Social Media Roundup: How Algorithms Are Invading the Workplace

Mathematical models play a big part in our daily lives: They fuel our searches, dictate the ads we see, and power our infrastructure. But could they also reside in the boss’s office?

Take a peek at what the workplace of the future could look like in today’s Social Media Roundup.

Your New Boss Could be an Algorithm

https://twitter.com/DannyCrichton/status/534017326975578112

Meet the new boss, more mathematical than the old boss.

TechCrunch contributor Danny Crichton sees definite benefits of automating  (opens in a new tab) many aspects of the workplace, despite the huge cultural shift it would bring to work environments.

“It may seem weird that your human boss could be replaced by a computer, but that unfamiliarity is likely to be soothed by the freedom of the work that you will be able to do in the future,” he writes, describing a scenario in which workers can “cross marketplaces” to more easily tackle side projects or consulting gigs.

But this automation-enabled freedom may have an all-too-human cost, as many industries have already learned.

“Companies no longer account for their profits using rows of humans crunching numbers, and telephone operators are no longer a typical occurrence when we dial long-distance,” Crichton observes. “Up until now, automation has been far less common in white-collar and elite professions like medicine, law, banking, and consulting.”

Hop aboard his train of thought, associations: What tasks in your organization could be completed by the deployment of a powerful algorithm? We may not be living in an automated world quite yet, but it’s a possibility worth considering sooner rather than later.

For a deeper dive into the world of algorithms, read Crichton’s full post here  (opens in a new tab). (ht @DannyCrichton  (opens in a new tab))

If You Want to Remember It, Write It Down

Dear (Marketing) Diary: Why every cool (and good) marketer keeps a journal http://t.co/ixqjYxhgc2  (opens in a new tab) by @jj_samp #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #sm4np  (opens in a new tab) #smallbiz  (opens in a new tab)

— Incline Marketing (@InclineMktg) November 14, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

If you’re looking to create the best content or to remember those great ideas that get forgotten just a few hours after they’re born, consider the old-fashioned strategy of writing things down.

“What this does is build a habit that eventually becomes a lifestyle. Just as ‘being fit’ or ‘eating healthy’ doesn’t happen until you establish a routine of going to the gym daily or cutting out soda, ‘being a writer’ doesn’t happen until your daily writing habit is so ingrained that it becomes intuitive,” contributor JJ Samp writes in a post for Business 2 Community  (opens in a new tab).

After all, as Samp says, even incomplete thoughts and ideas “are some of the most valuable things you’ll produce.” Many big successes begin with a small idea! (ht @InclineMktg  (opens in a new tab))

(RYGERSZEM/ThinkStock)