“I can only understand one out of every three words you said.”
- Recent attendee at one of my speeches on social media.

Yes, fear kills social media. And perhaps the biggest creator of fear in this business is the actual terms we use to describe conversational media. Nomenclature presents a significant barrier for many just trying to figure out what all the hub-bub is about.

Recently I bought a T-1 line for my new office. The terminology in buying a commercial grade switch and phones was so bad I had to keep asking the service provider to explain to me what the equipment was in English. And I sued to work in telecom five years ago. Wow!

It reminded me of the horrific barrier to entry that we, the social media community, create. Consider these words:

and on and on. If you are a normal person, this will read like Chinese:

There is a real need for Mike Sansone’s glossary of social media terms. Is it any wonder those not indoctrinated look at social media and want to run away? Is this what we really intended when we were coming up with all of our cool words?

My final thought as we the social media community develop the next BrightKite: Are we really creating something new and special for society? Or is it by its very nomenclature exclusive and antisocial. Maybe that can reverberate in the echo chamber for a little while.

Per my good-bye post on Friday, this will be my last appearance on Now Is Gone. You can continue to read my marketing posts on the Buzz Bin.

You can have a social media strategy and the best IT in the world, but without passion your social media future is lost. In fact, the future of your company is lost. On this blog, you hear from communicators; now hear from one of your own in the business community.

Gary Vaynerchuk, host of Wine Library TV, talks about more than just wine.

Ike is correct; Talk is cheap. Marketing Lauren Vargas is much different than marketing client brands. You must get out there and get your hands dirty. As Lori Dolginoff of Johnson and Johnson discovered earlier this week, you don’t always come back smelling like roses after delving into the blogosphere! Susan Getgood, Marketing Roadmaps, does a brilliant job outlining the Camp Baby Blogstorm.

Even in the midst of this blogstorm, Johnson and Johnson has a great opportunity to strengthen blogger relations by their actions now and through Camp Baby. Practicing Blogger Relations Tips as depicted by Todd Defren assists in gaining the blogger’s ear, but fostering a deeper relationship requires more effort and authenticity. Remember you are building long term relationships. Do you use canned responses in conversation with your own friends and family?

I am a huge fan of the movie Office Space. Do you recall the Jump to Conclusions mat? Use your head… and your heart. Don’t jump to conclusions about your blogosphere community because they are just as fast to pass judgment.

Whether your social media efforts include blogging, podcasting or video, valuable content is king. Other than the logistics of executing these tools, I find the most asked question and highest concern is “Who/what feeds this beast?”

You don’t have to look very far for the answer. Your community of readers, viewers and participants are the keepers of enough content to last you decades. 

• Survey Feedback: Be honest. You have reams of data. Begin addressing common concerns and comments. Do not dwell on the negative. I am not fond of open ended survey questions because of the analytical nightmare, but this data is great brainstorming fodder for story content. Does your company conduct customer/associate/manager satisfaction surveys (CSI/ASI/MSI)? Look for trends. Drive content at the same time as you address issues and show your community you ARE listening and acting upon suggestions.
• Customer Comments: Whether you have a formal customer comment program or you monitor informal conversations, trend this data and address key topics.
• Editorial: Peruse trade and entertainment magazine articles. 

Listen. Learn. Create.

(Social media fatigue is another issue addressed brilliantly by Chris Brogan.)

What does RSS mean anyway? An embarrassing question for some, but one that a lot of newcomers may want to ask.

Mike Sansone, author of Converstations, has been quietly building a glossary of terms for those who need a quick answer. While only 25% of the way through the alphabet, Mike’s glossary is a good resource for those who are just getting comfortable with new media forms.

Heck, it’s good for those of us who have been around for a while, too. I now know what AJAX is (An acronym — Asynchronous Java Script and XML — representing a way to create real-time Web applications).

Thanks for your service to the industry, Mike.

Last week, Geoff issued a Social Media Content Process outlining 14 steps to execute social media strategy. Steps six through eight determine relevance and expectations before content creation begins.

I understand many readers of Now Is Gone are not public relations or marketing affiliated, but the conundrum Sam Lawrence, CMO at Jive Software,  poses on his Go Big Always blog is applicable for consideration by any business.

“I want our new PR Agency to blog about us but they don’t want to.”

Should the PR Agency blog?

Now Is Gone co-author, Brian Solis, answers Lawrence, “It depends.”

Social media brings out the extremes. Go full force and claim social media the savior of all that ails or stick your head in the sand and pretend the world is not changing. A social media effort that is forced or running scared will not be successful.

Solis continues, “Yes, so openness and transparency are “the new black.” But don’t take it at face value. Think about it first.”

You don’t have to put all your cards on the table. Understand derived value and expectations of your long term social media strategy. Business is still business.

What do you think?

You cannot control the person making comments on your blog or other forms of media, but you can control your response.

Fear of dissension can be conquered by establishing:

• Privacy Policy
• Comments Policy
• Legal Policy

Determine which comments are a valuable contribution.  

Not every comment requires a response from the author(s). Thank the readers for expressing their thoughts. Your readers want to know you are reading/listening. Acknowledgement is one of the building blocks to creating a successful relationship. Questions should be answered. Turn the table and ask a question in response. Remember, social media is about open dialogue. Keep the conversation going by continuing the conversation on the commenter’s blog. This is a great way to get to “know” your readers. After-all, those making the comments cared enough to take time to leave a comment and share their thoughts and opinions. Tap into this enthusiasm.

Think before you respond. 

Not all comments will be positive. Take a deep breath and step away from the keyboard before responding to an emotionally charged comment.

As fellow Now Is Gone contributor, Ike Pigott, says “Just listen with a thick skin, lest you lose your shirt.”

We gather here for a discussion about the socialization of business communications. But it’s more than just that.

Really, corporations have a problem. They don’t listen to their marketplaces, control and push messages, and act in relative vacuums. As a result, the public doesn’t trust companies.

Many social media and marketing minds have envisioned how the Internet can make business better. In some cases, it already has.

Imagine a world where business can profit, but not just for the sake of their investors. Their profits result from bettering their communities by enabling buyers through great services and products that meet real needs. Companies engage with their stakeholders, and actually listen to them, evolving their offering to serve market demands.

To get there, companies really need to open up and interact with their constituents. They need to embrace community concepts. Social media can serve as a change agent to get there. When embraced in full, social media creates relational collaboration. Companies stop acting as forceful entities and start becoming service organizations.

Most organizations won’t embrace this kind of change. At least not yet. It’s too much of a stretch. But market leaders, competitive risk, and eventually poor financial performance can be great motivators.

Those that do make the change have an easier time of business. Indeed, they have a new pair of glasses, and view the world with much clearer perception. And it’s a better world for it.

A pipe dream? Maybe, but one worth working towards. One company, one communication at a time.

Take your phone directory and organizational charts to the next level. How many hidden jewels of talent exist in your organization?

Employee personalized Intranet home page

Think social networks. Encourage employees to post pictures for easier recognition. Their home page may include:

• highlights of resume
• job title and description
• supervisor
• work affiliations
• project group pages

Don’t know the POC for direct mail? Use your Intranet search engine to find the experience you need. This degree of exposure may be uncomfortable. It is important to have transparent governance to set minds at ease and embrace the benefits of improved internal communications and potential career growth.

Find the right people to be in the right job at the right time.

There are instances of people being placed in jobs not matching their skill sets. Human Resources should comb through the Intranet as a first resource to find talent. This exposure will also help you identify gaps in knowledge. Use this tool as a barometer for training and recruiting.

Succession planning is important to the success of your company. Encourage management to use the Intranet to seek out potential candidates to mentor.  There are diamonds, emeralds and rubies just waiting to be discovered.

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.

Previous Social Capital Posts:

• Intranet Treasure Trove
• Scratch My Back and I’ll Scratch Yours