Tapping into the Wisdom of Communities
November 23rd, 2005I have a new favorite blog and it’s not (GASP!) library related. I scored it off of Howard Rheingold’s del.icio.us tags (which I was shocked to find out only 20 or so subscribers in Bloglines) and have been in blog reading-heaven since 10:00PM tonight with archive perusal.
The blog is the work of Irving Wladawsky-Berger who is Vice President, Technical Strategy and Innovation at IBM Corporation (Doesn’t he look like Ben Stein?). Dr. Wladawsky-Berger talks about innovation in IT on his blog and focuses on one of my favorite topics: Social Networks. More importanlty, he discusses how new forms of social networks and collaboration affect communities and businesses. Thus, a must read in my aggregator (I actually felt a gasp of appreciation from Aggie after I subscribed - I have a feeling that she likes this type of thing).
About a week ago, Dr. Wladawsky Berger wrote about Jams (A new word in my social networking lexicon), which he describes as the following:
“A Jam is a massive online discussion, where people contribute their ideas, and build on each other’s ideas in a kind of structured conversation, under the guidance of subject-matter experts and moderators. After the Jam is completed, extensive analysis is used to produce insight into the perceptions and priorities of the Jam participants, and to develop action plans out of their multiplicity of perspectives.”
OK, I’m hooked, and the Web 2.0 community should be too, because many of the tools that are being created could be enhanced in a Jam-type environment. Think of all of the new tools that you have been looking at over the past few months. A few examples include Air Set (I’ve actually been using this one and love it - I have heard from the guys there that they will be enhancing the product soon), which can be used to form online groups and collaborate within those groups and Meebo, the best IM web-client in the business. Incorporating the Jam theory into these clients might increase their use by those other than us geeks. More from Dr. Wladawsky-Berger:
“Jams are a genuinely new medium, enabling a new kind of mass collaboration and problem-solving that will now be applied to critical urban issues, such as improving the lives of people living in slums; access to water; environmental sustainability; safety and security; finance and governance; and the future of our cities.”
This is where I think Web 2.0 tools can be made to enhance not only our work lives, but to build social capital, and thus, actually have a positive effect on the phycial world. Study after study has shown that social capital increases individual happiness, reduces crime, and creates stable communities (I’m simplifying, but take a look at the seminal book in this area, Bowling Alone). I’m really excited about learning more about Jams and will try my hardest to take part in HabitatJam, although I will be attending a social networking conference in Jersey City at the same time (irony duly noted). One last quote from Dr. Wladawsky-Berger:
“The world is full of seemingly insoluble problems such as energy, the environment, war, poverty and urban sustainability. These problems are so complex, so seemingly intractable, that it is easy to be dismayed — and maybe to be cynical and dismissive of initiatives like Habitat Jam. But on the other hand, we have never had capabilities like the Internet and Jams that can reach out to the full scope of humanity — across boundaries of nation, class, race, language, economic status, education and culture — to engage in a population-scale dialogue with others around the world and uncover innovative answers through our collective wisdom. Such new and powerful capabilities should give us reasons for hope, and encourage us to get involved and do what we can to help improve our world.”
Web 2.0 community. I urge you to step up the plate and create Jam worthy tools and initiatives for us to take part in. Collective wisdom works (Wikipedia is the best example of this) and Web 2.0 tools and resources push the collective intelligence envelope further. Sure, we can manage our grocery lists easier, share books and music files that we have read and listened to, set up reminders, while we tag and tag and tag and tag. But what should be more important is how we can leverage these tools for the benefit of everyone.
I’m going to try to read more about Jams (which is taken from the definition of musicians getting together and playing with their hearts and without pre-written sheets) and how the library community can use them to build communities. This is amazing stuff.