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Social Networking and Knowledge-Sourcing in the Digital Age (For Fun and Profit). PAPEN September 23 rd 2004 Presented by Charles Lanigan. My Background. Professional Develop workflow and collaborative applications for PNC Bank
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Social Networking and Knowledge-Sourcing in the Digital Age (For Fun and Profit) PAPEN September 23rd 2004 Presented by Charles Lanigan
My Background • Professional • Develop workflow and collaborative applications for PNC Bank • Adjunct Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration (CBA) • Education • MA in Instructional Design & Technology from the University of Pittsburgh • Memberships • Pgh. Regional Knowledge-Management Consortium (PRKMC) • Past Pgh. Chapter President, Society for Technical Communication (STC)
Agenda • Traditional Job Search and Other Networking • Online and Virtual Job Search and Other Networking • Comparison • News You Can Use: Skills and Techniques
Traditional (In-Person) Networking • Meet and Greet • Verbal and Social Skills • Who You Know (More Than What You Know?)
Traditional Networking Occasions • The Golf Course • Professional Events and Conferences • Social Occasions (e.g., cocktail parties, sports events and bridge nights) • Bars, Restaurants and Coffee Houses
Traditional Networking Dynamics • Small Talk • Personal Introductions • Friend of a Friend • Time to Think, Digest Evaluate in Context
Traditional Examples of Sharing Knowledge and Expertise • Reading Newspapers, Books and Periodicals • Gossip and Conversation • Formal Lectures, Teaching and Presentations • Purposeful and Serendipitous Meetings
Traditional Networking Assets and Skills • Social Graces • Acting and Looking the Part • Body Language • Art of Conversation and Discourse – Relating to Others • Being at Ease and Putting Others There • Vocabulary and Language -- Code-Switching • Personal and Professional Reputation – in Immediate Circle and Larger Community
The Information Revolution • Multiple Sources and Channels of Digital and Other Information • Emphasis on Speed and Ubiquitousness (Info. everywhere, all the time through wireless, etc.) • Emphasizes Information as Opposed to Knowledge (Lack of Context) • Emphasizes Style Over Substance (i.e., PowerPoint and the downfall of western civ.) • Many Sources Anonymous or Unknown to Us Personally and -- We Unknown to Them • Hard to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff
Sources of Information and Knowledge-Sourcing in the Digital Age • Formal and Informal • Television (Including Advertisements, Infomercials and Programming) • E-mail and the Internet • PDAs • Cell Phones, Pagers, Blackberry
Examples of Virtual Networking and Sources of Knowledge • Web Sites (for News, Job Searching, etc: Monster.com, Workopolis.) • Chat rooms, Discussion Forums and Virtual Social Networks Such as Linked-In, Friendster • Web logs (Blogs) • Collaborative Work Spaces • Wireless Access
In-Person: Manners Physical appearance and tone of voice Verbal skill Emotional intelligence (EQ) Body language/confidence Heavy on reputation (who you know) Virtual (Online) Netiquette (online courtesy) Writing skill (no auditory or body-language cues) Clarity of purpose (goal-directed) Heavy on technical skill and expertise (what you know) Comparison of Networking
Personal Implications Pluses: • Immediate access • Libraries at our fingertips • Interaction across cultures and geography • Transcends space, time, physical barriers
Personal Implications, Cont. Minuses: • Distraction • Lack of Privacy: Because we can, we are seduced (or forced) into feeling we must always be informed and available • Instant Gratification • Information Overload
Social Implications Pluses: • Broaden circle of community: Find people and organizations w/ whom we have common interests and goals • Share expertise (e.g., medical conditions, child-rearing, jobs, etc.)
Social Implications, Cont. Minuses: • Lack of accountability • Devaluation of content and meaning: • Shallowness over depth • Instant answers over judgment • Narrowness of interest over universality • Diminishment of social occasions and need for skills (e.g., old-style coffee house camaraderie and conversation vs. online chat and Starbucks Wi-Fi)
Professional Implications Pluses: • Access to an unlimited market to promote yourself or products • Cheap and easy to put up or join a web site or online forum
Professional Implications, Cont. Minuses: • Attention-deficit and info. overload • Blurring of personal and professional spaces • Emphasis on giving immediate answers instead of asking good questions • Seduced into relying on (and blaming) technology instead of human decision-making abilities
Professional Implications, Cont. Neither Here Nor There: • Competing in the global community for customers and jobs (e.g., outsourcing) • Interacting with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and locations • Complicated by lack of common cultural referents and assumptions
News You Can Use: Relevant Skills and Techniques • Know and ask for what you want • Clearly define terms, goals and tasks. Don’t automatically assume you know what people mean and they know what you mean • Beware of lazy communication, obfuscation, jargon and misinterpretation (including those due to cultural differences) • Give a little and get a little: Knowledge-sourcing is knowledge-sharing
News You Can Use: Things to Keep in Mind • Use technology for your purpose rather than have it use you • Evaluate information, demands and tasks on a continuum of urgent vs. important (S.R. Covey) • Think cost/benefit: web logs, online chat and discussion boards all require an investment of your time and energy • Six degrees of separation: Just because someone subscribes to the same online forum doesn’t mean you have anything in common. People have their own agendas.
Virtual Networking Examples • Linked-In • Professional networking/matchmaking service • Workopolis • Canadian employment site • www.workopolis.com • RSA • Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce • http://www.thersa.org • MagicalDesk • Personal networking e-mail and info. Management • http://www.magicaldesk.com
Thank You • Contact Information • E-mail: cdlkm@attglobal.net • Voicemail and Fax: 810-885-7200