21st Century Organization

Facebook Groups in Business Webinar: Learn from Kimberly Samaha, Eric Edelstein & Francois Gossieaux

Multiple posts to this blog chronicle the Facebook Groups in Business Investigation convened with colleagues Bill Anderson and Victoria Axelrod.  Data gathering began last December, 2007 and concluded February 2008. First results were presented to the University of Warwick's Knowledge Innovation Network's spring workshop March 2008.

Tomorrow, Wednesday June 25 at 3pm EDT we have the privilege, thanks to TheAppGap blog sponsors Intuit Quickbase, of discussing our learning in a webinar.  We will be joined by three of our contributing Facebook Group owners: Kimberly Samaha, Eric Edelstein and Francois Gossieaux, who will share their experiences using Facebook Groups in support of business goals.

Through our Facebook Groups Investigation we're very aware of the many time demands challenging each of us. At the same time your finding time to participate and share your experiences and insights about Facebook Groups in Business is appreciated.

More about the webinar addressing "Should Your Business Be Friends with Facebook?", and how to register are here. The invitation to contribute questions in advance remains open.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Social Media Club Gathering 20071211: A Gorilla on YouTube

Howard Greenstein labelled the event "What worked and what didn't in Social Media in 2007?" and convened an impressive collection of entrepreneurs and people who work at helping traditional organizations adapt to the impact of social media upon them. 

The most interesting discussion thread for me came via Jack Myers, (CEO Myers Publishing, author of the Media Business Report and "Virtual Worlds: Rewiring Your Emotional Future" published in May).

With TV industry experience starting at CBS, Jack proposed a potential outcome of the current writers strike is fundamentally changing the traditional television broadcasting industry. Given the impact of digital technology on transforming the recording industry, an entirely reasonable prediction.

Also discussed was the bottomline for organizations. As participative technologies empower individuals to become publishers and broadcasters via the Web, how do traditional media companies engage and develop new revenue models to play and sustain in this environment? No doubt the arrival of Chris Anderson's new book "Free" late 2008 will promote that dialogue.

It was interesting looking around the room and seeing who was present and not. My limited survey found technology entrepreneurs, consultants striving to help companies find their way in a low-cost consumer-created content world, and publishing industry companies although not the industry leaders.  I hadn't realized that Business Wire, the event host, is a Berkshire Hathaway company.  I'm betting there was no company in the room with more than 1,000 employees. While new low cost participative media technologies are nipping at the heels of larger organizations, their ability to adapt and leverage the possibilities is so much harder.

Not to say of course that some companies, with support from outside agencies are not figuring it out. Today's Financial Times (print p17) carries a story headlined "Gorilla drums up sales for Cadbury" with a photo of their YouTube favorite video captioned: "Sweet music". The story indicates the company reported the Gorilla advertising company "had helped it recover market share in its UK confectionery business." Tellyads voted the ad number 1 in 2007 based on their 185,000 requests since September 2007.

The Youtube video is here with 1,449,759 views, 3216 ratings, 2,442 comments, 4 honors 5 links and favorited 7,824 times. Sites are linkng to the Youtube ad and there are a string of remixes.

Of course the FT Cadbury Schweppe's story goes onto mention other forces at work challenging the company to change including an oil funds backed activist investor and rising commodity prices.

No doubt leveraging and adapting to new low cost participative media technologies is just one dimension to making an organization 21st Century sustainable.  Much more challenging is changing organizational structures and business models that demands serious heavy lifting and will.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Enterprise 2.0 RAVE Session 2 After Thoughts: Moving Organizations

May 22 I participated in Enterprise RAVE 2.0 Session 2.  Thank you Francois Goisseaux for an opportunity to be challenged by Harvard Business School's Andrew McAfee's questions, Euan Semple''s grounded thinking, and converse with Jim McGee and Jerry Bowles for the first time. The recording of a wide ranging discussion is now available. My highlights included:

• Andrew McAfee talking about Facebook and potential lessons for social workiing within enterprises
• Euan Semple expanding on his "Do Nothing" post describing behind the scenes conversations and politicking to support adoption of social tools within the BBC
• Jim McGee, and Andrew McAfee discussing the "messiness" of wikis, blogs, forums and executives' desire to impose structure
• Jerry Bowles reflecting on the value of "messy vitality over unity".

RAVE participants Michael Clarke and Lee White, in their event blog reports point to the Enterprise 2.0 RAVE conversation I'd like to continue: adapting organizations to the challenges social technologies provide.

Michael Clarke wrote:

"More generally, though, I couldn’t help feeling that the session as a whole shows that there is still something of a gulf between the consumer-driven, bottom-up focus of web 2.0 and the ambitions of the proponents of Enterprise 2.0 to bring about a similar level of change and disruption (a positive word in my lexicon) to the habits of organisations. I do believe that it’s possible to deploy the insights of community driven practice to bring about all manner of change within an organisation but I don’t think that it can be done without a deep understanding of the nature and dynamics of organisations. Still, early days."

and Lee White concluded:

"This thing we are calling Enterprise 2.0 is necessarily messy. It cannot be effectively created/implemented by a controlled, managed process. It has to be emergent. This will be a hard concept to swallow by those that are currently in power."

Andrew McAfee discussing Facebook reminded me of the "Social Life of Information" and Julian Orr's pioneering anthropological study of a high performing team of Xerox technicians it describes (page 99):

"The rep's work is critical to the company's overall purpose and so falls well within the class of value-adding processes. Nonetheless, as Orr found out, the reps might almost be said to succeed despite the company's best intentions. Their success is in good part a triumph of practice over the limits of process."

The technician's success resulted from close collaboration and knowledge sharing (including outside official working hours), and Xerox responded by developing technologies, including two-way radios (the forerunner of Nextel), to support their ability to connect.

In Social Life of Information John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid write (p8):

"The way forward is paradoxically to look not ahead, but to look around."

Looking around I see collaborative technologies have been nudging enterprises for around 4 decades:

• Doug Engelbart's 1968 demonstration debuted the computer mouse and shared screen collaboration.
• Bob Metcalfe invented Ethernet 3.5 decades ago (1972)
• Tim Berners Lee revealed the World Wide Web in 1991
• Ward Cunningham's wiki creation began in 1994
• Pyra Labs debuted Blogger in 1999
• 2003 del.icio.us launched
• 2003 Google acquired Pyra Labs/Blogger
• 2006 Trampoline Systems released Enron Explorer, revealing the 200,000 Enron emails used as their technology testbed AND the social networks of Enron executives
• 2006 Andrew McAfee described "Enterprise 2.0" and SLATES.

Yet, as the RAVE conversation indicated and participants Michael Clarke and Lee White confirmed, organizations resist adapting.  This is despite a growing body of knowledge about understanding and managing the socially networked organizations that computer network connections enable:

• Mid 1980's studies begin revealing the social nature of Xerox technicians' work
• 1987 Valdis Krebs starts practicing social network analysis in organizations
• 1992 Ronald Burt publishes "Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition"
• 1993 David Krackhardt & Jeffrey Hansen's "Informal Networks: The Company Behind the Chart" appears in Harvard Business Review
• 2001 Don Cohen & Larry Prusak release "In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work"
• 2003 Rob Cross & Andrew Parker produce 'The Hidden Power of Social Networks: Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations"
• 2004 Network Roundtable founded
• 2007 Duncan Watts "Accidental Influentials" number 1 Harvard Business Review "Breakthrough Idea".
• 2007 Patti Anklam publishes "Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World"

The RAVE conversation exposed the challenge of social tools to organizations.  To me issues around "CONTROL" are key. (Slide 3 in presentation to the OD Network GNY December 2006.) The discussion also set me thinking about the importance of rebuilding management's TRUST in employees to maximize the potential of Web 2.0 tools for organizations. Andrew McAfee's student poll results have me considering the role of INCENTIVES, especiallly in light of lessons from the open source movement and Xerox's early Eureka project learning about the importance of RECOGNITION for encouraging PARTICIPATION.

During the RAVE Jerry Bowles indicated he is seeing an inflection point for the impact of social technologies in organizations.  Time will tell but regardless my main take away was thinking people with job titles like organizational "design" or "development" need to pay close attention.  If you are not already focused on "network weaving", "organizational network analysis" and understanding "collective intelligence" then it's time to take Euan Semple's counsel from Enterprise 2.0 RAVE Session 1 to "get moving". Otherwise prepare to be made obsolete by smart, Web 2.0 tool empowered employees, seeking forgiveness rather than permission, busily creating value through anthills of innovative activity, and in the process, reinventing your organization around you in ways you can't even imagine.

What have I missed?

What do you see when you look around at your organization and the impact and potential for the latest generation of social working tools? 

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Enterprise 2.0 RAVE Session 1 Nuggets: Flipping Perspectives

Seth Godin in promoting viral marketing practices talks about "Flipping the Funnel". It occurred to me during the first Enterprise 2.0 RAVE session May 21 the real value was in "flipping", through lived experiences in organizations, some popular misperceptions about enterprise use of social tools.

Euan Semple provided the following examples:

1. Perception: Social Tools don't fit with regulated industries.

   Response: On the contrary, wikis for example are probably the most easily audited conversation tool there is, especially compared to email.

2. Participatory tools undermine authority in organizations

   Response: When tools prove valuable to people lead users act to preserve their use when, for example, inappropriate use by individual participants threatens their future.

3. Social Tools Facilitate Idle Chatter and Waste Time

    Response: Indeed employees spend time sharing using participatory media but it is no more than happens in water cooler and hallway conversations in organizations.

Plus:

i. Information shared is public and can be useful to more colleagues than from 1 to 1 conversations

ii. As exchanges are public, people are less likely to disparage others.

Monday's RAVE conversation benefitted from a focus on real experience and lessons for implementing. It confirmed what we've come to understand, that the most successful approach for adopting Enterprise 2.0 technologies is validating by starting small, choosing initiatives where you can be successful, and building from there.

Host Francois Goisseaux requested parting "words of wisdom" from featured speakers. Here's a taste of the discussion: 

EUAN: "Keep moving"*. Stay in touch and head for the high ground.

JOE:  Enterprises are losely coupled systems. Interoperable. Businesses are brokers, collections of services. Need social computing to bring together teams on ad hoc basis to address business needs for delivering a product or service.

BILL:  Good way to start is using a wiki to plan an event. Prove the concept.

SUSAN:  Do anything low risk try something new. FaceBook. Twitter.

The Enterprise 2.0 RAVE discussion continues Tuesday May 22 at 11am EDT.  It's an opportunity to hear directly from Andrew McAfee in addition to the RAVE panelists. I'll be participating and welcome your company.

- Jenny Ambrozek

* 5.22.07 - Edit to insert "keep moving" following speaker review.

FAS Research: Visualizations of a Hypernetworked World

Thanks to Jeffrey Keefer for alerting me to FAS Research social network analysis and especially their Visualizations Gallery.  Jeffrey heard FAS spoke at Friday's Personal Decomocracy Forum. Judging from the program it was quite the event, starting with an opening keynote from Eric Schmidt and Thomas Friedman. although interesting ratings from the first commenters on the opening session.

FAS shares attention getting visualizations showing social network analysis applied to a range of business and political influence networks.

Thought provoking viewing.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Enterprise 2.0 RAVE Virtual Events May 21-22: Schedule & Survey Invitation

The Enterprise 2.0 RAVE, originally planned as a physical event to take place in NYC has gone virtual.

2 sessions are planned May 21-22 with Andrew McAfee opening the discussion Monday 21 at 2pm EDT on:

Enterprise 2.0: Getting started and measuring success:  Is it better to start small and iterate fast or plan for an enterprise-wide deployment? How do you balance the need for organic, self-organized growth with other enterprise requirements?

The conversation continues Tuesday May 22 at at 11am EDT on:

Adoption issues related to Enterprise 2.0 deployments, ranging from people processes, to the tools themselves.

I look forward to participating in the Tuesday discussion and hope you will join us.

Please register here.

To provide meat for the conversations a market readiness survey is being conducted.  Your contribution and insights are appreciated.

The Enterprise 2.0 RAVE discussions provide a great opportunity to hear from Andrew McAfee and share your perspective about the reality of Enterprise 2.0 adoption.  I hope busy schedules will allow time to participate.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

PODCAST Camp NYC Success, Energy & Rick Santelli @ the Board of Trade

Post the success of PODCAMP NYC I've been considering WHY. 

This morning listening to CNC's Rick Santelli reporting from the Chicago Board of Trade around 8.40am provided some real clues.

Speaking about stock market statistics Mr.Santelli said:

"I love the market.

  It's my passion, my hobby, my job."

Video is here. Appears near end of segment.

PODCAMP NYC overflowed with people passionate and enthusiastic about podcasting, many working hard to turn a hobby into a job and business.

The energy in the room was contagious and noticeable because it is so often missing from established organizations. The work of Rob Cross and his colleagues at the Network Roundtable first focused my attention on managing energy in organizations.  Here's a recommended paper, fully available only to Roundtable members.

~ Jenny Ambrozek

Note to CNBC: Love your TV channel but despite your HEAVY promo of the new web site have to tell you in my experience it's CLUNKY and your search engine needs serious help. Had to go to Google to locate Rick Santelli's bio (with bonus of discovering how widely he is mentioned.) And if perchance anyone at CNBC is reading, WAY too much CNBC branding in the header IMHO.

What Does It Take to Make a Network Work?

Seeing organizations as interconnected networks is not new, however our need to understand how networks work has become critical.  The drivers of complexity, scale and internet speed are forcing a new look at both informal and formal network patterns of relationships.

Patti Anklam, author of Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World translates her insights and years of experience as a consultant to boipharma, telecommunications, manufacturing, financial services,governmental agencies and as an executive at Nortel, Digital Equipment and Compaq-HP into accessible language for anyone seeking a better grasp of human network dynamics.

On April 19th Patti will be leading an interactive presentation to the Organizational Development Network of Greater New York on What it Takes to Make a Network Work. 

Join us for an exciting exchange on the value of networks to their members and the impact they create.

~Victoria G. Axelrod

Enterprise 2.0 RAVE: Please Join Us

Enterprise 2.0 RAVE speaker Bill Ives has posted in detail about the event scheduled for New York May 21-22. I've heard keynote speaker Andrew McAfee speak twice now, first with Ross Mayfield keynoting last year's Interop in NY and more recently at the FAST Forward Search Conference in San Diego. An Andrew McAfee/Euan Semple exchange at the FAST conference caused a flurry of blog conversations on the issues around Enterprise 2.0 adoption especially among FAST Forward bloggers but also here.

In addition to Andrew McAfee, Euan Semple and Bill Ives, the RAVE offers an opportunity to meet Kathleen Gilroy, Jim McGee, Joe McKendrick, and Susan Scrupski.

I'm honoured to be participating too in an event that provides a unique opportunity to address the challenges and potential "Enterprise 2.0" tools present organizations. Given the nature of the event spaces are limited. 

Use this link to receive discounted entry.

Susan Scupski points to a couple of must read recent articles from Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee in the Spring 2007 MIT Sloan Review and a McKinsey survey on Web 2.0 adoption that make essential RAVE background reading.

Hoping to see you May 21-21 in New York.

~ Jenny Ambrozek                                 

PODCAMP NYC: Energized Media, Rising Stars & New Roles

Even for a remotely cynical TechVet like Bill Lessard Saturday's NYC PODCAMP left no doubt podcasting is REAL and a growing media force. Attending a NYC Podcasting Meetup had shown me podcasting had arrived, but Saturday's gathering with 1,000 plus entrepreneurial individual podcasters and emerging businesses to support them, was an eye opener.  The conference challenge was choosing among an abundance of interesting sessions. With apologies to ther presenters I had to skip, here are my highlights:

• Jason Van Orden- Consultant, author, interesting session on blogging and podcasting basics.

Reminded me to dig for Dave Winer's 2005 admonition:

"Not having an RSS feed for a business site is like not having business cards."

• John Havens- About.com podcasting guide hosted a terrific conversation with Streaming Media Executive VP Dan Rayburn, an industry veteran and blogger. (StreamingMedia is an Information Today Inc. company.)

• Nancy A, Shenker, President of OnSwitch revealed real world marketing experience in her refreshing presentation on communication "timeless truths" including:

"Experiences, Relationships, Mind expansion and Memories"

and reminders about:

"trust, quality, manners, true interest, loyalty"

• Heath Row, now Research Manager with DoubleClick, encouraged thinking about interactive online advertising. Tagging ads. Interesting.

• Reena Jana, a Business Week writer who also produces their "Innovation" podcasts, provided an invaluable business of podcasting presentation despite the technology limiting playing her podcasts!

My quick sponsor count numbered about 50 with some companies like Podango no doubt paying more for their branded room.  Credit for most creative and fun promotion goes to Adam Varga for his podcasting cards reading. Thanks Adam for the heads up about my challenges! OddPodz provided an environmentally conscious goodie, a recycled calico tea bag?  Did I understand that correctly? After intriguing conversations with founders Jocelin Ring and Karen Post, I'm adding OddPodz, "a community for the creative class", (soon to be headquartered on the "Creative Coast"), to my companies to watch list.   

Take Aways

1. Emerging business and job opportunities in podcasting.

Growing fields include podcast marketing and publishing networks. Podcasting 'stationmaster" is a new job title and actors are finding work as podcasting hosts. Interesting the number of entrepreneurial Canadians represented from interactive marketing agency Caprica to enthusiastic zine producer Vergel Evans.

2. Wake Up Call to Established Media Brands

Business Week's experience reveals the value for traditional media in using podcsating to promote their content and brand, and create new sponsor opportunities. My sense is if you are an established media brand not strategically using podcasting your brand potential is in decline. Anyone care to tell me I am wrong?

Congratulations to the NYC PODCAMP organizing team and to all the individuals and sponsor companies who pitched in to make it a rich, and can you believe, "free" event.  Testimony, as the open source movement has demonstrated, to the power of networks and individual contribution and sharing. Thanks to colleagues Kiki Mulliner and Jeffrey Keefer for sharing the day and encouraging me to attend.

~ Jenny Ambrozek