Keith De La Rue - Using Social Media

Using social media to harness knowledge within an organisation: Addressing the challenges Keith De La Rue AcKnowledge Consulting Friday, 15 August 2008

Outline
Understanding the social media revolution
Where are we, and where are we going?
Understanding the tools in a business context
Fundamentals
The power of social networking, people & trust
Harnessing Web 2.0 for results
Challenges, benefits and risks
The IT challenge
Gaining the benefits

Understanding the social media revolution Where are we, and where are we going?

Be afraid, be very afraid…
“… with the advent of …social software, suddenly highly savvy networks of people are springing up in their millions. They’re talking to each other. With or without your permission ”
Hugh McLeod – http://www.gapingvoid.com/

Discontinuous change
Many technology improvements have been gradual
There have also been times of dramatic change
The transistor
Integrated circuits
Internet
WWW
Social media…
How much change?

A change in perspective
Is the future just an extension of the past?
How much are we like Holland?
Do you remember South Wales?
No longer part of the “old country”
A new territory

What is a PC?
Number Processor = “Calculator”
Word Processor = “Typewriter”
Media Processor = “TV”
=> A modelling machine
Access to the world
Access to people

What is an Intranet?
Originally – a terminal network for system access
Now – PCs, Internet tools inside the organisation
News and information services
Policies and procedures
Directories and organisational structure
Document repository
Online learning
Portals
Now?

What is corporate communication?
Many traditional tools are one-way
“Push” – eg, newsletters
“Pull” – eg, document libraries
Intranets make richer media available
Some still one-way
Newer technologies provide richer interaction

What is the economy?
An economy of scarcity
IP must be protected at all costs
Win-lose
An economy of abundance
Knowledge must be shared at all costs
Win-win

Who controls the Intranet?
IT
Information Services
Internal Comms
Learning
Centralised/decentralised
An important consideration…

Discontinuous change
Your view of all this determines how you see today’s world and Intranet 2.0…
“Did you know?”
http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html

Social computing
“ Social computing requires a mind-shift from previous ways of doing business and requires high levels of trust and confidence from those engaging in it. How you communicate your intentions and encourage take up is crucial”
Euan Semple, http://www.euansemple.com/

Social Media Understanding the tools in a business context

Web 2.0
Move from 1:many to many:many
Definitive products:
Web 1.0 – Netscape, system-dependent
Web 2.0 – Google, ubiquitous
Move from hierarchies to networks
Move from online brochures to interaction
The rise of prosumers
Intranet 2.0 – Enterprise 2.0
“SMIF” – Social Media Inside the Firewall (Andrew Mitchell)
Tim O’Reilly - http://tim.oreilly.com/

The new world
Blogs, wikis, RSS and more…
Push and pull boundaries blurred
Opens up the organisation
Complex media for a complex environment
Requires a new way of thinking
Most software low-cost or free
But challenging for corporate IT!

Your challenge
Which of these would be useful in your organisation?
What would the benefit be?
Who would see the benefit?
If you are already using them, how can they be improved?

Every blog has its day
We b log = a diary on steroids
Can include text, images, multimedia
Originally a single author, personal diary
Can be shared authorship; dialogue through comments
Chronological organisation; more permanent
Edited anywhere, online
Cheap – open source or commercial
WordPress, Movable Type, Typepad
“Blogs are useless drivel”?
Might as well say “Paper is useless”

http://delarue.net/

http://www.melbournekmlf.org/

http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/

Blogs in internal comms
Use to build a community or dialogue
Is blogging the new water-cooler?
Knowledge sharing - and opinions!
Need something to say, time to update
Needs trust, not control
CEO “chat”
Disney cable – “Shiftlog”
Global technical operators
US University library
News, event management, facility use
End of the “typing pool” paradigm?

Tags
Simple categories or key words
User-defined - “Folksonomy”
Each item can have multiple tags
Commonly used in blogs
Introduced to email by Gmail
Used by Flickr to tag images
Can use to generate a “tag cloud”
Del.icio.us – social book-marking

Tags and taxonomy
A taxonomy is like a concrete footpath
Not frequently changed
Tags are more like tracks in the grass
More worn the more they are used
What is the best thing to do with grass tracks?

RSS – ‘Real Simple Syndication’
Web feed of blog or other content
News feeds
User-defined subscription
Can reduce email network load
Users establish their own priorities!
Needs a “feed-reader” or aggregator
Built in to IE 7, Firefox, Office 2007
Tools available to convert to email
No user software installation

http://www.google.com/ig/

Podcasting
A pre-recorded audio program or message
Allows portability, time-shifting
Caters to different learning styles
So what’s new?
Simple software and devices
Anyone can produce
RSS feeds

Videocasting
YouTube and the “home video” revolution
http://www.youtube.com/user/plambe

Online forums
Allows all users to post articles
Content pushed by email or browsed
All users are equal
(But some are more equal than others!)
May be moderated
Otherwise, may get out of control – flames, storms
Excellent medium for sharing
Serves a Community of Practice
Broader range of input and views than blogs

http://www.actkm.org/

Wikis
An online reference source, edited by users
"Wiki-wiki" = "hurry quick" (Hawaiian)
Quick to set-up, and supports rapid development
Easy online editing
Includes author comments and discussion
Lowers barriers to participation
Readily-available software
Vulnerability?
“iStore” experience
Reliability?
Wikipedia…

Wikipedia
Encyclopaedia Britannica vs Wikipedia
December 2005
Nature magazine’s nature.com comparison
“Can multiple, unpaid editors match paid professionals for accuracy?”
50 parallel reviews of articles from each
Eight serious errors, four from each
Other errors: Wikipedia 162, Britannica 123
Disputed by Britannica; defended by Nature

Wikis in organisations
Good for experts to build a body of knowledge
Needs encouragement for input
Or critical mass?
Jimmy Wales – “5 to 10 dedicated people”
NAB – Training group collaboration
On an external site…
US Government Enterprise Architecture
Conference management - end-to-end
Telstra – Project Management for Online team
Email replacement – “Socialtext”

Our Intranet, the Wiki
Janssen-Cilag
300 employees, Australia & NZ
Launch budget $11,000
Uses Confluence by Atlassian
Directory integration, attachments
Started with pilot on office relocation
After 12 months, 184 contributors
Content ownership key!
Nathan Wallace - http://www.e-gineer.com/v2/blog/2007/08/our-intranet-wiki-case-study-of-wiki.htm

Connecting people
Expertise location
Social Network Analysis
Use “connectors”
Lend Lease “iKonnect” model
Add-on to directories
Add expertise, networks
IBM “Blue Pages”

Instant Messaging
Managing “presence” across geographically-separated teams
Collaboration
Group messages
Faster than a speeding email?
Mobility applications
SMS

http://twitter.com/kdelarue

Twitter
140-character messages
“Microblogging”
“Group proprioception”
“The ability to sense the position, location, orientation and movement of the body and its parts”
“ If only most companies realised the treasure trove of expertise and information that their employees would be able to access if they encouraged the use of such services”
Shane Goldberg, Telstra

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=625634789

Online communities
Value
MySpace; $580 million
LinkedIn: $1 billion
Facebook: $15 billion
Some organisations were blocking Facebook
Some organisations are using Facebook
Deloitte has over 17,000 members
Directory, expertise location
Promoting events
Use to build or share apps

http://secondlife.com/

Virtual Worlds
3D representations of real or imagined landscapes
Members use “avatars”
Second Life
Public spaces and private spaces available
ABC and BigPond use externally
Supports use for organisational training
IBM
Tertiary institutions
Mixed results

http://www.telstraenterprise.com/

Leveraging the community
Using viral marketing techniques
Build it and they will come?
… so long as it is fun or interesting
Let your market spread the word
“Big Beer” ad
Danish traffic authority
“Speed control bikini bandits”
http://delarue.net/blog/2007/06/get-used-to-21c/
Can you use this inside the organisation?
Why not?

The fundamentals The power of social networking, people & trust

Trust - the critical factor
Organisations must be prepared to trust staff
Management must be open
Security and confidentiality must not be used as an smokescreen…
Outcomes may not be direct or obvious in advance
Recognition that management do not have a monopoly on ideas…

Why social media?
Enhances face-to-face networks
Increases personal connections between staff
RSS allows consumers to establish own priorities
Push and Pull concepts less clear
Supports rapid changes in priorities
Relevant info is distributed more quickly
Creates an information base over time
May take time
Not for everyone?

Know your audience
Identify and understand target audiences
Know the culture
Natural tendency to share
Role and functions
Geographical diversity
Access to technology
Affinity for technology
Know how to cater to needs of each audience
Build tools to meet the needs

Building a social community
Must be a reason to share
“Community of practice”
It’s the practice that’s important
“I am a…”
Provide rewards and recognition
But must be carefully targeted
Regular, focussed communication
Build in help and training
Mentoring more important than direction

Who drives change?
“The primary driver of employee engagement is opening up decision making ”
John Smythe – Engage for Change
Power sharing – leader a guide, not a god
Command & control does not fit knowledge age
McKinsey research, many case studies
Architect engagement interventions

Creativity
“ Individual creativity is a critical element of productivity, efficiency and work quality in today’s complex work in organisations”
Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School
“ The challenges that arise in developing a new idea… provide the workforce with high levels of mental stimulation, problem-solving, employee-engagement and, thus, personal growth”
Edmund Phelps, Wall Street Journal
http://delarue.net/blog/2007/02/making-people-creative/

Wikinomics – harnessing prosumers
More than “customisation”
Too limited; need early engagement in design
Losing control
Let customers make own innovations, or they leave
Better than ceding the game completely
Become a peer
Don’t make products, innovate ecosystems
Share the fruits
Customers want a share of the ownership
Eg – Second Life
Don Tapscott & Anthony D Williams

Principles for social media
Trust - you don’t need to control everything
Understand your communities
Anticipate needs not yet fully articulated by your audience
Don’t let the security police put you off
Don’t get stuck with the conventional wisdom
Experiment!

Harnessing Web 2.0 Getting the results

Social Media
“ Social media has enabled me to feel ahead, not behind as I return to work after 2nd baby”
Serena Joyner (on Twitter)
Personal development
Virtual “water-cooler”
Looser network, thought leaders
“Warmer” than listserve
“In” a network, not “on” a platform
“Tool transparency”
http://serendipitousconnections.wordpress.com/

Social Media(2)
Meeting of minds
Online meetings have led to rich personal meetings
Mentoring and skill development
Offshore mentors within company
Inside and outside firewall
Building confidence in writing
Led to contributing to book
Change from hoarding to sharing
Greater success for organisation
http://blog.wonderwebby.com/

So who does it?
Intranet Dashboard survey, May 07
50% of Australian companies interested in social networking, but not yet using
26% had begun a trial or using
Forester, June 08
“Social Networks will Augment HR Strategies”
Recruiting, alumni programs, mentoring, learning, collaboration, and connecting people
“Professional networks are the backbone of business”
http://blog.connectbeam.com/blog/2008/06/forrester-repor.html

Royal Bank of Canada Intranet
70,000 staff - only 1% reading printed comms
Largest share of costs
91% preferred online
Developed INsite – online newsletter
Driven by regular feedback from staff
Debates, suggestions, content rating, polls
Virtual editorial board of 300 staff
Saved over A$340k pa in 18 months
Increased staff engagement significantly
http://www.melcrum.com/

Social Media Manager, BT
Decentralised Intranet, 100% accessible
“ Encouraging every employee to believe they can make a difference”
Social networks included in Business Drivers
BTpedia, blogging, collaboration, podcasting
Social networking – do, create, innovate, change
Focus on value, not risk
Start early, start small, build slowly
Richard Dennison http://www.slideshare.net/InsideOut/international-employee-communications-summit-2008

Twitter for news and info
“NASA confirms there is water on Mars”
Via Twitter
News out much faster than conventional media
Searchable content
“… actually becoming an essential part of my information-sourcing activities, which are critical to my role”
Shane Goldberg, Telstra
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=water+mars

Twitter for collaboration
“Twebinar”
Web-based seminar = “Webinar”
Add Twitter for participant collaboration
Presentation + collaboration
Removes geographical boundaries
Can also be used within a room
Ask questions
Gains peer-to-peer sharing benefit
Conversations before, during and after
http://www.twebinar.com/

The inductee
How do connected Gen Y round pegs fit into the organisational square hole?
… they probably feel that their arms and legs are being cut off!
Imagine if you were not “allowed” to use email!
“ People want to use their favourite technologies at work. They're satisfying themselves and not waiting for IT”
Dennis Moore, SAP
Yahoo! News – 19 June 2007

http://delarue.net/blog/2008/03/found-car/

Which ones fit?
Combine
Producer/Consumer boundaries blurred
Set the agenda with blog articles
Improve engagement through online discussion
Use podcasts for key announcements
Leverage expertise sharing with wikis
Encourage sharing and connection
Break down the walls of the Ivory Tower
It’s up to you…

Challenges, benefits and risks Gaining the benefits

Implementation and availability
Software readily available
Free or low-cost
“Failure” not a financial loss
Hosted or DIY sites readily available
May be IT issues
Compatibility with existing systems
Firewall issues
“Skunkworks”
Content can be edited anywhere, with no software install

Expect questions
Don’t we have collaboration tools already?
Will these tools lead to collaboration?
Aren’t these just fads?
What about security?
Can we trust our people?
How do they fit in with our architecture?
Won’t these tools confuse people?
How will we manage all this content?
Matt Moore - http://engineerswithoutfears.blogspot.com/

The home-baked approach
IBM building in-house versions
Blue Twit – twitter
Beehive - Facebook
Dogear - Del.icio.us (favourite sharing)
Beehive has 30,000 users (May 2008)
Including top executives
Assist with geographically dispersed teams
Strengthen staff ties
Aid with knowledge sharing and innovation
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086056643442.htm

Stepping outside…
Training group collaborating on an external wiki
Facebook as a corporate expertise directory
Private network – for free
Brian Lehrer, WNYC, 27 Aug 07
What is the cost of people working in isolation?

Measurement & ROI
What do you measure?
Traditional measures of usage, views and participation
The 100/10/1 rule
(1 to set up, 10 involved, 100 consume)
Application of social network analysis
How do we show value?
The “I” should be low
Productivity gains & reduced email load
Impact on the bottom line?
Matt Moore - http://engineerswithoutfears.blogspot.com/

The security issue
Security can be a real issue
Security can also be a smokescreen
Hiding knowledge hoarding
The “Ivory Tower” syndrome
“You can’t trust a sales person to understand…”
“There is no secret knowledge!”

The risk of information leakage?
Can lead to a “clamp-down” on info sharing
This can lead to disengaged, disempowered staff
“Rebellion” can follow
This can lead to a risk of information leakage…
The importance of trust
http://shugg.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/communication-scary/

The benefits of social media
Engaged staff - people feel “heard”
Better, quicker staff access to needed information
More benefits from knowledge sharing
Organisational access to staff knowledge and ideas
Easier to find right people quickly
Innovation much more rapid
Personal ties lead to staff retention
Improve connections across geography

Thank You! [email_address] +61 418 51 7676 Blog: http://acknowledgeconsulting.com/

Keith De La Rue - Using Social Media

by Keith De La Rue on Aug 15, 2008

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