Web 2 is just the beginning.

I was sorting through the EDNA groups posts on my email and came
across a few themes to share. One comes via Leigh Blackall http://
learnonline.wordpress.com/2007/01/20/market-to-conversation-or-
conversation-to-market/ which in turn led to cluetrain http://
cluetrain.com/ . I hadn't read this before but it details, I guess,
the nature of organisations that are going to be more successful in
their marketing and their market place. Amongst the many points listed
are gems like "There are no secrets. The networked market knows more
than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is
good or bad, they tell everyone." and "Brand loyalty is the
corporate version of going steady, but the breakup is inevitable-and
coming fast. Because they are networked, smart markets are able to
renegotiate relationships with blinding speed." I think the key idea
here is that it is not just learning communities that are utilising
the expanded capability the net now provides but also business and
consumers of all kinds are doing the same, it is the new environment.
Who amongst you still uses a Super 8 camera, a typewriter, a cassette
recorder, leaded petrol, or a black and white tele? They were replaced
with CD players, computers, unleaded petrol and wide screen
television. It was inevitable. Does anyone think there is still a mass
market for typewriters? Does anyone think that the nature of
communication now provided by the Internet will go back to the way it
was in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990,or 2000? It wont.
Things have changed.

Virtual reality jamming in Second Life

Ninjam allow musicians to jam over the internet. It has been a runaway success. Some of the jams are of a very high standard and all musical styles and instruments are starting to be represented. I was amazed that one of the more dominant players announced that he was streaming the jam into second life so that his avatar would have been part of a virtual concert I suppose. I would have entered and checked but would have had to sign up on the spot. I am not exactly sure how this fits with online learning but there is a message there somewhere.

Instructables: collaborative instructions

This is neat anyone can post how they make something and others can comment, if their method is different for instance. The example here is for making pesto, images and neat little rollovers do the work for you. A similar application called visarios uses videos as its method of instruction From a post on masternewmedia.

Kiva "web 2.0 meets the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize".

You cant help but like this idea, kiva allows westerners to lend money to developing country entrepreneurs so they can fund their small business ventures. From read/write web

There snow crisis: all I can see is sand

It's time we got our heads out of the sand. No snow in Moscow at Christmas, no snow at some of the European resorts. The focus of this blog is the hospitality industry and the impact of events like this are obvious but it seems that 2007 will be the year that the impact of global warming comes into sharp focus for all of us. Perhaps that should be all of our new years resolution: to change our practices in a way that contribute to a sustainable world. In vocational education there cant be many excuses left for continuing inflexible, fundamentally unsustainable delivery methodologies. Read the article from the BBC, via hugg.