Posts Tagged ‘Social Networks’

Thrive Together

Posted: May 10, 2013 in Collaboration
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thriveThis is the last in a five-part series covering the five corporate values of my company, Humana:

Today’s subject: Thrive Together.  What does that mean and how can we live that value?

If we consider the word “thrive,” it brings to mind definitions such as growing, prospering, making progress, and flourishing.  It’s more than just maintaining one’s current state.  It is reaching one’s potential – the fullness of one’s capacity.  It suggests that such growth and prosperity happens in an environment that nourishes and allows room for growth, one that does not unnecessarily and unnaturally constrict such progress.

Most of us hope to thrive in many areas of our lives.  By combining the word thrive with the word together, however, the picture shifts from individuals focused on their own prosperity to one in which the whole group moves in a united direction for the good of all.  It is not a select few doing what is in their own self-interest; it is working in tandem with others in mutually beneficial ways to accomplish more together than we can separately.

To quote a small booklet from my company, to thrive together means that “we focus on shared success by breaking down silos, inviting collaboration and mentoring others.  We believe in, and act with, positive intention to create an environment of trust and integrity.”

So where do I fit in this picture?

It is vital that my personal way of working with others daily needs to include being trustworthy and demonstrating integrity.  I can’t just talk about a value; I have to model it.  I need to reach out to others to include them in decision-making, as well as be responsive to them when they reach out to me.  I must collaborate and cooperate with others willingly because I understand that each person involved has something important he/she brings to the table to help accomplish our business objectives.  I can’t horde areas of responsibility and lord over them like a king in a castle.  Even “my” role at the company isn’t truly “mine.”  It is the company’s and I am a temporary steward of that role and its responsibilities, beholden to the company to do what is in the best interests of the organization and not my own self-interests.

Fortunately, I am in a perfect role at work to help foster the breaking down of silos and building in their place a culture of communication, collaboration and cooperation through my role as the community manager of our enterprise social network.  Thriving together requires open, continuous, honest, and transparent communication.  There is no better way of facilitating that among our company’s associates than through our enterprise social platform.  That is the place where everyone is equal, where everyone’s voice can be heard, where anyone can strike up a conversation with anyone else at any level of the organization at any time about any subject.  That is the place where issues can be addressed, problems and roadblocks called out, model behavior praised, questions asked and answered, and business solutions crafted from thoughtful conversation held by engaged associates throughout the company.  As of our latest upgrade last week of the Socialcast software we use, it is even the place where projects can now be planned, managed, tracked, discussed and documented by the teams involved.  I stated at a conference in 2010 that my goal for our enterprise social network was to change the way communication happens at our company, and three years after the launch of that platform (to the very day today, May 10), we have made much progress in that direction.

I have worked with enough people personally at my company over nearly ten years to be absolutely convinced that the vast majority are dedicated, thoughtful, caring, hard-working people who want to do the right thing in the right way.  Sure, I’ve run into some that don’t fit that description and some who seem to be more concerned with thriving individually than thriving together, but they are the exceptions rather than the rule.  So I believe it is possible that we can live out this value of Thrive Together successfully in the years ahead, especially given the current example and focus of leadership.

Most people eagerly mimic the positive examples of their leaders and others they admire.  When top leaders model such values on a daily basis, the values become more than buzzwords.  Being value-focused can and should become a way of life that shapes our company’s future.  It requires moving from the awkward beginning of talking about values and learning about them to actually living them naturally because they become a part of who you are personally and corporately.  That takes time, but it can and will happen.  It requires that the values be broadly understood and accepted, not just handed down from above.  It requires regularly interjecting into discussions simple reminder questions like “How does this fit with our value of …?” so that we stay on track to make good values-based decisions.

I’m proud of the direction of my company.  I’m thankful for our excellent top leadership and for the countless great colleagues I have the pleasure to work with every day.  I’m genuinely excited about the significance of our focus on these five values and what they will mean to our culture over time – not just internally as employees but in the impact on the consumers we serve and the shareholders to whom we are accountable.

We can and we will Thrive Together.  It will take intentional, constant effort, but it will be worth it.

Speak Your Mind for Peace of Mind

Posted: March 27, 2013 in Communication
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image from codyaray.com

image from codyaray.com

For introverts like me, I tend to let unsettling matters fester inside me until they reach a point where I have to speak up.  Unlike others who feel free to just speak whatever comes to mind the moment it comes to mind, we introverts are less likely to do so unless we’re in the presence of our closest friends and family.  There is both good and bad in that.  On the good side, our mouths tend to get us in trouble a little less.  On the bad side, we let our guts churn to an unhealthy degree before speaking up, and if we’re not careful, we eventually let go with a pent-up reaction that causes others to think, “Where did that come from?”

I’m not a fan of those who think that everyone else around them always needs to know what is on their mind.  People usually can get through their days just fine without a floodgate of other people’s opinions on a host of subjects filling their ears and their social media news feeds.  It may be people’s right to speak up, but it is also their right to remain silent.  At times, I wish more exercised the latter right.

Our country is divided on many social topics about which many millions on both sides of the issues are passionate.  That is expected and that is OK.  It’s alright for both sides to express their opinion, and each should be able to do so without fear of ridicule and reprisal.  We must celebrate the freedom of speech we enjoy in this country – a freedom too many other countries do not offer their citizens.  What we must never get to is a point where we cease to tolerate the expression of opposing viewpoints.  We must not become intolerant in the name of tolerance.  That is hypocrisy.

All of our public protests, marches, social media efforts and other forms of pleading our cause may or may not change anyone else’s mind on a subject.  It is still up to each individual what he/she believes.  Each must choose when to speak and when to remain silent.  For my own peace of mind, though, I know that when I have deep-seated feelings and beliefs on a matter, I reach a point where, for my own emotional and physical health, I have to speak up.  I encourage you, whatever your position on hot-button issues, to do the same.

Speak your mind for peace of mind, and allow others the freedom to do the same.

Leading From the Bottom

Posted: February 20, 2013 in Leadership
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Org ChartIn yesterday’s post, I reviewed Seth Godin’s book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.  One point briefly mentioned in the review is the idea of leading from the bottom.  Today I want to explore that idea more.

When Godin first discusses the idea in his book, he tells the story of when he started full-time at Spinnaker at the age of 24.  He was charged with making software games out of science fiction stories.  Nobody reported to him – no programmers, no secretaries, no staff whatsoever.  What did he do?  He started a newsletter and distributed it twice a week throughout the company talking about the opportunities, the challenges, and the successes.  One by one, people voluntarily joined the cause – even on their own free time – to be a part of what was happening.  He led from the bottom and people joined him for the journey to the point of being wildly successful beyond what many thought possible with few resources allocated.

I think back to a couple of times in the past year when there were stories in the news that caused a grassroots reaction from others via social media.  There was the young 20-something lady who started a campaign against a major bank when they announced a jump in fees.  The movement caught on and in a matter of days the national bank reversed its decision.  That lady had no position of authority.  She had passion and a Facebook page.  Just this past week the Kentucky bourbon distillery Maker’s Mark had to change its recent decision to lower the alcohol content in its signature product after the public outcry regarding its plans to do so.  Opponents had no authority over the company other than as fans and customers, but that was enough.  They led from the bottom.

Looking around at people in my life, I see others who voluntarily take on mountains to climb because they care and because they think they can make a difference one day or one person at a time.  They don’t wait for permission.  They don’t sit back and say “I’m only one person; what can I do?”  They don’t get stuck in some endless period of analysis paralysis.  They begin one step at a time doing something, and others join them in the cause because others have been wanting the same thing, but needed a leader to forge the path.

One of the reasons my schedule stays full is due to the fact that I think we are put on this earth to make a difference, and that as long as we have life and breath we can and should be doing what we can to impact others in meaningful ways.  I believe that is true for you as well, although, you’ll have to decide what those ways are for yourself.

At work, I have nobody that reports to me.  I may never have direct reports at my company.  I’m fine with that.  I still know I have the opportunity to make a positive difference.  I can impact individuals and even the entire company regarding how we communicate internally.  Outside of work, I have several personal passions – mostly faith-related – that drive me to do things weekly because I think they are the right thing to do, and because the idea of just living for myself outside of work seems a waste and, in fact, offensive to me.  Nobody “reports” to me outside of work, either (except, perhaps, my dog), but I’m fine with that, too.  I can still live each day faithful to who I am called to be in confidence that it will be a life lived imperfectly, but genuinely for the One who gave it to me.

What passions do you have for change?  Where do you want to make a difference?  Whether you have any positional authority or not, whether anyone reports to you at work or outside of work, your passion and example of doing something to lead can be just the spark that others around you need to join your cause and to make a difference.

Don’t be afraid to lead from the bottom.

Book Review: “Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” by Seth Godin

Posted: February 19, 2013 in Book Reviews
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TribesI finished re-reading Seth Godin’s Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us today.  It’s a book that is on my very short list of books worth re-reading now and again.  The point of this small 2008 book is that there are groups of people (a.k.a. tribes, followers) just waiting for someone to step up and take a leadership role to help make change happen.

The book is a bit hard to review on one hand because it has no table of contents, no chapter divisions, no index to easily go back and find a thought – only seemingly random section headings that have content under each heading for a few sentences or a few pages. Good luck on outlining the book.  Godin acknowledges that potential critique near the end of the book, and if he’s not worried about it, neither will I.  The focus should be on the content of the book, not the structure.

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for rebels – those willing to challenge the status quo and attempt to make change happen.  Godin refers to this person throughout the book as a heretic and encourages such behavior for all who see a different vision and aren’t afraid to try to make it come to pass.  ”Heretics are engaged, passionate, and more powerful and happier than everyone else” (p. 49).  Long live the heretic!

Tribes is filled with short stories of people – many of whom you have never heard – who made the decision to make a difference and then who started to lead others who shared the same passion down a path of affecting change.  Rebels and heretics will find nuggets of hope and strength in these stories, encouragement to go forward in their worlds and lead their tribes.

There are a few sections which lay out precisely Godin’s underlying thoughts and principles.  One is where he describes his thesis:

  • For the first time ever, everyone in an organization – not just the boss – is expected to lead.
  • The very structure of today’s workplace means that it’s easier than ever to change things and that individuals have more leverage than ever before.
  • The marketplace is rewarding organizations and individuals who change things and create remarkable products and services.
  • It’s engaging, thrilling, profitable, and fun.
  • Most of all, there is a tribe of fellow employees or customers or investors or believers or hobbyists or readers just waiting for you to connect them to one another and lead them where they want to go. (pp. 12-13)

Another meaty couple of pages list five things to do and six principles behind creating a micromovement:

Things to do:

  1. Publish a manifesto.
  2. Make it easy for your followers to connect with you.
  3. Make it easy for your followers to connect with one another.
  4. Realize that money is not the point of a movement.
  5. Track your progress. (pp. 103-104)

Principles:

  1. Transparency really is your only option.
  2. Your movement needs to be bigger than you.
  3. Movements that grow, thrive.
  4. Movements are made most clear when compared to the status quo or to movements that work to push the other direction.
  5. Exclude outsiders.
  6. Tearing others down is never as helpful to a movement as building your followers up. (pp. 104-105)

This review would be far too lengthy if I tried to write about all the notes I took and parts I underlined.  Besides the main points above, I’ll just mention a few more ideas that stand out to me…

“Skill and attitude are essential.  Authority is not.  In fact, authority can get in the way” (p. 20).  Too many people think they can’t lead because they do not have positional power and the accompanying authority that goes with it.  Malarkey!  You can lead from the bottom of an org chart any day.

“Organizations that destroy the status quo win” (p. 35).  I hear many companies talking about being “disruptive,” yet too many of them are still mired in old ways of thinking, stifling policies, outdated practices that lead to anything but disruption, and a culture of protection and control that inhibit and sometimes downright punish innovation.  These dinosaurs will die as others who actually walk the talk pass them by.  ”The organizations that need innovation the most are the ones that do the most to stop it from happening” (p. 113).

“The only thing holding you back is your own fear” (p. 44).  

“Change isn’t made by asking permission” (p. 70).  This thought goes hand in hand with another: “The easiest thing is to react.  The second easiest thing is to respond.  But the hardest thing is to initiate” (p. 86).  Heretics initiate change.

“When you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they do amazing stuff” (p. 98).  I work on a team like this and can vouch for its truth and source of energy and inspiration.

I do find it odd that Godin chooses not to engage a tribe, himself, on Twitter.  He has two accounts there – @SethGodin and @ThisIsSethsBlog.  The former account is a mere placeholder with no activity, reserved so that nobody else can claim it, while the latter tweets whenever there is new content on Godin’s blog.  It’s his choice, of course, to be involved or not in whatever technology platform he chooses, but it seems like a missed opportunity to not use Twitter to engage with a willing tribe of followers.  That choice does not, however, impact the truth and value of the book.  You’ll find his website at http://www.sethgodin.com.

If your goal is to manage, this book isn’t for you.  If you want to keep the current organizational machine functioning as smoothly as possible with little disruption, don’t bother reading it.  But if you have a goal to produce change – at work, in your community, in your neighborhood, in government, in your church or elsewhere – then read this physically small, 151-page book and take away some insights and inspiration to lead a tribe.  ”Do what you believe in.  Paint a picture of the future.  Go there.  People will follow” (p. 108).

One final thought… While reflecting on the book, the brief YouTube video of First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy came to mind.  I encourage you to watch it.

What Is Your Net Worth?

Posted: February 1, 2013 in Networking
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When we hear the phrase “net worth,” it is almost always in reference to someone’s financial position.  That is, what is the value of someone’s assets minus liabilities?  While that is a good thing to know for oneself, I believe the phrase can be used in a new way now that personal networks are such a vital part of our lives.

The idea for this post came from seeing a tweet by Dan Pontefract (@DPontefract) on January 25 that said, “my network *is* my net worth.”  The tweet linked to the press release “Most Expect to Get New Job by Networking” from Right Management, the workforce consulting experts within ManpowerGroup.  The release discusses survey results which showed that 50% of respondents expect to find their next job via networking, while 22% expect to do so through a job board, 10% through an agency/recruiter, 8% by directly approaching businesses and 1% through a newspaper or periodical (how are newspapers still in existence?).

As someone who puts great value in his personal network of personal and professional contacts, I resonate with the survey results and am surprised, frankly, that the 50% figure wasn’t higher.  Give it a year or two and I’m confident it will be much higher.

As I think about the value of a personal network, the primary benefit for me is not for job searching.  It is for learning.  For the past few years, the primary way I have learned is by following key people on Twitter who are leaders in fields I care about.  The blogs, reports, white papers, surveys, infographics, books and articles these people link to, their insights shared, and the incredible opportunity to have direct online conversations with them make the world of knowledge available to everyone who chooses to take advantage of the social technologies at their fingertips.

Learning professionals talk about personal learning networks as sources for individuals to learn via informal connections with others.  If you’re interested, grab your favorite beverage, do a Google search on the topic and spend some time perusing the 147 million search results on the term.

Personal networks consist of connections you have with people you see in person as well as others online you may never have met face to face.  Personal networks are not the same thing as online social networks, although the people you connect with online are part of (and perhaps the largest part of) your personal network.

I encourage everyone to continually work on expanding their personal network – their “net worth” – both for the value you can bring to them and for the opportunities such connections bring your way.  Don’t expand your networks just to take without giving, though.  That’s against the spirit of a true network where each person plays an important part.  Expand because you have a thirst for knowledge, a desire to help as many others as possible, a yearning to expand your horizons through rich communication with others around the world, and you will find that you end up gaining as much or more than you give in the process.

You may have additional reasons for and uses of a personal network beyond the professional and learning focus that most interests me.  Regardless of your motivation, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself “What is my ‘net worth’?  What can you do today to increase it?”

Book Review: “Buzzing Communities” by Richard Millington

Posted: January 16, 2013 in Book Reviews
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Buzzing CommunitiesI have long been a fan of Rich Millington and the excellent advice he dispenses daily from his blog at FeverBee.com.  For those involved with leading online communities, you need to go to FeverBee and subscribe to his updates.  You’ll benefit from the brief, insightful posts he publishes nearly every weekday.  I was extremely glad, therefore, when his book Buzzing Communities: How to Build Bigger, Better, and More Active Online Communities was published a few months ago.  I readily digested it upon arrival and am eager to share these thoughts with you about the contents of the book, why it’s important, and what specific actions it has already prompted me to take in order to be a more professional and effective community manager.

The book’s two parts and twelve chapters span nearly 300 pages and are devoted to the categories of “How to Manage Your Community” and “Everything You Need to Know About Your Members,” with the vast majority of space given to the former.  The part on managing your community includes nine chapters: Strategy; Growth; Content; Moderation; Influence and Relationships; Events and Activities; Business Integration; Return on Investment; and User Experience.  The second part includes: The Community Ecosystem; Competition – Existing Online Communities; The Audience – Demographics, Habits, and Psychographics; and a wrap-up on Community Management Success.

Online community management is a relatively new profession that still lacks much in the way of formal training, education, certification, standards, and proven, documented, and accepted best practices.  In such an environment, Millington’s book raises the bar and sets the standard for what community management is about and where it must go in the best interests of the communities served and the professionals who have responsibility for them.  Anyone whose role includes in whole or in part leading an online community will benefit from taking a slow, diligent walk through the book.

Usually, when I read a book, I underline some things as I go and absorb at an intellectual level the contents of what I read.  For this book, however, so many helpful ideas jumped off the page or sprung to mind while reading that the margins are filled with notes to myself with actions I need to take in my online communities in order to implement the concepts discussed.  Such ideas make this one of the most practical and helpful books I have read with immediate impact on how I do what I do every day.

One of the core ideas of the book is that “data is the single best asset you have to develop a thriving community.”  Millington is wonderfully relentless about the need to gather, analyze and make decisions based on data in order to grow and strengthen communities.  He is spot on correct when he states that too many community managers are “too reactive, too ad hoc, and too lacking in long-term strategy.”  They fail to use their data probably because they don’t gather the data needed to make the best decisions.  Some platforms are woefully limited in the data easily mined to help with this need, but even in those instances you’ll at least know what you’re missing by reading the book.  Be forewarned: If you read it, you will no longer be able to speak the lie that “It’s hard to measure the ROI of social.”

Unfortunately, I can relate all too well to the above shortcomings.  How much of my days have been spent reacting to the vocal minority instead of planning and improving things for the majority?  How many weeks pass with no progress on big-picture strategic paths because I have taken too many member complaint detours or spent too much time in the weeds to even notice how far off path we traveled?

The book provides ample specifics to guide community managers through the early planning of new communities through the day-to-day building of existing communities.  Millington’s insights apply both to internal and external communities of all types, sizes, ages and platforms.  I challenge any community manager to read it and not come away with a to-do list of things you can immediately do to help build your community.

Speaking of a to-do list, let me share with you some of the things from my to-do list having read the book.  Keep in mind that I am the community manager for a 23,000+ member internal community for a Fortune 100 company and also have responsibility for some of our external social platforms as well.

  • I changed the welcome email that I send to all new members by adding one specific thing they could go out to the community right then and do to get them involved immediately.
  • Since I lead a bi-weekly call of nearly 30 others in our company who have some level of responsibility related to community management, I’m taking one of the book’s chapters each call over 14 meetings to discuss the key ideas and insights from that chapter.
  • We have purchased a quantity of the books to put copies in the hands of community managers in-house.
  • I routinely do not open my email at work until I’ve been there 2-3 hours so that I can concentrate on getting important tasks done related to big-picture, long-term growth instead of allowing email to force me into a reactive mode.
  • I limit the amount of time I give to member complaints or the vocal minority daily.
  • My manager and I have been in conversation about adding a new analyst role to the team (in addition to the analyst role already planned) to assist with all the data-related needs.  Writing up the proposed job description and role justification is my next task on this matter.
  • I’ve made notes to do a number of additional things in the coming weeks, such as:
    • Schedule town halls with group admins to provide a forum for sharing success stories, best practices and advice about being a successful group admin;
    • Survey the community to gauge their sense of belonging;
    • Create a group for new members and populate it initially with helpful links and info, and then modify the welcome email again to invite members to join the group;
    • Schedule a monthly town hall for new members;
    • Solicit current members regarding their favorite platform or community tips to include in the weekly broadcast I send to all members;
    • Post a list of community volunteer opportunities since it isn’t possible or wise for me to try to do it all in the community.

You can see that I had many takeaways from the book.  I am certain that you will as well.  In fact, let me help you get started with this list:

If you’ve read the book already, or if you read it soon, please leave a comment below with your thoughts.  I’d love to hear your takeaways from it as well.

Leap Year Lesson #239: Know When to Network in Person Instead of Online

Posted: September 1, 2012 in Communication
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While waiting to begin speaking at a conference session several days ago, a man sitting near the front came up to me and said something like “Well, it’s strange that we would finally meet some place like this.”  I said “And you are…?”  He turned his name badge around where I could read it and it was a fellow employee from my company in Louisville – one whom I had been on numerous phone calls with but had never actually met in person.  Indeed it was odd that our first in-person meeting would not be in our own city but on the other side of the continent – a consequence of the prevalence of virtual meetings.

While at the conference, I finally had the chance to meet in person a number of people from the company that invited me to come speak.  I remember saying to a couple of them, “I need to just hold up an empty picture frame in front of people’s faces this week to be more likely to recognize them based on the online head shots I’ve seen for so long.”

Online communications and social media have changed the frequency and the need to meet together in person – for good or bad.  This week, however, it was a lot of fun to be able to spend time face to face with these people.  It deepened the relationships.

My career is currently 100% centered around social media, but it is important to occasionally set the devices aside and have some time together with others.  It shouldn’t all be done online.

Since this week’s trip was to a major annual technology conference with over 20,000 people registered, it is no surprise that everyone had their favorite devices with them – mostly tablets and smart phones and a few laptops for old-timers.  The irony did not escape me while walking past large groups of people that at this tremendous event ripe with in-person networking opportunities, most had their heads buried in devices where they were carrying on conversations with others not present.  That’s not necessarily a good thing.

Leap year lesson #239 is Know when to network in person instead of online.

Leap Year Lesson #207: You Have the Right to Remain Silent (and the Capacity, If You Try)

Posted: July 28, 2012 in Communication
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In the movie Shrek 2, Shrek tells Donkey “You have the right to remain silent.  What you lack is the capacity.”  I know several such donkeys.

There are two very different contexts in which this thought comes to mind.  The first scenario may be in a meeting at work, in casual conversation with a group, watching interviews or news shows on TV, or reading seemingly endless posts on social media where some people just don’t know when they ought to stop talking.  They are so focused on themselves and what they want to say that they fail to read the social clues all around them that others don’t want to hear any more from them.

To such people I suggest they try the following sometime:  Imagine there is a stopwatch hanging around the neck of everyone in the conversation.  Now imagine that each person’s stopwatch kicks in only when he/she is talking.  Now imagine the time displayed on your stopwatch compared to others around you.  If yours has been running longer than theirs, you have not only the right but also the obligation to be silent.  Silence is not an enemy.  You don’t need to fill all moments with sound, even if others do not fill the silence either.

The second context in which the rule also applies is when pressured by others with endless questions and inquiries for which you have no legal or work-related obligation to respond.  You don’t have to let your time be controlled by others who approach you with questions, emails, instant messages, etc.  You need to maintain control of your time and your accomplishments.  (The exception – parents of young children constantly asking “why?” – God grant you patience.)

Allowing others to detract you from your purpose and focus may seem courteous to others, but it is detrimental to accomplishing your goals.  For example, I would never get more important tasks accomplished at work if I allowed every potential interruption to take precedence over what I know I need to finish.

Regardless of the context above that may apply, remember leap year lesson #207 – You have the right to remain silent (and the capacity, if you try).

Leap Year Lesson #145: Social Media Brings the World To You

Posted: May 31, 2012 in Social Media
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As pervasive as social media is today, a majority of the people on earth still don’t use it.  That’s hard to imagine for some of us whose work lives and much of personal lives seem to revolve around it, but it’s true.  Facebook’s nearly 1 billion users is a genuinely impressive number, but so is the 6 billion not using it.

Some don’t use social media because they do not have access to it.  They are in underdeveloped countries without the technology, or they don’t have the personal resources to spend what it takes to be online, or their countries don’t allow them to use it, or their lives are following paths and work and pursuits that have no need for it, or – gasp – they just choose not to even though they have the access and means to do so.

It is the last group – the ones who choose not to use it – to whom I plead they reconsider.  For them to do so requires that we address the “What’s in it for me?” question they may well have.

The overly simplistic graphic I created above shows in the smaller blue circles the world of relationships and connections in which most people on earth live.  It consists of friends, family, coworkers and others we know or have access to through various direct or indirect channels.  The small blue circles describe the connections for the shepherd in a field, the leader of a tribe, the worker on an assembly line, the knowledge worker or the president of a country.

If one chooses, however, to take advantage of the world of social media, then the potential for personal connections, information, knowledge exchange and extending your own influence literally has no earthly boundary, at least among others who also choose to extend their world through social media.

Why would anyone choose less knowledge, less information, less influence, less efficiency, fewer contacts, and a host of other less-than-optimal resources when so much more is just waiting for them on the other side of a keyboard?

I wish more were excited about the reality of and the possibilities that come from leap year lesson #145 – Social media brings the world to you.

Leap Year Lesson #69: Twitter is the Most Important Learning Resource on the Planet

Posted: March 10, 2012 in Learning, Social Learning, Social Media & Learning
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For the past year I have been telling people that I learn more from Twitter than from any other resource. The reason is because of the insightful comments and the host of links to other resources like articles, blogs, reports, videos, research, etc. Most of the learning isn’t in the 140 characters themselves, but in what they point to.

For this to work, you need to follow insightful people who can point you to resources you would never discover on your own. Start with a few key people and gradually increase the number of people you follow. Follow some of the people they follow. Create lists of followers grouped by some topic area that binds them together, and focus on reading the tweets on a list if time doesn’t allow for reading everything.

What brings me to the lesson for today is my experience the past two days at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas. The most valuable thing in the goodie bag given us at registration was a little pocket guide of all the sessions scheduled. Every session has printed in the guide the twitter hashtag for the session. For example, the hashtag for the session “Your Brain on Multitasking” was #SXmultitask. With dozens of sessions going on simultaneously, it is impossible to attend all you want to attend. So what do you do? Search Twitter after the session for the hashtag of the sessions you missed. I promise you will still get the main takeaways by doing this, although you certainly miss out on the detail and conversation around the topic. Still, it’s a way to attend without attending.

That is incredibly powerful, and it is fortunately becoming the norm around the globe at gatherings large and small.

If you do not yet use Twitter in this way (or at all), then you are missing out on the most powerful learning tool/resource/environment anywhere. It’s a game changer for learning and I hope so-called learning professionals “get it” and embrace it before the rest of the world passes them by as irrelevant.

Leap year lesson #69 is Twitter is the most important learning resource on the planet.

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