Mentions in the Press

Interviews, articles, blog posts and news about Marcia Conner, The New Social Learning, and themes related to one, the other, or both. Want more? See a comprehensive list here. And yes, this needs to be updated soon!

10 Books That Help Leaders Keep Their Skills Sharp by Michael Koopman. Business Insider, Dec. 3, 2012. “The changing face of business requires your company to adopt a specific focus in order to keep up with those changes. However, it can be difficult to intuitively know how to realign your business practices in a modern, interconnected world.”  Koopman suggests his picks for the best books to help you orient your leadership in the best possible direction.

Marcia Conner on Defining Social Learning by Tony Yang. November 12, 2012. “Two phrases that jump out to me are: 1) …people can gather information and gain new context from people across the globe and around the clock as easily as they could from those they work beside… and 2) …a shift that encourages ongoing knowledge transfer…”

HR Should Introduce the Social Possibilities by Charlie Judy. October 23, 2012. “Marcia closed down HR Executive’s 15th Annual Technology Conference in Chicago this year to a packed house of technologists, HR professionals, HR vendors, press, and pundits. We’d just spent two and half days cramming our heads full of things we knew we should be doing, but weren’t. Conferences like #HRTech are meant to challenge us, and I’m glad. But man, there’s so much to do!  Marcia certainly didn’t cut us a break in her closing speech. In fact, I’d say she delivered the one-two punch we all needed…”

HR Technology Conference preview: Reality check for social, cloud HR? by Emma Snider. October 5, 2012.  This year’s HR Technology Conference in Chicago involved discussions about cloud, mobile and social HR — and how users are anxious to find practical uses for these much-hyped technologies.

 “Rogue IT” is about to wreak havoc at work. by Ryan Holmes. Fortune, August 9, 2012. Rogue IT is the name given to the informal, ad hoc software and devices brought by employees into the workplace.  If you’ve ever taken your own iPad to work or used cloud-based software like Evernote or Dropbox in the office, you may well be an offender.  And you’re not alone.

The Marcia Conner Interview by Abhijit Bhaduri. Aug. 5, 2012. Suggestions for employees learning at every level within an organization, ways to leverage technology to improve learning opportunities in organizations and how to build your “Curiosity Muscle.” [Link updated 8 Nov, 2012]

Marcia Conner: How an IR major became an expert in organizational learning Interview by Frans Johansson. The Medici Group, Aug. 2, 2012.  Over the summer Marcia talked with Frans about how an international relations major became a thought leader in organizational learning, and how she harnessed serendipity in her own career.

Marcia Conner on “The New Social Learning” FutureofEducation.com with Steve Hargadon. July 5, 2012. In depth conversation about building “learning cultures” and “communities of learners,” and to draw all kinds of great connections–from “making learning dramatically more dynamic, stimulating, enjoyable, and effective” to enabling students to “connect, collaborate, and innovate on levels never before dreamed of.”

Max Your Motivation [pdf] by Leslie Goldman. Natural Health Magazine, February 2012. Want to become a new and improved you this year? This quiz will help you pinpoint what inspires you to action and provide you with the tools to finally achieve your goals. Loaded with websites to visit, tips on how to get healthier, and oh yeah, a close look at what motivates you to workout! For example, “You may think ‘downtime’ is another name for ‘unproductive time,’ but a short stretch break or a five-minute walk will boost your efficiency and, hence, get you to your goal faster than you might think.”

Social in Construction Technology Business (Portuguese). December 5, 2011. “According to a study of the American Institute Nucleus Research, which specializes in research focusing on information technology and consulting services, the use of social media by companies in order to meet customers, will be on top of investments in 2012. The study shows that companies will use the “social technology to build productive business,” and this trend is already seen in Brazilian companies. Following this trend, the Evora Publisher launches this month The New Social Learning – how to transform the network learning companies…”

Knowledge Fusion Radio Show: Marcia Conner, Industry Analyst & Author with Bill Kutik who said, “If Marcia Conner can teach a late adopter like me how to use a smart phone (Android Pro), as she did recently at the HR Technology Conference, she has something to teach us all about the subjects she feels passionate about. And they are many. User experience, technology for human resources, social media, and learning.”

Pay Attention by Ismal Kakembo Jr. on the Yahoo Network. August 15, 2011. “We can try to change the ways we always do things everyday for example, some days we should leave our houses and drive near an internet cafe where there is free WIFI to break the boredom of sitting at home in the same sofa to do our work. In her book Learn More Now, Marcia Conner talks about how one can swing his or her attention from one object or thought to the next. One of the method Marcia Conner recommend is “Mix it up”…”

How a Social Intranet Can Save Higher Education by Mark Greenfield on the CMSWire. August 8, 2011. “One of the best books I’ve read this year is The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner. The book provides a thorough overview of how to use social media internally and makes a compelling case on the importance of social tools in the 21st century workplace. Colleges are in a great position to combine their existing teaching skills with social learning.”

The Libraries Wow Factor for the Community by Sandy Foley for the Nevada Appeal. July 24, 2011. “Libraries of the past were often quiet, stately structures, with a staff dedicated to checking books in and out and assisting patrons with research oriented questions. Today’s Carson City Library is a community focused, dynamic entity expanded into two buildings (the additional BRIC on Proctor Street); staffed by professionals who seem to know ever..”

We’re all working on the same question by Valeria Maltoni on her Conversation Agent blog. June 19, 2011. “This is a short collage with sound bites from all panelists of the first US session on The Future of Work sponsored by Podio in New York city. With me in the interviews are fellow professionals and globetrotters Marcia Conner and Jennifer Magnolfi. As I said in the video, my main take away from the panel is that we’re all working on the same question. Which is: how do we work more efficiently? How do we leverage technology and these tools now that they are more prevalent to make it easier for people to collaborate? Becoming more efficient for its own sake though is not enough. Collaborating on innovation, for example, is a worthy goal. People can do more with less, certainly. Most importantly though, they can get to know each other, find out what they’re capable of doing.”

Future of Work, NYC: Jennifer Magnolfi, Marcia Conner, and Valeria Maltoni by Stowe Boyd on the Podio blog. May 24, 2011. “Turning Work Inside Out? – Social media’s impact on the world of business has been major, and has in some ways turned business inside out: opening up to customers and adopting social media has started to move business away from mass marketing, and people’s adoption of these has led to a defection from mass identity, and mass markets. As our work becomes more social, more mobile, and increasingly channeled through mobile, social ‘work media’, what is the relationship between workers and business? What will ‘workplace’ and ‘at work’ mean when people work in many locations and increasingly lose the distinction between work and leisure time? How can business rethink the workplace in light of the primacy of social network-based communication and collaboration?”

Setting the Conditions for Social Learning by Bill Ives on the Knowledge Solutions Blog. May 17, 2011. “A service culture looks to enable employees to succeed, rather than simply trying to get the most out of them because its leaders know that this is the best way to accomplish the latter goal. Marcia notes that traditional education is often more competitive than collaborative.  Too often business culture has operated in this same manner with people competing for the next rung in the hierarchy. Many thought leaders have predicted that the new social tools may promote a more open and collaborative culture. I think this could be a great productivity byproduct from the social enterprise.  Marcia is right to lead with this requirement for social learning.”

The New Social Learning by Jeff Whitney on the Knowledge Solutions Blog. May 9, 2011. “The term “social learning” is now being widely discussed.  But when asked to define what social learning is, the variety of conflicting responses highlights the confusion around the subject. To gain a better understanding on the subject, I highly recommend “The New Social Learning – A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media” authored by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner.  The book is a quick read, well written, and filled with practical insights.  At OutStart we liked it so much that we purchased dozens of copies for sharing with our employees and customers.”

Book review: The New Social Learning by Joitske Hulsebosch on the Lasagne & Chips blog. March 15, 2011. “…it is a comprehensive overview of what is possible with sociale media in organisations. So if you plan to work with social media to support learning and knowledge management in an organisation it is a practical book with lots of examples. Information is organised neatly per chapter around online communities, multimedia (stories), microsharing/microblogging, collective intelligence, virtual environments and the use of social media to support events. The chapters have the same subheadings. My favorite is ‘respond to critics’. I fully recognize the questions that critics ask and the book helps you deal with the questions.”

Social Learning + Social Media = Powerfully Working Together by Brent MacKinnon on Social Media Tools for Working and Learning blog. March 7, 2011. “I had an interesting question put forward by a participant in one of my Social Learning & Working Smarter Through Social Media workshops. We were discussing policies to protect staff when they are communicating online with clients or partners. The question brought in the issue of posting on a personal social network sites.The lady posing the questions received many supportive and positive responses to here announcement about a cause she was supporting. What troubled her was the numerous caustic and derogatory comments left by people who were just creeping her site with no intention of adding any value to the conversation.”

Best Social Media and Tech Resources Beyond Mashable by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson on The Faster Times. March 4, 2011. If you read Mashable—and, I hope, me—for your social media fix, you’re off to a good start. But there’s a lot going on in this world, and many other people have excellent info to offer. So I’m going to let you in behind the curtain of the sources I rely on for social media/technology news and commentary.”

The New Social Learning – a review by Clive Shepherd on the Clive on Learning blog. February 23, 2011. “In a word, excellent. I’m not going to pretend I read it cover to cover, because in my case that really would be preaching to the converted. But from what I have seen, this book presents a highly credible review of the arguments for a new social learning, enhanced by technology. It includes plenty of real-life cases that prove the point and a great source of practical ideas. I’m sure I’ll be referring to it for many years to come.”

Classroom Activities for Adult Learners by David Coodin on eHow UK. January 31, 2011. “Most adult students have been out of class for a while; as such, their needs are different from those of younger students. Adult learners may not be as good as children and teenagers at forming new sequences of information, but they are better at putting existing knowledge to new uses, says author and…”

Working Smarter Fieldbook | September 2010 Edition by Jay Cross and the Internet Time Alliance. November 16, 2010. “Where did the 80% come from?…Marcia Conner  writes that “Most learning doesn’t occur in formal training programs. It happens through processes not structured or sponsored by an employer or a school. Informal learning accounts for over 75% of the learning taking place in organizations today.” Marcia also notes, “In 1996, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that people learn 70% of what they know about their jobs informally.”

Do I have to join the crowd and learn about social media? by Lindsey Novak. Harold-Tribune. October 25, 2010. Appeared in print on D17. “Question: I AM IN MY 40S AND IN A good but ordinary type of midlevel job. I take on new responsibility if given it, but I have no desire or drive to get to the top. I can be friendly and social to people at work, but I rather would put my social energy into my life and friendships outside of work.With that said, do I really need to become active in all the social media/self-marketing vehicles? What are they useful for other than mindless chatter and using people for their connections? I see social networking as a time eater and need to decide whether I have to take part in it. Answer, “…Although you have no drive to move to the top in your company, knowing how social networking sites can benefit companies can make you a more valuable employee. In “The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media,” authors Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner share real-life examples of positive outcomes resulting from companies using these networks. Social networking is a smart marketing tool for companies and individuals alike.”

Marcia Conner on Transforming Organizations through Social Media and Social Learning by Esteban Contreras on SocialNerdia. September 18, 2010. “The book is a good read for anyone interested in learning more about how companies can leverage social technologies and tools to become, well, better companies. I asked Marcia a few questions to go deeper into some of the topics on the book, and here’s what she kindly had to say.”

The New Social Learning Isn’t a New Thing by Sumeet Moghe. The Learning Generalist. September 18, 2011. “…While I was reading the book on my Kindle, I was possessed to share all the wonderful insights I was getting from the book. It felt natural to tell my friends and connections about this awesome book. As I’ve posted stuff to my network, I’ve realised how being social is inherent to not just my personality, but also to everyone of us.

The Unintended Consequences of Facebook by Finlo Rohrer on BBC News. July 21, 2010. “Pre-Facebook, the very phrase ‘social media consultant’ would have produced only blank stares from the typical layman. Now, people like Marcia Conner make their living advising companies on how to use Facebook and other social networking sites. ‘The work I do focuses on helping organisations to use social technologies to connect the people in their organisations,’ says Ms Conner, a partner in the Altimeter Group and author of the forthcoming book The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations Through Social Media. ‘They are complementary technologies that can be used to get that same sort of community feeling.'”

Transforming the Learning Organization [.PDF] in LX Briefing (page 6). June 2010. An interview with Marcia Conner and Tony Bingham about their upcoming book The New Social Learning and the power of social learning. “By bringing together people who share interests and direction, no matter their location, social media has the capacity to transform training into a learning mechanism as natural as it is powerful…”

10 Twitter Users Share Why They Use Twitter by Ari Herzog on his Ariwriter blog. November 20, 2009. “As a follow-up to my blog post describing Twitter in 14 ways , and countless articles since, I feel there is no better time than the present to revisit the question why people use the social media tool.

Learning Locally” by Agatha Gilmore in CLO Magazine. February 2009.

Photo from Vidar Nordli-Mathisen