sit and stare.

My generation has seen so many changes in how we mass-communicate. As a child, on TV there were only three TV networks. We went from watching the Walton’s to The Brady Bunch to Good Times and The Jeffersons. Fledgling TV networks and independent stations struggled to stay on the air. Then came cable. I was in high school when CNN and Lifetime began providing alternatives to over-the-air television. But still, we sat and we stared. In the early 1990’s came the first real signs of connectivity for the common man via AOL and other internet portals that allowed people to send email to each other and participate in chat groups. But still, for the most part, we sat and we stared.

The sheer immediacy of the clutter we now encounter in our daily lives leaves little time for sitting and staring. The entertainment and communication options now available are so ubiquitous that people generally little patience for sitting and staring. They want to be involved, to contribute, to feel they are part of a larger whole. This world-view demands connectivity, creativity and interactivity. The client I mentioned earlier fails to see this shift and because of that will most likely fail in her business endeavor.

Reflections on Wikinomics--Chapter One

I have a tendency at certain times to avoid the unknown. A predisposition in some sense which I see reflected in my fear of the “out there” of this world. I justify myself saying that “surely, I have gotten along thus far without such knowledge, why must I have it now”? In this, I fear most, I am not alone.


In reading the first chapter of Wikinomics, I see my fears of technology; my fear is that I might not understand or lack the ability to grasp the convergence of economic and social concerns that are already changing the world, as I understand it, forever. I think this is good. With the divisiveness that plagues our national discourse these days, it seems to me that encouraging peer collaboration could one day obviate the world views that divide us to such a noteworthy degree.

The sub-title to this book may as well have been “How Everybody is Changing Everything”. I had heard of Linux before, but not being much of a techie, I didn’t really understand the advantages of one operating system over another. I just knew you couldn’t buy a Linux operating system at Office Depot. Learning about the genesis of Linux, my faith in intrinsic motivation is strengthened. Clearly, Linus worked primarily out of intrinsic motivation, rather than from a desire for traditional external rewards, like money, copyrights, and of course recognition from one’s peers. But for many, I think, external rewards have greater awareness and acceptance among contemporary workers, given the long stretch ahead of poor national and local economic forecasts. Clearly though, peer-sharing and mass collaboration tap into mankind’s deeper desire for meaning-making as Maslow posited in the last century or as Pink asserted in his book “Drive” just last year.

That said, the fact that Linux drew so many “peers” to share better solutions and upgrades is, in my opinion, a modern economic marvel. So much of the workforce has had to re-train, re-learn and re-invent in order to compete in an economy that has shifted from a manufacturing based to a knowledge-based platform. But things are changing so quickly in terms of technology that if workers do not continue to re-train and re-invent, they will find themselves considered “un-skilled labor”. But I digress.

Peer collaboration and peer-sharing has had profound effects on the way we gather and store information. Whether a study-group creates a Wikipage so they can all collaborate on a class project, or millions of authors, researchers, and private citizens collaborate to create the world’s most extensive on-line encyclopedia that has now put Encyclopedia Britannica out of business; the prognosis is equally profound.

Further evidence of the remarkable impact of peer-sharing is exemplified by the recently reported development of Wikileaks. This site has gathered an extraordinary level of high-security- clearance documents from the US Government and as allowed public access to all of the nation’s so-called secrets. The question in my mind, “Is this a good thing or not”? If the information is available to the average U.S. citizen, then is it not also available to any terrorist group or country that is other-wise unfriendly to U.S. interests? Wikileaks begs the question “how much is too much transparency?