The Web 2.0 CEO

I was hoping to do this blog as a podcast; maybe next week... I have been looking at a lot of blogs recently, and I find another type of blog has emerged, one in which comic strips convey the content in place of the written monologue. I'd like to do one blog using comics before the semester ends...

The reading was in two parts; first, another article about Web 2.0 technology and, second, an article dissecting collaborative online learning. Although my initial reaction to the first reading was, "yet another Web 2.0 technology article," the continuing exposure to this grouping of technology is helping to fix it in mind. Usually, a single brief exposure to something new is forgotten if not used or repeated---at least for me---and I find I'm more conversant with the technology as a result of repeated exposure, whether that exposure be reading about, writing about, or using the technology.

The reading about online collaboration was a delightful experience because I completely identified with the experiences of the three learners which conclude the article. I identified with the disappointment and frustration of poorly designed learning content and with the enjoyment of collaborating and sharing knowledge with people I have never met in person. Like those three learners, I do believe online learning has limits---I prefer the classroom when available.

Personally, I found Eugene Lee amazing; I've worked with a lot of CEO's but never with one who is tuned in to communication/collaboration technology as thoroughly as Lee is. What I took away from his presentation was the degree to which he uses technology in his professional and personal life---and how seamlessly that technology fits into his life. Lee has leveraged the technology, rather than allowing it to dictate to him. He has employed it to a positional advantage that allows him every possible avenue to success. The stories he told based on his use of the tools are gems. His surprise and delight in the unexpected effects of using Web 2.0 tools are refreshing.