Internet as social space -- how should that affect corporate communications strategy? Part 1.
It should go without saying -- but I'll make it clear anyway -- that the views expressed herein are exclusively my own. If my boss should see this, or his boss (or heaven forbid his boss), please consider this in the spirit in which it is offered. And that is pretty spirited.
Anyway, a short while ago I resurrected some old work of mine in a post called "Recasting of Citizens and Pioneers". The whole thing boils down to this:
"...my PC generation and our understanding of the internet as a reference source where the name of the game is content discovery, and my kids generation and their notion of the internet as a social space [and connection is king]."
I suspect, as is so often the case, that the greatest benefits will accrue to those that learn to leverage the best of both worlds.
It is of course true: the internet is a vast reference source. Finding your way around in it remains a skill -- sadly. Sadly in that it would be a better internet if it were easier to find the right content at just the right time. But we continue to make progress in that regard.
It is also true that the internet is a social space. And traversing that social space is no less a trial for anyone new to the online neighborhood than high powered internet research is for my WOW Commander, clan member, guild lieutenant, vent-jacked teenage son.
In the middle is the domain of the latest generation of knowledge worker. These players filter, flag, and forward content discoveries thereby contributing cycles to their social network. They are jacked into a software enabled shared human processing community that supercharges every participant. (BTW, this is the game my team and I are determined to bring to every Microsoft IT professional and developer.)
So that should make your corporate online strategy clear. You need both, and you need them in at least an even mix.
Nevertheless, it's a safe bet that if you're part of a medium to large size company that's been around for at least 10 or twenty years, you have a web presence that is focused almost exclusively upon content publication. Your entire machine is built around the notion of maintaining a display of quality content that matches as closely as possible the expressed needs of your consumers. And that is good, as far as it goes.
But right about now is the time to start making the move towards a more balanced approach. Why, is probably a good question to ask. I won't even begin to wade into the sea of good reasons. If you want to skim the surface, read Scoble's book.
He makes a number of good points and provides a wealth of examples.
If you want something a little deeper -- it's a bit dated but still tells a damn good story -- try The Cluetrain Manifesto.
Lots of good stuff and available online.
The next good question might be when. I don't think I can dispassionately answer that question given that I've clearly made the career decision to focus on social computing. Hell, to me it seems clear that you move as quickly as you possibly can.
But, the right answer might have to do with the "Clockspeed" of your industry. I while ago I read a book by that title and some of the key lessons remained with me.
I believe that generally speaking the faster your industry's clockspeed, the more likely it is you will benefit from the new internet "social" model, and therefore, the more urgent the need to move quickly. I have argued internally, and intend to prove, that Microsoft customers -- our IT professional and developer customers specifically -- have a great deal to gain from coming to understand how to navigate internet social spaces. Anything we can do to accelerate that awareness and understanding, not to mention adoption and support therein, we should do.
