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?
Showing posts with label social networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social networking. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Facebook Excommunication: It Can Happen To You! Part I
By Chris A. Heidelberg, III, PhD. Publisher
If you are one of my former 1600 Facebook friends, don't even bother trying to contact me because you can't! I don't exist! I am officially disabled which really means excommunicated! I guess the YouTube videos below describes how I feel right now. One of the biggest problems of dealing with many online companies is knowing what the terms of your agreement. Like Internet veteran Rob Scobie I recently had my Facebook account disabled after receiving a warning email that I might be disabled. I think that there is a huge difference between getting a warning email and being straight up cut off by the powers that be at Facebook. My "warning" from Facebook turned into being banished from Facebook in a manner that would have made Charlton Heston's Moses look like he was still included in the Egyptian Royal Family. I was kicked out, thrown out, and literally made an example of because I betrayed the terms of my agreement.
Here is a quick quiz: how many of you really understand the terms of the agreement when you signed up for Facebook or any online service. I actually went to law school, have a PhD and deal with legal documents all of the time and I have to tell you that the document that most people routinely scan and click is clearly written in favor of the drafter of the contract because they know that few people will successfully protest or win in a court of law.
My point here is that I love the Facebook platform, but in their zeal to prevent spam they are persecuting amateurs like me who have no intention of spamming and only intentions of networking. Maybe they should borrow from LinkedIn and allow people to network who belong to the same groups. In my case I was experimenting with teaching a class in South Africa and here simultaneously before taking a trip. So I networked through one of my friends and that was considered a violation because I was adding too many friends too fast.
I have written Facebook several times and I have only received an initial response and after that I have received no response email from Facebook. This is disturbing to me that a company of this size would treat its customers like this and not even both to respond to email with at least a form letter. Hey, I work with the government and even they send you a form email to respond to your email. I realize that I will probably not get my account restored for writing this post but after trying to correspond with them and promising to reform from my "wicked ways" that I did not know I had. All I want to do is network with my academic, technology, media and student friends. I am so disappointed because I feel that the heavy handedness of Facebook is a shame because I think it has the potential to become the platform. I have always liked it better than MySpace but it appears that they don't want me.
My real problem with Facebook is that when you try to find out how many friends that you can add they cannot tell you what the limits are. Please spare me the lecture about safety when we know that everyone's data is being mined and used for advertising in the future by Microsoft after that huge deal. If by some miracle that I manage to get my account restored, you can bet that I will be on ten friend limit per day. What is really terrible is that I actually interacted with my friends and used them for both professional and media contacts.
So here are my questions: what does one do when they run afoul of the undisputed king of social networking? What would you do? In the meantime, if you want to contact me by Facebook you may be eligible for retirement by the time I even get a response, so don't hold your breath waiting. Come on Facebook give me one more chance and loosen up because you are starting to act like Microsoft used to act before they re-discovered customer service.
If you're reading this and you are on Facebook, I hope you learned what I did: Facebook can do whatever they want to do; Facebook will cut you from the squad quick and then tell you to read the vague rules that they wrote to protect themselves legally; Facebook will not give you specifics in plain English on how to stay out of trouble once you have run afoul; Facebook will not give you real due process and you will be punished with a snowball's chance in hell of being reinstated with all of your existing friends; Facebook will not respond to your requests for reinstatement even when you promise to change; Facebook has created rules similar to the credit card companies and you know you can't win appeals with them unless you are F. Lee Bailey or loaded; and Facebook has the best social networking site in the world that will make you an addict as I am finding out as I go through withdrawal. Hey maybe we should protest! Yeah right!
Hey I have already lost my privacy, due process, and right to protection against self-incrimination with Facebook. So I better use my First Amendment right while I still have it! I guess I feel like the guy getting lectured to by Clint Eastwood as Clint is holding the gun to him and promising this gentleman to, "Go ahead make my day!" You never get a straight answer when the person holding the gun is holding all of the cards, has cut you off of Facebook, and has already shot at you quite accurately. Don't bet on me getting reinstated, especially after this post!
If you are one of my former 1600 Facebook friends, don't even bother trying to contact me because you can't! I don't exist! I am officially disabled which really means excommunicated! I guess the YouTube videos below describes how I feel right now. One of the biggest problems of dealing with many online companies is knowing what the terms of your agreement. Like Internet veteran Rob Scobie I recently had my Facebook account disabled after receiving a warning email that I might be disabled. I think that there is a huge difference between getting a warning email and being straight up cut off by the powers that be at Facebook. My "warning" from Facebook turned into being banished from Facebook in a manner that would have made Charlton Heston's Moses look like he was still included in the Egyptian Royal Family. I was kicked out, thrown out, and literally made an example of because I betrayed the terms of my agreement.
Here is a quick quiz: how many of you really understand the terms of the agreement when you signed up for Facebook or any online service. I actually went to law school, have a PhD and deal with legal documents all of the time and I have to tell you that the document that most people routinely scan and click is clearly written in favor of the drafter of the contract because they know that few people will successfully protest or win in a court of law.
My point here is that I love the Facebook platform, but in their zeal to prevent spam they are persecuting amateurs like me who have no intention of spamming and only intentions of networking. Maybe they should borrow from LinkedIn and allow people to network who belong to the same groups. In my case I was experimenting with teaching a class in South Africa and here simultaneously before taking a trip. So I networked through one of my friends and that was considered a violation because I was adding too many friends too fast.
I have written Facebook several times and I have only received an initial response and after that I have received no response email from Facebook. This is disturbing to me that a company of this size would treat its customers like this and not even both to respond to email with at least a form letter. Hey, I work with the government and even they send you a form email to respond to your email. I realize that I will probably not get my account restored for writing this post but after trying to correspond with them and promising to reform from my "wicked ways" that I did not know I had. All I want to do is network with my academic, technology, media and student friends. I am so disappointed because I feel that the heavy handedness of Facebook is a shame because I think it has the potential to become the platform. I have always liked it better than MySpace but it appears that they don't want me.
My real problem with Facebook is that when you try to find out how many friends that you can add they cannot tell you what the limits are. Please spare me the lecture about safety when we know that everyone's data is being mined and used for advertising in the future by Microsoft after that huge deal. If by some miracle that I manage to get my account restored, you can bet that I will be on ten friend limit per day. What is really terrible is that I actually interacted with my friends and used them for both professional and media contacts.
So here are my questions: what does one do when they run afoul of the undisputed king of social networking? What would you do? In the meantime, if you want to contact me by Facebook you may be eligible for retirement by the time I even get a response, so don't hold your breath waiting. Come on Facebook give me one more chance and loosen up because you are starting to act like Microsoft used to act before they re-discovered customer service.
If you're reading this and you are on Facebook, I hope you learned what I did: Facebook can do whatever they want to do; Facebook will cut you from the squad quick and then tell you to read the vague rules that they wrote to protect themselves legally; Facebook will not give you specifics in plain English on how to stay out of trouble once you have run afoul; Facebook will not give you real due process and you will be punished with a snowball's chance in hell of being reinstated with all of your existing friends; Facebook will not respond to your requests for reinstatement even when you promise to change; Facebook has created rules similar to the credit card companies and you know you can't win appeals with them unless you are F. Lee Bailey or loaded; and Facebook has the best social networking site in the world that will make you an addict as I am finding out as I go through withdrawal. Hey maybe we should protest! Yeah right!
Hey I have already lost my privacy, due process, and right to protection against self-incrimination with Facebook. So I better use my First Amendment right while I still have it! I guess I feel like the guy getting lectured to by Clint Eastwood as Clint is holding the gun to him and promising this gentleman to, "Go ahead make my day!" You never get a straight answer when the person holding the gun is holding all of the cards, has cut you off of Facebook, and has already shot at you quite accurately. Don't bet on me getting reinstated, especially after this post!
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