Web 2.0 – an observation

Continuing a thought(s) on Web 2.0 I see this paradigm shift in the Millennium generation as two-fold. First, it is about being connected 24/7, but I see it extending further into their (‘their’ being those young people parents don’t understand) real world. The new coined phrase of “Social Networking” encompasses what we know of as Web 2.0 today. But what does “Social Networking” mean in their real world as it applies to Web 2.0? I don’t know actually, but I have a theory…Life 2.0

I’m fascinated observing my son who will be 20 years old in a couple months. Not only does he ‘tag’ me on his social web space, he keeps me tuned into things I wouldn’t normally be aware of. Not so much directly saying, “Dad, check this out.” but rather his actions and behaviors I observe often generate questions I direct to him. Or I simply sit back and watch.

An example I witnessed was on a recent trip to Disney. We were boarding the roller coaster at Animal Kingdom, “Everest – Legend of the Yeti.” Fortunately we were directed to the front where my son and step-daughter got to sit in the very front seat. I sat in the same car in the second row. He said he was going to take a movie of the ride because of the perfect opportunity of riding in the front seat with no obstructive view in front of him. Watching him from my seat as he held the camera while we rode was not all that amazing. What was amazing is he was holding the camera steady with one hand ’steering’ it as we banked the curves AND sending play-by-play updates via text message to his friend with the other hand – or should I say thumb.

I love riding roller coasters and even the biggest ones I try to hold my hands in the air. Some of the bigger ones though I have to hold the grab handle. Now I can see me attempting to hold on with one hand while holding a camera with the other, but I’d be afraid I’d drop the camera. More so, I would be so focused on the ride that I wouldn’t pay attention if I was even getting a good shot. That all being said, I cannot see how I could manage a steady hold on a camera AND sending one legible text message let alone play-by-play updates!

What does all this mean? This generation is simply wired different. Not only can they play a MMORPG, text message, download songs, and keep up with their social space on the web, they can do it all simultaneously without missing a beat.

Their social network is not just their presence on the web, it’s their whole life! Maybe we should look at Life 2.0?

Until my next thought…

Web 2.0 Summer Institute

I attended the Web 2.0 Summer Institute hosted by TBR (Tennessee Board of Regions) at the University of Memphis’ FedEx Institute of Technology this week. Due to work constraints I was only able to attend the morning keynote speakers:

• Barry Dahl – Vice President of Technology and Virtual Campus, Lake Superior College
• Clarence Maise, Instructional Designer, University of Missouri – St. Louis
• Michael Grant, Professor of Instructional Design & Technology (ITD), University of Memphis

Although this was more geared toward faculty and the teaching community, I was invited as a guest of the Workforce ADL Co-Lab and was thoroughly pleased with the content and speakers. My focus was to absorb what, if any of the Web 2.0 tools I could use in the workforce…a front line retail associate.

My thoughts were summed up by a phrase Barry said the first day which was quoted by someone I cannot recall, “We have Web 2.0 learners in a Web 1.0 learning environment” or something to that extent. That is so true!

My son not only works at the front line of the same company in which I am developing training for, I get first-hand feedback on how boring our content is, plus I get to see a true Digital Native in pure form.

More later…

The First!

Welcome to my blog. My first blog post actually.

Figured it was time to get one of these. Why? Why not. I can use it for useless random thoughts, intriguing ideas, and hopefully my thoughts on workforce learnining someone will benefit.