Younger Generation Reshaping The Workplace. While we've been having some fun debating whether or not people doing personal surfing or playing games at work was a good thing, there's increasing evidence that the new generations of workers are going to push this sort of thinking into the workplace - no matter how you feel about it. The younger generation of workers are now completely digitally literate, and believers in collaborative, open environments over broadcast, closed systems. The article points to a business school that had a WiFi setup in the classroom, which a professor turned off - and the students revolted, saying that it was a part of how they worked. That same attitude is pushing its way into the workplace as well. Since people are connected 24/7, and are expected to be doing work at 10pm at night, they see no good reason why they can't play a quick game at 3pm. In fact, many argue, by letting employees work on their own time, they can be even more productive. This view contrasts greatly with the top-down management style that is still in place in many companies. Of course, that will adjust over time - when the younger workers either bring innovation in, or those older companies find themselves unable to compete, and unable to lure new talent. This is not, of course, to say that such systems can't (or won't) be abused. They will most certainly be abused. The response, though, is to deal with the abuse - and not punish everyone else for the bad seeds. If you're not getting work done, then there's clearly a problem - but that's something that can be easily determined. [Techdirt]

This style of working in not something only young people do. I have done it my whole life and know many boomers who do the same. Heck, Immunex was full of them. But thie point techdirt and the artciel make is right on. The best, most nimble organizarions will be those that support collaborative, social networks. As long as the work gets done, it does not matter when it gets done. Manager and worker get together, agree on what can be accomplished, then get it done. Networking tools that promote this will be extremely useful. Organizations whose underlying purpose is service and who fail to follow this approach will be at a competitive disadvantage to those that do.

I happened to find these stories at Apple the other day. (My mom sent be to the first site.) You can ignore the Apple promotion. Just look at what each of these small groups is able to accomplish, by having an organization that is adaptable. In every case, they are at the top of their field, BECAUSE the tools they use permit their organization to efficiently utilize information for the group's benefit. They move information to create knowledge. This approach will become more and more the standard for innovating in an Information Society. Those that rty to use the Industrial Age model may well be doomed.  10:49:22 PM    

Lawyers Call for Maher Arar Investigaton. The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights is calling for an investigation into the Maher Arar case: It is a clear... [TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime]

Interestingly, the US apparently violated some international treaties it had signed when it turned Canadian citizen Arar over to the Syrians to be imprisoned and tortured for a year. But that won't cause even a ripple since the US can do anything it wants to anyone who is not a US citizen, right?. I do not think this is going to die down very fast in Canada. Particularly since there are several other Candadian citizens who have had the same thing happen to them  10:15:34 PM    

Will Ferrell is a funny man

Manifestly Unfit: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush
. [Beginning an extended series]

Introduction: Behind the Desk

On the weekend before Election Night 2000, Saturday Night Live opened its weekly broadcast with a remarkable skit -- remarkable, mostly, for its eerie prescience. Don Pardo explained to [Orcinus]

While the skit is extremely funny, what David has to say is not. I would much rather have had the second glimpse SNL gave us of the future. I love the fact that good satire does not die in the Internet world, even after 3 years, we can quickly read what was performed.  9:44:47 PM