I’ll be out and about quite a bit over the next few months, and hope to meet up with some of you. The following is my speaking and conference schedule this winter/spring:
An Intranet is as customizable as needed, but can easily become overwhelming and overrun with an endless maze of data, bells and whistles. Begin by thinking of your company Intranet as a portal to a virtual file cabinet. Organization of files and content differ by company objective and style.
A successful document library is:
Current
Organized
Identifiable
Shareable
Search-able
Remember your Intranet is representative of one company, one version of the truth. Several companies organize their Intranets by areas or regions. Each section may add unique flare, but at the end of the day, consistency and ease of search throughout the Intranet is paramount.
It is helpful for companies to establish an Intranet template (Map Key) for customizable areas. For example, my company is operated by five regions, each having a designated area within the company Intranet. With over 45,000 associates and a mobile workforce, contact information is in constant flux. By requiring the same placement and format of region directories on each portal landing page, any one can easily locate information. This example may be extended to your document library. House all FACT papers, working documents, etc. in the same format and location.
Just like your actual file cabinet, you control the lock and key. Set permission to view or edit by Intranet area and specific folders/documents.
Many Intranets include a feature for the user to “check out” a document to review and edit. This is a brilliant collaboration tool whether work groups exist in the same building or across the globe. The Intranet is a social media tool. Keep it social.
Simplicity is vital to the function and usability of your company Intranet.
Always keep the end-user in mind during creation and management of the virtual file cabinet/document library. Allow for feedback and easy to use edit and customizable features. Associates are more likely to buy into the technology and function of company Intranet if you and fellow management use the system and set the example. Be an advocate.
Per last week’s post a more refined written version of my Blogger Relations video was published today on Media Bullseye. Here’s a snippet:
The big issue with most blogger relations articles revolves around a tendency to treat bloggers like traditional media, and also a focus on tactical pitches or initiatives. This approach, in general, follows a bad media relations trend where hits matter more than relationships. Yield outweighs long-term reputation, and as a result mass blog outreach with mild customization occurs. Good PR pros build relationships.
This article seeks to shed light on some best practices for building relationships with bloggers. It assumes the following:
a. You’ve researched the blogs that matter to your company, including critical magic middle blogs
b. The company (or organization) can contribute valuable information or insights to the marketplace’s conversation
c. That the company is committed to a campaign rather
(In an effort to provide a place for the Social Media Curious to dip their first toe, Ike continues a series of articles aimed at those who are looking for very basic context.)
Social Media is like a power suit: either get it tailored just for you, or look like everyone else who bought off the rack.
If you’re considering some type of Social Media initiative for your organization, and you decide to proceed, do so with this warning. There will be some degree of real work involved. Whether it is you, or someone you hire, you want the work to fit your goals and needs.
Here’s a very topical case in point. There’s a guy named Chris Brogan who you will no doubt become more familiar with down the road. He brings people together, and does it in new ways with new tools. Once you’re up to speed and feel comfortable with the terms and concepts of community-building, add him to your reads.
Yesterday, Chris was exploring a new way to get people integrated into Twitter — a microblog platform that is as hard to pin down as it is easy to use. (We’ve covered Twitter before here on Now Is Gone.) As a way of helping others find value more quickly, Chris offered the notion of “Twitter Packs,” a convenient bundling of people that one could quickly add to get a flavor of what Twitter can be about. Others, like Shannon Whitley, immediately started working on ways to make mass-additions (and mass-deletions) more automated. It’s a giving community, to be sure.
A Little Too Giving.
That may be a problem. Chris offered up a means for finding people with similar interests, professions, locations, and traits… but are those individuals going to add the same value for you as they do for someone else? Chris wasn’t egotistical enough to think he would know the answer, so he created a Twitter Packs wiki that anyone could edit. Within hours, there were hundreds of names sorted across many divisions. And within hours, there were cries that it had gotten too clubby, too cliquey, too clunky, and too crowded. Others were disturbed that specialty lists were being added that had the potential for mischief and pranks.
Beyond any of the other complaints, let me add this warning. When it comes to Social Media, you want your own work, not someone else’s. It’s nice to be democratic and let others self-select into such groups, but that can create some real friction later on. Take a gander at those gaggles, and you’ll find geese that are guaranteed to ruffle each others’ feathers. Catch a little too much ruffling before you start finding your own level of value, and the experiment will backfire.
Additionally, I’ve noted before that Twitter takes on a different look depending upon how many people you choose to follow. Are you really intent on sticking close with a small group, or are you okay with just periodically dipping your hand into a flowing river of opinions and observations? Are you using it as a de facto RSS reader, or do you want to engage in open conversations? And how will you go about configuring your Instant Message and SMS options?
A Custom Suit
I’m not totally down on Brogan’s Twitter Packs idea - maybe just the execution. And maybe it has more to do with my view that Twitter can be a very instructive tool for those trying to get a feel for online communities. Start with a couple of people that you know and follow them. Interact. Then periodically, see who they are also interacting with. If you see someone interesting, add them. The network grows the best when you catch the value for yourself, one at a time.
Don’t worry about reciprocal following for now. If someone does start following you, it is good form to at least check out their stream and find out why. Add or don’t add, it is up to you. The point is to get an understanding of community dynamics at different sizes and levels. You need to feel your way to that point.
Finally, from a practical level, your Social Media needs are unique. Trees may look the same from the top, but have unique footprints and their own root networks. If you plan to have a Social Media consultant do the building for you — ask some questions about how they are building that network. What kind of research are they using to get there? How long have they interacted with or monitored the people you want to reach? Or are they just pulling a template pack off the shelf and plugging it in to your goals?
If you don’t understand how vibrant and useful communities are built, you won’t be certain if your company’s new suit is off the charts, or off the rack.
With social media tied to technology and lots of geek speak, monitoring trends can be confusing. In some ways, for marketers it’s easier to keep you mind on exactly where your community resides. But inevitably, the eye wanders to the horizon. So far, the biggest trend in 2008 seems to be the drive to open data (Image Credit: Autowitch).
A few years ago, Tim O’Reilly dubbed this “democratizing data” for use across the World Wide Web.” Years later,democratization continues to develop as one of the hottest trends in 2008.
We’ve become social, but we have lots of unmined data across the web, and siloed applications, forcing users to create a new account every where they go online. Without open data, the web’s next generation of applications (dubbed Web 3.0 by some) will have a hard time advancing.
Consider these three major initiatives revolve around opening data for the next generation of data driven web applications :
Semantic Web applicationscontinue to command mindshare as they deliver better content results and make better data connections. These semantic data driven apps need open information for:
Search engines like Hakia and Powerset
Wikipedia-like efforts like Twine and Freebase
Applications that use semantic technologies under the hood (such as AdaptiveBlue and Snap).
Open ID as represented by efforts like Open Social and the Data Portability initiative presents a new opportunity for the next generation of software - particularly in the fields of social software, user rights and interoperability. More importantly, the ability to transfer user profiles across social networks, in turn creating a dynamic and fluid environment for online personalities. Ensuring open protocols for data transfer will be essential to facilitating success.
GeoWeb applications (covered in the Future Cometh in Now Is Gone) continue to tantalize the search and Enterprise 2.0 analysis marketplaces. With more than 85% of data tied to geographic location, all of the major web map players are seeking ways to make this data more useful to enterprises, institutions and consumers alike. Creating “intelligent maps” relies on the ability to harness and convert widespread data across the Internet, government bodies, NGOs and enterprises, a continuing issue in the web map marketplace.
In the long-run, open data allows for great marketing, creating more intelligent, productive initiatives for both the customer and the company. So keep your eyes out for opening data stories.
TechCocktail Founder Frank Gruber, (also product manager of social media platforms at AOL) interviewed me recently on Now Is Gone. This video interview discusses some of the genesis of Now Is Gone.
Frank’s blog Somewhat Frank is one of the better social media blogs out there with more than 33K subs. His TechCocktail series has brought online to real life, forging great relationships.
A very good friend of Now Is Gone compatriot in crime Brian Solis, Frank is one the DC region’s brightest social media minds, and one of our keynotes for BlogPotomac. I sat on a panel discussing social media with Frank at the New New Internet conference this past November, and have stayed in touch since.
It was a thrill to be interview by him. Thanks, Frank!
“The intranet is a direct reflection of the ethos, soul, and culture of a company,”says Jeremiah Owyang.
Would you rather cut off your right hand before navigating your company intranet? A treasure trove of social capital is waiting to be discovered beneath the clutter of broken links, duplicate files and outdated information.
(Stifle the drones of despair. Your company’s intranet should not be perceived as an IT beast with an unending hunger requiring massive amounts of additional labor.)
Too often I see companies get caught up in the design of the intranet instead of the function. First determine the strategy and direction of the company intranet.
Identify needs and requirements of users.
Identify business requirements.
Identify best practices.
Needs and requirements of intranet users are constantly evolving, so continuously monitor strategies and direction to prevent stagnation of use and content.
Senior Leadership and an isolated IT department cannot be the sole authorities of how the intranet is designed, used or fed. Social capital cannot be built and kept current by a few. Increase efficiency and effectiveness by knowing what reports, fact papers, case studies, discussion boards and various applications are relevant to your workforce.
Next, simplify the unearthing process and reap rewards quickly with a map key of your company intranet.
Let me apologize for using video (four minutes) instead of writing this out. A bad case of Carpal Tunnel tonight prevented full blog post writing. I will write up a full piece on blogger relations for Media Bullseye in the next couple of days.
As this a blog that primarily caters to businesses and individuals adopting social media, half of our readership will be out today in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King. And of course, social media sites around the country and the globe feature the late peace warrior, from idle reflection to full posts dedicated to King. Here are some examples:
From Freedom Eden: Text of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, August 28, 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
It’s important to reflect on King’s legacy. Perhaps no greater example can be seen then when race became an issue in the Democratic primary early last week. Both Obama and Clinton came together very quickly to stamp it out, and successfully made race a non-issue for the Nevada primary. Though the tension still exists, it’s not tolerated publicly.
Even more importantly, both Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s substantive runs for the presidency demonstrate to me that this country has come a long way. We have changed and ready to elect either a woman or an African American as president. Yet, we cannot rest on our laurels against racism and prejudice. And perhaps that is what today’s holiday is about: Recognizing progress, yet understanding there’s more to do.
Social Media is like a power suit: either get it tailored just for you, or look like everyone else who bought off the rack.
