GigaOM » Jenn Marston Archives

Welcome to the post-normal age of work

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:00:07 +0000

It’s a now-prevalent notion that companies can advance by simply adding a social layer on top of existing business processes, integrating social tools with existing functional tools such as ERP, CRM, and HR solutions. The idea goes that this will make companies more social and therefore more productive.

That idea isn’t going to work.

Why? In a nutshell, social network-based communication is primarily organized around the concept of a “pull” medium — that is, a medium where individuals subscribe to whichever information sources they prefer and find useful. Traditional business processes, on the other hand, use “push” communications, where whoever created the information gets to decide whom it’s most important to. Simply put, the two parties don’t gibe.

Perhaps more importantly, the nature of work in our era has changed. Most people now have jobs based on non-routine work, where the predefined and fixed roles of business process do not reach.

I recently wrote a report as part of my activities in GigaOM Research, entitled “Social networks will displace business processes, not socialize them” (subscription required). In the report, I argue that we are drifting away from a business-process defined culture and towards a social network-shaped, cooperative one.

Source: Stowe Boyd/GigaOM Research

Above we see the variance between process-oriented organizational cultures and network-oriented ones. I consider this part of the transition from post-modern (1970-2005) to what I’ll call post-normal (2005-present and beyond) economic eras. These cultures also differ in the nature of social affiliation, with a loosening of the bonds that tie people together in cooperative cultures contrasted with collaborative ones. People in cooperative organizations will have a higher number on connections, but the proportion of those that are strong ties decreases relative to collaborative cultures.

Source: Stowe Boyd/GigaOM Research

Some corporate cultures are stuck even farther back in time because they are based on competition. I don’t mean competing with others in the marketplace, like Toyota competing with BMW. I am talking about a corporate culture based on zero-sum competition among workers, where one person’s advancement is someone else’s demotion. These are cultures strongly based on authority-based decision-making, and really are a holdover from the late modern era: the late industrial era.

Source: Stowe Boyd/GigaOM Research

In the report, I discuss the “fit” of different psychological profiles, or archetypes, in these cultures. For example, the Entrepreneur archetype (see above) fits well in collaborative and competitive cultures, and fits the entrepreneurial culture perfectly. But Entrepreneurs won’t like working in a purely traditional, “cooperative” culture, because they like to lead collectives that are managed through consensus. A cooperative organization is too loose for them: It’s a connective, and is based on laissez-faire decision making.

Source: Stowe Boyd/GigaOM Research

This is the debut of the 3C model — competitive, collaborative, and cooperative. It’s a psychosocial model of organizational culture, and I hope it helps address some key issues in organizational dynamics in organizations today as social technologies and practices are being adopted. Marshal McLuhan said, “we make our tools, and they shape us.” Keeping that in mind, we see the change that social network-based communication is causing.

Businesses are not making these changes on a whim or because individuals are made happier by cooperative work relationships. The fast-and-loose business is most in sync with the digital realities of today’s world, although most companies are still operating principally in a more traditional mode, and may even have a healthy dose of the “frozen-and-immobile” at the core. Nonetheless, businesses must move towards a more cooperative work environment because in doing so they will successfully compete in today’s fast-paced, digitally focused world. Older cultures that cling to traditional business processes will not.

To read the full report, click here (subscription required).

Thumbnail image courtesy of flickr user ShellVacationsHospitality.

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Survey: Tell us your thoughts on the fate of Fisker

Jenn Marston — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:55:44 +0000

Electric vehicle startup Fisker Automotive appears to be inching closer and closer to bankruptcy, and owes the Department of Energy another $171 million in government loans. You can read our take on the entire saga in this piece A look under the hood: why electric car startup Fisker crashed and burned. Given the debacle, we invite GigaOM readers to weigh in with their thoughts on Fisker, electric vehicles, and how the bankruptcy could affect government spending on cleantech.

Note: Survey results will be posted on GigaOM Pro (subscription required). For survey participants who are not subscription holders, email pro-info@gigaom.com for a copy of the results.

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Podcast: Why mobile is vital to the future of retail

Jenn Marston — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:17:34 +0000

In the latest GigaOM Research podcast, analysts Phil Hendrix and Doug Stephens discuss retail’s future in a mobile-first world: what’s broken, and how mobility, apps, and data can lead the way to change.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speakers: Dr. Phil Hendrix and Doug Stephens

Showrooming as a problem for retailers
Amazon’s impact: distribution versus the retail experience
Consumer survey on online and bricks-and-mortar shopping
Big data and the retail experience
Promising mobile apps and platforms for mobile shopping
Internet Sales Tax

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:
Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Podcast: The pros and cons of using Hadoop

Jenn Marston — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:24:18 +0000

Being able to properly analyze all available data is crucial to companies’ successes today. In the latest GigaOM Research podcast, Jo Maitland and Joseph Turian discuss the positives and negatives of using Hadoop to make this possible.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Jo Maitland
Speaker: Joseph Turian

Find out the latest buzz on Hadoop, in particular all the noise around SQL on Hadoop and why this is an important trend.
Learn what companies think about when they consider implementing Hadoop in the context of existing systems like Enterprise Data Warehouses.
Do we think the writing is on the wall for purpose-built, expensive data analytics boxes like Oracle Exadata?
Is Hadoop yet another silo for IT operations to manage and what are the solutions to this?
Is analytics on streaming data something we will all be doing at some point?

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:
Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Podcast: Why the world needs wearable computing

Jenn Marston — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:42:09 +0000

From smart watches to devices that monitor health, wearables are hot items on the market today. In the latest GigaOM Research podcast, Michael Wolf and Jody Ranck discuss wearable’s place in the fitness and medical industries, challengers to growth, and the role of data.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speakers: Michael Wolf and Jody Ranck

The market for wearables in connected health: Medical versus Fitness
Potential for wearables in health care and research
Smart watch potential
Could the smartphone get disrupted as the key input/communications interface?
Kinect, hearing aids, and the possibility of wearables that provide social context
Regulatory challenges, privacy and the need for reliable research data for wearables in health care

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:

Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Podcast: Why the digital age needs an effective content licensing strategy

Jenn Marston — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:30:56 +0000

Historically publishers have lacked focus on licensing and syndicating digital content. The latest GigaOM Research podcast features Connected Consumer curator Paul Sweeting, who discusses how social media could play a role in improving digital content licensing, key tools in this space, and the impact on publishers and journalists.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speaker: Paul Sweeting

Why content licensing hasn’t historically played a bigger role
Could social media nurture a business model around licensing
Key tools/startups in the licensing/syndication space
The legal context
What needs to happen going forward to create a syndication business
Impact on publishers and journalists

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:

T-Mo’s no plan, SummlYahoo and everyone’s a paparazzi

IoT: Why the Hue internet lightbulb is a bright idea

Call in podcast: T-Mobile iPhone and the best Android keyboard

Podcast: How IBM uses chaos theory, data and the internet of things to fix traffic

Podcast: How Indie Game stayed “indie” and became a hit

Call in podcast: T-Mobile iPhone and the best Android keyboard

Samsung Galaxy S 4 blasts off, RIP Google Reader

Electric Imp aims to make the Internet of Things devilishly simple

Call-In: Galaxy S 4 predictions, Chromebook Pixel cloud storage

Podcast: Facebook’s feedin’; Lean In’s meanin’; and everyone’s Hadoop-in

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Survey: Tell us your thoughts on the future of the smart watch

Jenn Marston — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:55:20 +0000

Wearable computing continues its trek towards the mainstream. Smart watches, in particular, are generating many a headline these days. Apple and Samsung are battling for dominance, Google is rumored to be making one, and the Pebble watch is already a hot item on the market. With that in mind, we invite GigaOM readers to fill out the questions below and share their thoughts on whether they would buy a watch, which features they want, and who will ultimately rule this space.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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Podcast: How enterprises can build successful BYOD programs

Jenn Marston — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:52:15 +0000

Implementing a formal BYOD strategy is key for many companies today. But finding one that can be managed in a secure and organized fashion is a challenge for many. In the latest GigaOM Research podcast, curator Cormac Foster and analyst Aileen Arcilla discuss challenges and steps for successful, cost-effective BYOD programs in enterprises.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: David Linthicum
Speakers: Cormac Foster and Aileen Arcilla

What is BYOD?
What is the value of BYOD when leveraged within enterprises?
What are some of the technologies that enterprises can leverage to manage a BYOD workforce?
What should enterprise do to get ahead of the use of BYOD technologies?
What about security and privacy?

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:

Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

How SDN is disrupting the networking landscape

Jenn Marston — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:30:11 +0000

Software-defined networking (SDN) is the buzzword in companies of all sizes today. This GigaOM Research podcast addresses key questions about SDN: its use cases, its impact on traditional networking leaders, and promising startups to watch in this space.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speakers: Isabelle Guis and Lee Doyle

What is software defined networking (SDN)?
The value of SDN in the data center
Use cases of SDN and potential
State of the SDN market/Investment sentiment
Impact on Cisco and incumbent networking leaders
Considerations for companies implementing SDN
Promising SDN startups

PREVIOUS GIGAOM PODCAST EPISODES:

Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Podcast: Why we need the LED industry

Jenn Marston — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:37:45 +0000

Though it’s grown tremendously in the recent past, the light-emitting diode (LED) industry continues to face challenges on its road to greater adoption. For this GigaOM Research podcast, we sit down with Ucilia Wang and Katie Fehrenbacher to discuss the state of the market, challenges it faces, areas for more growth, and which companies the world needs to watch.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speakers: Ucilia Wang and Katie Fehrenbacher