Reach Further

A new study from communications watchdog Ofcom has revealed that people in the UK are much ‘keener on online networking’ than other Europeans. More adults in the UK use social networking sites such as Facebook than in other European countries, says the second annual International Communications Market report.

Four out of 10 UK adults with internet access use social networking sites compared to 17% in France, 12% in Germany and 22% in Italy. UK adults who visit the sites spend an average of 5.3 hours each month on them and return to them an average 23 times in the month.

In the UK as many women use the internet as men: indeed, in the 18-34 age group women spend more time online than men.

It is also reported that the UK enjoys some of the cheapest deals for telephone, pay-TV and broadband. Over half of all UK households were connected to broadband at the end of 2006, putting the UK slightly ahead of the US for the first time.

Advertisers in the UK spend more money per person on internet advertising than any other country, at £33. This is twice as much as France, Germany and Italy combined. At 14 per cent of total revenues, spend in the UK on online advertising overtook magazine advertising for the first time and was more than the total spend on outdoor, cinema, and radio advertising combined.
More from Ofcom’s press release with a link to the full report.

Reach Further has been commissioned to do some research on behalf of Professor Gilly Salmon at the University of Leicester. The research queries academics and e-learning practitioners about their use of Salmon’s 5-stage model or e-tivities framework in learning and teaching.

We are running a new series of Work the Web workshops.

Morning: Web 2.0 for business
How you can work the web and make the web work for you. In clear non-technical language, using real examples, we show how tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and social networking can imropove your customer referrals and retention and icnrease your visibility on the web. All the tools we show are free so you can start straight away.

Afternoon: Blogging for business
Using examples from both small and large businesses we show you how other companies are using blogs to icnrease customer loyalty and get their products and services talked about. We show you how to do it yourself, with tools you can use right now at no cost. We look at how to create content and how to plan your blog marketing strategy, with valuable tips to give you minimal workload for maximum impact.

Cost: £85 for each half-day workshop: book both and get a free lunch!

Venue: Host Media Centre, Leeds

Available dates

Thursday 22nd November 2007
Friday 7th December 2007
Tuesday 15th January 2008
Thursday 24th January 2008

At time of writing there are places left on all the workshops, so book soon!
Contact liz@reachfurther.com

Free Rice
http://www.freerice.com/

Test your knowledge of vocabulary - for every word you get right, the sponsors donate 10 grains of rice through the UN.

Great for anyone who enjoys words!

The spelling (and the dictionary by the feel of it) is American, though.

The time is coming closer when we really don’t have to get out of bed even to wander round the house. Build your own 3D virtual world and invite all your friends round!

Metaplace is a web application developed by Raph Koster, one of the developers of massively multiplayer online games such as Ultima Online. It aims to allow users to create 3D virtual world from simple building blocks with easy wizards that don’t require programming ability. The worlds created are entirely web-based (no downloading of software is required) can be embedded in websites and blogs and come with associated collaborative tools such as forums, wikis and ratings.

Metaplace is currently in alpha testing and not yet available, but will operate on the by now traditional web services model of a free initial level with charges for greater bandwidth and advanced features. let’s see what it looks like when it launches for real.

The BBC reports today on companies which are instituting “no-email” days in order, so as - they claim - to “increase productivity”.

Some of the companies mentioned include Intel, PBD, Deloitte and Touche. They’ve picked Friday. That doesn’t seem a very good idea to me. As Friday is the last day of the week then not answering an email on Friday means Monday will be even more of a catch-up and you’ve delayed replying for THREE days not one.

Good management of email (as some of the interviewees in the BBC report point out) is a far better option than simply forcing people to ignore it. Email is a business tool like any other. Use it in a way that suits your working practices, whether that means you check it twice a day or rather more often (apparently some workers check their email 30-40 times per hour - that can’t be efficient!).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7049275.stm

As an article in the Guardian today points out, travelling among different cultures can be a minefield of misunderstandings and possibilities to cause offence

http://www.guardian.co.uk/../culturaltrips

“Flowers may seem like the perfect gift to delight your gracious hostess with, but beware, in many countries particular varieties, colours and even numbers have unlikely associations. Carnations are used for funerals in Germany, Poland and Sweden, as are chrysanthemums in Belgium, Italy, France, Spain and Turkey. In Austria and France red roses might suggest a romantic interest, while in Mexico and Chile yellow flowers signify grief or separation. A bunch of flowers should always be given unwrapped in Germany, Sweden and Poland. An odd number of blooms is unlucky in China and Indonesia; an even number in India, Turkey, Russia and Germany. ”

Online, because of the lack of visual cues, it is even more possible for an innocent misunderstanding to blow up out of all proportion.
One study at UCLA indicated that up to 93 percent of communication effectiveness is determined by nonverbal cues. Albert Mehrabian, a pioneer researcher of body language in the 1950s, found that the total impact of a message is about 7 percent verbal (words only) and 38 percent vocal (including tone of voice, inflection, and other sounds) and 55 percent nonverbal.

So how - in a medium that relies on text alone - can you compensate for the lack of visual cues, and avoid misunderstandings? E-moderators and facilitators of online communities must be aware of potential misunderstandings, be able to spot them as soon as they arise, and know how to defuse the situation. It takes expertise and skill to do this so that the community as a whole is not affected.

Years ago, when I was at the trAce Online Writing Centre we studied misunderstanding online: some of the examples can be seen at the project Xenophobia (now archived) http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/

Nancy White, in that discussion, outlined some of the pitfalls:

• “One or two voices can easily dominate in an online conferencing space in a way unique to the environment. This is especially true for folks who can post often, making the space “feel” crowded by that voice, even if they are trying to do something positive.
• “Negative voices can discourage in amazing ways, even if they feel they are doing the “right” thing with their input.
• “If process is not clearly defined (and quickly without too much meta processing) right up front, you are sunk.
• “The more specific the process can be articulated, the better.
• “The clearer your purpose, the easier it is to work through misunderstandings and get to understanding.
• “Culture matters - don’t ignore it. Deciphering the difference between the words and the cultural experiences behind the words is an awesome puzzle. Ask questions - don’t assume.
• “Working through misunderstanding seems to be driven by genuine desire to continue to be together. Where that desire is missing, so many just give up.

“On the other side of this resolution is the potential for stronger, more
authentic bonds. If it is worth it to go through, the rewards can be great.”

This is the second Knowledgeboard book, written by community members from their own experiences, and at first glance is extensive and informative.

http://www.edmitchell.co.uk/blog/?p=71

I was preparing a “checklist” for e-moderators of online communities and thought I’d post some of the more important and skilled tasks that e-moderators need to do and to evaluate themselves on.

So often we hear managers who believe that anyone can run a community – they think: “how difficult can it be? If we build it they will come.” And time and again, as a community fills up with spam or at best stays sadly empty with no-one posting but the owner, people begin to see that there is a need for skills and experience in this area. These tasks are mainly in the beginning stages of a community: as the community develops, there are different needs.

Tasks of a community moderator

• Provide a helpline for password and access problems.
• Know how to write effective written and on-screen instructions.
• Clarify the differences between email and community discussions.
• Present (sell, if necessary) interacting online as a powerful way of networking, emphasizing its importance as a communication and networking tool.
• Ensure the “look and feel” of your system is user-friendly for all comers.
• Welcome participants individually.
• Constantly improve and update support materials
• Keep the conference structure relevant and easy to use
• Be very patient in providing support, explanation and resolution
• Offer ways for participants to benefit from reading about other people’s online experience and problems
• Explain the importance of acknowledging and respecting others online and set an example yourself
• Emphasize transferable skills and links to other experiences
• Aim to summarize, weave and archive messages often
• Provide practical ways of sharing information online
• Look for and build links with other media
• Provide relevant and purposeful discussions, useful activities and tasks
• Deal with requests for information
• Deal promptly with difficulties among participants, such as dominance, harassment and perhaps excessive lurking
• Offer tips and strategies for dealing with information overload
• Deal with any persistent technical problems
• Pose insightful questions and give participants time to reflect and respond
• Encourage participants to contribute to the community, not merely read what others offer
• Explore every opportunity for online collaboration with others
• Expect, welcome and respond to challenges of all kinds
• Ensure that appropriate evaluating, monitoring and reflection on your own practice occur

And do all this quickly, efficiently, in a timely manner, and cost-effectively!

With acknowledgement to Gilly Salmon, “E-moderating”

The Open University have proved elearning is green (bit of an old study, but I would think computers are even more energy efficient now…)

“A study by the Open University found that on average ‘distance/open learning courses used 90% less energy consumption and produced 90% fewer CO2 emissions than the conventional campus-based university courses.’ The major factors in this fairly huge saving were travel and the energy consumption associated with housing students on campus.”

This applies to corporate training and work-based learning as well, as travel and accommodation costs in hotels are probably even higher per hour of training than for university students

http://www3.open.ac.uk/…_o1.pdf