Day: 2 September 2006

While the world and her husband argue about what Web 2.0 means, whether they can use the term, what Enterprise 2.0 means, whether they can use the term, and what’s hot and what’s not, and the price of fish, there are some people quietly going about their business using the concepts without worrying about any of this.

Read what Clarence Fisher is up to. See what he is doing in his classroom, as described in this post.

The Personal Learning Network that Clarence speaks of is not just about schools, it has meaning and value in every context where learning is of value. PLNs exist everywhere anyway (except perhaps in real and virtual cemeteries); but the value of having them embedded in social software is something that many haven’t grasped. Which is why, as Clarence points out, there are still drop-out rates for these things.

Clarence is not alone. Take a look at what Kate Simpson and her friends are doing at elgg. Go see what Barbara Ganley is doing. Read everything that Judy Breck writes, either in book form or at Golden Swamp. See what Vicki Davis is up to. Track what Stephen Downes has to say about the subject of learning and social software.

Blogs and wikis aren’t about dollars or rankings or A-lists. They are about people working together on learning and on discovery; about people learning and discovering about working together.

Clarence, or for that matter anyone else I’ve mentioned above, let me know how I can help. I can be contacted at [email protected], I have only today realised that my Contact Me bit went missing after my blog disappeared in May. If anyone out there knows of other sites I should be tracking regularly, I’m all eyes.

While many of us may understand the distinction between Because Of and With companies, there are still many unanswered questions as to the right business models to use for Because Of companies. As with most of opensource (and some will say it should be all of opensource, and I tend to concur), Because Of companies are really about infrastructure and utility.

I have always maintained that With companies undergo a transition to Because Of companies over time, particularly if they are successful to a point of dominance in a given market.

Sean’s post musing on capital structures makes interesting reading in this respect, and raises some critical questions. The particular companies mentioned should only be used as examples to illustrate the point, the issue relates to all Because Of companies.
If you want to understand more about Because Of Rather than With, you may find this post useful.