Dr. Neil Hair

H1N1 contingency planning

neilhair — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:27:11 +0000

So, it's somewhat inevitable that we are likely to suffer from some sort of flu this season on campus - the joys of being in close proximity. I like many have probably found themselves sanatizing their hands as they enter and leave buildings like something out of a bad hospital movie. What I love about the campus spirit of course is the can do attitude of its constituents. Life goes on (we hope) and we have to make the best out of a duff deal. In amongst the 40 emails I have recently received in the nature of the threat an what you can do to prevent it came a request for contingency plans for those teaching this quarter. Got me thinking about the benefits of online learning and how it can affect in class training programs. As you probably know, Im no stranger to the use of Adobe Connect to deliver streaming sessions when needed from where ever to where ever (try hospital maternity ward to my MBA class last Winter for instance with the wife in bed about to bring Lillian into the world). No reason why we cant use the same technology to stay connected if were home recovering from flu. So yesterday I published my contingency plan for my students and enclose a copy of the letter here. Stay happy, healthy, and keep sanitizing those hands..

Dear all, we have been asked to write to our students informing them of contingency plans for an outbreak of the H1N1 virus. First off – I don’t want you to worry. You have more chance statistically speaking of being killed by an elephant in Times Square then you do from this virus. However, that said it’s important we have plans in place to continue with our work if any of us become ill. By now you will have received details of what to do and not do if we have any problems on campus. Stay at home. Here are the steps that we can take if there are any issues (and again, don’t worry – remember the elephant in Times Square).

1. Email or phone me immediately if you suspect you have a problem. THIS IS MANDITORY.

2. DO NOT COME TO CLASS. THIS IS SENSIBLE.

3. I will use Adobe Connect (an online video conferencing package that is web based to record live our usual class session so that you can log in, see and hear the usual lecture and team activities, and participate from your home). THIS IS COOL TECHNOLOGY.

Go to *connect room* and log in using your normal RIT account information. You will be transferred to a live video session that will display powerpoints, and live video recording of the lecture taking place in the usual class. Please note – you can also use this to communicate with your team should you miss a face to face meeting.

You should connect your webcam and your microphone so we can interact as we would in a physical setting. If you do not have a webcam this is not the end of the world, you are though behind the times in this super-connected world of ours. You will though need a microphone.

Step 1. Run the audio wizard in connect to automatically set yourself up for this task. >meeting>manage my settings>audio set up wizard

Step 2. Run the select camera wizard in connect so we can see your beautiful face.
>meeting>manage my settings>select camera

Step 3. Press play in the video box and accept any invitation to start broadcasting your mic and or your video.

4. Sit back, relax with a hot cup of tea with milk in it, and continue to learn and get your monies worth from the course.

5. Make sure you start your research papers now. Medical documentation will be required for anyone missing the deadlines.Provided you are physically present during the live connect session there will be no penalty what so ever for your unfortunate predicament. And you never know, I might end up being the one delivering the lecture from my bed to you in the A400 room.

Once again, don’t be alarmed by this message, its sent on a ‘just in case’ basis and I'm quite confident we won’t need to put this plan into action.

Best wishes, keep washing your hands, see you soon.

Prof H.

Start of a new academic year

neilhair — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:18:01 +0000

A new academic year is upon us and I'm teaching evenings this quarter. That doesnt stop the e-family from saying goodnight however and Lillian is pictured here suddenly realizing it was her daddy in the box (aka the laptop screen). Teaching two cracking courses on internet marketing and B2B e-marketing to seniors at the undergraduate level. Ive a number of great local clients to work with on pro bono student consultancy projects and Im fortunate enough to be teaching these both in the state of the art A400 Learning with Technology Center housed in a secret location under the library. One pleasant surprise - almost all of my B2B students have sat classes with me before now. Looking forward to working with them again. Best of the new academic year to everyone!

Twitter down - world gets a life?

neilhair — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:39:38 +0000

I was asked to speak a number of times about the twitter outages yesterday and amused myself this morning by reading the comments about these articles. The D&C followship are usually the most virulent and amusing and did not disappoint. Yesterday, I offered comment on how important twitter is becoming to business, no surprises there, and in and amongst the usual 'go get a life and actually meet people' responses from the public, were more comments than usual of people that are 'getting it'. Whilst yesterdays outage might not have affected people for long, one thing is certain, it affected a lot of people. Twitter is being used by business to facilitate and enhance relationships. It is here to stay as are the relationships it helps foster. Organizations and possibly the government as well, need to realize that this service is of strategic interest. It should be protected. Would one counter attacks on email systems these days? Back in the 1990's if email wasnt up - an oh well attitude usually followed. When I see email down at RIT these days little gets done. Its kind of a 'oh well, best I go read the paper' response by many. Twitter will follow in this regard in the times ahead. Twitter down - world gets a life dear D&C reader? No. Twitter down - relationships and productivity suffer. Read the D&C's article here.

Cool thing to do in Rochester

neilhair — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:29:28 +0000

I am increasingly bemused by the comments I hear of local people and students alike saying there is nothing to do in Rochester. It’s about time there was a grass roots review of the cool factor in Rochachacha and I’d like to offer a few of my own suggestions as a fresh off the plane immigrant. Have you for instance seen the tree house city in Henrietta? Since a small boy I have been fascinated by tree houses. You can imagine my surprise when I rode down Casa Drive in Henrietta and saw a mini city of tree houses in one back garden. We are not talking one little house up in the sky. No sir, Americans do things BIG. There are several of them connected by rope ladders, an elaborate network of pulleys and the like. Even the creators name is cool. Maurice Barkley. Check out the youtube video for more details BUT go ahead and take a look in person, you wont be disappointed. Please add your additional cool factors for Rochester in this post. I’m always looking for other things to do and truly believe that there are PLENTY of cool things to do in the area.

Check out a short video of it here.

Neil to headline Social Media RX - Visit Rochester series Hospitality U

neilhair — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:31:32 +0000

With much adulation I am happy to announce an upcoming event that I will be headlining for VisitRochester on social media, July 30th 2009 from 1pm to 5pm at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites 800 Jefferson Road. My presentation will explore the means by which the local tourism industry can take advantage of social media tools, highlight future trends that will affect the industry and discuss strategies and tactics for organizations working in this important space. I'm very much looking forward to the days other speakers as well. Mike Johansson from Fixitology, Eric Miltsch from Auction Direct and Eliza Kozlowski from the George Eastman House will also be lending their expertise in the field to delegates. Register here for the event.

Our best friends get engaged! Yay Vic and Millie!!

neilhair — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:34:54 +0000

I cant believe it - after 5 years together our best friends Vic and Millie have finally hooked up formally with Vic proposing over the weekend in PR whilst on holiday. Congratulations you two - our love, best wishes, and mean Mexican-Tinis be with you!! Whoa MILLEH MILLEH MILLEH MILLEH. Are we going to have some fun when you guys get back to Rochester

Social Media Strategies - Greece Chamber of Commerce 16th July 2009

neilhair — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:51:45 +0000

I have been asked to present a review of social media strategies for the Greece Chamber of Commerce on 16th July 2009 at their monthly networking luncheon. The last event I MC'd for the GCC was great fun and I'd recommend coming along. The session will focus on strategies businesses from all walks of life are using regards popular social media platforms like Twitter, Yammer, LinkedIn and of course Facebook. In this presentation you'll get a sneak preview of some of the things Im learning from my own research program. Details of the event can be found here.

Announcing the Cisco Sponsored Social Media Project on Innovation and Collaboration

neilhair — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:49:47 +0000

I am very pleased to announce a collaborative project between Henley Business School, IESI Business School and the E Philip Saunders College of Business at RIT. The project, sponsored by Cisco, is exploring through industry thought leaders the role that social media plays in assisting innovation and collaboration projects between and within organizations. My partners from the UK and Spain and I are looking to interview companies in both B2C and B2B spaces that are using social media to facilitate intra and inter firm relationships. So far we have interviewed a whole host of advanced users including representatives from Cisco, Xerox, Bank of America, 3M, Oracle, Capgemini, KPMG, Corus, LinkedIn, IBM, Unileaver amongst many others. This is your chance to participate. We are currently interviewing companies across the world about their social media practices with a view to colating insights into best case practices. The results of the study will be made available to all participating firms that qualify to meet our inclusion criteria. So - if youre using social media and youre interested in talking about it with me, let me know by signifying your interest on our project website. Either myself or one of my partners will then contact you to set up a convenient time for a one hour interview with you. I will of course be blogging some of the genric findings of the study as it progresses including updates on my twitter, LinkedIn and facebook feeds. Its a great project, extremely timely and Im looking forward to talking to more experts in this area.

Greater Expectations Institute Reflections

neilhair — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:52:29 +0000

I was recently asked by the Provost to represent the Saunders college of business at the Greater Expectations Institute that was held in Burlington VT over the past few days. We were charged by Number One to explore the 'experience' of our students and make recommendations towards enhancing it. The team was an excellent example of what can be achieved with a diverse set of faculty, staff and students from all over the institute who care about one thing - RIT success. I was truly amazed at the extend to which we managed to bond, resolve issues and come up with strategic as well as tactical recommendations for the university. Our efforts are still on going and therefore I cant say too much about the ideas as they need to continue to be fleshed out. I can say though that we all hoped to make a difference in the perceptions of our students and that from our perspective we've come a long way towards achieving it in just a few intense days of deliberations. I met a number of really interesting people from RIT as well as a number of cool folk from the US Navy - as my twitter feed attests, I was even hugged by a General in the closing hours of presentations to delegates. Not many people get to say that in a lifetime As an aside I was also taken aback by the whole renewable / recycle / local produce focus on Burlington university. They really made an effort to source all materials from local quarries and businesses helping to reduce its footprint ecologically, the buildings even had water bottle filling stations to help in the reduction of bottles of water being bought by students. We could learn a great deal from this campus effort.

Reflections on a social media training program

neilhair — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:42:46 +0000

Monday’s four hour training that I ran for Saunders and Digital Rochester’s Get Smarter program was extremely engaging, at least from my perspective. I always enjoy interacting with practitioners as the experience is very different from that of more traditional student audiences. For one there is no grading! I always find that practitioners are great at keeping us academics honest about the theories and strategies we promote. The session was structured so that delegates received a review of social media channels, and a heavy emphasis on a review of current business models in both B2C and B2B realms. Following dinner the session was geared towards establishing a marketing plan for social media and therefore much more experiential and personally relevant. Whereas there are many opportunities to attend talks on social media very few that I am aware of actually offer the take home of a plan of action. Granted, there is only so much you can accomplish in a four hour session but feedback suggested that the opportunity to work with smaller teams of 5 worked really well. Delegates were particularly pleased to be at least talking to like minded folk that are social media evangelists but work in environments that are not ‘currently’ accepting of the social media cause. Therapeutic one imagines! One interesting reflection on the session was that the vast majority of the 80 participants were from the B2B area. I counted less than ten representing B2C companies. Thankfully for the majority, my research tends to focus on the B2B applications of social media so we had lots to talk about. The live tweet feed worked well also. I asked a number of questions throughout the session aimed at polling the wisdom of the team. The contents of this feed will be the subject matter for a number of follow up blog posts so worry not – I’ll share those discussions once I have content analyzed the feed. I was also happy that most of the participants were already experimenting in the space which meant I got to kick the discussions up a notch and not have to pitch the analysis at the level of the beginner. The most pleasing aspect of the event was the passion people shared, to an extent I was preaching to the converted, but hopefully the session helped arm delegates with details on how you can build, and frame politically the case for social media in their organizations. I look forward to continuing the conversation with this fantastic group of people. There are even a number of tweet pics out there from the session Thanks Julie and Donna for helping to organize this event and thanks again to those who were there that made it such a success!