 Using the “monitor of popular awareness” known as Google, a number of recent technology innovations in communications—podcasting, vodcasting and blogging, to name a few—are already having a big impact on people’s lives. The question is, when and if these innovations will make the leap to the corporate world in a way that can drive high performance by improving the business impact of corporate communications, or become new technologies for enterprise learning and knowledge management.
Podcasting, Vodcasting and Blogs Take podcasting, for example (32 million hits on Google as of December 2005). The ability to broadcast various kinds of programming to MP3 players is being embraced by a number of major educational institutions. Because huge percentages of the college-age population own MP3 players (the Apple iPod is arguably the most popular of these players; hence, “podcasting,” or broadcasting to an iPod), opportunities to use podcasting as a supplement to traditional classroom instruction make a lot of sense. Missed a class? If you don’t trust your classmate’s note-taking ability, just download the class you missed to your iPod (or your PC, for that matter). Students can also subscribe to lectures and have them automatically downloaded to their computers. The value proposition is pretty clear: access to information anytime, anyplace. Most universities are quick to claim that a podcast is no substitute for the classroom experience (it’s to hear lectures they missed or to re-listen to one they attended), but for a class that is primarily rote and lecture-based, the burden seems to be on a professor to prove why attending the class in person is a superior value. The process is also surprisingly simple from a technology point of view. At the University of Washington in the United States, for example, classes can be recorded with a small MP3 recorder plugged into the lecture hall’s sound system. That recording is then returned to the technical support department after the class to be uploaded to the Web. Even that step can be eliminated with other technologies that can automatically transmit a lecture online as a live audio broadcast, and/or archive it on a media server that students access at their convenience. Says David Aldrich, leading the podcasting initiative for the University of Washington: “Podcasting is perhaps the most exciting innovation to come along in the teaching and learning environment since I've been working at the university.” What about streaming video instead of just audio? You bet. In a convenient accident of the English language, it’s called “vodcasting,” or broadcasting of video-on-demand (only 1.6 million hits on Google). The University of Washington is experimenting with that, as well, though it notes that it’s a more costly alternative. It generally requires a person on site to handle the camera (presuming the professor is at least lively enough to be moving around a bit during the lecture) and also requires some post-production steps before a file can be uploaded to a server. Video also takes up much more storage space on a server than an audio file. Still, as people become more accustomed to downloading video to their MP3 players, and as the costs of digital storage continue to plummet, vodcasting will inevitably rise in popularity. Web logs, or “blogs”—continuously updated diaries maintained on a website—are, not surprisingly, the biggest cultural phenomenon of these new technologies, weighing in at a hefty 78 million hits on Google. Dubbed the “soap box of the digital age,” blogging is being given credit by various observers for reinventing journalism by removing the interpretive lenses of many major news outlets (or, more accurately, for offering substitute lenses). Higher education is embracing blogging, as well. Many scholars now operate their own blogs as a tool for reflection and for receiving valuable feedback from others on ideas. Instructors are using blogs to share additional content with students and updates on assignments, as well as a means of networking and personal knowledge sharing. Students use blogs for assignment submission and review; establishing a method for group work; sharing information and dialogue on a course; and maintaining an ongoing journal for observation and reflection. Corporate Applications: Ready for Prime Time? To what extent do learning professionals in the private and public sectors believe that technologies such as podcasting and blogging are relevant delivery methods for the learning needs of their workers? Accenture research suggests that when it comes to corporate education, these technologies have not yet moved out of the “hype” stage. To assess take-up of these technologies in the enterprise environment, Accenture administered an online survey to learning professionals from a range of industries. Respondents from 84 organizations—about evenly split between those with greater than 10,000 employees and those with fewer—indicate that the three technologies discussed here are just barely registering on the corporate learning radar. Only 1 percent of those surveyed, for example, are using podcasting today. Thirteen percent have plans in place for podcasting applications, 16 percent will be at least considering it and a full 70 percent simply have no plans for it at all. Vodcasting appears to be slightly more popular, at least defined as delivery of video to some device, including PCs: 12 percent of respondents claim to already be using vodcasting. Five percent have active plans in place for such applications, 16 percent will consider it over the coming year and 67 percent are still disinterested. Reflecting its more mature place on the take-up curve, blogging is making a slightly bigger impact in corporate learning. Seven percent of those surveyed are using blogging today; 17 percent have active plans in place for applications and another 28 percent will be considering blogging over the next 12 months. Only 48 percent, by comparison, have no interest in blogging. For those who are using these technologies today, satisfaction levels are high. All respondents, for example, were at least “somewhat” satisfied with their podcasting and blogging applications. Eighty-three percent were at least somewhat satisfied with vodcasting. Respondents are also keenly aware of the potential benefits of these technologies in a learning environment. The top three reasons given for applying these technologies are: - Providing a 24/7 mobile learning format.
- Targeting a delivery mode that appeals to younger workers.
- Providing a means for supplementary content (following an instructor-led class or webinar).
Yet these potential benefits do not seem to be making a big impact on respondents’ confidence in the rapid take-up of these technologies in the near future. On average, these learning professionals believe that by 2008 only 3 percent of their learning programs will be delivered via podcasting. Five percent of programs will use vodcasting and 6 percent will incorporate blogging. Obstacles We also asked respondents for some written comments, especially advice they would give to their peers about the use of these newer technologies. Many of the comments provide insight into the potential obstacles to the use of applications like podcasting and blogging in enterprise learning. Security is one obvious issue. “Our current security and privacy needs are severely restricting our ability to even mention some of these alternatives,” writes one respondent. “For example, as a firm we have even had to remove all instant messaging capabilities.” Existing technology infrastructures are another barrier for many companies. “Even if I wanted to use these new technologies,” writes one executive, “we could not do so because our current infrastructure cannot support them. My organization does not have the appetite to invest until 2008.” Another respondent advises: “Make sure you have a good working relationship with the IT department, particularly those who mind the store for wide-area network bandwidth.” In general, the Accenture survey and analysis show a typical and well-understood response to leading-edge technologies: a majority of enterprises will not invest much until new technologies and their applications are more mature. In the bell curve of emerging technologies popularized by Geoffrey Moore in his book, Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technical Products to Mainstream Customers, only a few customers will be what he calls “technology enthusiasts” and “visionaries.” These people and companies will be out ahead of the marketplace, but then a significant chasm of time and uptake will occur before the center of the bell curve kicks in, with adoption by “pragmatists” and “conservatives.” Many comments from survey respondents reflect this center of the bell curve: “Wait until things mature.” “Go slowly and thoroughly evaluate the costs vs. the benefits.” “Gather data on effectiveness and share with others.” “Go slowly and don't let the technology tail wag the performance improvement dog.” Onward Toward High Performance Accenture believes that, in spite of the occasional overblown claim of emerging technologies and the enduring presence of the “chasm” of take-up, newer learning technologies can help drive high performance for organizations that can embrace them more quickly. For example, podcasting and vodcasting bring several distinct advantages to enterprise learning: mobility; speed of content capture and distribution; and the ability to bring relevant learning experiences to a large audience in a cost-effective manner. And, although our survey respondents view podcasting and vodcasting as sitting in the hype phase of innovation maturity, the uptake of MP3 files by institutions of higher education points out the art of the possible for this new learning channel. In fact, it is likely to be the corporate world that learns how to deliver the most value from podcasting. The most dominant use of educational podcasting today—long stretches of discourse from a single voice—will not be very attractive to corporate learners. A better learning method (or “podagogy” as one creative wag puts it) will come from applying what we’ve learned in recent years about delivering short granules or modules to learners. Shorter, more focused areas of content—relatively free of dense and complex subject matter—are more appropriate for podcasting applications. Blogging has the potential to revolutionize collaboration and knowledge sharing in a corporate or government environment. Many organizations may resist this phenomenon, however, because its success depends on “loosening up”—accommodating a more informal and casual style to corporate communication that does not always sit well with those desiring more control over what is said and done by employees. The capacity of many of these digital knowledge sharing communities to police themselves, however, should give some hope to those fearing a tone of voice among bloggers that could damage a corporate brand. Blogging also can have a significant positive impact on such areas as coping with the loss of knowledge and experience as an industry’s workforce ages. If an organization’s most experienced employees have been maintaining a blog with their reflections on their work—especially insights about innovative ways they have solved problems or addressed issues—that blog then becomes a knowledge base of enormous value to colleagues and the entire organization. As always, business objectives and performance needs must lead the way, with technologies being applied when and where they have the most potential to help organizations achieve high performance. As one of our survey respondents puts it, “Don't lose sight of the point! We're attempting to have a positive impact on performance when it's all said and done. Fancy technologies are great if they meet that end. If they don't, they're just fancy technologies.” About the Authors John G. Higgins is Senior Director, Innovation and Offering Management, Accenture Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Services. John serves as a liaison to the analyst community, industry organizations, alliance partners and key clients. Craig Mindrum is a Visiting Research Fellow for Accenture. A strategist, consultant and teacher in the areas of organizational change, learning, leadership, ethics and communications, he has taught at Indiana University and, most recently, for more than 15 years at DePaul University in Chicago. To receive more Research & Insights, sign up for My Outlook—your single e-mail source for all of Accenture's latest ideas and innovation, personalized specifically to your business interests and the industry issues you face. To Top |