Comments on: Social Media is not a back channel

By: Roger, Online PR Agency, C&M

Roger, Online PR Agency, C&M — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:27:16 +0000

I’d say the golden rule is think about how your public Twitter page looks to the average visitor and figure out from there if you’re saying the right things.

From a comms perspective you’re probably using Twitter to connect to strangers… If you’re using it purely for a closed network, then you ought ot be using IM or Yammer or wotnot, and your public page is going to be very dull indeed for anyone else.

If you’re using it to say interesting things that make strangers want to follow you then you’re probably on the right path (assuming you’re not ranting like an idiot!). Being ‘interesting’ in this respect will probably mean Tweeting appropriate things – and not secrets, flames, outbursts, etc….

Alternatively, if you want to use Twitter to vent your spleen then it carries a health warning – there’s a very definite PR downside, as the Edelman / Memphis example shows….

By: Jess Flynn

Jess Flynn — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:42:38 +0000

Amen Tac! Some PR peers and I have been talking/debating a lot about this and the whole personal/professional online personality – and trying to figure out where the line is to share your opinions and thoughts while being cognizant of how you are the face of a company. You can’t lose your true voice and still have credibility – but you must be thinking constantly of how your words reflect on you as a professional.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:31:44 +0000

I think enterprise ‘microblogging’ tools like Yammer have a big future inside organizations of all sizes. Especially as usage of Twitter grows and more people start to understand the concept of ‘microblogging’.

However, there are a number of barriers that will prevent widespread adoption…..

- security. employees won’t post updates unless they have confidence that their updates are secure and not a violation of company policy

- lack of participation. widespread adoption won’t happen until smaller groups of employees start utilizing the tool. without participation from my project team/workgroup, I don’t have a lot to post about. if they were participating, I would have tons of ‘microblogging’ updates to share

- corporate culture. there are just certain corporate cultures that won’t embrace ‘microblogging’ as fast as other types of corporate cultures.

By: Rob Leavitt

Rob Leavitt — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:24:06 +0000

The rebalancing continues! Sounds like you took the right approach with the core community group. There really are no more back channels; we should always be ready for anything we say to end up plastered just about anywhere, so need be more careful in what we say in any channel. At the same time, companies need to accept much more transparency than most of the would like. We’re all moving toward a new equilibrium as the lines between personal and professional, work and home, and “secure” and non-secure channels continue to blur.