I just saw a PowerPoint crafted by a lawyer/law firm on the subject of social media in the workplace.
They used every scare tactic and sensational headline (think Dominos video) -- and dropped the regulation name of every workplace consideration (for subjects like porn) to freak out the poor audience.
Question: What sells more, pleasure or pain?
Answer: Look at the headline of every major newspaper in the nation.
WARNING: There will be more and more entities looking to make a living out of scaring you. There is money to be made amidst transitions.
Like what?
Work-based Examples:FROM: To:
Work is a place An activity
Work is time-based Results-based
Factory-centered Knowledge-centered
Controlling Inspiring
Web/behavior 1.0 Web/behavior 2.0
As individuals with career aspirations, we can duck and hide -- or we can see this as an opportunity to grasp a critical new skill and perspective and be a leader in this next world order.
The simple fact is that "Bad Things Happen." Trains crash. Airplanes Fall. Employees say stupid things. They all happen sometimes, not all the time. Social media is no different. It just happens faster.
The other simple fact is that "Good Things Happen." Trains get there on time. Airplanes stay in the sky. Employees do the right thing. They all happen most of the time. Social media is no different. It just happens faster.
Risk. Reward.
We see Social Media in the Workplace ROI as "Risk of Ignoring" first and foremost, because the world isn't going back to the way it was.
Not sure? Take out your mobile phone. Look at it. Imagine life without it. Place it in the trash can for a minute. Imagine walking away and leaving it there. No more mobile phone for you.
That's not going to happen.
Same can be said for social media activity, on-line banking, on-line shopping, and at-home work activity, among other things. Once people get a taste for such mobile based activity, there is no going back.
The trick for us is to take the first step forward. Learn as you go. Learn from others. Guidelines are good. Take comfort in knowing you won't be the first. What you would be justified in fearing is: being the last.
------------------- Talk Back ---------------------
Thoughts?
(My thanks to @chuckhollis for some of the thoughts above -- like "bad things happen," and this exact quote, "make a living out of scaring the crap out of you.")
Of course, all lawyers/law firms aren't out to profit on this transition and truly mean well when they tell you everything that can go wrong. Some could be so deeply entrenched in the last century's model centered on control, that this type of response is a reflex habit -- and they believe it is a best practice.
Other lawyers are more contemporary in their thinking and view the world through another type of lens. Take EMC's law group for example. This organization, led by Paul Dacier, has always viewed themselves as business enablers for EMC. They help deflect risk, advise, and defend, of course. And/But above all, they work to help make the company more successful. xxxxoooo to EMC's lawyers.
Thanks also to the forward-looking IT departments of the planet (like EMC's, led by Sanjay Mirchandani). They realize if employees can't get on a social network on the company PC, they simply take out their mobile phone and do what it was they wanted to do. If there is no company social network, the company loses the value of this human desire to connect and share knowledge, to other affinity groups. IT can either play a futile game of "wack-a-mole," or they can consider ways to enable this new, undeniable 2.0 behavior model, and help the company be more successful because of it.
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