ORGANISATIONS DON’T TWEET
EUAN SEMPLE
One sentence summary:
Organizations don’t generate social media, people do.
WHAT THE BOOK SAYS
- This book is a manager’s guide to the social web. It’s not about the technology – it’s how people behave and how companies should respond.
- It has 45 pithy chapters that you can read in any sequence, and it plucks out themes that nail exactly what the social web is all about. These include:
- It’s the ultimate in democracy – anyone can have a view
- You leave a trace – that’s great for storing knowledge, and bad if you don’t consider what you’re saying
- It’s like evolution on steroids – ideas and knowledge disseminate faster
- We are writing ourselves into existence – forcing yourself to write online crystallizes thought and helps to rediscover literacy
- You can’t stop people saying what they want but you can operate a volume control on mob rule
- Conversations can only take place between equals – dictating or controlling doesn’t work online
- It’s creatively messy – don’t try to categorise things too much and let them grow naturally
- The best way to be safe is to be open – true for life in general
ELEMENTS OF THE BOOK I PARTICULARLY LIKE
- It gives helpful advice on dealing with a boss who doesn’t get it.
- The more you give, the more you get – an “ooh that’s interesting” moment is to be articulated and shared
- You need to unleash your Trojan Mice – small initiatives that cost little and can grab a foothold in or on something.
- Back to Front ROI: ask what is the ROI of this not happening?
- Radical transparency means assuming that anything generated on a computer is effectively public – being open is actually easier, cheaper, and safer, assuming your company isn’t crooked, in which case the web has served its purpose.
- If you work in a big corporation, how about using the social web to be an intrapreneur?