About

My name is Janet Clarey. This blog, Spinning the Social Web, is about the impact the social web has on work and life.

I blog because I’m interested in emerging technologies and tools, new instructional design models, new types of instructional content and services, and because I wanted a way to document my research and observations about workplace learning. In the 3+ years since I started writing, I’ve become more heavily involved in social media and now focus much of my work in that area.

I also started blogging because I wanted to add my voice to the blogosphere and grow professionally and personally. Quoting this post, here’s my disclaimer:

My work on blogs, articles, handbooks, and so on is an invitation to engage in conversation, not a proclamation of what I absolutely know.

I hope to help readers (and myself) make sense of all the changes in the workplace. Lurkers and contributors are welcome.

Why “Spinning the Social Web”?

I hired a web developer for this blog. She suggested the name, “Spinning the Social Web,” when I told her what I do and what this blog would be about. I liked her suggestion but kept thinking about “spin.”

I’m sure you’d agree that “putting a spin” on something often has negative connotations. It brings to mind telling lies, perhaps to sway opinion. In a milder sense, “putting a spin” on something brought to mind public relations and bias, i.e. putting the “corporate spin” on something (like layoffs, product recalls, or some similar negative event). Spinning can also mean the manipulation of facts such as what we see in politics and political reporting. Or, simply spinning a record (soon to be an antiquated phrase).

I have a preference for another definition of “putting a spin” on something:

“a distinctive point of view, emphasis, or interpretation…a distinctive character or style.“

So that’s my aim.

I also can’t help but think about “Spinning a Web,” as spiders do. When you visualize a spider’s web, you can see that the social web resembles one…or, more likely, a series of spiders webs.

What is “the social web?” One current descriptor, on the Wikipedia entry for “social web,” defines it as:

…people interlinked and interacting with engaging content in a conversational and participatory manner via the Internet.

I like this graphic from Brian Solis. (Note the similarities of a spider’s web.)

It’s appropriate, I think, to use the definition of “social web” currently listed on Wikipedia because Wikipedia is an excellent and well-known example of the social web in action.

My background

I started in Radio/TV Broadcasting, getting a B.A. degree in Communications. I always wanted to be a journalist. As is often the case with many recent college grads, I took one of the first good jobs offered. It was in radio but the (ad) sales part. I was in sales for the next several years moving from radio into the electronics industry in the late 80s. Although I did well financially, sales is not where I work best.

I drifted into the insurance industry at some point, like tumbleweed. I held various positions which eventually led me to training and development. In that role writing, technology, and learning merged.  With passion, I obtained a Master’s in Education with a specialization in Instructional Design. It was then that I discovered my love of learning and research and that led me to where I am today.

Janet is a Chapman Alliance team member and a Brandon Hall Research Associate.

Blurb

Janet’s background is in corporate learning & development.

Janet has worked on large scale LMS, LCMS, talent management systems, and synchronous learning platform implementations and is experienced in curriculum development and instructional design.

As a learning industry analyst, Janet strives to help organizations make sense of the changing learning environment.

In her current role, she specializes in providing objective research about workplace learning. Her goal is to work with organizations to apply research to create a sustainable, effective strategy.

In addition to being a blogger, researcher, and analyst she attends graduate school at Syracuse University in the IDD&E program where she is working on her PhD. She lives in New York State with her husband and three children and works virtually from her home.

BTW….The opinions expressed here are my own.

Hit some of my links and let’s connect.

Contact information
jclareyATgmailDOTcom
jclareyATsyrDOTedu
Skype: janetclarey
Google Talk: jclarey
Facebook: Janet Clarey
Twitter: jclarey
LinkedIn:Janet Clarey
SecondLife: Alpha Biddle
Ning: JanetClarey