TED TALKS ... Skylar Tibbits: The emergence of "4D printing"

I recently watched a TED TALKS video title “The emergence of 4D printing.”  The talk was presented by Skylar Tibbits.  It was just short of a 9 minute presentation on how 4D printing can revolutionize manufacturing and construction by creating objects that can self-assemble or reshape themselves over time.

http://www.ted.com/talks/skylar_tibbits_the_emergence_of_4d_printing.html

The discussion started with a brief history 3D printing and it’s evolution since the 70’s.  This helped level setting the talk, getting people up to speed on what 3D printing is.  He also discussed how current manufacturing and construction processes have major issues and perpetual re-working that needs to be done.

The main focus of his discussion was on water pipe manufacturing and construction.  He went on to discuss that in today’s world pipe assembly and maintenance is a constant battle.  There are many parts that are involved in constructing new piping.  Once the piping is made and installed, it inherently cannot keep up with demand and must be replaced to accommodate smaller or larger volumes.  For example, If you want to expand the volume of water running through a pipe, you must rip out the old one and replace it with a new larger pipe.  What he was proposing was that the use of 4D printing, you could create objects that self-construct which would eliminate complex construction and also an object that can reshape itself over time.  In terms of the water pipe, that simplifies the construction component of the pipe, reducing cost as well as eliminating the maintenance if it can indeed reshape itself as volume/demand decreases or increases over time.

Shawn did a good job of giving background on the current situation as well as what he is proposing for the future.  This was backed up by demonstration of how 4D printing will work and how using a form of energy can help reshape an object.  He threw in background references to support his level of knowledge and education and current project in process with companies for credibility.

The visuals were used during the background portion of the presentation as well as an example of what 4D printing can do in terms of reshaping an object.  This was useful and engaging to me the audience.  There was no audience participation, but this was one of those topics that I do not believe many folks have common knowledge of at the moment, so I don’t see how audience participation could have really happened.  Although I do admit I do not know the background of the audience members, he could have been discussing this with fellow MIT colleagues.

Overall I enjoyed the presentation, it flowed well and there was a definite order to the presentation that allowed the audience to get up to speed on the topic and understand what the presenter was presenting.  He was very engaging and it was a presentation that gets you thinking in a different way, looking at things differently.  I've studied Lean Manufacturing and I thought that this was very similar in the fact that this makes you think about things differently and how we could possibly do things in a way we have not thought of before to improve a process or product.

Corporate Use of Social Media

When I set out to compare Starbucks and Dunkin’ donuts, specifically on their use of social media, I was surprised at what I found.  Although if I gave it more thought ahead of time, I shouldn't have been shocked at what I found.  As you read through this post you’ll realize what I did, both companies use of social media is exactly tailored to each companies marketing strategies.

Starbucks

I started my journey with Starbucks.  Starbucks has a Facebook page, and the staple sections on Facebook, About & Photos, but what I found interesting is their international pages.  They offer various Facebook pages for international customers.  I think this is a great way to appeal to people of all nations.  It really creates a community type atmosphere for everyone to participate in and interact with each other.  What I like about the use of Facebook, they are posting the good, bad and ugly meaning not only are “likes” shared with fellow followers, but bad experiences as well.  That really puts a company out there, gives its customers a forum to express their concerns.  That’s valuable feedback, it allows Starbucks to see what concerns are out there real-time and they can take corrective action just as fast.

The Starbucks website is well laid out and simple considering all the ads and what not you can find on other websites.  It offers convenient drop down menus at the type that offers variety of information from the menu to rewards and buying Starbucks gear.  What I found very interesting and appealing to the social networking world that exists now, they offer “tweet a coffee.”  “You send can send coffee through twitter.”  I like the website, just like its product, it’s a classy simpleton.

 Speaking of Twitter, Starbucks is also on twitter, the second of the two social media sites promoted on the website.  What a great way to interactively promote its new tweet feature other than giving $5 Starbucks gift cards to the first 100,000 to use the tweet a coffee service.  Looks as there are pretty active, about a tweet a day, sometimes more.  They also have plenty of followers, 5,104,826 on twitter and 35 million likes on Facebook.

Turning our attention to Dunkin’ Donuts, their website offers a similar styled website with menu options on the top.  They also include links to their social media accounts, however they actually embed the widgets into the website, so you can see a snapshot of what’s going on right on the home page.  They also include a nice feature giving you the nearest location.  Dunkin’ Donuts not only promotes twitter and Facebook, but they also have a blog right on the home page and a section for YouTube videos. 

I like the use of twitter, especially the widget on the company’s home page of their website.  Just as Starbucks use of Facebook, this allows the customers to give interactive feedback as their experience Dunkin’ Donuts.  The one thing I liked better about Dunkin’ Donuts, they responded to tweets, this was more than I saws with Starbucks. 

Both the blog and YouTube videos offered first hand accounts of customer’s experiences and stories about Dunkin’ Donuts.  The blog dishes up a blend of fun stories about food and customer’s experience.  The YouTube videos seemed a bit contrived to me.  Overall though, they did offer a lot more content for those that chose to consume it than Starbucks did.

When it comes down to it, I believe both companies are accomplishing what they set out to do.  On the one hand, Starbucks keeps their website very simple, light and to the point.  This is how they market themselves as a company.  They don’t need to add the rift raft in order to get your business; they know they are a staple in the coffee game.   On the other hand, Dunkin’ Donuts is all about shoveling themselves into your face, getting as much content as they can out there to keep you interested.  While the difference between the two companies is quite obvious, I believe both of them are effective at using social media.  They both have a marketing approach, while different, that is effective and their use of social media and how they use it only supports what they are trying to accomplish.

Jeremy Waterman is a second time blogger, so take it easy on him.

References:

https://www.facebook.com/Starbucks

http://www.starbucks.com/

https://twitter.com/starbucks

http://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en.html

Why I am at MATC

I was at a point in my career where I knew I wouldn't be able to advance without gaining the necessary skills. I started out in operations management, but always had a thirst for learning the technical side of things. A few years ago I was able to take a position doing and learning such things as a business analyst.  From there I became a Technical Operations manager, which is the role I am in today.  Throughout the last few years I've learned a lot just in the course of self development and the nature of my job role.

Noticing that all my peers now have degrees specific to the roles I am in and the roles working around me, I realized that I need to get the formal training to move into that next level and to have any hope for advancement in the future.

Not only did I notice what I needed to do, but I noticed business as a whole is getting much more technical in nature and many CEOs/COOs/Directors have not only operational experience but also technical experience in their backgrounds.  Understanding the complete operational/technical picture helps a leader drive an organization into success.

So, I started my MATC journey in 2012 and hope to finish in 2014, with a good foundation to continue to learn and grow.  Taking online classes allows me to maintain my full time job and full time family life.