Preparing For UGA Technology For The Turnaround Event

I am very excited about participating in the upcoming University of Georgia, New Media Institute, Technology For The Turnaround: A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste event on April 25, 2009 in Athens, Georgia. The event is being led by Professor Scott Shamp (@sshamp) Director of the New Media Institute (NMI blog). The core discussion is around what will come out of the massive economic, technology and cultural changes we are currently going through? How will new media, social media, social web (see "Why Social Media Sucks" by Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst Josh Bernoff (@jbernoff), or what I have been calling the social media ecosystem, impact and be impacted by the amazing amount of turmoil we are now experiencing in our society? We will also discuss the challenges this paradigm shift is bringing about in education.

With the theme of the event in mind, I have created the below list of blogs, blog posts, articles and videos I believe are foundational to the discussion. Of key importance to being included on this list is that the material be free, available and, of course, relevant and insightful.

• The Corporate Weblog Manifesto by Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) February 26, 2003 is a seminal blog post on what it means to blog for your brand or company. This is the foundational document all bloggers should read before beginning their blog.

• 8 Principals for the Modern Blog ...At Least for 2009 by Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang), the Web Strategist blogger and Forrester Research Principal Analyst for Social Media, Social Computing and Social Web Marketing. This article is an excellent update to the Corporate Weblog Manifesto. The blog is also a wonderful resource for all things social media/computing/web and social media marketing.

• Ask Jeremiah: The Comprehensive FAQ Guide to Twitter by Jeremiah Owyang is another great resource for those first timer Twitter users (or even a good refresher for long-time Twitter (Wikipedia Definition) users) to read before entering the very open and constantly shifting culture of Twitter.

• A Chronology of Brands that got Punk'd by Social Media by Jeremiah Owyang is a list of corporate brands that have been negatively impacted by social media. These brands either did it to themselves or something happened in the social media ecosystem to them. The list is a cautionary tale and a must read for those wanting to use social media marketing to benefit their brands, products and services.

• The Groundswell Blog by Josh Bernoff, Forrester Research Vice President and Prinicpal Analyst co-wrote the Groundswell: Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies book with Charlene Li (@charleneli), Altimeter Group and former Forrester Research Vice President and Principal Analyst. Josh and Charlene developed the POST methodology for marketing and communicating in a social web world. POST stands for People, Objectives, Strategy and Technology. It is a systematic process and approach that guides you through a straight forward and thoughtful process for reaching your target customers with social media marketing.

• The Pew Internet and American Life Project (@Pew_Internet) is another excellent resource for community, cultural and technology adoption research. Here are some recent reports that marketers and communications professionals should be reading: The Mobile Difference, Twitter and Status Updating, Generations Online in 2009, and Adults and Social Network Websites.

• Professor Michael Wesch (@mwesch), Cultural Anthropologist at Kansas State University runs the Digital Ethnography program that is proving to be an innovator and leader in university education on new media and its impact on cultures and society. These articles and videos are outstanding: From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able: Learning in New Media Environments, A Vision of Students Today (& What Teachers Must Do), An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube, A Portal To Media Literacy, A Vision Of Students Today, and The Machine is Us/ing Us. BTW - Prof. Wesch was just named one of the University Professors of the Year, November 8, 2008.

• Here is a video from Prof. Wesch's World Simulation Class Project and Learning Environment:
  

• The University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Business School (@wharton), Knowledge@Wharton is another excellent resource that delivers relevant research and analysis on the digital ecosystem. Here are some recent articles: All That Twitters Isn't Gold: A Popular Web Application In Search of a Business Plan, Advertising Yourself: Building a Personal Brand Through Social Networks. Also, keep an eye on The Wharton Interactive Media Initiative.
  

• I also like the social web ecosystem perspective shown in The Conversation Prism created by Brian Solis (@briansolis) and Jesse Thomas (@jessethomas):

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

• Finally a fun blog post that shows the scale and scope of the social digital ecosystem: 49 Amazing Social Media, Web 2.0 and Internet Stats by Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) from his TheFutureBuzz blog.
  

I hope I am able to provide as much information, insights and perspective to this event as I expect to receive in return. I will blog and Tweet about it after attending.

Fun Findings In The Twitter Ecosystem

I spent some time exploring the Twitter ecosystem over the Thanksgiving holiday and the past couple of weeks and found some fun, interesting and very useful Twitter tools and information sources:

• The first is Julia Roy's, A Digital Girl Blog show Tweet Week. She delivers a quick overview of the week on Twitter including gossip, what's hot, and cool new tools and apps. Spend 5 minutes a week with her for a fun and irreverent show. She typically uploads new episodes on Mondays.

• Another fun find this week is CelebrityTweet. A place where you can "Stalk Celebrities on Twitter." Fun place to hang out and check in on people like Shaquille O'neal, Kathy Griffin and Al Gore .... to name but a few.

• If you are interested in your Karma on Twitter, check out Twitter Karma. A very cool service that shows you who is following you, who you are following, and who falls into the mutual friend category. It is a great way to view your Twitter network.

• Mr. Tweet is another interesting service that analyzes who you are following and who is following you and determines who you should consider following amongst your followers and adjacent network. A lot of fun and it helps you find interesting and influential people to follow.

There were also some interesting posts this week from Beth Harte and Tim O'Reilly that I highly recommend:

• Beth Harte broached the subject Is Social Media Scalable? This post inspired many insightful comments and a lively discussion.

• Tim O'Reilly wrote a heartfelt and in-depth post titled Why I Love Twitter. Again creating a lively discussion that as of 12/01/08 had 76 comments.

These were but a few of the interesting sites, services, blog posts and Twitter tweets I observed. Send me any you find to my Twitter address or leave a comment on this blog.

The Conversation Prism

The Conversation Prism created by Brian Solis and Jess Thomas is an excellent representation of the social media ecosystem circa 2008.

Google Finds 1 Trillion Unique URLs and Growing

On July 25, 2008 Google announced it had identified 1 Trillion Unique URLs. Here is the link to the press release "We Knew The Web Was Big."

Thomas L. Friedman - MIT Milestone Celebration, Keynote Address

The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and​ How It Can Renew America.

He is a brilliant speaker and thinker and a person I always enjoy listening too.