In simpler times, elections settled things. You voted for a candidate. If that candidate lost you gritted your teeth and waited for the next election. In between elections you wrote letters and contributed money to your party. Maybe you even went door to door or made phone calls.
Twitter's Annoying WtF (Who to Follow) Feature
I’ve been using Twitter since the beginning. I enjoy it. Right now I’m “following” 885 people and 1,568 are “following me. Mostly it’s people in the DC area, people interested in topics like e-Government and collaboration, social media practitioners, and a smattering of academics and consultants whose specialties or interests overlap in some way with mine.
How Many Dead People Are On Your Online "Friends" Lists?
Here are some data on U.S. deaths by age group based on deaths per 100,000 of population:
Thanks to a tweet by @tacanderson I stumbled across the blog post Sunk Costs by venture capitalist Fred Wilson.
Wilson’s article is basically a repeat of the old advice, “don’t throw good money after bad” when there’s no hope of recovering what you’ve already sunk into a failing project or product.
Goodbye Washington Post (on Facebook, that is...)
I’ve decided to “unfriend” the Washington Post on Facebook.
Managing Collaboration Throughout the Acquisition Process: A Project Management Perspective
I’ve been researching how to measure the impact of improved collaboration on Federal procurement processes, starting with development of a “concept map” that organizes the major issues.
"Better Communication" Won't Overcome Willful Scientific Ignorance
Chris Mooney’s June 27 Washington Post editorial If scientists want to educate the public, they should start by listening provides a short course on the complexities of a major problems facing the United States: willful scientific ignorance.
On Attempting an Updated Definition of "Web 2.0"
I recently had an opportunity to provide an updated definition of “web 2.0” for a project I’m consulting on. The project, managed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), is called Changing the Conversation: From Research to Action. “Web 2.0” is one of those terms that just won’t die. Even as some have tried to invent and sell newer-sounding terms like “web 3.0,” there are still many for whom the underlying concepts of “web 2.0” and social media are new, unfamiliar, or ready to be revisited after an initial or limited exposure.
Does Federal Personnel Management Policy Prohibit Social Networking Based Job Referrals?
The report focuses on a set of “prohibited personnel practices” in order to determine how well Federal personnel management is functioning in areas such as job discrimination and whistleblowing.
As a consultant one of the things I do is help people plan on how to use collaboration systems and social media.
I’ve updated the model of “acquisition collaboration” I first presented in Justifying Collaboration in Complex Programs such as Federal Acquisitions based on some additional research and interviews.
I found Going overboard with Social CRM by Gartner’s Michael Maoz to be a discouraging read.
Facebook and Dueling "Cost Benefit" Privacy Calculations
Bruce Nussbaum’s Facebook’s Culture Problem May Be Fatal is one of the crisper analyses I’ve read of the current problems Facebook s faces regarding conflicts between its emerging business model and the “privacy” of its members.
Here’s an experiment you can do yourself if you maintain a personal contact list electronically that lets you add database fields to track different chracteristics and events.
Using Facebook Should Not Be a Gamble
I’m a consultant. Early on I realized a basic truth: “Where There Is Confusion There Are Consultants.”
Managing Online Social Network Data Access is Like Living In a House Built on Sand
I’ve been trying to follow Facebook’s changing privacy rules and its introduction of the “like” concept on Facebook and elsewhere.
Justifying Collaboration in Complex Programs such as Federal Acquisitions
I’m having an interesting discussion with colleagues about how to justify investments in collaboration-supporting technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, and private social networks) when the business processes they support are numerous and spread across multiple participants who may not always share common goals.
There are many discussions going on about the OMB’s recently issued Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act. Basically, this guidance makes it easier for Federal agencies to use variety of social media and “web 2.0” tools for interacting with the public without having to go through the expensive and time consuming clearance process required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Two Simple Organizing Models for Communication Program Planning
Sometimes I need to be whacked on the side of the head to keep things simple.
Happy Birthday SETI
The March 29 Are We Alone program titled SETI: Now What? celebrates 50 years of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Included are interviews with current and former participants, a description of the famous Drake Equation (by Drake), and, of course, memories of Carl Sagan. It’s a great podcast.