Social Media: This, too, will change.
I have always been an early adopter of technology. I like change and I get a bit of an adrenaline rush working with and figuring out new tools and toys. Unfortunately, there are a good number of my friends and family who do not understand some of the newer social media enablers. Twitter cannot be explained to most of them and some flat-out refuse to use Facebook. Others, I am sad to say, carry a cell phone, but cannot manage to “Text.” These are the same people who could not believe I would carry a BlackBerry® and answer emails after working hours, yet they now do the same. Times, and people, do change.
The use of these electronic tools for conversation isn’t as really the time-waster they insist it is. Frankly, I prefer to think of these tools as “time-enablers” instead of a “time-wasters.” Having a BlackBerry®, for example, allows me to take my work with me wherever I go. Whether it’s soccer games, band or chorus concerts, or business trips, I can easily bridge the time between work, play and life most of the time. This means I probably work more hours than the average person does, but I work differently. I like the freedom. After all, it’s all “life,” isn’t it?
Facebook allows me to keep up with my kids and friends while traveling on business or otherwise away from the PC. Twitter opens the doors to ideas and conversations that I would never have if I only talked to the people in my every-day business dealings. For those of us with intense curiosity and a burning desire to continue to learn new things, Twitter is the source of unbelievable amounts of useful information, shared by people with similar passions—even for a skimmer of tweets like me.
In a 2003 blog entry, “The trouble with cell phones,” I shared that my friend Roger might have been on to something when he suggested, “…cell phones have replaced cigarettes as a nervous habit. People pull out their cell phones, call others when they feel bored or need to kill 5 minutes or so, and didn’t plan ahead with some reading material.” Today, this has been replaced with texting, email, Facebook and Twitter. Tomorrow, it will be something else. As someone commented recently, given the choice people would rather be doing something than doing nothing. Mobile technologies allow us to do something all of the time—productive or not.
Technology has obviously evolved since 2003 when cell phones were the primary source of mobile conversations. While we still use cell phones, we use them differently. We talk little and text often. Technology and our use of will constantly evolve and morph into the next generation of tools. Think about it: the “shared applications,” mainframe-thinking of the 70’s evolved into tools like Google Apps and cloud computing discussions; AOL’s IM chat communities of the 90’s and classmates.com have evolved into today’s Facebook; and ASP program models of the 2000’s have evolved into the Software as a Service (SaaS) program models of today. The technology changed, sure. But, it was the users of the technology who drove those changes.
Knowing all of these things, it’s hard for me to imagine that a few short years from now what we call “Social Media” and the technology that supports it, will not have undergone a major transformation for the better. It will do so because of the users. Users of these tools already desire a more streamlined ways to improve communications with others. I have to believe that users will demand better integration of these tools to make their lives easier through increased mobility. This will allow the conversations to continue and the relationships to build all day, every day. Will this mean stronger, better relationships? Maybe. Only time will tell.
I am certain of two things, though. One: Everything about technology and social media interaction will continue to evolve. For those of us who are early adopters, we gain great insights into how that evolution may occur. Two: My friends, who don’t understand Twitter today, won’t understand the next step in the evolution either. Unfortunately, they will find themselves farther and farther behind; not just with technology, but also in their social interactions with others as many of their friends more readily adopt the changing way we communicate as a culture.
By know, we all should realize that, “this, too, will change.” Technology evolves. Communication methods evolve. Yet, people do not really evolve as much as they adapt. Either they drive such change by adopting, engaging, and sharing or they simply adapt to such change reluctantly in fear of being passed by.
Which will you do?
Thanks to @heathervescent with whom I had a Twitter conversation about emerging technology, which was the spark for this blog post.
BlackBerry® is a registered trademark of Research In Motion Limited.
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A radical’s approach to change and innovation
Most people think change in an organization means doing something different just for the sake of doing something different. They are wrong, of course, but their thinking is not unfounded. They’re just victims of “bad change initiatives.” Too many organizations try to drive change through elaborate processes and procedures, often structured by large consulting firms that never have to implement their own plans. Consequently, these firms rarely take the time to understand what is being done, let alone why it is being done. Their view is strategic, and often take the built on the goal to align the organization with a “best practice.” However, best practices need to be adapted for every organizational culture and this is almost never done. It’s no wonder, “The more things change, the more things stay the same,” becomes a popular mantra.
I could tell you everything in this post that a top tier consulting firm would tell you to do, including, “get top management support,” if you want to create a change initiative. I’m not going to do this not because it doesn’t work—sometimes it does. My experience is real change and innovation within an organization doesn’t begin at the top because those at this level only see the symptoms, not the cause. Change and innovation is tactical, not strategic. Those closest to the cause are the ones who can best overcome the challenges and begin the change necessary for innovation. Unfortunately, these folks often don’t feel empowered to do so.
So, let this serve as empowerment to the individual: Be radical. Change and innovation in the organization begins with you, the individual, right now. Today. Here’s how to get the ball rolling:
> Start with things you can control. It’s easier to start small and change the things that are within your control. Look around. There are many, many things that are in you do every day that could benefit from improvements. Make those improvements. This kind of change and innovation is infectious and will flow throughout your organization faster than you might imagine.
> Look for things to “blow up“. Approach everything with the mindset that it needs to fixed. This doesn’t mean it really needs fixing, or that you need to be the one to fix it, but it forces you to look for the flaws. When the flaws outnumber the benefits, destroy it. The hard reality is that sometimes the only way make change is to blow it up and start over from scratch. Don’t be afraid to push the red button when you need to do so. This is often the origin of true innovation.
> Stretch the chain. Every day you should stretch “the chain” (people, processes, technology, etc.) until you find the weak links. Break them, put the chain back together, and stretch again tomorrow. When you find you are unable to break a link, take a break and look back on your accomplishment. These successes will help you build your credibility as change agent. However, don’t forget to come back and stretch the chain again later. No link is failsafe for very long.
> Cross the cultural minefield. Every organization has some approaches or things that are sacred. Before you start, know if the change you are attempting is going to put you at odds with the culture. You should know the dangers going in, but it’s likely you will still need to trip a few mines, purposefully. Trip the mines when it is the right thing to do without regard to fallout, but know that you may sustain injuries. Tripping the mines and slaughtering sacred cows is a messy job.
> Grow a thick skin. If you really want to be a successful change agent, you cannot worry about making friends while driving change and innovation. This is not to say you have to be mean or insensitive. Most people just hate change, not you, and will not hesitate to share their feelings. Some may even try to retaliate with a little political sabotage. Don’t take it personally. You’ll know you’re on the right track when people begin to complain about what you’re doing. Be prepared for the fall-out.
Please know that this is an individual approach and not a “team approach” to driving innovation. I have never believed that teams are successful leading change or innovation. “Innovation team” seems like an oxymoron to me. Even team of radicals will fail if they are forced to work too closely together. In my experience, the most successful innovation happens when individuals are motivated to make things better. An organization’s success with change and innovation is rooted in the personal initiatives of individual radicals who desire to make a difference.
To innovate and change an organization, find the radicals who strive to make a difference. Then turn them loose to do what they do best—stir things up.
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Change begins with you
“Be the change
you wish to see in the world.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
America didn’t change today.
There is a new person in The White House, but most everything else is the same. The economy still struggles. The stock market continues to decline. Most people out of work today will still be out of work tomorrow. Some people lost their homes today while others struggled to put food on their tables.
Today’s problems will still be here tomorrow. The hard reality for each of us is that change doesn’t begin in Washington. Change begins with us.
Sometimes in our businesses and our lives we’re afraid to make important decisions that are necessary to take us to the next level of success. We say we’re “risk adverse,” when in reality we’re probably just afraid we’ll make the wrong decision and fail.
So what. Failure is nothing more than change–not good or bad in most cases, just a different outcome than we might have wanted.
It is our fear of change, not failure, which stands in the way of our successes.
Accept change. Gather your courage and embrace it in your life and in your business. Because when you are ready to embrace change, you will be ready to make change. And that will make all the difference in your business and your life.
No, America didn’t change today. The expectations of many Americans changed.
Did yours?
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The “Great” Facebook Blackout
December 15, 2008, over a million members of Facebook.com planned to stop using the website for a day. It seemed many users were unhappy with the new layout, account deletions, and interaction limitations of the network. They believed that by staging a blackout, Facebook management would listen. It didn’t work.
There are more than 40 million users in the United States alone. The Blackout folks didn’t even register a hiccup. In fact, Alexa.com did not show a sudden drop in pages views on December 15, or a sudden increase in page views on December 16.
The core generation using Facebook understands that the masses can move the direction of a company. They understand that the customer (in this case a Facebook user) can control and guide the brand. The problem here seems to be that the users think they “own” the brand that Facebook has developed. It’s a subtle, but important difference for both Facebook management and its users to consider.
We understand that Facebook management wants to build a website that attracts the masses, build user stickiness, and tastefully monetize the website through advertising. Management’s goal is likely to make money for investors (0r at least cover the cost of operating the service.) We also understand that users just want to interact with each others using the website and tolerate the advertising in exchange for free user of the tools.
Facebook management does seem to listen to requests and input from users, but I doubt the Blackout garnered much of their attention. Although, if the Blackout participants had numbered 10 or 20 million it might have raised an eyebrow or two. Facebook, like many Web 2.0 services, is designed for “the many” and not “the few.” It’s a very small number who are complaining about the changes Facebook management is making.
I suspect “the few” just don’t like any change in their lives.
Yet, in our online and offline worlds, change in our lives is the only thing on which we can depend. So, you (Facebook user or not) really have just three choices:
1. Drive change
2. Accept change
3. Freeze from fear of change
What will you chose in 2009? I hope you don’t choose the third option.
Happy New Year!
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