Social Media Addiction: It's Everywhere!

As we approach the beginning of the end of winter, I have noticed that everyone around me has become a social media addict. I have high level exective who has literally gone wild with the Flip camera that I advised our boss to get. She is pretty good telling stories too. My direct supervisor has become the queen of Facebook and actually keeps in touch of things through Facebook. The big boss who I call Papa Bear is really getting into it by encouraging us to do more and to be creative when use social media. Is this Bizarro land or something bigger?

At first I thought it was Bizarro land, I really did! However, it has become quit clear that the Obama digital revolution has finally taken hold in government, big business and even the non-profit sector. Why? In government, the President is literally the driving force because he ran his campaign utilizing social media as a fundraising tool, a direct unfiltered platform to address the public in concert with mainstream stream media, and as a media tool that can address multiple things simultaneously. Is this a good thing? I think it is a great thing because it allows the citizenry to get direct information from the government, as well as big business, and it does not cost a thing. Now that's what I call cost cutting and a stimulus!

The key thing for business, non-profit and government leaders to understand about social media is that these tools are bottom-up tools not top down tools. One cannot use the same old approaches to speak directly to the public or one's employees when they have the capability to instantly answer you through multiple devices like cell phones, gaming consoles and personal computers. You cannot disable questions when utilizing social media because then it is not social media, it is simply plain old new media, and the questions that you avoid will invariably be found on YouTube or other video sites by angry consumers, citizens or other stakeholders. While it is important to allow the executive to blog, it is even more important for rank in file employees and experts within the organization to participate. Many of these individuals are more savvy with these tools than their bosses and they make the boss look smarter when he or she has employees who are producing compelling content.

The bottom line is that everyone wants their content to be viewed or heard! If you are an organization looking to expand your horizons, do not wait to do it, just start a social media campaign and run with it. Have fun! Try new things! Really think outside of the box, and you will be surprised at the responses that you will get over time. Social media is not about control, it is about collaboration and compelling content. It means that the people in charge have to share the ball with the whole team and create stars from their team who may not necessarily be the stars that the boss would have picked in the past. This is a new day! We need news ideas and solutions! We need new voices! Are you listening to me business and government executives? What do you think?