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Social Web Primer for IT Professionals

I was recently discussing with an IT executive what it means to run your business on the internet. In early discussions the usual questions of security and integration are front of mind. Once those concerns are addressed however (and they are not always addressed satisfactorily by every cloud provider), the conversation inevitably turns to the reality of the impact on employee productivity. So asks the IT Exec, "if I cannot get my head around search vs categorize how is the rest of the organisation supposed to?"

The answer is simple, the vast majority of employees coming into your organisation have the web in the DNA. The web and more importantly the social web as it is today, is embedded into their psyche so much so that many ask, "is Facebook accessible from my corporate desktop?" before accepting a job offer.

So I decided to share 3 activities every IT professional can be doing to help them understand the social web and the opportunities presented by cloud computing to achieve business goals.

1. Google Reader

Using Google Reader is essential if only to understand some basic technologies and concepts, such as RSS, searching, tagging and flat data structures. Clear your inbox by unsubscribing from all email lists and use Google Reader to subscribe instead.

Once there, you can subscribe to two of the preeminent thought leaders on the subject.

Dion Hinchcliffe http://feeds2.feedburner.com/zdnet/Hinchcliffe

Phil Wainewright http://feeds2.feedburner.com/zdnet/SAAS

2. Participate on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Once you have established these accounts you can focus on the following.

• LISTEN to the conversation, monitor what is said about your brand and connect with your personal and professional network. Understanding the concept of "one to many" as opposed to  "one to one" is crucial. Follow relevant individuals and thought leaders in your industry.
• PARTICIPATE by scheduling 30mins a week to update each account. Social media need not be a time waster. Scheduling 30mins to participate will ensure you maximize the value you get out of each.
• INTEGRATE by linking each of the three statuses (so you can update all three from Twitter). This will give you a glimpse into the future of decentralized sharing of information inside and outside the firewall.

3. Search, search, search

Research suggests that if customers don't find what they're looking for on your website through the navigation within 10 seconds they will revert to search.

If you're categorizing and navigating past a single tier (eg. in Outlook or in your documents),  you are wasting your time and you need to stop!

Keep your folder structures to a single tier. Install a desktop search tool and configure it to search your email and documents.

These suggestions might seem like no-brainers but you'd be surprised how many IT professionals are still dismissive of the relevance and impact of the web inside and outside their organization.

 

Should companies police employee use of social media?

A pertinent question was asked by a member of the LinkedIn community. Should companies police employee use of LinkedIn? The question strikes at the heart of how many companies are still struggling to understand social media and its impact inside and outside the organisation. There are a few considerations.

1. Is social media an effective way to engage customers and employees?

2. Are companies better off regulating or educating their employees about the use of social media?

In my opinion, regulating the use of social media is not only futile, it's counter-productive. If your company has disengaged employees or unhappy customers there are probably wider issues to worry about than whether they are venting their frustration on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Social media is an effective way to conduct conversations with your companies constituents in a context meaningful to them. Who knows, it might actually help achieve some business objectives along the way.

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