Since I arrived at the Tap the Collective discussion (on the application and implementation of collective intelligence) horribly, horribly late, this isn’t an event review, other than to show off a photo of the panelists, link to the Twitter discussions, point to a blog recap, and note that the full video of the event should be available later at the Inkling Corporate Blog (which I look forward to, since I missed Don Burke’s talk on Intellipedia).
Tap the Collective Panelists respond to questions.
Well, here’s one token observation: Ultimately, the integration of collective intelligence / crowdsourced / non-hierarchical, user-generated, collaborative content applications by organizations isn’t a technology problem — it’s a cultural and behavioral problem. (Though, really, you can apply that to just about everything.)
Social Intelligence Gathering (for Dummies)
However, this event demonstrates some concrete examples of how I used mobile social media to augment my personal reality and do a little social intelligence gathering. (Basically, what we might consider “stalking,” when done at higher intensity in a different context.)
Now, none of what I’m about to say here is new — in fact, it’s patently obvious, and we all do it. It’s just a reminder that putting labels on everyday behaviors can make us look at them in a different light, or at least give me something to write about.
* Pre-Event Assessment: Naturally, the event description and agenda of presenters lets me know what the event is about, ostensibly. Search allows me to dig deeper than the event blurb, letting me see what else they’re doing, what else they’ve done, and what they’ve said.
Also, I’ve talked about the effect of the public RSVP list several times before, and checking the RSVP list helps me gauge the quality of the event (based on the “quality” of the attendees, or at least those expressing an interest in attending).
Furthermore, I can get a sense of the true value of the event — If I know any of the other attendees, I can guess how their previously expressed interests match against its advertised nature, and infer how it will be suitable for any number of purposes: General knowledge-building, personal or professional networking, prospecting or sales opportunities, interest in particular areas, or even general freeloading.
And even if I don’t know anyone, attendees’ listed affiliations will help me get a sense of who’s going and why.
* Pre-Empting Embarassment: For those of us who, um, occasionally have problems connecting names to faces, boning up on the attendee list, even on-site (discreetly, one hopes), is a way to help jog the old memory.
Also, on the “figuring out who’s who” side of things, here’s a concrete example: I didn’t know which of the panelists was Don Burke, so a quick search on my paleolithic, non-iPhone, non-smartphone-of-any-kind phone pulled up this helpful Flickr photo (I would have figured it out eventually through context, but it saved time.)
* Aiding Target Acquisition: You can make it sound as sinister as you like (and I’m not even a Sales guy), but by knowing which people will be there, I can figure out who it is I might like to talk to, and get a little help in determining what their interests are so I can think of stuff to say.
* Post-Event Assessment: And of course, after the event, with judicious use of search, I can figure out who I talked to and who said what, even if I was slack and didn’t get a business card, or was addled by drink, or just wasn’t paying attention.
For all my kvetching about our potential dependence on social media and mobile tools in our daily interactions, in this particular case, the technology doesn’t introduce any new behaviors — done properly, it can simply help us be more effective in our real world interactions.
Do you have any other techniques where you use social media to help improve your real world interactions? Does this make me look like a complete social gimboid / mercenary? Please leave a comment.
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