Do Web 2.0 tools help personal effectiveness?
I like the idea of this Blog Carnival, even though I have never really figured them out. WissensWert is running a blog carnival on personal effectiveness as it relates to Web 2.0 tools. I came upon this via Matthias Melcher's response, Blog Carnival: Effectivity. If you can read German, feel free to check out the source of the carnival.
1. Using Web 2.0 tools, can I deal with information and knowledge more effectively?
Do the tools make me more effective in relation to information overload? No. Do the tools give me more options on how and where I deal with that stuff? Sure. The fact that there are new tools around every corner can be a great thing, or it can be a major effectiveness killer. When I am in exploration mode, my "information effectiveness" drops, but that's not the purpose. I'm looking for new tools to lay in my toolbox that help me do something new or better.
But the tools don't make me more effective. It is the process in which I am using the tools. I can have a sheet of paper and a pen and be very effective, or very ineffective. The question is my process (and my mental state), not the tools I have at hand.
I also like Matthias' note that the use of these tools by other people can bring me a secondary benefit through their filtering of useful tidbits for me. I don't necessarily have to be out scanning all the primary sources (there are too many anyway). My larger network of people will surface interesting things, assuming I pay attention.
2. Do productivity and quality of work improve?
It depends. If I have the processes in place, then yes. It's the processes that give me the freedom to use my tools in the best way for me (and my colleagues and friends).
If no process, then it's just endless thrashing as the latest and greatest tool arrives on my doorstep.
3. Do any negative side effects outweigh the advantages of the new work equipment?
"Wow, cool!" works for a while when learning new tools, but if I stay in that discovery mode when I need to be producing, then I lose the benefit. For a simple example, I still check new RSS feeds, but I find it best to delete them after a week or two if I am not getting any value personally: content is repetitive or uninteresting to me.
4. How does the personal learning process of acquiring the new work practice happen?
As I have hinted above, I have differing modes of operation. Discovery sends me out testing and trying new things. But it is in daily operation where the new tools get tested and bent and broken. And it is in my daily operation where I have to see if these tools fit into what I am doing. If the tool fits, then it stays in my toolbox. If not, then it gets dusty and pushed under the workbench fairly quickly.
5 Comment(s)
said:
Interesting point, Mark, thanks. I've usually looked at this from my selfish perspective. If people around me aren't using the tools, how does that impact _me_? And how can how I operate help them. (Help them interact with _me_ of course. :-)
Jack, I like your clear answers "No", and "Yes". For my talk next week at Learntec in Karlsruhe, as well as for the editorial that will be written for this WissensWert Carnival No 1 end of february. Your thoughts give me interesting discussion input. Also, your participation makes me (one of the Blog Carnival organizers) realize, that this conversation is not confined and should not be targeted exclusively to the German speaking readers and contributors. Typically 2.0-culture, we learn as we go along: I plan to post the future questions in English right away, well, I do it right away on the calendar page with the upcoming carnival questions.
Thanks also to Matthias Melcher, through his post in English language, he opened the discussion to a wider community.
This is not different from any other tools. You can buy the top-of-the-line lathe and it will improve your effectiveness in precise machining. If all you need is sand-paper for a block of wood then your efficiency will be hampered - you spend time learning the new tool, programming it and adapting your process flow to accommodate it. Web 2.0 tools aren't intrinsically improving efficiency, but used correctly they are life-savers.
Regarding the comment by Mark Gould, this is like the web presence of the 90's for the airline industry (and many others). Big IT investments didn't translate to increased sales, but the fear of being left behind drove everyone to revamp their web sites. It is very difficult to put a real number on the ROI in this case.
said:
And you are absolutely right. If the tool gets in the way of getting things done, then it is the wrong tool. The fun with learning new tools is that they frequently slow things down initially, as you get to learn them and modify your work around them. That said, maybe this concept alone suggests tools shouldn't do this.
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These are good insights Jack. I think they probably hold good for all kinds of tools (low or high technology). There is an additional point to be made about relative effectiveness and competitiveness, I think.
In a world where others are using a set of tools well so that their personal effectiveness is improved, anyone who avoids even exploring the potential for improved work using the same tools runs the risk of failing to work as effectively. As a consequence they may become less competitive.