Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Top All Time Conversation Agent Posts

If you're like me, you follow how the content you produce is shared and built upon by looking at your blog's statistics, the comments you receive and the reactions -- likes, shares, @ replies, RTs -- in various social networks. Some posts you probably know the moment you write them that they will be useful or fun and enjoyable for people to share -- right time and place, etc. More often than not, I find that the posts I love are not necessarily the most popular ones. Here is a list of the top all time popular posts at Conversation... Read more →

Sound and Wearable Tech in Mary Meeker's Annual Internet Trends Report

KPCB Internet Trends 2013 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers I shared the report at the office early yesterday and had several conversations with people about the various sections, even the one about immigration policy -- I happen to be an immigrant, and so was the colleague with whom I ended up discussing the issue. Technically we are one-percenters (slide 86). From KPCB's description: The report reviews the shifting online landscape, which has become more social and content rich, with expanded use of photos, video and audio. Looking ahead, the report finds early signs of growth for wearable computing devices,... Read more →

3 Inspirational Talks on Creativity, Collaboration, and Work Worth Doing

[direct link to the TED talk] I was talking with a colleague about a project today. We're building an iPad add for child learning for an organization, and we're both passionate about creativity inherent with learning. Given how quickly data and information change the specs for the tools we enroll to do things, becoming proficient at taking in and making sense of new information is a critical skill. It goes beyond just searching and sharing links. People know so much stuff they just put "on the shelf" and keep there, as Sir Ken Robinson says at the beginning of this... Read more →

Understanding the 5 Levers of Creativity

Teresa Amabile says creativity has three parts: expertise, the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively, and motivation. While the metric of accountability is important in becoming an expert (see the five attributes of being an expert), and the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively can be practiced, it takes time and effort to build these two. However, it is possible to make tremendous strides by encouraging the third: intrinsic motivation. Five levers According to Amabile, to influence motivation managers/organizations have five levers to pull: (1.) The amount of challenge they give This should be joust enough to stretch a little,... Read more →

On Persuasion and Context

In brief: The best timed advice is for the person who is ready to listen to it. Have you ever been frustrated when someone failed to follow your recommendation? Even though you know the information you provided comes from hard earned experience and you have the data to back it up, they are just not taking it in. How can you persuade them to change their minds? Why would they not see that you have their best interest at heart? What is going on that is preventing them from seeing what is so obvious to you? Persuasion and context We... Read more →

Technology as Conduit for Extending Imagination

And imagination is a key ingredient of creativity. Imagination allows us to go beyond all previously imagined limits. Jason Silva, quotes cognitive philosopher Andy Clark who says (I'm paraphrasing from the video) that technology is scaffolding that extends our thought, our reach, and our vision. Humans are adepts at dovetailing their intelligence and cognition to our tools -- we distribute our intelligence. Mind resides in the feedback loops between humans, tools, technologies, and the space in between. Silva has been doing videos about extending this possibility. Spreading ourselves out into the universe. The video he shows, however, The Mirroring Mind,... Read more →

Making Smart Use of Data

It starts with knowing why you're collecting it -- understanding what matters. That drives you to figuring out why the experience hits the mark. Increasingly, by experience we mean the full Monty -- multichannel and multi-touch, if you'll indulge me in buzzword bingo. Most compelling data By far, the most compelling data, the kind of metrics that appeal to people beyond the marketing suite, is data about self. Because it's tied to identity, and value. Behaviors are one of the components that shape identity, along with context. A source of feedback that allows someone to tweak how they're doing based... Read more →

What I find Most Fascinating About the Current "Gender" Conversation

It's about all kinds of things but what should matter the most -- performance. Competence and the ability to take action with confidence, keeping one's promises -- they are the qualities of a pro. Why do we keep getting stuck in gender stuff? +++ Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here. Read more →

Tesla Model S at a Mall Near You

This past weekend I was at the King of Prussia Mall very briefly to pick up a few items for an upcoming trip. That is the one place I zip in and out of, parking near a less trafficked entrance, and practicing my long step to go as quickly as possible from entrance to destination. Occasionally, one store gets my attention on the way, it's brand new and much bigger than it used to be and has a big white Apple on the glass pane. I stopped short of it this time. Right before it, I noticed a big crowd... Read more →

The Most Obvious and Important Realities

In a 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, author David Foster Wallace shared with students his take on the Truth with a capital "T" and the real value of a Liberal Arts education. The most obvious and important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. The Glossary captured a little over nine minutes of that speech in this video, which starts with the statement above explaining why "this is water". The context of day in/day out makes our internal dialogue win over the present awareness. It papers over the fact that we have a... Read more →