Top Ten Myths about Social Media (the last Five)
#6 People will never adopt these tools; they like email too much. People still love their email. As much as people complain about it; they can't live without it. Adoption of social tools is not automatic, which is why you need a purpose, a plan and some marketing and communication behind them. But, the benefits of instantaneous, not having to remember or create emails groups is very appealing. Even employees without computers are getting in the game. Truckers now use their mobile devices to update their status and respond to questions from fellow truckers. You couldn't take that away from them if your tried!
#7 People don’t need any training; everyone knows how this stuff works by now! Despite all the hype, some people really don’t know how to navigate the tools or are afraid to try. Holding a virtual lunch n' learn is not a waste of time to remove any barriers and get people started.
#8 Social media adds too many channels to an already complicated communication picture. Yes...social media do add more tools to what might be a heavy toolbox. The question should be: what can social media tools enable you to do that others can't? Can you replace some of your existing tools with social media? Are you using a custom-built executive blog that a different technology could remove some of the manual work and enable others to join the blogging experience. Could a wiki decrease confusion that a project folder on a shared drive causes today?
#9 Every company HAS to have social media no matter what their challenges; it is the wave of the future. While I sort of believe this viewpoint for many reasons, I do think defining your needs and deciding whether or not social media meets those needs is the proper methodology. If shared drives or SharePoint sites really meet your needs, then maybe you don't have a good business reason for starting wikis, and that's okay. It's about solving business problems, not just implementing the latest craze. However, if a company's need is around collaboration, social tools are a perfect solution.
#10 Social media is a time waster.Even though social media is pervasive, a lot of leaders still feel it can be a time-waster and, therefore, block access to consumer sites and discourage the use of blogs internally except for managed leadership ones. Your employees are engaging with these tools anyway, and forcing them to do it on their mobile devices on lunch doesn't help. Why not empower people to jump in on conversations on behalf of your company? And, using these tools behind the firewall won't waste time...just the opposite. With its easy interface and instantaneous delivery, these tools SAVE time.
Final Note: When economic times change, people will have more employment options, and I think access to these type of tools and resources will matter to those seeking opportunity.