RNotes on discussion 12th of September 2012.

Questions you have:

This course is about learning what online commities are and how they can help us, like in design challenges etc. this implies....

- Curiosity!
- Uncertainty!


Group 8
Hi Nancy,
As a group we have a facebookgroup to communicate with each other. Works great but the main disadvantage is about concentration.How do you limit your tendency to procrastinate while using social media within a professional setting?
Greetings, Group 8

• First, get clear on your purpose. Keep it simple -- don't get too complicated. 
• Second, set a time limit. You might want to Google "pomodoro technique" which is used in the programming world to focus on a specific programming task without interruption. 
• Third, build accountability between you and at least one other team member for a task. Oddly, we tend to let ourselves down before we let our friends down. 
• Finally, there is a cost and benefit to the professional use of social media. Can you imagine what these might be?
  
  

Group 7:
How do you feel about productivity on online communities? Could you answer with regards to emotions and gestures in face to face conversation usually enables people to understand each other much faster than in communication via for example email or chat. (For example, things like sarcasm are often misunderstood via written communication).

• Good question and super important in teamwork where miscommunication can really mess things up (and does both F2F and online, by the way)
• First of all, think about when we mess up F2F. It is often the same reason we mess up online... I'll come back to this. ok, back again. We assume we have great F2F communication. Test that assumption first. Then I'll offer you some background on online facilitation. But the F2F gesture stuff -- we actually CAN do that in text, but now we have video and images to help. And there is a significant opportunity in blending synchronous and asynchronous
• 
  
  
  

Group 3 (Work team):
1) What kind of features do social platforms have to provide to be more efficient for designers (to communicate, discuss and work on ideas)?

•     Great question--- and one that we will be asking over and over again during the course. The first thing to ask is "what kinds of design activities do we need to support." Then you start matching to platform tools and features. You might want to look at Chapter 6 of Digital Habitats. We'll be doing an exercise around this later in the course when we talk about Technology Stewardship

2) Do you know effective ones?

• Uh, yes, but the answer is Always contextual. So effective for WHAT? For example, this platform is effective for shared writing plus chat, but not so good for project management. ;-) 

3) What are the current problems on platforms, that perhaps have to be solved? -

•  Good keep on this path. Remember, however, to keep a clear sight on the REASON one wants to use the platform, not just the tech specs. Focus on purpose. 
• One of our other question was: How does technical architecture affect human communication?
• Good... right direction. Then think about it more specifically around a particular challenge or problem, because the answer may shift w/ context. For example, if you need to "think out side the box" you need diversity so you need a really open platform. If you need deep expertise, you might have to tap experts in a more private platform. 

 
 Group 4  
 Hi Nancy,
 We are not really clear on what the result of our groupwork should be for friday.
 Could you enlighten us?

•  The main thing is to begin to think about what questions you need to explore about your type of community or network. So first, some conversation about what your group is about (i.e. Ideas, customer communities, etc). Yours is marketing of products, so you may want to begin with a question about how online networks and communities can help in marketing, and begin researching examples of such communities. As we are using an international development focus, that may help you limit your scope of inquiry. 
• By friday, you should have a list of research questions you want to answer, a decision about where your team will collaborate, and a beginning sense of who is doing what. 
• You are totally welcome and invited to ask questions of the full class, us as instructors and then we can also tap our professional networks to help us answer questions. But the main thing is asking good questions!! :-)
• Our group is about Marketing Products

 Kind regards, Group 4  
Thanks for the info!
Kind regards Group 4
Thanks Nancy, and Thanks Group 4 for asking the right question


Group 1: 
(We're researching innovation marketplaces / idea generation networks)
1. How do innovation marketplaces function? 
2. What happens with the ideas and solutions?
3. What are companies experiences with innovation/design contests?
4. How does the idea review process work, and how are the best ones chosen?

• EXCELLENT QUESTIONS. You are on the right track. This is what you will begin to research this week. 
• You might want to frame this within our context of international development
• Thoughts on reciprocity: an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind!
  
  
  
  

Group 5:
Which are the best and worst examples of Customer communities?

• Great research question... and probably a bit harder and MUCH more interesting as we narrow our framework to an international development context. 

What do You exactly mean under "International development context?"

• The work that supports the right to food, water, housing and education for every person on this planet. 
• 
  

Yes, check out the millenium goals link. (I am pretty shocked that no one, student or colleague, knew about them at all)


Group 6 (Idea Networks theme): What online architecture, tools and processes create successful innovation marketplaces? Are we right to think that these are examples like Facebook and twitter etc? Is it our goal to try and promote these sort of ideas to developing countries?

• Yes, the platforms are one area to explore. But it is PEOPLE that make things happen. So who are the people who are doing this and what makes them successful or not?
  
  
  
  

Group 2
Hi Nancy,
Our group (2) East Field 72) is focusing on Fund, fun, support-raising, are we right in thinking that we should be researching how international investments are carried out and how the “online communities / networks” have influenced this?

• Exactly, and one of the key opportunities is funding of these initiatives. A place to start is looking at international design contests. I have some contacts at the World Bank if you would like to interview them. Are you up for that?
• Yes please! :D
• I'll get the email addresses for you ... maybe one person in the group can give me their email address and I'll introduce you in email. They are email kind of people. ;-)
• My email address is bonne.wilce@hotmail.co.uk 

Group 7 has the same topic, email us too please: lauravanlangen@gmail.com
Group 6, you guys have a similar topic to us!
which group are you? Group 3
Great, I'll introduce you all together.



Notes on International Development:

What is International Development?

International development is the efforts, by governments and non-government organisations, to change the social conditions that create poverty and inequality.

Every human being has the right to and have access to housing, food etc
Global Public good. Vs accruing value to private companies

Follow your curiosity... so if you don't want to work in an international development context, make a counter proposal. 

public-private (what again?) partnerships (PPPs!)

International development different contexts:

Design @ health
Path - tech development for global public health -  http://path.org/ eg http://www.path.org/blog/2012/07/whats-new-in-contraception/

Design @ agriculture

Design @ education

Design @ low-cost transportation/sustainable

- Cheaper/culturally acceptable versions of everyday products that are just as effective in other developing countries.

How to deal with contacts:

• Follow up and sending them an e-mail thanking them + telling them what you've learned.
• Reciprocity! =help each other out (pay it forward) intrest to the group 
• Altruism
  
  
  
  

We need a shared glossary -- maybe we can build one together

• reciprocity
• altruism
• communities
• networks
• acronyms need to be in the glossary
  
  

To what extent do you feel like international development is taking place in 'westernised' countries

• It is problemmatic that most development is driven from "western" countries. It is my belief that we have screwed it up a lot. If development was drivin from the locations that need/want it, I suspect we'd be further along. This is a big paradigm shift that I struggle with, quite frankly. I think sometimes when we intend to "help" we actually "harm." Keep reading below on public private partnerships.
  
  

So you gave us the option of feering off the international development route, but what is it exactly? For the global good, is that it? Always non-profit?

• Innovative design most often happens very locally, then the next question is "does this solution apply in other contexts and can we "scale" it." Scale is the holy grail of development. 
• Sometimes things only work in a local context. And global innovations need to be rethought in a local context (adaptation). 
• No it is not always non profit -- in fact this idea of public-private partnerships is really important. We have failed so often in international development because we have not taken into account the sustainability of a solution. If it is always "given" people may not "own" it - so development of business models for application -- with private co's, is critical. You asked a great question. 
  
  

What do you need to succeed in this course?
Group 1
- you have to be open minded and creative. We are different people from different cultures and see things in different perspectives. Therefore, we must be able to respect each others opinions and find a way to collaborate them in order to avoid a biased result. Tolerance and patience are also important aspects when working in a group. A chain is as strong as its weakest link, so everyone needs to have input and work hard or else the whole group will fall apart.  
Wonderful -- so one thing to think of is how do we work with diversity and keep a good critical mind going?
Critisism is difficult when working with different cultures because of the different values, so future discussion about certain ideas is definitly an expectation. 

Group 2 East Field 72

Open minded, creative, tolerant, open to alternative cultures, motivated, passionate, a target/goal. 
++ for passion!

Group 3
You need to be open minded to accept and perhaps change and influence perspectives. Curiosity as well as certainty will help achieve this. 
People--> critical!

Group 4
Internet (!!!) (and electricity! LOL)
, patience and an open mind.  You need to be creative and willing to work in groups, being open minded to each others ideas, culture and values.

Group 5
Curiosity. Open minded people. Network of ideas.
People willing to share their ideas.
++++

Group 6
Teamwork skills, communication skills (being able to build on each others thoughts). We need to be creative and determined to get it all done. Good time management skills, and tolerance needs to be kept when discussing people's opinions and other thoughts.
learn from our mistakes

Group 7
We need to be innovative (have an open mind). We need to be creative and figure out how to make it. Find a way to implement it. Research is also important, understanding how the different methods work will be important in implementing them properly.
Yes- this is a good set of things that define critical thinking!

Group 8  
to learn how to make the confusing less confusing, and how to deal with this new professional setting while using social networks, 
There is some really interesting research on how to consider one's professional social media participation once we reach beyond our existing social practices!!
Group 8
And learn how to take breaks
(including chocolate!) <3


RNotes on discussion 26th of September 2012.
Week 3: Idea: Experimenting towards solutions