Mobile Vs No Mobile and Internet Vs Liveliness

I was talking to my Guwahati University Classmate, Diganta couple of days back. We talked about our university days. Became a bit nostalgic about those days…..the evenings at versity market, hostel raggings, busy schedule during versity weeks and youth festivals, hostel freshers’ day and what not!!!


Diganta stays very nearby to the University, and has a Restaurant chain in Guwahati. I asked him when he last visited our University and he said that he very frequently has to pass through the Versity campus.  Knowing that, I asked him with heavy excitement, if the girls still tease the guys from the hostel balconies and windows!  He said, “No, not at all. I doubt whether they can spare time from internet to spend some time in the balcony or peep through the windows….!”.

His answer took me to my versity-hostel days. My hostel was RCC-1. In this girls’ hostel campus, there are six hostels: RCC1, RCC2, RCC3, AT3, Law hostel and Research Scholar hostel. Those days, there was no internet facility, no mobile connection, even no land-line phone in the hostel. In my second year, one lady – Lota didi opened one PCO booth in our campus. She used open the PCO from 6 am till 10am and in the evening, from 5 pm till 9 pm and on Sunday, it used to be open for whole the day. And, Lotadi was treated as the most important person of the campus. To call up my parents, I had to be in queue for hours. And the girls who used to have distant boy-friends, like me J….had to take double trouble as one person was not allowed to call up twice at the same time.

Gone are those days. Now a days, every girl/boy, it would not be wrong if I say – student, has mobile, if he/she does not belong to an extremely low-profiled family. Now, PCOs are of no use. Lotadi has gone through a great loss.  She is no more important like before.

Another important thing which takes maximum time of the students, off-lately is the PCs or laptops. With internet connectivity, Social networking is winning more and more consumers day by day. Facebook, Orkut, Twitter etc. are becoming the bridges to make friendship, gossiping and connecting with each other. So, now, updates on Facebook are getting more importance than passing time with roommates/wall mates or hostel mates.

I remember, my lovely and active roommate, Jyotika used to open the window to let in the morning breeze at around 5:30 am. Then, she used to wake me up giving the tooth brush in my hand, putting the tea saucepan on the stove. Lazy me, after having tea, I used to study a bit. My table was in front of the window from where we could see our hostel’s, RCC I and 3’s guest meet room. At around 8 pm, I used to peep through my window if any ‘longing to meet his girlfriend’ visitors had arrived. If yes, I was generally the one who used to start the Shouting/Teasing Show. My voice was not bad that time…..I used to start ….. “Oooo’ Moina ….”. In university, all girls and all boys were called Moina. While I used to start, Pratibha, Juri, Mala, Borno and some others from another hostel used to start pouring dialogues….sing songs….The atmosphere used to become very lovely…and energetic! Same kind of situation used to happen in other girls’ and boys’ hostel campuses also.

I have not visited university many years. But. I heard from some classmates, that no girls tease visitors or passerby now. Have they become more studious? Or serious? Or extremely gentle? Or internet maniac? Hope, all these are happening for some good reasons.

Why PR is more Credible than Advertising?

BRANDING is important. A strong brand can make any organization, or any product or service immensely easier to sell. Branding is the emotional binge that a customer feels when thinking about your product or your organisation.

Many times, we see entrepreneurs throw away thousands of dollars, trying to grow their businesses with various branding techniques, looking at others doing it. Many organisations, whether they are small or big, are really confused where and how to allocate marketing funds to build the brand, drive sales and increase revenue. Now, Public Relations (PR) and Advertising are the two main arms of marketing which can solve this problem.

Another question often arises is, which tool to use and what works better, Advertising or PR. In this article, I will talk why PR is better than Advertising.


What is PR and Advertising?

PR is a powerful way to generate awareness and brand recognition for any business. It is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics. Common activities include working with the press, speaking at conferences, winning industry awards, and employee communication etc.

Traditional public relations tools include press releases and press kits which are distributed to the media to generate interest from the press. Other widely used tools include brochures, flyers, mailer campaigns, road shows, newsletters, annual reports etc. Now, as time has changed, technology has created new ways to build and brand your company. Beyond traditional techniques, increasingly, companies are utilizing interactive social media outlets, such as blogging, microblogging, social media updates etc.

Advertising messages are usually paid, by the sponsors and viewed via various traditional media, including newspaper, magazines, online media, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor Advertising or direct mail; or new media such as blogs and websites and text messages.

Which get more credibility - PR or Advertising?

Publicity in the media through PR is more credible than Advertising. Many big players are relatively light purchasers of Advertising but heavy proponents of PR. There are many organizations that use less Advertising, but are frequently featured in business magazines and the general press, which carry tremendous credibility.

Noticeably, public relations can make a long-lasting impact on public awareness at a small part of the cost of Advertising. Getting publicity through PR happens in a low cost and sometimes even free. It is considered to be a low-cost alternative and more effective to other marketing tactics such as traditional Advertising and media buying.


So, what is the reason behind?

In case of PR, the organization does not pay for the space or time to get into the media, but only pays for the PR person to develop and circulate stories and manage certain events.

The media is always in hunt of interesting news. If you target the right media at the right time, nothing like that. If the company develops an attention-grabbing story, it could be picked up by all the news media and be worth millions of Rupees in equivalent to Advertising. Besides, it would have more credibility than Advertising as it is the process by which one can create a positive image and customer preference through third-party endorsement. Some experts say that consumers are five times more likely influenced by editorial copy than by Advertising.

Advertising, no matter how intelligent, witty, dramatic or aesthetically pleasing, is self-promotion. Some people are very skeptical of advertisements. Furthermore, Advertising is very expensive, especially if you have a big market to cover. On the other hand, PR goes through a filtering process. The editor or reporter scrutinizes the information before publishing, and picks the matter which is newsworthy and thus has more credibility. What PR lacks is it has no control over how the media which presents your information. But, the crisis management can rectify the negative coverage. Besides, media is not compelled to cover your event or publish your press release just because you sent something to them.

Advertising claims, uses refinement, comparisons, and borrows from the arts and psychology to try to influence decisions. But, PR is based on information, not seduction.

So, PR is better than any marketing tool including Advertising. The creative use of news events, publications, social events, community relations, and other PR techniques offers companies a way to distinguish themselves and their products from their competitors and build their brand.

A survey done jointly by Worldcom Public Relations Group and the Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN) found both PR practitioners and Advertising specialists think that PR is making better use of social media.

Though PR can bring more credibility, Advertising can reinforce it. It's what we call PR-oriented Advertising. PR first establishes the credibility of the brand, and Advertising then reaffirms and reinforces the brand's credibility and brings more popularity.

Assam Silk

Assam silk – A traditional dress material - unparalled!

I love Mekhela Chador. Usually I wear it for office, and love to wear in various occasions. Many a times, I am asked by my non-Assamese peers and colleagues, what it is called, what material it is, what are the costs, where to get etc. So, I thought of writing few lines on Assam silk today.

Assam silk signifies the three types of indigenous wild silks produced in Assam—golden Muga, white Paat and warm Eri silk.

Muga silk is the product of the silkworm Antheraea assamensis unique only to Assam. The larvae of these moths feed on som (Machilus bombycina) and sualu (Litsaea polyantha) leaves. The silk produced is known for its glossy fine texture and durability.

Due to its low porosity the Muga yarn cannot be bleached or dyed and its natural golden color is retained. This silk can be hand-washed with its lustre increasing after every wash. Very often the silk outlives its owner.

Assam is the largest producer of this golden silk across the globe.Assam has received a geographical indication for the production of Muga.

According to the records of Assam Government, about 2625 hectares of land are utilised for production of Muga Silk, in Assam. Approximately 30,000 Assamese households are associated with Muga Silk production. There are 15 Muga Silk Reeling units in Assam.




Paat silk is produced by silkworms which feed on mulberry (Morus spp.) leaves. It is usually brilliant white or off-white in colour. Its cloth can dry in shadow.

Approximately 40,000 families of the state are engaged in the production of Mulberry Silk. The total area under the cultivation of food plants for the mulberry silkworms is about 2300 hectares. In Assam, the Mulberry Silk Worm culture is practised on a large scale in the districts of Upper Assam, like Lakhimpur, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Jorhat districts etc.



Eri silk is made by Samia cynthia ricini which feed on leaves of Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis). It is also known as Endi or Errandi silk. Because manufacturing process of Eri allows the pupae to develop into adults and only the open ended cocoons are used for turning into silk, it is also popularly known as non-violent silk. This silk is soft and warm and is popular for Eri shawls and quilts.

The total area under the cultivation of food plants of Eri Silk Worm in the state counts for about 2993 hectares. Currently, the state has 21 Eri Silk Spinning training centres. Approximately 1.28 lakh families of Assam are linked with the rearing and production of Muga Silk.


Another variety of silk is Paat Muga, which is very popular in Assam. It is the mixture of both Paat and Muga silk.

There is another type of silk which is close to Assamese ladies' daily lives - called as 'Kesa Paat'

The weaving style of Assam is very unique.Although, silk is produced in many districts of Assam, Sualkuchi is the main silk weaving centre of Assam. Half an hour drive from Guwahati, Sualkuchi is also called as the ‘Manchester of the East.


Few pictures from my family occasions:

My Sister in Law (cousin's) - Recently got married:

Me with my sister Ashapurna on my marraige :

My Mom and me :

With my Sister, Aunts on my Brother's marraige:

In juron:

Maintain the Gap

It was a kind of celebration when my Mom told me that she had got and confirmed one maid for me. The girl belongs to the village where my parents’ maid is getting married; Belongs to the Tea-Garden community. She must be 13/14 years old. Her name is Pokhila.

My Mom arrived Delhi taking her along on the 21st day of my son’s birth. I felt very relieved. My Mom introduced her to me. She was silent, sat quietly in a stool; And kept sitting till I asked her to wash her hand and feet and be fresh. My Mom asked me to connect my mobile to her uncle in Assam. I did. I talked to him first, gave assurance of keeping her nicely and then handed over the phone to Pokhila. She took the phone, said something in her language and started crying. She talked for at least half an hour in her language.

From very next morning, my Mom started teaching her various tasks. I decided that I will behave her like my own sister so that she also loves my child and cares for all of us. My Mother-in-Law is very simple, easy going; She never said, but, my Mom kept saying me that maintain some gap with Pokhila. My Mother –in –Law, my husband and me started behaving her like our family member.

Mother-in-law went a step ahead. She used to give the biggest piece of fish to Pokhila in dinner and lunch; if she is giving me or my husband one piece of sweet, she would offer Pokhila two pieces at least. May be, she did all these so that she takes care of us nicely, in her absence.

It was winter time. And I allowed Pokhila to sit in my bed, under the same quilt. We also allowed her to have food in our dining table. She started accepting us. My Mom went back. Pokhila got that much of comfort level that she started singing loudly while doing any task. Our TV became her own property. The TV programs started running according to her wishes. I used to be busy with my son all those days. And my Mother-in-Law used to assign her works.

After couple of days, Pokhila came to my room in a bad mood. I asked her what happened, taking her in confidence. She said in a very bad language – “I have not come here to fight with that old lady. Please make her understand that.”

She started saying ‘No’ whatever my mother in law used to ask for. It became an Every-Day issue. Gradually, we realized she will do whatever she feels like, else she will retaliate.

I thought “Thank God, she is not showing attitude with me.” and discussed with my Mother-in –law. She said, “Be prepared, she will start her actions after I leave for Guwahati.”

Few weeks later, my Mother in Law left. First few days were going fine. Gradually, Pokhila started showing her colours with me too. Whatever I used to say, she used to reply me in negative way. Not only that, without any reasons, she started making a swelled mouth and would not have food for days. I used to be very furious, sometimes. I used to feel like slapping her. Once, she did not have food for three days – and that’s for a small reason – I asked her to wash her hand after brooming the rooms. As a result, she developed gastritis. I had to take her to the doctor, had to serve her for three/four days. Does not matter for me. But, when she was fine, again she continued with fighting. I kept tolerating, as I was planning to join job while my baby was five months.

This way, I passed four months with her, scolding a bit, tolerating rest of the times. I joined an organization which allowed me to come home in between, offered flexible timings and which was located near to my home.

After getting my first salary, I wanted to buy some stuff for Pokhila as she was looking after my son. Also, there was a marriage ceremony of my husband’s colleague at Meerut. We planned to go. We thought to buy a good dress for her to attend the marriage too.

So, next day, after coming back from office, we both husband and wife went to the market, though we were quite tired. We bought couple of dresses, cosmetics etc. to her. We took some time in the market and were a bit late in returning. While we reached home, she was not talking to any of us. She just handed over our baby to us and went to her room and sat making her abusing face. I felt quite bad. I thought that I would give her surprises and the situation was quite bad. We were tensed as next day was a working day. And after coming back from office a bit early, we were planning to go to Meerut. If she continued with such a mood, I would have to take a leave next day and the plan would be spoiled.

I went to her, talked to her sweetly. I presented her all her gifts and told her that we will be going to the marriage next very day. And crossing the fingers, came out from the room. After 10/ 15 mins, she came out from her room and started doing her work silently. Her bad mood was still reflecting in her face, but better than before.

Few minutes later I went to the balcony to do some work, which is adjacent to our guest room and her room too. I was shocked!!!!!! All the gifts I gave to her, she tore the bags and threw all the dresses and cosmetics in the balcony.

Extreme level of temperature I felt! I thought what to do. When she saw me going to the balcony, she started singing a song…..may be with a delight of triumph….or what!

After few minutes, making myself understand, I came inside. I asked her and my husband, who had thrown out all those dresses. She replied without any delay – “I thrown out. What will you do?”…..

My consciousness betrayed me….I could not wait anymore. I slapped her….one, twice, thrice……But situation became bad. She also retaliated. She also started beating me…..My God!!!! My husband came in between……

I talked to her Uncle. He said that she creates this kind of situations at home too. He talked to her and said something, don’t know what. At last, the situation became cool….somehow. We decided to send her back soon.

Now, almost every week situation repeats…..But, I tolerate, as I don’t want to get slaps from a maid. Off lately, I realized that whenever I talk to my friends, colleagues, family members, I just talked about her to get my this toxin out of the body and mind.

Also, I feel……what level I have now……A lady who was bitten by a maid without a reason…! Now, I eat my angers on the maid, sleep on angers on the maid and dream also on the angers on the maid.

Now, my mom consols me …and accuse me of not maintaining any gap from the very beginning.

***

Power of Mobile Mania

Billions of people are talking on mobile-phones in every second. Whether they are cooking, driving cars, watching television or relaxing in their bedrooms. Can we now think our lives without mobile-handsets? Even a day….or few hours?

We are far away from our parents, childhood friends..relatives….But mobile does not allow us to feel the distance! What a miracle it is!

But, how this mobile mania is effecting some people’s lives?......Here is an example from my family.

I got to know from my mom few weeks back …that one of my cousins, Biju (Not disclosing the real name), who was brilliant, bright student did unexpectedly bad result in his exams. He was very fast in playing games in mobile, writing long SMS in fraction of a second, and could fix various handset related problems without taking any training. He used to be the most favorite student of the teachers always. He used to rank among top 3 since class I till class IX. We all relatives knew and expected that he would rank among top 10/20 in Assam board exams.

I frequently used to get sms from him, something like – “Hi di, hw r u? Say my hi 2 Gju!” , “Whn r u comn 2 Assam? Waitn…!” etc.

Now, it’s been couple of months now, I have not received any sms from him. So, I asked my mom what happened to Biju, how was his result …My mom told me that he secured second division, and it was all because of his Mobile mania.

I felt bad. Wanted to know how it happened ! What is the reason of Biju’s downfall!

I enquired with his parents – my aunt and uncle. They told me that last year, they got complaint from the teachers that he was not writing the answers properly. He started answering the questions in short , infact started using the SMS language – even the short cut of the words. Despite of warning him again and again, he continued to do so. And thus, that was the result in the final exams.

I asked Biju too what was the reason. He believes all his answers were right, but yes, he wrote the way he writes SMS. I asked why he did not try to correct his habits. He replied that he tried, but he was so much into smsing, that he could not come out of it. Ofcourse, he is repenting a bit.

Few weeks back, his parents snatched away his mobile. Now, he is depressed, does not get interest in anything, does not feel like eating, roaming, reading and interacting with anybody. He complaint that he wants it back and requested me to ask his parents to give him back anyhow.

One question raised in my mind - what’s the difference between drug addict and mobile addict?

Beauty of Assam Bandh

What is ‘Assam Bandh’?


This is a kind of holidays , which are well signified in Assam. These holidays give sudden visits, without coming according to the calender, with maximum frequency in a year.


The biggest festival of Assam is Bihu…..which comes thrice in a year…. But Assam Bandh comes at least 10-15 times a year. It is a day for celebration for some, and a time for relaxation for others.

I visit Assam once or twice in a year, and this is a record, that I never missed an Assam Bandh during my visit. Lucky me! But, sometimes it becomes troublesome too.

Last year, I went to Assam for 20 days. I stayed couple of days at my in –Laws’s place and then went to my maternal place –Jorhat to stay few days there. My mom informed me beforehand that we would have to visit Grand-ma’s place at Sibsagarh to attend a family Puja, the very next day we would reach Jorhat.

We reached Jorhat at 8 pm as we drove from Guwahati to Jorhat, enjoying the natural beauty of Assam all the way. Reaching Jorhat, I called up my sister who used to stay in Agriculture University hostel, to ask her if she could accompany us. She replied me in a shocking way…. “How come will u go to Sibsagarh…? …Tomorrow is Saka (Wheel) Bandh!” We were not aware of that as no newspaper, we read, carried the news. The bandh was declared by Bodo student union.

We got worried. What to do now?

Bodo population is extremely thin in upper Assam. And, we did not want to miss the Puja at Grand ma’s place. We decided to start our voyage…became ready to face all the troubles, all the way to Sibsagarh. My Dad said that he would not accompany and wanted to take rest at home for the day. So, my mom, me and my son, my husband and my maid were the travelers.

Next day morning, at around 9am, while we were supposed to start our journey, we suddenly realized that we did not have enough petrol to drive whole the way. It was around 80 kms from Jorhat to our destination. In fact, we checked Dad’s car also, but it also had not enough petrol.

Thinking that may be some petrol pump would be open on the way, taking some risk, we started our journey. Checked all the Petrol pumps on the way…..all were closed. Roads were completely empty. We drove fast.

Suddenly after crossing around 20 kms, we saw two/three people sitting with 10/15 bottles with some raddish water….. They were sitting just opposite side of a closed Petrol Pump in the national high way. Oh…….those bottles were full of petrol! ……My husband immediately stopped the car….and went almost running as if he had got some diamonds!!!

I observed him from inside the car and could see the vivid transformation of his face from a tensed red face into a bright one. He bargained…and bought 10 bottles in four times higher than the petrol price. We were happy! And the sellers too…! Some good feelings also flowed out from our hearts for those people though we were in lose.

So, we reached Grand ma’s place… all uncles, aunties, relatives - all were present in the Puja, despite it was a working day – ‘Wednesday’. All were relaxed…..as it was public holiday – called ‘Assam Bandh’!

Few eLearning Models

Learning is a skill one can improve. But, how to learn is a key to its mastery.

Learning is the crucial determinant of personal and professional success in our ever-changing knowledge age. People and organizations that endeavor to succeed had better get good at it. Few learning models for example :


Game based learning :

Are your learners learning without getting bored? Are all the learners motivated enough to learn more and more? Do you have hard-to-engage learner group and do you need to motivate them?

In many situation, we see that learners loose connections with the course material during the training, be it instructor-led or electronic. They start engaging themselves in drawing something in their note pad, send sms to dear ones or else try to complete their pending tasks. Here, the challenge is to create such training module that engage the learners fully, as we realize that the more interactive the training be (without losing the main objective), the better understanding every learner will have of what we are trying to convey.

In this day and age, applications are the most prevalent medium, when it comes to entertainment. There are social apps, travel apps, photo apps, food apps etc. But the remarkable part of it all is that, gaming apps are still the ones preferred by the majority of the audience. We believe they are the ones that entertain the most. So, why shouldn’t we use their base to help people learn?

Game-based training can help learners acquire new knowledge or abilities in a fun, fast way, while being highly motivating and can generate real competition of people in a risk-free environment. Saying it sounds really simple, but the big challenge comes when trying to think about making it real.

So, first of all, we need to analyze putting ourselves into the end-users’ shoes and try to come up with what we would be interested in experiencing, seeing, listening and ultimately learning.

The objective of Game-based training should not be to entertain but to use entertainment to reinforce learning. The main focus when developing learning games should remain on :

 Change the dull content into interesting ones
 Create a virtual environment, but realistic and safe environments for the user
 Demand challenges but also make users satisfied
 Learners can learn with relaxed minds
 Learners get motivated as they get points or up-gradation marks
 Help develop side knowledge: build an assumption, solve problems, and develop strategies
 Have defined objectives for each problem
 Totally interactive.
 Covert knowledge heavy content into lighter and more effective
 Invite to think, develop, analyze, summarize, and conclude
 Have fun: keep continuous connection and interest of the learner with the course
 Meet industry standards



Simulation-based training :


There can be many situations like, sometimes, complex and heavy-weight equipments are hard to set-up in an educational institution or an organization for demonstration; it is not feasible for many educational institutes to set-up full-fledged laboratory facility for the students ; in some medical institutes, real dissections or operations are not possible for the practice sessions; in manufacturing companies, it is not possible that laborers learn or demonstrate the functionality and parts of a heavy machinery. Or, in many situations, some organization feel the need of testing some ideas or information analysis in virtual environments before actually implementing them.

In such kind of scenarios, Simulation-based training offers a user-friendly interface and a highly effective way of demonstration. A user can play in an interactive environment and discover the functions and constraints of a model. A real experiment scenario can be simulated on the user’s screen.

Simulation-based training gives the learners opportunity to make error. It allows the learners to practice in a risk- free –learning environment. The learner can also get real time grading, feedback, report etc.

Besides, ‘Break’ is very important in a training. Continuous textual, animation, graphics –based knowledge can drag distraction to the learners. So, to keep up the learner’s continuous interest and connection, hands on experience can be provided to the learner through simulation based training.

To take some example, in case of marketing management, marketing, operations, and strategy making are the closest to give a real-life experience. Here, simulations can be worked on in teams or individual. At the back-end of such training modules lies the master-mind of training creator, who provides numerous scenarios to test the capability of the participants.

In a corporate, simulation-based trainings can help enhance skill sets of new and existing employees in shortest amount of time, by customizing the training to the technology, processes, and functioning of the organization. Such trainings are highly effective to actively manage and analyse data in an organization. In fact, Simulation platforms offer an edge when it comes to testing ideas. Users can identify the possible outcomes, prepare an action plan, test the plan or idea in a simulated environment, and hence make an informed decision to introduce a positive change in the business.

Simulation-based trainings are ideal for Medical, Manufacturing, Marketing Management, Technical courses etc.


Collaborative Learning :

Traditionally, learning in organizations has consisted of structured courses, classroom training, elearning, seminars and on the job training etc. Information gets outdated today almost as fast as one blinks. Capturing the tacit knowledge of individuals is perhaps one of the biggest challenges in knowledge management. In their quest for growth and market dominance, even the best of organizations are facing unique challenges and struggling for solutions. These experiences, if shared with the entire team in real-time, on a platform that can organize such diverse information into structured content - can provide the advantage needed to excel in today’s global economy.

While mentoring is known to be one of the most successful ways to train people, mentoring large numbers of people is difficult, though not impossible. What if, the mentoring your team needs has to come from a diverse set of mentors? Across geographical boundaries? From experts in the field who are not part of your team? Can best practices be gleaned from contemporaries, colleagues, management, experts and mentors alike – simultaneously – in real time – without turning your best people into full time trainers or taking them away from their core competency, ever?

Gnosis provides such a platform. Gnosis provides a mechanism to not only structure such collaborative content from the experts, but also provides analytical tools to measure and reward such contributions.

Tap the Tacit Knowledge

Tacit knowledge is the significant information that resides in an individual’s mind. Tacit knowledge is difficult to track and capture as it is not written down. It is simply the knowledge, someone has gathered from experience. It is unseen and thus often untapped. But it is a treasure pyramid of knowledge.

Much of the learning can happen by way of learning from the experts and experienced professionals. Organizations that can identify and connect experts, who can share their tacit knowledge benefit by providing higher quality solutions, grow faster. However, such tacit knowledge sharing is typically unstructured and does not provide ways to measure the expanse of the knowledge. Capturing the tacit knowledge of individuals is perhaps one of the biggest challenges in knowledge management.

So, how to tap the tacit knowledge?

Carrying informal discussions into a collaborative environment is an ideal way to begin. It replaces off-the-cuff interactions like shouting over the cubicle and blasting email threads with a single, well-structured place where people can collaborate, that may extend to customers and partners.

In a corporate scenario, where employees can come together, collaborate, share and learn from each other on job-related skills or product and service functions, collaboration with the experience and expert people who have been in the job function for several years is very important. Also, while a standard training program or on the job training does provide for the initial training that is required to perform a job function, the expertise of the experienced professionals in that function can enable one to learn the nuances associated with a job function. So, expertise management becomes a central ideology of tacit knowledge.

Organization should provide such a platform which should enable people to share information about a current issue, problem, or any relevant query with knowledge veterans. Organizations, by automatically capturing these interactions, can expand the scope of reusable knowledge to include various silos data, by recording, documenting, and storing for future reference.

In many situations, even, within a professional community or an organization, we see lack of motivation for the experts to spend time in sharing their knowledge with the inexperienced. So, it is also important to provide recognition and encouragement to the expert contributions by tracking and measuring such contributions, thereby motivating them to share their expertise.

Click at http://www.infoprolearning.com/gnosis/ to know more.

Dip into the pool of Social Learning

Social media technologies have ushered a new era in the learning industry. In recent years, organizations of all sizes have started using social media technologies both internally and externally. External usages are for marketing, customer support, and many other uses and internally social media technologies are used to increase collaboration, communication, informal learning, and ultimately, business success.

The technologies differ depending on business needs and availability, but usually include some combination of blogs, forums, social networking, micro-messaging, social bookmarking, podcasting, video-sharing etc.

There are many ways to leverage from the Social learning within an organization:

• Encourage collaborative learning by linking your social learning tool or platform with your intranet portals, your Learning Management System, and so on. Linking to and from related e-Learning courses can be a just right way to supplement your existing formal learning content.

• Persuade people to regularly visit, post, involve, discuss in the forum
• Get relevant leaders in the organization involve in promoting the forum by sharing their thoughts, speaking and advising from their experience and expertise. Encouraging Thought Leadership can help the organization tap into the tacit knowledge
• If there is a great discussion at the forum or if someone gives a real good idea or excellent answer to any question, let the senior management pick and highlight that to encourage people to use it
• Enable newcomers to learn together by collaborating with each other and asking questions to the key veterans, or the subject matter experts

So, translate Organizational Knowledge into Organized Wisdom through social collaborative learning.

Click at http://www.infoprolearning.com/gnosis/ to know more.

Collaborative Learning is superior

Learning is no longer memorizing what the teacher considers important. Today, we are in transition. It is now time to convert yourself from training pawns to proactive learning opportunists.

We do most of our learning during spontaneous, collaborative activities. We learn on-the-job, from other people like parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, teachers, playmates, cousins, roommates, teammates, classmates, coaches, study groups, mentors, bosses, colleagues, gossips, co-workers, neighbors, and even, our children.

We even learn more in the recreation room than in the classroom. We discover how to do our jobs through informal learning, e.g, observing others, asking the person in the next cubicle, discussing with the experienced and experts of the organization, calling the help desk, try and learn from mistakes, and simply working with people.

Research says that collaborative learning is three times more important in becoming proficient on the job than company-provided training. Most people developed many of their skills by modeling the behavior of their colleagues and peers. People, who are well connected or networked, make greater contributions than those who are not.

Informal learning is personal. The learner individually takes the responsibility. In formal or traditional learning environment, learning is imposed by someone else. In case of formal learning - classes and workshops and online events - is the source of only 10% to 20% of what we learn at work. While traditional learning helps establish a sound foundation, it frequently falls short in completely meeting expectations of a professional environment, where graduates are expected to acquire, interpret, and evaluate information to learn, reason, and solve problems.

We need to bring a collaborative, structured, community-based learning approach, which allows us discuss with others who help us define what is relevant, which provides the learners the freedom of place and time to access their online courses anywhere, anytime and through any device and which can bridge the gap and provide continuity between informal and formal learning.