A Journey In Social Media

Revolutionary Vs. Evolutionary

I keep kicking myself when I have to learn the same lesson over and over again.

I can get pretty passionate about new ideas and new concepts.  Sometimes, I think they're going to change the world, or at least a significant portion of it.

What I fail to repeatedly grasp is that -- yes, I'm right -- but the pace of change can be so relatively measured that it feels very natural and evolutionary.

And our little social media effort is no exception.

More Lessons Learned

Near as I can figure, our behind-the-firewall social media platform has been up for two months.

And we're starting to see results -- not actually what we expected -- but satisfying and valuable nonetheless.

And, like all experiences, it's starting to change my notions of the value of social media and collaboration, especially in larger settings.

Life is just full of surprises, isn't it?

Warning: Social Engineering Ahead

As we progress along in this journey, one step forward lets you see what the next step might be.

Putting up the behind-the-firewall platform was an important step.  And we've been out and around socializing our new capability to many internal groups here.

And we're finding that perhaps the most daunting thing we face is culture.

I've started to use the term "social engineering" to describe a methodical approach to changing people's attitudes, perceptions and behaviors.

And that's what we're gonna have to do here.

The "Social" in "Social Media"

We are now several weeks into our effort.

And we are spending the majority of our time and effort on behavioral and skills issues.

Having our behind-the-firewall platform available was like a powerful searchlight that illuminated the depths of these issues.

And I'm now frequently thinking that this is more of a social engineering project than anything else.