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Wired, Yes... but not from espresso!

After reading the article on Wirearchy I think of sitting at a Panera cafe. Now if you don't have a Panera it is a bakery type place with free wifi that has pretty darn good food, and yes coffee. When you go there whether it be morning, noon or night you will see groups of people sitting together with computers working on various things. Many times people will meet there to go over business dealings as they discuss the current projects or issues over food and put their thoughts into their laptops. Wirearchy has the same principles just not the face to face connection or the food. In this new day and age we collaborate more with others to solve problems and get things done. Between my laptop, work computer and beloved blackberry I am always available when needed, I can always be reached. When a situation comes up that I can help with I get pulled in to assist at work. For example, last year I was asked to chair a committee to find a student speaker for our graduation ceremony here at the college. I formed a task force that had to come up with criteria, an application, interview questions etc. to help us screen potential candidates and pick the best representative from all of the allied health programs. There were a few in person meetings and of course we had to be present to interview finalists but much of our work was done through current technology. We created a wiki to discuss the criteria and application. We also bounced around ideas for the right interview questions in one space without meeting. The end result? We got it done with minimal in person meetings, which is great because the committee spanned over the colleges 3 main campuses.
So being "wired" means always be able to be connected and using the tools of the internet to allow you to "meet and collaborate" wherever you may be with others. How is this a good thing? You can get tasks done in less time and limited meetings, always a plus!
How is it a bad thing? No one ever leaves you alone! Being connected means you can always be found and their is no excuse for not being available. On facebook and twitter you can "check in" and show others your current location at any point. While this is neat and all, I like to be able to hide from the world from time to time.
So I think that to be successful we will all have to be wired up and willing to try new tools that make work easier, faster and more effective but when it all gets to be too much put the blackberry in the toaster, find a nice hiding spot and tell your wired world to "back up off you" (a saying I got from my middle schooler).

According to Jane

After looking over Jane Hart's latest blog the lesson I take away is that while I may be in school learning new things to help me in my career, I have to be the facilitator to my own personal education. There are many tools out there to help me stay current with technology advancements as well as networking with others. In this new social technology age their are so may resources available to help us learn from others as well as contribute what we ourselves have discovered. It is easier then ever for us to learn from one another and I see it happen everyday.
A simple example is the wiki... now I love wikis and am using them all over the place. Once I learned what a wiki was and how easy they are to use, I taught others. I have shown colleuges at work and set them up for my students so they can commuicate while on clinical rotations at area hospitals. I was taught a skill and have since passed that skill on to others... that is how it should work really.
As we aquire new skills either through networking with others or a great new computer program that allows you to easily share files we need to be open to imparting this knowledge to others. This allows us to not only be life long students but teachers as well. How cool is that? You learn something really useful and almost as quick as pushing a button you can teach it to others. That is what Jane Hart's blog does, allows a place for learning new skills and passing on knowledge that you have gained. I plan to not only use social technology to keep on top of what is going on in the world of teaching and technology but to also helps others along the way. The possibilities are endless!
I am commited to being a life long learner and teacher, kind of like the circle of life in the Lion King minus the babboon and evil uncle.

Give it to Mikey, he'll try anything

So Here Comes Everybody made me think of Mikey, you know from those old Life cereal commercials. Do you remember them? Well there are two boys that do not want to try the Life cereal, it is new and different and they are apprehensive... so what do they do? They get this kid named Mikey to try it because he will "try anything". Mikey does indeed try the cereal and guess what? He likes it! This makes the other two willing to try it as well.
I wonder where those three boys are now...are the two apprehensive boys still afraid to try new things? Is Mikey traveling the world in search of the next big thing? Who knows but one of the main messages of this book to me is that we all need to be more like Mikey, we need to try new things and see what is out there. We need to reach past the boundaries that we know in order to achieve our highest goals and ambitions. Would Sasha have gotten her phone back if Evan hadn't gone to the masses? Would Blitzkrieg have worked if the Germans didn't have the radios? Would they have lost that day? Would Wikipedia be the giant resource it has become today if someone had not realized Nupedia would never have gotten off the ground?
These are some questions that are raised in this book. What do I take away from it you ask? Well there are so many different little lessons but the constant theme is that the world is constantly changing, now more than ever. One of the most impacted areas is the way we communicate and learn information from others. It seems there is a shift to more social integration into our personal, work and educational lives and this book expands on that. With the click of a button I can tell people that I am tired and bored just as easily as another person can describe their experience in surviving a coup in their country or a catastrophic earthquake.
When loved ones went missing in the terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami a few years back they used the internet to post pictures of those missing. This would not have been possible twenty years ago. It helped people to get into contact much faster and families were able to find the survivors as well as confirm the dead.
This book along with this class have helped me to realize that we must explore the possibilities of the world around us and be willing to listen to what others have to teach us. I have learned I am capable of this movement into the new social mainstream Shirky talks about. I may even contribute to a Wikipedia page as he did. I need to be a Mikey in my own learning experience, willing to try and brave enough to know sometimes I will fail.

Sometimes we need a little mess....

In the organizational model everything is done by a central organization, all aspects of the work and thought processes go through the same avenue. This has some plusses as everything is managed and problems can be easily determined but I think it makes work harder for those involved as most everything falls to them. This is the way my client operates, they are an organization and try to handle all aspects of growing the group and education the public amongst the 12 or so of them. This has lead to a lot of stress and burn out since they have temporarily disbanded. Why has this happened? They are overwhelmed with all the other responsibilities they have on their plate and were not reaching their target audience. They were not able to grow into a larger group as many that were interested were not able to come to meetings or work within their structure.
This is where the network centric approach could be helpful. If they could find a following and pass some of the tasks on to others it would take some of the pressure off of them. As I mentioned previously with more people comes new ideas that might help spread the word about the shortage of clinical laboratory scientists which would benefit the cause. The group could grow as people would be able to work on tasks as they see fit and when they have time rather than dealing with the current constaints.
I think the reason this hasn't happened yet is two fold, the first is their fear of technology they do not understand and have no desire to learn and the other is reliquishing control, many in our field are control freaks. They have to let go a bit and trust in others, not an easy task I realize but nessecary to their survival.
If this group is going to survive and flourish they have to let go a bit and allow others to take peices of the puzzle.
We all have to be willing to change and grow, learning from mistakes what hasn't worked and being open to new ways of doing things.
I am undergoing major change in my own life, is it scary? Absolutely but I know that I have to move forward and let go of what hasn't worked for me and hope that things will fall into place... we all have to give into the fear and go forward at some point to see real change occur.....

Cause knowledge is power!

So as I have mentioned in previous entries my client is very old school in their way of thinking and doing things. So how does this relate to this weeks issues of knowledge and effectiveness? It speaks volumes about their failures in the world we live in today.
Let's start with knowledge. Currently they are very organizational which keeps knowledge of our problems and efforts constrained, we are having trouble getting the word out about the needs and shortages in our profession. Laboratory medicine is like this as a whole really... most are introverts that like to keep to themselves. This doesn't help our cause, we need to step out of the box, open the door to the world and welcome new ideas and new ways of thinking. The group has tossed around many ideas but there is only so much a group of about 15 people can come up with. We need to welcome the ideas and expertise of others and join forces with the world beyond the realm of the lab. Think about it... whenever nurses have a shortage the public knows about it. Why is this? Because they take their plight to the people and make the public aware of how this dilemma will affect them personally. We need to do the same thing! Without qualified lab personnel diabetics can't be monitored correctly, cancer patients won't get blood products as needed to get through chemo treatments, heart attacks will be undiagnosed and infections will be mistreated. I know this but does the average Joe? Do any of you know that 70% of all medical decisions made by a Doctor are based on results they get from the lab? Well you should and it is our job to make sure that you do!
This lack of knowledge also greatly inhibits our effectiveness. The great thing about a more network centric group is that people can come and go as needed.... some might think this is a bad idea but it is actually a strength! You see as we need specific tasks or ideas people can come in and help make it happen then leave, this keeps them from getting burned out with being part of the cause. Not everyone can commit themselves to a cause 365 days a year, myself included. This way people can serve a purpose and get back to their lives and come back when needed again. Plus with people coming and going new ideas will always be present, new ways of doing things and new viewpoints to tackle our problems.
Like wikipedia, we are stronger in numbers! While only a few will do a majority of the work, the other 20% is highly important and allows us to reach a greater audience including local government and the general public. We need both to make a difference.
The success of my client is only as great as their biggest failure. They are currently in a holding pattern and frustrated by the failure of their past efforts... it is time to take what we have learned and move forward! It is all about opening the door!

Closed off from the world... we need a door to the outside!

My client is an organization to the core of their being. They are closed off and use mostly old ideas to try and advertise themselves. As I mentioned last week they are trying to educate the public at large of the needs in the laboratory medicine field. How do they do it now? They write to politicians, they hosted a lab expo with vendors a few years back and they hold an annual conference. These are great ideas but besides being time consuming, they don't reach a large enough audience.
Writing to politicians only helps if the letters are in the thousands... take our stolen cell phone from the reading, if they hadn't gotten so many people involved, would the phone have been returned? No Way! Expos and conferences are also good but they cost money (which the group doesn't have believe me!) and what if people can't make it? These only benefit people that can attend at that time, an old idea in the world we live in...
So what needs to happen here? They need to open the door, or at least a window to the possibilities of joining the network... joining the now! So how can they start?
1. Facebook it! Many of the members (there are only about 15) are on facebook, some have written text books and have accounts to advertise their writings. How many lab professionals have facebook accounts? Many I am sure! So start a group and friend as many as you can. They can put weekly posts out with information about the field or allow members of the public to ask about lab tests (not specific results but for example how does diabetes monitoring work). This could open up a whole avenue of people to the group.... and cost them nothing!
2. Skype it.... rather than having one expensive conference every year that is only fairly attended, host panel discussions on skype every month or so with professionals from all over the field. These can cover emerging topics and crisis as they happen. Then post them to facebook and maybe a group website and heck throw it on twitter! This way as hot topics come up everyone can talk about it and view it when they are able to. This will allow everyone to join the conversation and can lead to some great brainstorming and ideas from a much larger pool of people. Again this will cost very little and include a much larger audience!
3.Tweets aren't just for baby chicks.... Well I am still learning how to use twitter, I will admit that but what a great resource! Placing last weeks presentation on twitter was extremely easy. The more I play with it, the better I get. I am sure they can host sessions on twitter like "Ask a Lab Professional" where the public can ask simple questions. They can also advertise upcoming events like chats and skype presentations.... you get the idea.
4.Blog it.... I am becoming a huge fan of the blog! I think it is a great way to talk about almost anything but also put some personal perspective in their too. The client could easily blog about legislation that is bad for our profession, new technology for detecting Lyme's Disease or even what is the most flattering color lab coat and why. Again this will cost nothing and can reach all kinds of people not to mention starting some interesting conversations and that brainstorming that I love.
I am sure that I can add more tools to this but you get the idea... in order to create advocacy for what we do we have to take it to the masses! Show them that we are critical in health care! Keep throwing information at people so we stay present in their minds! We have to open the door and let the network in! My hand is on the doorknob, I am hoping my client will let me turn it....
By the way, blue is the best color for a lab coat.

A Centralist Living in a Decentralist World

So I have this client and they are a grass roots advocacy group for my profession of laboratory medicine. They have been around for a few years but they are struggling to increase membership and get their voice heard. The question is why?
After examining the readings and the models presented it came to me, they are using a centralized approach to their group. They are not so great with technology and are resistant to using it.
They still schedule meetings once a month that many members are unable to attend because of their hectic schedules and communicate mostly through emails that go back and forth.
They also try to communicate with potential members by word of mouth and email lists. As mentioned in the model, this takes time and does not reach as many people as they could potentially. Also, their efforts are wasted in trying to meet when no one has the time....
So that is my client and the question is how can we fix this problem by adding membership and exposure? By taking it to the people of course!
This client needs to expand their horizons... rather than trying to schedule meetings every month they should consider using a social technology like skype so they can meet across the distance of their homes or offices or even the playground. A wiki might also be helpful in allowing everyone to communicate in one format rather than the barrage of emails. I actually tried to start one for the group but they did not really understand how to use it and it fell by the wayside. If they gave it a chance, it would give them a place to bring up topics that need to be addressed and plan events that they want to hold.
A facebook group is another great idea! Each member of the group can invite their friends on facebook and educate not only lab professionals about the crisis in our field, but the general public as well. Many people don't realize we have a huge shortage looming.
Lets take it to twitter! Get people to follow the group and tweet an interesting fact about lab medicine everyday and post upcoming events.
If they can decentrailze their efforts and open their minds to the possibilities, this grass roots effort can take flight. They may have trouble with this as it takes some of the control out of their hands...a common problem of a decentralized model.
My final thought about my client is that in this world we live in, if you want to reach people you have to make an impression and communicate in a manner that resonates with them..... to reach the future, you have to talk to them their way.

Save the Sea Monkeys!

I finished the readings from last week and they were interesting indeed. The first part was how with all of the new social technologies, it is easier to inform others of causes at a faster and cheaper cost. Here is how it would go:
Your cause: Save the Sea Monkeys- this may be a stretch but hey it is my blog!
The Old Way
You discover that sea monkeys are severely endangered by reading articles in newspapers and magazines. You want to get involved and decide to create your own group to educate the public about how they can save these precious creatures. You mail out some letters to friends and walk around with a clipboard asking people to join your cause. You may schedule some meetings with your members and then chain yourself to a tree to get attention, keep in mind this can get you arrested!
This takes time to organize and money to mail out information and for other supplies. Also, it will take time for your group to grow through this method.

The New Way
You read an article online about the dangers to the sea monkey population and are intrigued. You surf the web looking for additional information and become distraught at the plight of the sea monkey. You get on facebook and create a page that explains the Sea Monkey disaster to anyone that will listen and send it to your 425 facebook friends. Many of them become interested and join your page and send it to their friends. You also tweet incessantly about it and many of your followers retweet the messages and so on. Before you know it you have thousands that are interested in saving sea monkeys and through the internet you look at ways to help them as well as continuing to educated the public at large. This costs very little, just a internet connection and a computer and the passage rate of information is as quick as you can get it out.

I think that using social technology to get help educate people about causes or stolen cell phones can be a powerful too. The only thing that worries me is that the information is subjective, it comes from one perspective and you don't see the other side of the coin. Life today is crazy and many people may read about your cause or stolen property and not have the time to investigate the details you chose to leave out to make yourself or your cause look good. Balance may get lost. It will be interesting to see where technology and social networking will lead us in the years to come.

By the way the sea monkey population is still severely endangered!

Who am I and what am I doing here...

Well I am new to the world of blogging but have to give it a try for my course... this weeks question is "who am I and what am I doing here"...
Who Am I? very hard question but the basic answer is a 34 year old white female. I have 3 daughters that teach me lessons in life every day. Today my 12 year old taught me that you must always be yourself, even when your friends aren't happy about it as she made her way to face them at school. My 8 year old helped her little sister get in the car and helped buckle her in her seat because we were running late without having to be asked showing me that teamwork in invaluable. Riley, who just turned 5 yesterday, reminded me that "rocking out" in the car helps wake you up.... so as I said they teach me every day. I am recently separated in the past six months so who I am is in the process of being redefined but I have found my family and close friends to mean so much more to me than I could have imagined. I am sure there is more but I think that will do for now.
Why am I here.... to learn! I am the type that always wants to move forward and push my own boundaries. I left my job in the clinical microbiology lab at a local hospital almost 3 years ago to become a clinical coordinator at the local community college for their new Medical Laboratory Technology Program. We were grant funded and everything had to be built, oh plus there was no guarantee that I would have a job when the grant ran out. We have pulled it all together, I learned how to create a class while teaching it and deal with problems on the fly and yes my job is now solid.
I decided I needed to go back and get my Masters first because to move up the rank from instructor to Associate Professor I must have one, but also because I have always intended on going back to school. This degree seemed to match what I needed and this class looked awesome. As the mother of 3 girls, I want them to learn that you never settle in life and that you have to work hard to achieve your goals... as much as they teach me, I want to give something back to them.
How is that?