Face facts: social media is the future

The rise of social media has led some people to forget the principle of giving and receiving.

Forrester says that the digitally included are spread across a ladder of participation online where creators of content, ‘collectors’ and critics of information online rank higher, while the bottom includes ‘watchers’ and inactive users, who do not engage in social media.

The motivation of the spectator and inactive crowds intrigues me. Many people – including heavy-hitters in the tech space, individuals who talk, eat and breathe IT for a living – do not use social media for some reason which could include privacy concerns, or choose to be ‘observers’, who only consume information online without giving anything back.

Whenever I ask IT decision makers whether they blog or tweet, they laugh, before replying something that invariably translates to: “Oh no, no, I can’t be seen doing that” or “What’s the point in getting involved in that Twitter malarkey?”

From my observations, the resistance of IT chiefs in using Twitter – as opposed to tools that mostly bring personal gain, such as LinkedIn – seems to be mainly due to lack of time and failure to appreciate what are the prospective advantages of using them.

It seems fitting to talk about benefits first. Access to content online and some form of interaction with our peers through communication instruments other than email has become an integral part of what many of us do on a daily basis to get our jobs done.

Businesses are being forced to change the way they communicate their message to their audience and employees alike. You have heard and read this before, but it is worth repeating that (clever) use of social media that can capture what they want and need is instrumental to the success of your organisation, internally and externally.

“Twitter is very useful for getting informed opinion from the people I choose to follow and competitor intelligence, as well as news – since I rarely ever re ad any printed media anymore,” said IT director at online retailer M&M Direct, Graham Benson.

Benson added that engagement with social media could help IT chiefs become better managers, since they are more in touch with what is going on around them.

In relation to the lack of time, we all know (or at least would like to believe) that CIOs are a busy bunch and there is only so much that can be shoehorned into a working day, even with all that overtime.

But as it happens, those who are passionate enough about what they do manage to share their insights with people who are willing to read them, whether they are on their way to a meeting, waiting to board on a plane or even during some of their spare time.

Take BT chief scientist JP Rangaswami, as an example. He is insanely busy at work and has an equally active personal life, but never fails to regularly blog about a variety of subjects including enterprise IT, or tweet an interesting thought.

And Paul Coby, CIO at British Airways, who has one of the most challenging and hectic jobs in the IT industry, has pledged to blog (and tweet) regularly and is delivering on his promise so far.

“Technology and telecommunications are changing the way we all work and perhaps much more interestingly the way we all communicate with each other, the way we buy things and the way we interact at work and at play. My job is to be part of all of this,” Coby said in his introductory blog post.

In a world where the line between technology and business is increasingly blurring, much of your capabilities as an IT leader going forward will be measured by your ability to fully grasp this new paradigm. If you keep doing what you have always done, you will get what you have always got – it’s your decision.