10

Ten years ago I fell so deliriously in love that I neglected my work, lost my job, and flew to a Caribbean island to sort out my priorities. My mistress was the web, and I love her still. She’s been very, very good to me.

The concept for Internet Time Group popped into my head whilst sitting amid the Mayan ruins on Cozumel. My calling would be to help people learn to do fulfilling work and lead satisfying lives. I intended to challenge the conventional wisdom about how adults learn. Often networks are at the heart of it instead of classrooms.

The net has been my benefactor and my connection to thousands of colleagues and friends. You helped me learn. You provoked me to explore eLearning. You anointed me the Johnny Appleseed of informal learning. Now you’re goading me help organizations survive and prosper in the unpredictable, post-industrial age ahead. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The pace of change is white hot and getting faster by the moment. I’ve written several books and chapters for half a dozen others but I do not expect instructional books to be around much longer. They can’t keep up. The publishing industry has not made any breakthroughs since the 1490s. I’m excited to be working on an alternative.

Today I completed the first release of my un-book. It’s a modern-day Whole Earth Catalog which provides access to tools for improving individual and organizational performance. The un-book’s content changes day to day; the hard copy portion is printed on demand. The printed pages are the tip of a heap of resources on the web. A parallel community provides the opportunity to suggest improvements and additions, and to network with other subscribers. The un-book will always be in beta, forever an unfolding experiment. I expect to release the un-book within ten days.

I’ve been meeting with many organizations and groups lately, but I’m trying to do more than just talk at their people. My mission is to inspire people to apply frameworks that unlock innovation. Sometimes this requires F2F meetings. Increasingly, it’s short bursts of advice over the phone or in net meetings. It’s not just me; half a dozen colleagues are collaborating to bring more than a single viewpoint to workshops and change events I orchestrate.

When I began blogging (in the last century!), my friends didn’t “get it.” When I started writing about eLearning, people said it would never replace the classroom. Skeptics told me it would never work. Brandon Hall emailed me that he didn’t like the term; it wouldn’t stick. Traditionalists were not pleased with my contention that “Courses are dead.” People put down informal learning, saying it lacks rigor and is uncontrollable. I enjoy being contrarian just to poke reality from the edges, but it’s wonderfully reinforcing when history proves me right. To the naysayers, I have but one thing to say: Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

Now I’ll go out on another limb. I believe we are at the gates of a new era of human consciousness. Everything is becoming connected. All is intangible. Connections are overtaking nodes. The global brain is kicking in. The global heart won’t be far behind. I’m really looking forward to our next ten years together.