|
June 2004
|
       |
CommentariesWeblogs as a Disruptive Technology for ExtensionDeborah Coates IntroductionWeblogs are everywhere. Technorati <http://www.technorati.com/> watches over 1.2 million weblogs every day. Blogcount <http://dijest.com/bc/> estimates 2.4 to 2.9 million currently active weblogs. Weblogs influence journalism, technology transfer, knowledge filtering, research, and business-to-customer communication. In the fashion of disruptive technologies, weblogs underperform by traditional measures, but they also create brand-new possibilities and eventually change the measures entirely. What Is a Weblog?Among people who care about definitions, there's often spirited discussion about the exact definition of "weblogs." Weblogs come in all shapes and sizes--personal, business, single-topic, eclectic. Generally, however, a weblog is a personal publishing system with chronological entries containing collections of links. Weblogs tell stories, share knowledge, provide reviews, analyze news, and link to others whose interests they share. Microsoft employees, university professors, research librarians, unemployed technologists, and high school students all produce interesting, entertaining weblogs that people access and learn from daily. A weblog is pretty simple technologically. All weblog software does essentially the same thing: it allows you to make "posts" which it then arranges in chronological order. These posts can be accessed by date, by individual post, and by category (usually). The posts generally consist of a title, a post body, a permalink, and sometimes an image. The content of a post can be source quotes, links, and author commentary. Despite their seeming simplicity, weblogs do several things extraordinarily well, and it's these characteristics that make them disruptive. What Is a Disruptive Technology?New technologies are generally either sustaining or disruptive. Sustaining technologies are those technologies or ideas that sustain an organization's focus, goals, and customers. Successful organizations, like Extension, are good at recognizing and exploiting sustaining technologies, even when those technologies require radical change. Sustaining technologies maintain value systems, improve existing products, and offer clear benefits to existing customers. Disruptive technologies are innovations that often don't improve existing product performance. Current customers neither know nor care about the initial benefits of the disruptive technology; those benefits don't fit their current needs. Disruptive technologies often turn out to be things an organization dismisses initially as not worth the time, not "good enough," or not what the customer wants. Weblogs, which might easily be dismissed according to the criteria above (not worth our time, not good enough, not what our customers tell us they want), have the potential to change Extension radically and in some instances may already be doing so. There's no barrier to starting a weblog. I can go to Blogger <http://www.blogger.com/>, enter my name, pick a password, and presto! I have a blog (weblog). Other applications (Typepad <http://www.typepad.com/>, Radio Userland <http://radio.userland.com/>, and Movable Type <http://www.movabletype.org/>) allow me to set up an organized, functioning weblog in a couple of hours with little financial investment. If someone in Extension wants to start a weblog, they can, and they will, and it's very possible they already have. Why Are Weblogs So Popular?While weblogs often can't provide application forms or detailed program information, they can promote interaction, filter vast quantities of information, and create relationships. Weblogs, more than any other network application, are about interaction and networking at an individual level. The Cluetrain Manifesto (Locke, Levine, Searls, & Weinberger, 2001) characterizes the Web as a conversation. And that conversation is disruptive to our traditional ideas about communication. We can process information, run it through committees, discuss it, edit it, and format it, but once we put it on the web, we give it over to everyone else. On the web, people talk about information they find, sift it through their own experience and expertise, and pass new information, built from the original and their additions, on to friends, who reinterpret it, pass it on again, and so on. . . People blog because they have something to say, because they want to bring attention to certain resources, or, as Cory Doctorow (Doctorow, 2002) says, because a weblog is like an "outboard brain," a place to highlight things that are important and worth remembering. Though often professional, weblogs are not heavily edited, peer-reviewed, or couched in official language. They are immediate, emotional, and interactive. Blogging has several implications for Extension. 1. Weblogs Promote ConversationThe "killer apps" on the Internet are all about conversation and connection--e-mail, instant messaging, chat, newsgroups, etc. eBay <http://www.ebay.com/> is wildly successful, not simply because it lets people buy and sell stuff, but because it lets them talk about buying and selling stuff and lets them communicate about who's good at buying and selling stuff and who isn't. People don't just want a company to tell them their hours and the customer service number. They want to know who the company is, what kind of people work there, and how real people answer direct questions. They want to make contact, to tell someone what they think and to hear from them directly. Weblogs promote conversation through:
Extension has long understood the importance of conversation, networking, and interaction. Extension has traditionally had a local presence in each county or region and has emphasized direct contact with local residents and businesses. However, with shifting demographics, changing organizational structures, busy lives, and Internet information "gluts," it's difficult for traditional relationship building to satisfy the needs of many people. Weblog conversations don't happen in real time. They occur over several days and can even start anew when someone finds an old post. Weblogs promote interaction without the time and space constraints of meetings or office visits. In addition, they are public and allow people to know something about the blogger before initiating or joining a conversation and in that sense are more approachable than sending email to a stranger to ask a question. 2. Weblogs Promote Individual VoiceOne of the consequences of an Internet that provides "content everywhere" is that we don't know whose content to trust. Whose information should we use? Who's telling us something that's accurate today rather than 3 years ago? In Extension we like to think of ourselves as trustworthy, as the place people go when they're looking for good, practical, unbiased information. But we also know that many people don't know who we are. With the whole of the Internet to choose from, why come to Extension for information? How will people know us? One way is through weblogs. Each of us has our own particular criteria for judging how much we trust an individual person, but some of the common factors for establishing trust include: credentials, references; usefulness of the information they filter; recommendations from others; strong, clear writing; and personal glimpses of the person behind the information. This last factor is increasingly critical (Coates, 2002). Traditional Extension clients are accustomed to individual voice. They trust their own County Extension Education Director more than they trust the campus specialist. While a county director understands and speaks for Extension as a whole, each county director is also an individual with his or her own unique experiences and knowledge, and most county directors use all of that when working with their clients, building trust and strong networks. Traditional clients aren't necessarily looking to extend those conversations to the Web; they already have a medium (face to face) that's ideally suited for conversation. But there are other people we don't reach through local offices who want more than just a publication. Just like the people who meet us face-to-face, they want people they trust, helping them find information they need. Weblogs can provide some of those traditional benefits for people who do much of their knowledge building online. Weblogs provide information not just about what a person knows, but about what they value, what interests them, and what experience they have. 3. Weblogs Reduce Data "Smog"Extension has traditionally been heavily invested in a linear connectivity, "content is king" scenario (Reed, 1999). Publications and state fair booths and even farm visits are built around the idea of giving information to people who need it. This is a valuable and necessary service, but the Web has moved well beyond the restrictions of linear connectivity and content availability as a bottleneck to progress. There is content everywhere. Excellent, filtered material is available in a timely manner from a variety of responsible sources. So much information is available that we have new concerns--data "smog," unreliable information and myriad distractions that interfere with and frustrate people when searching for the answers they need. Group-forming networks, which allow people to establish their own interconnections, not simply receive information, can address these concerns by allowing users to promote jointly constructed value, build relationships, establish trust, and find focused information specifically useful to the individual. Weblogs reduce data smog through:
By providing knowledgeable, timely pointers to information, individual Extension staff can easily become the "go-to" place on a particular topic. Weblogs can generate XML or RDF pages that can be read by news aggregation programs and presented as a list of updates to users. In this way, updates come to the user instead of the user constantly checking a growing list of "favorites." Services like Syndic8 <http://www.syndic8.com/> and Blogstreet <http://www.blogstreet.com/> provide lists of weblog RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. Finally, the populist nature of weblogs, coupled with Trackback (providing connecting links to related weblog posts) and comments, provide places for others to participate in our conversations. Experts don't just provide knowledge; they rely as well on input and feedback from others. ConclusionProfessional weblogs must be professional. But they must also be individual. And it's this combination that is both truly disruptive and a reflection of things that Extension has always done well. One of Extension's strengths has always resided in its local presence and in building trusted relationships. We don't speak with one voice in our program meetings, in our newspaper columns, or in our radio shows. We need not speak with one voice on the Internet, either. The Web is about conversation, and the conversation is going on now. The conversation is only momentarily interested in static Web pages and online forms. People want to ask us questions, tell us who they are, find out who we are in turn, and learn new things. We can choose to participate in the conversation or not, but if we don't participate as individuals, the conversation will go on without us. Getting StartedThe best way to learn about what weblogs can do is to read existing weblogs and then go out and start your own. Here are some resources for getting started. Weblogs to VisitTech, Knowledge and Community (Deb's Blog) <http://www.extension.iastate.edu/mt/dcoates> TechNews <http://www.extension.iastate.edu/mt/technews> Extension Daily at Alabama Cooperative Extension <http://www.aces.edu/mt/news/> The Shifted Librarian <http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/> elearningpost <http://www.elearningpost.com/> Weblogg-ed <http://www.weblogg-ed.com/> mamamusings <http://www.mamamusings.net/> Seb's Open Research <http://radio.weblogs.com/0110772> Information on Getting StartedWeblogs as Trusted Sources and Knowledge Filters <http://www.extension.iastate.edu/mt/dcoates/extras/ The Art of Blogging--Part 2 <http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/blogging_part_2.htm> How to Start a Weblog (For Professional Journalists) <http://davenet.scripting.com/2002/05/07/ View reader comments for this Commentary in the JOE Discussion Forum. (This forum is no longer accepting new entries.) ReferencesChristensen, C. (2003). The innovator's dilemma: The innovative book that will change the way you do business (paperback ed.): Harper Business Essentials. Coates, D. (2002). Weblogs as trusted sources and knowledge filters.
Retrieved 11/24/2003, 2003, from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/mt/dcoates/ Doctorow, C. (2002). My blog, My outboard brain. Retrieved 8/11/03, 2003, from http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/01/01/cory.html Locke, C., Levine, C., Searls, D., & Weinberger, D. (2001). The cluetrain manifesto: The end of business as usual (Paperback ed.): Perseus Book Group. Reed, D. P. (1999). That sneaky exponential--Beyond Metcalfe's Law to the power of community building. Context Magazine, 3 (Spring, 1999).
The Steps for FuturingPatricia M. Sobrero Introduction"The difficulty in times of turbulence is not the turbulence, but to respond with yesterday's logic." -- Peter Drucker If you have the courage and ambition to change yesterday's logic, take a look at the steps needed to adopt anticipatory techniques for Extension. Futuring, timely and proactive planning tied to meaningful engagement with the people in each state, will result in Extension becoming "the catalyst for connecting people to the wealth of relevant knowledge and research residing within various colleges and disciplines of the university" (NASULGC, 2002, Page 2). The authors of The Dance of Change warn that this is not easy. "That's because organizations have complex, well-developed immune systems, aimed at preserving the status quo" (Senge, Roberts, Roth, Ross, & Kleiner, 1999). Embrace Anticipatory TechniquesExtension has all of the tools needed in order to implement futuring as a viable precursor to planning and to inform ongoing program direction. Most states have the technological resources to move from merely analyzing trends to projecting anticipated futures. This kind of information synthesis can continually inform situational analysis and allow Extension educators to quickly change direction when fast-paced changes occur. James L. Morrison and William C. Ashley in Anticipatory Management (1995) advise that organizations "must become more forward looking to deal effectively and systematically with an increasingly turbulent environment. . . . This turbulence has the potential to either destroy³or offer new opportunities." They caution leaders to "constantly check for gaps in the way management thinks things are and the way stakeholders perceive them to be." In The Dance of Change, the authors reveal that "the only competitive advantage the company of the future will have is its managers' ability to learn faster than their competitors." They report that Jack Welch of General Electric believes that "the desire, and the ability of an organization to learn from any source--and to rapidly convert this learning into action--is its ultimate competitive advantage." Providing we wish to lead a process of change that creates a viable future for Extension, what are the steps and techniques needed to develop anticipatory leadership and action? Steps of FuturingFuturing is an anticipatory decision-making process that leads to planning and program development (Sobrero, 2004). It looks forward 10, 20, or 30 years, while planning looks ahead 1 to 4 years. Step 1-- Scan and Monitor the EnvironmentAssure that social, economic, political, environmental, and technological changes are analyzed using existing county, state, and national data centers. Data needs to be shared as easy-to-understand information in the form of past trends around real-world issues. Information needs to include projections that show what is likely to happen if future changes occur at the same rate as in the past. Scanning the environment and turning data into usable information gives the organization true data-driven intelligence that can inform scenarios, forecasts, and issue briefs. Scanning the environment includes both observational and research-based data. Scanning should include data from counties as well as state, national, and international databases. The key to this mountain of data is to use the intellectual capacity of social, economic, technology, political, and environmental experts so that Extension will have manageable information and trend analysis in issue areas. Ongoing scanning and monitoring of the environment identifies the direction of issue-based change and the relevant events affecting changes observed. One component that should be incorporated into scanning and monitoring is local learner and stakeholder input, including customer/learner satisfaction. Customer/learner satisfaction data adds valuable local learner perceptions to the scanning process. It can be used to document the rate of practice change reported by learners, and it can be a source for identifying emerging issues as well as the perceived value of programs. There are Extension faculty and staff who choose to keep up-to-date by reading and observing across disciplines. They observe in a variety of settings and actively listen when involved in professional and community-based environments. These are the Extension faculty and staff who conduct informal scanning within Extension. While this is conducted in an unstructured manner, patterns of change as well as emerging issues are noticed. They know if programming is relevant and valued. While it may be difficult to use their observations to inform data-driven intelligence, these valuable faculty and staff are likely to be the first to observe critical indicators of change. They may recognize the change first and can become leaders of change efforts, providing they have a voice and the opportunity to share their perceptions. Scanning identifies indications of change, but it is monitoring that provides an ongoing review of the effects and impact of the change. Monitoring becomes the method for ongoing organizational intelligence that enables Extension to determine current relevance. It informs continuous improvement actions and helps the organization make meaningful shifts in priorities. In the 21st century, using technology to communicate results of the environmental scan will provide universal access to employees and stakeholders. Step 2--Analyze Internal and External AssumptionsAnticipatory decision-making considers external driving forces and internal organizational assumptions related to relevancy, priorities of targeted learners, societal trends, as well as the mission of the organization and availability of resources. Analysis of external assumptions involves listening to community-based stakeholders and learners. This means understanding the culture, or "how we do things around here." Fundamental to Extension's strength is that we take time to understand the community and culture before implementing programming. Step 3--Create Scenarios Around Emerging Issue AreasUse data-driven intelligence and results of assumption analysis to develop four scenarios for each targeted issue area where change is likely to occur. The scenarios should range from a very desirable future to an undesirable or even catastrophic future. Develop these scenarios in a written format, and include details. It would be helpful in this step to be creative, but by the end of the session, identify the essential indicators of change that are likely to signal that this scenario is likely to occur. A succinct list is most useful. Step 4--Develop a List of Forecasts with Each ScenarioRefer to the data-driven intelligence gathered. Add recommended interventions that could change the future forecast, and attach estimated resources needed for the intervention. Forecasts, when used, will improve Extension's timeliness in providing relevant educational programming and information. Step 5--Use the Results of the First Four Steps to Write a Succinct Issue BriefThis brief should be short and compelling. A one-page abstract of the issue brief would enable greater use of the brief. Issue briefs should be available electronically for easy access by faculty, staff, and partners. Issue briefs should be searchable and permit the user to type in observations or indicators of change that can be matched to an issue brief and an appropriate scenario. Open access to issue briefs will inform program development and enable a learning organization culture of empowerment. Step 6--Assign Issue Briefs with Scenarios to the Program Champion Most Likely to Notice Indicators and Signals of an Emerging ChangeThis program champion should have selected key faculty, staff, and program partners who have a passion to serve on a virtual program team and are willing to take immediate action when the change is emerging. These virtual program teams would only take action when the anticipated change begins to occur. Step 7--Assign Teams the Annual Responsibility of Continual Futuring to Inform Planning, Direction, Funding, Staffing, Partnerships, and ProgramsMost organizations have found that, while employees can prepare for futuring, the leaders working with a cross section of the organization must also be fully engaged. They need to fully understand the implications of futuring so that resources will be allocated when an anticipated future begins to become a reality. ConclusionFuturing, based on a data driven intelligence system, is key to Extension remaining relevant and viable. Effective futuring will lead to:
The impact and consequences of decisions made today will frame Extension's viability for future generations. Let's have the courage to connect "people to the wealth of relevant knowledge and research residing within various colleges and disciplines of the university" (NASULGC, 2002, Page 2). ReferencesAshley, W. C., & Morrison, J. L. (1995). Anticipatory management: 10 power tools for achieving excellent into the 21st Century. Leesburg, VA: Issue Action Publications. National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC),
Extension Committee on Organization and Policy. (2002). The Extension system:
A vision for the 21st century. Available at: http://www.nasulgc.org/publications/Agriculture/ Senge, P. M., Roberts, C., Roth, G., Ross, R. & Kleiner, A. (1999). The Dance of Change. New York: Doubleday. Sobrero, P. M. (2004). Futuring: The implementation of anticipatory excellence. Journal of Extension [On-line], 42(2). Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2004april/index.shtml
From Humble BeginningsMichael Lambur It's hard to believe that the electronic Journal of Extension is 10 years old. Congratulations! It's an honor to be asked to write a Commentary as the first editor who presided over the transition from paper to electronic format back in 1994. There are so many things I could write about, but I'll keep it simple and give you only some of the highlights as I remember them. Mr. NaivetéI knew next to nothing about being a journal editor when I took on this job. Former JOE Board member Judith Jones came into my office one day and asked if I would consider becoming the editor for the journal. She said JOE was going totally electronic and it would involve reading and editing manuscripts and then putting them together for JOE issues. I thought, how hard could this be? So I willingly accepted and soon discovered that I was Mr. Naiveté. However, in retrospect, being naïve was probably a good thing. At that time there were very few electronic journals and little to go on to provide direction. So we were not bound by convention and free to pursue our vision of an electronic JOE. We forged ahead and capitalized on the creative ideas of the many good people we had working on the project. And over time we found that we made good decisions that laid the groundwork for what we have today. Oh and, by the way, I learned how to become a journal editor, in case you were wondering. So How Do You Do an Electronic Journal?As mentioned above, we had no template to follow for how to create an electronic journal. We consulted with a number of library staff and learned that we were pretty much on our own. So we just moved ahead and flew by the seat our pants, so to speak. It took 6 months to make the transition from paper to electronic copy, and we had to completely revise the editorial process. The technical and editorial staff did exceptional work to make this happen. We published our first electronic edition in June 1994. Authors submitted manuscripts as text files, and our issues for 1994-95 were published in ascii text, with no special formatting. Even with a 6-month delay in publishing, the volume of manuscripts submitted, processed, and published in 1994-95 remained the same as for the hard copy format in the previous years. In addition, we added a new Commentary section, a piece on often-asked questions about the journal, a piece on the manuscript review and evaluation process, and a variety of marketing materials, and secured our Internet domain name (joe.org) and increased publication from four to six issues per year. Of course, thanks to the increasing capabilities of the World Wide Web, often-asked questions and information about our review and evaluation process no longer accompany each issue. Instead, that information and much more is a permanent part of the JOE Web site at www.joe.org. ReactionsAs editor, I had the opportunity to talk to many people around the country about the new electronic JOE. There was some remorse expressed at first by users about not having a hard copy of JOE. But this subsided, and users quickly warmed to the new electronic format. Interestingly, the Board was still focused on the print issue after we had been publishing electronically for about a year. I'll never forget the Board meeting where we were hotly discussing whether or not to include a "print entire issue" option. Judith Jones finally reminded us that an electronic journal was not a print medium. This caused us to take stock and realize that we were really in the electronic age. While this is still included as an option, I continue to wonder how many readers take advantage of it. The PeopleMy most vivid recollections are of the people that I worked and interacted with in my editorship as we transitioned to an electronic format. Jim Summers was president of the Board of Directors at the time and led the transition for the electronic Journal of Extension. He was a man of vision and a most likeable and gracious person. I truly enjoyed working with him. Kathy Treat, vice president, and Janice Leno, secretary, provided solid Board leadership throughout my tenure as editor. They were delightful people to work as well. Ellen Ritter, who preceded me as editor, was a wealth of information and taught me the ropes. I'll never forget when she told me, "You're the editor and in charge of content--the Board is advisory." Emmett Fiske served as chair of the editorial committee and had a can-do attitude that served us well. All Board members took the job seriously and provided exceptional leadership throughout the transition. I truly enjoyed and looked forward to the Board meetings. And we had fun in the process, too. The technical support people, Dirk Herr-Hoyman, Patrick Robinson, and Tom McAnge, were terrific and worked with us every step of the way to make the electronic JOE happen. We faced many technical challenges along the way, and they led us through these with ease. Finally, the two people who I remember most fondly are Teresa McCoy, Assistant Editor, and Cheryl Kieliszewski, Editorial Assistant. I worked in the trenches on the editorial operation with these two people for 2 years. I would have been truly lost without their extraordinary support and assistance. There were no two more creative, caring, and dedicated professionals than Teresa and Cheryl. Working with them in the 2 years I was editor was a joy that I will always cherish. From Humble BeginningsAs I look at the most recent edition of the Journal of Extension on the Internet and reflect back on where we started 10 years ago, we did, indeed, come from humble beginnings. In 1994 the idea of an electronic journal was a radical one. No other hardcopy journal had ever moved to a completely electronic format. The very idea of replacing a hardcopy journal with something one reads on a computer screen was strange, to say the least. Through the vision and leadership of Jim Summers and with a host of dedicated Extension professionals, we took the leap. From our humble beginnings of knowing next to nothing about publishing an electronic journal, over time we learned, persevered, and have made the Journal of Extension a premier electronic journal on the Internet. Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become the property of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use in educational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematic large-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal Editorial Office, joe-ed@joe.org. If you have difficulties viewing or printing this page, please contact JOE Technical Support. |