Social Software and Mobility

Over the next 3 – 5 years mobile devices will become even more pervasive within our current workplace, and mobile social software will be a key driver in pushing that growth and usage. Social Software breadth, depth, not to mention user dependency within these handheld devices will continue to expand very rapidly, device capacity and speed will improve exponentially, all of which results in a dramatic improvement in how workplace participants access people, process and content. The organizations, who understand how to harness the mobile social software platform, will become more efficient organizations; through better lines of communication, leverage intellectual capital more effectively and execute to the market more seamlessly. Social Software is in the very early stages at the moment, and it has yet to truly realize its actualized potential within the mobile ecosystem.

The Power of Now. Social Media

Social Media…it’s all around us. But is everyone really listening?

Social Media, as well all know takes on many forms, and illicits many different definitions depending on who you ask. Some participants are conscious and active within various communities, and take on ‘power or influential’ social media roles within the ecosystem. Super guru’s they take on industry wide status of some elite, higher form, typically a position that you cannot lobby for, it’s something you earn over time and the masses will bestow such a rank upon you (sorry but you can’t interview for this). It should be noted that corporations and brands can and do, take on powerful and influential social media presence, which is independent of the social media guru roster that they may/may not have assembled within the collective corporate employee base.

While most of us see Social Media to be something that can be found all around us, it is still remarkably easy to find participants who are dismissive to their social media interaction. For instance, someone told me the other day at a conference, “Oh I have no idea what Social Media is……but I am on FaceBook now” (See Boomers Flood Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/l4j9ko) We still need to consider these personas as part of the Social Media Club, even if they are a little new, and perhaps naïve to it all.

Beyond the naïve there are individuals who are neither conscious nor absent minded when it comes to social media, the activities, benefits, and overall upside. They fall into the category of, ‘individuals with time constraints’. They look to others for a crash course in how it all works, then typically re-produce their new found knowledge as gospel. It’s interesting to watch these types of people. I am sure you know of a few!! :-)

Show me someone who does not read the paper (includes online), watch the news on TV or keep up to-date socially through their collective network of colleagues/family/friends with current events and I will show you someone who is one step disconnected from what is going on. Similar theme can be extrapolated to Social Media. The further removed you are from the epicenter of social activity, the less you comprehend/understand what is really happening, your peer/colleague influence is drastically diluted, and most importantly your thought leadership suffers as a result of not being vetted by the crowd.

Social media is around us, the sooner you figure out how you want to leverage it, the better off everyone else will be. Most of us are listening, but who has time for Social Media? - The Movers and Shakers do!! Get some.

My suggestion is to pick one of the following, regardless of whether you are a corporation or individual when thinking about what to do with Social Media: Watch (with purpose), Follow, Participate, Lead or get out of the way!