△ MENU/TOP △

Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
SearchClose Icon

IBM takes its jams outside

How many great and noble accomplishments can one company chalk up to a single effort? If the company is IBM, the list is impressive: a shining example of corporate social responsibility, an innovative first-ever use of a technology formerly reserved for internal use, a proof-of-concept for large-scale global collaboration on the web…

The effort is Habitat Jam, the first time IBM has offered one of its legendary jams to the general public. The jams first debuted in 2001 with World Jam, an intranet-based 72-hour event designed to tap into the brainpower of all IBM employees to help address key business issues. The Jam works primarily with some web content to kickstart thinking and conversation, along with threaded discussion groups. World Jam was so wildly successful it was followed by others, including Sales Jam and Manager Jam.

Habitat Jam takes everything IBM has learned about conducting these jams and applies it to a global social issue: slums. Partnering with the World Urban Forum, IBM is turning the Jam’s efforts to surfacing ideas and opportunities leading to the eradication of the world’s slums. IBM’s vice president of communication strategy, Mike Wing, calls it a first, since the citizens of the world will be able to articulate their opinions and suggest solutions without the filters of governments or NGOs. Instead of endless discussion and policy-making typical of traditional organizations that focus on issues like this, the Jam—just like those conducted internally—is designed to provide ideas to action.

Particularly interesting is the fact that the Jams rely on old-school technology—message boards—rather than blogs, wikis, or the other tools of the new social media environment. Given the nature of a Jam—some 90,000 employees participated in World Jam—message boards are undoubtedly the right tool for the task, proving the notion that strategy trumps technology.

The Jam is being presented as part of the World Urban Forum’s third sessions, set for Vancouver in June. The Canadian government kicked in $3 million for the Jam, $1 million of which went to IBM for development of the infrastructure. The six broad topics the Jam will address include…

  • Improving the lives of slum dwellers
  • Sustainable access to water
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Safety and security
  • Finance and governance
  • Humanity: The future of our cities

The event runs from this Friday through Sunday. As of about 11 a.m. PST today, you had almost 20 hours left to register to participate. I would urge you to do so—both for the contribution you can bring to the table as well as the experience of engaging in a global brainstorming session like this.

You can hear IBM’s “The future of…” podcast discussing the Habitat Jam (featuring Mike Wing, whom Neville and I interviewed a few months back on “For Immediate Release”), or read more about it at the Habitat Jam website.

Update: Mike Wing notes, “Actually, people don’t need to pre-register in order to participate. They can decide to join midway through, and register then.”

11/30/05 | 0 Comments | IBM takes its jams outside

Comment Form

« Back