I love that social communications has opened up the world to sharing knowledge across time-zones and specialities. Not that it's a panacea for networking but it's a great addition to the mix.
Sure Twitter and Linked In can harbour plenty of pretention, self-promotion, hidden sales pitches, and, my old favourite, 'stating-the-bloody-obvious'-as-if-it-was-original-thought.'
So too can face-to-face events and conferences.
But you can get some golden nuggets of wisdom and good practice tips in the blink of a cursor or tap on the keypad from employee comms people who really know what they're talking about or from those in associated fields.
But you can get some golden nuggets of wisdom and good practice tips in the blink of a cursor or tap on the keypad from employee comms people who really know what they're talking about or from those in associated fields.
It doesn't matter if you work for a big utility, a global bank or a company that puts widgets on widgets. Don't get hung up on the sector you work in.
People are people - with a few variations on humanity - whatever the business they work for. And as we IC folk are largely focusing on the people aspects of business performance you can still pick up ideas and advice from your fellow practitioners working in a diverse range of organisations, large and small.
In the hurly burly of corporate life, it's sometimes tricky to find time to gauge whether you're unnecessarily reinventing the wheel or could be learning a new way of doing things for greater business benefit.
Even in the thick of action and a meaty challenge or two I have always tried to keep an active and enquiring mind about what others have tried and tested and, in return, shared my own experiences of the job. Social communication really helps with all that good stuff and you can make 'real' connections that stay online or transcend that.
Indeed for today's practitioner it's essential to be connected in one way or another or both. Keeping your finger on the pulse of good practice is what your CEO will expect and it's good for your career (which you take with you wherever you go).
I think part of the issue of keeping up to date is that people tend to go with the mainstream thinking of the time - rather than critically evaluating what they see in front of them.
ReplyDeleteOne thing - sometimes the bleedin' obvious is SO obvious that people don't see it anymore. Regardless of whether you believe the sales pitch, occasionally, it's good to be reminded of what you DID know all the time. Not everyone can be original - indeed, looking at the world of organisational psychology, I see many really good ideas recycled in new clothes(job satisfaction/commitment/engagement for example). This doesn't mean to say that the old ideas were worthless, possibly that they weren't explored to the full at the time they were hot topics.
I've found lots of useful stuff off Twitter, and agree you need to be connected. Although the main purpose of Twitter for most people appears to be slightly less glorious - more about keeping up appearances than keeping up to date.
If I just think of Twitter alone, a quick glance down the list of posts every now and again can give me new perspectives, fresh insights or simply remind me of what I already know. Internal comms can be a lonely role, and it's nice to know we're not alone.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the 'bleedin' obvious' needs to be repackaged for each generation that enters comms? If they haven't experienced the day-to-day challenges of a busy communications team in all its permutations, they have only theory to rely on.
I'm often confronted by bleedin' obvious (so I think) questions on my communications courses. Even 'old hands' haven't necessarily 'been there, done that AND bought the T-shirt'. So, I can usually explain how they can get hold of the T-shirt if they want it...
That said, Twitter will one day be relegated to the 'old hat' pile along with all the T-shirts you've bought...what next in social networking?