How I spend my time as an analyst and researcher and how that's changed in four years

I’m working on obtaining information for our members on the topic of blended learning – who’s doing what, why, how they’re doing it, what kind of measurable results they’re seeing, type of training, tools & technologies, etc. I’m also looking for the most current research on blended learning (it’s an update to an e-book published in 2007). And, I’m noticing that my work was quite different back then. Here’s what I did:

• Background research for articles (read, searching, interviewing, summarizing)
• LMS reviews (demonstrations, write-ups)
• Research and write reports and e-books (read, write, read some more)
• Create presentations (plan, sequence, format, find links, graphics, etc.)
• Website and portal tech stuff (wiki, web copy, web pages, network, etc.)
• Some consulting work (custom research)
• Monitor the old social network we had

Today, it looks like this:

• Spend 1-2 hours reading feeds, alerts, email, tweets, and articles.
• Post interesting finds on Workplace Learning Today, this blog, Twitter, and other social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook) throughout the day
• Background research for articles
• Briefings
• Write short research reports for members
• Aggregate KnowledgeBase data for short reports (SCORM, Low-Cost, etc.)
• Presentations
• Webinars
• Workshops
• Web site stuff (weekly newsletter, update pages, etc.)
• Manage social media – Brandon Hall groups, member community, calendars, Twitter accounts, news blog, live  chat, alerts, etc.

We’re a small company. We don’t have people that focus on any one thing. Everybody’s a web developer. Everybody’s a blogger. Everybody designs workshops. We get it done.

But I’m noticing that the new things on the list are the type of activities that make it hard to set aside large blocks of time to read uninterrupted. Although I go through periods where I’m silent online, I find I’m working all the time (although I have flexibility to take a few hours off whenever I need to). Not that that’s a problem. I kind of like reading feeds while waiting for one of the kids practices to end. Or, while I’m a passenger in a car.

But what does this mean in the grand scheme of things?

I write less here and tweet more. I write smaller reports. I scan. Everything is getting smaller. I’m hoping I’m not like the manager that disregards the four bullet points below the first one. The person that relies on bullet points or sound bits.
But what’s also different is that I actually feel more knowledgeable now. I used to work mostly alone. Now, I seem to work with hundreds and that brings me to a conflict I’ve had for the better part of a year: sharing. I share what I can and have taken some criticism for not making all knowledge available for free. Some seem to think that’s the way everything should be. Free. But research is our product. You might sell insurance. I’m not going to ask you for free insurance. So I’ve reconciled that in my mind. If anyone wants more than free, I’d be happy to be your analyst : )

Wonder what four years from now will look like? I may just be grunting itty bitty cavewoman sounds and trying to make sense of other cave dwellers. How has your job changed?

Tagged as: analyst, work