Month: October 2009

Trend Question: Social Media Fatigue?

As part of my “gear up” for Australia, Matt Moore and I agreed to do some blogging to start surfacing issues for conversation in our face to face events. Matt had a great idea to share some of the trends I’m seeing elsewhere in the world and then asking people what they are seeing in Australia.  After thinking about it, I realized this might be interesting to my main blog readers. So this will be the first in a series of posts. I’ll try and cross pollinate the responses…

Are people experiencing “social media fatigue?”

I’ve been working mostly with global groups in international development. This sector is a bit behind other sectors, so there is still a great deal of interest and excitement in social media. In fact, there seems to be a slightly greater amount of interest and actual adoption than a year ago and fewer signs of fatigue than I see with some of my colleagues in the United States.

What IS a challenge is discerning the strategic application of any particular bit of social media, and a great deal of concern about figuring out what is useful for one’s organization, and what is a silly waste of time. At the recent KM4Development gathering in Brussels, we even convened a Social Media Skeptics session which in the end was less about skepticism and more about identifying useful practices and paths. With one exception. Locations with poor connectivity and electricity are sick and tired about hearing about tools they can’t even see.

What have you seen in your work in Australia?

Nancy’s Public Events in Australia November ’09

November I’m heading back to Australia. I had such a great time in 2006, I’m going back. I’ll be blogging about it again on a dedicated blog, but I also wanted to cross post a few things here as a “heads up.”

Below is a location by location, chronological listing of the events I’m involved in during my trip. There are links for more information and registration. Some of the details are not complete, so I’ll update this post as the rest of the information gets settled. You may notice there are some openings if you want to propose something!

Sydney

November 9th

9-12 am – Stewarding Technology for Communities

1-4pm – Introduction to Graphic Facililtation

6-9pm – Sydney Facilitator’s Network Evening Tweetup

November 10th

9-12:30 – Introduction to Online Communities

1:30 – 4:30 pm – Advanced Online Communities

November 11th

Open in the morning. Want to do something?

Transit to Canberra via train in the afternoon

Canberra

November 12th

Private workshop 1-3pm
Transit to Adelaide 5:30 pm

Adelaide

November 13th

E-Dayz Conference Keynote “Why should we “do” community (or why not) for learning?” (9:20 am as part of larger 3 day event!)

November 14th

Play day in Adelaide!

Melbourne

November 15th

Transit to Melbourne

November 16th

Private events in the morning and afternoon

6 – 8 pm KMLF Public Event – RMIT Graduate School of Business, 300 Queen Street. Melbourne, Lecture room 158.1.2B (Ground level – just behind reception).
Ample metered street parking nearby in Queen Street (between La Trobe and Little Lonsdale). RSVP: by email to melbournekmlf@gmail.com

November 17th

8:45-12:00 Introduction to Online Communities

1:00 – 4:00 pm Advanced Online Communities

Evening transit to Mooloolaba

Mooloolaba

November 18th

1 – 4:30 pm Stewarding Technology for Communities

November 19th

Keynote at Learning Technologies Conference

November 20-22

Play days

November 23

Return home

LearnTrends 2009


I’ll again be on the team of  “sharers” for the LearnTrends 2009 online event hosted by Tony Karrer, Jay Cross and George Siemens. This time I’ll be dialing in from Australia (I’ll put that schedule up next!). I hope I remember to set my alarm clock!!! Here is the info about the bit I’m doing with John Smith (one of my co-authors and co-conspiritors)

E-learning outside the training box

E-learning outside the training box with Nancy White and John Smith Once you’ve mastered enough of the new social media tools, training and development professionals are figuring out that technologies can change the boundaries around training itself, just as they can interrupt organizational boundaries. We offer two cases that illustrate the benefits and opportunities of these changed boundaries.

In one, Nancy White talks about triangulating internal training and capacity building with external actors who part of the training and who validate it; that leads to more connections between people and has gained manager support.

In the other, John Smith talks about a workshop that brings social activities into the center of the training experience, investing time in making the social connections a lasting and practical resource. We use the polarities that are developed in Digital Habitats to tie these examples together and give you design ideas for program development.

Check the rest of the schedule – lots of cool topics and people! And it’s FREE!

Waving from Europe

At Kruller Moller museum, the NetherlandsI’m on the road again, this time for nearly three weeks in Bonn, Germany, Eschede, The Netherlands (where I am now, typing from under a cozy quilt at my friends Lilia, Robert and young Alexander), Brussels (for KM4Dev’s annual gathering) then back to Bonn for one more facilitation gig and staying with friends Ulf and Virginie. Along the way I have met up with some of my online or “imaginary” friends such as Cosmocat and Aldo de Moor, having fabulous conversations and meals. I am focusing on the F2F time, so little blogging. Check the photostream.