“I AM already part of a community…I just may not have been aware of it due to my regular focus on ‘getting my stuff done’”.
This sentence in Jeff Hora’s post, jumped right off the page when I read it this morning. One of the challenges, I and many others wrestle with when trying to spread the value of ‘social learning’ and specifically the benefits of communities, is how to help people “get it”.
I think this idea of showing people how they already belong to a community is one of the best ways to help people wrap their head around the whole concept. If we can make the connection that ‘social’ tools, etc are just an extension and improvement upon the communities they are already in I think we’ll have a much better chance of success.
For example, many of our organizational communities at work are confined by hierarchical and geographic barriers. Wouldn’t it be great to converse and learn from all 150 technicians in your company across the country in addition to just the 5 who you share your office with? Or even better what about the thousands of others who do similar work at other organizations? The more specific and unique your role, the more you can benefit. The more you benefit the more your organization can benefit.
Jeff also mentions that he and his team are working on training around social media with deeper dives for those who “want to get to specific activities that will help them target specific business and professional goals they have.” It seems to me that this type of approach is far to rare in our organizations. ‘Social’ will never happen if people don’t learn how to use it for “getting stuff done”.
http://jeffhora.com/2013/02/22/first-thoughts-in-a-new-community/
Mike Taylor 