2 posts tagged “community”

If you/your organisation understands the importance of social media - despite some drawbacks - and you have plenty of reasons for your colleagues to have conversations, then you have the foundations for nurturing an online community.

Jeremiah's finished a piece of Forrester research that outlines online community best practice and charts the life process of a successful community. He points out: "Above all, remember that control is in the hands of the members, so put their needs first".

This is aligned to Hugh MacLeod's point about the axis of social media: social networks are built around social objects, where social objects are the reason that two people are talking to each other.

Social media has not tipped because way too many corporations still have a top down, hierarchical approach to communications that is not conducive to allowing an inclusive conversation to grow. This despite my belief that:

• No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive. (Ghandi)
• A culture is made - or destroyed - by its articulate voices. (Ayn Rand)

Since corporations get the internal communications their culture deserves, what elements of a corporate culture would give E2.0 traction?

1. Trust is a good start - if you trust your employees, let them open up and form a community. E2.0 will enable the internal 'market to converse again, as people tell one another the truth about products and companies and their own desire.' (Cluetrain Manifesto)
2. Innovative - you don't need to explain the strength of weak ties to a truly innovative company. [Update 06/10/07: Euan states The Obvious]
3. Efficient - show me a company that is proud of wasting time, effort, money.

As in most companies, the C-suite can set the tone for the culture across their corporation - whatever its size -  whether it's a CEO or a CIO.

E2.0 is not about the technology. It's about culture: connections, conversations and community.