The mass printing of words via movable-block type did not reinvent books, it lowered the costs and made them more affordable. The typewriter didn’t reinvent writing, it just made creating content faster and more uniform.
These are simplistic statements and certainly provable as false. But the point remains valid – social media is going to change some industries and destroy others, but the fundamental processes remain the same.
Mashable ran a list of knowledge and skills needed by the next generation of journalists. (You will recall that that a blogger was last seen dragging the still breathing body of the last newspaper publisher out to the woods). The act of journalism (used as a verb) is exactly the same as it ever was – telling a story. A Journalist will need to stretch their skillset, encompassing more of the business-side of the industry, be technically competent, a multimedia story teller, a community builder, a blogger and currator, all in addition to the formal education typically taught in Journalism school and acquired in the workplace. Social media is complimentary - not supplementary – to existing methods
Try thinking about the Return-on-Investment (ROI) of Social Media in the following terms:
- What’s the redemption rate and cost from Twitter of direct coupon mailers?
- What is the increase in product loyalty from having a Facebook fan page from sending periodic newsletters?
- What is the benefit of having the entire library of product instructional videos on YouTube sending a customer an instructional DVD on request?
The explicit gains for the customer with these examples are time and convenience. There are also process gains as compared to the analog equivalents.
Lastly, there is the social aspect. These efforts are seen by your customers as well as everyone else. In each application of social media, the tactic is the same or slightly improved.
Let’s be a little more specific:
- What’s the benefit of employing a rich personnel directory LinkedIn in the workplace?
- What is the benefit of conference rooms virtual collaboration tools in your workplace?
- What is the value of having a corporate archivist to maintain historical records robust knowledge management system to archive organizational intelligence?
What of the additional network effect? Isn’t that really what social media is really about – communications as a force multiplier?
