Why we need social media
Digital interaction is an interesting thing, isn’t it? Through Twitter, we have meaningful conversations with people we only know only online. Our Facebook accounts reconnect us with friendships we previously thought were lost to time. We carry our friends with us wherever we go and thrive on the capability for instant interactions. Some of us are reliving our past, while others of us are making business connections. In the process, many of us have broadened our definition of a “friend” to include those people we have just met and we share the most unremarkable parts of our lives as if these friends were “long lost,” rather than “newly made.”
We humans are social animals, of course. Most of us like engage with others so that we can have an understanding of where we fit into the fabric of our culture. Yet we Americans, in particular, are finding ourselves growing disconnected from those around us. We overwhelm ourselves with extracurricular activities to occupy our time, we work too much and relax too little, and we focus on getting “things” done, rather than experience doing “things.” Overall, we have lost the personal connections to the people in America who make our “stuff,” grow our food, or frankly, those who live next door. It is almost as if our individual desires for personal independence and self-reliance have eclipsed our need for social interaction. They have not, of course. Our requirements of social interactions are just different now from before.
Today, we try to balance our individual desires with our need for social interaction by leveraging digital technologies into the mix to help us maintain our personal connections in the lulls of our daily living. We all do it, but some of us do it better. It seems to me that each generation appears to connect and build relationships differently using technology. For example, I have observed that Millennials use social media as a way of extending their daily interactions with their friends. With their mobility restricted by expansive neighborhoods and overprotective parents while growing, they had no choice but to explore new online social technologies as a way to maintain their friendships. As a result, communicating by text, Facebook or MySpace is the same as a phone call or a face-to-face conversation. Social media, and the digital technologies that supports it, are fully integrated into the life of most Millennials.
Observations of Generation X show me that they rely heaviest on cell phones for social interaction, I suspect because most were in college when mobile phones became affordable for and adopted by the masses. Texting and social media tools appear to be time-consumers that this Generation has not yet fully embraced. Instead, they are practical about the use of social media, engaging with those pieces that benefit them most (such as using Twitter to build business relationships), disengaging when there is little personal gain.
Baby Boomers appear to function best using face-to-face, phone and email communications, but are rapidly adopting Facebook. I think, they can “see” their friends and feel engaged in those lives as if they lived next door. This closeness is important to Boomers, especially as they age, because it seems to provide Boomers true “social” opportunities in the context of their primary interests: connecting with old friends, sharing political news and views, discussing religion and exploring hobbies.
Each generation has found a way to make social media technologies relevant to their own lives, to give us opportunities to connect with others regularly, as we allow our culture to put increasing demands on our time. The ability for us to bend and mold social media tools to our individual needs, values, and expectations is what makes it work so well in building and re-building our valued connections.
We need social media tools to help us maintain our ability to be human in the face of the demands made on us by our culture, our peers, and ourselves. These tools are now such an essential part of how we function as individuals and who we are together as a community, that living without social media and supporting technologies is unthinkable.
It is clear to me that social media allows us to maintain some degree of sanity in our lives. Without these tools, we would give up what little socialization we do enjoy; and I am not so sure that would be good for our minds, or our souls.
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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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