A Digital Story About Navitity

With Christmas only a small week away….I’m trowing in a digital story on nativity. Although the movie is from 2010 it is still rocket science on how nativity would look like in the 21st century.

Big Brains For Life – Get in touch with digital reality

Most of the time, you get my reports on events afterwards…since I’m organising one myself, you get an invitation up-front!

On December 21st, 2011 University College Karel de Grote is hosting the first (ever) Big Brains for Life event on Digital reality. This event is in support of Studio Brussels Music For Life charity. All revenues are in favor of this charity which supports Red Crosses kids diarrhea program in Nepal.

What did we learn at Creativity World Forum 2011?

Two days in Hasselt….Two days out of this world.
An amazing setting, good production, fantastic people and great line-up would round-up this Creativity World Congress 2011 in Hasselt. The people of FlandersDC did a great job of programming great speakers, and nice break-out work shops. But after this 2 days everything should be placed in perspective….so a brief round-up on with I heard and more so what I will remember of this World Creativity Forum 2011.

This round-up is a get together of quotes and a summary of great speakers as Jimmy Wales (@Jimmy_Wales), Peter Hinssen (@hinssen), Alexander Osterwalder (@business_design), Keith Sawyer, Malcolm Gladwell, Scott Belsky (@scottbelsky), Jamie Anderson, Garr Reynolds (@presentationzen) and Oliver Stone.

• Failure is necessary
  failure is the key to a creative success. If you never fail, you can never be creative.
• Collaboration drives creativity
  Working in a team gives a more creative outcome then working alone.
• Tweak instead of invent
  Don’t be the first on the market. It’s better to learn from other ones mistakes and make them better….be creative with existing stuff.
• Organisation is necessary for creativity
  Organise yourself, your work environment to be creative…bring structure into your creative process.
  Surround yourself with creative inputs/actions
• Disconnect to create
  Log off, go analog and disconnect from the online world so you can create in real-time (f.i. with pen and paper, post-its, …).
  Log on in a second phase of the process
• Keep it simple and visualize it!

Next years Creativity World Forum will be hosted in Rio De Janeiro (Brazil)…see if I can get tickets for this as well!

ADM – Foyer: Fixing the media by Jo Caudron (MediaMorgen)

“Drama, Internet & Business with Jo Caudron”…a nice introduction after the small media storm Jo Caudron had to put with the last days.

For those who aren’t in on the dramadays of Jo Caudron: Jo tweeted a message of a company vehicle who passed him at high-speed during traffic works….nothing to big you would think: but he added the care plate and an action picture! After a lot of retweets by famous and less famous followers, a Belgian newspaper decided to do an editorial on how Jo had become a vigilante 2.0, without any further investigation or reply from Jo, and other parties. Jo ended up in a small media storm, gaining maximum exposure, and hopefully gets the debate going on privacy and social media! [to be continued]

But let’s get back on topic! Fixing the media…
Media itself is part of a perfect storm, who comes around ones in lifetime….there is a huge media shift happening because of the content explosion and change of media control. More and more people are becoming self serviced human beings regarding media usage (you watch TV whenever you want with delayed viewing, a non linear approach of linear media). This means a huge shift (and problem) for linear (media)companies.

The social media is the new internet (check for recent research on this topic – or soon in Flat World Education), which means this is a major part of your business as usual.  But instead of seeing social media as new business entity, you should look at social media as something that runs through your whole organisation and will affect every department in your organisation. This means your company will become completely transparent and accountable 24/7! This is a huge challenge, but will make companies smarter in the end.

And off course traditional media companies (like television stations, newspapers, ….) are in for a huge shift. Those media companies need to look for a complete new business model to survive the new media paradigm. But for the moment they don’t seem to bother at all…they push there traditional media in an online channel, or develop an app….but don’t rethink the business (model)! It still a long way untill we’ll have 24/7 up to date news with background stories embracing the dialogue….

But as always: embrace innovation, don’t underestimate in the long run but don’t overestimate it in the short run!

Goodbey Steve – Stay foolish Stay creative!

And then we wake up in a world without Steve Jobs…he pasted on his life in August writing a letter on the Apple legacy and how they (this Apple team) can keep Apple alive! ironically Steve Jobs passes away after the ‘let’s talk iPhone’ event….as he’s saying: “ok guys keep it up, a job well done. It’s safe to close the door…”

I’ll remember him as one of the big influencers of PC era, who creative ideas where always ahead of time. His vision on business was unique. His complete integration of hardware and software made Apple the NeXT brand to be. He made the switch into the web world, creating one of the most viral brands online ever (up untill now)….

Will Apple keep this up….yes if they stay foolish and creative. They have to be tot keep his legacy alive!

Key Moments in the life of Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)

1977 – Apple II
One of the first affordable computers are marketed.

1984 – MacIntosh
The first computer with a graphical interface and controlled with a “mouse”.
Launched with the legendary “1984” commercial.

1985 – 1996 – NeXT era
Not a commercial succes but the basics of the www from Tim Berners Lee are build on the NeXT platform.

1998 – iMAC
The Internet central colourful computer was the start of a vast success for the re-born Apple brand.

2001 – iPOD
Not the first portable music player, but by far the most easy to use design for a portable music player. Together with iTunes one of the biggest creations ever!

2007 – iPhone
“Today we re-invent the mobile phone” With a slim design and touch screen the iPhone created a new buzz amongst cell phone use. Apps were added not much later, which made the iPhone a 360 device for a lot of tasks, know how, ….

2008 – Mac Book Air
The end of Murphy’s law regarding the vast growth of hard disk memory space. The MacBook Air only used flash memory!

2010 – iPAD
The low price for this tablet computer and it’s user-friendly Apple look and feel made it an instant success!

Why #Edushock is a must read!

Education = it’s one of my passions (besides the fact that it is my job). I’m trying to figure out where our education can bring us , or wear it should bring us the (near) future. I hope everybody agrees with me, that our education as we know it, no longer is sufficient enough to prepare this generation for the future ahead of them. I’ve been writing, posting and tweeting about it already  (social media as an educational tool, co-education = co-creation = social education = engagement, Flat Learning & Educating), and sharing insights, thoughts, ideas, questions, …. feel free to react!

Most of the time I get my inspiration online, but now I got some really need inspiration off-line as well; thanks to ‘Edushock’ (by Dirk De Boe, Bernard Lernhout & Pieter Sprangers) by Lannoo | Spectrum (2011). (Only in Dutch for the moment, but hopefully in English soon!). Edushock launches 20 tweets from where the authors hand ideas on how and what the future of education should or can look like. The book hands inspiration on why we should change education as we know it.

All 3 authors have got a specialized field of study (from personal creativity and innovation over Leonardo Da Vinci to personal development), but all together this gives a bright insight on (the future of) learning and education.  I especially loved the “Lighthouses of education” as a get together of generations to learn and inspire.  Edushock describes these new ‘Lighthouses of education’ as a learning community where every topic, course, question, …. can be discussed, debated, answered and learned. Together with this vision there is off course the fact that each student is a unique individual and should be treated like one (even in education). Personal interests are there to be cultivated and can work very inspirational both for teacher and student!
The inspiration can work as a triangle in these ‘lighthouses of education’ where student (who are learning), are coached by the teacher (which means he changes his role – instead of being the gatekeeper to the knowledge, he becomes the information coach who helps with the knowledge) and get inspired by ‘an inspirational speaker’ or ‘someone from the field’ or ‘…’

Besides new roles for each player, I truly believe technology will play an important role. Edushock also deals with this aspect. How technology can play a role in a lesson, or helps students…off  course what the future brings on technology will be mobile, instant and omnipresent; so educating without technology isn’t an option….but this doesn’t mean  that you have to be plugged in/connected all the time to learn!

The book uses a nice structure with an introductory story describing the tweets, from where a brief (sometimes more could be told) analyses of the story and theoretical framework is told. Each tweet/chapter ends with ‘brainoptimizers’, tips and tricks for teachers, students and policy makers. Some are easy to do, like easy to ask questions to your students, others are more ambitious, like rethinking/organising playgrounds, buildings, classes, …

One huge remark: the colour….OK it sticks, but that’s it….maybe this can be adjusted in a second print?!

For most this book makes you (re-)think about education, learning and personal development, and gives ideas to create yourself! And off course this is the challange….which ideas will get into a classroom or policy? I know which ones I’m taking, are you?

More on edushock through:
Website: www.edushock.be
Twitter: @edushock
LinkedIn: Edushock group
Mail: info@edushock.be

No words, only respect! The power of social media at #pp11

Wow….that was my first reaction yesterday-evening when I heard the news about the Pukkelpop disaster. What should have been a huge party, turned into a nightmare with (as I’m writing this post)’ 5 confirmed death and many seriously injured. Off course my respect goes out to all those families….

So why blogging about this event….well, it was a very good example on the true power of social media. Where old school media (sms, telephone) failed, Twitter and Facebook stood up to help all those worried people out there. With the #pp11 #ppok people where reaching out to friends and family.

The Twitter community picked it up, and huge Twitterpeople like Bart Dewaele (@netlash) started retweeting messages from people reaching out: saying they where ok, but also offerings for a warm bed, transport, … were retweeted. Many others followed in his footsteps. Twitter even suspended the account of @netlash for a while because they thought he was spamming the network.

Facebook was also used to tell people they where ok…many communities, groups and pages where started for paying respect to the death and injured people. Off course a couple misplaced pages saw the light of day … But communities like ‘RIP slachtoffers noodweer Pukkelpop 11′ already have 52400 ‘fans’ paying there respects!

Who failed…traditional communication networks and ….? The organisation (and local government) did a hell of a job organising shelter, transport, … but forgot to use the social media to communicate through this crisis. This is a pity, because they neglected it’s real power: fast communication to a huge community (who is using it!).

Digital or Unplugged holiday?!

Holiday season has arrived! Time to slip away from day 2 day work, and into a holiday outfit! Escape from reality to an exotic destination (unknown)!
Back-up systems, interns, interim labour, out-of-office assistant, … in place and we are set to go!

What do we take on holiday? Our iPad, iPhone, MP3 player, PSP, Nintendo, …. all bright and shiny digital stuff to stay connected. So what’s the use of ou back-up system when we stay connected anyway? The idea of being unplugged….but who wants to come home after a two-week holiday with a stack of Emails, Tweets, status updates, …. and work waiting at the office!? I don’t….

So thinking about how to cope with a ‘unplugged’ holiday….I’m considering staying plugged for current affairs (like the Belgian government). Keeping up with mails, tweets, status updates, news, …. just along my holiday. I’m not reserving half an hour a day work time or so…I’ll just check in when it suits me fine. We all have time to kill on holiday….so why not use it wise and smart with “keeping up to date”?
No hotel with a fancy WiFi connection needed…only a connection when I need to kill time…to make sure I’m not only working on my holiday. I truly think this is for the best…otherwise I’m coming home even more stressed then when I left….knowing all the work that waits for me at my PC/iPad/LapTop/….

Besides staying connected has it advantages besides work…you can check weather updates (quite interesting when you want to climb a mountain), check reservations (handy if you want to make sure you have a seat in a theatre), check your walking trail, …. So a digital holiday isn’t so bad after all. But as always it depends on how you deal with this digital environment!

How’s your holiday? Connected and digtal OR Unplugged!?
Take the poll and leave your comments!

Social media day Antwerp (#smdaybe) – @brandbuilder masterclasses

June 30th – a day to remember as this day is called world-wide Social Media Day.
To celebrate this occasion the boys of conversionation had teamed up with Olivier Blanchard aka The brandbuilder (@thebrandbuilder) to organise 4 masterclasses and a big party afterwards at Social Media Day Antwerp (#smdaybe @smdaybe)
400 Social media adepts attended the masterclasses and got bits and pieces on different subjects by Olivier! This was a great afternoon with cool insights and very, very, very much information…I hope Olivier survived this marathon session!?

So what did I catch as (new) insights (or top stories this afternoon):

Mobile has a huge impact on community feeling.
Mobile devices have changed the way we communicate and interact in a community.  We can be in touch with our community whenever we want….this opens up new and different ways of communication and exploration of places, feelings, attitudes, shopping, … We are always connected to our (worldwide) community, in a very local way!

Social media isn’t only about acquiring customers.
Social media has been connected with Marketing since it’s launch a few years ago, BUT marketing is most of the time all about acquiring new customers….less is true! Social media shouldn’t be claimed by marketing, but should be claimed by ‘business’ as a whole.  Social media should focus on more than just acquiring customers. Social media should also be about working with those customers, helping them share positive experiences about your brand, product, …. Only few companies have stepped up this path….TIME FOR A CHANGE!

“You can’t measure the value of a Facebook fan. Who says he can is full of shit!” (dixit the brandbuilder)
Couldn’t agree more….what’s the value of a Facebook fan….I don’t know. It should be about what you can do with this fan! Work on direct interaction with this fan, and create an ecosystem where he can share his ideas and insights to the community.

“You should embrace criticism”
Although this is hard for a lot of people, be shure to be on top of your online conversation about your brand/product/company/…. Listen, and respond, learn from criticism, but react in correct and positive way. Criticism gives good insights on how your company works (or fails), but you now you know….so reacting on and off-line is possible.
Make shure your tone of voice always is adequate, consistent, truly social and positive. Don’t argue online….you can’t win a conversation battle online! (and be shure to react properly off-line)….and say ‘Thank you’ in the end.

Social media manager
Do you have a social media manager/conversation manager/… ?  It’s good to have one, but make shure your organisation as a whole is up to date with the online conversation. Everybody in your company is an ambassador of your company….make shure they act like one! This is something the social media manager can facilitate or plan. A social media manager is part about planning, but also part about improvisation. Be shure to be ready when a crisis situation hits your company to react online as well….don’t hide online. Try to build a crisis communication plan for online media which can be rolled out, when a crisis occurs….Does your company have an online crisis plan? (At the party afterwards, a lot of people reacted to this subject as TO DO!)

ROI of social media
Even asking this question is wrong….but be shure to read the book Social Media ROI from the brandbuilder where he explains how to deal with the ROI of Social Media.
Bottom line: You can’t calculate with fans, likes, hits, … so you need to count in cold hard Dollars/Euro’s even when you’re using social media. Make social media measurable and ask how this wasn’t touched by social media…social media can’t be blamed for everything!

Great afternoon, nice insights….let’s see what next year will bring.
Afterwards, I enjoyed a great party and got inspired by a lot of people (THX Olivier Blanchard, Dutch Cowboy, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Carole Lamarque, Bruno Peeters, Stefanie Gubbi, Helena van Eyckeren, …..)

 

 

Social media as an educational tool

Education in the 21th century can’t be the same as education in the 20th century…
As I already stated in my prior post I’m a true believer of collaborative education where a teacher is a facilitator, the guy who gives a structure, and the students are the real knowledge workers.

A major role as a tool (never a goad) can be social media in every form you can think of; microblogging, Facebook, Blog, wiki, … Social media can be the platform to engage and enchant the students…but recognizes also the student as an individual learner! In my presentation I see a couple of challenges…and when I give this presentation, I can see they are real challanges; like mindset (both teacher and student side!), choosing the right algorithm for social media use in each learning context (which is always different – topic, subject, students, ….) and last but not least sharing of knowledge (breaking down the barriers and collaborate).

If you want to this presentation alive and kicking in your learning/working environment, don’t hesitate to contact me (flatworldbusiness@gmail.Com)!