Let me preface this post with a fact: anyone who knows me well knows that I have entered the world of social media kicking and screaming. I'm a child of interpersonal communication. That was the specialization of my master's program. It's what I know and love.
But in today's world, the days of the so-called interpersonal communication as I know it, is becoming extinct or at least it is morphing into something else. Try to get a teen or college student to actually respond to a phone call, and you will see the dramatic change. They don't talk. They text. Call them and leave a message, they will text you back. And, when they go out into the "real" world, they are flustered when they have to actually communicate face-to-face, actually speak to people. No cell phone. No texting.
Personally, I use Facebook here and there, but am getting a little bored with it. I keep a page for work purposes -- primarily for news, postings, pictures. I understand that it can be a powerful communication tool, don't get me wrong. But, it appears that people are using it more to tell me what they had for lunch or that they don't like their job (bad idea by the way). For me, we are in an age of TMI.
Twitter has me perplexed, primarily because I really can't figure it out or even how to set up the page/site (I guess I will be learning!). I haven't quite figured out it's main lure yet -- just seems like texting to me (with followers). So, I will be interested in delving more into this medium and hopefully figuring out how/if it fits into what we are trying to do at work.
Our organization has been using LinkedIn and believe this is a social medium that truly has some great benefits for us. LinkedIn provides a professional focus for users. I have termed it the "grown up" version of Facebook. I am amazed at the amount of networking, job postings, etc. that take place on this site. It really makes sense what's going on here. And, it's something that is an easy sell to my constituents.
Other than that, I use very little social media. I know, I'm sure you are scratching your head on that one -- yet, here I am in this class! But, after all of that, as a communicator, I certainly understand the buzz. I get it. These are outlets for anyone -- no matter where you live -- to exchange information, share ideas and search for answers. It is truly opening the windows to the world for people who may never have had the opportunity to do so without these social networks. And, while I struggle with many aspects of social media, the idea is very cool.
As we look to move forward into the social media world, my fears are two-fold: one, who can keep up and how do you keep up? The age of this new medium is changing so fast. One day a new application or program is here, the next day we're on to the next best thing. How do we as communicators handle the reins on this bucking bronco of social media, and steer it in the right direction?
Social media doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all approach either, yet so many companies are trying to take on everything that is out there. My organization is sort of running down that path, trying to do everything, when maybe everything isn't the right approach.
And secondly, there doesn't appear to be much accountability around social media/digital communications (professionally or legally), so how do you reel all of that in and create communication that people will use/believe in? We looked at how a lot of companies are using social media, and there are some innovative ideas/approaches out there.
Let me end with this. I'm not naive; I know in order to do my job and do it well, I need to be in tune with these changes. That's why I'm here and anxious to learn more about the various approaches to social media and how I can best use these outlets to reach constituents. I am hoping to figure out which social media tools make sense for us and how we can use it and use it well, particularly considering it will be run by a one-woman show.
I am really glad to see the mention of Mashable in this course. I think it offers some great information, in mostly easy to understand terms/examples. I think there are some great tips out there, including this great video series on using it in your business -- and using it the right way.
Link: http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/social-media-tools-video/
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