Last December, the SME Technology Summit in Sydney was organized by the Insight Exchange. Mark Peace , futurist, and educator, gave the keynote address on Using The Network for Business Success. Mark also generously shared the presentation slides and the fullest of his keynote. These are just a few excerpts of Mark’s amazing speech. There are many ways to reach us almost instantly. Five years ago, we might have only had one email address. We have many email addresses now – one for business and one for personal use, together with an account at Facebook (nearly 8 million Australians have Facebook accounts), possibly another My Space account, one on Twitter, one on YouTube, or another on Flickr.
Electronic mail is viewed as a technology that the “older generation” uses for work but which has no practical use among under-25s. Text messaging and messaging-via-Facebook have replaced electronic mail. This increased connectivity is not something that comes for nothing. We all now have to keep track of all the connections we have made. We must monitor all channels for messages. As each channel vies for our attention, it can quickly become overwhelming. Our brains are limited in space and can only store so many relationships. It is the most complex thing we do, and the most complicated task. Relationships are more difficult than physics and require more brainpower. The Rolodex was invented fifty years ago by mankind as a way to keep track of all the information that we need but cannot possibly absorb. A Rolodex cannot think for itself. It can’t draw the connections between different cards. Rolodex doesn’t make it explicit what we know. We live in an interconnected world where many of our friends are also friends with our associates.
This is exactly what Facebook offers. These implicit connections are made explicit by Facebook. These connections can be made explicit by it, allowing them to serve as conduits to ever greater levels of connection. There is so much to see, from every corner and through all these social networks, that it’s impossible to keep up. Most of us don’t. We cherry-pick by listening to our close friends and associates. The most meaningful things they share are the ones we cherish. We filter out the noise to ensure that we don’t miss anything important. We usually are. Wikipedia is not the only source of shared knowledge. Ten years ago, a website called TeacherRatings.com was launched. It allowed university students to rate their lecturers, professors, and instructors. It’s now called RateMyProfessor.com and is owned by MTV Networks. The site has more than ten million ratings for over one million instructors. Students regularly consult this site to get information before choosing which classes to take at university.
This is why it is important to substitute the words ‘business’ and ‘customers for universities.
There are many people out there who want to have a conversation with you. It is important to recognize this. People Browser is one tool that makes it easy to track those conversations. It is important to develop a strategy that allows you to promote positive conversations and – perhaps even more importantly – keep an eye out for negative ones. You should address an upset customer before they become a catastrophe. You must be proactive about listening. Customers won’t come to you for information about your business or you.
Social media is a tool that can be used to promote your business. Many businesses ban social media from corporate networks because they consider them a time-consuming and distracting activity. This basically means that you don’t trust your employees. You are willing to infantilize them through blocking their network access. This will not work. Employers can expect employees to be responsible enough to manage their own internet usage. An employer does not need to be a ‘net nanny. Respect is required. Many small and medium-sized businesses don’t have the resources or staff to dedicate an individual to social media. This is a bad idea. If things get ‘hot’ for your company, the task of managing all social media channels will become overwhelming.
This means that something will be overlooked. Someone will drop it. A potential nuclear event, which could be avoided or defused if handled promptly, will slip by the cracks. Social media is not a job for one person. It is a job that affects the whole organization. Your employees should be allowed to use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other internet-related sites – wherever their search might take them. It is up to you to give your employees the responsibility to be proactive and to find important conversations for your company and your business. It could be messy. Probably. However, social media isn’t all that simple. It’s not about image, marketing, or presentation. It is built on authenticity and on established relationships which are maintained over time. It cannot be sold as a marketing campaign. Instead, it is more like friendship, which requires time and care, as well as a lot of love. Many companies create Twitter and Facebook accounts to spam anyone who is interested.
This is a terrible practice. Social media isn’t about advertising. It’s actually anti-advertising. You have the opportunity to make connections through social media. For example, if you are a furniture maker, you might like to have a conversation with homeowners and designers about the business and art of making furniture. You can show your expertise on social media, whatever it may be. Lawyers can discuss law, accountants about accounting and printers about printing. Social media can be a powerful tool to increase passion in business, particularly small businesses. People will respond to your passions. Some of them may become customers. Please, set up your Twitter and Facebook accounts before you leave. After you have done that, take a step back and think about it. Now ask yourself the important question: “How can my business be represented in a way that encourages conversation?” You can’t have a conversation without having one. Once that conversation is started, you’ll have everything you need.