 Opinion
Use social networking for right reasons
As I near my 30th year as a professional journalist, the topic of social networking worries yet excites me. My main concern is that every self-professed expert who tweets or blogs has suddenly become an authoritative source that can render true journalistic services obsolete.
Who will readers trust more: some sales guy or engineer attending a conference posting his take on an event, or the trained eye and sharp assessment of a reporter? With that backdrop, I listened carefully to the opinions of six IT executives who tackled the broad topic of social networking's impact during Everything Channel's recent Midsize Enterprise Summit.
While the social networking sites struggle to monetize their platforms, companies such as Google are using social networks to drive collaboration among employees, said Tom Mills, Head, Midmarket Sales, Google Enterprise. It is also helping Google understand the big issues it must address. The Google Moderator platform allows employees to post questions to its founders and CEO.
Niel Nickolaisen, CIO, Headwaters, said social networking allows his company to connect with customers in ways it never could in the past. His advice to fellow CIOs or integrators developing a social networking solution for customers is to conduct pilot projects in small departments before a full-fledged rollout. "Roll the pebble up the hill, not the boulder."
Social networks may allow companies to capture customer information but they are also a platform for selling, said Vikas Sehgal, President, Nagarro: "It's everyone's job to sell or help someone sell. There is no such thing as B2B or B2C." Sehgal's point is that social networks shape the opinions of analysts, editors, peers and individuals who are either going to buy your product or recommend your stock.
Perhaps the final frontier is how social networks will allow companies—even ones with stodgy images—to attract new employees, especially those between the age of 18 and 35. The panelists all agreed social networks help recruit bright, young people who have provided feedback via Twitter or Facebook.
However, risks do abound, the panel agreed. Social networks can become pipelines to competitors if information is leaked. They can also serve as PR headaches if an inappropriate or ill-timed comment is captured and posted.
Finally, one panelist said he scours Twitter for what analysts and reporters have to say about his company. "I don't want to hear from sales and marketing," he said, but from those objectively covering and tracking his company.
Well, maybe there is hope for us journalists after all. |