The Professor's Notes

This week I am attending  the 2009 INFORMS “Annual Meeting.”  This is more of a Symposium, or a Conference, than a “meeting” with nearly 70 sessions occurring simultaneously, 4 times a day for 4 days.  That is 1, 120 sessions and each has 3 (or more) presentations! 3,360 presentations! Whew!

Now, I won’t make any bones about it–I am not attending all of them.  Heck, I am trying my best to attend the few that I think I can get the most from for either Supply Chain discussions, or (yes, surprise) Social Networking analysis.

Why Social Networking? Setting aside for the moment that I think it is simply “cool” I am also quite interested in what we can collectively learn from these networks.  But apparently my interest is not the same as the interest of those Read the rest of this entry »

I have already written much about Andrew Keen’s (@ajkeen) book “The Cult of the Amateur” and will most likely write much more as I continue to reflect on the concepts.

One of the thoughts that he makes it that is harder and harder to know when we are being sold to, and when we are just being “talked” to.  Is that Youtube video truly an amateur sharing a moment and a thought?

Today someone on twitter shared a link from YouTube that is a video of a “spontaneous” event filmed at a train station, for a T-Mobile commercial.  In this commercial music starts playing, and the crowd starts dancing… at first a few, then a few more, and then almost everyone.

I would assume they had a few people “seed” the crowd to get them started.  It might even be a LOT of people were “seeded” in the crowd.

But I wondered–are we so easily manipulated that we can be pulled into a commercial for a mobile phone company in real life?

(UPDATE: see below for an update on this.)

Anyway, enjoy the clip!

(And, if you get a chance, go support my son and his effort to get to water polo camp!)

(UPDATE: well it turns out it was apparently ALL choreographed. Hm. That means that while it was a openly sold as a commercial, they manipulated the audience into thinking it was like a “flash mob” event. Hmmmmm)

@LeoLaporte and others frequently mention that they think Twitter has (or will, or might) “Jump the Shark.”

Usually they point to the entry of celebrities to the Twitterverse as the beginning of the demise.  For a while, @theRealDvorak predicted that Britney Spears would bring down Twitter.  Then it was other “stars.”

Well, some of this is true.  The massive number of followers that Leo and Dvorak have are dwarfed by Obama’s twitter following. As well as the numbers put up by other greats like @bobbyllew and @brentSpiner (again, my two favorite TV androids–just WHY Google hasn’t contacted them to sell their G1 I don’t know.)  Twitter left the hands of the “Techies” and became mainstream.  Somehow, this is what would make it “jump the shark.”

I  have to respectfully disagree.

What makes twitter “work” is that while many will follow what I will call “vanity twitterers” twitter has as its heart, its soul, the development of personal communities and networks.  One connects with people that have interests in common.

For me, I have really three distinct “twitter” communities.  I am a Supply Chain guy, and want to connect with other professionals in that arena (it’s why my twitter name is @SCMProfessor).  I am also a professor (another part of that name) and so I am interested in connecting with educators, especially those that are innovative and using technology in helping people learn and understand the world around them. Like @ChrisChampion, @MisterLamb and @Dsalvucci.  I also like connecting with “real people” living real lives. Much of that comes from getting to know those in the first two groups.  Some is connecting with people I already knew, and some simply comes from finding other areas of interest where we intersect (location, politics, food, and so forth.)

Twitter’s ability to connect small pockets of people from around the globe, and allow us to develop digital relationships, is what keeps Twitter moving forward.  Sure, we may follow some “vanity twitterers” but that is like watching “Entertainment Tonight.”  It’s a fun diversion.

Relationships are what moves us forward–and relationships are what powers Twitter.

In my previous post I wrote about some of my thoughts concerning three key points that I drew from Andrew Keen’s The Cult of the Amateur”.

I wanted to take a few minutes to write about ways to address the challenges of these three points.

I have commented on twitter (@SCMProfessor) that I don’t like the push to be “followed” but not to follow back.  Leo LaPorte, and many others, talk in their podcasts about how many people follow them, and either in jest or with serious intent, talk about wanting more followers.  There I find myself usually asking “why?”

Of course, people like Barack Obama, @LeoLaPorte, and my two personal favorites @BrentSpiner  and @bobbyll (two of the best TV androids around!) serve a role as thought leaders.  But what about the rest of  us? Should we want to be folllowed by millions and not follow back?

I admit, I enjoy watching the following numbers go up.  It is in some sense a boost to the ego.  But I also feel it is important to follow back.  If we are to be part of a “community” then that community should encourage discourse and exchange.  We should want to follow the people that follow us, so that we can learn from them.  @TheRealDvorak (John C Dvorak) actually was doing this.  He would follow back.  He would engage.  Of course, leading the way in following back is Scoble (@thescobleizer) who follows 70K people, and is followed by 65K.  He engages!

Here’s my suggestions for engagement on Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are reading this blog, you have no doubt noticed the Twitter summary on the left, perhaps listened to a podcast or two, and even read my thoughts about various technologies. I have given talks about social networks, and even pointed out that it’s about relationships. All this, and I am left with the question: So what?

To answer that question, I have this post. But this post is the first in what may be a long series about moving new-media social networking disruptive technologies out of the echo-chamber.

I found myself at a conference this weekend arguing for the importance of social networks and, at the end of it, I realized the challenge we face is taking social networking and new media out of the hands of the techno-saavy, and put these tools, “embed” them, if you will, into the lives of the every day practitioner.

So what do I mean by practitioners? What practice do you think of when I write that? Doctors? Lawyers? Bartenders? How about almost anybody that does something. Now, in my specific instance I was first thinking of researchers, and then extended that to a discussion about connecting textbook authors to their customers (both faculty and students!) The lesson I am taking from this however is that this goes further. We need to take the various lessons of social networking and apply them where we are.

So for this first post of the series, let me share the discussion about researchers. I sat on a panel discussing how to get research (and funding) from the “public sector.” Once we reminded the audience that the public sector includes more than just the Federal Government, we talked about the various ways of “finding” the requests for proposal, and we even talked about the importance of “contacts.” One of my colleagues even jokingly commented that “once you can fake sincerity you have it made!”

Then it hit me–it’s really about developing social networks!

I first asked how many in the audience were using Linked-in or some other social networking tool. Not surprisingly, less than 10% in the room were members, and of those who weren’t literally NONE had even heard of it. I then used that as an example of how one can build networks (professional social networks) with people who not only have similar interests, but hopefully a network of people who sincerely want to help others succeed.

And what was the big secret I brought to them? No secret, really, but just something that I think has often been lost in these communities. As I mentioned in my talk on Social Networks the success lies in the development of relationships. These relationships are best when everyone brings something of value. If one wants to succeed, then develop these networks, and ensure that you are a “giver.” if you honestly seek to help those in your network, you will find that others will come to you, and often come to you with funding.

I ended up recommending a very good, very easy reading book, Love is the Killer App. This book talks about the importance of sincere sincerity, and the importance of truly putting others well being ahead of your own. What I really like about the book is his emphasis on improving yourself so that you have something of value to offer. It’s about being ready to give, not being ready to take. Now, some would say it is the application of the Golden Rule, others would say it’s just Karma, but the reality is you will find that caring about others, and helping them make the important connections in life, really does work–for them and for you!

So far, there’s nothing “new media” here. Stand by for other posts. In the meantime, please, share with us how you have successfully made “the connection” with people.

Internet is bulletin board for Katrina victims – Yahoo! News

The horrific stories continue to emanate from Louisiana (mostly new Orleans). Death. Destruction. Murder. Rape. Drownings and dying from dehydration. And on top of all this, we read that rescue efforts have been hampered by the failure of the “high tech” communications networks upon which we have become so reliant. Cell towers are down (either physically down, or inoperable without power.) Land lines have failed. The Washington Post story even talks about how “Victims of Hurricane Katrina struggled to communicate with each other and the rest of the world yesterday.”

This is where I find the most interesting success story of the early 21st century. What many have noted is the largest movement of refugees in the United States since the Civil War has demonstrated the strength of the human condition, and the desire to maintain the strong bonds that have turned housing communities into caring neighborhoods. It is these strong bonds, reinforced by the connectivity of this new age, that has me convinced that communities will rebuild, perhaps more quickly than historically. But it also has me convinced that people will be drawn to return to the communities they physically left, because they never actually “left” the community.

As a few of you know (most don’t, since I struggle to maintain anonymity on here) my brother and his family live in The New Orleans area. He has sought refuge at my house, here in the Mid West. They arrived here on Thursday, after having toughed it out for a few days a little in-land, and then checking on their house. They are well, and they have survived relatively unscathed. But this blog isn’t about them. It’s about their connectivity.

Throughout the journey, we remained in frequent contact with me through cell phone service, and text messages. It turns out that, while cell phone service is not active in the disaster areas, those that have left the area (and are thus “roaming”) are able to make outgoing calls. Alas, they cannot receive calls. Enter “innovative technologies.” Text messaging, once the exclusive domain of teenagers and college students bored in the classrooms, has become the lifeline tying the various members of this new-age Diaspora together. In our case, I would text my brother, and he would call me, closing the loop on the telecommunication connection. For those scattered, they make, and maintain, contact via text messages, since they can each call out but not receive calls.

Satellite radio also played a significant role. As one travels the highways, disconnected from the world around them, localized reports of trauma are just that–local, and limited in perspective. Some may report devastation, while others may report minimal impact. One is left without the 30,000 foot perspective. Or, in this case, the Low Earth Orbit perspective. Having XM Satellite radio enabled my brother to gain that bigger perspective, listening to the weather channel, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN, and other commentaries, each bringing their unique perspectives. The family remained connected, even without the gruesome video that the rest of us saw.

Once they arrived, enter technology of the LAST century. Arriving at 3 in the morning, the first objective, obviously, was to settle in. The second–reconnect with “the scattered remnant” through phones, and high speed internet service. In this house, we had 4 notebook computers and one desktop running wireless connections (windows, AND Mac OS X with the arrival of my brother). In addition, we have three other computers running wired connections, and the occasional high speed 802.11 connection for the PDA.

What did all this technology do? Within hours, my brother, and his wife, had compiled unofficial lists of friends, and their families, who had evacuated. They knew where people landed, and often the condition of the homes and offices they left behind. Additionally, colleagues of my brother found me, apparently through a Google search, and inquired as to his safety. From that point, conversations turned to how best to help those left behind, and coordinate actions, from around the country. Each pocket has become ambassadors for those that remain, carrying the stories, updated in near-real-time, to those that have taken them in.

The world has seen the power of humanity for evil, in the news. But the human spirit deserves credit here, as well. Being connected helps people continue to care, and ensures that the human face remains on the tragedy, and the need to help.