7 posts tagged “euan+semple”

Is E2.0 changing the base job of the internal communicator: getting the right information to the right audience via the right channel mix?

Doc Searls - co-author of the legendary Cluetrain Manifesto - talks in an interview with Jeremiah Owyang about his latest ideas, including 'The Intention Economy':

"In The Intention Economy, the buyer notifies the market of the intent to buy, and sellers compete for the buyer’s purchase. Simple as that."

With the increasing proliferation of RSS in particular, and the reshaping of ineffective corporate intranets using more collaborative, conversational systems, can a similar point be applied to internal communications? Instead of information being collated, filtered and then disseminated through internal communicators, let employees notify the company of what they want to know and then the various information sources can swing into action to provide the information. This could include the 'official' corporate response too.

In reposnse to Jeremiah's post, Kami Huyse, points out that the challenge to address is information overload. Agreed. But becasue the information in the corporation would be primarlily pulled, intention communication should not be seen as an additon to that overload. It is an addition to choice. As Seth points out - more choice who to listen to (and who to ignore). And that choice will allow staff to work things out.

Olivier at Headshift (props Euan) summarises in an excellent post the current state of E2.0 awareness, and says:

"If we live in a knowledge economy, we have to accept that employees are the ones who know how local things need and can be improved. Top down approaches have to give some space to Bottom up ones. We have to let them voice, converse and listen to them, as a minimum."

Maybe the base job of the internal communicator will always be to update the newsletter/intranet/magazine - but E2.0 will not stop and sign in at your company's reception desk. It is here, and it is bringing intention communication.

I am a fan of Andrew Keen's Cult of the Amateur because of it's relevance in a corporate environment. Not breaking news. And many who criticise his ideas are cut of the same cloth as those who call Microsoft 'evil', whom Hugh MacLeod loving calls "uncurious and intellectually lazy"

In recent months, however, many a curious and intellectually agile person has lined up to kick Andrew in the proverbials (no back-linking here!). To that distinguished list is added Euan Semple, who says in Feeding a Troll (ouch!): "I didn't think his arguments were convincing and certainly didn't reflect the views of many of the people he was attacking".

The Keen video is here. It might have been simpler just to point to Geek and Poke.

In King of the Hill, Hank once advised his son to find something that nobody else was doing and make that their job.

However you describe the role - Euan Semple called it Consultant2.0, Nathan Gillet the Corporate Social Media Specialist - the need for individuals to step up and experiment, explain, demonstrate to corporations how business can benefit from social media is growing.

There's a lot to learn, of course:

• Is it a waste of time?
• No, really, is it a waste of time?!
• What should I know and what lies ahead?
• Killer question - where could I begin?

Social media is about community building, and as Paul Dunay points out, it's important to remember "community is a long-term investment that centers on people, not technology."

KPMG's report Enterprise2.0: Fad or Future? has been getting a lot of attention recently, not least because it's already out of date.

Just as business joins the picnic, the picnic moves on. Jevon may have predicted that 2007 would be The Year of Enterprise 2.0. And social media may be fragmenting information. But David Armano is already looking at how about social media itself fragmenting.

Enter the consultant (full disclosure: I'm a consultant). Not the Demotivators take on it, but more Headshift's and also Euan's. Internal communicators too need to step up and help fill the gap between what managers know and understand and what will work for their organisation. Companies are suffering from what Seth Godin calls scarcity shortage, in particular a scarcity of respect, honesty and good judgment.

Companies can't outpace social media, but they can stay current, work things out, and get ready, which, says Chris Brogan, means:

1. Make it easy for people to contact you.
2. Make it easy for people to understand what value you bring
3. Be there. It’s easier for people to include you.
4. Be everywhere. Use social media tools.
5. Have something to bring to the picnic.

Get rid of the organisation! That was Euan Semple's advice at a conference earlier this year when explaining one of the early steps to help at least experiment with social media in an organisation. And it seems that employees are, indeed, taking matters into their own hands according to CIO News (props Mike Prosceno for the link).

"For instance, 53.6% of respondents told Yankee Group that they would be more productive at work with access to the applications and technology they use at home. Forty-nine percent said their personal technology is more advanced than their workplace technology."

Well, we know that the corporate world lags the real world, which is why Enterprise2.0 lags Web2.0, even when it comes to something as explosive as the next e-mail.

Maybe this employee-based velvet revolution will help answer the question posed by Dennis McDonald: Should corporations make or buy their own social network?

An old adage that always makes me smile: 'You have to be fully behind someone before you can stab them in the back.'

So congratulations to Euan Semple for taking up a role as a non-exec director at Cogenz. I heard Euan speak earlier this year, and he proved insightful and very persuasive. And props to the crew at rival Connectbeam for their comment on his post!

Imho, the company that focuses on the corporate/enterprise market will have a very rich seam of business to mine.

First rule of Blog Club - there are rules! The most important, clearly articulated by Euan Semple: Don't be stupid.

And what happens when you break that rule? Scoble picks up the story of a Google blogger (I thought they didn't encourage blogging?) who broke the rule. It happens, whether it is a blog, an e-mail, a telephone call, or a casual conversation that's overheard.

As the June Harvard Management Update says: People permit themselves to issue destructive comments under the excuse that they are true. The fact that a destructive comment is true is irrelevant. The question is not, "Is it true?" but rather, "Is it worth it?"