Airplanes, Seattle, and Visualizing It All

This quarter I started a really fascinating independent study project with a Foster School of Business professor, Dr. Richard Nolan. I get to do some research for him on people, places, and time - all related to the aeronautic-powerhouse Boeing and its role in the Seattle/Puget Sound Area.

Specifics aside, I've really enjoyed learning about three specific things.

1) The idea of the "industry commons"
This is an idea that seems to in part come from the medieval practice of sharing a common space for the good of a community. Sharing resources and ideas in a collective space is a way for an industry to innovate and strengthen itself. There is the idea that the movement of tacit knowledge happens more readily in geographically bound spaces through more informal transfers - in short, similar people are drawn together in one place and share their knowledge with each other in non-professional settings such as in a bicycling lunch group. When an industry has certain geographic concentrations, there is a tendency to see others of the industry (individuals and companies) drawn to that location.

2) Visualization of non-linear information
This has been my biggest challenge. I have done a lot of research over the past 8 years or so, and yet this is the first time I have to "visualize" my findings. I can create lists and draw conclusions no problem - but finding a way to visually represent the data is quite a daunting task. I've taking classes with design elements, but this is actually having to create meaningful visuals. Today I discovered MindNode which will hopefully help me out as I map out pretty complex relationships between people, places, organizations, and time. Hopefully they'll turn into something interesting and clear at the end, because right now they're kind of confusing. The first draft is always the hardest, they say, and then the following iterations should hopefully become easier to improve.

3) Airplane and Seattle knowledge
This has been a side bonus of the project - I've been reading lots and lots for this, and I find myself discovering very interesting little facts and tidbits about Seattle and its history. I love it - I've been out here almost every year of my life before finally moving here in 2009, and this city continues to enchant me. Learning about the richness of its people and places has been wonderful.

The other thing is that I get to learn about airplanes - I retain less of the information but it's still a cool subject. I've always loved traveling, and now it is quite cool to know more about the giant beasts that get me from one place to another through seemingly impossible conditions.

PS: Don't research airplanes if you're nervous about them already.

Emerging Technologies - Connecting or Isolating?

There are some interesting conversations happen around the world about the role of social media and how human behavior is changing alongside the emergence of the newest ways of communication.

Recently on the Colbert Report, Sherry Turkle talked about her recent book "Alone Together". The thesis of her book is summed up by a recent by Paul Harris in an article in The Guardian: "technology is threatening to dominate our lives and make us less human. Under the illusion of allowing us to communicate better, it is actually isolating us from real human interactions in a cyber-reality that is a poor imitation of the real world."

I think this is a fascinating hypothesis, worth conversation and further exploration. I seem to, by default, love the ease of communication and accessibility I have to friends around the world. When you have friends from Canada to England, Germany to Cambodia, and France to Honduras, it seems  somewhat miraculous to be able to email, call (with video), text, and instant message all of them for either free or very reasonable prices. Fifty years ago - heck, twenty five years ago - this kind of communication would have racked up a bill a mile long. But I take it for granted that I can instantly write an email to the child I sponsor in Honduras, then have a free video Skype call with my friend in Cambodia, and follow it up with sending a text for just a few cents to another friend in England.

Yet this access does make it difficult to keep up with everyone. I rarely sign into Skype these days, often because I find it more distracting that I can afford with work and school, or simply because I forget to. Emails that are easy to send sometimes take weeks for me to get around to finishing, and loiter in my drafts box for a while. There are so many ways to communicate these days, but I still have many days where I feel the lack of communication in my life. I still write hand-written letters every once in a while, simply because there is something incredibly special about sending and receiving "snail-mail".

But I'm not sure that we're being isolated because of this technology. I think it is a possible repercussion for some people, but I'm not sure it is a societal epidemic. The key point, though, that I take away from this book and the idea of "cyber-skepticism" is that it is good to be skeptical. Just because social patterns are forming does not mean those are necessarily positive steps forward. There is the cited story about the woman who left a Facebook suicide note, and her 1,048 "friends" on Facebook failed to take action to do something, or take it seriously. I think this is a tragic story where there was a disconnect between cyber-life and "real"-life, and should serve as a catalyst for self-examination as an internet society. At the end of the day, I think it isn't the technology we have to worry about - social media is only the tool, neutral without the people and actions behind it.

Ity-Bity Little Tortoises

Because they're so cute, I had to share a quick link to the Woodland Park Zoo's tiny little new members. It's little moments like this that remind me why we have to strive to let people know the importance of protecting creatures like these from extinction.

Plus, watching those tiny little buggers crawl around made me smile.

From the blog:
Egyptian tortoise hatchlings, 2 weeks old, behind the scenes at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo in the Day Exhibit.  The Egyptian tortoise is critically endangered with populations facing severe pressure from habitat degradation and the illegal international pet trade. Learn more about this species and how Woodland Park Zoo is helping to protect it in the wild on the zoo blog: ‪http://bit.ly/gPzl2Q

Keeping Our Troops Connected

A recent headline on Wired.com made me pause: "Tweet Away, Troops: Pentagon Won’t Ban Social Media".

There has actual been the serious possibility that the Pentagon would ban soldiers from using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook? It boggles my mind - many of the troops now are being more and more made up of digital natives. You might as well tell them they're banned from talking as tell them they can't use social media, especially to communicate with their friends and family. As Robert Mason et al. describe them, these youngest generation of adults have “grown up in a world surrounded by connectivity and digital tools. They are ‘net natives’ or ‘digital natives.’ These are people who have never known a world without the Internet, instant messaging, online games, and the possibility of persistent digital presence with networks of people.” You're not going to be able to tell we of this digital native generation that we can't have our Facebook or Twitter fix. Sorry, it just isn't going to happen. Social media is a force that is moving forward, not winding down.

** Edit Note: If you read the comments, Jordan makes some very good points that should be integrated into my little ramble here. I really agree with her when it comes down to the fact that sometimes take an entitlement approach to social media. Just because we behave a certain way doesn't mean we should. **

Apparently, the bright idea of banning came from military officials who feared that social media caused too much security hassle, and took up too much bandwidth. So to say again, in 2009 the military was "seriously considering" a complete ban. The reason that this is now back in the news is because come March of this year, the 2009 policy that "enshrined military access to social media" is expiring, which only came after a long battle.

Hopefully, there wont' be any more malarky about banning or limited access. Because frankly, if the military did do something like this, the country would probably have to implement a draft. And then there would be riots in the street... and on Twitter.

A Plethora of Words - An Update

I've started out this Winter quater term with a very full but wonderful plate. I have a fantastic internship with Annie Searle & Associates (ASA) as a research associate. I am able to research and write on risk and crisis management issues, something I am increasingly excited about as a career path, which has been an ongoing concern in my head. While I love what I'm learning at school, it has been difficult to not know exactly what I want to do after the degree. And so I'm quite pleased that I've found an area that I am interested that has a name and recognized professionals out there. Secondly, I'm working on my final-year Capstone project, the culminating part of the program. We are challenged to put our knowledge into practice, which is sometimes daunting but oh so exciting. This is also going to be implemented at ASA, which makes things a lot more enjoyable since I am settled there already.

I look forward to seeing some topical overlap in my information security class as well, which is focusing on risk management for the most part through an IT lens. And I must say, I have quite enjoyed our "Policy, Law and Ethics in Information" class so far. It reminds me of my undergrad days - getting to read and discuss Hobbes and Rawls is almost nostalgic. But the best thing really is that it is an application of knowledge from my BA degree into my master's work. That hasn't happen very often, so it is quite fun for me.

But people are fascinating regardless of context. I am doing an independent study with a professor over at the business school, and I am getting to track and map out the people over the years that have influenced Boeing and the Puget Sound area. It is fascinating to see how all the brilliant people came together, and how they seem to have drawn other smart people and the companies that want smart people to them.

All in all, quite an overwhelming plate. But it is all so good! I just have to be careful not to get sick off of all the lovely bounty of information before me. I am writing and reading so much these days I am a bit overwhelmed by even trying to keep up with the news some days. But words are powerful, and it seems that I have to take advantage of the opportunity to both consume and produce as many as I can.