How much will you pay for my free content?

Since the inception of ChirpLearning, I have been trying to make people aware of all the high quality free content that is out on the Internet. When you combine access to this content with the opportunity to connect with hundreds of millions of others on social media sites, you create an extremely powerful and valuable free resource for learning. My question remains: why are you paying for systems and content when you can utilize an exponentially more powerful and free resource to let your employees learn what interests them, when they have time and where they want to do so?

The primary excuses will be no tracking or you are nervous about a renegade employee. Let me address these two concerns. First, no reporting or tracking. What are your utilization rates now? 3-5%across your target population? And you need to track this? What exactly does tracking tell you? Does it actually tell you the impact that your programs are having or just show how many people are fulfilling a mandate from above? Also, if you utilize a system like ChirpLearning to send out links to people about relevant topics, you can get tracking with some existing, albeit rudimentary tools, like bitly. My guess would be that utilization rates for targeted and timely content would be significantly higher than you have today.

How about the renegade employee who spills company information. How many of you have heard the story of the person that hit reply all instead of reply and sent out a nasty, embarrassing email. What was your recourse? With an open community like LinkedIn and the others, the renegade employee can be neutralized by others as well as offer a learning opportunity.Besides, that employees is probably already using these sites without your knowledge.

There are already sites out there that let users download textbooks for free as well as pay. Take a look at FlatWorld and its business model. This is the future, not a closed LMS with top down learning mandates.

So the next time a vendor comes in to sell you its content or platform, ask them why it isn't free.

Chirp of the Day: Talks@Google

Google's YouTube collection: Talks@Google.

Chirp of the Day: Video on Sustainability and Learning

Peter Senge, MIT professor and founder of the Society for Organizational Learning, describes learning's role in creating a sustainable organization and the key differences between training and learning. Video

Chirp of the Day: Must read article from Fast Company - The App Is Mightier Than the Mainframe

The App is Mightier Than the Mainframe

"There is a story that Google chief information officer Ben Fried likes to tell about his old job, as the managing director of Morgan Stanley. "There was this intern who came to work in the research department one summer," Fried says. "After a couple of days of orientation and getting a good look at the technology that the IT department had given him, one day this guy decides to come in with his own computer and a great big monitor. He sets it up at an empty desk near the window, and he plugs in a cellular modem to get online. He never connected to the company network at all. He used all of his own technology. And you know what? He was the highest-rated intern in his class."

Chirp of the Day: Knowledge@Emory - The Shifting Dynamics When Leaders Leave

Another great free resource for learning. Knowledge@Emory - The Shifting Dynamics When Leaders Leave

Chirp of the Day: Tackling Your Blockers

Blog post from Barb Arth, an analyst at Bersin & Co. http://bit.ly/bHnsiE

Chirp of the Day: Cool video presentation on the new world of work

"As the workplace becomes increasingly demanding, diverse and dispersed globally, the leader at the top will have to throw away the textbooks, un-learn the leadership styles of the 'command and control' era and embrace a radical, new world approach to leadership - 'co-ordinate and cultivate' today's new workforce.

Organisations are suddenly faced with a collision in the workplace: The Veterans, who, although rapidly diminishing in numbers are the epicentre of tradition, knowledge and experience; the Baby Boomers and Gen X who have lived through decades of overindulgence and luxury; then enter Generation Y, the child of the 'baby boomer' parent. Growing up in the most dynamic economy in the twentieth century they have been brought up to believe they can change the world. Optimistic, upbeat and filled with a sense of empowerment -- they are the new kids on the block and think they can achieve anything...or so their parents told them, taught they can do anything and don't settle for mediocrity - Richard Branson meets Paris Hilton."

http://bit.ly/9b9CdN

Chirp of the Day: Managing Yourself: What’s Your Personal Social Media Strategy?

An interesting article from HBR: Managing Yourself: What’s Your Personal Social Media Strategy?

Chirp of the Day: Handle Challenging Conversations with Confidence

From Ken Blanchard: Handle Challenging Conversations with Confidence

Chirp of the Day:How to keep your star employees

How to keep your star employees http://bit.ly/dBGzxJ

Chirp of the Day: Recruiters beware

Company recruiters need to be aware that they are representing the company first. Their actions can have a profound impact on future sales. The recruiter needs to be aware that the candidate they turn down today, may be a decision maker at his/her next job. A good recruiter can have a very positive impact just as a bad recruiter can have the opposite effect. Anyone have any examples of good and bad?