October 19th, 2009This video is from a local site in Louisville, part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Making Connections” initiative Part of the Making Connections core approach uses (offline) social networks. You can read more in this series of five reports that looks at the definitions, research, power, practices, and insights relating the impact of social networks on family strengthening and community change.
Last week, as part of my work at the Packard Foundation as visiting scholar I had the opportunity to participate in a face-to-face convening of the “Network of Network Funders,” a community of practice facilitated by the Monitor Institute. The focus was on learning about “Network Effectiveness” and the specific topics included strategies for network impact, approaches to evaluating networks and tools for accelerating and assessing network impact. A peer learning environment requires creating a safe space for conversation. This is why the session started with a discussion defining confidentiality. I’d sum up the confidentiality rule as sensitive information shared in the room should not be shared outside of the room. It is a “What happens Vegas, stays in Vegas” rule if any internal politics or grantees names are mentioned. I wondered whether the more general learnings about network effectiveness and evaluating networks would be considered confidential? I’ve been exploring the line between open/closed networks or communities, particularly online learning communities. It isn’t black and white. There are definitely some shades of gray. I asked if I had permission to blog or tweet general insights? We had a brief discussion clarifying what was “bloggable” and what was not. I was asked a fabulous “skeptic” question, “What is the value that ‘live tweeting’ offers? My perspective:
Live Tweeting forces you to be succinct so when I tweet, it is a form of notetaking and it alters the way I listen. It makes my listening and learning more effective because I’m looking for synthesized bits of wisdom to share.
Live Tweeting allows other people who may not be in the room to respond to questions or share resources. It may deepen and enrich the discussion.
I welcome skeptical questions about social media because it gives the opportunity to openly discuss concerns. This leads to better understanding of networks and social media and more effective adoption of the tools and network practice. The “live tweeting” use the had tag #netfunders and I was not the only person in the room contributing tweeting from the convening.My key learnings:
Bill Traynor’s rule that you need to mandate that every network meeting have someone new join the meeting. This is important to keep the network fresh and growing.
via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bethblog/~3/e2il4KUXJqw/can-networks-have-social-impact.html
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