I’ve been reading more today about the “Community Manager”. Companies big and small are going to have to get on board with this now or, as John Malkovich so skillfully stated in Dangerous Liaisons, “it’s beyond my control”. Don’t let the Social Media trend get beyond your control!
Even the big blue Intel is on board. And have generously posted their internal guidelines for all to see and use. This, in my opinion, is the way of social media. What ever started it, that open source thing or something else? People are sharing information as fast as the Internet will deliver it. My 70 some year old Mom even last week called email snail mail when I told her I knew about news in my home town before her.
As I wrote yesterday, I am at a crossroads, not really. When I read all the blogs about the hiring of new Community Manger’s, minus Twittering about work in the work place I am and have been a Community Manager.
Communication will get you everywhere. A couple years back, I stepped into a new role that crossed, if you will, party lines. When I wasn’t trying to keep up with the likes of that “whack-a-mole” game like they have in arcades, I was Switzerland. Some days I wasn’t a very good Switzerland.
I don’t think that this is too much of a stretch, but I always try to figure out how to get along. So to have people fighting and invalidating each other for no reason other than, “I just don’t like them” is absolutely ridiculous.
So, in this new role I was on the proverbial fence. A wasn’t talking to B and B just didn’t like A. Although A & B are part of the same organization management styles in some cases were diametrically apposed. Now that is a scenario that can be workable. If the parties on either side are willing to try.
But you have to get them talking! You have to in this case start communicating for them so that they see each other as a support system and not a pebble in their shoe. They quickly adopted tools to enhance communication and started sharing information and resources. Which started to make a day a little easier.
I’m proud of the dialogue that I opened up and started. It created an understanding that everyone could be on the same team and have different styles. It wasn’t all perfect, but was okay. Management came and went and for the most part where on board with the collaborative effort. And I am very proud of the relationships that I left there with.
I managed two communities through online tools and open dialogue. I am a community manager who now has the world at my finger tips through this thing called Social Media.