Leveraging social media tools, relationships and content expertise, the Information Services team at Sun Microsystems has integrated info/knowledge into programs like engineering, marketing, sales and learning to drive connections, discovery and knowledge sharing. The focus is on employee learning, keeping the organization smart and providing good information to drive good decisions. You will learn about the value of information services at Sun and see the use of Social Learning Exchange, wikis, blogs, Twitter, and virtual worlds to create an integrated learning experience around information for Sun employees.

1. Information Services:
Merging learning, information
and social media
Christy Confetti Higgins
Senior Information Expert (aka Librarian)
Information Services: Digital Libraries &
Research
Sun Microsystems
January 25, 2010
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2. Agenda – Things to chat about...
• Who we are and why
• What we do
> Informal learning
> Content acquisition and integration
> Leveraging social media for learning
> Research and information consulting
• Examples of Information Services
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4. Good information = Smart decisions
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5. Please ask questions!
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6. Overview
Information Services: Digital Libraries & Research
• Digital Libraries & Research (DL&R)
• The “library” has been part of Sun for over 20 years
• 2 employees today
• Part of Sun Learning Services
• Focus on information services for employees
Mission: To empower employees by enabling them to find, discover,
use, connect with and share the critical information and knowledge
needed for their business success.
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7. DL&R: Roles & Portfolio
Content Services Research & Info
Consulting
Information Info Training
Access Communications
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8. Why Information Services?
• "Eighty percent of learning is informal, which means only 20% is
formal learning. Yet we spend most of our training dollars on
formal learning. 1. That means that we are spending 80% of our
learning dollars on programs that benefit only 20% of employee
learning. 2. Learning organizations must address this
discrepancy by looking at complementary informal learning
techniques."
Source: “Get Serious About Informal Learning”, April 22, 2009, Forrester, by Claire
Schooley
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9. Why Information Services?
• “If these highly skilled employees lack authoritative information
to inform their decisions,their work is compromised.”
Source: “Best Practices: Reinventing The Corporate Library”, Forrester, May 2008
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10. It's all about the CONTENT ....
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11. Content Services – More Detail
3rd Party Content Management
> Deployment
> Contract negotiations > Employee communications
> Relationship management and training
> Renewals > Website and wiki
management
> Content pilots
> Metrics
> Content integration
> Maintenance
> Cataloguing
> Upgrades and
> Feedback management improvements
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12. Key Content Sources – for Learning
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13. Content Acquisition Process
• Importance of content to business
> Monitor and integrate corporate goals into our decision process
> We immerse ourselves into teams
> Communities – social media, email, forums, blogs, etc.
• We know the information vendor landscape so....
> Quality of information and satisfaction with product
> Conduct trials with targeted groups
> Ask trial participants for feedback
• Negotiate – value for price
• Then roll out and integrate – make the connections!
Source: leveraged Outsell Inc.'s “Vendor Portfolio Management Toolkit: A Decision
Matrix for Vendor Investment”, July 9, 2009
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14. Content Feedback Loop, Usage and
ROI
• Surveys to users, target audience
• ROI work with vendors: productivity, time savings, dollars
saved, impact to business
• Focus groups when possible
• Talk to key target user groups at meetings, events, programs
• Examples of the types of feedback ....
> “I can have a lot more confidence in the information that I would have in the results of a
Google search.”
> “Although Google has become an indispensable reference tool, it is not able to
replace authoritative texts on technical subjects”
> “I consider Safari an essential tool in my work here at Sun.”
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15. Keys for Learning via Information
Services – You Must....
Participate
Integrate
Communicate
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16. Let's take a look – mixing learning,
information services and social
media
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17. Our Wiki/Main Site
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18. Library & Research Twitter
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19. MyLearning
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20. Sales U and Services Delivery U
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21. Blogging
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22. Feeding Blog to Wiki - Connecting!
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23. Information Matters Video Podcast
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24. New Initiative: READ Community
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25. Safari Books Online Examples
Senior Sun executives
and subject matter
experts reading lists;
collab around book/video
content mapped to
projects, key subjects,
programs
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26. RSS Feeds Mapped to
key wiki sites
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27. Content Integration: CEC
conference
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28. Search Strategies
• Trainings on various resources or topics – how
to...
> Searching IEEE, eBooks, market research, hot topics
• Searching resources internally
• Searching from a single source
• Visual search
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29. MyLearning Search
External resources
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30. MyLearning Search
GSA
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31. MyLearning Search – Key Match
Pulling known resources together
based on search terms
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33. Sun Grokker
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34. - Visual or text
- Categorized
- Create list
- By source or by topic
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36. Research & Information Consulting
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37. Research & Information Consulting
• Focus on strategic initiatives, projects, programs
> Both employee and business initiatives
• Integrate Information Experts in those spaces to provide
information consulting
• Provide services to initiatives that are important to Sun's
profitability
• However, research questions come from EVERYONE and
EVERYWHERE
• Helps us to make people to people connections
• Helps us keep the pulse on the business information needs
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38. Pro-active Research Example
• Content in SLX
• Blog about it
• Integrate it
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39. Content Integration – Virtual Worlds
• Wonderland
> Sales pilot, building a library space with information,
activities and scheduled learning sessions
• Second Life
> Knowledge sharing events such as Employees Connect
chat series, Safari sessions
> Library & Research Space
> Bookstore
> Information experts
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40. Sun in VW Blog
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41. • An experimental learning environment and community
created by Sun Learning Services to make learning about
Solaris immersive, easy, and fun!
• Office hours, expert chats, learning activities
• http://blogs.sun.com/solariscampus
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42. Pilot for Intern New Hire Program
• Partnered with HR
• Intern New Hire activities in
Second Life (7 interns)
• Learning games
• It's all about interacting and
learning
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43. Safari in Second Life – Learning
Events
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45. Sun Author Chats
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46. Java One 2009 – Author Chats
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48. Santa Clara Data Center
• Video on SLX:
https://slx.sun.com/1179273634
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51. Learning and Information Services
• Provide the information for employees to make good decisions
• Leverage, embrace, use, share, participate via social media
tools
• Integrate information into the business and workflow
> Programs, search tools, learning platforms, strategic
initiatives
• Enable collaboration
• Communicate constantly
• Provide the research expertise
• Partner across the organization – with the users (HR,
Marketing, Sales, Eng, R&D, Learning)
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52. Lessons Learned and Relearned

Targeting the knowledge workers in your organization and
engaging them

What information do they need for their work

Start small and move forward from there

The word “pilot” is your friend

Work with existing pain points and needs

Partnering and connecting – in every sense – is essential
for success

Continue to experiment and stay on top of technology
trends
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53. Measuring Value
Research
quality not quantity, program
Content
integration, strategic initiatives,
by usage, adoption, feedback
time saved, survey responses,
survey responses, time saved,
stories
stories, spreading of the word
Virtual worlds
Social media employee adoption, business
usage #'s, participation, activity (how many, much),
stories, spreading the word knowledge sharing activities,
stories, Sun adoption
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54. Thank you!
Remember ...
Good information = Smart decisions
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55. Christy Confetti Higgins
christy.confetti@sun.com
Skype: cconfettihiggins
www.twitter.com/confetti
www.twitter.com/libraryresearch
blogs.sun.com/library
blogs.sun.com/vw
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56. Appendix
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57. Website / Videos
• History of Information at Sun
> http://thenetworkisthecomputer.com/site/?p=1664
• Information Matters
> http://slx.sun.com (search for information matters)
• Social Learning Exchange
> http://slx.sun.com Or http://www.slx.com
• Blog
> http://blogs.sun.com/library (external blog – internal not
available)
> http://blogs.sun.com/vw
• Twitter
> http://www.twitter.com/libraryresearch
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58. Why Information Professionals?
• Knowledge Sharing
Information professionals are accountable for gathering, organizing and sharing the
right information for the best decisions. Information professionals further create a
culture of knowledge sharing by educating colleagues on the best use of
information.
• Global Networking
Through active global networking, information professionals promote the exchange
of information, innovative ideas, insights and trends.
• Competitive Advantage
Information professionals ensure organizations have the right > information, insights
and trends to make good decisions and gain competitive advantage.
• Bottom-line Benefits
Information professionals save organizations time and money by providing value-
added intelligence that is accurate, reliable and relevant. We deliver expert
information to our organizations in a timely, accessible and convenient manner.
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