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Social Media Revolution: What Have You Done For Me Lately?

March 23rd, 2011

People seem so determined to quantify the effects of social media. What is it doing? What difference is it making? Who’s benefiting? How can it help ME?

Malcolm Gladwell published a piece in the New Yorker asking if Egypt needed Twitter to overthrow Mubarack. He claims Twitter didn’t cause the revolution in Egypt, but that it was merely a tool. We didn’t innovate the revolution. The underlying causes weren’t limited to technology, and the people didn’t rise against tyranny so they could try and get to 10,000 followers. Gladwell goes out of his way to humanize us, and take the credit away from Twitter and Facebook.

The punishment from the blogosphere was swift and merciless. Brian Solis actually titled his response “Malcolm Gladwell, Your Slip is Showing.” You couldn’t open a social media blog without finding a post bashing Gladwell. Everyone claimed Egypt needed Twitter. That revolutionaries wouldn’t have been able to unite without Facebook. That Gladwell had lost it. Very cute graphs and charts showing how many tweets were made and profiles updated were pushing the raw, unbridled power of social media.

The uprising in Tunisia was spawned by a street vendor who burned himself alive to protest the way authorities were treating him. That is the power of the individual. That is not technology. Protestors took to the streets and were violently beaten. As an Iranian-American I can tell you these are not uncommon events in the Middle East. As few as five years ago, this could have been the end of this story. Now, these incidents are recorded. Video of the protests hit Twitter and within days a small protest in one town became a national cause. TV stations were broadcasting the videos they pulled off social media. There are no more veils of secrecy. The world sees everything. With all its benefits, social media also creates a much higher level of danger for the protestors. If they had not been victorious, the government would know exactly who they were. They would have paid with their lives.

Even in the recent tragedy in Japan, I’ve found many articles about how social media affected the response and news dissemination as I have about what actually happened there. But I haven’t seen much about how social media is helping to reconnect victims, and groups are only starting to use social media for Japanese emergency relief donations.

Which brings me back to my original point. Everyone is trying to jump on the social media bandwagon. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Everyone seems to have an agenda. Everyone wants to give it credit for everything…or to diminish it. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. Did Egypt need Twitter? Need is a funny word. They didn’t NEED twitter. Would Mubarak have resigned without the power of social media? Today? Probably not. Would he have been forced out eventually? Maybe.

The power of social media lies with us though. It makes all our thoughts, information, and events in our lives immediately accessible to everyone. Like any form of power, it can be abused and used to our detriment. If you’re new to social media, or just looking to get more out of it, here are some tips.

Be yourself – People often say you can be whoever you want on the internet. If the person you decide to be isn’t you, you’re not helping anyone. Winston Churchill used to say a lie got half way around the world before the truth put its pants on. That is no longer the case. The truth is right behind you, and it will catch up.
Be open – Not just with yourself, but to the ideas of others. There’s plenty of room for debate, but just as social media strives for the truth, it doesn’t respond well to those it things are hiding it. People will disagree with you. Embrace them. Teach them. You’ll get your message across by appealing to the highest common denominator. Try to quiet someone’s dissenting opinion, and you will be punished for it.
Be careful – The internet is forever. Think about what you say. You can’t take it back.
Be consistent – Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you won’t impact anyone in social media in that amount of time. Keep plugging away. People will pay attention if you have a good message. They will care. Probably not right away.

Could you imagine if the real world were like that? With today’s instant video-capture, global feedback, and the fact that social media gives EVERYONE a voice, that day could be coming.

Borzou Azabdaftari

Borzou is managing partner of Falcon Printing & Copying, a full-service printing and graphic design company in Tysons Corner, VA. His company focuses on building relationships and delivering the highest quality print materials, from poster to invitations to business stationery, to their clients. Passionate about printing to a fault, Borzou eats, breathes, and sleeps paper and ink, and his rare combination of intellectual curiosity, technical savvy, creativity, and interpersonal skills have transformed him from a print service provider only into a branding consultant as well.

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Posted in Business Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Social Media, Social Media Marketing for Business, Social Media Strategy, Strategy

Tags: Brian Solis Egypt Facebook Japan Japanese relief efforts Malcolm Gladwell Middle East New Yorker Social Media social media marketing social media strategy Tunisia Twitter Winston Churchill

5 Ways to Avoid Business Strategy Pitfalls

March 5th, 2011

Raven pole, One-legged Fisherman pole, and Kil...

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This post is by guest blog contributor Emily Richards.

People, regardless of their rank on the corporate totem pole, love the concept of strategy. It gives them a sense of organization, direction, and an understanding of where they are, where they are going and how they are going to get there. When I begin developing a strategy for a client, I feel the same the exhilaration an artist feels when viewing a blank canvas. The project is our oyster we are going to cultivate, perfect and ultimately revel in its beauty. This, in my humble opinion, is the easy part.

But there is often a disconnect between the desire for strategy development and actual implementation. All too often excellent strategies sit on shelves and collect dust. The strategy’s potential and impact are lost due to the very people who initially request the strategy. Don’t join the ranks of those who crave a road map and then fail to pull it out and consult it once they get into the driver’s seat.

There are several ways to overcome death by strategy.

1) Be realistic. The scope of your strategy should be obtainable. If you have short term goals, request a strategy within a reasonable time frame. If you set goals that you can’t meet, you will be behind before you are out of the gate. Reaching the first several milestones in a strategy make or break buy-in and affect implementation of the rest of the strategy.

2) Don’t become overwhelmed. Some of my clients can’t handle a one page proposal much less a 12 page strategy. Understand how a client, boss, or decision maker best understands a concept. Design your presentation in a way that they will be attentive to and, in return, receptive to approving. If they aren’t receptive to how you present the material, your strategy won’t leave the board room projector.

3) Keep perspective. Once a strategy is approved, map out a game plan. If you try to tackle every step in the strategy at one time, you will most likely experience an epic fail. Plan out your timeline and take one step at a time.

4) Be flexible. Strategies must be flexible to accommodate the ebbs and flows of market conditions, corporate initiatives, and other unforeseen challenges. Create a strategy that is flexible to accommodate and evolve regardless of what may come your way.

5) Keep the momentum. This is the most common reason a strategy fails. Time, effort, and energy are put into creating a strategy. The concept is presented, and then it is placed on a shelf and forgotten. When developing the strategy, determine a game plan for execution to keep the momentum once it is finalized.

Effective strategies help maintain a proactive approach, eliminate unnecessary stress, and diminish last minute fire drills, which ultimately will make your job, and life, more enjoyable.

Emily Richards is President of Drew Consulting, LLC, which provides comprehensive strategic and tactical marketing solutions that encompass demographic targeting, market research, feasibility studies, competitive market strategy development, and environment analyses. She is well versed in traditional marketing, public relations, and advertising, and her clients range widely across industries and service/product lines.