I read an interesting article on Readwriteweb this morning titled, “Real people don’t have time for social media”. There were a few really interesting points in there that helped formulate my understanding of roles within a social media scene although I think “most people” as opposed to real people would have been much more accurate headline for this article.

I think social media still has connotations of unproductive time wasting through things like online chatting. This isn’t the case at all. What social media tools allow are a huge increase in efficiency and productivity.

Some “real people” use social media tools to help them stay up to date with topics they wish to follow and are passionate about (personal) but also use them to do their job better (professional).

In the information age that is today there is a mass of research, data and opinion readily available at our fingers tips. Social media tools, are just that tools, for us at home and in the workplace to filter, sort and receive all information that is relevant and potentially critical to our areas of personal and professional interest.

I did like the breakdown of roles ReadWriteWeb made within a social media community
1) Participants
2) Content providers
3) Community Directors (What must be the mayoral equivalent in the offline world)

I think people must move through each role as they find their areas of interest (participant), find a voice and form opinions (content provider) and then connections are made with others and the interest becomes a true passion that they really want to share ideas around with others (community director).

My point for this post is to say that yes, social media tools and the increases in efficiency and productivity they provide are currently not accessed by most (”real”) people. But for people like myself for whom information is integral to staying abreast of developments they can really make a difference to building understanding, skills and expertise and in ensuring you are up to date with any shifts of new developments.

I use a number of social media tools for both my personal interests (online/New media, emerging tech, journalism) and professional interests (finance, capital markets and investment) and since I have done so it has made a huge positive difference in both areas. Based on this, I would recommend that more “real people” give these tools a go.

Another great ReadWriteWeb post here Ten common objections to social media adoption and how you can respond

The last few posts I have written have been about teaching yourself something, as it is necessary to with digital media if you are to stay up to date with the overnight, hourly, constant developments in the space. It would be impossible to develop course materials on such a topic as they would have expired by the times the course notes were printed.

Something I have got into recently is iTunesU, where Universities publish full courses in audio and print format online. Read about it here. You can download podcasts and listen at your own hours and in your own realms of interest.
MIT announced an online initiative in 2001 called Open-CourseWare, to “advance knowledge and educate students . . . to best serve the world.” OCW shares free lecture notes, exams, and other resources from more than 1800 courses spanning MIT’s entire curriculum. Have a look at MIT offerings here

I think these resources are brilliant. They hold such potential to reach the masses that can not afford the money or time for lectures, and really break down the barriers to entry for those who are willing to knuckle down and do this on their own time with only initiative to keep you on task.

The fundamental question in many minds though is what about the missing piece of paper? How does an online course sit on a CV without grades, attendance records, assignment marks or the piece of paper at the end? Well, we are going for the paperless office, so why not a shift to paperless degrees?

Employers may at this early stage of online education’s existence question the validity of these courses. In my opinion, if you have completed a course and you are confident in your learnings and the value this brings to your role and workplace then make sure you communicate this, then deliver on it.

It is a new concept, but one I think that will gain momentum, particularly for those that have completed university are in the workplace and want to continue to upskill and expand knowledge into new areas that you may not have had access to through formal education.

I found a great resource today called “More than 100 Free Places to learn online and counting” - it includes

• Online tutorial and How-to sites
• Big Idea and Debate sites
• Higher Education and Open Education initiatives
• Business and Professional skills
• Language, spelling and grammar
• Web skillsAnd a whole lot more. Have a look here

Just been reading through an e-book “Time Mgmt for Creative People” By Mark McGuiness - Wishful Thinking

It is based on the premise that you must
“Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
Gustave Flaubert

The E- Book covers how to:

- Prioritise work that is important not urgent
- Ring fence your most creative time (mine is the night or while jogging in the fresh air)
-Avoid the ‘Sisyphus effect’ ( result of endless to-do lists, which in turn are created by a constant stream of incoming demands.. ) of endless to-do lists. A quote - “We start the day full of enthusiasm, but by the end of it, we’ve
taken on so many new commitments that the to-do list is longer than when we started.”
-Get things done by putting them off till tomorrow (yes!)
-Get things off your mind
-Review your commitments
And provides some resources to help you get things done.

You can download it Here

Pushing Past The Dip.pdf
What the Romans didn’t know.pdf

Hi all…

In an effort to increase productivity and efficiency I am beginning a new personal email policy. I’ve recently realized I spend more time shuffling through my inbox and less time focused on the task at hand.

It has become an unnecessary distraction that ultimately creates longer lead times on my ever-growing ‘to do’ list. Going forward I will only be checking/responding to email at 11a and 4p on weekdays.

I will try and respond to email in a timely manner without neglecting the needs of our clients and brand identity.

If you need an immediate time-sensitive response, please don’t hesitate to call me. Phones are more fun anyways. Hopefully this new approach to email management will result in shorter lead times with more focused & creative work on my part.

Cheers & here’s to life outside of my inbox!

Read the Manifest Below:

Low Information Diet.pdf