Cohere Podcast

The primary purpose of the Cohere Project (and podcast) is to explore the future of human networks, especially tools that increase human and group agency in a network. I believe Nilofer Merchant's concept of "Onlyness' is one such tool. We discuss Onlyness, and much more, in one of the most fun, informative and unfiltered conversations we've had on the Cohere podcast. Nilofer Merchant is a pioneer in the use of social technologies and has written extensively about how businesses can leverage social networks and communities to shape strategy, improve performance and become more purposeful. In her new book "The Power of Onlyness", Nilofer brings forward the idea of Onlyness as a means of claiming your distinct place in the world and using networks as a catalyst for actualizing your purpose. In this episode of the Cohere Podcast, Nilofer and I discuss: The evolution of social media Managing corporate innovation and the role of communities The concept of Onlyness, as it relates to "you, us and together" How your network shapes your self-image, role, and personal agency The natural reaction of hierarchies to resist networks The benefits of taking a radically different path Resources: https://nilofermerchant.com/ The Onlyness Canvas The Power of Onlyness - Book 11 Rules for Creating Value in the Social Era - Book The New How - Book

In this short (~15 min) bonus episode, we speak with facilitator and community builder extraordinaire Nancy White of Full Circle Associates about creating and maintaining connections online during a crisis. Specifically, we talk through: Advice for taking offline events online (and if you should) Planning for a near-term future of limited face to face gatherings Drawing from pre-social media community building techniques to create connections How facilitators and community builders can practice self-care and help others during this challenging time Links / sources mentioned in the episode: Nancy's bio https://fullcirc.com/about/about-nancy-white/ Moving Online in Pandemic: Preamble Moving Online in Pandemic: Ecocycle to Attend to What is Shifting Resources for online meeting / gathering (google doc) The Ecocycle Diagram that Nancy mentions in the episode:

It's human nature to seek connection, meaning, and knowledge through community. Thanks to the smartphones in our pockets (and the near-global access to broadband), "community" now is very much a digital construct, and the way we find and participate in such gathering places is radically changing. As online communities and human networks have evolved, algorithms have played an increasingly prominent role in the experience, from rudimentary personalization to shaping and segmenting entire communities. In the future, AI and related technologies will become central to our shared digital and real-world experience. In this episode of the Cohere Podcast, Venessa Paech and I discuss the future role of AI in online communities - both the tremendous opportunities and potential threats AI & related technologies pose. In this episode, Venessa and I discuss: AI in the context of the digital community experience - 21:15 The specific ways AI can enhance community experience - 33:54 Potential risks of emerging technologies - 39:37 Machine culture - 43:30 Advice for organizations as they began to prepare for the changes that out AI will bring to community experiences - 46:59 Guest Bio Venessa is a co-founder of the Australian Community Managers Network, a PhD candidate studying the intersection of AI and community, and a global authority on communities and community management. She has led Community for realestate.com.au, Lonely Planet, Envato and Australia Post among others. She founded the Australian Community Manager Roundtables (ACM) in 2009, and created Swarm in 2011 with Alison Michalk. She also runs the annual Australian Community Manager Career Survey and with ACM, authored the first code of ethics for the region. Find Venessa on the web at Australian Community Managers Network, her website VanessaPaech.com, and on Twitter @VenessaPaech. Sources Discussed Australian Community Managers Network SWARM Conference A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace and other works by John Perry Barlow Agency by William Gibson The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - The Fight for the Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff Artificial Unintelligence - How Computers Misunderstand the World by Meredith Broussard Algorithms of Oppression - How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble

Over the past 25 years, the Internet has become a central part of our everyday lives. Even so, there are still over three billion people in the world who don't have access to broadband internet. Thanks to a combination of new technologies, this will change rapidly over the next 5 years. This change will open a wide range of potential opportunities and vulnerabilities as the Internet experiences its largest, and final, population boom. In this episode, Jim and I discuss key aspects of the Great Connecting, including ways to prepare for, and participate in, this transformative event. The technologies that will allow the parts of the world who don't have internet currently to have it in the next two to three years - 5:59 What potential benefits and vulnerabilities the internet will bring to areas that previously didn't have it - 10:33 Why the benefits of the internet and social platforms outweigh the negatives - 20:53 How companies can prepare for and participate in this great connection - 25:01 What roles AI will play in this future state of connectivity - 30:02 Guest Bio Jim Cashel is the co-founder and chairman of Forum One Communications. As Forum One's Chairman, he works with the senior management team on strategic and leadership issues, helping to support a continuing mission of applying new and promising technologies to address societal problems of importance. He has a bachelor's degree in human biology from Stanford, a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School, and a medical degree from Harvard Medical. In 2018-2019 Jim was a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. He also recently published the book The Great Connecting: The Emergence of Global Broadband and How That Changes Everything. Find Jim on Twitter @cashel as well as at ForumOne.com. Sources The Great Connecting: The Emergence of Global Broadband and How That Changes Everything by Jim Cashel

Episode 1: Broadband and wireless Internet connectivity are now commonplace in the developed world, but this wasn't always the case. At the beginning of the 21st century, just over 300 million people (roughly 5% of the globe )had Internet access. The number of participants, and the type of participation has evolved rapidly over the last 20 years. In today's episode, Open EXO's Chief Science Officer Kent Langley and I discuss this evolution in three eras: Dawn of the Internet & PCs, Introduction of the Web 2.0 & Mobile, and Spread of the Exponential Technologies - the Exponential Now. We explore what each of previous eras looked like, and what we can expect from the global human network as we move forward. Overview In this episode, Kent Langley and I discuss: When the commercial internet gained mass adoption- 7:00 Evolution of web technology and community platforms - 14:52 Understanding exponential technologies and the concept of exponential organizations - 18:53 The role AI (and related technologies) will play in the global human network - 26:19 Guest Bio Kent Langley is a leader and technology visionary with a background in Technology Operations, Cloud Computing, AI, Exponential Organizations, Data Science, and Blockchain. He works on projects that educate, feed, clothe, and empower people as the co-founder of OpenExO Inc., and as a six-year faculty member at Singularity University. To find Kent on the web, visit his website KentLangley.com and follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook @KentLangley.

Cohere will go beyond discussions of online community, social networks and social media and look at the bigger picture - perhaps the biggest picture: the complex, digitally augmented global community we now all belong to, whether we like it or not! The Cohere podcast will: Feature expert guests with deep knowledge and experience with the combinatorial effects of exponential technology and human networks Highlight key trends in community ecosystem development Discuss case studies/success stories of leading human-network brands (i.e., Salesforce) Examine the emerging business value of networks, communities, and collaboration Analyze previous eras of community and social networking (think: bulletin boards and product support forums) as a framework for future community & network development Provide practical information and guidance for managing human network transformation at scale