SOCDIM - Information Ecology

Last session's reading was The Best of All Worlds: Information Ecology" by Thomas H. Davenport. Hm. Where have I encountered that name before? In any case, he says if you think holistically about an organization, there are four key attributse of information ecology:

1. Recognition of Evolutionary Change


2. Integration of Diverse Types of Information


3. Emphasis on Obseervation and Description


4. Focus on People and Information Behavior

He also formulated a model for Information Management.

During the discussion, we were talking about perfect management. How one information environment should be prioritized over another. Of course, we all agreed, being professionals, that there is no such thing as perfect management. What you would rant about in your work/job now would probably still be the same thing that you'll be ranting about in your next workplace.

But mostly, we were discussing about how information is managed in the workplace. Everything has to do with information. From your strategy, to your politics, to your behavior and culture, to your staff, to your information processes, to your information architecture. I have no wish to delve into this in the manner that the article was written, for even my professor agrees that it can be quite boring (no offense to Mr. Davenport).

When asked if one area of the model is more important than the others, my classmate replied that staff should be the most important. Perhaps I should agree, since everything begins from the human mind anyway. Human beings organize process flows, which eventually leads to the formulation of your information architecture. They formulate strategies. Human beings are also responsible for making up the general culture and behavior of your company. Culture begets politics. It's human nature.

I guess the gist of it is that information evolves, and it does so because of human hands. People's needs and wants change and information must change in order to support those needs.

SOCDIM - Porter's Five Forces

This week's discussion was about Porter's Five Forces. Basically, it's about figuring our where power lies in a business situation. The five are:

1. Supplier Power


2. Buyer Power


3. Competitive Rivalry


4. Threat of Substitution


5. Threat of New Entry

Well, if you look at these five, you can practically understand what they're about without further explanations. Or so you'd think. We had a group reporting activity, with each group identifying what a sample company's situation is. An example instance would be: If your start up cost is very low, where does your power lie? Funny thing about that activity is, even with the explanations on the handouts, many of us ended up scratching our heads in wonder.

It's not that the case is difficult, but more of...well, some of the scenarios may or may not fall under two or more forces. I did enjoy the activity, however. Mostly I could see Level Up! Inc., the company I'm currently working for, harnessing nearly all five forces in one area or another. (Uh, did I mention I love my work very much and I'm still brokenhearted by my resignation, which was borne out of necessity? Hehe.) I had fun explaining to the class some of the stuff we had to do, without giving away sensitive/confidential info, of course.

The first three forces are easily understandable. The first being the power held by the supplier, if the supplier is the only one who could provide the product or if it is the only one who could provide the best possible service.

The second force is where buyers emerge as the priority. Buyers come into power if they have the leverage to demand; if the suppliers are many and the prices are more of less on the same range.

I'm mostly fascinated about the fifth force, which was why I volunteered to discuss that for the group. We people from the Game Development group are always on the lookout for new games, just to see if these would have the possibility of killing our number one game, Ragnarok Online, which also happens to be the #1 MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Game) in the country. Of course, this is the fun part of our job. Being the gamers that we are, we get to see the weaknesses and strengths of Ragnarok Online in comparison to the new games that other companies come up with. That only means one thing: play till you drop. Hehe. Not really. It's usually all about computations, game balance, bug testing/reports/documentations, coordinating with every department, process flows, and solutions to recurring problems.

I'm also quite interested in the fourth Force. I find it funny how technology moves so fast many of our new inventions become obsolete in the span of a few years. One classic example of this was the pager. Remember how Power Page got so popular that suddenly there was Easy Call, Jaz Page, and all that? But Power Page wasn't killed by any of these competitors. Guess what killed it? You may just be holding it in your hand right now, or it's somewhere in your bag. All you'll ever need to know is that you now can't live without it.

Competitive Rivalry, the third force, encompasses all other forces. That's why it stays in the middle of Porter's Diagram. This is also the reason why the class found it difficult to tell which scenarios fall into this category. All the other forces boil down to this one force. In other words: this is like the Anakin Skywalker of Porter's Five Forces.

Now...I'm wondering where I'll be using this bit of information if ever I do get up the courage (and enough funds) to start my own business again.

SOCDIM Assignment - What I Think About The Future

A question I forgot to answer during our introductory class is, "What is technology to me?" My insights on the question, "What do I think about the future?" relates to this. I treat technology like a boyfriend. There are times when IT is my master and there are times when IT is my slave. I prefer to see it as a give and take relationship, where one benefits from the other. We're co-dependent. I'll find it hard to live without it, and I suppose it wouldn't work so well without me.

I see, however, a future where people will stop thinking for themselves and let technology do the work. While technology may have become everyone's tool, it seems like more and more people will be helpless without it. I use Visio to do my process flows; I don't have to think about what symbols to use in the flow charts because it's all there. I use my cell phone for coordinating with colleagues, especially when I'm marshaling a tournament in some far-flung place. I use emails, my websites, and my online forums to submit marketing kits, proposals, and coordinate/evaluate bug testers' reports. In short, I cannot imagine my life without technology. I could, but it would probably take me weeks to finish what I can normally do in a day.

The only part of my work where technology seems inept is when I am dealing with what I call KorEngrish scripts. I suspect these are Korean text that had been haphazardly run through some translating machine, which would result in badly mangled English translations that I have to edit manually. I believe that even if some genius managed to create software that could tell the difference between an individual Korean character and that same Korean character combined with two or more characters, he would still have to update his software bi-annually. This is because language evolves just as swiftly as technology does. I mean, what simply meant "happy" a few years ago means "homosexual" now. There would be instances from which the human element could never be removed.

I fear, however, that there will be only a handful of people that can recognize this. What if the time comes when people could no longer tell good from bad grammar? Would they be satisfied with just running KorEngrish text through some dumb machine translator and be done with it? What if Visio becomes even more powerful that they'd come up with more complicated templates for corporate procedures? The world would be run by a few intellectual beings able to control technology while the rest would be content with whatever technology is handed onto them -- drones to the Queen Bees. My worst case scenario is this: Everyone who hasn't the capacity to think for himself will be obsolete and be replaced by the one thing that they've become dependent on -- technology. But that's just me. Perhaps the horror stories of customers arguing with call center reps about their computers not working, when the reason was simply that the machines were unplugged, had gotten to me.

Career Blog?

Added the "Career Blog". No, it's not my idea. It's one of my professor's requirements for passing her class. I think I'm going to have fun with my Masters, even though I just hurled myself into the unknown again. Now, how do I make myself more productive? Nuninuninuninu.

A Blog For My Masters

Testing my first post. Hehe. Just to make sure that the site is working and that the template I did for this particular blog works. Actually, this is probably my third blog? I have Livejournal, RODiary, and now this. So far, I'm liking Blogger because the template is easy to customize. I prefer RODiary, though, because that one doesn't take forever to load...especially when updating.

I call this my Career Blog. It was basically my SOCDIM professor's idea. She says that we're supposed to blog about the discussion. Hey, I think it's a great concept, and makes studying a little less...hm...stiff?

In the meantime, I'll probably babble a bit about work. I handed my resignation two days ago, and they finally accepted it today. My boss, the HR manager, and the managing director asked me if I was really sure of my decision. It actually nearly broke my heart. I super love my job. It's just that with the roller coaster turn of events, it's like it wasn't really meant for me. On the bright side, this gives me more time to focus on studies, my lucrative mini-projects, and one huge mess that needs cleaning up. At least pROSE will be launched before I leave. Thing is, I feel like a mommy who just prepped her unborn kid for adoption. pROSE is my baby. I just hope the person who will replace me as its Lead GPS would care for pROSE as if it were his own child.

Site Revamp: Skysenshi V.2.0

Just had to revamp the site. It had become outdated and had needed dusting. Lots of changes going on, although my current style hadn't really deviated from my previous ones. The site needed a personality makeover, much like its owner. Hehe. Cheers to being happy! =^.^=

I know! I know! I still haven't gotten to updating the client links. I just got too busy with work and all, and am now taking up my masters. Sorry about that! Hm. Maybe I should try to make at least one update a week, just to make sure I won't get stagnant. Anyhoo, after my resignation pulls through next month (July 2005), I'll be on the lookout for a part-time job, which I'll be busy with as I go through my masters, other short courses (updating purposes), and mini-projects. Huhuhu! I actually liked my job at Level Up! but I just had to re-direct my path. Like I mentioned, lots of life-altering events going on. ^_-