Category: Social Learning

The Importance of Being Informal

Coffee Mornings, FutureVisions, Performing Social Media, Social Learning, Social Media

For the last (almost 10 years), a group of marketing and social media enthusiasts have been meeting for coffee. We arrive around 8am each Friday at Sydney’s Single O cafe in Surry Hills for coffee and conversation. Some of us work in social or digital media as a profession. Some of us are involved as part of an interest. And a few are only in it for the coffee.

Over the years, we have seen regulars become friends. There have been weddings and children. There have been breakups and tragedies, visitors and ring-ins. And it has been the most brilliant way to spend a Friday morning ever conceived.

Last week, John Kerrison could not make it to Surry Hills but he beamed in via Facebook Live. Here’s what he had to say (and why he’ll be back more regularly).

Social: The Present is Mobile. The Future is Wearable

Conferences, Digital Strategy, Disruptive Technology, Social Business, Social Learning, Social Media

There was a time when the battle for social media was simply one of recognition. For some time, brands and businesses held out. Restricting firewall access to social networks. Directing marketing spend to broadcast. Ignoring the trending shift to digital across a range of categories – from marketing to HR, supply chain to finance.

Now, this pent up force has been loosed and it is transforming the way that we work, why we work and how we work faster than we could have anticipated. As a result, we are seeing disruption almost everywhere we look:

  • Who – this is not just about “digital natives” or “digital immigrants”. We now have no choice but to adopt a “digital nomad” perspective. We need to move with the digital times, building and refining skills, networks, and connections. It’s touching every one of us in profound ways.
  • What – we used to be able to cordon off “home” and “work”. These days, there is only what Nina Simosko calls a life continuum. What we consider work is no longer restricted to what we do and is becoming more closely aligned to “what and who we are”. This is having an enormous impact on the nature of work, the workplace and what it means to have “purposeful work”.
  • Where – the disruption began at home, in our palms and quickly spread through the networks.  But as we know, culture eats location, and that means our “where of working” is infinitely more mobile, flexible and time-shifted. This is challenging workplace structure, services and cohesion.
  • Why – We are paid to work but businesses continue to struggle with motivation, morale, and engagement. As our Baby Boomer generations retire, we will be left with a massive experience and capability gap within our organisations. To attract the best talent, we’ll need a much better understanding of the needs and expectations of our employees.
  • How – this is where the most obvious disruption and transformation is taking place. The “tools of our trades” are increasingly digital, data driven and mobile.

Kate Carruthers brings this together elegantly in this presentation made at the recent CeBIT conference in Sydney. She makes the point that we need to keep looking towards the horizon – for while the present of social is mobile. The future is wearable and the internet of things. And that future is not far away. In fact, it’s already in your pocket.

Improve your Business and Your Mind with Slideshare

Innovation, Social Learning

The idea of continuously learning seems like a “no brainer” to me. Being naturally curious, I have always sought out knowledge – and have been lucky to find it in abundance. But my efforts have never been idle – they have never been for the sake of knowledge alone. For while I love acquiring knowledge, I love – even more – the thought of turning that knowledge into action. Doing. Making.

And now with an abundance of learning opportunities via the web, everywhere I look I see opportunity. There are blogs written by whip smart innovators, thinkers and doers. There are YouTube channels teaming with tips, insights and edutainment. There are the moocs, open learning platforms and iTunesU.

There is so much content to learn that it’s literally impossible to consume it all. So that means being selective.

So if you are looking for some great, simple and effective ways to improve your business and your mind, take a look at Slideshare’s Must-Read Decks from 2014. There are dozens of recommendations that you can dip in and out of, bookmark and revisit. What are you waiting for? Just get started below!

Imagens Evangélicas via CompfightPoint of no return Bada Bing via Compfight