Back in February I wrote a post about Personal Learning Environments. Michele Martin responded with this great comment.

“In the 21st Century I think it’s really critical that we all have a well thought-out career plan that’s based on an assessment of our personal strengths and passions, a marketing plan that includes a blog and an online portfolio for selling our personal brand, and a personal learning environment for continuous professional development. These are the things that keep us nimble and adaptable and I think that they serve both us and our employers much better”

You can read more on how Michele created her own PLE over on her blog. I’ve been wondering about the (perhaps undervalued) potential for PLEs together with ePortfolios (and even lifelogging) to integrate web2.0 with existing workplace learning and personal development planning. I’m dreaming up a way to have an ambient PLE/ePortfolio utility or system to help me achieve my goals. I’m thinking of something that aligns my personal objectives with my actual learning and collaboration activity. Ideally I’d like an integrated life based learning model - a virtual coaching application perhaps. My mind buzzes with the possibilities. And while I’m still learning- I’m definitely going to keep watching this space with interest.

He spoke of her passion for people and how he saw her career progress - not by putting herself first - but by always thinking of how to improve things and progress things for other people.

What a wonderful quality to be known for. Sometimes in this web2.0 space I’m cautious not to begin too many sentences beginning with “I”. Although I know it can be “all about me” in the web2.0 world I hope that my focus also can be about others. When does personal expression and conversation turn into pure navel gazing with an audience?

So while I challenge myself, let me also ask you. What is your personal online brand doing for others? Is your brand all about you? Have you seen any examples of personal brands that speak less of the person and more of other people?

Can you believe it? Wonderwebby is ONE! Over the last twelve months I have somehow shared 103 posts worth of random thoughts, notes of interest and even a few things about myself. You have left your own thoughts and comments, which I always thoroughly appreciate! As I write this wonderwebby has a modest number of subscribers (thank you!), is ranked number 27,142 on Technorati and number 99 on Australia’s Ratified (admittedly largely thanks to the Age of Conversation link love - a project I may not have volunteered for without confidence in writing gained by blogging.)

Apparently I write about web2.0, social media, virtual worlds, art & design, creative therapy, learning & business and a couple of posts on balancing motherhood and work. Blogging here (and social media in general) has helped me rediscover some things I enjoy. I find blogging to be such a good exercise in writing, thinking, sharing, conversation, expression, learning and discovery.

Please take a moment to comment and say hello to help celebrate my blog’s birthday I’d love it if you could share why you subscribed or visited in the first place. What type of content would you like to read more of? Which posts have you enjoyed? Thanks so much for visiting!

A bunch of teenagers. Four colours. A song and a little determination. One take.Upload.

the original by Feist 1234

In response to a group writing project (competition) for Absorbing Writing: Writing Workshops In Italy, “Your ideal writing weekend”.

Image originally uploaded by Curious Expeditions

48 hours to go. Ready to rock ‘n’ roll I take a deep breath and flick my wrist in web flinging Spidey-action, launching my holographic laptop. Or maybe cup of tea first. Flick off. Boil. Pour. Flick on…..ahhh.

Needing some tunes to inspire, I casually wave my finger through the air and the screen ripples as I open Last.fm. The song randomly served up reminds me of my husband and our cheeky little monkeys so I dip into their lifestream to see what they are up to. Laughter. Screaming. Smiles. Chaos….Sweeeeet.

47 hours and 50 something minutes to go…I begin. I’m using a combination of voice recognition, typing and a slightly manic hand waving gesture with my LifeWriter. The words find some form and characters begin to bloom, but the words come to a screeching halt as it hits 3pm and I hit a wall. I decide to do a bit of quick research by diving into a virtual world through a new tag and character portal - and find some inspiration amongst talking lilies and a kid with a seriously augmented reality, who is mashing up some brew of philosophy, hacked data and geographic locations. I dip out as soon as I find myself caught up talking to a Penguin about the recipe for corn flake cookies.

12 hours to go, fast forward through some coffee, more writing, more coffee, a nap, a short walk for fresh air listening to an episode of This American Life. Oh, and a burst of late night tweeting. I’m nearly there and enjoying the long bursts of wordiness in between online social interactions. Looking out to the countryside, I try to remember what it was like when words were captured with a typewriter or a pen.

1 hour to go. Time to sit down and read my own cooking with a fresh pair of eyes, before I power off all devices to enjoy the stillness out here. I tweet to @kellypuffs on the other side of the planet to ask her how to make the perfect G&T. “Naturally, with 12 cubes of ice!” she replies.

In my last post I mentioned the importance of sharing what you know:

Regardless of where you want to position yourself in social media in the future, you can make a difference where you are right now, by sharing what you already know. In addition, how can you build up a core competency and weave social media goodness into it?

Little Lola guards her social media candy,
dreaming of the day she will be a social media rockstar
Image courtesy of virtual chameleon Iron Fillings

Consider your role, your area of expertise and ask yourself how you can sprinkle some social media wonderment? If you know something about the benefits of social media and social networking within the enterprise (or wherever) are you sharing it with your colleagues?

Example 1. My (very clever) husband was able to a case study group at Uni to use a wiki. He didn’t just send them a link. He uploaded material that was doing the email rounds, then sat down with them to demonstrate how to use it and won them over. They started using the wiki straight away for their project. No more manic email sending and sorting.

Example 2. As Kerry McGuire points out in her recent post on Learning and social media, the company we work for has a program & community called BlueIQ where we are able to volunteer as Ambassadors for social media. We have a community of people around the world who share what they know with others, a wiki with information and case studies - and I am trying to make a more concerted effort to create short informal session with my project team members, my own colleagues and other groups I am connected with by booking some dates in.

It doesn’t take much to make a little bit of social media work. You don’t need a grand plan to share a little bit of knowledge. How can you make it work where you are right now? Are you guarding your candy or are you investing your knowledge in people who will benefit?

Love blogging? Find yourself addicted to your RSS reader, creating content or having conversations with your global network at odd hours of the day or night? Perhaps you are so passionate about social media that you are thinking you want to work in the area. “I want to be a social media specialist“, you cry.

REWIND. I’ve met plenty of people in the past who wanted to work in traditional media, including myself. But if you want to stand out in the industry and position yourself as an expert, you should consider the unique experience and skills only you could bring to a job.

PAUSE. If you seem to be spending all of your time just trying to keep up with the shiny new things, pause for a second. If you could have a job in social media, what could you bring to the role to make it special?

FAST FORWARD. Many people are entering the workforce with “social media skills“and social media roles are still being defined and emerging. Take a peek at Jeremiah Owyang’s list of social media strategists and community managers to get an idea of the companies and roles currently filled in this space.

A recent post in Conversations matter breaks it down to several roles you could consider, including Social Media Strategist, Community Manager, Social Site Management, Blogging, Monitoring, and Web Innovations.

In addition, what about specialising in existing industries or roles aligned to social media?

Industry: Is there a particular industry you want to align yourself with? Eg telecommunications, accounting, not-for-profit sector, government, education, small to medium business, etc.

Demographic: Are you interested in enterprise-wide adoption of social media or do you prefer to work with individuals in small groups?

B2B and P2P: For instance, do you have a special interest in social lending?

Collaboration: Do you have a passion for collaboration and storytelling? Do you enjoy the conversation? Are you passionate about community?

HR, Change and Training. Do you have an appreciation for organisational change, HR, incentives, training, mentoring, business transformation, morale and productivity?

Social. Is your special interest in psychology or therapy?

Knowledge and Information. Are you experienced in knowledge management and intellectual capital?

Communications. Does the area of communication, marketing, PR, or branding appeal to you?

Technical, Programming genius? IT fanatic? Coding legend?

Mobile: Do you love all things mobile, are you crazy about your mobile phone or iPod Touch?

Media and design: Perhaps you like to create -you are a design superstar with a real zeal for creating beautiful things? Do you love to blog, make podcasts, animations or videos? Is your interest in the area of usability and user experience and information design?

Research and future trends: Maybe you like the area of business intelligence, analysis and research? Or are you a futurist interested in emerging trends? Innovation junkie?

And of course there is also the area of virtual worlds -which you could possibly break down to some of the above roles and skills..probably another post altogether.

So when you say you want to work in social media - where do you see yourself?

PLAY. Regardless of where you want to position yourself in social media in the future, you can make a difference where you are right now, by sharing what you already know. In addition, how can you build up a core competency and weave social media goodness into it?

This is by no means an exhaustive list or breakdown of roles, and some intersect and overlap. What would you add to this list?

What makes a company respected, special or important? Any ideas? If you’re up for a challenge - please answer the following three questions this week. I’ll be relaying the most informative answers back to IBM’s global marketing and communications group, who are interested in knowing your thoughts. Please leave your name, position and company details if you can (or email jasmin at wonderwebby dot com) and feel free to use video or other media to respond I look forward to reading the responses!

1. What company or companies do you most respect? Why? What makes them special and different from others?

2. Has “what’s important” changed over time? Did you respect different companies in the past? Why? What has changed?

3. What makes a company great? What characteristics are most important? How would you describe a truly great company?

Update: More opportunities to share your impressions of IBM over here on LinkedIn - and your experience at IBM overe here on the Greater IBM Connection

Wordie is a lovely little visualisation tag cloud tool doing the blogger rounds. Wordie was created by Jonathan Feinberg who - as it turns out - has also played drums for They Might be Giants!

My Animation Masters Project Report 2003:

My Age of Conversation Manifesto 2008:

What a great way to create a quick visual concept for a short or long document (or CV, or ad campaign, or book or…)

Martin Jorgensen is a man with a passion for narrative. With a background in writing and IT, he is currently studying to be a teacher and saw a gap in the use of web resources for story writing in the classroom. So, he set up self-funded website Lightning Bug to help young adults engage with story writing , which now attracts 40 to 800 visitors per day. He is hoping to launch “The Digital Narrative” in September this year - a website dedicated to writing using digital media.

“Young adults are growing up younger and faster with more expected of them each day. Understanding how to write a good story is an extremely effective way to express a point of view. Young adults writing stories become empowered; they deserve to be and should be heard.

The quote by Carlos Fuentes ‘writing is a struggle against silence’ comes close to describing my inspiration for creating Lightning Bug and Digital Narrative. Through my study and work in education and professional writing, I’ve developed a strong interest in engaging young adults in story writing. It’s something I believe in as an educator, as a parent, and as writer.”

I know Martin through his remarkable wife Penni. We met through our involvement in an Australian web community for mothers in 2002. But that’s another story.