Inside View

Out of Energy Feedback Loop

Photo from @topgold's photostream.

A FEW DAYS AGO, I shared an audio log about being low on energy. I'm very happy with the results of making that short verbal comment.

Out of Energy

For years, I've watched my blogging efforts atrophy and start to fade away. And whenever a week threatened to pass without me making a short blogging update, I'd get a direct message, private audio, or personal e-mail from a long-time reader or listener, offering me an opinion. This time, one of the pieces of feedback came from Caitriona Redmond at Wholesome Ireland who told me how I should change my diet.

The short strategy involves more protein. I need more protein to sustain my energy levels. I need less caffeine.

I should be tanking up with carbohydrates to carry me around the mile loop that I'm trying to walk twice a day around our campus skunkworks.

Twitter High Water Mark

Screenshot of @topgold's Twitter screen on Lumia.

IT TOOK ME seven years of tweeting to hit a new high water mark with Twitter. I'm starting to poke above 5000 followers on my main Twitter account while simultaneously throttling back my use of Twitter.

Most of my energy today is split across several social networks because those other networks reflect where our potential students and potential employers reside. Incoming students are more likely to be listening to YouTube music or using Facebook. Potential employers are either following a flow on LinkedIn or they're inside a Google Plus Community. And although many of my long-time associates bounce around all of these places, I have to be ruthless and limit my time tweeting if I expect to hit our metrics.

We're looking at ways to continue increasing both our enrolled students in South Tipperary as well as enhancing employment prospects of students who complete their Level 7 and Level 8 creative multimedia degree programmes with the Limerick School of Art & Design. I'll be curious to see what kinds of online interaction we use in 2024.

Journey into Laois

Photo by @topgold using Sony K800i.

I PASS THROUGH County Laois at least twice a month and today I've discovered more about the area than in my previous 15 years in Ireland. I can thank List.ly for part of that.

The List.ly creation shows places recommended by venue managers, community volunteers and heritage experts who operate many of the places I've passed by while driving between Dublin and County Tipperary. My kids would enjoy many of the things I've heard discussed in a County Laois working group and I think the collaborative list elegantly captures these ideas.

I talked about doing this kind of project as I stood under the North Pole today. I'm delighted my plans have unfolded as brilliantly as I had hoped.

Thought Under My North Pole

 

Things to do in County Laois, Ireland

View more lists from Bernie Goldbach

[Bernie Goldbach teaches social media for heritage in the Limerick School of Art and Design.]

Kaizen and My Focal Words

Moleskine Skitch by @topgold

I BELIEVE IN KAIZEN (改善) (improvement) because it is a philosophy that ruthlessly measures "change for the best" through a practice that focus upon continuous improvement. I apply kaizen to the improvement of self.

Coaches and trainers also apply kaizen to processes in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. I'm incorporating kaizen to several third level modules, specifically targeting improvement in professional communications.  Instead of the easily eroded values I see in civil service benchmarking, I think kaizen could be applied across all functional areas, from the top of the institution to the dedicated team that keeps our facilities clean and safe. I have a professional grievance with some of the activities and processes in my host institution--waste that would be easily identified and eliminated, similar to the approach taken to achieve lean manufacturing.

Word Cloud from Cong13

Content from Congregation Blog Papers created by Wordle.

I READ ALL the blog papers submitted to Congregation 13 and then let Wordle crank out a summary of the 25 most commonly used phrases. But I deleted "social media" from the results because the event was all about social media.

End of Cong13

 

[Bernie Goldbach presented information about collaborative pinpoints during #cong13.]

Word Cloud from Cong13

Content from Congregation Blog Papers created by Wordle.

I READ ALL the blog papers submitted to Congregation 13 and then let Wordle crank out a summary of the 25 most commonly used phrases. But I deleted "social media" from the results because the event was all about social media.

End of Cong13

 

[Bernie Goldbach presented information about collaborative pinpoints during #cong13.]

Along the River #Cong13

Screenshot from Technology.ie video with @conn and @eoink.

CONN O MUINEACHAIN and Eoin Kennedy capture a lot of the energy and enthusiasm of the Congregation, a one day event that doubled the population of the small village of Cong, County Mayo. You can click the screenshot to watch the video or hear it on Audioboo.

EoinK and Conn along the River Cong

 

[Bernie Goldbach took a deep dive into applied social media during #cong13.]

Hanging Out on a Straw

Screenshot by @topgold during a Google Hangout at #cong13

LIFE ON AN ISLAND always offers adventures and that's what I discovered while on the island of Cong trying to set up an international Google Hangout during #cong13. I share some thoughts below the fold about trying to make a video conference work over limited broadband connectivity.

End of Cong13