Charlene Li

There are many different ways to use social media for learning, and its benefits have already been well documented. But not every formal learning initiative that uses social media is successful. If you’ve been trying things out yourself, you may have realized that this is not “Field of Dreams” scenario, you are not Kevin Costner, and simply building it doesn’t mean they will come. You need to stoke the fire to engage your learners.Three Reasons Why You Need to Work to Engage Your LearnersAccording to people like Charlene Li, even if many people are present on social media platforms, it doesn’t mean they are active. There are different levels of engagement. In the learning sector, this means two things:It is normal that not everyone will take part actively; they may need some encouragement.The fact that not everyone does something doesn’t mean they are not looking.Unless every one of your learners was born after 1980, chances are these new ways of learning represent a change for them. With any change, some people will adopt earlier than others, who need to really see the proof of effectiveness before they engage. (Even having learners who are Millennials or younger is no guarantee that they will be engaged.)Social media tools may have a bad reputation when it comes to learning.Many learning professionals have just “added-on” social media to their formal learning programs because they want to be cool or try something new. This may disappoint people who (rightly) don’t see the added-value.Many people associate social media with posting comments about how nice Justin Bieber’s hair is. The applications for learning go much further than that.Strategies to Boost Adoption and EngagementCross-pollinate. Knowing that different people use different tools for different reasons, try to cross-pollinate your efforts by linking together different platforms. In this way, you might reach more of your learners and also drive more participation across your different platformsGive feedback IRL (in real life). If you are running formal learning initiatives and using social media to support and drive it, don’t forget to give people feedback in real life. If someone added a reference to your LinkedIn group after day one of training, thank her at the start of day two. People who are more active on social media are often seeking some kind of status and recognition.Gamify some offerings. There is a lot of hype around gamification because it can really drive motivation for learning. If you want to encourage more participation, consider using gamified strategies. This could range from basic “leaderboard” approaches (“who was most active sharer?”) to competition-based learning (“who will be first to find a reference on XYZ?”) to a simple quiz like this one (posted via a blog) or an individual treasure hunt for relevant information.Don’t forget the golden triangle. There are three key behaviors required to keep momentum in a networked environment: asking, giving, and thanking.This blog post is a small introduction to the how to motivate learners to be active with social media–based learning. During ASTD 2013 ICE session TU306 I will be giving an overview of what to do with social media, how, what works, and what doesn’t.In preparation for that session, there is a LinkedIn group you can join that is discussing some questions and getting started with learning already. Come and join the group!And if you want to do the pre-reading, check out my session blog-page.Thanks for reading. See you in Dallas!

Stoke the Fire for Social Learning Success

Microsoft Corp. and Yammer Inc. announced yesterday that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Yammer, a leading provider of enterprise social networks, for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current CEO David Sacks. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Launched in 2008, Yammer now has more than 5 million corporate users, including employees at 85 percent of the Fortune 500. The service allows employees to join a secure, private social network for free and then makes it easy for companies to convert a grassroots movement into companywide strategic initiative. Yammer maintains that it will continue to develop its standalone service and maintain its commitment to simplicity, innovation, and cross-platform experiences. Moving forward, Microsoft plans to accelerate Yammer’s adoption alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics, and Skype. According to Yammer CEO Sacks, “We had a vision for how social networking could change the way we work. Joining Microsoft will accelerate that vision and give us access to the technologies, expertise and resources we’ll need to scale and innovate.”  According to the press release: “The acquisition of Yammer underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft. “Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft’s growing portfolio of complementary cloud services.” In a TechWorld article, R. "Ray" Wang, an analyst at Constellation Research, contends that “there's a war to get to the employees." For example, in the past year SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce.com have each purchased cloud-based human resource applications in the form of SuccessFactors, Taleo and Rypple. Social collaboration tools are used by a wide audience, spreading a company's influence to a wider user group within the enterprise. But what does the acquisition mean for users? The challenge going forward is how Microsoft will integrate Yammer into its Office offerings, in particular, SharePoint without losing what makes Yammer a unique and popular social network tool. Social media expert and Groundswell author Charlene Li puts it succinctly when she writes, “The fact is that Yammer and its competitors are creating new way for work to get done, that is not only effective but also—dare we say it—makes work fun.”  One thing is certain, "the exposure of the Yammer ESN \[enterprise social network\] to the Microsoft distribution engine should be interesting to watch," writes Martin Fauscette, who tracks enterprise software for IDC, who expects Microsoft to aggressively integrate Yammer into its Office, SharePoint, and Exchange products.

Microsoft Acquires Yammer—So What?

 I hope you share my excitement when holding the summer issue of The Public Manager. It’s being distributed to subscribers right now. If you can’t wait, if you urgently need help with information overload, managing in a fishbowl, or attending to the big challenge of 21st Century government reorganization being considered by President Obama, go online at our site, The Washington Post or The Federal Times or  elsewhere.  Additionally as you head to your coffee break or meals later today, you can read in our journal or see on C-SPAN that the implementation of groundbreaking food safety law is moving forward collaboratively. We’re featuring a project based at Cornell University’s School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which (when I was young) served me the best whipped cream topped chocolate chip pancakes I’ve ever eaten! Let me know what you think of the new interview Exchange - this time with Charlene Li - the Visionaries and other key new elements of The Public Manager.Sincerely,Ilyse Veron, Editor

Charlene Li

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