stickylearning

Online social networks, learning and viral expansion loops

It's just about Christmas time and now is the time of end of year catch ups and Christmas parties. The most common question at these is, 'so what have you been up to lately?" I respond, 'well I'm becoming more and more interested in the use of social media and microblogging for learning', I then get puzzled looks that say, "too much time on your hands", "what is he talking about?" and they nod politely! Some go as far as to put words to their thoughts with "isn't that sort of thing just for bored celebrities?"

Well, maybe that's what bored celebrities do, who knows? For me though I see a real role for social media as a platform for business learning.

Social media - fad or forever?

I suppose I'm attracted to new ideas and approaches, I like to bring together ideas from different spaces, I like to innovate. I did however miss the first wave of social media on the net, there are many who have written blogs for 5-10 years and are a great deal more connected than I am and are across everything web2.0. So, whilst I may be a little late, I keep being reminded that there are many, many people who are a whole lot less aware of blogs, social networks, wikis, microblogging and so on than I am.

Social media - a platform for learning

This year I have become more and more interested in the use of online social networks as a platform for business learning and knowledge management. Credit where credit is due, a great deal of this increase in awareness has come through my use of Twitter (especially #lrnchat) and through a number of online social networks, such as Seth Godin's Triiibes, LearnTrends, Problogger and LinkedIn groups. As I've used each of these I've been struck by how easily this format (social sites) could be used as a platform for business learning. In fact I've written a number of posts through the year that now track the development of my thoughts on this. (Permission Learning, Fish are the last to recognise water,  Breaking the learning drought, Informal learning - it's not new)

Where are we at?

At this point in time the successful use of social networks within business is rare and the use of social networks as a platform for learning is even more rare. Why is this so?

I see there being two key challenges to overcome:

1. The first issue is that businesses are generally uncomfortable about introducing online social spaces into their workplaces. I have previously written a post addressing this point, so I won't go into detail on this again here, however it seems to have a lot to do with a 'fear' of losing 'control' of conversations.
2. Secondly, if (when) businesses do introduce social media into their workplaces, the next challenge is to encourage employees to want to use it. In my post, "Permission Learning" I looked at one angle on encouraging uptake and usage of informal learning such as social media.

The remainder of this post will be looking at one another approach to improving the adoption rates of social networks. This approach is known as 'viral expansion loops' and is a way of conceptualising how organisations can implement and build user acceptance of social networks within their businesses.

 

Adoption of social sites
The image above is familiar to anyone involved in marketing, it describes how readily a new product is adopted by people over time. Without spending too much time on this, one issue with new technologies and especially social media is that there is quite a lot of hype when the product is first launched. The Innovators talk about it and spruik its benefits, however too often it stops there and never reaches a tipping point where it's use becomes commonplace, it's use never becomes commonplace and therefore it dies a slow (or sometimes quick) death. The aim therefore must be to make sure that the use of your social site moves beyond the Innovators and Early adopters through to the majority of your employees and perhaps eventually to the laggards.

Viral Expansion Loops

I first heard of this term whilst reading Mitch Joel's excellent book, Six Pixels of Separation, I'll explain the term with a story. One day Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, no doubt on the first day there were only a handful of users. It looked good, but with only a few users there were only so many connections you could make. Each of these early adopters saw that if they got all their friends to join, the platform would be a great way for them to keep up with what their friends and families were doing. So these people promoted the site, more people joined. These new people saw that the site would be better if all their friends joined and from there Facebook grew and grew.The key here is that it isn't just 'word of mouth' marketing at play, users saw that their experience would be improved by having more people connected. There were clear benefits in helping to expand the loop. Facebook would never have worked if users hadn't brought in their existing networks of family and friends. It succeeded because of Viral Expansion Loops.

Building a successful social (learning) site

Now I won't go into any technical details here. Businesses are able to adopt a range of systems and platforms for social sites, you can get sites fully customised for your business or you can use existing social platforms. The way I see it, there are two important parts to a successful social platform:

• Design and
• Content

Design

Again, I won't use this post to look at everything! From a design perspective I have previously looked at putting design into learning design, and this makes sense in regards to designing a social site as well. It would also be worthwhile to consider broader graphic design concepts as well to help ensure usability and overall simplicity. I reckon Garr Reynolds' PresentationZen, site and book, are a great way of looking at the visual side of design! And I'd really recommend pre-ordering his upcoming new design book! However, whilst design is important, it isn't everything! You need compelling content if your social site is to be spread virally through your business!

Content

When all else is said and done, employees will use a site if it gives them something that they need or want. Now the question is, "but what content do they need/want?"
The short answer here is that users within a business will want content that:

• will help them do their jobs more effectively and
• lead to greater personal/business success.

That's pretty broad isn't it! (but true)

A Case Study

I'll use a multi-store medium retail store business as an example, I'll rename it (imaginatively?) "A Retailer". This business had a creative owner (we'll call him Bob) who saw the potential of a social site to improve business communication and to share great ideas around stories. He didn't really see this as 'learning' at this stage, he just thought that it seemed to make sense. He began by using the Ning platform, set it up and sent out details to his team. He didn't just build it in the hope that 'they would come'. He had already got 4 of his best store managers 'on-board', they kick-started the site by using the discussion board to ask and answer questions.
This was a retail business so some of their discussions were around:

• setting up for the mid-season catalogue (pictures were included)
• how to reduce unnecessary markdowns
• recruitment tips
• handling difficult customers

These are all important points for retailers, every retailer could use tips on these points! Each of the 4 initial users began to talk about the site with other managers, spruiking how it had helped them. Soon there were a dozen users (the retail chain had 50 stores). Use of the site grew weekly, within 6 months all store managers were signed up and in many ways the site was replacing many other communication channels (eg email). A range of key business indicators were all positive, sales were above budget, staff turnover was reduced and overall morale really seemed more positive. It was at this point that one manager said that she'd learnt more through the new site that from many training sessions she'd been to. Now Bob saw the real benefit of the site, it meant that the best ideas from his team were shared, anyone could come up with a great idea and over time the site was becoming a resource for all types of knowledge.

What is the key?

Use of the Bob's site grew through a viral expansion loop because of it's:

• Design concept - it was easy to navigate through and use
• Content - it met users needs, providing a forum to ask questions and source solutions

Most importantly however it worked because it was social. Users had pictures and profiles, they all had similar problems to solve and worked in similar environments, they were talking with people just like themselves. The site really helped to bring the team of managers within the business closer together, sharing their expertise and looking out for each other.

Where to?

At the end of the day, learning is as learning does. Social sites mightn't look like learning, however if people learn through using them then let's not complicate things, they are a learning tool. I've really only scratched the surface in this post, as social sites become more and more embedded within a business's culture and users become more familiar with the platform and technology, users begin to create their own compelling content for the site, content that moves beyond write only into read/write and the use of multimedia such as audio and visual media. As the use of such sites grows, they will be seen as an essential component of business communication. My view is that they will also be seen as a key platform for knowledge sharing, innovation and business learning!

Twitter for learning

Why wouldn't you use Twitter?!

I've only been actively participating on Twitter for 4-5 months now. I tweet (as @stickylearning) mainly about learning related topics and follow people who also have learning as their main focus. I'm also interested in how design thinking impacts upon learning and the use of visuals to communicate ideas and knowledge. 

In the few months that I've been active on Twitter I have been exposed to more ideas from more sources than in whole years previously. The people I follow find links to articles and research that I'd never come across, I can't always find time to read it on the spot so I save many links to my Delicious page (social bookmarking site) for later (and to provide others with access to all the links and sites I've found interesting).

Twitter keeps me current. I can go to university and complete a course, but after a VERY short while that knowledge is dated. I could attend workshops, but they take time and cost money. Twitter is free, always available and keeps you up to date with the very latest ideas. Twitter makes me better at my job.

How I've used Twitter

I began by searching for people tweeting on the topics that interest me, then I followed some of these (generally those with a higher follower to following ratio - I find these people have produced the best links and most interesting tweets). I also began tweeting about things that interested me, though not always strictly work-related, Twitter is inherently social, that's its attractiveness, it is important to be a person not just a string of tweets!

I now have just over 400 followers of my tweets. OK on the scale of many others on Twitter this is quite small, but it's not really the point. I share articles and thoughts on learning that I hope others will find worthwhile, in return I'm learning heaps! 

Twitter is a place where people share

There is little "that's mine!" on Twitter. Sure it's good etiquette to acknowledge the person who originated a Tweet if you then Retweet their Tweet. However Twitter overall is a place where the web's knowledge and content is shared. I've written about this previously in my post, "The Village of Twitter", where I wrote of how I saw Twitter chat and socialising as somewhat like you'd find in a village. Twitter helps connect people.

My Top 25 Twitterers for Learning

Not that easy to do I now realise!! But there are some whose Tweets I always read and mostly follow links on. I also retweet these people's tweets the most. So here goes - in no particular order! (I'm sure I've missed someone out)

1. @rnarchana
   
2. @jmarrapodi
3. @cammybean
4. @oliviamitchell
5. @frogdesign
6. @nancyduarte
7. @JeffHurt
8. @KoreenOlbrish
9. @marciamarcia
10. @sahana2802
11. @finiteattention
12. @marionchapsal
13. @janebozarth
14. @bfchirpy
15. @moelhert
16. @Quinnnovator
17. @eduinnovation
18. @LambertJay
19. @AngelaMaiers
20. @tmiket
21. @unorder
22. @bschenkler
23. @usablelearning
24. @c4lpt
25. @jaycross

LearnChat

I'd love to be able to participate in this online chat more often, but work and family commitments keep me away! However, it is excellent. Each Thursday everning (US time)/Friday morning (Australian time) an informal group of learning twitterers participate in a discussion on twitter under the hashtag #lrnchat. The discussion is moderated and generally follows a set of 3-4 questions around a weekly topic. Anyone can introduce themselves and participate. If you miss the chat a full transcript of the chat is available online. 

It's worth twittering just for this!

'Scared of first' - why business is resisting new learning.

The past

I'd like to take you back to where I was 5 years ago. My role was working for Australia's then largest retailer, ColesMyer. I managed a team of facilitators whose role was to deliver face-to-face workshops to staff, from entry level, through to senior management. Face-to-face learning was the dominant delivery method with some elearning to deliver generally fact-based knowledge, for example, induction, food safety, OHS and so forth. Other than the elearning component it was really a case of, 'training' = workshops. If I had been working within many other medium to large businesses at that point in time the picture would have been pretty much the same!

Since then what has changed?

Today

I now work independently and have worked with large and smaller businesses over the last 5 years. What do I see today? I see that its still a case of, 'training' = workshops, and face-to-face at that! Over the last 4-5 years I have seen and heard so much about new technologies, elearning, informal learning and so forth. I keep hearing that people are sick of 'death by powerpoint'. BUT I see businesses introducing 'click, click, click' 'powerpoint-style' elearning and believing that this means that their learning is 'modern'.

I design learning strategies for businesses. I often have a difficult time when encouraging businesses to try different/new approaches to learning.

So, why do many businesses not embrace learning approaches that would provide their businesses with real competitive advantages? 

10 Reasons

1. Successful businesses build systems and processes for doing things. The informal/social technologies appear to live outside established systems and therefore scare them.
2. It's easy to measure attendance at workshops and list who completed an elearning module, but how do you measure the results of informal learning?
3. Why change what 'seems' to work?! Businesses like certainty and they see new learning approaches as 'risky/uncertain'.
4. It can be difficult to 'sell' the benefits of new learning technologies when it can be hard to measure results.
5. Businesses may either lack the technology/expertise to implement newer learning approaches OR they are scared of it.
6. They ask, "Are our competitors doing it?" If you answer, "No" this is seen as validation for maintaining the status quo. They are 'scared of being first.' Rather than seeing an opportunity to get a jump on their competitors, they are innovation phobic.
7. 'Training departments' are for managing/administrating programs rather than being responsible for organisational learning, innovation and growth.
8. Many businesses see learning as information transfer,therefore Powerpoint slides full of bullets and text are seen as an efficient and 'snazzy' way of transferring knowledge.
9. Social media is seen as a 'fad'.
10. Informal learning means losing control.

Look, there is a long way to go! OK, it's possibly not as bad as I've made it sound, but it's important to remember where we are now. I'm looking for the 'tipping point', however it just looks a fair way off from where I'm standing. How about you?

If knowledge and skills are so important......

 

I have just read a really interesting post on the Frog Design site! The article by Tim Leberecht is titled "The future of news: Hyper-distribution or Hyper-branding?" The focus of the article is on possible future business models for news media. As I was reading the article, I was struck by what I felt were parallels with learning and the distribution of knowledge. This article along with yesterday's post by Seth Godin, "Flipping abundance and scarcity" have really got me thinking. In many ways, traditional media is really just a source of 'popular' learning. With Tim's article as the basis for my thinking I'd like to take you through my ideas as I read the article, I think it has relevance for how we see learning today and into the future.

Traditional learning establishments such as universities and colleges have generally struggled to successfully harness the benefits of the internet. In the first instance, learning institutions have 'strapped' e-courses onto existing courses often with little emphasis on learning effectiveness. There has been a 'need' to be seen as up-to-date, it has been more about 'branding' than learning - if everybody else is doing it, we must as well or we'll be seen as out-of-date.

(I have used universities and colleges as examples of traditional learning organisations, however it is equally true that corporate L&D departments have behaved in the same manner, e-learning equates to up-to-date)

This is all about (belatedly) catching up. Traditional learning organisations "cling to the idea that the world needs traditional learning establishments...... What if it doesn't?" (borrowing from the Frog article!) It's a good point I think, what if learners just don't need traditional learning environments, what if they don't need formal learning, what happens then?

What if learners thought......'if the knowledge and skills are so important, they will find me!' What if qualifications themselves don't really matter any more?

With the availability of knowledge and resources available freely on the internet individual learners can aggregate sources to create their own hyperpersonalised learning stream. Is there a need for the traditional learning model?

To me this is where we are at today. Businesses, colleges and universities have added elearning onto their traditional learning approaches - it is seen as an 'extra' source of learning. 

Let's stop and think.  

The way forward from here? I see greater and greater emphasis on informal sources of learning, moving forward to the point that 'if the knowledge IS so important it WILL find the learner!'

Perhaps there is still a niche available for the traditional, formal learning model. Leberecht speaks of the importance of branding for traditional media, I think the same is true for traditional learning organisations. "Distinction saves you from extinction" Leberecht says. He is right, for traditional learning organisations they could create 'artificial scarcity in a sea of abundance', they could aim to reach FEWER learners, not more! Instead of trying to be everything, they could focus on reinforcing their traditional brand emphasis.

When I write articles on my blog, it's because I've started thinking on something and find that writing a blog post helps to clarify my thoughts! Today that is true, however today writing has also made me think even more. I'd love to sneak a peak 50 years ahead and see how learning has evolved!

My Personal Learning Environment

Today's post flows nicely from yesterday's post on one type of Personal Learning Environment, Alltop, a site where you are able to aggregate your blog interests in one area. The difference today however is that I'm writing about my very OWN personal learning environment, a personal website, michaeleury.com, that I have published only in the last few days!

OK, what is a personal learning environment? For me it is a place where I park my ideas and knowledge, links and reading resources, it is a bit like a slice of my brain on the web! I've shown the site to a few friends and ex-colleagues asking for input and one question that kept coming back was, where is the sales pitch! The answer, there is not (at least nothing that looks like one!) 

The site serves many purposes, firstly in building it I have had to really think about who I am, how i see learning, which links and books have I got the most from and so on... Today on Tony Karrer's blog, eLearningTech, I saw a video of Seth Godin and Tom Peters talking about blogging, the quote that stuck in my head was, "There is nothing more important than blogging in my life". That also helps to describe why this site is a personal learning environment, it makes me examine my ideas and thoughts. The real test of an idea is having to write it down and publish it - this is real personal learning!

The second purpose of the site is that others can plug in to my ideas, readings and links and learn new things for themselves - it is my way of sharing!

Another purpose relates to branding. People visiting the site should get a much better sense of who I am, what I do, what I like, not just professionally but also personally. My business is designing learning tools and programs for business, this site helps to communicate 'where' I come from.

I hope you enjoy having a look around the site! Given that it is new I'd be open to any feedback, feel free to do that here on my blog or via the contact form on my site!

Stickylearning - now a part of eLearning Learning!

I suppose for most people it's fair to say that, 'You know what you know, but you don't know what you don't know.' For me this changed about 12 months ago. How did it change? I subscribed to one blog, PresentationZen. From here I soon realised that there was indeed a lot that I didn't know - so I read one book, then another, subscribed to one more blog, then another and on it went...

My library of books grew, as did my appreciation of the learning that could occur via blogs and other online sources. So, I decided to write my own blog, stickylearning, which over the last 9 months has me reading more widely again.

Recently Tony Karrer (of the eLearning Technology blog) invited me to join his eLearning Learning community. For those who haven't visited this site previously, the eLearning Learning site is a collection of blog posts and articles around eLearning. This site accumulates blog articles into one location, allowing you to browse over content that you otherwise may not find. Then spend some time navigating around the site, you'll find the list of blogs included down the right hand side.

As I've said, eLearning Learning is a really good site for accessing the most up-to-date ideas, views and technology on all things related to eLearning. Click here and you will be taken to the site (you'll see the stickylearning articles featured).

There's still a place for Learning 0.0

I've written a range of posts over the last few months that in some way have referred to the rising use of various technologies in workplace learning environments. Technologies such as elearning generally, twitter, personal learning environments, wikis, webinars and so forth. 

As I've looked over the posts I've written, one thing stuck out, I have made no reference to 'standard', 'old school', face-to-face delivery of workshop-based learning? (that is low tech in nature!) I think it is time for a little breather!

Without a doubt the emergence of new technologies gives learning professionals a greater range of tools to choose from. New technologies can lead to greater engagement from learners. New technologies can lead to better, more effective learning.

In the rush to technology however, it is important that the benefits of people-to-people, workshop-based learning are not forgotten. 

• Is elearning 'better' than workshop-based learning? Maybe, but maybe not!
• Do web 2.0 technologies lead to more effective learning? Maybe, maybe not!

I could go on! My point is that no single 'new' technology or practice will replace current practice. So, don't throw out the known in a rush to the 'new'.

New learning technologies do however provide learning designers with a far greater range of tools and options so that you are better able to tailor learning solutions to the specific needs of both the learner and the organisation. 

This is the exciting part of the rise of new learning technologies. One size has never fitted everyone, and with so many new options to choose from, you can now design learning solutions that work for all stakeholders!

(so over the next few posts, I'll go low-tech and look at some design considerations for workshop-based learning environments)

The Village of Twitter

In an earlier post on Informal Learning I made the observation that social networks allow people to create their own villages of learning. What I meant by this is that people once had only one source of knowledge, the village. Even when a visitor brought new ideas, this new knowledge was shared amongst the group.

The industrial revolution introduced the benefits of scale to industry, further enhanced over the last 100 years by the structure introduced through Henry Ford's production lines. Education and learning followed a similar path, larger schools and prescribed curriculum. The results have been spectacular, never before have people learnt so much. This has resulted in the exponential rise of innovation and technological advancement. Schools, universities and formal learning have been undoubted successes.

BUT, as formal learning became the dominant mode, informal learning became to be seen as something less, not as good, unable to be tested by examination in the same way as formal learning. However this is now being questioned. In Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers he discusses how this is is happening. He explain how children in the USA complete the California Achievement Test at the end of each school year to assess their maths and reading skills. In one instance in Baltimore this test was also given at the beginning of the following year (allowing a measure of learning over the holiday break). It was found that some students continued to learn while on holidays whilst others learnt little or went backwards. The conclusion, the real difference in children's performance at school over a number of years was not due to 'clever' children learning more during the school year but rather it was due to some children being provided with continued informal learning by their family during school holidays. 

I strongly believe that something similar happens in the workplace. Workers learn a great deal through formal channels. But those that learn the most are surrounded by managers and co-workers who take an interest in their development, again informal learning.

Twitter has struck me as a way forward to the past - if that can make sense! What I mean is that Twitter allows people to create informal learning networks, just as people did in the past in small villages - now we have the Village of Twitter. 

What I am finding (as a real newbie to Twitter @stickylearning) is that I am building networks with people who have interests and skill sets similar to my own. This is beginning to mean that I can enter Twitter conversations around topics that interest me, I can put forward my own ideas and hear back what others think of these. 

I have also just finished reading Twitter Power by Joel Comm (@JoelComm). The book is about how you can use Twitter to build your business, however it is just as applicable to helping learners build their knowledge.

The key things I have learnt from the book (and by adding my own learning twist) are:

• Twitter is social, focus solely on business and people are not likely to follow you. Once you have broken the ice then you can move to business. (just like socialising and networking in real life)
• Use various Twitter tools (Twools?) to help you organise your Twitter Village. I have started to use Tweetdeck as I am able to create groups of followers according to my relationship with them. This could be used to form Twitter groups within business. You can make sure that your tweets are only visible to others within this group if you don't want tweets on the 'public timeline'. A further benefit of this is that Twitter can then be used to connect workers in businesses that operate in different locations or time-zones.
• Twitter is a great place to find experts in your field. You can search for particular words or conversation topics, denoted by #topic. You can add to conversations, provide helpful links/knowledge and feedback to others. You can build your profile.
• Twitter is another way of sharing information found on the wider web. Through posting links to can bring to others' attention ideas that they wouldn't otherwise come across - it saves time. 
• You can then also share information gained from one Twitter group with another by 'ReTweeting' the information. 
• And importantly, Twitter keeps things brief. No more than 140 characters per Tweet. In villages you may avoid people who ramble on and on, now Twitter makes rambling impossible!    

Twitter is recreating the village learning environment. A place where followers (villagers) can chat about their day, what they are having for dinner and how to create new software code or solve other workplace issues. Furthermore promoting informal learning also enhances creativity and encourages people (and businesses) to consider how learning outside structured environments encourages innovation and creativity.

So this is my Village of Twitter. Not just a place for informal learning but a step forward to a place past!

Top six business (learning) books of 2009 (so far!!)

6 months of 2009 have already passed me by. Amazon and my local bookstores have been kept pretty busy keeping up with my reading habits and last night I was looking at my bookshelf thinking to myself which books would make a list of the best business books I've read so far this year. 

After sleeping on it I came up with a shortlist of around 10, but have cut that down to 6, one for each month so far! These are, in no particular order:

• The Designful Company by Marty Neumeier
  
• Pow! Right Between the Eyes by Andy Nulman
  
• Tribes by Seth Godin
  
• In Pursuit of Elegant Solutions by Matt May
  
• Remix by Lawrence Lessig
  
• Twitter Power by Joel Comm

I've reviewed some of these in others places on my blog, however I'll quickly explain what each book has provided for me (with an emphasis on learning).

The Designful Company

For me, a learning designer, it gave me a greater sense of the importance of the design process in strategic planning within business. As a result, learning within business must be designed as an integral part of the business strategy, rather than as an added extra.

Pow! Right Between the Eyes

A really great refresher for all learning designers. Learning must be structured so that it has built within it elements that hit the learner right between the eyes. This is what makes knowledge memorable! Andy's book is a great read!

Tribes

Where once there were small tribes of humans joined together by the proximity of their geography,today tribes are becoming important once more. Through the world-shrinking capabilities of the internet and its many tools, learners, designers of learning and in fact everyone can belong to and indeed lead tribes of people brought together by their shared interests. From this has arisen tribes of online learners working and learning together. Truly global learning!

Remix

A different choice, a book on copyright laws and intellectual property! However Lawrence Lessig's book challenges and explores how digital technology has altered who (and how) knowledge and content is created. 

In Pursuit of Elegant Solutions

In some ways a design book, a reminder for learning designers of the need for elegance in their design of learning solutions . For me the book spoke to me of the need for an elegant solution to the currently overly confused world of elearning. Too many competing tools, no single tool stamping itself as obviously and inherently superior in either its symmetry, seductiveness, simplicity or sustainability. 

Twitter Power

For me this has been the last of these books I've read. As a fairly new Twitter user this book steps out really clearly how Twitter works, how businesses can use Twitter and for me I have seen uses of Twitter within learning (another upcoming post)

The main lesson for me in all this is the need to keep reading and digesting new ideas. None of these books is specifically about learning, but for me this is the point! Great ideas come from all fields!

Informal Learning - its not new!

There is quite a buzz around the idea of Informal Learning at the moment. This is due in large part to the continuing rise of technologies that allow learners to form their own connections with other learners, search, browse and form their own personal learning places filled with information that they find interesting and useful. 

This may lead to useful learning.

This sentence is the key. 

Self-directed searching, browsing and accumulation may lead to learning - but it may not. Whether it leads to learning or not depends on:

• how the person processes all the new information they are finding
• what their existing knowledge base is
• whether they understand what they are reading/viewing
• whether they overload themselves with too much information at one sitting 

Will the learning be useful? This depends upon whose perspective you are assessing this. Personal usefulness and business usefulness. 

Usefulness depends on where you coming from, your perspective. You'd imagine that in work environments usefulness would relate more to measurable work outcomes.  Usefulness from a personal perspective is more subjective and hard to measure.

But, back to the title of this post. Informal Learning is not new. Planting of crops was not taught through formal means over the last few thousand years, the wheel was not invented because of insights gained through a formal diploma, and so on. Most learning has historically been informal. People learnt from their family and others with whom they had direct contact. Storytelling was used to pass down knowledge from generation to generation. Trial and error. Luck. Disaster. 

New insights, innovations, arose when someone combined two or more pieces of existing knowledge and created something new.

Over time however learning was formalised, it made sense. Schools,universities and colleges were able to share knowledge and direct learning. As a society people learnt more and faster than ever before. But are times changing once more?

The internet made information freely available, Google made it easy to search for information, now social networks allow people to create their own 'villages' of learning. I use the term 'villages' because in many ways social networking is building virtual villages. It allows learners to learn in the same way that people did through storytelling in tribes, 'common knowledge' takes on a renewed meaning.  

Once the debate between learning philosophies looked like this (virtually the same as the earlier image). Either/or with a little shared space.

To recreate the formal vs informal learning debate along these lines however gets us nowhere really. Humanistic vs vocational learning/Informal vs formal learning. I don't believe that it matters, and indeed most probably looks more like this:

The best learning happens through both informal learning and formal learning. The aim in all cases is to find ways to improve the effectiveness of both. To focus solely on one over the other reduces outcomes, this is the new 'blended learning'.