tfpl blog

Connect: themes and reflections from Berlin

The first tfpl Connect learning and networking event of 2009, took place on the 19th of March, where a panel of ebic 2008 delegates and speakers were invited to reflect on the themes presented at the conference in Berlin last October. The panel was ably chaired by Barbara Linkin (Regional Head of Training and Learning - Kroll).

Reflections on future scenarios for information services

Professor Di Martin - CIO and Dean of Learning and Information Services at the University of Hertfordshire (UoH)

Di's piece focused on the themes of adaptability, business value and people power respectively in a loose reflection of the green, blue and orange world planning scenario sessions from ebic 2008.   

Adaptability: Di related that, in uncertain times, the tendency of management is often precautionary and focuses on maintenance, continuity, consolidation and cost reduction rather than development, change, innovation and investment.  UoH, Di explained, was on a tight rope between these in balancing leadership with innovation and responsiveness.

The importance of focusing on development, change, innovation and investment at a time when we are all under increasing pressure to reduce costs was particularly apt. It is important that we continue to innovate and to develop our people (Melanie Goody, tfpl). (See upgrading talent.)

Business Value: The UoH has exploited learning technologies (virtual desktops) and implemented an e-book strategy (most of the library's collection is now digital) to effectively reach its potential user base.  However, there still remains a great challenge in moving innovative theories and radical thinking into practice.

People Power: staying aware of and accommodating the needs of students and staff was the focus of Di's final theme of people power. Students' first point of call for support are their peers.  This is very different to academic staff who all to often work in a very closed and silo'd fashion.  The challenge here was described as embedding the social networking applications out there into the working routines of staff to create a more open and collaborative culture in line with the new ways in which students work.

Future impact of technology

Iain Simpson - Head of Commercial Insights and Digital Marketing at BDO Stoy Hayward

Iain's slideless and characteristically lively and entertaining presentation touched on the indicators for future trends introduced by Paul Saffo at ebic with an insight into technologies and concepts which he sees as emergent now and tipped for prominence in the future.

1. Iain predicted the death of email from the rise of social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs.  Delegates were sceptical... especially those with some degree of fondess for records!

2. Surface computing and data visualisation (Addictomatic being an example) would come to the fore.  A taster for this in the mainstream would be mobile technology such as the hugely popular iPhone, I can definitely agree here.

3. Virtual worlds would become the norm. Delegates were encouraged to put their fears and scepticism aside and try this out.  Iain showcased BDO's experiment with Second Life which is taking increasing prominence as a cost effective marketing tool for recruiting graduate talent in this recessionary climate.

Enjoyed the event very much, especially Iain's piece.  I have already got our people to look at the Addictomatic as a BD tool.

4. Virtual conferencing has come on leaps and bounds with holographic technology set to take it to new heights.  At the moment, the technology is somewhat restricted in a specially lit/dimmed environment.  All that is needed is a breakthrough in making it more robust and I see no reason why it won't replace long haul business travel.

New business delivery models

Don Roll - Managing Directer of Europe - Alacra

Don delivered, in his own words, a very "practical" and, in mine, a very engaging piece.  He reviewed his three favourite presentations, the themes of which he saw as emerging trends, from ebic 2008:

• A shift to a more networked business to business model
• A demand and realisation for instant, relevant, information
• And a move towards relationship based taxonomy (ontology)

I have to give a speech next week and it was good for me to come and get some presenting tips.

The hardware vendor...which has moved towards a networking and outsourcing business model, presented by Hitachi's Lynn Collier. Don highlighted that business model adopted by organisations such as Hitachi - where everything except the core competency of the business is outsourced - has been quick to catch on among hardware vendors as opposed to the knowledge and information market place. 

I think this kind of model will increasingly be pushed through in other sectors over the coming years given the increasing economic strains almost universally felt by organisations. Hardware vendors have long operated in a highly competitive, low margin environment which has acted as the key driver for managerial and structural innovation.

The information vendor... adding value and competitive edge by moving beyond the search box, presented by Dow Jones/Factiva's Mark Bootherstone.  Don recalled Mark's proposition that information overload has evolved into relevancy overload:  clients and consumers want to know what is important right now. 

Powering tomorrow's instant knowledge.

In addressing this relevancy challenge, Dow Jones/Factiva has developed techniques and technology to aggregate and present content in such a way that requires minimum effort from the consumer (e.g. visualised information as opposed to text) to interpret.

The semantic software vendor... proposing a solution to the ever amassing search problem using a technique of content 'ontology', presented by SmartLogic's Jeremy Bentley.

Don touched on Jeremy's supermarket analogy where coporate content was compared to tin cans on supermarket shelves, sorted into broad categories except without any labels (meta data) on the individual tins (content). Smartlogic has developed middleware (Semaphore) which embeds into the corporate information search engine. It autotags and identifies content from faceted navigation, disambiguation, and broader-than and narrower-than searches in addition to bringing mainstream search engine functionality.

Some interesting resources and information suggested by Don:

• AlacraPulse (information aggregator) which interestingly has its own Twitter account
• Kosmix - an ontology based search engine
• comScore report on the usage of mobile internet

In addition to the rich and entertaining presentations, the delegates were presented with an opportunity, customery at tfpl events, to grow and renew their networks.  Our MD, Darron Chapman, had this to say:

We were delighted that the new format for TFPL Connect proved so successful. The presentations highlighted and developed a number of the themes which emerged at our conference (ebic).

The formal sessions were thought-provoking and stimulating and I really enjoyed revisiting the topics to test whether the predictions made in October were becoming reality.  I’m looking forward to the death of e-mail but can’t quite see it happening yet! 

I am also very pleased that the majority of participants stayed on to socialise – both old and new contacts networked energetically and it’s clear that the move to evening meetings makes it easier for our members to come along.

Non-users and Twitter: tutorial outcomes reviewed

Early in February I ran my first one hour training session for our temps (which I touched on here), entitled "emergent web2ools: an introduction to twitter". The session aimed to aid delegates in forming an effective strategy for using Twitter such that it add value to their daily information digest through networking with and following the right people, should they choose to register.

Much to my delight, not one of the nine delegates (with the exception of one whom had merely registered on the service) had ever used Twitter.  All had decided to attend in order to gain some understanding of what the tool actually is and what it can do.  It was left up to them to decide whether Twitter would be worth their while or not (although my tone was positively biased towards Twitter throughout, it must be said!)

We began with a brief introduction to the concept of web 2.0 in general and microblogging more specifically.  I then split the delegates into two groups: those whom viewed Twitter as a positive phenomenon and those whom viewed it negatively. Those whom viewed it negatively were given 10 minutes to brainstorm all of their positive thoughts on the application both in a personal and professional context (and vice-versa). I subsequently sought to clarify each point individually in a group discussion afterwards.  There was not enough time to discuss many suggestions put forward by the two groups, so I have attempted to give some further food for thought here.

Here's what they came up with:

Negative thoughts

• A time consuming distraction

It can be, although I would say that this is largely subjective to each individual.

• Another forum for slander and libel

And indeed it has been.

• Anathama to KM

Moreso with information security/governance; perhaps the opposite as far as knowledge management is concerned.

• Authenticity of claims/information posted

It would therefore be advisable to cross reference important information for veracity.

• Can't disentangle

From your network:  You can, in fact, remove people from your network and block them.  Additionally, you can slock your account and allow only select individuals to follow your updates.

• Censorship

Lack thereof: that anyone can say anything. A bad thing?

• Copyright infringement

It is difficult to imagine Twitter in itself to be a vehicle for this, though it could certainly be used as a tool to promote unscrupulous materials.

• Encourages exhibitionism 

Can certainly do, but there is no compulsion to follow exhibitionists.

• Exclusion

Supposing that the service becomes 'a must', it will never have unviersal usage and thus those whom do not use it will be excluded.  (Perhaps another reason to subscribe, I thought!)

• False identity/anonymity

There have been instances reported in the media of individuals passing their Twitter accounts off as those of celebrities and even organisations such as the BBC have suffered from this.

• Hotel California

Addiction to the service (I personally know of at least one case!), though, as a user I can't ever seeing myself lost without it.

• Inability to retract thoughts

You can delete your comments, however, you can't erase them from the minds of those who've already read them.

• Lack of privacy 

That would wholly depend on whether or not one posts private information.  Thinking about what one writes before posting it would thus be advisable.

• Not knowing audience

Same as above.

• Overwhelming (information overload)

This can be a problem, but there are an increasing number of applications which can aggregate and consolidate your presence on the various social networking media, amongst other things, such as iGoogle and NetVibes.  You can use these to install applet interfaces for your favourite web applications (such as Del.icio.us, Twitter, Facebook and google reader amongst many others).  

Positive thoughts

• Individuals free to express opinions/open and democratic

This is certainly true, though there can be added challenges and risks with such freedom - especially from a coporate perspective with employees' use of the application at work or at home.

• Cuts through usual visual communication channels and can efficiently reach a niche audience.

Exploiting the 'long tail'.

• Once you have your followers (captive audience, related to the above)

This was posited from a corproate perspective, for example brand names can very cheaply disseminate marketing blurbs (e.g. @MSWindows).

• Not agenda driven

Meaning that individuals are not confined to any one agenda in this postings.

When considering the above, it is worth remembering that the delegates had experienced no direct interaction with Twitter, at the time of the workshop.  With that said, I found the depthof their discussion quite impressive.  I can't however help but notice how heavily the negatives outweighed the positives, perhaps a reflection on the type of coverage that Twitter receives in the media?  What are your thoughts?