What is in your Network?
During NECC I added Twitter and Skype to the tools that I use to communicate with my network.
I really didn’t know how much I would use both of these after the conference experience, but the answer is in. I use them a lot…really a lot…
So now I have two different types of strategies for connecting into my network, and a simple but interesting pattern has emerged.
Strategy 1: Twitter and Skype represent tools that enable me to engage my network in an immediate sense-both tools enable me to have a type of synchronous connection and conversation with the people I’m loosely connected to. And this, as you might expect can be very powerful.
During my workshop in Portage, Wisconsin, I’ve had Twitter running the entire time, and have managed to even convert some of the participants to Twitter users. Why? Because they can see the value of being able to connect in, to participate in, that amorphous mix we call a network. So, when someone in the workshop needed recommendations about what movie to show the first day of school, I asked the Twitter network. About ten people responded in about 2 minutes and we had our answer (by the way, Sir Ken Robinson, Did You Know, and Pay Attention). When I needed to know if students could simultaneously edit individual pages of one pbWiki wiki, I asked the network. Answer: yes, and you could also do the same in Wikispaces. Chris Craft even went so far as to chat with pbWiki and get an answer from them on my behalf. And it was all in about 5 minutes. Now that is a network!
Skype has had a very similar impact on what I do, from chatting with people to having voice conversations with them. Today I’ll be participating, along with my workshop people, in Darren Kuropatwa’s chatcast of his workshop, along with Sharon Peters and Chris Lehmann, via Skype. What that means is that the people in Darren’s workshop will be chatting about what Darren is presenting; we get to go along for the ride, and comment in as well. Terry Freedman is serving as “Captain” and keeping it organized, so I’ll be watching how the process of using a moderator in a chatcast changes the experience.
Both Skype and Twitter are immediate for me. I get answers and ideas when I need them now. And new methodologies for using these tools are emerging that have the potential to be very useful.
Strategy 2: My del.icio.us and aggregator accounts permit connections in another way, in a more “asynchronous” way. I obviously check my Bloglines account for blog posts and conversations, and my del.icio.us network to see who is adding the next great resource.
For me, these two tools are now “old school.”
So, I’ve got four options to engage me, which has brought me to a different level of understanding, learning, connectivity and, humility, because there are simply amazing people out there.
And that’s what’s in my network.
Comments
David talks about how Twitter and Skype have helped him develop a new, more synchronous, strategy for connecting to the network.
A couple of things impress me. First, and foremost, is the sense that David has of my network, not the network. These Web 2.0 tools help David see the network in personal terms: my network, my people dealing with my problems in my time. Of course, we can assume that he is, in return, available to those people to deal with their problems in their time. In other words, Web 2.0 is becoming a community for more people, and David's view of the network makes his use of my network seem very natural. The network is no longer a large, remote monster like a TV network, but a street corner with some really interesting people hanging around. Lots of really interesting people.
David has the tools to form and function–in real-time–within a very large, very resourceful network, an electronic community. As he illustrates, this network can assist him immediately with issues, both work and play. This community can enrich his life.
And it can do it as large communities, crowds, could not do in the past. For the first time, a David Jakes can be in a very large community, a crowd, without being overwhelmed by its noise and energy or without feeling compelled to dominate the crowd as a way of coping with the noise and owning the energy. The community is there, attentive, responsive, but not oppressive. There is real magic here.
Posted by: Keith Hamon | August 9, 2007 8:46 PM
David,
It is amazing how something like twitter can get such quick results. I bet it even beats the google times!
I am teaching a class, Webcast Academy, we had all our skype members contact Webcastacademy, bookmark that contact and since this class is asynchronous worldwide, you can click on this and find someone up asking or answering questions with their classmates. Hm, another way to use this. Remember to bookmark the chat and you have a wonderful record of the chats! Over and out.
Cheryl
Posted by: Cheryl Oakes | August 12, 2007 10:25 PM