Having just finished Roger’s “Elements of Diffusion,” I decided to revisit The Cluetrain Manifesto (Punching Care Bears and Cluetrain Eats Soggy Cheerios). Rogers points out that innovations typically don’t happen quickly, regardless of how great the innovation is. Cluetrain’s authors, however, passionately make the argument that there is a revolution in the air and the market is changing due to innovations in the internet and its affect on hierarchies between and within markets and audiences.I guess I am wondering why Cluetrain’s authors felt the change would happen so powerfully, and how quick was the diffusion of the innovative use of the internet in the market — be it business, classrooms, or other educational environments. Today’s world and communities are designed around instant gratification. Food can be prepared and consumed in seconds through fast food and microwaves.Trivial information is immediately accessible, thanks to Google, Wikipedia, and smart phones like the iPhone. TV shows, music, and movies are seconds away thanks to iTunes and Zune, for the two people in the world who use it. Communication with a friend has progressed from a handwritten letter delivered by pony to delivery by truck to telegraph to telephone to answering machines to cell phones and email to text messages and twitter (still not buying into it). What took as long as weeks to deliver via pony express now takes seconds thanks to texting and twitter. Your network is always instantly accessible; you don’t even have to wait for them to return home to hear your message! Even coaches in sports are expected to win NOW!If instant gratification is so much a part of our culture’s design, it is easy to understand the immediacy and passion behind The Cluetrain Manifesto. But is accurate or reflective of the way innovation works? Is there a way to change this design, or is it even necessary?I intend to post this now. It frustrates me when my internet connection takes 4 seconds to do so!
Class Assignments
I Hate Movable Type — and Cluetrain eats soggy Cheerios
I just typed a nice, long entry reviewing Cluetrain only to find that my session had timed out and I lost the entire thing when I tried to publish it. AARARGHARGHAGRHAHRGH! I’ll try again to recapture my thoughts, which I was so proud of.After reading assigned sections of The Cluetrain Manifesto, I am amazed at the difference in tone between several entries. I agreed with the ideas behind The 95 Theses, but I wondered what the authors had experience that day that left them so bitter and angry towards the existing market/audience system. Was it that they were forced to eat soggy Cheerios? Or did they have an experience similar to Julie Snyder’s with MCI, as shared through NPR’s This American Life episode #253: The Middle of Nowhere? In it, Julie attempts to rectify an overcharge on her account, but nine months later is stuck in bureaucratic neglect and playing the company’s games. Give it a listen; it’s frustratingly refreshing. And while the Foreword (written by someone else) and Elevator Rap are not as aggressive as the 95 Theses, they share the same contempt for the ‘current’ design of markets and audiences.But then I reached the Introduction. Wow! Did the same four people write this section? This section is filled with hope and optimism, and left me believing that the Internet can change business and the world with it. The relationship between markets and audiences is shifting drastically. Markets, and the humans inside of them, are becoming audiences and audiences are, well, remaining audiences. But now everyone in the audience can have a voice, and everyone has an opportunity to hear that voice. The companies that hear the voices and truly listen are better poised to adapt their identities to better fit in with the new design. And once they evolve, they are better equipped to function in the new community envisioned by the Cluetrain authors.Alas, the authors have poured themselves a new, crunchy bowl of Cheerios. (And Movable Type has left my bowl out for too long.)
Punching Care Bears, or “They Got 95 Theses and a Digg Ain’t One”
Below are three theses that really struck a chord with me:”#12 There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.”#12 reminds me that we as consumers have a voice and, thanks to the internet, it has the opportunity be a loud voice. Good news travels, but bad news travels fast. Sites exist that easily allow users to rate restaurants, professors, and many other goods or services. A company’s identity can thrive or flounder because of this. Doing well is good, but floundering is possible when a company does not respond to feedback or otherwise alienates its community. Take MCI and the NPR story for example.”#25 Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.”One example of what happens when companies realize they are not connected to their consumers occurred after Digg removed a controversial blog entry from their website. The entry contained an encryption key and was removed under pressure from the AACS. Digg also banned several members for posting it. Digg users, in response, staged a mass revolt and posted the key. Digg heard this collective outcry and vowed to never bow to the big guys again. I bet the users of Digg are more loyal now that they know the site operators listen to them.#86 When we’re not busy being your “target market,” many of us are your people. We’d rather be talking to friends online than watching the clock. That would get your name around better than your entire million dollar web site. But you tell us speaking to the market is Marketing’s job.Has this ever happened to you: first you email a company’s customer service through the “contact us” link and receive no response. Then, you spend way too long waiting on hold due “the high volume of traffic,” and then your call gets disconnected shortly after a live person greets you. The process is repeated until either your problem is solved or you realize you are helpless. Then, you see a commercial for the company that promotes how happy and friendly they are to the consumer. This experience always makes me want to punch a Care Bear. The company is using the commercial to project their ideas of how I should feel. Unlike the cybersexually active 16 year-old in Turkle’s Identity on the Screen, the company is so caught up in fantasy that they are ignoring the fact that this is a two-way relationship and I have needs, too. The company has alienated me, and I don’t identify myself as the company’s target market. Honestly, I am not going to tell my friends how great the commercial was, or that they have great marketing. I am instead going to tell my friends that the company has turned me into a threat to the Care Bear community, with the entire species guarding their sensitive tummy symbols. And in my community, that message is more powerful than a smiling model engineered to appeal to 25-34 year olds.
Brandon Potter and the CI 597C Class
Hi All,My name is Brandon Rubenstein and I hail from Philadelphia. I am a self-proclaimed Philadelphia-ologist (I even made that word up!) and love almost everything having to do with The City of Brotherly Love.Other than Philadelphia, my interests involve the summer camp industry (I am the Program Director of a non-profit camp that serves deserving children from the Philly area), sports, video games, the TV shows Scrubs, The Office, Heroes, and Flight of the Conchords, and any activity that provides an outlet for my creativity — especially video production.I am taking this course because I am deeply interested in exploring innovative and creative ways of using technology to create online communities and enhance existing physical communities. The syllabus for this course could serve as a description of how I spend 85% of the time that I should be working on classwork and other responsibilities. In fact, I will need to be careful that the time I spend working on projects for this class doesn’t consume my entire week.I would describe my overall comfort level with the use of technology as equivalent to my favorite jeans and t-shirt. Although I appreciate my surroundings and nature and human interaction, I almost feel lost if I am cut off from technology for too long. I would consider myself stronger than most when it comes to technology, but I still aspire to reach the level of ‘nerd’ or ‘geek.’ Perhaps this class will help me reach new heights.Technology has a prominent role in teaching and learning. I was fortunate enough to student and assistant teach with the teacher who was named Pennsylvania’s Keystone Technology Innovator in 2003 or 2004, so I saw first hand (and used) technology in use in the classroom. We taught thematic units centered around fifth-graders developing PowerPoint presentations that required them to master a myriad of skills in the process. I also led a project where the class participated in a video-sharing project with students at a school in China. There were several other examples, and all fostered in me an understanding for the unlimited number of opportunities that technology can bring to the pedagogical process.One thing that has always bothered me about the use of technology in the pedagogical process is that many teachers simply try to use classroom practices on internet-based areas, without thinking about how the process translates across the different media. It looks like this class is on the right path, and I hope it is able to set an example for efficient and proper use of technology for teaching and learning.
Hey, Technology! Get back in your seat and be quiet!
What does ‘disruptive technology’ mean?The word ‘disruptive’ has such a negative connotation that I am interested in why the instructors would select that word for the title of this course. The definitions of disruptive all seem to center around the idea of disorder, and the image that pops into my head when I hear the word is that of a hyperactive, misbehaving child calling out and otherwise interrupting the order of an activity.It is my understanding that the instructors of this course positively view the use of technology and are seeking ways to use it (it = blogs, podcasts, email, etc.) in new ways. Basically, some forms of technology have the ability to disrupt he status quo of information sharing and community interactions. Referring back my mental image of the word ‘disruptive,’ I would assume that technology is the hyperactive child and the current state of information sharing and community interactions are the ordered activity that is being interrupted.I look forward to future disruptions. Just don’t tase my blog entries, bro!
Brandon Potter and the CI 597C Class
Hi All,My name is Brandon Rubenstein and I hail from Philadelphia. I am a self-proclaimed Philadelphia-ologist (I even made that word up!) and love almost everything having to do with The City of Brotherly Love.Other than Philadelphia, my interests involve the summer camp industry (I am the Program Director of a non-profit camp that serves deserving children from the Philly area), sports, video games, the TV shows Scrubs, The Office, Heroes, and Flight of the Conchords, and any activity that provides an outlet for my creativity — especially video production.I am taking this course because I am deeply interested in exploring innovative and creative ways of using technology to create online communities and enhance existing physical communities. The syllabus for this course could serve as a description of how I spend 85% of the time that I should be working on classwork and other responsibilities. In fact, I will need to be careful that the time I spend working on projects for this class doesn’t consume my entire week.I would describe my overall comfort level with the use of technology as equivalent to my favorite jeans and t-shirt. Although I appreciate my surroundings and nature and human interaction, I almost feel lost if I am cut off from technology for too long. I would consider myself stronger than most when it comes to technology, but I still aspire to reach the level of ‘nerd’ or ‘geek.’ Perhaps this class will help me reach new heights.Technology has a prominent role in teaching and learning. I was fortunate enough to student and assistant teach with the teacher who was named Pennsylvania’s Keystone Technology Innovator in 2003 or 2004, so I saw first hand (and used) technology in use in the classroom. We taught thematic units centered around fifth-graders developing PowerPoint presentations that required them to master a myriad of skills in the process. I also led a project where the class participated in a video-sharing project with students at a school in China. There were several other examples, and all fostered in me an understanding for the unlimited number of opportunities that technology can bring to the pedagogical process.One thing that has always bothered me about the use of technology in the pedagogical process is that many teachers simply try to use classroom practices on internet-based areas, without thinking about how the process translates across the different media. It looks like this class is on the right path, and I hope it is able to set an example for efficient and proper use of technology for teaching and learning.
Hey, Technology! Get back in your seat and be quiet!
What does ‘disruptive technology’ mean?The word ‘disruptive’ has such a negative connotation that I am interested in why the instructors would select that word for the title of this course. The definitions of disruptive all seem to center around the idea of disorder, and the image that pops into my head when I hear the word is that of a hyperactive, misbehaving child calling out and otherwise interrupting the order of an activity.It is my understanding that the instructors of this course positively view the use of technology and are seeking ways to use it (it = blogs, podcasts, email, etc.) in new ways. Basically, some forms of technology have the ability to disrupt he status quo of information sharing and community interactions. Referring back my mental image of the word ‘disruptive,’ I would assume that technology is the hyperactive child and the current state of information sharing and community interactions are the ordered activity that is being interrupted.I look forward to future disruptions. Just don’t tase my blog entries, bro!