Twitter for Research?

We just finished our P&G research project and presentation yesterday, and wouldn't you know it, today I came across an excellent source that I hadn't previously found - a video interview with P&G's current CEO, Bob McDonald.  And you know how I found it?  By searching the phrase "P&G CEO" on Twitter.  A Yale student/grad had tweeted a link to it (it's on a Yale Blog).  None of my other research (or the rest of my team's) had uncovered this.  I found it in a twitter mention.  It hadn't occurred to me to use Twitter for my research for the project - I was just trying to see whether Bob McDonald tweets, since I was very impressed by his thinking and management style, after having done our project.

I've also been discovering that seeing who a person/entity is following can give you a lot of insight into that individual or company.  And that can be its own source of valuable research.  I followed @RossDawson because a lot of KM people I follow are following him (e.g., Thomas Stewart, Kate Pugh, David Griffiths, KM World Magazine, David Gurteen, Andrew McAfee, ARMA, AIIM and more).  I didn't know anything about him but what was on his twitter profile.  

Then the other day I somehow came across Ross Dawson's name outside of Twitter (I think I followed some series of links from an Andrew McAfee blog that's assigned reading this week).  And from there I got to Amazon and their Ross Dawson author page, and learned more about him.  Now he's less a random name to me, and more a recognized quantity.  And a good resource to be following.

I'm trying to formulate my thinking on Twitter follows and mentions.  In the current digital landscape, it seems that a follow on Twitter can be somewhat analogous to a citation in an article or book, and the perceived quality of the follower (as would be the case with a publication), reflects directly on the person/entity being "cited" to in this way.  A follow isn't a citation (as opposed to an @ mention or a RT or link to a blog post), but it's sort of a "potential" citation, in that the follower values the follow-ee's knowledge and insights enough to want them in their feed, and/or expects the content thereof to be useful and/or entertaining.

I'm finding that I very much use Twitter as my source for news and articles relevant to my current interests.  I'm following people involved in the field(s) I'm interested in, and when they link to blogs and/or articles, I often try to read those myself (I really need to learn to speed read, though!).  

The twitter-verse is sort of like word of mouth at warp speed.  I think many companies and individuals have already seen its potential as a resource, but I suspect there's even more gold to be mined, both content-wise, and from studying the sociological phenomenon of it...  

The Personal Statement that got me into Columbia

Unabridged and unadulterated, below is the personal statement/statement of academic purpose I wrote as part of my admissions application to the Columbia masters program in Information and Knowledge Strategy.  I was pretty pleased with it, if I do say so myself, and I dare say it helped me get into the program.  Judge for yourself:

I recognize that it may not be obvious from my resume why I would be interested in knowledge management generally, and specifically in Columbia’s Masters in Information and Knowledge Strategy.  I will admit that mine is perhaps a strange path.  I’m definitely a career-changer, looking to significantly alter my trajectory.

I came to New York to study acting, and pursued that for about ten years.  While I was taking acting classes and singing lessons and voiceover lessons and auditioning, I worked mostly full-time day jobs, usually as a secretary or assistant. 

A couple of my early jobs gave me valuable exposure to business processes, because I worked in very small companies (an owner plus me in one; an owner, an accountant and me in another).  In those environments, I learned to be a jack-of-all-trades; to look for ways to overview an entire business and find ways to help it operate more efficiently by creating documents, systems or processes to automate or streamline whatever I could.  I had a lot of responsibilities, and I learned a lot, but didn’t see where I could apply that experience (plus, I was still focused on pursuing acting).

My next substantial job brought me to the field of law, working as a legal secretary at a small law firm (approximately 20 employees total), where I supported three partners and an associate.  My four years there were another wonderful learning experience, as I gained broad exposure to many aspects of the law and legal processes.  In fact, during that time I brought a rent overcharge case against my then-landlord, pursuing it pro se and doing my own legal research, writing and filing my own briefs, and even arguing twice in New York State Supreme Court.

I found that I had a certain affinity for the law, but after my four-year odyssey with the legal system, I had no desire to become an attorney.   I won my case, and therefore had some money on which to live, so I quit working to pursue acting full-time.  Ultimately, that proved less than successful.  Although I was getting some steady voiceover work, I was soon low on reserves and feeling disheartened.  Shortly after returning to work from my “sabbatical,” I began working as a legal secretary at my current employer.   In this job, I have seen numerous opportunities to improve processes and efficiency but have rarely been able to find an audience for my ideas.  I simply don’t have the credentials to back them up.

It wasn’t until February of this year that I discovered the existence of the field of knowledge management.  I was visiting with a long-time friend who works at an AmLaw 100 firm.  One of our conversations segued into a discussion of her firm’s intranet and knowledge management department.  I was surprised and excited to learn that much of what that department does encompasses the types of ideas that have occurred to me over the past three years. 

Finally, something fit.  This was a field where I could utilize all my abilities: I’m intelligent, analytical, organized, and detail oriented; I’ve discovered that I’m a systems thinker (I hadn’t known there was a term for the way my brain works); I’m a problem solver and a figure-out-er; I anticipate needs and potential problems, and plan ahead to avoid or minimize future difficulties; I’m good at finding more efficient ways to do things; I enjoy exploring technology and software (everywhere I’ve worked, people have always come to me with their questions about software).  Knowledge management would take advantage of all these skills and would allow me to perpetually challenge myself.   I finally have an answer to a question I’ve always dreaded: “What are you passionate about?”

In March, I saw an ad on LinkedIn for Columbia’s Masters in Information and Knowledge Strategy.  I immediately clicked through (proof that internet advertising does, at least occasionally, work), and signed up for the online information session.  Much of what was said in the session dovetailed neatly with what I’ve been researching and contemplating for the last few months.   The role of a knowledge management professional was described in exactly the way I’ve been conceiving it in my head for the past several months.

I plan to use the MS in Information and Knowledge Strategy to enter the field of knowledge management, and ultimately to take on a role such as Knowledge Management Director or Chief Knowledge Officer, perhaps even establishing a knowledge management initiative at my current firm.

Too much information

Loving IKNS so far, but man, do I feel like I have a short attention span.


When I was in college, we didn't have all this new-fangled technology.  So much information, so easily accessible (and that's the key), I just keep following links and reading fascinating things and absorbing and learning and then I realize, I'm getting away from the actual task - getting my homework done!


It's not like I'm "wasting" time, exactly.  I'm not watching tv or playing games or goofing off.  But I go check my twitter and follow an article link from The Economist, then one from the ABA Journal, then see something Richard Susskind tweeted and investigate that, and then see Ted News tweet about how the screenwriter for Contagion started out by watching a TED Talk and so on and so on... 


I have to figure out how to rein in my curiosity, at least until I've finished my coursework :|  
I feel compelled to follow all these information trails, because I worry that if I don't follow the links to things now, I won't come across them later, because I won't know to look for them.  And I'm not too great at remembering sources (if I'm not specifically writing them down and citing them for a paper).  For instance, in my research on Proctor & Gamble for my current class team project, I came across a page (pdf) on their website where they talk about how they have "begun to use Lofts, an immersive, multi-sensorial experience based on classic storytelling."  I could swear I've read a story or article somewhere about something similar, but when I try to recall specifics, I can't pin them down, and I sure can't remember whether I read it online, or in a magazine, or in a book.  I'd like to read that article/chapter/story again, but I can't even think what search terms to try on Google.


And none of that has anything to do with my homework.  :\


Focus.  I haz to find some...

IKNS First Residency Over

Well, our first residency for the Columbia IKNS program ended yesterday.  I already miss everybody, although we're starting to make all sorts of online connections, and there's the course website and an IKNS community site.

I'm still coming down from all my excitement about the program and the people involved.  Larry Prusak spoke with us on multiple occasions during the week, is an Advisor for the program, and will be teaching one of our courses.  He's an author (or co-author) of numerous books in the field.

Thomas Stewart is the author of the first book we read for class, Intellectual Capital, one of the faculty advisors, and he is an amazing speaker in person.  Lots of short stories throughout his speech.  Little bits of unexpected humor everywhere.  And, like all the other faculty and speakers, lots of energy for his topic.

We can also count as faculty Guy St. Clair, Kate Pugh, Linda Stoddart, Joshua Goldblas, Leala Abbott, Jeanne Harris and more.  Guy Scalzi with Aspen Advisers is another faculty advisor.  In addition to authors Prusak and Stewart, both Kate Pugh and Jeanne Harris have authored recent books in the field.

We also have an extremely diverse and talented cohort, all of whom I'm excited to begin and continue this journey with for the next 16 months.  It's going to be a lot of work, but thank goodness I find all this fun! :)  Stay tuned...