accessible knowledge or wisdom?

web 2.0 critics are usually part of older generations but commonly they relate the idea that developing technology is causing younger generations to become less intelligent and less directly connected to their networks. the internet and other media technologies have allowed information to become accessible constantly without a lot of effort. but there's a difference between accessing the information and actually using it. this is what i would define as wisdom and it touches on what the older generations believe is being lost.

everyday experiences and using information that someone has come in contact with is actually learning the material. obviously depending on the situation, this knowledge can be applied in a variety of different ways once it is learned. older generations partly due to their lack of experience with the developed technologies don't realize the opportunities that web 2.0 applications create for all kinds of learning and grow. information that wasn't once available to many is now broadcasted publicly and though this comes with responsiblity the benefits of these new technologies provide a bigger chance for personal intellectual development than society's older ways.

what's the diagnosis?

Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of Crowd and a short for Outsourcing, for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an "open call" to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.

i saw a House episode one time where this idea came into play. one of the patients put his symptoms on an internet medical forum to see if anyone would respond with a diagnosis. now originally he did it without a monetary reward to which he received few responses, however he smartened up and offered $10,000 for the correct diagnosis.

until now i hadn't really thought about it in a business like environment but it's true. there has been an evolution of this type of community that promotes ideas and allows almost anyone participate. i have to say that i can see both sides of the argument about whether or not crowdsourcing really develops the smartest ideas because of the group.

i think that the community environment aids the people who need more information about the topic the most rather than solving the actual problem. individuals are the ones that have the ideas and promote more conversation separately, and the final result is from each person's effort. there are some people that don't aid to the positive development of a conversation so it's not possible to say that as a group we promote the smarter and more developed ideas compared to each individual input.

Untapped

after doing some reading it seems as though informal social networks are considered bad things in the workplace. few if any have set out to embrace the newest of technologies that support this more comfortable environment and it just seems to me that ignoring this type of evolution is not the way to go.

just because the elderly white-haired man (who is your boss) has never had a chance to experience this new outlet before does not always mean that he is not willing to try something new, especially now. although most are not open to technology as much as the younger generations are, there are few that fall in this category that recognize that to move forward changes must be made.

advertising...promotional items...penetration of markets...these are all things that have been shown to have benefited by the communication through informal social networks...this shows that there is no reason why a business that is has had a rep for being conservative or old-fashioned cant create a linkedin group page so that it compliments the individual pages of employees from their company on linkedin already...

it all comes fullcircle

every legend has their first..

"i will never blog"

...yet here i am, my name is rebecca wisely and i am an undergraduate student at american university in washington, d.c.

i am starting this for an itec class i am taking in my final semester and "on my honor, all posts on this blog are my own"