… Adoption rates for social media are very impressive. And while many initially perceived social tools as youth media, it’s clear that social media is not – it’s mainstream and maturing… with the average age of users of social utilities ranging from the upper 20’s to mid-40’s. And while some organizations are still grappling with the questions of whether their employees will “get it,” let alone flock to social media… The data tells a very different story. Boomers are the fastest growing segment in this space and women 54+ are demographic outpacing everyone. [Color comment about mother-in-law.] Justin comment about 72-year-old stepmother on Facebook
Recent research demonstrates just how pervasive social technology has become on a global level. In just a few years time, we’ve seen a major shift in people’s online behavior… … From logging on to check personal email to logging on to check social sites….and spending a lot more time there than ever before. And it’s not only that social sites have become the fourth most popular online activity, but it’s also that more and more of us are accessing these sites remotely from our phones – rarely sitting down at a desk to computer, opting for texting and socializing on-the-go. Forrester Facebook study – When people have access to smartphone with easy access to socnets, almost 50% access social media via mobile Smartphones now number 25 million, nearly double the total a year ago and a tenfold increase in the last four years (NY Times, June 2009) Smartphone usage expected to increase 25% in 2009 Sources: Forrester, the growth of social technology adoption, 2008 Nielsen, global faces & networked places, 2009 Brian Solis blog: http://www.briansolis.com/2009/10/the-great-social-divide-twitter-facebook-traffic-surges-myspace-fades/
The next best thing to being there? Business communicators say digital communication works! As of 2009, almost 79 percent of business communicators report that they use social media frequently to engage employees and foster productivity, outranking even e-mail (Buck Consultants) Companies are moving away from the one-way communication model of sending out information and hoping employees read it. Some of the most popular ways to share information and reach employees include Video, Social Networking, Blogs and Online Communities…all highly social, highly collaborative channels. There’s a lot of research out there that points to adoption heating up; fast. So much so that about 80 percent of business communicator have reported using a social tool on a regular basis to engage employees and promote collaboration. This represents a shift in how companies manage communications… With more than half of employers favoring less control of the message for more opportunities to engage with employees in digital spaces. From Dave Armano’s blog “6 social media trends for 2010” With approximately 70 percent of organizations banning social networks and, simultaneously, sales of smartphones on the rise, it's likely that employees will seek to feed their social media addictions on their mobile devices. Point is that employees are going to use social media. Question is how will you make it work for you?
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