Keeping up with technology

The past few weeks have been quite hectic in my work life due to the preparation for the Institute’s annual summit. So I thought this post would be a great opportunity to put together all these thoughts that have been popping, swirling around, generating in my head – they range from various related topics but all have one thing in common. There was an issue or topic that was brought up in class that at some point resurfaced in my everyday when an event or thought made a connection between the two. And as I am very fortunately typing in my hotel room with the lanai door wide open and the ocean slowly rolling against the night’s midnight blue, I will try to pull everything together and wrap it up with a nice bow (try being the operative word).

The summit had a 3 plenary panels today (proceedings link to be posted soon). Its theme was “The DNA of Collaborative Innovation: Collaborative Models for Innovation & Global Health” and the last plenary panel was titled “New Models and Platforms for Collaboration and Co-Creation”. I had the opportunity to catch the tailend of the plenary where Lisa Galarneau from the New Zealand University of Waikato had her presentation on virtual worlds and I made several observations. The age group of the summit participants while older and more mature than mine (think of older PhDs, MDs, etc) were fascinated and taken with the notion of using online technology and communications for collaboration and community purpose. There was a consensus that this was an emerging medium that is and will be quite a factor in current and future research due to its limitless possibilities of distilling information across distance with very little cost compared to traditional venues. Training, collaboration, curriculum development – these all could be be experience and possibly expedited through the use of the internet.

So here comes the “But” part. Among this group of people, the issue of trust is one of the biggest if not biggest. And as an outsider looking in at times, I also see a sort of technology gap between an older and younger generation. The issue of trust was easier to handle with FtF communication versus using CMCs (think CMGT 530) which I think is due to the cues that this group of people have relied on for decades. To change or transition into a new way of communicating takes away years of subconscious self training in filtering cues to decide who they trust or not when deciding to collaborate and innovate. The diffusion of innovation in this case, has researchers thinking “I’ve done things this way for so long and although the notion of using CMCs and virtual collaboration appears to be quite promising, there is an unfamiliarity with it that I just can’t shake off”. I see this all too often. People excited about technology and there are many cases of researchers utilizing new media and technology, but the majority I feel are either scared (and sometimes won’t admit it) or slightly hesitant to fully take advantage of it

And as the web is hurled through new developments at what can seem like the speed of light due the capabilities it now has versus even several years ago, it is traveling so fast, that if you don’t stop and step outside its world, you won’t even notice that it’s leaving people behind. MMOGs, fandom, the whole Microsoft wanting to acquire Yahoo and Google throwing a hissy fit about it – from the point of view of many people, it’s moving too fast for them to efficiently process and integrate this new media into their everyday lives in order to expedite collaboration and innovation.

Technology makes life faster. When I think of this, Gemeinschaft and Gesselschaft communities and the continuum (more CMGT 530) between the two comes to mind. And surprisingly enough, I think more often than not, that possibly the Amish have got it right (Shockingly surprising, isn’t it?). As communities grow, there becomes this need for more a “state-like” community, governed by state enforced laws. And while there is no real “government” in cyberspace right now, the gravitation toward a pull model, this new era of user generated content and media, have taken advantage of the breakthroughs in internet technology, making life, from my point of view, quite fast. The online community is growing at such a fast rate, I feel that on some level, there now is a need for some governing.

On the flight to Hawai’i, as we were nearing Oahu, I looked out onto the Pacific Ocean (yay for window seats), and I felt this calming peace slowly drift down upon me. Mainland life is very quick paced to me, especially LA. The Hawaiian lifestyle I think is more gemeinschaft or at least on the continuum I feel it is closer to gemeinschaft and that there is an internal struggle to keep it that way or move even more towards that way (traditionally it was heavily gemeinschaft – think Hawaii monarchy). I look at the mainland, and in comparison we are more toward gesselscaft and while I see the many benefits and things I love appreciate and about that type of community, life is so fast.

Things are changing quite quickly on the Internet these days, creating shifts in how businesses do business and in the roles that people have played as users of the internet. There are times that I’m like “Yay! Cool! This new *insert new web tool/technology/way of doing things* is grrrreat!” And there are times, where I’m like “Whoa, hold on here, this is a bit much to process at once.” And perhaps that is how researchers and gemeinschafters (ok, I made up that word) view what’s currently going on. The younger generation may be connecting online more and producing content, but there is still value in what people on the sidelines have to contribute. I’m just not quite sure how to fully get them into the game. I think it can be done, though. I’m sitting in bed right, with the lanai door wide open, looking out into the midnight blue, listening to the crashing waves, and typing up my blog. I think it can be done.