Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 - (Page 29)

that span beyond their current job responsibilities. You may want to consider uncovering personal aspects such as hobbies, which will add a distinct social ﬂavor to the network and provide additional information that can be used to match like-minded individuals. The information you decide to collect from your users will create the “tone of voice” for the site. By clearly understanding and communicating your objectives, users will understand the intent of the site quickly. As they build their proﬁles, they will have a clear view of how the information will be used and how it will provide value to them. If this intent is unclear, experience suggests they will not participate. In addition to the targeted keywords you give users to create their proﬁles, consider what additional expository questions you might ask to allow them to go into deeper detail. How you ask a question and how you craft the list of replies (if you choose this type of question) is critically important when building an in-house social network. A high-performing question might be, “Describe a recent project that you are proud of.” This question elicits a high volume of answers for three reasons: It is personal, it is timely, and it speaks to the human need for signiﬁcance. Also, answers to this type of question will provide insight that can be used in other areas of the business. Part of the proﬁle also should include the ability for users to link to other interests and post personal content. One important element is the ability to post photos: Images help you understand what’s important to a person. You may learn about people’s recent CLO-NETWORK vacations, hobbies, or see pictures of Share ideas, ask quesa newborn infant or a team photo tions and get to know your from a recent meeting. What you colleagues in the learning can learn from their photos differs industry at the CLO-Network. from what you simply read about Visit network.clomedia.com them. For example, seeing a photo to ﬁnd out more. of a co-worker on a recent rockclimbing trip might help you learn they are tenacious and courageous, even though they may not have highlighted those attributes in their proﬁle. Creating an environment of trust and integrity also is paramount, as you will want users to feel comfortable and at-ease. Attention to this subtle aspect of site design often is overlooked, and sites then can appear too corporate or too speciﬁc. You should remind yourself during the design phase that you are creating a social network that will be used by real people. Chief Learning Ofﬁcer • December 2008 • www.clomedia.com 29 http://network.clomedia.com http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Connections Business Impact Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial The Future of Learning CLO Profile Learning Opportunities Embedded in Social Networking ManTech Leverages Knowledge Management Approaches for Social Networking Agility Training for the Learning Organization Creating an Agile Organization With Learning 2.0 2008 Learning In Practice Awards Corporate Social Responsibility: How Can Learning Contribute? Union Fenosa Corporate University: How CSR Education Impacted the Bottom Line Training in the 21st Century: Everything Old Is New Again Zions Bancorp.: Connecting the Dots Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

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