Digital habits*

*With apologies to Nancy White for commandeering the title of her latest book

It’s Saturday afternoon here at Bells Beach. It’s not a particularly pleasant day – it’s grey, drab, damp and uninteresting. Friends who were here for a cycling event have left, the paper’s been read, the dishwasher loaded and gym done. The dodgy hamstring needs icing so I’m sitting on the couch with  an ice pack strapped to my leg. The radio is droning on in the background. Hawthorn versus Melbourne. I think Hawthorn is winning.

And I’m nursing my laptop – cruising a few web sites I haven’t visited for a while and following interesting-looking links. I’ve found some marvellous stuff to read. I’m sure you do the same thing.

Got me thinking about this whole surfing thing (the electronic version, not the stuff that happens on the waves a few hundred metres away at the Bells Beach). And the differences to reading the newspaper. I’ve always read newspapers. Once, I used to buy three different daily papers and I used to watch the news on the telly – often on a couple of different channels to compare. Not any more. I barely have patience for televised news, and not much in the newspaper really catches my attention anymore. Why?

Most of what I read in the newspaper is well, not new. And much of it doesn’t interest me either. And I become increasingly frustrated at the process of the news – where a gatekeeper has determined what it is I should hear or read, who uses statistics and audience segmentation to determine what I should be interested in. In this era of ‘publish then filter’ I am responsible for what media I consume rather than the approach of ‘filter then publish’ where experts make decisions on our behalf of what’s readable and what’s not.

I’m learning to become internet literate. Just as I had to learn a new approach to ‘literacy’ when I took up birdwatching, so I am still learning the new digital literacy. I’m learning how to find trusted sources, and where great writing, photography and illustration lives. I get a thrill when I discover a great new blog, when I read something that stretches my thinking or challenges my perspective. I also find stuff that is appalling, outdated, boring, dull or full of hubris. Some things I don’t ‘get’ and others make me laugh out loud. I’ve made friends on the net – people who I’ve never met – and I’ve developed and deepened existing friendships. I’ve got work and I’ve shared my thoughts and ideas. I’ve helped others and others have helped me. I have access to a huge variety of ideas, thinking, perspectives, possibility. And I’m no longer contented to be a consumer. I see something I like, such as the Hungry Beast segment, and I want to know how it’s done. I want to be able to do it myself. And the really cool thing is that I can do it myself. We all can now. That’s exciting.

And here’s what I love about this photo. It combines wireless internet and live streaming of a conference half a world away, a now out-dated landline telephone, and a similarly outdated radio/CD player, a wireless temperature gauge and the never-outdated skill of baking.

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Open data movement afoot

At last year’s TED conference, Tim Berners Lee called for the an open data movement with the free sharing of raw data and all the benefits that would come from that. You can watch the original talk here.

Last month, he gave an update in this six-minute talk. He shows how mashable maps are being produced from the raw data. What I found most interesting was the way information was gathered and shared about the Haiti earthquake. It’s about 4 mins in.

Hat tip to Johnnie Moore and Ton Zylstra

Connection and intimacy

I like this summary of how the internet enables us to stay connected. It’s also a good follow-up from my previous post. No surprises, but a good reminder of how the work landscape has changed in such a short time and how individuals are streets ahead of organisations. No surprises there, either!

Me too!

Nancy White has a great post about how she uses social media. Here’s a summary with some of my favourite choconancy comments in italics.

• online community

“Eminds” was where I learned that online relationships can be real, how they get real, and  how they break and fail.

• online learning together

But regardless of the technology, how we use it always matters.

• communities of practice and learning

…social media has changed what it means to “be together.” It has changed our experience and understanding of being part of a group, a community or a network. It has created a massive multiplier of the options we now have to be with other people.

• global networks and knowledge sharing

When the door to connection is open, watch who walks through and follow them, not those who stand at the doorway and naysay!

Social media offers us incredible intellectual capital opportunities to link up the best and often most diverse minds to address a problem or opportunity.

• weaving across silos

Social media keep networks, their content and activities knitted together.

• (drawing) pictures
• blogging and doing business

The second great value blogging gave me was a place to “think out loud” with my network, to offer half-baked ideas and solicit help to finish baking them. It is the easy-bake oven of learning. Write, hit post, and you are in the learning lab.

• writing a book
• liberating my inner geek

Particularly as a woman of 51 years of age, this enormous software playground has given me a way to bend stereotypes of middle aged white women and technology. I look proudly at my mom who at 79 is rediscovering high school friends on Facebook and enhancing volunteerism through web tools.

Nancy concludes with the patterns she’s noticed:

• learning
• getting work done
• finding and connecting with people
• getting stuff
• exploring and pushing my boundaries

She says: “My practices have been radically changed and shaped – yes, even transformed – by social software.”

And I’m going to conclude by breaking one of the rules of social media. I’m not as far into my social media journey as Nancy, (and someone is sure to remind me that I still haven’t written that book) but nonetheless, ME TOO!

TED Talk: Communicating real news

If you are still in any doubt that we are in the midst of phenomenal change, watch this. It’s Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations, talking about the impact of new technologies. The events in Iran during this last week is the latest in a series of examples of the ‘tranformation to amateur media’ as Shirky describes it. Even President Obama mentioned in a talk on the weekend the ‘professional and amateur reporters’ from Iran. We are now all capable of bypassing ‘mainstream media’ and/or censors.

If you are in the business of communication (and who isn’t these days?) and if you want your messages to be heard, then an understanding of how these changes fundamentally affect how and what we communicate and, importantly, the channels of communication, will help make the most of your communication.

Disconnected

Last week my skype account was hacked which meant I couldn’t log in. After no response from skype support (and a hilarious email from them wanting feedback on their customer support!) I gave in and created a new account. Now the sidebar with the green ticks is back and I’m gradually reconnecting with my contacts.

It was interesting just how disconnected I felt without skype – how that list of names reminds me of people near and far who I connect with often or just occasionally. More than twitter, more than email.

Resources for Facilitators

Facilitators like me have traditionally drawn on processes, activities, and often the wisdom and experiences of other facilitators for inspiration when designing workshops. Today I had a completely different experience. I promised I’d develop a slide show for a group as a thought starter for a discussion. I identified the key messages, developed a rough story board and started to search for information and pics I could include. Having little luck with google searches I put up a Twitter request…

… and within three minutes I had this response

So off I went to YouTube and did a search with the key word ‘exponential’. This is what I found within a few seconds.

I watched this 5 minute video made by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Bronman, and it’s perfect. I have saved myself hours of work in creating an original slideshow when there was one already made that fit the bill. Brilliant.

BTW, I made these copies of Twitter and YouTube using Skitch (hat tip to Brenda Moon for introducing me to Skitch).

Oh, and here’s the video if you’re interested in watching it.

At home & on-the-road ‘must have’ tools

Here’s my top 10 things (that’s a technical term) that have made my life easier as a self-employed facilitator working from home:

Skype
Enables an easy (and a cheap) way to talk with people anywhere in the world, from anywhere I happen to be. Great for conference calls too.

iStockphoto
Fantastic high-quality and inexpensive photos to download for any purpose – great search facility and huge range to choose from.

Wireless at home
Now I can work anywhere, including outside, and still be connected.

Google Docs
Makes collaborating on documents and slideshows easier

Twinings green tea with peppermint
Refreshing, tasty, low caffeine (so I can drink lots of it).

Slideshare
A place to share and see (some great) slideshows.

TED talks
Entertaining, inspirational, informative – and access to people I may never hear speak in any other forum.

Comet
My dog. Gets me out of the house. Never talks back. Never criticises. Always pleased to see me.

Google images
For a pic of just about any one or any thing.

The off button
…on my phone, computer, iPod, television – so as I can enjoy the place where I live, and the people and creatures I’m fortunate to share it with.

And here’s five tools I would never leave home without

Coloured Post-It notes (various sizes)
Useful for just about every low-tech process I know, and for engaging people in conversation, focusing attention, for open space agenda setting – way too many uses to list here!

Visual Explorer cards (playing card size)
The two decks of playing card-sized VE cards are easy to carry anywhere (including overseas) – and to use on the spur of the moment.

Smiggle fat pens
Bold colours, can be used for thick or thin lines – great for those times when I have to use a flip chart (although it’s just about impossibe to hold more than one at a time)

Tibetan temple bells
Nice sound, gentle or loud, best way I know to gain people’s attention, especially in a large, rowdy crowd.

MacBook Air
My window to the world – light, robust and does everything I need it to do, including blogging.

Getting serious about collaboration

I’ve been talking about collaborating for a while – now it’s actually happening. And it’s VERY exciting. Projects underway include a fantastic (even if I say so myself!) presentation skills workshop; a book about facilitating with confidence; and yet another book on facilitating and improv. These collaborations are happening locally, in NZ and in the USA. Which has meant I’ve had to quickly decide on how best to collaborate on line. Skype chats have been great for setting things up, but now we’re down to business, and the limitation of some tools become apparent. For co-writing and editing I’m using google docs. Wish there was something like this around when I was an editor! If, like me, you have no idea how google docs works, check out this video from the CommonCraft geniuses.

A few ‘end of week’ links

Luke Weaver has written a nice paper (easy to read too) that explains the phenomenon Twitter. Read, then sign on and see for yourself what it’s all about.

I love this return post by Hugh MacLeod on blogging – good to laugh at ourselves.

Nick Smith has a nice post about our gifts to share. Somewhat mirrors my own reflections about ‘what next?’ and with a lot more clarity. Among other things he discusses awareness, courage and trust. Great cartoon as well.

Matt Moore has a good summary of Seth Godin’s new book Tribes. I love Matt’s comment: Maybe it’s “Here Comes Everybody” if you have ADHD.

I don’t suppose we’re all having similar thoughts – it’s just that I’m noticing more of these types of blogs. Gavin Heaton explores spark, connection and creativity, having an idea and doing something with it.