Community Mobilization

Life as Idenity Building

Kairos Futures, a European Futures publication, has a very cool article based on a study the conducted that I participated in. The study takes a broad look at how individuals, particularly younger Europeans, feel the need to expose and broadcast their personal lives openly for all to see. The insinuation is the act of sharing helps to shape you identity and shape the image that others have of your identity.

In a historical context there are two important societal shifts that have brought about the importance of identity building: the shift from strict social hierarchy to meritocracy and the shift from collectivism to individualism. Today, people are mostly judged by their own merits and accomplishments and less by where they come from.

That being th case it seems clear that to survive in the meritocracy it is key to broadcast all of your individual accomplishments as well as make sure that you are being a part of the collective forward movement. To be active is to belong, and to be long is to be valuable. We are now living our life not for ourselves but for the perception of other.

Why Do Bridging Positions Weaken

Otto Koppius is asking the question in his presentation if bridging positions by nature have their own demise predestined? In a position where a bridging firm has power and value as a bridge it puts its self in a position that it may encourage behavior in the network to circumvent it or to crate additional outside alliances to de-power the bridge. The less constrained the bridge firms are, the weaker the bridging position is.

Methodology was an analysis of 500 Gigabytes of product query from the Dutch insurance industry, cataloging the actions and electronic requests of 2025  members. One query took 9 full months to complete during the analysis. One of the analysis metrics is the commission payment in terms of percentage and volume and the homogeneity of the payments shows little constraints, encouraging position shifting of brokers away from the central agency.

The strength of the bridging firm is dependent on the strength and position of the firm being bridged. The Bridged firm has the capacity to alter the relationship and circumvent or out maneuver the bridging firm. However there are potential moves a bridging firm can make to create a symbiotic orientation with one particular bridged firm and prevent a circumvention. To understand a bridging position you must understand those being bridged.

Forester Report: Virtual Worlds Part of the Knowledge Workspace

A recent Forester Research report states that virtual worlds and spaces a re a key component of the knowledge workspace. The report identifies several Web 2.0 technologies that companies should adopt for stronger information connections: RSS, blogs, rich Internet applications (RIAs), tagging, wikis, and virtual worlds. The article goes forward and suggests that to get these current technologies integrated companies should look inward before they turn to consultant. Virtual Worlds Weekly catalogs the Seven Tenets of the Knowledge Workplace as:

The seven tenets are that:
1. Work should be contextual: Forrester envisions RSS feeds pushing information to workers in their portals instead of forcing them to go to multiple applications to catch up on work. Forrester sees virtual worlds as a bonus here, where workers can interact in a 3D environment and access files in the same way they would in the real world.

2. Portals should be individualized, allowing users to customize their space in a wiki, RSS, or virtual world.

3. Work should be seamless. Virtual worlds aren't mentioned specifically here, but the idea is that instead of clicking between applications or folders, information should be tagged in one location. A virtual space makes for an interesting way to browse. See, for example, projects the intelligence community is working on for a virtual work space.

4. Information should be presented visually, which seems like a pretty clear tie-in to the previous tenet for virtual worlds.

5. Technology should be multi-modal. I.e., it should allow for mashups.

6. Information should be social. Again, this has been one of the major arguments for a 3D virtual work environment that allows users to collaboratively access and edit information in real time.

7. Information should be quick. Instead of working with local software, businesses should focus on Service-Oriented Architecture.

The seven tenets are that:
1. Work should be contextual: Forrester envisions RSS feeds pushing information to workers in their portals instead of forcing them to go to multiple applications to catch up on work. Forrester sees virtual worlds as a bonus here, where workers can interact in a 3D environment and access files in the same way they would in the real world.

2. Portals should be individualized, allowing users to customize their space in a wiki, RSS, or virtual world.

3. Work should be seamless. Virtual worlds aren't mentioned specifically here, but the idea is that instead of clicking between applications or folders, information should be tagged in one location. A virtual space makes for an interesting way to browse. See, for example, projects the intelligence community is working on for a virtual work space.

4. Information should be presented visually, which seems like a pretty clear tie-in to the previous tenet for virtual worlds.

5. Technology should be multi-modal. I.e., it should allow for mashups.

6. Information should be social. Again, this has been one of the major arguments for a 3D virtual work environment that allows users to collaboratively access and edit information in real time.

7. Information should be quick. Instead of working with local software, businesses should focus on Service-Oriented Architecture.

Coupons For Hpoe

This new venture suggests taking a few long time practices and combining them together. The idea of Cause Marketing relationships have always been an attractive way to both move products as well as raise awareness. This brings in a new component - instead of attaching the relationship to the product packaging do it through the coupon for hope process. Each coupon distribution is locally organized and I believe that each charitable organization receives the funds at a local level. My hope is that the program will send funds back to local community office for mission support, especially if the charities are national in scope.

Virtual Worlds 2007 - Demographics – Where they are and Where They are Headed

The curve for the early adopter curve is flattening out and the need for a more accessible interface is they key. One of the big challenges is orientation via 3^rd party company (branding opportunity) is an emerging trend. A separate sentiment is the deep desire for a browser based / mobile device as a way to connect to the virtual worlds.  One of the trends is that general worlds create communities based on interests  while vertical worlds are based on specific use – Football Superstars. Other sports themed worlds will follow. The draw is not for early adopters but for specific interests. Nicak from KZero did a fantastic job presenting great information!

A unique point  I discovered is that IBM Continues to work on cross-world avatars. How interesting would it be to be able to take reputation, inventory, and finances with us between platforms. The demographic guys were really bullish on Whyville and Club Penguin are expected to expand rapidly. Whyville is attracting international users while Club Penguin has the strongest friend invite technology. 

Some of the demographic point provided by Parks Associates showed that 6% of us broadband users visit virtual worlds. Teen flash and web based words are much more popular in part because of ease of use. Challenge is the small active concurrent user base. Moreover social networks still trump virtual worlds because of the ease of use.

Market truths first market research project in SL. Producing reports on the perception of brands in SL. Better perception of RL brands. Attitudes towards brands are slowly improving. This could possibly be contributed to growth and influx of more tolerant mainstream population. The key is to maintain users and keep them active after they create account. Managing the lifespan of an avatar is going the be a key determinant in the long term success of the any of the virtual worlds.

American Willing to Pay for Community Action on Global Warming

A very interesting Yale Study sent to me this morning  that points to the fact that between 2/3 and 3/4 of Americans support, and are willing to pay a bit to make a reality, any one of a number of government run subsidies that will help their communities be more green. These programs range from $5.00 - $8.00 per month increases in their power bills to help others get more fuel efficient furnaces, or mandate that their power company generate 20% of their power from renewable resources. The point of the study is to show you never know how many people will go how far until you ask them. With tis new knowledge it would be irresponsible for local municipalities to not ask their constituents the same questions, and then creating programs in accordance with the desires of the community.
Some of the findings included:

• 71 percent would pay $5 a month more in property taxes in support of a local subsidy to encourage homeowners to replace old furnaces, water heaters, air conditioners, light bulbs and insulation.

 

• 69 percent would pay $8.50 more a month for local regulations requiring electric utilities to produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources.

 

• 68 percent would approve changing their city or town zoning rules to decrease suburban sprawl and concentrate new development near the town center.

 

• 65 percent would support changing their city or town zoning rules to require neighborhoods to have a mix of housing, offices, industry, schools and stores close together.

Future of Work

Business Week has a number of articles on the future of work recently.1 2 3.  I got me thinking back to a presentation I did about a year ago for a Division Board of Directors on the future of work. In the presentation I laid out the differentiating features of Knowledge work and set a long term realm of possibilities for the future of knowledge work. Technological advances have really created an environment ripe for mobile and off site workers. Moreover the upcoming generation is steeped in technology know-how, and the keyboard and phone are the preferred input devices over the pen and paper.

The workforcre will drive the future of work, but the future of management is more important. How will a 20th century management structure integrate a 21st century workforce? How will cities adjust to the new reality? A 21st century workforce is distributed all over the world because talented people will live where they want to live and work for whom they want to work. Drivers such as health care, cost of living, diminishing cost of broadband access, wireless technology, and mobile computing are changing the self employment landscape for many.  Below is a mind map of the drivers and outcomes of the knowledge workforce. Download end_of_the_workplace.jpg

Harvard Physicians as a Social Network for the Public

it appears that the  Harvard Health Publications is teaming with online networking site Gather.com to connect consumers with Harvard docs online. So it seems that soon everyone will have access to a Harvard Doctor. The WSJ article 'Right Click for Harvard Docs' asks the questions regarding liability, and community created content. These are central concerns when dealing with critical and sensitive health information. One of the pieces no touched on was HIPAA, a notorious sticky point for physician records. I look forward to see the usage of the space, and the first law suit. I bet they have Harvard Lawyers keeping them in line.

Shop Locally Online

PopToTheShops.net allows some UK shoppers to shop from their local markets online, and then have the items delivered. It is a great model that blends the technology of online shopping with locally sustainable business practices that benefit not only the end consumer but the local economy as well. This system effectively grants the local businesses with the same kind of online access as large big box retailers have. One advantage is that local stores may carry many products chains do not creating a competitive advantage where in favor of the local merchant.

Run, Walk, Ride Conference / Cause Marketing Forum

On Friday I was on of the few selected speakers to present at the first ever Run, Walk, Ride conference put on by the same people who brought us the Cause Marketing Forum. In all it was a very tight group of about 50 or so fundraising professionals and few consultants who make it our business to raise money by conducting physical event. I was there to talk about the Second Life Relay For Life and the kinds of success we are having. I really enjoyed a few of the presentations including a very cool overview of a smaller agency that I think is following right in the footsteps of the Society - Y-Me Breast Cancer Organization.

One other presentations was from a Kintera representative. In short he was talking about the imperative need to personalize the entire experience for donors, especially the follow ups. We need to understand if the donors are giving because of the cause or the fundraiser and adjust our approaches accordingly. That is no new idea but technology is allowing us to do just that. He and I led a follow up discussion on the important of online presence and we were joined by one of the pres from Event-360 which is another fundraisng consultancy. All in all I enjoyed the trip as well as the conference. It provided some nice contact and I hope helped to move the industry forward some.