As I started the course, I decided that I would go for 100% completion of all exercises given that there was a leaderboard for completion and learner engagement. On the back of that decision, I decided to do the exercises using “wild mind writing”.
Introduction
In this level, we will explore co-creation, particularly the co-creation of stories, the benefit we can get through the process, how these stories spread and are amplified, and the relationship between formal and social stories.We will learn about amplification, and the ways that we can create conditions for stories to spread through our network. We will understand about social filtering and social moderation, and how these forces shape the co-creation of stories.
1.1. Overview
How do storytelling and co-creation illustrate that the world has changed?Video
My response:
Loved this storytelling video that was posted in my WOL Circle's Slack team this week:
I love how Storify helps you tell a story. Here is a recent example of mine with some examples of co-creation via nudges initiated by what is the point of Twitter #ff's and became a bit of a "my life story" of using Twitter and this one done yesterday explaining how to create a Storify:
Some learning notes that I noted down or came to mind as I listened:
cognitive surplus: Clay Shirky's TED talk.
Wikipedia reference reminding me of heated debates I used to be involved in when working for Emerald Group Publishing (an academic/ practitioner print/ online journals/ books publisher) with a Puboishing colleague about the relative merits of free vs paid for content. I have rarely knowingly been duped by Wikipedia entries. I am/was also interested in how the front end of Emerald (and other publishers web sites) has a search box as does Wikipedia but look at the different results pages when you enter "change management":
One of the best MOOCs I have done is Harvard's Leaders of Learning. This video of a Wikipedia editor and organiser from the course came to mind (not publicly available).
The challenges facing us have been labelled as "wicked problems". Dave Cormier speaks about how current educational practices will not help us solve "wicked problems":
I set up a number of communities for some of the 20 MOOCs I have taken. Interested to formally understand the role of "community manager". I just downloaded this doc.
For those that have been following my comments, you will understand that I am a raging zealot for the new tech and an avid user. However, I also have a strong benefits focus. For organisations in all sectors adopting these techniques/tools etc, there has to be a benefit to the organisation. So, for example, with social networks in the workplace, I need one that spans the entire supply chain not just mine! I have needed this for over a decade as documented in this post.
I need people who are doing the work and not just talking about doing the work but not actually helping the work get done more efficiently and effectively than it is now.
1.2. The Hidden Story
Organisations tell stories: some of them carefully crafted, beautifully illustrated and well intentioned. Others, blunt, careless and unfortunate. But all within the public sphere. This article explores visible vs hidden stories.Article
Some stories are hidden: where would you find them? Share your thoughts here.
My response:
I guess lots of this from my point of view is apathy from the members of an organisation to pass on stories to formal channels of communication. This may be because those formal channels are dire and why would you want to contribute to that. OR it could be that people are simply so busy that there is little time to pass on stories OR that there is a track record of those formal channels not listening or acting on the prompts from the wider organisation.
I would guess that there will also be an issue around how stories get told outside the "walls" of the organisation let alone inside the organisation.
For example, a recent #ESNchat covered issues around what is permissible to be shared in public (within the one organisation) channels on an ESN when the organisation is in a regulated industry or where there are chinese wall restrictions. My own current issue is working for an IT services company supporting/developing solutions for the UK Government where that work is confidential to both parties with minimal info in the public domain for security reasons.
For me personally, I pass on stories to colleagues to encourage and to spur us all on to greater heights.
1.3. Co-creation and Storytelling
From safe stories to challenging stories. How we create them, share them and take part in them.Podcast
Stories are powerful. What did you think about the stories in this podcast?
I think this depends on who you are and how you operate. Time is often short. I love going deep rapidly. We need to live more adventurous lives.
As a leader of a church Bible study group, I always start with an ice breaker even when people know each other well. The ice breaker is a question about life that everybody can answer and is expected to answer as it is low risk. It is amazing what we find out about each other when we do this even when we have known each other for years.
A fave book on this is Chuck Swindoll's Dropping Your Guard: The Value of Open Relationships.
I believe this relationship building is a core skill today.
Re listening to people outside our own echo chamber, this was a recent Note To Self podcast "How to Shake Up Your Echo Chamber".
All of this has helped me in my church leadership roles as well as my ongoing IT services work e.g. into Victim Support (a charity in England and Wales supporting victims of crime including homicide). It is sobering work understanding care professionals' requirements of a case management solution who day by day deal with homicide victims' families and victims of hate crimes, sexual/domestic violence, assault etc but satisfying delivering to them a solution that helps keep crime victims safe and takes them through the recovery process.
PS more than happy to talk about politics and religion etc etc any time with anybody :)
#fearlessfromBradford
1.4. Story Flow
This article introduces three levels narrative that we can consider within organisations: personal, co-created and organisational. They are three lenses on the world around us, each from a different perspective and serving a different purpose.Article
This article outlines three levels of story: personal, co-created, and organisational. Can you identify all three spaces?
Where do you share your personal story?
Where are your co-created story spaces?
Where do you look for the organisational narrative?
My response:
Where do you share your personal story?
Face-to-face at home, work, church, with customers of the company I work for, book club, film club, Bible study group, Church Leadership Team meeting, prayer meeting, blog posts (these are getting longer as I consciously verbalise my story as I learn/live/think), FB posts/comments, Blog post comments, tweets
Where are your co-created story spaces?
Twitter Chats are my main example currently, church, Facebook posts/comments in closed groups, Blog post comments, project outputs even when formal ones, my WOL circle Slack team, shared thinking prior to Twitter Chats re questions and wrap-up post, doing Storify's after a Twitter Chat, things said from the front at church (open mic), Twitter convos, WOL circle and 1:1 calls (recorded by Zoom, posted in Slack)
Where do you look for the organisational narrative?
PR materials, the kitchen (!), emails, IMs, things said from the front at church (open mic), formal proposal docs, things said verbally, company tweets/ LinkedIn posts
I am still learning how to do and input to all these ....
1.5. Challenge
This video explores some of the challenges around co-creation and storytelling.Video
My response:
Huge challenges here about the public and private face of an organisation and decorum generally. I am not saying illegal things should be suppressed.
Clearly, if you were running an organisation and responsible for the external face, we would/should want some form of control to ensure that the public face of the organisation is protected. If this was badly handled in the worst case the organisation's survival could be at risk.
Also, I am aware that organisations are not necessarily democracies. There is usually a leadership team of some sort.
Should every person with a story have a right to have that story heard?
What is the relative power of a story? If one person has a view, should that be heard if 50,000 colleagues hold a contrary view and that view is valid (whatever valid means).
I am all in favour of stories stirring up debate and getting to a better long term answer for issues confronting an organisation.
I have worked in too many teams and organisations where there is a complete lack of truthtelling.
Clearly, where there is no contention, all stories deserve to be heard by those who want to listen.
Also, what does "disagree with" actually mean? That the story is factually incorrect? the assumptions made are factually wrong? the analysis and conclusions are factually wrong? OR you do not agree with any of the prior comments but that all of those are open to interpretation, or you/your team put in a bad light, the view impacts you/your team's survival in the organisation etc etc .
1.6. The co-creation and co-ownership of Organisational Change
Thinking about co-creation as a mechanism organisational change.Article
The co-creation of stories is a serious business: if we create the right environment, if we nurture the communities that allow us to co-create, we can change anything.
Where are the most important factors to permit and nurture co-creation in organisations? Share your ideas here.
My response:
For me organisational change is driven at various levels of an organisation:-
Each of these 3 levels may influence the other to mobilise the collective wisdom, knowledge and experience of everyone in the organisation. The co-creation and co-ownership will obviously assist in that process. Indeed, failure to engage all those working in the organisation is not helpful in the successful running of the organisation's operations.
- the board of directors with specific responsibilities for overall organisational strategy to shareholders or owners to meet specific measures, not necessarily exclusively financial (no resource of any kind is infinite in any organisation)
- the senior management team with specific responsibilities to implement strategy as mandated by the board of directors via a way of operating in their parts of the organisation
- managers and staff with specific responsibilities to work operationally to implement the strategy within the framework laid down by the senior management team.
However, each organisation needs a clear strategy that all in the organisation works towards otherwise it is a recipe for anarchy.
Each of these 3 levels should also have the autonomy within the overall strategic framework to drive their own levels of change to drive out inefficiencies and to up the effective operation of their part of the organisation.
1.7. Co-create a story
An exercise in co-creation.With another participant on the course, co-create a short story together, capturing your learning so far on this MOOC. Get together and share.
Joitske (Hulsebosch, from The Hague in the Netherlands) and I (from Bradford, UK) have just come off a 1 hour wide-ranging video call as our response to this exercise (complete strangers at the start, 1 take, no script, fearless). Subjects covered included why we are doing this course, our day job and life, learning on the course to date, how we are doing the course and "knowmads". Watching this would be a good way of sussing out 2 of your fellow learners. Unfortunately, we do not think there are extra points for watching the full hour (or for us in going the extra mile) but it is all "gold" ;) We would love to know how far through you got ....
Video of #SocialAgeMOOC learners Joitske and Simon chatting about the course to date on Monday 6 March 2017.
Joitske (Hulsebosch, from The Hague in the Netherlands) and I (from Bradford, UK) have just come off a 1 hour wide-ranging video call as our response to this co-creation exercise (complete strangers at the start, one take, no script, fearless #bringiton). Subjects covered included why we are doing this course, our day job and life, learning on the course to date, how we are doing the course and "knowmads". Watching this would be a good way of sussing out 2 of your fellow learners. Unfortunately, we do not think there are extra points for watching the full hour (or for us in going the extra mile) but it is all "gold" ;) We would love to know how far through you got etc ....
for those doing #SocialAgeMOOC @ co-creation vid of our call earlier today is now available
(not publicly available)
1.8. The Story Machine
Reflections on stories.Article
My response:
I find lots of my serendipity comes from rabbit trails - clicking a few more links than others do to explore in detail. In some cases even links in main posts do the trick for me and other people seem incapable of doing even that. This may be down to my project management expertise where to fully nail the scope of a project you should really go over the boundary to say what is specifically out of scope so the boundary line is clarified.
I love connecting the dots, seeing patterns, identifying common themes.
I love backtracking to verbalise how I got to the current point in an exploring trail. Some of my connecting is staggering and is the reason why I persist. It just needs to be done to get a taste for it and then go for it.
I love learning something in one part of my life that is immediately applicable in some cases surprisingly in another (see my earlier comment re living life as a peach (no segments) instead of an orange (lots of segments).
It also helps being curious. I am a curious man on so many fronts.
This is a fave recent podcast episode on curiosity and is SO "me"!
Stories of the InterContinental Life podcast: Epsiode 1: The Allure of Fascination.
1.9. Share a story
You'll want to have read the article 'The Story Machine' before tackling this challenge.Stories don’t come from a machine: they come from people - share a different type of story here: a picture, a poem, a video. Claim your space. We are all storytellers in the Social Age: the more you practice, the better you will become.
Perhaps it’s time to pick up a spray can and graffiti (your own wall…)
Share a story!
My response:
Following on from "The Story Machine" I recently documented a Storify showing a number of examples of trails I have been on and the situations that I have encountered on line, some ofthese are epic :)
It includes me giving my best shot at how and why Twitter #ff's should be done.
This is my life!
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