Posted on August 27, 2008 by Steve Dale in Social Media, fun
For all those poor souls struggling to get their managers to grasp/understand/deploy social media tools in their work environment:
It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly from the incredulity of mankind who does not truly believe in anything new until they actually have experience of it.
the next evolution in online communication — a remarkably easy way to have a face-to-face video chat with friends, family or colleagues, no matter where they are in the world.
The KickApps hosted, white-label platform puts social media and online video functionality directly into the hands of every web publisher who aspires to be a media mogul and turns every web designer and developer into a social media rockstar! With KickApps, it's now easier than ever for web publishers to leverage the power of social and rich media experiences on their websites to drive audience growth and engagement.
I was encouraged by the recent press release on the Cabinet Office website about the launch of a joint project by Office of the Third Sector and the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) to support local authorities and their partners in delivering increased participation in volunteering and an environment for a thriving third sector in their area. To quote an abstract from the article:
To support local authorities and their partners, OTS and IDeA will be establishing an on-line Community of Practice and linking with work of the Government Offices in the regions and Regional Improvement & Efficiency Partnerships. The on-line Community of Practice will allow members to share good practice and ideas, discuss challenges and solutions, and to identify and explore ways of working together.
The online Communities of Practice (CoP) environment forms a key part of the knowledge and learning strategy that Semantix (UK) Ltd was commissioned to develop for the IDeA back in 2005, and which was formally launched in September 2006. Since then it has attracted over 15,000 registered users across local and central government and supports over 430 CoPs, with regional, cross-regional and national representation for improving and innovating in council/public services.
There is clear evidence from many of the existant CoPs that collaboration between local authoriries is leading to better/smarter use of resources, and encouraging more effective partnerships with private sector providers.
The CoP Platform is an example of how Web 2.0 technology, social networking and social media tools can be used in a professional working environment – sometimes referred to as ‘Enterprise 2.0‘.
Michael Norton, a colleague at IDeA has put this great little video clip together explaining Communities of Practice. It makes specific reference to CoPs in local government, but the concepts are generic to any CoP.
Social media uptake is driven by an audience of early adopters. This group are primarily technology enthusiasts with a natural inclination to sharing information and insight. Google, Yahoo!, Apple and Microsoft take the top four spots respectively.
House of Commons’ Culture Media and Sport Committee calls on social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube to implement stricter policies, impose more content filtering, and better facilitate processes to report abuse.
New report just issued by Parachute Consulting. Demistifies the KM concepts, uses real-world examples from the public sector of good practice from which others can learn and links in Information Management deciplines with KM strategy. Includes case study of local government communities of practice.
