Awareness of ones social networks is a building block of "social intelligence" and one Goleman does not cover in his Social Intelligence book, the one he says may be the most important.

Currently "social networks" bring to mind the new hot software products entering the marketplace.  There is a more fundamental meaning of "social network" -the networks which interlink the relationships of our everyday life. These are key tools of socio-cultural approaches and the results of these empirical studies have been influential in sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, computer science, health, innovation, business and more. Social relations are the essence of social networks, which are integral to families, teams, businesses, nations and on-line social networks. Research shows that organizations and individuals who understand and apply knowledge of social networks are healthier, happier, more productive and certainly more innovative. Integrating this knowledge into management practices and software is stimulating an innovation and productivity revolution. Come learn about its potential.

Who should come:
-managers - research has shown people who understand social networks get promoted faster, are more productive, get paid more. Managers should know what's going one.
- software developers - real time analysis of social networks is becoming a reality: what does it mean? How can the knowledge be used for better user experience and products? Multi user games, information systems, knowledge management and collaboration are especially relevant.
- individuals - understand how social networks affect your opportunities and identity.

The class is from 8:30 to 5:30 with lunch provided.  The doors will open at 8:00 with breakfast food and coffee, so you can come early and "network" (we'll talk about that too).

Course Outline

- Overview: social networks, networks and networking, some background.
- Searching through networks for people and information
- Social network self assessment
- Social capital - what is it?
- How networks influence us and how they form:: positions, roles, institutions, norms, brokerage, closure
- How networks affect organizations and regions
- Networks and luck
- Networks and creativity and innovation
- Implications for individuals, organizations and software

The course is a mixture of activities and lecture - there is a lot that needs to be covered, but there is plenty of discussion and "learning by doing," so it will be fun day. The outline here is brief, but if you want more details, feel free to contact us at: 831.471.1671 or steiny@isnae.org. Ask us about discounts for students or other financially challenged folks.

The instructor: Don Steiny - Has taught Social Network Analysis at the University of Oulu, Finland; The Kauffman Foundation and public classes. He has been an invited speaker on the subject at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria (twice); The Electronic Recruiting Exchange conference in Boston; the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City; InfoTech Oulu in Oulu, Finland and a number of different events around Silicon Valley.   He  is currently in the final edits of a book review of the 2nd edition of Identity and Control, by Harrison White, for the journal Social Networks; and is preparing a paper on social networks, innovation and productivity for the International Journal of Virtual Organizations and Networking .   He has over 20 years software development experience with companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Bell Laboratories. Don is a regular attendee and presenter at the International Network of Social Network Analysts (INSNA)conferences, he is a member of the Silicon Valley Network Analysis Project (SiVNAP) at Stanford and is one of the founders of ISNAE. Don has spend many years as an adviser to businesses and has been on the board of advisers of over a dozen companies. His BA is in linguistics and he is currently working on a PhD at the University of Oulu, Finland.

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