I was touched by her comment of near resignation when she says "<em>Besides, I know that realistically our organization is not going to stop using a traditional LMS, so this is a thought exercise for me."</em> Christy, the hope of friendlier, more useful and adaptive tools is thankfully a 'thought exercise' for most of us. Those ideas will spawn the tools that will swallow your LMS.

<tr><td><strong>Scarcity</strong></td> <td><strong>Abundance</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>It’s every man for himself</td> <td>We can work together</td> </tr> <tr> <td>I never have time</td> <td>I take time for the things that matter</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mistakes are disasters</td> <td>I can recover and learn from mistakes</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Ideas are hard to come by and must be kept secret</td> <td>I can always have a great idea</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Our company is lacking</td> <td>Our company has everything it needs to succeed</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Look at all the resources we need</td> <td>Look at all the resources we have</td> </tr> <tr> <td>The market is full of threats</td> <td>The market is full of opportunities</td> </tr> <tr> <td>People are out to get me</td> <td>People are out to help me</td></tr>

I think that it's this picture of abundance that I find so engaging about the Internet and social media. A lot of people give generously of their time, their expertise and their support to write their own blogs, comment on others, create videos and podcasts and beautiful art that enriches the rest of us. And they do it for nothing.This is abundance thinking. This is a belief that there is an endless flow of ideas and information that we can connect and shape to create new things all the time.

<li>Oftentimes, when social learning is discussed at an organization, some workers shy away. They see their knowledge as their power, and they’re afraid to give up that control. How to overcome this? Emphasize their ability to help others and play a bigger role in helping the organization, instead of hoarding the knowledge. (Sometimes easier said than done.)</li> <li>If you’re getting pushback on social learning technologies (ex. blogs and wikis), you may want to have evangelist(s) at your organization who take lead and emphasize the potential of these tools, show examples, etc.</li>

"What is the perfect social learning implementation? There is no such thing. Use whatever tools and methodologies that help your teams collaborate best."

<p>Current reality, however, is only <em>one</em> form of reality. And just because it's <em>current</em> doesn't mean it's the way it will always be. Or <em>should</em> be. </p> <div id="a000238more"><div id="more"> <p>Real innovators challenge excuses. Real innovators challenge the status quo. They do not concede to current reality.</p></div></div>

4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; We don’t respect titles; we respect people.<br> The internet has served as a great social equalizer. In most online communities your value (and therefore reputation and power) are based on what you contribute not who you are. A well-read 18 year old who knows his stuff and is constantly active in the editing process of a Wikipedia article may be revered more than the heavily credentialed professor who interjects, corrects, and condescends to the community of the page. These relationships break down entitlements and, instead, center on accomplishment and contribution.<br> So if you want to respected, simply play your part and contribute. You’ll be known for the actions you take that probably earned you that title in the first place.