Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2012 - (Page 29)

Harvesting Creativity Through Social Media .February 2011 episode of the popular medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” features one of the main characters, Dr..Miranda Bailey, using her Twitter account as a collaborative tool. While performing surgery, she tweets an account of her thought processes and actions. By the end of the episode, her Twitter feed becomes a forum for followers across the world to ask questions, share advice and provide medical information. However, the chief of surgery, a representative of the traditional paradigm of medicine, is suspicious of this social media tool. His lack of understanding of the collaborative and lifesaving possibilities of this tool nearly scuttles Dr. Bailey’s attempt at integration of social media into her field of expertise. Incorporation of Twitter into a popular TV plot line is just a deeper reflection of what is happening in many workplaces. The corporate world, which sometimes lags in acceptance of new technology, is starting to embrace social media, not only because most are easy and free to use, but a major- Click the link above to hear a podcast recording of this TIQ article A B Y K A R E N S I E C Z K A ENGAGE EMPLOYEES BY MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA COLLABORATION EFFORTS FUN available, some common ground rules make it easier to integrate their use into the workplace for a creative idea harvest. Gaining Ground Often one of the most difficult barriers to overcome is getting an organization to allow the use of these tools for workplace collaboration. As Facebook, Twitter and the like became more popular and employees were using social media on their “own” time while on the company computer, the first reaction of many organizations was to ban their use. Although social media is now more accepted in the workplace, it 29 ity of employees across several generations already have extensive experience outside the workplace in using them. These tools have begun to open doors to collaboration and idea sharing like never before. Most importantly, customers and clients now expect organizations to be quickly and easily accessible via these tools. While there is little argument that these ever-evolving tools have useful applications in the workplace, how exactly does an organization exploit social media as a creative, collaborative portal, one that makes it easier to gather ideas and generate innovations? Across the wide range of different tools Training Industry Quarterly, Winter 2012 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC426wX9oSw http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2012

Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2012
From Where I Sit: The Age of Personal Learning
Table of Contents
Ad Index
The Discipline of Instructive Coversation
Real' Learning: The Role of Context
Context, Connectivity and Community
Don't Be Afraid of Feelings in the Workplace
Peer-to-Peer: The Future of Learning
User-Generated Content
It's All About the Social. Or is it?
Informal Learning: The Dawn of a Profitable New Era
Harvesting Creativity through Social Media
Connect, Learn, Share, Innovate: How to Begin Your Social Media Journey
Casebook: Marriott: Accommodating IT Training
How Long Does it Take to Get Fully Productive?
Tweet Suite
Company News
Closing Arguments: The Social Network

Training Industry Quarterly - Winter 2012