One of the roles I’m really enjoying as I dive into my new position as HKDP’s (a.k.a. Hill & Knowlton/Ducharme, Perron) Director, Social Media and Digital Communications is going out to meet the firm’s clients and introducing them to the fascinating world of social media. Thanks to coverage by traditional media, they’ve all heard of platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but they’re not always sure of how social media can be applied to business … and to their business in particular.
Part of my presentation focusses on tools, and on case studies that show how platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are being leveraged by brands. But, in my mind, the most important part of my presentation is an attempt to communicate the power and potential of social media. An attempt to communicate its sociological significance. I believe that an understanding of these concepts will lead to an effective .. and, yes, hopefully ethical … application of social media by big business.
This 60 minute video does a really good job of that :
Should you choose to invest an hour of your time to watch this video .. and I obviously encourage you to do so .. you’ll hear Clay Shirky and other thought leaders speak about the impact of social media. You’ll hear about truly intriguing case studies like Couchsurfing, Mumsnet, Directionless, Ebsfleet United, Linux, Zopa, SliceThePie, ThePoint .. and even Canada’s Green Party. You’ll hear fundamental truths about society … any society … that come to the fore with social media. Concepts like the fact that people trust people like them. They trust them more than any governmental body, health organisation or faceless bureaucracy or business. Concepts like crowdsourcing and the wisdom of crowds. Concepts like the trust economy.
I really connect with what Clay Shirky says about the 20th century being an anomaly (at 14:00) in that, as a society, we’re now reverting to a ‘common and deep human pattern’ of mutual assistance for any one of a number of reasons: because we like one another, respect one another, or because we’re interested in building our reputational capital. Being more than just a number. The era of passive consumerism is waning, if it isn’t already over.
So sit back for an hour, enjoy the documentary and don’t forget to listen for Ride of the Valkyries.
Hat tip to Karine Vezeau, who in turn hat tips Baptiste Roynette. One of the great things about discovering a new (for you) blog (through a #FF mention on Twitter, no less) is when it leads you to gems like this. Karine’s blog is full of them. Pull your French-English dictionary off the shelf and check it out.
A recent Burson-Marsteller study found that 79 percent of the largest 100 companies in the Fortune Global 500 index are using at least one of the most popular social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or corporate blogs.
Interesting article in the Vancouver paper, The Westender, on how the 2010 Olympics will be shaped by social media.
(…) there will be almost the same number of non-accredited journalists at the Games as those with official media accreditation, resulting in a potentially dramatic increase in the range of stories told about the event, and about the city. “The mass media - or accredited media - are so focused on celebrating the sports that their agendas don’t permit much deviation from the narrative,” he (Andy Miah, chair in Ethics and Emerging Technologies in the School of Media, Language, and Music at the University of the West of Scotland) says. “This is why social media is so critical. When we look back in history, we will want to know what took place throughout Vancouver, not just what happened in the stadia.”
Very interesting discussion about how Web 2.0 will impact the IOC, with its strict rules and regulations:
An increasingly blurred division between official and unofficial media — particularly with regard to how it will play out in Vancouver next month — may challenge the IOC to change its approach in how it handles media during Games time. “What we have here is a major sporting event taking place in a western liberal democracy, in a country that is highly wired, and in a city that has a very active social-media scene,” Hermida says. “In many ways, this is a tremendous opportunity to really expand the appeal of the Olympics, and to involve not just established media, but involve emerging media, and involve the public in general into celebrating this through the media.
J’ai eu le plaisir de rencontrer Stéphanie Kitembo de Radio Canada pour parler médias sociaux en entreprise. Je reprends des propos déjà publiés dans les pages de ce blogue et sur rezopointzero.ca.
Petite précision: je ne peux pas dire que je m’intéresse aux médias sociaux depuis 10 ans (j’avais plutôt dit à la Mme Kitembo que les blogues existent depuis plus de dix ans maintenant), bien que je me souvienne très bien de ma découverte du blogue de la Québécoise Brigitte Gemme, la première francophone à tenir un carnet. C’était en 1995, et à l’époque on devait connaître du html pour pouvoir publier. Les choses ont bien évolué depuis, et moi aussi, d’ailleurs.
Petit velours: vous remarquerez que je partage la page web de Radio Canada avec notre trésor national, Dany Laferrière. C’est chouette, ça.
