Anyone trying to organize a block party faces this problem,  as do those trying to initiate an online community (for their “2.0″ employees or colleges in their industry).  The problem is getting participation.  In the Enterprise 2.0 parlance, it’s called Adoption — sometimes penetration, usage, heads, or some other term that conveys a notion of participation.  Some software vendors focus on the numbers — since some of them charge per usage.  But most of them, and certainly their customer realize that this is more than just numbers.  It’s about real commitment to a shared goal.  And it requires changing behavior and overcoming inertia, or laziness.  There’s nothing more frustrating than responding to the need to create a community, and then wondering why no one participates.  And this happens quite often.

A few weeks ago I posted a story I remembered from my childhood — from the stories of “The Wise Men of Chelm”.  These charming stories make fun of the fools who inhabit this town — in order to teach life lessons.  So for my readers who might live in a town named Chelm — forgive the insensitivity — these are just fables.

One of them goes like this:

The townspeople decided it was time for a party for everyone in town — a great festival of music, food, and games.  After-all, the council of Wise Men noted that people were growing distant from their neighbors and a good party would help restore a sense of community.  As it turns out there was a problem brewing in the town recently.  Some people chanced upon financial success and were no longer associating with their old middle-class friends.  Whereas other people fell upon hard times, and they felt very disenfranchised from the rest of the community.

“A party will be a great way to bring us all together and remind ourselves that we are first and foremost Chelmites — regardless of our individual wealth and social status.” said Jacob — a middle class tailor.  Abraham, who recently became very wealthy suggested that the centerpiece of the event should be wine bar where people could sample the finest of Chelm’s wine.  ”After all, you can’t have a party without fine wine!”.  Mendel protested “Where will we get the wine for the party? We don’t have the budget for this.”  Abraham responded — “Let’s ask everyone to bring one bottle of wine.  Surely everyone can afford one bottle.”

Mendel thought for a moment.  The idea made sense, but there was still a problem with it.  ”Abraham, you know that the rich people will bring their finest wine to the party, but the poor people will only be able to afford to bring cheap wine.  The whole point of the party is to bring people together as a  community. But the poor people will feel embarrassed bringing their cheap wine. I’m afraid this wine idea will backfire and ruin the party.”

Jacob spoke up with a wise idea.  ”Let’s construct a large vat and tell everyone to bring their wine on the evening before the party and pour it into the vat.  This way no one will be embarrassed by the quality of their wine, and we’ll all enjoy the wine together.”  And all the Wise Men agreed.

On the evening before the party, there was a line of people near the vat.  One by one they climbed the ladder and poured their wine into the vat — feeling proud that they everyone could participate as equals.

Before Mendel left his house to bring his share to the party, a strange thought occurred to him.  He was the poorest member of the council of Wise Men, and one of the poorest people in town.  People had pity on him, and even gave him food when he had none.  It would be foolish of him to donate any wine, even the cheapest wine was beyond his means.  Moreover, since he was a recipient of charity — this was not even his wine to give.  With such a large vat, and some much wine in it — no one would notice if he poured water into the vat, and the wine would taste no different.  So he filled his bottle with water and headed to the town center.  He was thankful that it was dark and when he poured his water in the vat, as he knew that the rest of the men in line only heard the splashing sound of his minor dilution.

The next day came sooner than anyone expected.  The whole town gathered by at the center of town, all waiting with empty classes in hand for some wine so they could start the party.  Abraham, the wealthiest of the Wise Men was given the honor of pouring the first cup.  Mendel chuckled to himself, with a bit of pride and only a tinge of guilt.

Abraham turned the spigot…

Well, you are all adults, you know the rest of the story, don’t you?  Mendel wasn’t the only wise man in Chelm.  The town was full of people who came up with reasons their bottle should be filled with water too.  And indeed the vat was filled with 100%, pure water.

And such is the start of many communities.  People will join, only to lurk or to take benefit from, but not to give.  Why do they expect wine from the vat if all they give is water?  Illogical.

So what’s the lesson?  Social pressure is not enough, people find clever ways to remain in the grace of others while actually not doing their part.  Perhaps the lesson was only understood during the conversations that took place after the water started to pour.

What would you say to your neighbors if you were at that party?  Share your answers below.  Your answers will piece together the solution that we all could use — so no water please.  Share your wine below.  I know you can.

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Last week my friend “Maria” called me asking for advice. She told me the following story and I wanted to share it with you. I’ll change some non-significant details for her privacy. I’ll note that I’m neither an expert in Facebook privacy details, nor in Asperger’s syndrome — but have  familiarity with both. The purpose of sharing this story is to raise awareness of how we sometimes miss the obvious when it comes to the promise of technology.

Maria told me that her 20-something year old son “Eric” has a mild form of Asperger’s syndrome (AS) which affects his ability to socialize with his peer group.  I shared with her that I’m somewhat familiar with AS, and I know people with it.

Note: AS, like other disorders related to autism seem to manifest in a spectrum of capabilities.   Some people are quite able to adapt well, they are just a bit quirky and sometimes don’t seem to “get it” in social situations.  Others have more severe behavioral issues that impact their ability to function independently in society.  Moreover, many people with AS also suffer from other physiological disorders — making things  much more complicated.

Maria continued:  Eric had been using Facebook as a way to develop better social relationships with people.  He’s a bit more comfortable on the computer than in person.  It gives him the ability to think through what he wants to say — which seems to be helpful.  But things started to get pretty bad for Eric, and Maria wanted to know if I could help her figure some things out.

Here’s where the story takes off in to the unexpected:  Eric started to converse with people about politics, and he started to express his opinions about various political parties, President Obama, and other charged social topics.  And this baited some harsh opposing responses resulting in a sharply negative set of interactions.  You might know that this devolution of debate is typical for faceless internet chatrooms and discussion forums.  They follow Goodwin’s Law and Benford’s Law and other similar observations — that make us realize the limitation of their benefit.  (Doesn’t seem to stop people from insisting on sending me long-winded multi-threaded emails in the faint hope that I’ll suddenly change my mind on some deep-seated issue.  Oh well.)  Eric was not very equipped to handle the level of debate and became very scared.  In addition to Asperger’s, he suffers from fits of paranoia too.  And this event set him off course.

To make matters worse, he started to read about Facebook Privacy issues.  The mix of fact and fear brewed to create a sense in his mind that he is in big trouble.  The FBI is probably going to take him away for insulting the president.  Facebook is going to sell his data to someone in the political mafia to target him with emails, ads, or prevent him from getting a job. And there’s nothing he could do about it.  Even erasing his Facebook account will still not cause the data to be erased from the database archives.  And where is that database anyway?  It’s probably in the “cloud” — and thus some hacker would get to it before the FBI does.  His paranoia fueled by Facebook’s policies caused him significant problems — so much so, his parents took him to a local mental hospital for treatment.

The physician there noted that they are seeing more and more patients that have Facebook related symptoms.  My jaw was still dropped, but that last line made it drop even further.  The doctor actually contacted a member of Congress to advocate for more government oversight on Facebook-induced mental conditions.  Of course, no one at Facebook intends any harm.  But if doctors are noticing a pattern, it’s important to provide feedback and consider if there are things people (or Facebook) can do about this.

This is not a funny story, by the way.  Eric’s reaction is a result of mental disorders — something that should evoke our compassion and concern.  Maria (his mom) is  unsure if she has any recourse with Facebook.  She asks me — is there anyone she could speak to at Facebook? Does she need  legal help? Can she ask that the Facebook records be purged?  Is there any way to tell Facebook that they are giving McLean Hospital more business — and this is a problem!?

We spoke at length about some of these issues and some facts regarding data privacy regulations and practices — hoping that this might help — but also knowing that people with paranoia sometime take comfort that they are paranoid — since they feel they are being self-protecting.  And they take discomfort at attempts to reducing their paranoia with getting too many facts.  This is a tricky area — one for professionals.

I asked where Eric is now.  Turns out his parents found a program for him in a rural-area therapeutic ranch/farm — where he can help with chores, socialize with other like him, and work with therapists in a somewhat secluded area — “off the grid” in a natural, but facilitated setting.  He’s doing well.

What does this all mean?  I’m reminded of the Comcast Tiger Commercial — where the message is “Just because you are using digital voice, your phone calls won’t change.”  Technology is a medium for human interaction — and yes, it can help in many ways.  But for those people who have real challenges with human interaction, they have to work though those challenges first.  Facebook socializing might have sounded like a good idea for Eric, but in retrospect, he was not really equipped for it.  Facebook might have afforded some benefit, but Eric had more to overcome in understanding how to interact in the quasi public/private space online — a space where privacy and consumer rights are not yet well understood.

Eric is doing well in the ranch.  This implies that if Eric were to have an online social experience, it should be in a setting that is like the ranch.  A setting that is secluded, protected, and guided by professionals who can help.  I hope such private social networks exist for people like him.  As society becomes more aware of the reality that part of our population have different needs, we’ll be better able to provide these groups with what they need, rather than assuming that we’ll all fit into one large social network.

Related links that you might find interesting.

• http://digiphile.wordpress.com/2010/05/31/on-the-failure-of-quit-facebook-day-social-utility-and-privacy/
• http://www.mclean.harvard.edu/news/press/current.php?kw=breaking-the-physician-patient-boundaries-on-facebook%20&id=149
• http://www.facebook.com/AspergerSyndrome?v=info

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I’m sitting in the airport, waiting for hours for my flight to board. I’m reminded of a childhood story series of the mythical town of Chelm – where the people are foolish, and the wise men are the most foolish of them all.

One year after they built the train station in Chelm, many of the residents had taken the opportunity for the first time in their lives to travel outside of their little village to other nearby towns. But not Levi. He was one of the wise men, and boasted that he need not travel, for what is there to learn more than he already knows. Chelm has it all; a bakery, a tailor, a marketplace, even a small school. But Levi’s wife Sarah urged him to try the train. She thought traveling to a new place might make him even smarter.

Her friends explained the process to Sarah when they were boasting how their husbands loved traveling. She explained to Levi how easy it is. The train station is not far from the market, and travel is much easier than horse and buggy. You just sit comfortably, with no bouncing around. You can even talk to the person next to you. After an hour or two, you just walk off and you’ll be in another town with all sorts of new things to see and people to meet.

Levi decided it was time for him to travel. He packed a small lunch bag and walk to the train station. He sat down and waited. He was not interested in talking to anyone since the people around seemed so busy anyway. He waited for about two hours and decided that he must be far enough. So he got up and walked out of the train station. Alas, he saw a market – one that looked just like the one in Chelm. The bakery also looked just like the one in Chelm. In fact, someone called out to him – “Hey, Levi! How are the twins?” Levi laughed to himself, ignoring this stranger. He thought it was so funny that in this far-away town there was someone named Levi who had twins.

Shortly after eating his lunch, Levi walked back to the train station, making sure to sit in a bench facing the other direction, and waited for two hours before getting up and going home. He laughed as he told Sarah how silly the whole trip was. “I knew that everything in the world is already here. There’s no need to travel, all places are alike.” Wise man, Levi!

So I was reminded about this story as I was sitting and waiting –  going nowhere, and thought – how does this apply to Enterprise  2.0? and I thought about corporate culture and availability biases.

We all know what we know, but we make assumptions about what we don’t know. Let me be concrete and relate my perspective. About 20 years ago I worked at Xerox. I liked the corporate culture  – it was all about doing the right thing, with high quality and integrity. I did some work in the UK, French, and Dutch offices of Rank Xerox – somewhat similar culture to the parent Xerox, but also different in a European sort of way. Then I worked at a small consulting company, and soon enough I discovered that management was taking advantage of our customers – a situation I did not want to be associated with, so I left. The place was super friendly, but the value system was below my standards.  I would not have known such a culture existed without actually being there.

I then spent 15 years in financial services where the culture was more aggressive. You  had to have thick skin to survive . Due to contractual terms, I’m not yet at liberty to express much about my work as an industry analyst. I’ll soon be free to share some thoughts (and will be able to sleep more peacefully at night). But for now, I’ll say – the culture was also different.

A few months ago I observed how how different business is in Germany from what I was used to. And now that I’m working in Silicon Valley, I’d  say  I feel like I’m working in a different country, or era. The work culture is different than what I’m used to. Not better or worse; simply different.

By culture I mean – the behaviors and expectations that one regards as expected and accepted. For example: At Fidelity, I recall that any new idea was met with fierce challenge – not opposition per se, but a frontal challenge to prove that it had merit. Forrester was even more so this way. I notice that Yahoo! employees prefer to meet face to face, but I spent my entire tenure at Forrester never actually meeting some of my teammates – and that was perfectly OK there. Yahoo! has its character – some elements are probably common in other Silicon Valley companies, some are just Yahoo!-specific cultural behaviors.

My point, and the connection to the travel story, is that these “cultural” things are only really understood by direct experience. Sure, you can read about it – like you can read about  riding a bike, or fighting in a war – and the words might be interesting. But reading about it is nothing like really experiencing it.

You cannot separate corporate culture from the Enterprise 2.0 conversation. But at the same time, you’ll have a hard time talking about any corporation’s culture if you are an outsider. Oh, and by the way, the culture in the next building, or floor, or work group, will differ from the culture in the group you are in.  So you have to go there to find out more.

What does this mean? You have to be a bit of a traveler and soak up the real experiences yourself. Otherwise you are like Levi – assuming that others are just like you – and that’s not very wise.

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