My official title at my place of work is User Experience Lead. It's a bit of a misnomer, really, since I'm in charge of far more than the user's experience with our online offerings, and at times far less than the user's experience as well.

The far less phenomenon comes mainly when people in authority around the company request changes to the user experience based on marketing, creative or sales needs. I understand their point of view, believe me. I'd like higher sales as well. Money is good. It's how I get paid. And I'd like to get paid more some day.

The problem, alas, is that many people in authoritative roles in the marketing, creative, or sales departments (hereafter referred to as business units) have little to no understanding of the online world. And while it's true that business is business whether offline or online, the how of it can be very different.

Case in point: community. For many decision-makers in the business units, their only experience with a "community space" is a email discussion list for our suppliers. This discussion list is not only unmoderated, but there are very few people (if any) from the company who actually subscribe to the list, even though its purpose (one would imagine) is to communicate shared understanding between the company and its supliers. It's no big surprise, then, that this discussion space has become a war zone of anarchy. One would only have to understand the history of Usenet to understand why this might be so.

The powers-that-be, then, think the idea is an albatross. An unworkable system. But I hesitate to agree that this is so.

What this community needs is a makeover. A new start, with rules and perhaps even barriers to entry. Most importantly, with someone to help spark intelligent discussion and help put on hold those who would spin the system off into the ether. With these kinds of features, the suppliers could have the opportunity to share ideas, discuss issues, and educated newcomers. Not only would this potentially mean greater resources for the company in terms of better and more timely supplier offerings, but it would ideally help to also save time and energy spent by our company in educating and answering questions of suppliers; old-timers in the community could help to educate newcomers. Questions that have already been answered could be shared without company intervention.

This is only one case, and a non-web case at that; still, it's representative of the kind of offline knowledge and thinking that I see at the company every day, and I want to help. In the absence of experience with good online systems, newbies in this world of web can make decisions that threaten the very foundation of what we as a company are trying to do online.

I've been pounding the education pulpit at work for two years now. If everyone there could just take one baby step toward a better understanding of the online world, our work and our company would be immeasurably improved and better poised for the future. Better decisions could get made.

My ideas haven't always been so well received. Oh, they're agreed with in principle. It's just that no resources will be allocated to meet the need. I've decided to take the matter into my own hands.

It's been pointed out to me, though, that the people who really need the education won't opt-in to any kind of program I might design. They're too busy, they're not interested, name your dilemma. And that's absolutely correct.

What I need is a kind of guerilla education program. A way to sneak in the back door and help these people understand the online world without educating them outright. A way to help them even think it's their own idea to start learning the process.

I'm working on it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Every day I have to remind myself that if it's to be, it must start with me. I'm just one of those Pollyanna types who actually believes that one person can make a difference. And so it will begin here.

Earning me, from the mouth of one of my colleagues, a new title: Educational Technological Guru. A far closer description to what I do every day. I think I like it.

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