We talked about a number of elements including the paradigm shift we’re currently in the middle of, how the fundamental way that knowledge is managed is changing, and how businesses are using social media to maintain customer relationships. And chiefly, we discussed the hurdles our schools are facing when integrating social media into the classroom in an attempt to better prepare students for the “real” world they’re about to enter.

The slides below provide visual support for the discussion. This talk also borrows heavily from Larry’s Lessig’s TED talk “How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law” (embedded below).

And here’s the TED talk by Larry Lessig:

Here’s a Wordle made from the ASTE 2010 preconference and conference sectional descriptions, the ASTE webpage, and keynote/speaker biographies. [Click to enlarge].

The social media wars are heating up! Google already has a humongous user base, and Buzz automatically links into existing Gmail contacts, giving people an instant social network. How well the mass of non-tech Gmail users will take to Buzz remains to be seen, they might find it one to many improvements to an already great product. And whether or not those who’ve already invested time and sweat into Twitter and Facebook will consider switching? Only time will tell… but it’s bound to be an exciting 2010.

Teens In Tech Conference 2010 from ReadWriteWeb on Vimeo.

My main effort was to impress upon them that this stuff known as Web 2.0 can actually be more than just fun and games. And that they have a choice… they can choose to spend their time learning how to use it for academic gain, or they can just fritter it away. Indeed, in a few years many of the businesses they think they may want to work for will be hiring and valuing those employees who understand how to professionally nurture customer relationships and knowledge sharing in social media environment.

We talked about being safe online as well as thinking twice before posting things that might make them look bad.

I also tried to explain just how much of an opportunity they have in front of them. I reminded them just how lucky they are to go to a school where the administration understands the importance of the modern web and makes sure students and teachers have access to it (yes, Facebook is open on their network!).

Here are the slides I used for part of my time with them. The real substance of our talk was in the conversation, but you might be able to use the presentation as a jumping off point in your school or environment.

SmugMug. At $35/year it’s a low price for unlimited online secure photo storage. There’s no limit to the size or quality of your pics, and it’s easy enough to upload out of iPhoto or Picasa. It’s a weight off my shoulders knowing that I don’t have to worry about backing up our favorite photos.

Kuhl Pants. I love love love my Kuhl “Kuhldry” pants. So much so that I own three pairs and they’re basically the only pants I wear. They’re light, durable, great for travel, look nice enough to wear to work, and of course my primary requisite: comfy. (PS: order from Zappos for free return shipping if you don’t like ‘em)

This is the deodorant I’ve used since before I hit puberty. I’ve tried many others, but this is the smell I like. I only wish I could find it in sub 3oz containers so TSA would stop confiscating it!

North Face “Surge” laptop backpack. This holds my 15″ MacBook laptop in a padded compartment, very easy to remove for airport security, and has all the other bells and whistles of a modern, “performance” backpack. It doesn’t have wheels, but makes up for it by fitting my body so well that it’s almost a pleasure to lug around heavy loads.

North Face “Hedgehog” Shoe w/ Boa. OK this is a controversial subject, but I love these shoes. Not only do they fit me really well, but the Boa wire thingy I find very handy. It tightens on my foot uniformly, doesn’t stretch like laces, and makes it very easy to “tie” and “untie” my shoes using one hand while standing up. Yes, I wear these to work.

Makita Lithium Ion Impact Driver. Not that I’m doing much household upkeep these days, but if I did this is the first tool I’d reach for. Not only is the impact-ness powerful enough to drive long screws into solid wood (I’ve used it to mount kitchen cabinets), but it’s lightweight, charges quickly, and just feels so damn sexy to hold. Incidentally, this tool not only survived our house fire but still works to this day!

Sesame Honey Cashews from Trader Joes. Love love love ‘em! We don’t have a Trader Joes where I live, which is probably a good thing else I’d gorge on these way to often. Everytime a friend goes to there, tho, I ask ‘em to bring me back these luscious lil nuggets. They go great with…. anything!

Dropbox is one of my favorite computer utilities. I have it installed on four of my computers and my iPhone. It provides secure online storage. I use it to store all kinds of files, and it makes it a breeze for me to edit a document on my laptop, then pick up where I left off with the same document from my work computer. The free account provides 2GB, which is enough for my current needs, but if you need more you can upgrade.

Since many of them often don’t believe me, here’s a “real world” example:

After we lost all our belongings in a house fire over the summer, and winter has rolled around, I find I have no winter boots. So I send out a casual post to my social network:

When I make a post it gets delivered to everyone who is “following” me (both on Twitter and Facebook). So about 800 people were able to see my note about the new snow in Juneau. One of them replied:

To which I replied:

And now things get interesting. Because Twitter is an open social network, you can tune in to public conversations. You can even save search results so that you’ll be notified whenever a key word appears. This is what smart businesses do. They monitor the social stream for mentions of their brand, so they can stay in touch with their community.

I was surprised, and impressed, to see that Zappos noticed my post and sent me a nice reply. Zappos is a great online store, and they prove it by being savvy enough to tune into the public Twitter stream. They even gave me a nice smiley face =).

But that’s not where the story ends. Later that night I finally selected the boots I wanted to try and placed the order. After I did so I replied to @Zappos_Service:

And they responded with a nice, personal message:

But they’re not the only savvy company monitoring the stream, because this morning I got this message, also with a nice smiley face:

The interaction with not only the vendor, but the manufacturer of the boots was a great experience for me. It solidified my faith in both brands and gives me the feeling that they’re not just faceless corporations but people wanting to connect with customers. This feeling makes me happy, and those companies know it’s a worthy investment because a happy customer is a repeat customer.

So if you are surprised when you learn that companies are hiring people with social networking skills, don’t be.