What's in a Number?

Photo by Alexander Suhorucov from Pexels

Ten years ago today, I wrote and published my first ever #blog - "The Blog Bullet - Bitten!", the first of an inconsistent series of musings, commentary, reflections and occasional rants, the culmination of which is today's blog marking that 10 year 'anniversary'.

I've said before that, for me, posting into the digital and social media space is not - and should not - be a numbers game. Twitter, for example, has never been about the number of followers I have, or the number of retweets I get. Blogging has similarly not been about how many posts can I get out per week/month/year, or the number of pageviews (although you bet I do check the stats!).

And yet, with an absolute acknowledgement of the irony herein, here I am writing a blog specifically to make up the numbers and celebrate a spookily serendipitous numerical milestone - 120 blogs in 10 years. That's an average of 12 blogs a year - one a month.

Almost like there was a plan.

But there wasn't.

My purpose in blogging was to reflect and expand on my professional interests and experiences in learning and development, and my interaction with others in related fields, beyond the then 140 character limit of Twitter. I hoped that it would be a two-way street, that others would engage with my posts and that dialogue would ensue. Sometimes, that has been the case.

I've tried to be guided by the mantra "Does this need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said by me right now?" (Attrib. Craig Ferguson).

Sometimes I've even managed to follow that rule.

Blogging remains a very personal thing for me, and I've taken a very non-systematic approach to it. For example, last year (2020), I posted just two blogs - both about how I was coping with and feeling about COVID-19 and its impact - and in 2019, I posted 15! 

This flies in the teeth of all the accepted wisdom about consistency and audience-building. But, sorry, if I ain't feeling it, it ain't getting written.

That said, I'm grateful to everyone who's ever taken the time to read and comment my posts. If you've found any value, inspiration or just entertainment, then that's good enough for me.

I can't promise anything different in the months - maybe even years - ahead. 

Twitter will continue to be my go-to micro-blogging channel but there will always be that longer blog thing, that blog thing needs to be said, that blog thing that needs to be said by me, that blog thing that needs to be said by me right now!

Like today.

 

Taking a Leaf

Photo by Nong Vang on Unsplash

I've just read Andrew Jacobs' (@AndrewJacobsLnD) latest blog A Week of Posts wherein he shares where and how he gets his inspiration for his daily blog posts.

He's a man of curiosity and enquiry, and he's capable of extrapolating ideas from different sources, conversations, podcasts, blog posts, work products, etc that resonate for him and that he can translate into short, impactive, professionally-related daily posts.

It's a skill I envy and am learning a lot from in terms of my own blog posting track record and forward planning.

So here's what I loved about his post today.

• The content: Andrew's sources are many and varied. His skills lie in seeing something in them that he can use and relate to a professional audience. He doesn't over-think them. And it helps that he's also very articulate.
  
  My takeaway: KISS - Keep it simple, stupid!
  
  
• That photograph! His title was "A Week of Posts". His illustration: A lovely photograph in Autumnal tones of a rural pathway meandering into the distance, and marked out by two rows of wooden posts. It was both visually arresting (it drew my attention to the his blog immediately) and it was a gently understated witty play on the word 'posts'. Genius!
  
  My takeaway: Visuals attract people to your content. Great visuals enhance it.
  

So, taking a leaf out of Andrew's book, this post is my own quick and dirty reflection on what I think good blog posting should look like, while I try to walk that talk better myself.

Socially Challenged

Yesterday, I had the privilege to speak at the Elearning Fusion 2019 Conference in Warsaw, Poland (#ELF19). This was my first 'international' speaking engagement, the invitation to which came 'out of the blue' when the creator and organiser, Marta Machalska, contacted me via LinkedIn some months ago and extended the invitation to speak. I was delighted to have been asked to speak at what was clearly a premium event.

I had a good look at previous years' Elearning Fusion Conferences on the Internet, and I was pleased to see several well- and some personally-known speakers at their earlier conferences. So I got my biography info and subject abstract in as quickly as I could

As a potential speaker, I found Marta and her team's communication to be prompt, unambiguous and effective. They confirmed all details, including flights and hotel arrangements promptly and I was reassured that I was in good hands.

And then suddenly, the time was upon us. In the week or so beforehand, I started promoting the conference and my session on social media - on Twitter and LinkedIn. I connected with my Session Chair and we messaged each other. I delivered my Presentation and story (about using social media to support social and collaborative learning) to the organisers via DropBox before the big day and, as I said several times beforehand, rehearsed, rehearsed and rehearsed.

And I'm glad I did.

Because I'd made one or two assumptions, based on looking at the previous years' events. I had planned a short practical exercise using Sticky or Post-It Notes, so that I could show a quick YouTube video and then reveal that it was a ploy on my part to demonstrate using social media for Social and collaborative Learning. This was dependent on the delegates sitting at desks or tables, as was the case at the previous ELF events.  I had also assumed that the previous session speaker would run to time. Neither proved to be the case on the day.

No tables! Delegates were sitting theatre-style, in rows. And my session, the one before lunch, got squeezed by over-runs by the other two (Two? Only supposed to be one!) speakers.

Thankfully, because I had rehearsed often enough, I was able to flex. I binned the practical, told them about it and showed the video anyway. I pressed on, trimmed some of my stories, still managed to ask a couple of questions, set my challenge to everyone and managed to finish only two minutes over time myself. No-one's hunger for lunch overcame their hunger to learn, and everyone stayed to the end of the session.

So, to the challenge I set my participants. I asked how many of them blogged. Several hands went up. I asked how many of those made blogging part of their learning practice and encouraged others in their own learning communities to blog and share. Fewer hands. How many video blogged (or 'Vlogged'). Not many at all.

I suggested that we could build our own skills whilst showing leadership and 'walking the talk', by blogging, vlogging, tweeting or posting updates about our experiences at Elearning Fusion 19; what we had learned, what we were taking away and what we would be introducing into our practice.

I had previously invited people in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) to share their 'social media for social & collaborative learning' stories. My challenge to the rooms was to do the same. I suggested using the conference hashtag #ELF19 and the hashtag for my challenge, #ELFusionSoMe.

This blog is my first effort at that. I'll be very interested to see who and what else shows up!

Deep Thought?

I do a lot of thinking.

Image: Pixabay

I do a lot of worrying. I worry that I don't think deeply enough. I think that if I did, I would post more blogs. I worry that, when I do post blogs, they're not deeply thought-through enough. I worry that my peers think I don't think deeply enough. I think about that a lot. 

I worry that I don't spend enough time thinking about improving my practice, but just getting on with it. I worry that I might have lost my edge since I was ill and elected to follow a different professional path. I think that sometimes, I don't give a sh*t about that. Then I worry about how unprofessional others might think that is. 

Sometimes, I think that I over-think things.

Unsaid

Here's a few of the undeveloped blogs that are currently languishing in the depths of my Evernote 'Blog Ideas' folder. Anything take your fancy? Please comment.

Photo under Creative Commons CCO 1.0

"Who's Lurking Under Your Bridge?" - something about trolls

"Why I'll Never be Eric Morecombe or Sean Connery" - something about confidence and voice

"Up Periscope!" - you could write this one yourself

"Motives and Madness" - Why show up? And what would happen if I didn't?

"Smiling Assassins" - a colleague's experience of being shafted behind their back

"Stranger Danger" - something about lessons from Netflix's 'Stranger Things'

"Ready for Redundancy" - preparedness for an increasingly likely scenario

"Who would want to listen to me?" - Imposter syndrome, social media & blogging

"Can't (Don't) Know it All" - and that's OK

"Intent versus Impact" - something about self awareness, assumptions, empathy

"The Universe & Me" - spirituality or philosophy?

"Unsaid" - something about blogs I may never work up and publish.

Oh, wait...

Igniting Conversations

Yesterday (Tuesday 14th March), I presented an Ignite Talk to the CIPD Sussex Branch L&D Forum at Brighton & Hove City College, at the invitation of Janet Webb, of Janet Webb Consulting (@ JWebbConsulting), who was facilitating the event.

After the opening half-hour 'network and grab-a-sandwich' bit, a full evening programme on the future of L&D, using new formats, kicked off with 'Open Space' discussions around four provocative statement/questions:

• "For learning events, content is more important than delivery."
• "Do coaching and mentoring programmes deliver value for money?"
• "What is the future role of L & OD?"
• "Classroom based learning is now largely irrelevant."

Facilitated by Janet, our mixed group of some 20 participants, exercising the 'rule of two feet' (move on if and when you have had enough of any of the group conversations) shared their views and opinions and then came together to review the session.

I was a little surprised to hear one to two people question the value of the exercise without predefined 'outcomes', and concerns expressed about how we were supposed to remember/retain any personal learning points. This led to a useful discussion about how to develop and maintain reflective practice as part of our toolkit, with references made to blogging as being helpful here.

Incidentally, it's always good to see the Twitter community show up from outside the room in these discussions, as Janet tweeted out the questions and a couple of tweeps commented in. As it happens, only a few of us in the room last night are regular tweeters, so we encouraged the room attendees to consider joining in to the regular Friday morning #LDInsight tweetchat and I'm looking forward to seeing who shows up on Friday.

All too soon, it was my turn to share my Ignite talk. For those who don't know, Ignite is an internationally-recognised templated speaking format, designed to encourage speakers to share topics and ideas quickly and concisely, using 20 slides, auto-timed to display for 15 seconds each, which makes an Ignite talk just 5 minutes!

This was to be my second-ever attempt at delivering an Ignite talk; the first being at the CIPD Annual Conference in Manchester in 2015, as part of Andy Lancaster's first "Ignite Lab". Those of you who were 'fortunate' enough to have attended that session might just remember the paper trail I left all over the stage, reflecting the fact that I was under-rehearsed and under-confident on that occasion - but people (well, Sarah Harvey anyway) still remember my performance, if not the content, two years later.

In contrast, for last night's event, I was very well-rehearsed, having learned my lesson in 2015! I spent most of the day practicing, editing, practicing, and repeating, to get the script, the flow and the timing as smooth as I could, whilst still delivering a coherent and well-paced talk - no easy task, believe me!

And it's just as well that I did, because when it came to loading my slide deck and switching to 'presentation' mode, I was unable to see my notes on my own screen and had to rely only on what the audience could see on the big screen. (And no, I hadn't thought to print them out as a fall-back!) Janet was delighted! "That'll make it look even more spontaneous and authentic" were her last words to me as she introduced me to the room...!

Well, I got away with it. Having rehearsed it so often, I was only caught out by one slide appearing where my mind went blank and I had absolutely no idea what I was meant to say at that point. I managed something vaguely relevant and that got me back on track. And then, it was over. And the audience grilling began...!

What's an Ignite talk for? Why would you do it? Where does it fit? When would you do it?  Does it have to be 15 seconds per slide? Is this the future of learning - rapid fire content delivery? 

So here are some of my reflections and learning points that emerged out of the Ignite Talk exercise and the discussion afterwards:

• Be clear what your message or idea is
• Be sure that an Ignite Talk is the appropriate medium to share the story, and that it's appropriate for your audience
• Be brief / Be clear / Be concise - it's not a race to the finish line
• Rehearse, tweak, rehearse, tweak, repeat, repeat, repeat...
• Be prepared to discuss afterwards
• Prepare and share support material/handouts etc to add context and detail which couldn't be covered in the 5 minute talk
• Consider if and where Ignite Talks might fit into a larger programme or event - Setup? Opposing viewpoints? Summary and Calls to Action?
• Think of Ignite Talks as the presentational equivalent of a 5-minute tweet or indeed, a series of 20 15-second tweets. If you can't say/illustrate your story or message within that framework, it may not be the right tool for the job - on that occasion.

The final session of the evening was facilitated by Sarah Harvey (@ SavvySarahSPM), who is also the Chair of the CIPD Sussex Branch, wherein we explored the 'Goldfish Bowl' technique of observed conversation, in this case a manager/team meeting, whereby the participants sit in the middle of a larger circle of observers and have their conversation. Particular character attributes are assigned to each participant, which they are required to enact during the discussion, whilst the observers are told to look specifically for Non-Verbal Communication, Tone of Voice, Words Used and Presence.

A really enjoyable session and much respect to the four volunteers who stepped into the circle and played their parts so convincingly. Again, a valuable discussion followed regarding the usefulness of this technique, the case for using professional actors and the need for cultural understanding and fit in deploying it back in the workplace.

Thanks to Janet and Sarah for keeping us on track and on time, and for a very engaging and participative session that got us walking, talking, sharing and learning together. And of course, this blog is my reflective work, which I will refer back to when I am doing another Ignite Talk, at this year's CIPD L&D Show 'Ignite Lab' on Wednesday 10th May. Come along and see a few talks so you can get a broader idea of their impact and usefulness.

The Best Conference I've Never Attended

It was the CIPD's 100th Anniversary Conference and Exhibition in Manchester this week.  I couldn't attend - had too much to do at work and travel planned accordingly.  But I did manage to multi-task (men can do it too!) and follow the live backchannel on Twitter. Many of my Twitter PLN (Personal Learning Network) were either attending, presenting, facilitating, blogging or just simply commentating via social media during the two days and, whilst I couldn't keep up with the constant flurry of tweets and blog links being shared, I did what I usually do in these circumstances, which is to 'favourite' the tweets of particular interest, so that I could revisit them in my Twitter 'faves' column later and work my way through them in slow time.  This also allows me time to absorb and reflect, 'cos my brain can't take it all in at the same speed as the 'flying fingers' of my PLN can push it out.

So now it's Saturday and I'm starting to work my way through the list, only to find that most of the individual tweets and links I had saved had already been curated and replayed on the CIPD Tumblr site http://cipd.tumblr.com/ by Doug Shaw ( @dougshaw1 ), along with many other tweets and links that I had missed. Top Man, Doug!  Now I can use the Tumblr site as a reference book and take my time reading, absorbing, thinking and maybe even commenting on the wisdom and commentary therein.

The CIPD is changing. I now understand the new focus and direction of the organisation and have heard its new voice, not only from the conference floor, but from the breakouts and the coffee shops and the pubs and restaurants around the event itself, where everyone meets and discusses the news of the day.

And that's why I love Twitter and the community of people I have grown to know and respect through it, active in my professional field. Much time, effort and wisdom is shared freely and enthusiastically by way too many people to mention, but suffice it to say that I cannot think of a better explanation of why social media should be considered as a vital part of our individual and collective professional development.  I wasn't at the conference, but I am as well informed and engaged, sitting here at my breakfast bar at home, as if I had been, and it's thanks to those people that I am able to say so.

Now, back to catching up on the rest of those Conference Blogs....

Weekend Reflections on CIPD HRD13

I had the pleasure of being a Speaker at the CIPD HRD Conference on Wednesday.  I had also been invited to be an official Conference Blogger (two passes!).  Unfortunately, I could only attend on the first day, due to pre-booked work priorities in Southampton.  But no matter, I thought, I'll make it work.

I kinda did.  I  managed to get a blog out soon after I arrived, on a topic which had been bubbling with me for a while and which was empahsised in the twitterstream during my journey up from Brighton that morning - the use of humour in the face-to-face and the online worlds.  I was pleased to meet up with several of my twitter buddies who were also blogging the conference, particularly Mike Morrison (@rapidBI), Doug Shaw (@dougshaw1), Sukhvinder Pabial (@sukhpabial), Martin Couzins (@martincouzins) and Megan Pippin (OD_optimist). The Conference Press Room, hosted very ably by Katy Askew (@katyaskew) and Natalia Thomson (@N_Thomson) was also a great hub and bolt hole - and I knew how to operate the coffee machine!

With a limited amount of time before I had to start preparing for my own session, I had a quick scamper through the show guide and decided to drop by the "Technology for Learning" theatre in the Exhibition Hall to catch Pauline Willis (@paulinewillis) from Lauriate Ltd, speaking on and demonstrating the use of Sociomapping tools as an enabler for working successfully with remote and virtual teams. I greatly enjoyed her session and I tweeted out my key learning points throughout.

 

Then I had to run to the Speakers Lounge to meet my co-speaker, Tom Bryant from Colt Technologies, and our CIPD chair and host, to prepare for our shared session on "Simplifying L&D with Efficient Use of Technology".

It went well (despite being the 'graveyard shift' over and after lunch).  I managed to drag some responses out of the large, yet quiet, crowd and got some great feedback from attendees and fellow bloggers afterwards.  Thanks particularly to Doug and Sukh for very kind reviews.

I had arranged to meet Laura Overton (@lauraoverton) from Towards Maturity, to catch up on where my organisation has got to with following up our recent discoveries and suggested actions from completing their Benchmark Report late last year (answer: not a lot - much still to do!), and again, the Press Room was a gift to get us away from the hubble-bubble and have a good, focussed and enjoyable exchange - even if we were being spied upon by Martin Couzins... Deep In Conversation

I managed to walk the Exhibition Floor for a while before heading off to the Cumberland Arms pub in North End Road for the CIPD Tweetup, hosted again by Martin Couzins (that man gets everywhere!), which was a great, interactive and relaxing way to end what had been a full but inspiring day.

Like I said, I didn't attend Day 2, but I tried to follow the twitter backstream as much as possible within the working day.

So now, it's Friday evening and I've been following the backchannel again today - even tho' the conference finished on Thursday evening.  And that's the thing - the Conference might be over, but the debate, the discussions and the sharing is still going on.  New professional and personal contacts have been made, reflective blogs have been written, shared and commented on and links to supporting materials distributed.  The event lives on, even 'though everyone has gone home or back to work - social media and collaboration tools ensure it.

So what have I taken away from the event, from my participation as a speaker and as a blogger, and from monitoring the backchannel on Thursday and Friday?

1. I wish I had managed to attend for the whole two days - for my own development and to have been able to blog and tweet more fully. 
2. It's OK to have a script, but it's way much better to deliver a session 'off the page'. I felt comfortable with the flow - and just went with it on the day.
3. I should learn to blog more quickly, more succinctly and more often.  Doug Shaw and Sukh Pabial are really good role models here, pushing blogs out very quickly - punchy and pithy - after the sessions they attended each day.  Their - and others' - tweets and blogs were fantastic for keeping me in touch when I was working on Day 2 and following up on Friday.
4. Suit and tie = Delegate. No tie plus/minus suit = Speaker. This is a very good thing. Prick the pomposity!
5. It ain't necessarily over when it's over!
6. Reflect, reflect and did I mention, reflect?  And then go do!  That's next.

So that was CIPD HRD 13. For me, a great, but mixed, experience, cramming much into the one day I had available. Thanks to the organisers, the administrators,  the contributors, the attendees and the 'Press Pack'.  Thanks for having me.  

The Blog Bullet - Bitten!

Hello and welcome to my new blog.  This is something I've been procrastinating about for a long time.  I started 'micro-blogging' in the Summer of last year, after attending a Learning & Skills Group conference in London and experiencing Twitter for the first time.  That inspired me to get myself a Twitter account and to start interacting with others in the Learning & Development and Social Media world.  I began to 'get it' and to feel reconnected.  As of today, I have 'tweeted' 1,302 times, I am following 210 interesting people and organisation, and I am being followed by 198 people who really ought to know better!  All OK so far...

So why venture into 'proper' blogging now, and what's with the name, "A Little About a Lot"?

Well, I've already passed the Twitter 140 character limit just getting to here in this blog!  I've seen how others use their Tweets to lead interested people to their blogs and to engage more deeply in their topic.  I've seen colleagues and friends take their first steps into blogging and been surprised and impressed at the depth of their knowledge and wisdom.  And they've been encouraging me to do the same, despite my misgivings about whether or not I had something useful to share and even then, if others would be in the least interested.

So I started 'journalling', making an effort to regularly jot down ideas, thoughts, reflections, jokes etc in a notebook app on my laptop.  I started a document called 'Blog Ideas' and it's run to two pages already.

I've been many things in my working life - Fruit Picker, Postman, Delivery Driver, Shop Assistant, Theatrical Lighting Rigger, Stage Manager, Actor, Audio Typist, Barman, PA, Office Manager, Business Owner, IT Trainer and I've been a Training Manager for the last 14 years. I've been a husband for 25 years and a dad for 19.  So, I know a little about a lot and a lot about very little!

I look forward to sharing with - and learning from - you too.