Category Archives: Social Networking
Review: The iPad, Good For Business?
The iPad seems to be a great tool but is it a business tool that could be used as a shared device with others?
This is not a review of the features, as good as they are, but about the function for the purpose of business.
Primarily, I can see the iPad being used as a social media tool/diary/email/note taking device. As it is linked to an iTunes account it is ideally useful as a one-person-per-iPad device. Is it a useful business tool? Absolutely, I can see the day where most people in an office or other workplace would have one of their own as it could speed up efficiencies in meetings with appointments being made and synced with desktop or shared calendars.
All notes related to the meeting would also be at the fingertips so that no paper is wasted or lost. With apps like voice recognition software it could be used for dictation. Voice recording and video would be excellent tools for conferences and meetings. Creating reports on the fly would mean that there would be more accuracy when recording and reporting events.
The questions are…
1. Wi-fi only or wi-fi/3G?
If a person is traveling slot then I could see that the 3G version would be very useful. If a person is mainly based around the office then the wi-fi only would be just fine.
2. If you issue an iPad to an individual, can they use it for their own purposes as well as for the business?
This would be the same policy for both personal issue of laptops as well as tablet computers.
As the iPad is a great social media tool, policies related to the use of social media should apply to the use of the iPad as well.
The use of social media should be encouraged where there is a positive benefit to the organization.
Tweeting and face booking from events should be encouraged as it is a good way to interact with a wider audience. It should been done in such a way that people would rather be at the event than just reading about it online. It is a teasing tool to encourage participation.
Would I like one? Again the answer is absolutely, the benefits of this piece of equipment are large and would help in many areas of business life.
Taieri River, Middlemarch, Otago, New Zealand
Social Media – World Chambers Congress
The following excellent slideshare presentation was delivered by Ekaterina Walter, social media strategist for Intel, at the recent World Chamber Congress in Mexico (June 2011). It features the Otago Chamber of Commerce.
Please enjoy this presentation and put into action any points that are relevent to you and your organisation/business.
p.s. Thanks Ekaterina, you lead by example.
Social Media Expanding Chamber Reach
Social Media – Food for Thought
Social Media – Food for Thought
I'm Watching You
With the increased usage of social media like twitter, facebook, youtube and blogs, there is an awareness that word-of-mouth comments about a business can spread very fast.
It is one thing to deal with people outside an organisation making comments or criticisms, but what happens when staff within an organisation starts to share their personal opinions and views online?
Where is the boundary of personal freedom (including freedom of speech) and control of a staff member’s ability to express an opinion publicly?
Some issues can be addressed with clauses within employment agreements regarding confidentiality of information and clauses that mention bringing the organisation into disrepute. There is no difference between offline and online activities in regards to this.
For the person who is using these forums it is good to remember a few basic rules about social media:
• Online, treat everything as public regardless of personal privacy settings
• People, including the media, employers and staff, are watching your personal accounts
• It is recommended to think twice before you post anything online, for example those comments and photos of that party last night may not be the best thing for your employer (or employee) to see.
Remember that it works both ways, you may check up on staff but they may be checking up on you.
Now what happens when staff members who have personal social media accounts become known publicly as being part of the business? The line between personal and business becomes blurred. If a staff member expresses an opinion or discusses personal values, beliefs or ideologies or even details about their routine or daily lives, does it reflect on the business? Can an employer insist that staff stop using social media or control/restrict what is said?
There are other questions in this area as well.
• Should an employer be searching a staff member’s account?
• Is it appropriate for an employer to “follow” or “friend” a staff member?
• Should you ignore/decline/block staff members (or your boss’s) friend request?
The question is where are the boundaries? Should it be left to chance or common sense or does it need to be controlled by policy or legislation?
Social media is here, to try to stop it is futile, to control it is problematic, so the other option is to become aware of how it works and educate yourself and others as to the appropriate use of this media.
Food for thought.
Paul S Allen
Other Articles
Social Networking and Business
Social Networking and Business
As micro-blogging and social networking sites increase in popularity and normality, the business community needs to make best use of these new media to promote and sell their services and products.
Language needs to be precise and concise so that the message given is clearly understood leading to the desired response from the intended market. This needs to be achieved in as few characters as possible.
Social media is no longer the domain of teenagers, students and geeks; it is rapidly becoming a normal part of life for a wide demographic of users including businesses.
For businesses to reach these new marketplaces a new approach is required… active participation in conversation with people via on-line networks.
Regardless of the channel used, be it facebook, twitter, etc, the call is interaction. Online networking should be a natural extension of off-line connection. There are no more limitations around time zones or boarders or even language barriers, businesses of any size now have the potential to have a truly global reach.
So what is stopping this expansion into new media?
Office policy where tight restrictions are placed on access to these sites can be detrimental to new ways of communication. I am not suggesting to allow free and unbridled use of facebook to chat with friends or to play one of the many annoying games; but rather allowing it to be used to communicate, research and collaborate with people and businesses to achieve the goals of the organisation.
We take telephones in the workplace today as normal now where once they were very restricted, why not social media?
If you own or run a business let me encourage you to take time to investigate how these new media could benefit your organisation.
