Post Mortem

I first need to thank Karen for providing such and AWESOME outline to write our final thoughts down.

To be honest when I first signed up for Social Media this summer I thought I would know and understand most of the information that would be taught in the class. I never thought it would be easy but I did think I had a handle on the social side of things. With a new job, a pregnant wife, and a new semester of school I was looking to lighten my course load a little.

Well did I get that wrong and I am glad that it turned out the way. Social Media has been one of the best classes we have taken at BGI. Though the super intense course load at the beginning had me thinking otherwise. Here is a recap of some key learnings over the semester:

Brand:

The brand tagging exercise really spoke to me. It helped me to see how people may perceive me and take that to create the individual brand I want people to see me as. I have used the learnings in this exercise a couple times at work already to ensure the brand is moving in the right direction (sorry Chris).

Social Video:

The first social video we did really brought our class together and allowed for the projects to get better with each rendition. I think this could have been done earlier in the semester for our learning journals and would have gotten more people off to a social media start

Media Project:

The social media project we did at the last intensive was unbelievable. It really brought together our learnings through the quarter and left me feeling really good about what I had learned. I would like to have done something like this at each intensive, maybe using a different form of social media. One time it could be videos the other could be audio. I think our time could be spent more wisely on this then doing the braid on what projects are we going to do.

Learning Journal:

I thought the personal learning journal and the BGI beat were a lot to do throughout the quarter. The class tied in perfect with some of the other things we were doing in other classes, I just wish the professors of those classes would have allowed our Beat and Journal to be used for both classes (CRL and Marketing) it just seemed like we were duplicating information.

Tools:

I think using the different forms of social media were great. Delicious did not work out for me as well as I had hoped. I would like to see different forms of media in the coarse in the future. Possible do a call over oovoo or require the students to test out 1 or 2 new forms of media and then report back on them. That would be great information to have on the channel. I think more important then the BGI BEAT topic. How great would it be if each student or group reviewed and reported on the top social media trends.

Syllabus:

I too had a hard time with the syllabus though I assume that is a channel issue. Maybe you could leave the channel the way it is but do a google doc or some other medium to host that work. It would then cover the accreditation guidelines but allow the students to see tools that actually work put to use in a business environment.

In closing this class was amazing and I would love to help out in the future. I noticed you are looking for TA's for the summer though we are having a baby in May. This is still tempting.....I have used the teachings in the class many times at Wizards already and have been asked to give as much input as I can into helping them with their social media. That is a testament to how great this class was.

Black Friday and a BGI MBA program

What do Black Friday (BF) and our MBA program have to do with each other??? Well most students at school would say the only correlation between the two is that you should boycott the Black Friday specials and be more sustainable. I would like to challenge my fellow students on the concept of boycotting BF.

Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. The time when all everyone hits the stores looking for the best sales deals of the year. But in reality it is so much more and I think that an MBA student would see the corner stone that Black Friday has become for the economy. If BF does not succeed with the revenue projections this year then people will still believe that we are in a recession and the markets will drop on Monday. When the markets drop so does the funding of sustainable ventures.

If Black Friday was a success it builds consumer confidence that recession could be behind us. What does that mean though??? It means that people will free up money for new ventures, banks could start loaning money again, etc. The job markets will open and companies will start to hire positions like "Sustainability Managers." As consumer confidence rises and businesses grow, investors look to support new ideas like Solar and Wind energy products.

In short next time you hear the "dont shop on Black Friday" spiel, I challenge you to think from an MBA prospective on how important it is to actually buy on that day and support the economy. One last thing, supporting BF this year would have meant something even more for the our students. I would say that over 90% voted for President Obama. If Black Friday is a success and the economy is turning around then it will be attributed to the new president and we all want to see that happen.

In the future we need to start thinking of the long term impacts our decisions and actions make instead of boycotting 1 day of the year.

Personal Learning Journal

Should we incorporate personal learning journals into BGI's schedule? The easy answer to this question is YES!!!

From the start of our BGI experience we have had to keep a journal of sorts. Our LPD assignments typically revolve around self reflection and the need to keep a journal so we can reflect on those experiences.

We should and could be tying this into to each course structure. This year we are keepinga journal for Social Media and four CRL. Marketing we are doing a project that most likely reflects what our topic is in Social Media. Unfortunately we now have three different journals (LPD, CRL, and DLM). The personal learning journals would be a great addition to the course structure and bring more continuity to the courses.

Finding the Time

I am currently running into the time problem. Not enough time with all the work that needs to be completed. With work, school, and all the assignments that are due I am feeling a sense of despair. I know the end is in site and I just need to buckle down to get things done over the next couple weeks.

What I have learned is that the writing of papers is pretty un-thougtht provoking. I have type up two papers today but how is that going to change or even acknowledge a behavior. Social Media has taught me to start with the question, What action or behavior am I trying to change by doing this. Within our other classes there are projects that are making us think and allowing us to do just this. What I am confused about it why the mundane action of writing a paper? Why not a a video on our resident expert projects in marketing or even possible filming our creative sessions. It seems that this action would change many more behaviors and actions.

Communication in the workplace

The blackberry is all the rave at my workplace. All the VP's and Directors have received them in the past 3 months and I am next. Don't get me wrong, I love social media and the Blackberry will make work more efficient and productive. What I currently see with upper management though is hiding behind the blackberry and not having constructive communications.

Case in point this week was an issue this week in our office with on how we should manage our accounts. The entire chain of communication was done over email though we sit about 30 feet away from each other and there were many disagreements among the 6 or so responders. It got the point where on director said, "ok this thread is done, X and Z will manage it from here."

The problem with the last line is what the director said, he did not mean. What he said verbally to everyone but X and Z was "we are changing this and X & Z will do it." Unfortunately X & Z are not changing anything as they interpreted the email differently and thus clarifies my point that communicating difficult conversations should be done in prison.

The week after and intensive

The week after an intensive is always challenging. I have yet to find a social media outlet that allows me to recover even more rapidly. Oddly enough it was the socially media aspect that pilled on the work load. I had emails from work and school to catch up on and planning for our social media project.

The conversation we had on "brand" is still at the forefront of my mind. I meet people, read their blogs, and look at their facebook pages and I see a lot of disconnect on what what they want people to think they are vs who they really are.

The idea of brand has really made me think when doing things and even posting on my personal twitter page. So when I post on my facebook and twitter I think, who am I and how do I want people to see me? I think we all need to look at this from time to time.

Corporate World

I sat in HR meetings for over 4 hours today learning about setting performance goals (SMART goals) and how the company measures your performance. What I noticed was that most people were pretty clueless on how to set a SMART goal even after the definition and example was given.

We were in groups of 4 sharing our a goal with one another when I it hit me that most of these people were in their own bubble. This in turn allowed me to reflect on our learnings at BGI.

Could the same be happening to us? Are we in our own bubble?

This has led me to think on how we at BGI can have a positive effect on these type of people outside our own environment.

BGI Beat

I had to create a video this weekend for my Social Media class on a subject that I am blogging on. The subject I chose was transport and logistics in developing countries based on the work I did this summer at VillageReach.

I thought you might find the video interesting and informative. It is posted on you tube if you want to check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x--Gt8FU2CM

Creative Videos

I have to say I have really enjoyed the creative videos so far. Tomas did an amazing job and Manan music was awesome, it even made me thirsty. I feel my intro to my blog was dull and boring and I need to pick it up a little to stay in beat with my classmates. Well done all on your awesome videos.

Being Creative

I have been working on my creative session for CRL to utilize at work. I am thinking of putting together a creative session on “In what ways might we bring people together to play D&D in their local retail stores.”

We would like to build the local D&D community and allow others to join in the game. This would be a win-win for everyone involved. I am looking at bringing in a community organizer, a local retailer, a D&D player, HR and a Magic brand member to participate in the creative session.

Though the session is about creativity it still comes back to the brand conversations we have been having. More to come.

Tagging your it

Tag your it,

Nope you missed me,

No I got you.

Well that is how I am still feel using delicious. I know that I am tagging things but I feel like I am just transferring my current book marks over to an online site. While I see how beneficial that can be I also see it as duplicating efforts. I know there is more to it then I currently see and I may need some help in opening the closed doors I currently see before me.

I really like google reader and the ease that I can read through things now. I can read a much larger amount of information in a shorter period of time. This I see the point of and have embraced the process fully.

I know there is a "delicious" light bulb that will pop on one of these days.

Wizards Social Media

Well I am learning to be more organized that is for sure. The flow of emails from the channel are overwhelming and combining that with the work load from class and I am exhausted by Thursday's. I am not sure how people are combing work and school.

I thought class was very interesting this week and took some of what we have been learning to work. We are at a new stage in communication at Wizards. We are finally going to start tweeting and have started facebooking. I had a conversation with one of the heads of our social media and discussed our class. She was very interested in what we are doing and asked to chime in and help out when I can. It will be exciting to be apart of the Wizards social media network.

BGI Beat

I am stumped on what to do for my BGI Beat. There seems to be so many things going on that it is hard to nail down just one area of interest. Maybe I should hold a creative session on my BGI Beat...

Here are the things that I am currently working on that I could possibly tie into a BGI Beat:

- Marketing - Working on a recycled plastic container for our project and looking for a revenue stream with it

- Marketing - Resident Expert project of - Fair Trade

- Work - Working in program to build stronger communities by encouraging people to play Dungeons and Dragons in their local retail stores

- Other ideas: The sustainability of the outdoor industry, primarily focusing on the outdoor companies in the industry and what is being done.

Power of Social Media

I am a little behind in my journal ling though I have my thoughts floating around in my head. The first thing I would like to float out there is the power of Social Media.

I knew the power of social media before we started class and was a part of a small non-profit that launched its social presence this summer. It was exciting to see the donations that started flowing in just due to the launch of a new website, twitter account and facebook. We actually had thousands of dollars come into the organization for just launching these sites. What was even more interesting was the responses to what we posted.

We used this medium to broadcast the publicity we were getting in the non-profit world. This again prompted additional dollars to flow into the organization.

The power of social media has change this small organization and allowed them to continue to operate.

No late posts

I was excited about the first intensive and creating our social groups once more. Not only would we have our original groups, we now have another 100 people to create those groups. Well half way through the intensive things have not worked out the way I thought. We are over crowed and way over the Dunbar number. With well over 150 students communication has been extremely challenging. We have struggled to get to know each other under the current conditions.

I know this feeling is shared by many and is more of a current problem without a solution. I look forward to looking for a solution.

I am curious as to what social media will be like in 10 years? We will still be entering into sites such as twitter and facebook or will a new tool at our disposal. Will computers and cell phone technology changed so much that social media is no longer needed or are we at the beginning of this curve?