So what do Google, Scott McLeod and comics have in common? They have just collaborated to launch Google’s Chrome Web Browser. Why comics? They are visual … they tell a story (which are hardwired to understand) … they turn the ‘complex’ into the ‘simple’ AND they are FUN! When Clay Shirky talks about the fall of tradition organizational structures (Institutions) in the “collaboration” space that is Web 2.0, he also points out that traditional institutions resist the new (often creative right brained) approaches to business and marketing. Here is a classic quote from CNN’s article “Google unveils free browser Chrome” …

In this National Geographic article, Thomas Malone of MIT’s new Center for Collective Intelligence says, “No single person knows everything that’s needed to deal with problems we face as a society, such as health care or climate change, but collectively we know far more than we’ve been able to tap so far.” He draws on the success of Google and Wikipedia who simply allow people to ‘think together’ in ways that we never imagined a few decades ago. The article goes on to say … “Such thoughts underline an important truth about collective intelligence: Crowds tend to be wise only …

Another Podcast to download! Viv McWaters and I have a conversation with Johnnie Moore over here at Winkipod. Johnnie works as a facilitator and marketing consultant. He has a strong background in marketing and is interested in the human aspects of organisations. “Some call what I do the “soft” skills… or the “touchy feely” stuff. I prefer to think I can combine a certain amount of business logic with an appreciation of the ability of humans to surprise and amaze us. My work ranges from one-to-one coaching through small teams to conferences of 300 plus participants.” Source = Johnnie’s blog …

I just collaborated online with a cartooning buddy (Simon Kneebone) of mine using dim dim. I managed to communicate a complex story about a 2 year, community behaviour change project to Simon. My idea is to create a visual-report … less text and more pictures/cartoons to make the final evaluation report more readable, fun and effective. In dim dim, we had the use of a shared white board and could make edits to shared documents. Using pictures and by writing the occasional word, we were able to effectively “show” each other ideas, concepts and solutions. And all for FREE! One …

Thanks to Paul Z Jackson at Solutions Focus, my approach to workshop facilitation has changed (and I think improved) throughout 2008. I have read his book and attended Solutions Focus training in Melbourne this year (thanks to Andrew Rixon for bringing it together). I wrote a post called ‘Which Conversation Do You Choose” about my observations of groups who take a solutions focused view in a workshop. Here is the picture to capture the essence of this observation … Here is a message I sent to Paul Jackson, reflecting on solutions focus and my work … Hi Paul. How are …