Wacky titles and hyperbole - making Social Media harder to implement

JeffMoriarty — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:03:00 GMT

After long being a proponent of Web 2.0 (aka Social Media aka New Media aka Whatever), I've realized that in my passion to drive change I may sometimes be doing more harm than good to my cause. I started wondering about it after I joined Twitter and saw the crazy drama of many of the "experts" in this area. How could anyone tell what was valid and was what froth? Kelly Feller's blog on the Over-Hype of Social Media crystallized it for me.

Yes, I've read Cluetrain, and I believe that you need to talk with (not "down to") your customers, developers, partners, and employees. Unfortunately the reality is not everyone in Intel (or most companies) agrees, and the people who want to drive change in a company have to sell it. Sometimes that has to happen in the terms of traditional business. Set the expectations too high and you lose credibility in the long run.

You have to balance the hyperbole with real examples of value. Maybe you shouldn't be passing the Cluetrain Manifesto on to your management, or trying to set them up with an RSS reader full of the latest social media super-feeds. Instead talk with the people doing social media at other companies and get concrete success (and failure) stories. As Karen Snyder of Verisign will tell you, we're not hard to find, and almost always willing to share. Come up with something as concrete and measurable as you can, and be forthright about how hard this can be to implement.

You may also want to be wary of selecting a fancy title for yourself. In response to a Twitter conversation I've assembled below what I understand some of the most common titles really mean, and included some up and coming ones.

Social Media Evangelist - Preaches that conversations will change the world. Has at least 10 blogs (5 for himself, 2 for his dogs, 2 for failed business ventures, 1 for his official job). Rarely updates any of them as he is too busy conversing.
Social Media Expert - Read about social media in Fortune and had his business cards reprinted the next day. Twitter and Facebook avatar picture will be in a suit and possibly a tie.
Social Media Czar - Believes that he, and only he, knows the proper implementation of social media and everyone else should be thrown into the dungeons. Usually overthrown by Bolsheviks.
Social Media Sherpa - Will guide you to the summit of cutting edge applications that only a handful of people use… then leave you there. Bring your own oxygen.
Social Media Jedi Master - Commands mystical power that cannot be explained to anyone in management. This is not the clear ROI you are looking for.
Social Media Sith Lord - Uses his power only to develop his own Empire. Often wears hooded robes and talks totally creepy. Usually will be thrown from high ledge to his doom.
Social Media Guru - Incredibly wise master with the ability to levitate the Google ranking of a site using just the power of his mind. Often sits motionless for days at his keyboard, existing only on Krispy Kreme and Mountain Dew.
Social Media Wizard - Claims magical ability to convert weak corporate blog into marketing gold, but will blame failure on being surrounded by unbelievers. Likes pointy hats. When challenged will disappear in a puff of smoke.
Social Media Maestro - Speaks only in lengthy words from popular books. His wikinomical perspective on the groundswell of his company's tipping point will enhance everyone's naked conversation.
Social Media Ninja - Claims many acts of nefarious evildoing online, none of which were witnessed or can be independently verified. Dresses entirely in black and tries to karate chop people who disagree with him.
Social Media Uberlord - Uses social media to talk about how others use social media. Has so many blogs he often blogs about himself without realizing it.
Social Media Silver-Back Gorilla - Scoble. Often seen pounding his chest and roaring about something.
Social Media Sensei - Cryptic and mysterious, but rumored to possess ancient secrets of conversational mastery. Will only teach you if you can ****** his Friendfeed from his hand.
Social Mack Daddy - Well-known individual employed by a well-known social media marketing company, eternally in the process of moving to a different well-known social media company. Will hook you up with all the social media you need for a good time.

Hope this helps, and if I missed any please add them in the comments below.

Social Media can set your events free!

JeffMoriarty — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:43:36 GMT

I had an entirely different blog topic planned, but I'm going to stick it on the shelf for a day because I just saw a blog from Ustream that really caught my eye. Their blog is titled "[Events No Longer Bound by Location|http://www.ustream.tv/blog/2008/06/11/events-no-longer-bound-by-location-apple-wwdc-keynote/]", and while they are referring to their own streaming of the event I took it to mean much more.

Like many other tech aficionados, I spent Monday morning following the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). I was in a room on FriendFeed, chatting on the (ponderously slow at the time) Twitter, and following liveblogs at Gizmodo and elsehwere. I knew what was being discussed, what people were thinking about it, what was hot (and not) and I didn't even have the audio or video streaming my way. I was entirely following it in "back channels" and didn't miss a thing.

That's what a lot of this social media effort is all about - giving people access to information and experiences in whichever way they choose. Tearing down walls! Blogs help cut through organizational silos by letting people come to you, finding people with a common interest. Other social media tools also help cut through both physical and geographic boundaries like we saw with WWDC. Finance may get all excited about this being a way to save travel expenses, but it is really a way to build engagement and get people actively participating.

The trick is people don't always want to participate the same way. Streaming video may work for your company, or maybe you'll need something more. This is where IT needs to lend value in the discussion around social media, demonstrating how these tools are more than buzzwords and can fundamentally change the way the people in your company connect with each other and the outside world.

Using social media to break open corporate communication

JeffMoriarty — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:21:02 GMT

In my blog inside Intel I'm exploring some ideas for social media implementation, and would like to throw them out here to the IT Community for input. Our social media implementation is a bit patchwork at the moment, so I'm looking at ways to help fill

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Wacky titles and hyperbole - making Social Media harder to implement

Social Media can set your events free!

Using social media to break open corporate communication