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Emerging Technologies
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Find out about the latest technology developments and discuss social networking tools and other Web 2.0 applications and how they can help your organization.
Hosted by: Roger Rustad, Matthew Saunders and TS Moderator.
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Topic: ONLINE EVENT: How do you manage expectations about social media [and your career]?
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Michaela Hackner
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 ONLINE EVENT: How do you manage expectations about social media [and your career]?
Posted: May 15 2008 6:15 AM
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How do you manage your own expectations about social media in the workplace when every time a new idea for utilizing these technologies emerges, it gets rejected immediately?
I was hired to help my organization jump into the 21st century with blogs, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Lots of folks within the organization are very excited about the use of these tools for marketing and knowledge sharing - particularly because they empower individuals to share their own content with the world, without the middleman of a webmaster.
That said, and it seems like I'm far from the only one who's experienced the other side of the coin, there are lots of folks out there who are terrified about these tools and the liabilities they bring. Others don't understand the commitment necessary in order to make these tools useful for an online community.
This excitement about social media, paired with the fear denominator leads to a pattern of two steps forward, 2-3 steps back. When you're the technology evangelist in an organization, how can you continue to keep your cool, your optimism, and passion about these technologies in the midst of the firestorm? Ok, maybe firestorm is a bit of a hyperbole, but those of you familiar with this scenario know what I mean.
[This message was last edited by MeganKeane on May 15, 2008]
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kattap
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 RE: ONLINE EVENT: How do you manage expectations about social media [and your career]?
Posted: May 20 2008 7:31 AM
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I love that term, "tech evangelist."
I think the more stats, graphs, and numbers you can show to non-tech people to argue your case, the better your chances of success.
For instance, in Heather Mansfield's Change.org 2.0 webinar she mentioned that approximately only 1 of every 1,000 comments on a blog is one you would want to delete. So to not allow comments (or have a blog at all) because of fear of inflamatory or malicious comments, you are giving up exposure to 999 valuable visitors and conversation starters.
Likewise if you can show that Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc. are in the 10 most visited sites in the *world*, you can show how much of an audience you're missing out on.
I agree with you though, it is an uphill battle.
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wilsons0621
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 RE: ONLINE EVENT: How do you manage expectations about social media [and your career]?
Posted: May 20 2008 12:14 PM
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Clearly there are advantages to social networking but you really have to justify your case to use this type of "trend technology" in the workplace. The overall culture of a particular organization can sway any type of Information Technology initiative and this is especially true with Social Networking sites. Many do not see the value added to utilizing this and management philosophy is to eliminate these sites as the potential for abuse may outweigh significant return for the organization.
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CheMaha
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 RE: ONLINE EVENT: How do you manage expectations about social media [and your career]?
Posted: May 24 2008 10:25 AM
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I am in a similar situation as someone coming to various non-profits to pitch another "2.0" tool at them. I have found that, as mentioned above, numbers help, demonstrated success helps, and encouraging baby steps help. Also, getting some interns on board to really beef up the outreach is useful. There are several studies out there you could pull useful numbers from to beef up your presentations...
Donor Pulse Study by Harris Interactive is one of the more recent- I am in the process of finding more myself- let's share info!
I face the even bigger challenge of getting NPO's to talk about VIDEO and social networking! Our company, Call2Action, will center on the space between cause related media and taking action on it. (Watch an Inconvenient Truth, take action for the environment, join w/ others doing the same...or conversely, host a fundraiser & find media to illustrate the urgency of your cause. Create an invite combining info on both and diseminate across multiple networks. Communicate with responders before, during, and after the event! Easy. )
An interesting in we have found is that some NPO's have video, PSA's, interviews they have done for docs just languishing, so we can motivate them to dust it off and try to get a return on that investment. Maybe dusting off the pics from successful events and so on, or documenting things in that manner going forward and updated your org's profiles regularly, and quietly for now could help. People get excited about what they can see... If they are an org that needs volunteers and event attendees- not just donations- then this is especially useful.
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Maha Chehlaoui
Outreach and Marketing Coordinator
Call2Action.com- coming soon to a computer near you!
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mahachehlaoui
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