MEGO: My Eyes Glaze Over

Social Networks and the Net Generation at Work

Mar 15, 2009 Blogs, Books, Customer Service, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Internet General, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, Social Bookmarking, Social Media

When I joined the workforce e-mail was pretty standard as a method for communication and the Internet was commonly used for research purposes. But, in the early days of email many business owners and managers did not allow e-mail in the offices for fear that their employees would not get any work done, they were concerned over how to manage, store and capture e-mailed information, and of course they grappled with security issues surrounding e-mail. Today, business owners and managers have realized that e-mail has increased the speed of business communication, and concerns over data capture and management as well as security have largely been overcome.

Social Networks Stats and Facts

There is a new tool that has caused much consternation and hand-wringing for IT Managers and business owners – social networks and social media.  A new report by Nielson puts social networks ahead of e-mail in online activities according to a recent article in the Globe and Mail.  Neilson found that 1 in 11 minutes online is spent on a social network or blog site, bringing social networks and blogs to the fourth most popular activity following search, general interest portals and software manufacturers. More telling is the growth seen by social networks during the period of the study (Dec 2007-Dec 2008) which saw between 1.4 and 1.9% growth for the top three activities versus an incredible 5.4% for social networking.

There are 150 Million active Facebook users and a recent research study from Pew Inernet shows that 11% of online adults say they have used the social network Twitter. A Netpop report shows that 7 Million people in the U.S. are contributing to content online and that social networking sites have grown a whopping 93% since 2006!

Despite the growth in the use of social media and social networks specifically, many corporations have decided to bury their head in the sand and hope it goes away, much like they did when e-mail came on the scene. Instead of facing the issues these companies have decided to simply block employees access.

Blocking Access

The concerns for social media are similar to those in the 1990s when e-mail entered the workplace: productivity, data capture, privacy and security. The approach the same – block, refuse access, refer employees to old technology (oddly in the case of social media it is often e-mail!). But this is short-sighted, unrealistic and a passive approach that will eventually (if not already!) be seen as anti-productive.

Let’s look at the concerns companies have regarding social media:

Productivity: This has to be the most ridiculous of the reasons. 1) If employees want to be slack off all they need to do is go stand by someone else’s desk, go for a smoke break, chat at the water cooler, close their eyes and have a snooze. Let’s face it if you can’t trust your employees are doing their job…then you didn’t hire the right people or they are bored, unchallenged or unempowered. 2) If employees are allowed to use social media they can actually become more productive! (More on this in next post)

Data Capture/Management: Many social networks are easily followed, stored and saved. People have clearly moved beyond this issue with e-mail – and this can be accomplished with Social Networks. Ownership can be overcome by businesses as well by contracting space on sites for block of space that would be under control of the company as suggested by Salesforce.com precedent. Another alternative is to set up internal IM systems, social networks and Wikis for use with Internal Communication. While this does not help customer and vendor communication it can allow employees some use of tools that will help productivity while maintaining data security and capture.

Privacy and Security: This is a biggie, and closely related to data capture and management. Panic has ensued amongst business owners with regards to data privacy and corporate secrets. And, of course it can be an issue as more and more employees spend time on social networks discussing their lives (which includes work) with Facebook status changes, LinkedIn profiles, and of course the tweets on Twitter. Companies obviously want to limit and retain close control over sensitive company information, at the same time they also must find ways to engage and communicate directly with their customers (or risk losing them). As social media becomes increasingly interconnected and more customers EXPECT companies to be active on social networks it will become inadequate to simply block social media sites and use URL filtering. Instead companies can help alleviate the privacy and security (and avoid potential lawsuits) issues by creating policies and educating employees on safe data handling. (Note: There are also IT tools available on the market to help monitor, examine historic patterns of leaks and discover and eliminate malware that have in the past been issues with some Web 2.0 sites). Privacy and security is an issue whether your employees are using social media or not – but a easy to understand policy, and a central contact for questions related to privacy and security can help companies avoid future issues.

Net Generation at Work

Companies that decide to limit or block use of social media are not only unnecessarily limiting their communication with their customers through online methods, they are also forfeiting the chance to discover new tools for collaboration within the organization. By closing the company off from social media they are also driving away younger employees who are looking to work for companies whose culture fits their life and ideals.  Don Tapscott in his book Grown Up Digital says the “Net gener [age 18-32] arrives at work, eager to use his social networking tools to collaborate and create and contribute to the company. For starters he’s shocked to find that the company’s technological tools are more primitive than the ones he used in high school…And they are surprised, perhaps naively, to learn that corporations have antiquated ways of working.” These same Net Generation workers can, if given a chance, show companies how to collaborate in new ways more effectively and efficiently. But, these workers don’t stick around long according to Tapscott – they usually only last two years before moving on. Which is too bad since Tapscott’s research shows that those companies that embrace the Net Gen norms perform better than those that don’t..

This generation, of which I am a part of (well I missed it by a month…), view life and work different from other generations according to Tapscott – and that view is defined by 8 characteristics or norms: Freedom, Customization, Scrutiny, Openness, Fun/Entertainment in life and work, Collaboration, Speed, Innovation.

Tapscott definies these characteristics as they relate to work (summary):

Freedom: Net Geners expect to mix work and their personal lives, and this includes choosing when and where they work. They want flexible hours, the ability to telecommute, and other services that make their lives easier.

Customization: They want employers to treat them as individuals and this means giving them learning and development opportunities that are right for them. They want an adaptable work environment, job descriptions that are project based and customized, flexible benefits,  and more frequent discussions on their contribution to the organization.

Scrutiny: How we search for jobs has changed and how we research the company before we make a change has as well.  According to Grown Up Digital 60% of Net Geners check out a company before accepting a job offer. They want to work for companies that are transparent, share information, and have integrity. Tapscott says: “Young people respond well to management integrity…there is greater loyalty and lower turnover, and employees are more likely to do the right thing.” (For example more likely to get their job done even if they take a break to check Facebook, and more likely to hold company secrets sacred and follow company privacy policy).

Collaboration: Net Geners want to work with other people and collaboration is how they get stuff done. To them the workplace should be less about hierarchies and departmental silos and more about connecting with others to solve a problem. Using social networks, social bookmarking, Wikis, aps like LinkedIn Huddle Workpaces or Virtual worlds (Second Life) to meet, collaborate, plan, and execute.

Fun/Entertainment: Fun and work go hand in hand for this generation – they don’t need to be separate. Cultures that allow employees to have a little fun at work end up with more productive staff. We all need a break before diving back into another round of work – and if surfing on a social network is that little bit of fun – why block it?

Speed: This generation is used to speed and instant responses. Why not? We no longer have to wait for dial-up or snail mail! For Net Geners red tape is frustrating, feedback should be in real-time and bureaucracy can mean doom in the market. They use social media tools such as Wikis and IM to speed up communication within the workplace.

Innovation: This is a fascinating point Tapscott makes: “If video games taught this Net Generation anything, it’s that every problem has seemingly endless solutions” and so this generation is looking for new ways to their jobs, to be innovative in their workplace, to challenge status quo. Many of these young workers bring their knowledge of social media to the work place creating new communication channels, building collaborative work systems, and finding new ways to solve a business problem.

In the End

Social media such as instant messaging, blogging and social networks have gained ground as communication tools outside the workplace by leaps and bounds, and it is only a matter of time before they, like e-mail before them, become necessary and an acceptable part of the work place.  The concerns for productivity,  data management, and security and privacy are valid – however they can be overcome by education, corporate policy and new IT tools. Ultimately, if a company hires good people they will need less process and bureaucracy to police the space – as the employees in an open and empowered culture will be more likely to use social media tools wisely. Through using social media in the workplace employees will find new ways to harness collective knowledge, collaborate, and create ways to communication effectively internally and externally.

As always  – connect on Twitter and Google Friend Connet (right hand side). And, if you enjoyed this content – subscribe!

Images from Stocl.xchng (bigevil600, brokenarts, glennpeb)

Popularity: 100% [?]

Tags: facebook, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World HC, linkedin, socia, Social Bookmarking, social media, social network, twitter, Work

10 Things You Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for Future Job Search (Web 2.0 Style!)

Jan 16, 2009 Digital Marketing & Metrics, Social Media, social networks

I wonder how Social Media and Web 2.0 will change the way we present ourselves to potential employers. Will the resume be enough to make you stand out in the future?

A few months ago I had the task of going through applications for a Marketing Coordinator who would be working with me until I went on mat leave. I was shocked at the quality of résumé and the lack of personal websites, or participation in social networks. This may be understandable if I were looking to hire a accountant or a trades person – but I expect a marketing professional (junior or senior) to be able to sell themselves – and what better way then using the Internet. Just a LinkedIn account would be a start. In the future, I believe this will be the bare minimum for many positions in the workforce – not just those that work in Creative or Marketing.

Given that the news is sadly filled with layoffs, downsizing, and economic ugliness – what are you doing to ensure that you are “recession proof”? If you were to lose your job tomorrow – what would you do? Would you immediately start furiously writing a new résumé, applying for any and all jobs that you might be qualified for – posted on Workopolis and Monster and then wait, wait, wait for the darn phone to ring.

I was laid off once, and I implore you be prepared. Be ready 2009 style.

So here are the things you need to do, just in case:

Social Network

1 . Network online and offline. Extend your network by connecting with like-minded individuals. Don’t underestimate the power of social networks including Facebook, and Twitter.

2. LinkedIn of course is the obvious choice for business networking. Keep your profile up-to-date, and of course add colleagues, friends and connections to your LinkedIn network.

3. With all social networks share, collaborate and help followers and friends.  Post interesting articles (including, but not exclusive to your own), answer questions, and comment on tweets, status’ and posts. Get involved and check-in regularly.

4. Don’t forget social networking started off-line – and despite our dependence on computers you can still get out there and meet new people! Attend community events, professional meetups, conferences, classes and Tweetups!

Create an online résumé and portfolio

5. The problem with a résumé is that it is just a piece of paper. There are no hyperlinks (oh sure you can add them but once it is printed out, or placed in a text only application form…poof it’s gone), there are no pictures, no graphs, no presentations, no videos and no personality. An online portfolio however can be all of that.

Take a look at mine – (a work in progress) at MichelleKostya.com

Be an expert in your field

6.  Start a blog. Why not – everyone is doing it!  Write about what you love, what you know, and what you wish you knew! Be passionate and personal (eventually people WILL read your blog!)

7.  Perhaps you are more of a talker then a writer. Start a podcast and broadcast your expertise. Equipment can be relatively inexpensive and there are a plethora of places you can post your podcast out into the world.

8.  Create Videos, E-books, Host Webinars or Guest Post – all are ways to get your name out in your field.

9.  Even if you aren’t a blogger consider commenting on blogs (with all the bloggers commenting it is a bit of a echo chamber!). This will help you expand your network, encourage you to read and learn more, and maybe even enhance your confidence and writing skills! Consider using FriendFeed so you can “lifestream” your comments and share your expertise!

10.  Get active on industry forums and discussion groups. Help out others…and they may reciprocate when you need it. Ah…Karma.

Added bonus…you could also do this:

job offer t-shirt

Image from Flickr Creative Commons- SocialisBetter

In Summary…

Don’t rely on a piece of paper when and if the time comes that you need to get out there and find a new job. As Dan Udey (@danudey) said in a Tweet to me when I asked Twitterland about the relvence of résumé:  “resumes are becoming less interesting than who you are and what you’ve done”.

And, never assume you are safe. When it comes down to it – only you will look after YOU. During a recession – a company will just look at numbers – so sympathy, years, experience, or passion may not help you keep your job. Don’t wait until it is too late to update your résumé, skills and portfolio.

What do you think – are résumés still enough? What else are you doing?

Popularity: 34% [?]

Tags: blogging, career, facebook, Internet, job hunting, jobs, linkedin, online portfolio, podcasting, resume, social media, social network, top 10, twitter, web 2.0

Best MEGO Posts from 2008: A Retrospective

Jan 1, 2009 Blogs, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, Social Media, social networks

I wanted to highlight the best posts of the year. I based the choice on a combination of number comments, traffic, and quantity of in-bound links.

January

How We Make Decisions To Purchase Products

February

I was watching Lost and not blogging…

March

Making Concerts More Social

April

Facebook Advertising

May

The Hyperconnected Minority

June

Event Planning: Birthday Fun

July

YouTube Star

August

Baby! Baby!

September

The Canon Advantage?

October

Obama’s Loss Traced to [insert name here]: Personalized Video at its Best

November

5 Tips to Organization in Google Reader, Or How to Avoid Information Overload

December

Toronto Twitterers Top Twittersphere

Popularity: 12% [?]

Tags: canon, events, facebook, google reader, organization, social media, social networks, twitter, word of mouth, youtube

Lessons in Driving Traffic and Engagement to Blogs

Dec 29, 2008 Blogs, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, Search Marketing, Social Media, Web Analytics, social networks

The Lineup: Courtesy Stock.xchng KLatham

Traffic and engagement are not the same thing. Likely you know that. Quality vs Quantity…

Having people visiting my site looking for Chia Pets and Chicken Recipes and Fred Flinstone is ultimately not my goal.  People who visit my site using these search terms don’t tend to stick around very long, but they show up in my ‘traffic’ report nonetheless.

Quite some time ago Avinash Kaushik from Occam’s Razor gave me access to Google’s Custom Reporting and Advanced Segmenting which were at the time in beta. I had played with the new features quite a bit with my work websites, but not with my blog.  I decided it was time to do so, with the goal of figuring out how to grow my community of readers, and engage those of you who are regular visitors – for example getting you to comment, visit regularly etc. Using the extra reporting functions I was able to find out some interesting stuff:

• My most valuable new visitors were referrals (visiting from another website) and most were visiting from blogs I had commented on. These visitors, over visitors from Facebook, Twitter, Technorati or Blog directories; spent more time on my blog and visited a higher number of pages.
  LESSON
  - Commenting on other blogs drives interested and engaged traffic and hopefully subscribers
• Most returning visitors (those who aren’t subscribed via RSS, visiting directly or via a bookmark) visit again from Facebook, Twitter, Google and MichelleKostya.com
  LESSON
  - It is worth promoting blogs on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter by linking new posts.
• The keywords that drove the most valuable search traffic (pages/visit and time spent) to my site over the last few months were to posts on politics.
  LESSON
  - Posts on current events drive traffic.
• Keywords including “mego”, MEGOAgain”, “Mego Michelle”, “Michelle Kostya” etc spend the most amount of time on my site compared to site average. Duh…they were looking for me. Other keywords that engaged my visitors: Facebook advertising, Facebook ignoring friends, jetblue twitter duty, corporate tweet, Loblaws, Sony, Sheridan
  LESSON
  - Optimize site and posts around keywords that engage.
  - Brand names are often searched and can drive traffic although not all engage readers enough for them to stick around.
  - Continue to write posts on social media and Web 2.0!
• Unfortunately, since most return visitors came directly to the main page it is hard to determine what content is driving them back via Google Analytics. However, if you I look at my Feedburner stats and refer back to the articles posted around that time my readers enjoyed these posts over the last 30 days (why does Feedburner only allow me to break data by 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or “all time”?) the most popular posts to my return visitors are:
  - Social Media’s Next Victim
  - Kid’s Say the Funniest Things #2
  - My Top 15 Web 2.0 Sites
  - 5 Tips to Organize Google Reader
  - He Sleeps! A Miracle
  Interesting – a mixed bag of social media posts AND parenting.  However, one thing I do know about these posts is that they were either short or broken up by bullets or subject headings.

  LESSON
  - Short is good
  - Break long posts into sections or use formatting to break the post up into smaller bites!

• I have been racking my brain to find ways to encourage commenting, this is a good sign that readers are enjoying what they are reading on my blog. However, this is not the only way to measure this.
  LESSON
  - Measure depth of visit, number of pages/visit
  - Time spent on site
  - Return Visitors vs. New Visitors

What kind of lessons can you share about building your blog community? Where do your readers come from? How do you measure engagement?

Popularity: 18% [?]

Tags: analytics, avinash kaushik, Blogs, commenting, community, engagement, facebook, feedburner, google advanced segments, google custom reports, keywords, search terms, seo, twitter, web 2.0, web traffic

Toronto Twitterers Top Twittersphere

Dec 26, 2008 Customer Service, Digital Marketing & Metrics, Microblogging, Social Media, social networks

Are you a Twitterer who Tweets from Toronto? If so, you top the Twittersphere according to a recent study called the State of the Twittersphere by Hubspot.

The report uses data from Hubspots Twitter Grader which has graded information on over 500,000 Twitter profiles as of November 2008.  The report also used data from Compete.com and Alexa.com.

Twitter doesn’t require that its users give exact location in the “location field” so many people put Canada, or US or USA, or Toronto (even if they live in Mississauga, Oshawa or Hamilton). Hubspot report therefore lists the top 30 “phrases” that appear in the location field. But that said “Toronto” appears pretty high on the list (as does Canada!)

London
USA
San Francisco
New York
Chicago
Los Angeles
California
Toronto
Austin, TX
New York, NY
NYC
San Francisco, CA
Canada
Texas
Atlanta, GA
Washington, DC
UK
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL

Not surprising, I suppose, since Canadian’s have been early and eager to engage in social networks. According to The Meaning of Web blog Canada has the most users outside of the United States, at more than 10.6 million (numbers taken from Facebook’s Ad Network). And, numbers given on SEO & Web Marketing News North indicate nearly 30% of Ontario’s population have a Facebook profile. In May 2007, Statistics Canada speculated that in the span of the previous nine months the site had grown to one in ten Canadian Internet users having a profile on Facebook. Canadians love the social web.

Other interesting stats from the study:

• 70% of Twitter users joined in 2008
• An estimated 5-10 thousand new accounts are opened per day
• 35% of Twitter users have 10 or fewer followers
• 9% of Twitter users follow no one at all
• Twitter has about 4-5 million users, about 30% are relatively new or unengaged users
• Traffic has grown over 600% in the past 12 months (Compete.com)
• Twitter.com became one of the top 1,000 websites by traffic in May 2008 (Alexa.com)

Many companies are using it as a customer service tool, to promote products, and promotions, and often simply to broadcast marketing messages. Some are more successful than others. (Check out my post on  Some Dos and Dont’s of Corporate Tweeting)

So, given the popularity of Twitter are you Tweeting? Is your company? Why or why not?

As of yet it is unknown how Twitter will monetize (is that truly a word?) its service. Investors don’t seem concerned, apparently the numbers of members (and engagement) is enough to keep them investing millions.

Follow me on Twitter.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Tags: canada, facebook, hubspot, Microblogging, state of twiiter, stats, toronto, twiiter

My Top 15 Web 2.0 Sites

Nov 24, 2008 Blogs, Consumer Brands, Marketing & Communication, Microblogging, RSS, Social Bookmarking, Social Media, social networks

In no particular order, these are my favourite Web 2.0 site. These sites allow us to collaborate, share, and communicate with others.

Facebook: I never would have reconnected with so many people if it weren’t for Facebook (perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad thing!) How else would I know that a former co-worker I no longer keep in touch with has had a baby, that a high school friend is a terribly annoying Zombie, and someone I only know briefly from University has an incredible need to invite me to parties I will never ever go to. Of course I also wouldn’t have met up with a few old room mates for coffee and been able to catch up with some other friends who continue to have lots of common interests with me!

>LinkedIn: LinkedIn is another social network, but this one is unique as it appeals to people interested in professional networking. You won’t find Vampires or Scrabulous on LinkedIn, but you will find professional groups, job postings, and the ability to connect with people in your field of expertise or future employers! Post your profile including your career history and start finding your network.

Flickr: A great way to share photos with friends, family and the world. Tag anyway you like, and receive comments from people who view your work. You can of course create sets/albums, and share your “photostream” on many social networks beyond Flickr. Flickr also allows you to make your albums private.

Del.icio.us: Not only can I now take my bookmarks to any computer I happen to be on, I can easily share with family and friends the links I think they will find useful. As an added bonus I subscribe to key “tags” that interest me: “wordofmouth”, “socialmedia” etc. My bookmarks used to be a long list of random unorganized sites, now they are categorized under multiple groupings making them easy to find when I need them.

Slideshare: Looking for inspiration? Want to share your brilliant presentations? Share slideshows with friends, colleagues or the world. You can also add sound and create your own “webinar”. Post your presentations on Slideshare then embed on a website, or share on social networks easily. Slideshare is great for collaboration, and sharing knowledge at the workplace ond beyond. If you have attended a recent conference (especially on tech) – there is a good chance the slides are posted here.

Google Reader: Google Reader is the bane of my existence and the love of my life. A plethora of information, and a suck of my time. It makes it so easy to subscribe to wonderful content…that I keep subscribing to more and more. Leaving me little time to read them! I have just recently re-organized and I think I have found a way to master the information overload. Watch for a future post. If you love blogs – I recommend Google Reader as your aggregator.

YouTube: Hours wasted here! I love YouTube. I have posted videos (of my son – for the joy of his grandparents), and I have watched videos, and taken my favourites and embedded them in my blog. How great is that, watch, create and share!

Books: Living Social: Being a book lover I immediately added the Visual Bookshelf application on Facebook. (now called Living Social: Books), Books: Living Social allows you to see what friends are reading and reviewing, catalogue your own books (want to read, reading, and have already read!) A great “social” way to find new books to read. Living Social also has other interests you can add to your Facebook (Myspace and Bebo) profiles: Television Shows, Movies, Beer, Video Games, Restaurants, Albums.  And, they just introduced a new widget for your blog or social network

Google Docs: Google Docs which includes a Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Form creator, and Presentation program are perfect for collaborating at work or at school. Forget the messy “tracking” changes, or e-mails back and forth with suggestions for changes – make real time changes whenever you want in Google Docs. You can even work on the document at the same time as one of the other team members.

Wikipedia: Have you ever been at a party or a get-together and a random trivia question pops up. Invariably someone says “google it” and out pops a laptop or mobile device. Someone looks up Piranha eating habits, or the origin of the carnival, and likely one of the first search results is Wikipedia. The best example of the “wisdom of crowds” has to be the collaborative Wikipedia. Just look something up – or contribute.

Twitter: This is the social network / blogging platform I wish I had more time for. For the uninformed please read my Twitter 101 post. Twitter asks the question “what are you doing now?” and you “tweet” using 140 characters or less to share with your followers just what is on your mind. It can be as menial as what you are eating for breakfast, or as mind-blowing as breaking news. People share stories, news, links of interest, and opinions on everything from coffee makers to politics. Twitter has even become an avenue for businesses to offer customer service. Search for people in your neck of the woods or people that share common interests. I follow people all over the world!

Adium: I recently added Adium, a chat application for Macs to my computer. With Adium I can log into all my IM accounts with one program. I have it set up to log me in to MSN, ICQ, Gmail, and even Facebook chat.

Skype: My son would likely forget what Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kim looked like if it wasn’t for Skype. They live in another country and so it is rare that my three year old gets to see them in person. Skype allows them to see each other and chat for free! We also talk to his grandparents (and great grandmother) this way! His grandmother was able to read him a bedtime story from Nova Scotia. How neat is that! Hey, even Oprah is using Skype.

Friendfeed: Friendfeed allows you to bring all your “feeds” together. Create a newsfeed by sharing what you are doing on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and others Web 2.0 sites. Follow your friends activities and comment on any of them! There are also “Rooms” where members can share on a particular topic. You can subscribe to your Friendfeed in an aggregator so you never miss a beat.

Wordpress: Where would I be without Wordpress, the platform this blog is built on!

Popularity: 8% [?]

Tags: delicious, facebook, flickr, living social, twitter, youtube