Social Media In May Is Tough Because I Am Busy

May 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM
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By Dr. Chris A. Heidelberg, III, Publisher & Producer

I have been so busy this month lecturing publicly, teaching, grading final exams, and getting students ready for graduation that I have not been able to blog like I usually do. However, it is summer and I have plenty to say in the next few weeks. I love the fact that the Pre is coming out this summer and that Apple is upgrading the iPhone and the iPodTouch. The government has an excellent channel on YouTube that is getting plenty of attention and rave reviews on my Facebook page.

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I will be giving Social Media 101 on this site over the next few weeks. Just a few things before I get started for my executive friends and managers in the private, public and non-profit sector. First, social media cannot be controlled. Social media is a bottom-up approach to utilizing technology. This means that you will have to trust the folks that you hired to do their jobs well. Second, social media is a conversation and its social, so stop avoiding it, stop complaining about it, and stop saying that you are not going to use it or allow your employees to use it.Third, social media is all about promoting transparency. Social media

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enables a company to appear "human" and approachable. Finally, social media is an opportunity for organizations to shape the conversation about the company by providing something revolutionary: facts! Social media is just that social! People are always going to say things about your organization online. The key is how your organization responds to the comments! There are several well-documented episodes of how social media has transformed an organization by simply providing just the facts.

In the final analysis, social media is all about your state of mind as an organization. You are either going to embrace social media as the President has done to bring government agencies into the world of social media. Or you can let your company fall behind because of the fear of losing control to social media because your organization and you do not understand social media. Just think about what is going to happen if you do not take action using social media. There are so many companies and organizations that have left gift-wrapped opportunities pass get past them because they have been avoiding social media. Social media: embrace it, don't erase it!

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"There are several well-documented episodes of how social media has transformed an organization by simply providing just the facts" very well written. The facts will always stand out loud and clear for all that are paying attention. Thanks for the interesting post. Btw, I have my eyes on the Samsung Omina HD or the Nokia N97 to supplement my trusty Nokia N82 smartphone.