Kiwi Scrum HomeNext NewsletterOpen Future HomeHello Everyone,
Kiwi Scrum has 1565 members. There are 11 Sub-Groups with 195 member in total. The largest subgroups are North America (54), United Kingdom (42), Australia (38), and Europe (22).
I hope you know that you can control what's on your public profile page (Visible to non-LinkedIn members.) and what's on the page LinkedIn members usually see.
From this week you can also drag and drop sections of your profile up or down the page. That might be useful if you want to highlight your education for instance. (Or in my case since it was so long ago, to demote my education.)
Many of the blogs talking about social media and business, have been taking in a dose of reality in the last month. Fact one: There's lots of resistance from users. Many people "hate the Internet." Fact two: There's huge resistance from management where there is fear of "loss of control" usually dressed up as "loss of productivity."
Businesses, ALL businesses need to be continually looking for new ideas, inspiration and innovative ideas. This period of time will become known as the "Enlightenment of the 21st Century". Enlightenment ages in the past, Edinburgh, Warsaw, Vienna as examples, were led by social changes that created hot-houses of ideas in the city centres. Innovation and business flourished. Today that hot-house is on the Internet. Easily available to everyone. Equally easily ignored by most. Opportunity comes to those who are already "prepared".
One of my favourite NZ bloggers, Earl Mardle, identifies the madness of the obsession to "catch up" with Australia. Australia is .. "an economy that looks financially healthy, but underneath there are wormholes the size of sewer pipes."
My first suggestion is to stop using Social Networking to "sell" stuff to people.
Try talking to them. Find out who they are. See if you can learn something. The "Enlightenment" was the product of intense discussion and argument and learning, not in the University, but in beer halls and coffee bars. Discussions like are happening on the Internet in thousands of places. Most people seem to be unaware, and disinterested.
Please look at your own Linkedin connections. Who's a Kiwi and not in Kiwi Scrum yet? Invite them, do them a favour. Be USEFUL. http://www.openfuture.co.nz/kiwiscrum/
If you've got fewer than 70 connections, there's an easy way to boost your own network. Invite the Kiwi Scrum Open Networkers. http://www.openfuture.co.nz/kiwiscrum/opennetworkers.html
If you are one of the "interested people" your firm needs you. Every company needs an Internet Ambassador. Nominate yourself and make a start. Quietly build your own network and slowly involve other people. Official is best, but unofficial is fine. Networks are the lifeblood of future business. As always, it's the volunteers who get the hard work done.
If you join a Community of Practice or a good discussion board, on any topic you are interested in, you'll find:
A. The current topics of contention
B. The standard art and practice of the group
C. Who the respected voices are, and what they specialise in.
Communities of Practice are sources of wisdom, inspiration and innovation. C of P are not perfect, they can also get trapped in "group think". All Communities of Practice need new blood, and new challenges too. What about you?
More interesting news next month,
John Stephen Veitch
The Network Ambassador
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