National Treasures

Today we spent several hours at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. A magnificient building from both an architectural as well as an artistic perspective. And then there are the holdings, a vast repository of information stored in a number of buildings. I am always reminded that throughout history great powers have created similar collections on a grand scale. It is one of those things we tend to associate with greatness.

web2.0 Tools in the Seinfeld Environment

Until last summer I had zero idea what web2.0 meant. But a summer class at George Mason University and over a year of practical application I think I'm getting a glimmering of an idea of what they mean. Probably the biggest impact is that these tools enable the common user to post content directly to the internet without the intervention/cooperation of an IT professional. That is powerful, and to some scary. It certainly taxes our leadership as we now must educate our people on responsible posting.
It is all about wikis, google applications such as google documents, blogs, twitter which is simply microblogging, social networking sites such as facebook and myspace, and even Zotero citation management software application. And don't forget Second Life and There that feature virtual 3D environments. Can't wait to teach my first class in Second Life!
The social nature of these tools is huge, now we can affect the social contact in the online world that somewhat resembles face-to-face interactions. What is your opinion on these tools, should we be using them, encouraging their use, or shut them off from our population?

Insufficiency of Self

At times we see the gifted individual who is bright, articulate and different from the rest. They are different from their peers as they lead organizations with seeming ease. But I often think at the same time about the power of the group that over time will achieve at least equal, but more often exceed the capabilities of the gifted individual. To the degree that the group can be persuaded to cooperate, to discuss, in fact argue effectively to reach a reasoned conclusion that incorporates the best thinking of the various members of the group then it will surpass the gifted individual. What are your thoughts?