Connecting the dots. Creating change

Take this (via Mark Earls)

"What can we do, what do we need to do, to improve our differentiation?”

And add this. (via Neil Perkin)

"Everyone sat inside... organisations has the leverage to transform the model of the business they are in. When they try, the temptation is for the business to wrap such ideas in short-term ROI, judge it by existing rules, implement it through an existing structure, make it fit an existing process. You don't manage innovation. You need to get the organisation, with all that process, all that hierarchy, all those assumptions, out of the way

Sprinkle in some of this. (Via Chris Carfi)

"There is a transformational thought, a "transforming idea," and a point at which the group "gets it" and starts to gel in the new world."

And... do not relax.

News: Where trust is a two-way street

I was on my way home last night on the train when news of the events in Mumbai reached me.

It wasn't via print, radio, tv, rss or search. It came via Twitter.

This is not the first time that Twitter has beaten the mainstream media to the news - at least to news that matters to me..

And it certainly trumps the mainstream for depth.

When I read the first tweets, I rattled over to the BBC site for more. And what I found was less: Sterile, seen-from-the-centre, one-size-fits-all, mass media.

Twitter not only wins for speed and depth, but also for humanity. (Image courtesy)

Twitter presents us with the human face of events. It does this by going beyond the best efforts of the BBC et al to personalize the story by giving us one human version of events (ie this is Mustapha's story, he's an 11-yr-old refugee etc). It presents everyone's story - witnesses, actors, worried friends and relatives.

A rich complex tapestry of news emerges, one much more like human stories than broadcast news. A mainline, unfiltered connection to reality.

News is now information that is relevant to you. The people you trust are great at sharing with you what you need to know. And now we have the tools for communities of purpose to gel globally, and in real time. Like twitter.

Can the likes of the BBC remain one of the 'people' we trust. Of course. But they have to understand trust is a two-way street. If you want us to trust you, you need to trust us.

For example the BBC could have rapidly assembled an rss output from a twitter search (summize.com as we used to call it) of relevant terms in respect of the Mumbai attacks and streamed that on their site. But of course, that would mean they'd have to trust the great US (We, not the U.S.).

And that seems such a struggle for the centre. They can stick to their guns. They can stick to their old ways.

And they will, quite literally, become an irrelevance when compared to the real-time relevance provided by communities of purpose worldwide - the eighth mass media.

I want to thank my good friend Mike Leis for prompting me on this post. He has a great take on what twitter means for news and more, here.

Update Nov 27, 2008, 4pm. Daily Telegraph; Last Night The Social Web Came of Age.

The Power of the Network: Your reviews

The first reviews for the Power of the Network are starting to appear - for which I'm full of gratitude.
Please take a moment to give them a read, point your friends at them, etc...
Neil Perkin at OnlyDeadFish said:

"David Cushman is one of those people that has a rare understanding of a complex subject - in his case the disruptive power of a networked world to transform business models, communications, value chains and, well just about everything."

Thanks Neil: In context here.

Anjali Ramachandran at One Size Fits One, said:

Image of Anjali Ramachandran

David Cushman's The Power of the Network, a collection of white papers from his blog, from that point of view passes the first test - that of having enough meat in it. The best chapter in my opinion is his explanation and exploration of Reed's Law and the Long Tail,

Thanks Anjali. In context here.

Via twitter: 

@johnfschneider Reading David Cushman's "The Power of Network" http://www.lulu.com/content/4590198 and finding it excellent.

@gleonhard: Recommends you study "The Power of the Network by David Cushman (Book) in Business & Economics" ( http://tinyurl.com/5r3nlk 

More as I discover them and they get pointed to me.

And please, if you think there's value in joining in, the blogger review program is still open, as is the win-one-to-give-to-a-friend comp which is all about doubling the value of this network we share!

.

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Social Media made easy

Really quick slidedeck my lot at Brando-Digital are sharing to help clients, colleagues, friends and bosses understand this social media thing.
You're welcome to share, comment and disagree as always!

Social Media made easy

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: explaining understanding)

Love social media? Love digital design? Join us!

Things are going nicely at Brando-Digital, thanks for asking.
And that means we've got a vacancy for a recent grad who loves social media, loves digital design and has some html skills, too.
For more about what we're about read this. (at least in the abscence of Brando-Digital's own website - due very soon now).
If you want to join a purpose-driven business (based close to the tube in Camden, London) and really do know your way around social media, you won't need telling what to do next.
And if you know someone who would find this opportunity valuable - of course, pass it on.