Virtual brainstorming...yes please.

When I think of crowdsourcing I imagine a group of people coming together and either coming up with a solution or compiling different ideas. The crowd could be coming together in person, but with the many different platforms out there virtual brainstorming is the next big craze.

Personally, I think crowdsourcing is a valuable tool and it would be impractical to say that individual knowledge is the only way to come up with innovative ideas. Mostly, we surround ourselves with people that think, analyze and interpret information the same way we do. It makes sense because then no conflicts arise and quick decisions are made without resistance. The problem is by staying within your comfort zone it is going to be difficult to come up with innovative ideas. With the crowd you are getting people together that you might not normally associate yourself with in order to create friction, have disagreements and reach an original solution.

One company that has been experimenting with this idea is IBM, by conducting different JAM sessions. JAM is the idea of crowdsourcing in the virtual world, where an internet based platform is established for conducting conversations through brainstorms. A mix of people will participate and a new perspective will be gained on the problems. IBM first started JAM sessions internally and now has expanded externally; they had two Innovation Jams in 2006 and 2008 and a Smarter Planet JAM in 2009. You might be thinking of course that works because it is IBM and they have experts in many different fields coming together. But their JAM sessions are not limited to just IBM employees; they also invite stakeholders and clients. They post ideas to get discussion going and at the end they go through to get rid of the noise.

I think the wisdom of the crowd makes virtual brainstorming a success and allows us to push the envelope. Companies need to think out of the box and acknowledge that they do not always have the right answer and need to be willing to ask others for help.

Crowdsourcing is definitely the business tool of the future. Are you ready?

You're being watched

The truth is that we all join different social networks to feel connected and to feel like we are a part of something. We join groups that we find interesting, ones that fit our personality and try to stay connected with friends. Just like in the virtual world in the real world you want to stay in the loop and be aware of what is going on around you.

We know that we are watched during all of our online interactions. As marketers try to predict patterns, trends and essentially the consumers next move. At first, this seemed like an invasion of privacy, but now many platforms allow for the user to pick and choose what information is shared. Alright, I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a little bit better. Since, I can always decide to opt-out of something…right? Well…

Actually, just as we got used to the idea of being followed online, researchers are now moving into the real world. By tracking consumers through their mobile devices, data is collected by location and about the conversation, which can be turned in to a real world social network map. From a marketing perspective this information seems priceless, an easy way to gather information and use it to predict the next big trend. From a consumer perspective this idea is crazy; it seems that there is nothing that can be kept private. The ability already exists to track my online world activity, but now all my daily activity can be tracked too.

Am I the only person that feels that there is something wrong or slightly off here?

The idea is mind blowing, that we have the technology and capability to learn this type of information. And as the article mentioned, I can see how it could help with inefficiencies and also help predict the spread of a disease outbreak. But I want my personal information and space back. I want to feel that I can keep a secret and have some element of surprise.

In today’s world where everything is available at our fingertips, is there any information that is truly private?

First blog post!

Moved from CA to DC and currently taking a social networking class, were we get to learn about what blogging us all about. Really excited to dive in and try something new and at the end of the class hope to be an advanced blog user. This blog is going to be about the many different aspects of social networking and my thoughts. Whether it is something that I agree with or disagree. Should be a fun class and an interesting adventure! On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own. Looking forward to everyone's comments!