Foundations of the Social Age: a MOOC

I have to say it’s been a busy couple of days: I’ve recorded 29 videos and 10 podcasts for the MOOC I’m designing on the foundations of the Social Age. This is an experiment, a chance to pull together a body of work around 12 different aspects of the evolved ecosystem that we live and work within. The move will run for six weeks from the end of February, and if you’re interested, you can sign up here.

A MOOC is an acronym for a Massive Online Open Course: a course that anybody can subscribe to, with no formal qualification or obligation to complete. This is the first time I have designed one, so we shall see how it goes.

It’s going to explore the Social Contract, the unwritten contract that exists between individual and organisation, and the ways that that has been eroded and fractured in the Social Age. It talks about the nature of work, and how it’s about more than simply the death of the office. We will consider social capital: our ability to survive and thrive in this new space, and to help others to do the same. Authenticity sits behind our stories, and we will explore in detail how it is earned. We will cover Social Learning, and Social Leadership, the democratisation of publishing, and the Landscape of Trust, I’ll be revisiting some earlier work on fairness and exploring how humility is a core trait for leaders in the Social Age. Finally, we will consider community, co-creation, and storytelling.

MOOCs are a great way to engage with a large audience: my intention is to produce this prototype rapidly, test it, and learn how to do it ever better. I shall continue to #WorkOutLoud as i do so.