Tag Archives: marketing
The Democratization of Learning

The Democratization of Learning

by on June 13, 2011 in Informal Learning

The underlying principle behind social or informal learning is that we do most of our learning during spur-of-the-moment, collaborative activities.  In essence, we learn on-the-job and we learn from others.  But how do instructional designers learn?

As a marketer I learn how well I’m doing, in its simplest form, by the top-line growth of my company.  In similar fashion, an instructional designer can gauge his or her success by monitoring the behavior change of their target audience.

If I want to learn the effectiveness of my online marketing efforts at a tactical level (Which blog posts have generated the most traffic?  Where are they coming from?  How big is our social media presence?  Which social media tools do our customers like using most?), I use social media analytics.  Analytics allow me to identify consumer sentiment and trends in order to accommodate our customers better.  So, why can’t instructional designers use …

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What Can Charlie Sheen Teach Us About Internal Marketing?

What Can Charlie Sheen Teach Us About Internal Marketing?

by on March 8, 2011 in social learning

 I’ll be honest.  My original intention was to use this headline to draw you in, at which point I would hit you with the old bait and switch – no Charlie Sheen.  Just good, wholesome, social learning knowledge. 

 But then I got to thinking about it a little more.  We all know that social media will be a major driver in the 2.0 learning arena, and that for all his ridiculousness (and frankly reprehensible conduct), Sheen has proven to be a master at getting people to “buy in” to his message.  In about a week, he has amassed more than 2 million followers on Twitter, and his catch phrases (“winning,” “tiger blood,” etc.) have become some of the top trending topics on the site, repeated by thousands of people.  Clearly, there’s something to be learned here. 

What’s the cause of all this attention?  It’s simple, really.  People …

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Not Everyone is a Social Customer

Not Everyone is a Social Customer

by on February 11, 2011 in customer service, Development Tools, social learning

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about the need to train your clients on the various methods of…training.  The heart of the message was that we should challenge ourselves to open our clients’ eyes to more than what they already know and do.  Because the world of technology, and for that matter the use of technology in training, is changing so rapidly, most business managers are unaware of the promising user adoption solutions coming to the forefront.

This ever-changing technological landscape is currently held captive by social media, and for good reason.  The applications everyone from Wired to the Wall Street Journal are talking about are altering the way we interact with each other, the way we purchase goods and services, and the way we learn.  The big story last week was how Facebook and Twitter played a lead role in the Egyptian protests against Mubarak, allowing people …

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The Temporary Staffing Revolution

The Temporary Staffing Revolution

by on December 28, 2010 in Temporary staffing

A few weeks ago, I grabbed coffee with a long-time family friend that happens to be a training developer.  Because this person had worked  in training and development for a large mortgage company for many years and now works as a leadership development contractor, I thought she would be a great person with which to talk shop and brainstorm social learning ideas.

However, conversation quickly turned to the temporary staffing industry in general.  Beth’s experience looking for work as a private contractor exposed her to the current temporary staffing boom.  According to an article released by mlive.com, more than a quarter of new jobs created this past year were temporary jobs.  And according to another story from the New York Times, that trend is expected to continue.  Business confidence is still extremely low.  People hate firing other people.   The costs of health and retirement benefits are running high. …

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The Great Survey Completion Rate Dilemma Solved (Maybe)

The Great Survey Completion Rate Dilemma Solved (Maybe)

by on December 22, 2010 in feedback, marketing

The holidays are upon us, which means gifts, family, services… and the end of the fiscal year.  For many, that sparks a flood of surveys from companies looking for a little feedback on “how they did” (there may even be a few from Dashe & Thomson to watch for).  With all of the competition for scarce attention time, it’s become received wisdom that surveys need to be short (like 5 questions short), or else the response rate will tank.  But is this really the case, I’ve often wondered?  As you’ve no doubt come to expect from my “investigative journalism” style, I did a little digging (and I mean little), and what at least one source reports may surprise you.

According to SurveyMonkey, adding just five questions to a ten question survey will result in an additional 2% of respondents dropping out before completing the whole thing.  While five questions isn’t a …

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