Feb
11
Written by:
Dan Maas
2/11/2009
Here is a new article on the impact of Web 2.0 on the business environment that has implications for corporate America, small business and professionals alike. I felt a common message with Karl’s Did You Know: Shift Happens message especially during the SlideShare presentation that referenced videos going viral on youtube. This article has some good ideas on the kinds of Web 2.0 tools that they suggest companies use to get the message out. Instead of the old way of begging for the media to publish your message, publish it yourself.
This has implications for us in education. We are preparing kids for this world that has gone upside down. We need to produce kids ready and comfortable with publishing as this article suggests. But we should be absolutely clear… this isn’t about tools. It’s about substance.
Published works should be rooted in the wisdom of why such work is important. I can’t count how many times people have lamented to me that the whole facebook phenomenon is silly… “who cares what you are doing at the moment?” Well, if what we tell people we are doing is useful, then people will care. Our publications should have a good rationale as to why they should be out there.
Once we have good reason to publish, we should produce quality works that stand on the strength of accurate information, good practices and insightful suggestions. Another common lament I hear about the Internet is how inaccurate and unreliable information tends to be. Is that a function of the Internet or is it a symptom of people publishing material who have not received sufficient training? Perhaps our efforts in schools can change that direction?
And finally, work published should have a pleasing presentation, a beauty that invites the visitor and suggests that the author knows his or her business. How much “garbage” do we find online these days? And who is positioned to fix that problem… we are. By applying the standards we embrace as educators as to why something deserves to be published, what represents quality and how well it is presented, we can help shape the future of Web 2.0.
Happily, I’m seeing it in LPS… not everywhere, but in places. I believe that if we can get the resources and support to our classrooms and teachers, we will help spark the increasing quality of Web 2.0
Anyway, I enjoyed this and you might too… hmmm, I think I should have socially bookmarked this one instead of blogged it. Well, that would mean I need to get a social bookmarking account going, wouldn’t it? Back to work….
http://www.writingriffs.com/2009/02/10/the-end-of-marketing-and-pr/