May 2008 – Page 5 – Silence and Voice

CP2tech01 Week 3 Reflection – Tools Integration

At the end of each week in our Connected Futures workshop, we are invited to write a post or otherwise communicate some reflection as to how the exercise went. I have been leaving most of my comments within the workshop area (a customized WebCrossing space), so I decided to have this week’s posting on my own blog. I do not have any evidence that anybody in the workshop is reading or otherwise reviewing my blog, nor am I convinced that there is an ongoing web search on using our tag of CP2tech01. That is ok, as the purpose of this post (for me) is to organize and express my thoughts.

I thought this week’s section on using various technologies was probably one of the most overwhelming ones of the workshop. It was almost as if there were a lot of people interested in a lot of tools, but somehow it was not held together as well as it could be. Some looked at Skype, others at Netvibes (myself included), del.icio.us, and Facebook. The objective seemed to be to learn from one another’s best practices, and I was so busy trying to learn new things that I am not sure what to do with them all. I felt people started off in different areas with tools they like, though there really was not enough time in a week to learn anything brand new if there were no previous use of them. I was lost as to how to sign up for working with others on these tools, and while I had a useful Netvibes session, I think the perceived goals of this week were impossible in only one week.

Were we supposed to become our own community? Consider them for our communities? Help one another? I think perhaps a combination of all of them, and every time I thought I got it and went back to the internal wiki, I saw additional documents and instructions. I started to feel that the thinking of how this was all held together was developing in process, and while that can be very good, there was so much to try to learn in such a short point, that I am not sure where we are right now.

While this feeling of confusion has happened before during the workshop (learning can be a messy business!), I am still confident that the workshop leaders have all this together. Of course, with different leaders coming and going with greater or lesser involvement, I am not too sure about this right now. Let’s see what week four brings . . .

Technorati Tags: cp2tech01

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-05-17

Just read that Robert Mondavi passed away http://tinyurl.com/6mtksv. RIP. #
Wondering where the day went. #
@MBisanz Good idea. Took some Advil Cold and Sinus for a cold I am fighting, and that seems to have helped. Will try the heat this morning. #
@rlk300 Try it for research purposes, but be careful with what you find–you may not like the Monday morning results. #
@ChrisRicca Not pleasant, regardless of the methods. #
@MBisanz Good sign; will certainly make it easier. Hope the finals went well. The best for the move. #
@rlk300 That seems to be the case, at least from the media. The last few ties I was in SF, I did not have the sense of the CA in the movies. #
@betsyweber How is she doing? #
@betsyweber I wonder how many others here on Twitter are going to #ASTD in San Diego? #
@nattynato Always a good approach to learning. Of course, that is the business of learning, though we do not know the result ahead of time. #
Getting the car serviced. #
Car done. Off to assess if the lawn can be mowed or not. Very wet from yesterday. #
Was able to mow part of the lawn and put some mulch around a few struggling trees. #
Was able to mow part of the lawn and put some mulch around a few struggling trees. #
Beat the rain back to the city. #
Walking along the Hudson in the park. Water is choppy. Feels like a storm coming. #
Just bought French bread for fresh fondue tonight. Which wine to open? #
@nattynato Was raining in Rockland and Westchester this afternoon, and drizzling lightly now in Manhattan. Chances of showers this evening. #
@nattynato What are you reading? How is the nephew sitting? #
@Currie I know what you mean about the #cp2tech01 reading. I was slammed at work Thursday and Friday, and tomorrow is catch-up. #
@coyenator Once again, the machine on the right is uniting and the left is again floundering. Somehow they never learn. #
@coyenator I need to catch up on my reading of posts for #cp2tech01, too. #
@MBisanz Thanks again for the suggestion. Used a seat heater, and it seemed to help. Great idea. #
Off to dinner. The city is very busy this evening. #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-05-16

Just gave my Leadership class students an assignment for a presentation due on Tuesday. They really seem up for it. #
Stopped at Home Depot on the way to work. Bought a dowel and some jute twine to help my top-heavy orchid stand up. #
My back is bothering me today. Sharp pains. Has been a long and stressful week. #
Welcome to the Twitterverse, @kattet. When will you post? #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-05-15

Working on a presentation I have to give in June. #
Had a wonderful traditional English dinner. Baked beans over toast with cheese. #
Listening to "Quantas sabedes amar (Martin Codax 13th Century)" on the album Danzas Medievales Españolas. #
Switching to "Quantas Sabedes Amare Amigo" by Ensemble Alcatraz. I love Medieval music. #
Wow, John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama http://tinyurl.com/6erkfm #
Reviewing the results of the Critical Incident Questionnaire from my class last night. #
@butwait Night, Shelley. #
If I failed as often as Twitter http://tinyurl.com/67ksgr, I would not get paid. Hey, we don’t pay for Twitter, do we? #
Still thinking about NetVibes after the wonderful discussion with @etheoreal and @BronSt. Hope colleagues in #cp2tech01 can also share. #
@coyenator I studied and sang Gregorian Chant while doing a graduate degree. Still chant the Rorate Coeli when nobody can hear. #
@abenamer Mr. Popularity! #
@coyenator Do you mean like a keyword search on just a single page that is already open? #
@nattynato Welcome to the Twitterverse! Why do you think Twitter is being explored in the context of leadership? #
@rlk300 So, any additional thoughts about using Twitter? #
I have been thinking about how Twitter use is changing communication itself. Leadership opportunities and needs abound! #
@betsyweber Ouch. Have been through all of that, with the second one being the most unpleasent. The best for you all. #
@jimgroom Are you here in NYC now, without meeting me for a drink or snack??? #
@ChrisRicca They seem to avoid mine when I out them out. The ones I encounter seem to be more devious. #
@pinoyboy Very true about that. Just remember, the wearer was not your mom! #
@nattynato What kind of coding? #
Going for a walk out at lunch. Nice to clear the mind and senses. #
@sgance I just overpaid and underenjoyed a latte. #
@RobinYap That worked once to get me into an office and out of a cube farm. #
@ChrisRicca Why would you want to get them off? I thought you just threw it into the trash chute? #
@jimgroom Here’s looking at you, kid. Let me know. #
California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban http://tinyurl.com/4mzyj8 #
@maniactive Switch to Verizon Wireless. They only bother you if you do not pay! #
@jfeo Welcome to the Twitterverse! #
Brutal project meetings today. #
Working on case studies in class. #

Twitter in Business Week & in My Graduate Leadership Class

I have been saying for some time now that Twitter is one of those phenomena that come along from time to time that changes the very way we communicate. It does not allow us simply one more way of doing what we have been doing. Instead, it alters communication itself.

Those of us who Tweet often think and share and communicate and interact differently from before we started with the application.

I used the example in my graduate Leadership class on Tuesday night, “How many of you have cell phones?” Yes, all their hands raised. What surprised me was my follow-up, “How many of you do not have land-lines at home?” Half raised their hands. HALF! In only a few short years the importance and modality and paradigm of using a phone has changed, and in the process our connectivity and expectations and ways of communicating have changed as well.

Business Week seems to be leaning in this direction as well with their article in this week’s issue. Those of us who have been using Twitter find our ways of interacting different as well.

Case in point. I Tweeted on Tuesday night, in my graduate Leadership class, while I was demonstrating Twitter. I sent a Tweet and asked anybody out there to say hello to my class. I received 5 replies from friends and colleagues around the world who were reading Twitter and sent their greetings and encouragement in return. FIVE people. Unscheduled. Unplanned. Real-time. Try communicating to a group in any other medium and getting a response back so quickly. The speed of information exchange, idea development, collaboration, and our very approach to communication itself is now put on its head.

Where is leadership in all this? I think the question is more along the lines of new possibilities for leadership in ways we never considered. With communication increasingly flat, the sky is the limit.

Do you agree with my assessment?

Technorati Tags: twitter,nyu,business week,communication