There was a lot of talk at the CIC conference on leveraging social media. In particular, how IT organizations can leverage social media to communicate with their constituents. I know
I struggle with this when I'm representing my organization as opposed to myself in these venues and
others are as well. Well, I had a moment of gestalt at the end of the conference that I think crystallized it for me.
It was during the final panel discussion featuring several CIOs from the CIC who were discussing shared leadership as a means to transform IT organizations. Toward the end the discussion migrated to social media and how IT organizations can use it. And as one panel member correctly pointed out, social media is really not about the tools used; it's about the connections that are made.
She even quoted Clay Shirkey which reminded me of another Shirky quote about Twitter. To paraphrase, Twitter is powerful not because of the mostly mundane content we put there; Twitter is powerful because we care about the people posting it. It's not the message but the messenger that matters in this instance. And it begs the questions, why should someone care about IT?
Traditionally, IT organizations are seen as utilities. We don't notice them until something goes wrong and the power goes out. This perception is true within IT organizations as well. That's how many working in IT view themselves. To quote one of the panel members when I asked the question, "How do you get people to care about IT?" He replied, "Turn it off."
That's the same attitude my power company has and I certainly do not feel a connection with them. I would block them if they followed me on Twitter and I certainly would not follow them. Especially if they took the approach that many of my IT colleagues are taking. They want to use social media to push information out or to direct you to their website. I was at a presentation where an IT group turned off the comments feature of their blog because they were worried about what comments others, read outsiders, would leave. In my opinion, that is not a recipe for success.
Personally, I do not care about my power company. I do not feel a connection to them. In fact, the only time I think about them is when I pay my bill each month and when the power goes out, and it will. Why would I connect with them via Twitter? Especially if they were only using it to point out they emailed the newsletter I never read.
Social media is all about discourse. And it's an all-in proposition. This means taking the good with the bad. Yes, it is a risk. And, if after the analysis you feel the risk it to great then I recommend not doing it. I'd be more apt to engage with my power company, or an IT department, in this medium if we were having a conversation. If I could ask questions. If they took the risk and let me in on some of what they were thinking and were interested in hearing what I was thinking.
If you want to be a utility, be a utility. At your own peril. Utilities being necessary evils breed discontent. People don't particularly care to deal with them more than what is necessary. Get them angry enough and they will find a way to work around them or even topple them. The same goes for wanting people to connect with you. Engage them through social media at your own peril. Be prepared for some unpleasantness. However, you may find it turns into an opportunity to connect with your constituents, helps you improve, and *gasp* they may even come to care about you.
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