I taught two sections of Organizational Communications this semester. Some students in the course struggled to write effectively for business. Some students don't comprehend why using a hesitation form (umm...ahhhh) after every sentence yields a mediocre presentation grade. Check out this word-for-word evaluation that a student submitted (using an online survey instrument) about me:
"The professor was inappropriate toward students. He lacks communication skills even though that is course he is supposed to teach. Grades too harshly on presentations when this is practice...there should more presentations with smaller points fixed to them. THe videotaping was rediculous " (forgot the period).
Fortunately, the positive comments about the course were well-written. Maybe there is a correlation?
:)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Monday, December 01, 2008
Don't Start Drink'n Our Own KoolAide...Yet
The blogosphere is filled with odes to Obama and the change he'll bring. We certainly need some change and I hope he's the answer. My problem is not with Obama, but with the "crowdsourcing" advocates who think Obama will rule by checking Facebook.
Web 2.0 is great for campaigning. Truthfully, it's especially great if you're a Democrat and have a high proportion of younger voters. Howard Dean was the first to show this, not Obama. Obama can take credit for actually getting the social network crowd to vote and contribute. Dean was a bit early on this front. Some PR groups have annointed the Facebook crowd as the next face of public policy makers. I think, however, that people who believe their voice will be heard because of a Facebook group are drinking their own KoolAide. I'm a technophile and I still believe these collaborative tools can move us towards a more collaborative democracy. But in the next 8 years? Unlikely.
Campaigning for change is one thing. Everyone wants change. The problem is that even people who support Obama have different opinions of change. Unions want card check rules, employers want tax breaks, middle class wants less taxes but more services, and everyone has a different opinion on how to change the economy and our global image. Wrapped into this fray is a Congress that wants to take money home to get re-elected and a judiciary that remains very conservative. The forces which will come to control Obama's decisions will remain traditional. Large constituencies will be heard, lobbied for, and remain influencial.
As people from current generations get elected the social networking trend will become a public affairs device. But not this year...or next year. Too many old school control issues exist for Twitter to be the next policy research tool. Money and power count. 20,000 people without money or power on Ning.com only count during an election, not after.
The Technorati are quick to label the Obama campaign as historic. I think the campaign's use of technology was masterful. To get elected. Now that Obama is putting together people in his adminstration he'll stop checking Facebook and start asking his cabinet. There are many reasons why I predict this, but be assured that yelling at the top of your lungs on Twitter won't get you heard after the election.
Howard Dean started using technology. Obama perfected it for the campaign. If you think the next logical step, one crowdsourced public voice will come quickly (e.g. like during Obama's reign) you're drinking your own Koolaide.
Web 2.0 is great for campaigning. Truthfully, it's especially great if you're a Democrat and have a high proportion of younger voters. Howard Dean was the first to show this, not Obama. Obama can take credit for actually getting the social network crowd to vote and contribute. Dean was a bit early on this front. Some PR groups have annointed the Facebook crowd as the next face of public policy makers. I think, however, that people who believe their voice will be heard because of a Facebook group are drinking their own KoolAide. I'm a technophile and I still believe these collaborative tools can move us towards a more collaborative democracy. But in the next 8 years? Unlikely.
Campaigning for change is one thing. Everyone wants change. The problem is that even people who support Obama have different opinions of change. Unions want card check rules, employers want tax breaks, middle class wants less taxes but more services, and everyone has a different opinion on how to change the economy and our global image. Wrapped into this fray is a Congress that wants to take money home to get re-elected and a judiciary that remains very conservative. The forces which will come to control Obama's decisions will remain traditional. Large constituencies will be heard, lobbied for, and remain influencial.
As people from current generations get elected the social networking trend will become a public affairs device. But not this year...or next year. Too many old school control issues exist for Twitter to be the next policy research tool. Money and power count. 20,000 people without money or power on Ning.com only count during an election, not after.
The Technorati are quick to label the Obama campaign as historic. I think the campaign's use of technology was masterful. To get elected. Now that Obama is putting together people in his adminstration he'll stop checking Facebook and start asking his cabinet. There are many reasons why I predict this, but be assured that yelling at the top of your lungs on Twitter won't get you heard after the election.
Howard Dean started using technology. Obama perfected it for the campaign. If you think the next logical step, one crowdsourced public voice will come quickly (e.g. like during Obama's reign) you're drinking your own Koolaide.
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