User Generated Change

I have a very interesting family tree—you know those kinds with the multicolored bark that kind of looks like camouflage? Yeah, that’s me. You see, my grandfather had 4 children and then divorced my grandmother to marry an African American woman. He had another son with her and died shortly thereafter. My two grandmothers then became great friends. So, growing up I had an African American great grandmother (aptly called “Granny”) who lived to be 100 yrs old. It was only when she was in her last few years in an assisted living community near my university that I visited with her as an adult. There she sat, a shrinking, frail women and she’d tell me the most animated, amazing stories of the segregated south with lynchings during her childhood and the advent of first automobile. Perhaps the more unbelievable thing, however, was when we were finished for the afternoon, she’d go back to typing on her Mac computer and making calls on her wireless phone like it was no big deal.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well, because it shows how much people can change in a lifetime. Yes, technology is moving at an ever-quickening pace and maybe we young’ins rely a little too heavily on the internet, but Granny’s grandparents were slaves and she if she can learn to embrace the personal computer at 85, we too can find the best in web 2.0 and user generated content.

I admit, user generated content is now happening at such a rate that it can be overwhelming, but I’ve always had to do a little research or browse a few sites to find the information I was looking for. Is it a change? Yes. Are big changes easy? Not usually.

I believe people still want to read what real experts have to say, but they also like options, so being able to choose from a variety of informative voices definitely has its positives. As my middle school teacher harped, you must always consider the source. Additionally, new technology tools in the hands of experts can truly have a profound impact on the direction of social media, not to mention generate substantial revenues.

While I feel web 2.0 and 3.0 will truly make our world better, I can’t help but wonder that with all of these new technology trends and tools changing so quickly and everyone online, who is the “real expert” anymore?

Paperless Buisness Cards?

I spent almost 8 weeks last fall creating a personal business card. I even applied for a small grant from my fellowship to cover the expense. I meticulously conceptualized and designed a personal logo that now looking back at seems amazingly simple and straightforward.




I then deliberated over titles, contact information, and mindless details like paperweight, rounded corners, and plastic cards. I finally received the cards late in the fall only to have my internship issue me company cards in January! I think my family members were the only lucky recipients of my wonderful creation and they haven’t taken it out of their wallets since. Oy!

I consult for multiple organizations and since January I’ve been pushed to hand out cards like candy at my hometown alumni day parade. While I’m excited that my brand seems strong enough for people to want me to represent them, how do I go my own direction? In true consulting fashion, should different people get different cards? And to take it one step further, I question whether business cards are really a viable gauge for personal branding now that we’re all trying to go paperless and facebook has become a verb—as in “just facebook me.”

As more and more employers and colleagues become involved with various social http://www.agileapproach.com/blog-entry/poke-moderation-tips-social-networking-etiquette networks, I find myself checking LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Twitter before I head to a new client meeting. I’m assuming they are doing the same. So, with the potential for social networking profiles to eventually eliminate the traditional business card and act as a candidate contact and screening process (whether you authorize it or not); personal brand management, especially in the virtual realm, is becoming essential.

The US economy is volatile, unemployment is reaching record-breaking highs, and competition is intense. So, with so much going on, just how much time am I supposed spend focusing precious brainpower on how and when to poke, tweet, and ping my colleagues?

Crowdsourcing: Great Expectations or Great Exploitations?

In the true spirit of crowdsourcing, I debated long and hard about posting this assignment to Mechanical Turk to see how little I could pay to skip out on it. But alas, my integrity insists and you are stuck with little ol’ me instead of a brilliant Indian computer programmer or a dashing Turkish dancer, both of whom I’m sure would not only be much more eloquent writers, but also more knowledgeable on the subject of crowdsourcing. After all, every major corporation’s doing it. Heck, isn’t that what most blogs are today too—someone jamming a bunch of virtual heads together by sprinkling some opinion between a crowd of links? Well, maybe not quite, but I’m graduating with an MBA in just a few months and the economy is lower than my old plumber’s pants, so this "source it to the crowd" buzz has made me a bit uneasy—should I have majored in Crowd Sorcerer or maybe Lead Crowdsourcing Consultant? As if the reality of unemployment isn’t bad enough, now we’ve got compete virtually for 10 cents a HIT (on a good day)? Is this really where jobs are headed with the advent of the internet?

I mean, I get it; I have always been a fan of the “two heads are better than one” idea. Look at the success of Wikipedia, who doesn’t find it useful at one time or another? But I have to question whether crowdsourcing will actually prove to be more helpful in cutting US corporate research costs or harmful in eliminating US jobs via the web. After all, crowds are highly susceptible to “mania” and if a fire breaks out…stampeding. What happens then and who is responsible?

So yes, the idea that gathering input from a wide array of sources will result in a better end product is a good one, but until virtual task requesters opt to file taxes and enforce a set of guidelines to protect against the exploitation of workers, I’m afraid many crowdsourcing applications will become “virtual sweatshops.”

How formal should informal networks be?

In an economy like the present, it is quickly becoming essential to stretch the dollar by leveraging information and relationship assets. Informal networks are rich sources of collaboration across entrenched silos that spring up via self-interest and personal desire. So, wouldn’t it be a great business value proposition if a firm could harness the power of the informal network by formalizing it? Sure, it could increase efficiency, lower costs and all that bottom line impact stuff, but inherent in these networks is the freeform flow of information and organic growth through interest. (Hence, informal network.) So, where to do we budding business people draw the line? How much formal can informal take before it begins to lose value?

In my experience, informal networks derive their greatest value due to the sheer nature of being informal. In a properly functioning organization I find informal networks are often filling gaps the organization has overlooked or enriching workforce engagement through personal relationships. Yes, these informal networks provide management with information and insight into the culture, but this concept of monitoring is not to be confused with formalized processing.

It seems logical that infusing informal networks with strategic relationships and key employees could drive additional value for management, but it comes with the risk that such formalization efforts could infect the entire network, leading to a slow painful death. While it is probable that there are specific cases where formalization could drive network results, a key point to keep in mind is that informal networks are generally created by motivated people seeking out information. Thus, it is implied that formalization should also come from within, not above. Unless formalization efforts can truly enhance the way in which informal network participants interact and gain value from their involvement in the network, the cost of the formalization will likely outweigh the benefits derived from such change.

The push and pull between formal and informal and management and the workforce is an ongoing challenge. Informal networks’ role in the organization will continue to evolve and dynamics may change, but for the most part, informal networks should be left alone.