Our team recently developed a session entitled “Embracing Social Networking in Your Firm.” As we conducted our research, we came across some terms with which we were not entirely familiar. We started reading about things like Wikis, Widgets, Twitter, Social Bookmarking, RSS, and many others. While I was familiar with some of them, I wanted to be able to explain them well to others in non-technical language that was easy to understand.
I was thrilled when I came across The CommonCraft Show (http://www.commoncraft.com/show). The creators of The CommonCraft Show, which is part of the parent site www.commoncraft.com, make short videos that explain new and complex ideas in an easy to understand format using whiteboard and paper – a system they call “Paperworks.” They feature short video productions that are designed to explain terms in “plain English” that, in my experience, are very effective! They use Paperworks to illustrate concepts and explain how things work without any unnecessary distractions. After watching a two-minute explanation of each, I really felt like I had a good grasp on Wikis, Widgets, Social Bookmarking, and other terms I was trying to learn more about. Now I can explain them to others in a way that is easy to understand.
You can go to the CommonCraft Show to learn about new and emerging technologies and return there often to stay abreast of IT-related terms and tools . Or, if you want to be really efficient and knowledgeable, set-up your very own social bookmarking site so new information will be fed to you automatically. This will save you from having to go out and check for new additions and changing content. If you don’t know what “social bookmarking” is, go here to get your “plain English” definition from CommonCraft.
We also created a glossary of some of the more common technology terms to accompany our Social Networking session. You can view and/or download a copy by clicking here.
Is there a particular concept or term that you would like to hear explained in “plain English?” Be sure to visit CommonCraft to remove the mystery!
Have you come across any other web sites that you have found helpful or that provide good explanations of terms, whether in the IT world or in the world of accounting?
I hope you find the information in this post helpful, and I’m anxious to hear about the resources that you have to share as well!
Warm Regards,
Michelle Baca
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