Of Death and Social Media

Times have changed and I don’t foresee that they are going back. We are so dependent on technology that virtually the way we deal with everything has changed. Last year, a friend of mine died in a car accident. The way I found out: Myspace. Someone on my friend list told me and my friend’s brother posted the details and funeral arrangements on his Myspace profile. When my mother died, I let all my friends know via Myspace and Facebook. About a month ago, one of my classmates from Morgan died and I found out via text message. I searched for the details on Google. And just this week, we a radio personality in Baltimore passed this week, I found out via her Myspace wall. Condolences filled the page.

 

What does this Mean?

 

Communications have gone digital. Millennials and generations after them have changed everything. They don’t search in newspapers and books. Search is done through Google and Google news. Information is electronically obtained, conversations happen over the web. SMS messages have replaced the short phone call.

 

This article has little to do with death and everything to do with digital. To communicate with audiences, you have to go where they are. They are on the Internet and on their cell phones. Most young people will never pick up a newspaper to read (maybe to wrap a fragile item.) Digital is not the future, it is the present. To survive, companies have to get on board. Digital is no longer an option, it is a requirement.

So…What’s the Big Problem With CEO’s Blogging?

They Tend to be Boring

 

Finding an appropriate voice and tone for a blog takes time. I have been struggling with this fact the entire length of my summer class. It is often difficult and time consuming to find material to blog about and furthermore material that interests the audience. The topics covered rarely stimulate a dialogue. And quite frankly, most CEO’s cannot devote the time it takes to make a good blog.

 

They Tend to be Inconsistent

 

What’s wrong with posting once a month? There is a lot wrong with that. The audience will lose interest. Imagine if your favorite store only added new merchandise once a month. How often would you go? The digital world has greatly shortened everyone’s attention span. People yearn for instant gratification. If material is not constantly changing, most people would tune out.

 

They Tend to be Dry

 

If people wanted to read a business journal, they would do just that. People do not search for a purely fact based article. The blog is not the place for that. There needs to be personality and style. Not to mention, wide topics of interest for the audience. The blog is not the place for a sales pitch, it is a place for a conversation to happen. Most CEO’s don’t recognize this.

 

Words of Advice

 

Be Yourself…but not too Much

 

Realize the separation between your business and personal lives. Realize that everything you say will reflect on yourself as well as your company. Realize that once you publish something on the Internet, it stays on the Internet. Think before you type.

 

Be Consistent

 

If you do not have enough material to post at the very least once a week, maybe a blog is not for you. Audiences respond when a blog seems like a conversation. Comments need to be addressed promptly and topics need to be refreshed appropriately.

 

Keep in mind, some CEO’s have done it right. See here.

How Much is Your Time Worth?

There has been much debate about the cost effectiveness of social media. I mean…everybody is doing it right. Students, teachers and even politicians have joined the conversation online.

The idea behind it is to engage the customer where there are. And EVERYONE is flocking to the Internet for one reason or another. I read an article entitled “Tech-savvy governments to embrace Web 2.0” which states that:

“Governments are expected to increasingly use social networking and other Web 2.0 innovations as a means of fostering greater participation and dialogue with their citizens, as well as encouraging more effective intragovernment communication.”

Since I began my graduate work at Georgetown, I have been inundated with Web 2.0 and its effects on everyday life. I have even developed a strategic communications plan for a non-profit and suggested that they embrace social media. But at what cost?

Let’s think about this in more concrete terms. Consider hiring someone like myself as the self proclaimed “social media” expert. I can be the expert keeping your company abreast of social media outlets and updating the various sites for as little as $35,000 a year. Seems costly? Think about what the job entails. Let’s just say that your company only uses Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and a blog. Information on Myspace and Facebook has to be checked daily, friend requests need to be accepted (or not,) messages need to be answered and dialogue needs to be encouraged. Then there is Twitter. This powerful microblog needs to be carefully managed, followings need to be authorized and tweets need to be daily if not several times a day. Lastly, but arguably most importantly, there is the blog. It takes me FOREVER to write a blog entry. I have to find the right pictures, embed the video, link to other articles and not to mention write something worth talking about.

But what if you decide not to hire an expert? You and your company have to make sure that everything written in social media remains genuine and consistent with other forms of communication. It may indeed be to much for you and your company to manage.

Just something to think about!

I Can’t Say I Want to Read About This

For someone who is opposed to this war in Iraq, I find it hard to read blogs written by people on the front lines. I might very well be the only person who feels this way. For one of my classes, I read several milblogs. The entries I read surprised me. Much of the blogging gave incite about how some soldiers feel about the war.

 

One blog, Army of Dude, is written by a soldier named Alex. His about me reads:

“Just another buoy in the great sea of milbloggers trying to make it by”

 

Alex speaks of remembering failing soldiers and completing a tour of duty. One thing I did not expect to read was how many soldiers did not want to return. The government always paints a picture about how soldiers understand the sacrifice for their country and have no problem for dying for patriotism, but this blog claims that many soldiers feel otherwise. I am no soldier, but I cannot imagine being excited to fight a war that began under questionable pretenses. It is amazing to me that any of the entries are actually positive.

 

 

Another blog, Blackfive, is written by a former soldier. The tenets of Blackfive are supporting the military, caring for the wounded, remembering the fallen and honoring the sacrifices. What surprised me about this blog is the amount of humor that is interjected. Titles of the entries include “Copy Cats” (featuring a group of Iraqi children mimicking an American soldier) and “Give me a second. I gotta go kill these guys first.” I guess it is easier to include some humor once you have withdrawn from the military.