Social Media Revolution: Leadership Considersations

In response to the video is titled: Social Media Revolution: Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8)

As you all know, I am very interested in social media and its impact on our organizations and leaders. It has become an important part of my personal as well as professional life. Facebook is where I connect and interact daily with my family and friends as well as work colleagues. It is how I get in input from the young members of the family I work for…as well as build deeper relationships with my fellow co-workers and volunteers. I share updates of my personal life and happenings as regularly as I share professional updates and resources. My updates or “tweets” not only hit my 200+ twitter friends but also feed my profile on LinkedIn and my 730+ friends (including legislators, membership organizations, nonprofits, for-profits, etc) on Facebook. I comment on others statuses, pictures, and notes and they do the same for me. My car was determined and received its name; I chose the phone to buy from recommendations; and have discovered many new restaurants all through my network on Facebook and Twitter. I found our website designer through a social network in Indiana (www.smallerindiana.com). My birthday wish for donations to support local nonprofit treating children with autism raised over $150 through a cause page on Facebook (which if I wanted to know more about autism…the first place I would go is Wikipedia). As you know, I share my prosem responses on a blog (www.closingtraingles.blogspot.com) so my other friends and colleagues can also engage in my experience. And the list continues… I give these examples to say—that I choose social media and the technologies as a way to connect and build relationships. Relationships that I believe are sometimes deeper because of the blurring of my public and private life through these mediums.

Last Summer I went to a new media conference held locally and listened to Lori Martinek (http://www.pplusonline.com/lori.php) share her thoughts on how you can use “social technologies” to build your personal brand. When I asked how to account for this blurring of public and private life, she said that you can keep it completely separate and that it is up to each individual to determine. If one is an authentic leader what would it look like? I agree with Mark that “for way too long many people have had the luxury of living two separate lives.” I assert that social media gives a platform for leaders to be more “real” and open and accessible. I love it when I go to a meeting or community gathering and am instantly able to have a deeper conversation about a happening in someone’s life because of what they have shared online. It matters.  

One of my favorite elements of social media is that it flattens hierarchies and provides an opportunity for everyone’s voice to be equal. Geographic boundaries are erased. This also presents a challenge for leaders to even more deeply engage EVERYONE in building the brand and communicating change, especially those in the Millennial and younger generations who have all grown up with technology and have an expectation (not always an affinity for) for its integration in their personal and professional lives. Emmanuel’s point of the impact that the technology divide presents is very real. Actually, I think we will learn and benefit from the mobile technologies being developed in rural, developing countries. This is also an area for leaders to ensure they are engaging everyone regardless of accessibility.

I agree with Elise that social media cannot solely replace face-to-face communication or relationship building but I think it offers unique opportunities to deepen and build those relationships for those who choose to join. I do think that this is way more than a fad. This is only the beginning. Web3.0 is already on its way (http://www.slideshare.net/JohannesBhakfi/web30-986081 FYI: Slideshare is great, free Web2.0 tool for sharing your PowerPoint shows with others). Those leaders not engaging in this fundamental shift in communication and helping their followers plan for the implications will be behind. As leaders, it is imperative to consider and honor this change.