More bandwidth, please #netlit

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Yes- MT @RoyAtkinson A6: Yes. But...: Complexity drives channel choice. When it’s a complex issue, people want phone, chat or F2F. #custserv

— Bruce Waltuck (@complexified) September 9, 2015

I often think about channels in terms of the bandwidth they afford. As Bruce tweeted, when dealing with complexity, additional bandwidth is desired because we want to take advantage of the additional communications cues they enable. 

Different channels fall along a continuum face-to-face -> video conferencing -> audio-only -> real-time text -> asynchronous text, For the most effective collaboration, we need to choose the appropriate form of communicating for the given situation.

Email frequency

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The surprising data about how often to send promotional emails - Campaign Monitor

Before you send an email, ask yourself, “what value does my subscriber gain from receiving this message?” and “How can I provide the most value to the subscriber by making this relevant to them?”

Montana / Yellowstone 2015

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Took Ethan to Montana and Yellowstone - I was at Big Sky, MT for the National Extension Technology Conference (#netc2015). I managed to give a few presentations and attend a bunch more...when I wasn't playing!

Toolbox too big???

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I'm working on a project looking at the integration of Qualtrics survey software with our Salesforce CRM platform. One of the questions that keeps coming to mind, is what problem will it solve that I can't solve with tools we already have, like Form Assembly. I was hoping it would enable offline data collection, but that feature appears to be incompatible with the Salesforce integration. I like that Qualtrics allows our end users to collect information, but I'm not sure they will be comfortable with connecting to Salesforce - several hoops to jump through.

This got me thinking about how various technologies have given us multiple ways to solve each problem. Finding the right solution is highly dependent on the particular use case, the comfort level of the user, cost, etc. 

I think folks get irritated when I offer multiple ways to address an issue, they want one blanket recommendation or "best practice." Too bad there isn't one...

Crisis?

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Is student loan debt really a crisis?

Research by the New York Federal Reserve Bank found that 35% of students with less than $5,000 in debt defaulted within six years, twice the rate of students with more than $100,000 in debt.

Additionally, these students with low debt amounts and low earnings are disproportionately likely to be dropouts. Sixty-three percent of students who started college in 2003-04 and defaulted on their loans by 2009 were college dropouts, while students with a bachelor’s or associate degree were only 4% of defaults.

Battling “permanent receptivity”

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The value of unplugging in the Age of Distraction

There is also something sadder at work. The constant messaging, emailing and cellphoning, especially in public places, may be less about communicating with the people on the other end as about signaling to those around that you are so busy or so important, so connected, that you exist in more than just the here and now, clearly a diminished state of just being.

There’s greater status in being highly connected and constantly communicating. This may explain why many people speak so loudly on their cellphones in public places.

Sometimes it seems that our use of devices and social media is about chasing after something, distant from us, that will alter the spot where we are. Disconnecting for periods of time may be a bit Zen - simply being in the moment, where we are, and who we are. I find myself struggling to do this myself.

Eight key media literacy concepts

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN MEDIA LITERACY

We know about the world primarily from the media. But the media don't simply give us the world. They interpret reality, tailor it, perform it. In order to be responsible citizens, we need to be media literate. To help you engage in that process, here are eight "key concepts" of media literacy.

Mediactive by Dan Gillmor

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 Mediactive is an ebook by Dan Gillmor

At the risk of being too cute, I’ve mashed together two words— media and active—that describe my goal in this book, website and accompanying materials: I want to help you become mediactive.

At the very least, the payoff is that you’ll be able to navigate the rapids, to better sort what you read (view, hear, etc.). If you’re like most people, you’ve been mostly a passive consumer of media, and I want to help you to become comfortable as an active user. I want to help you minimize the chances that you’ll get bamboozled, or worse, by the incorrect or misleading material that’s all over the Internet (and, all too often, in what people call “mainstream media”), and to help you find trustworthy material instead.

Being media literate underpins network literacy. As we interact with and get information from more individuals, some of whom we are only tangentially connected to, a critical eye is necessary. We no longer go through "trusted" gatekeepers who will vet all information for us - we need to take that responsibility upon ourselves.

Working out loud vs. presenting out loud #netlit

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Lessons from Harvard vs M.I.T. - Center for Creative Leadership

Kleon suggests that we all hold back our work for too long, waiting until it is polished and perfect and presentable to the world. But the truth is, people learn just as much from the process you use to do your work and the lessons you learn along on the way.

Working out loud requires being vulnerable, because it means admitting you don't have all the answers. What might happen if you work out loud and someone else realizes that you are going about it all wrong? Hopefully, they let you know a better way, and you can learn, as a result. 

Why network leadership is like gardening - Gen. Stanley McChrystal talk - #netlit

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Gen. Stanley McChrystal | Commonwealth Club

His leadership credits during his 34-year career include serving as a four-star general, former leader of the Joint Special Operations Committee and a former Green Beret. Come hear him speak about leadership in our changing world.

The military is often thought of as the quintessential hierarchical organization. In this presentation to the Commonwealth Club of California, General Stanley McChrystal (Retired) talks about transforming his command into a team of teams or network, and why a rigid hierarchy is incompatible with todays complex environment.

If the military can recognize the problem and undergo such a transformation, why can't many other organizations?