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Social Influence and Your Brand: Connecting the Dots [Webinar]

“Don’t try to invent a tribe. Show up to lead one that exists.”
Seth Godin

Today’s hyper-connected digital world has opened the door to a whole new era in brand development.

Employers, HR professionals and job hunters, alike, are rapidly embracing digital channels to elevate their market presence and amplify their share of voice.

With proactive players setting a torrid pace, no one can afford to stay on the social media sidelines. But social networking doesn’t guarantee influence — and activity without strategy can put a brand at risk.

Join the Experts

So how do you create a digital brand roadmap that makes the most sense for your goals? What’s the best way to ignite your social agenda? And how do you measure its impact?

If you’re looking for expert guidance, you won’t want to miss this very special webinar event:

“Using Social Insights to Build Your Brand”
February 27, at 2pm Eastern Time / 11am Pacific Time.

LeadTail webinar CTATalentCulture founder, Meghan M. Biro will join forces with the social marketing and insights specialists at Leadtail to talk about how top HR and recruiting influencers are driving market awareness and engagement through social channels.

You’ll learn how social media best practices can move your brand forward and how data-based insights can inform your strategy.

For example, the session will focus on questions like these:

What elements define a personal brand?
Why are social channels ideal for brand building?
Who influences the HR and recruiting community today — and how?
How can you successfully apply these social techniques?

In addition, Meghan will reveal how she has leveraged social media to become one of the most recognized experts in the HR and recruiting space.

“Social channels have created a phenomenal opportunity to reach, engage and influence all the constituents a brand must touch — business allies, customers, prospects and employees,” Meghan says. “I’m excited to team-up with Leadtail, as we empower brands to expand their connections and strengthen their business relationships.”

Throughout the webinar, attendees are invited to join members of the TalentCulture community on Twitter, as we share ideas and questions using the #TChat hashtag.

Don’t miss this dynamic informative event! Register now, and join us February 27th.

Participating Organizations

Learn more about Leadtail, and connect with @Leadtail on Twitter.
Learn more about TalentCulture, and connect with @TalentCulture on Twitter.

Register now for this webinar: Using Social Insights to Build Your Brand.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Forbes Picks TalentCulture As A Top Career Site: 3 Reasons Why It Matters

“The people to get even with are those who’ve helped you.”
–J.E. Southard

Today it’s time for us to “get even” by expressing deep gratitude! Why? Because Forbes.com has selected TalentCulture as one of “100 Top Websites For Your Career.” Of course we’re thrilled — and not just for all the obvious reasons. So, in the spirit of lists everywhere, here are our 3 Reasons Why This Forbes List Matters:

1) It Matters For Our Mission

By including us, Forbes is acknowledging the rise of crowdsourcing and virtual communities of practice in today’s social business world. And, if you consider the breadth and caliber of the company we’re keeping, it truly is an honor to be featured.

2) It Matters To Others In The World Of Work

On this list, everyone is a winner because there are no rankings. Instead, as Forbes staff writer Jacquelyn Smith notes:

“Our goal was to assemble a comprehensive guide to smart and engaging…online destinations for interns, job seekers, business owners, established professionals, retirees, and anyone else looking to launch, improve, advance, or change his or her career.”

forbes-logoForbes has developed a highly eclectic mix of sites. It’s not just about wildly popular social platforms like Twitter; professional networking sites like LinkedIn; job boards like CareerBuilder; and reference sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Forbes actually adds meat to those big bones with niche services like CareerBliss and PayScale, as well as informational sites like Lindsey Pollak and Jobacle.

However, for us, the most exciting sites on the list are the many valued friends, partners and participants in our TalentCulture community. For example:

Blogging4Jobs by Jessica Miller-Merrell
Brazen Life by Brazen Careerest
Come Recommended by Heather Huhman
Keppie Careers by Miriam Salpeter
The Office Blend by Dr. Marla Gottschalk
Tweak It Together by Cali Yost
WorkLifeNation by Judy Martin
YouTern by Mark Babbitt

3) We Hope It Matters To You

Most importantly, this recognition is a positive reflection on each of you — the tens-of-thousands of monthly visitors who rely upon TalentCulture as a resource for helpful “world of work” ideas, insights, connections and conversations with professional peers.

This milestone is also an opportunity for us to express our gratitude for the hundreds of community participants who, for nearly 4 years have generously developed blog content, appeared as guests on our #TChat Radio shows, participated in our popular #TChat Twitter events, and shared knowledge and peer support continuously on our social media channels.

TalentCulture exists only because of the time, effort and skill that each of you contribute. That’s the beauty of community. This isn’t merely a “website.” This is a reflection of a continuous collaborative process that our founder, Meghan M. Biro, calls a “metaphor for the social workplace.”

Truly, in this case, we could not have done this with out you. So thanks to you all! And congratulations on what you’ve helped us create. Stay tuned to this site — and let’s see where our living learning laboratory will take us next!

Image Credit: redagainPatti at flickr

 

Web Content: What Does It Say About You?

Written by Nick Kellet

In today’s digital world of work, all of us are content consumers and producers. Our personal brands are defined by the thousands of ways we express our preferences and communicate our personal values. Our choices become us.

This is the power of social media in the age of self-expression. We can be anything we choose. We’re defined both by our inputs and outputs:

• We are what we create.
• We are what we consume.
• We are what we share.

What’s more, our experiences with content reveal how we learn, across multiple dimensions:

• What we know and aspire to know;
• What we like and dislike;
• What sources of information we trust;
• Who we know and want to know.

It’s useful to see how, why and where we share ideas, because this helps us understand the social learning process. I’m particularly fascinated by this “social” side of learning, because my company (Listly) exists to help others easily find, organize and share meaningful information on the web.

Let’s Look Closer at Digital Content

Recently I analyzed popular content networks like YouTube and Slideshare — comparing them to social networks like Facebook and Twitter. I concluded that both types of content sources have their own unique advantages. (For details, see my posts about Content Networks and Social Networks.) I also concluded that there are 6 key types of “sharable” digital content: Video, Audio, Slides, Lists, Graphics and Documents.

Shareable Content: Content Networks

(Infographic: Courtesy of Visually)

We can freely create and embed these types of content in blog posts. We can also share them directly with others on social media and through private communication channels. It’s now easy to track and measure activities involving any of these content types, so we can understand what works best in various scenarios. The metrics also help us decide which content is worth consuming.

I took the analysis one step further and devised a quick way to perform a blog content audit. This enables us to generate a “snapshot” of any blog’s content mix, and compare that profile with others. The results appear in a customized “trading card” for each blog.

This initiative began by focusing on 22 top blogs, but because we’ve received such a strong response, we’re now expanding that scope and deepening our analysis.

Sample Blog Analysis: TalentCulture

To illustrate how the process works, let me explain how I audited TalentCulture.com. I reviewed the site’s most recent 25 posts, and simply tagged posts that include videos, slides and other content elements. If a post contains more than one type of embedded media, all the content elements are counted. Here are the results, in our “trading card” format:
TC TradingCard

Interpreting Results

So what does this all mean? Relative to other blogs we’ve analyzed, TalentCulture very frequently features lists, with videos as a secondary form of content. Audio, slides and graphic content play a much less prominent role, compared to benchmark sites.

What is the perfect mix of “sharable” content elements? That’s a hard question to answer, because each blog serves a different audience. However, here are results from 70+ blogs analyzed thus far:

Blog Audit Benchmarks

Key Takeaways

Here are some recommendations worth noting, based on our findings to-date:

1) Consider “mixed media” a strength. There’s clearly a trend toward posts that include multiple content types.

2) Include slides and video where possible/applicable. (Don’t just embed your own content — shine a light on the work of others.)

3) Transform existing content into other forms of media, when appropriate. (For example, turn a blog post into a slidedeck or a video.)

4) Make sure you integrate some audio content — whether it’s a podcast or simply a recording of an author reading post content aloud.

5) Lists are the most frequently used form of content. Blog posts that include a list in the title are usually popular, simply because they imply that the content will be easy to skim.

6) Include “Pin-friendly” images, with meme-worthy quotes in your posts. This lends itself to sharing — images with text are much more meaningful than isolated images without written context.

7) Use embedded content to break-up your copy visually. This makes your body copy more approachable and easier for visitors to digest.

8) Consider performing a similar content audit of blogs from competitors or from thought leaders who have creative blogs that your admire.

9) Be aware of your content mix, and follow a weekly or monthly format that repeats themes. This makes it easy to manage your mix.

In summary: You are a reflection of not only what you write, but also of the content that you include in your digital space. Aim to help people think of your content as fun and easy to consume. It will create a more inviting experience for visitors, and will add a more authentic human personality to your web presence and your brand image.

(Editor’s Note: To request a content audit of your blog, “like” Nick’s “Top Content” post at Slideshare and add your URL in the “comments” area of that post. We look forward to hearing about your score!)

015_img_2801(Author Profile: Nick Kellet is co-founder of social curation platform Listly. He believes that effective curation is as much about listening and engaging as it is about publishing and the tools themselves. A serial innovator who loves to jump domains from board games to business intelligence, Nick also believes that passion in the company of friends and community is an unstoppable force.

Connect with Nick on Twitter, on LinkedIn and on G+, and follow his writing via his other guest posts and on his blogs at NickKellet.com and at blog.list.ly.)

Reboot: Personal Brands and the #TFT13 Conference

(Editor’s Note: We’re thrilled to welcome Nick Kellet to TalentCulture as a guest blogger. For more information about Nick, see his profile at the end of this post.)

For many members of the TalentCulture community, there’s only one conference this week — SHRM13, the Society for Human Resource Management annual meeting in Chicago. But I’d like to focus on another conference that happens on Tuesday. It’s called TomorrowsFutureToday (TFT).

At first blush, TFT may not seem relevant. The topic is IT service management. But TFT’s business model deserves a closer look. Founder Chris Dancy is leading a movement to rethink every aspect of conference design and management — including how speakers are recruited, how content is created and shared, and how participants engage during live sessions and beyond.

This fascinating story lives at the intersection of social business, content strategy and technology. It’s a disruptive model that signals the growing power of crowdsourcing, expert networks and personal branding. It touches on many of the same issues and opportunities that are redefining the “world of work.” And from that perspective, it’s an inspiring example for TalentCulture.

Snapshot: What Sets TFT Apart

TFTResultsTFT is a semi-annual, one-day “follow-the-sun” virtual conference, where 24 experts from around the globe speak for an hour each. Unlike classic conferences, the speakers are selected by professional practitioners and peers (via Listly). This replaces the “old-boy” model, where conference organizers control the agenda. Very cool.

Even cooler, all the speakers are paid. Yes, all of them. What’s more, the content “lives” long after the conference. Presentations are recorded and automatically converted into trans-media assets (slides, video, audio and transcribed text) that are reusable across a wide spectrum of digital channels. (This is accomplished via Zapier.)

  • Speakers are encouraged to redistribute content anywhere they wish, indefinitely
  • Access to all content is absolutely free to anyone who is interested, forever
  • The overall event experience — before, during and after — has a big impact on its perceived value
  • Similar to TED Conferences, the agenda development process ensures superior quality speakers and content. No pressure.

Implications for Personal Branding

The first TFT conference occurred in December 2012. That inaugural event demonstrated not only strong community engagement that won sponsorships, but also helped boost awareness and credibility of its speakers. Fact: since their appearance in December, half of the speakers have moved on to bigger and better professional roles.

So, what does that say about the power social media exposure, and its influence on personal brands? Chris Dancy took several moments to discuss this and several other related questions:

1) How do collaboration and social community relate to personal brand building?
“Collaboration and social community are the foundation of personal branding. Both depend on systems of attention, influence and altruism. Personal brands don’t transfer in hyper-digital economies without conscious consumption of community content. By serving the community first as a consumer, you then have the ability to understand the needs of that system. You have two ears, one mouth and 10 fingers — talent observes before it offers suggestion.”

2) Can you really crowdsource your way to a “brand” new career? How can others do so?
“I don’t believe you can crowdsource your ‘brand.’ You can crowdsource your values. If those values are stronger than the habits of a community, then your brand and career will reflect these systems. Others suffer from being overwhelmed by information, tech and connections. We must first teach people to make healthy tech and information choices. Healthy information diets are to the 2020’s what Tab cola was to the 1970’s.”

3) Did the speakers who landed new careers imagine this would be the outcome from a virtual conference culture?
“None of the speakers on TFT who transitioned to different careers imagined the vault in their careers.  The speakers at TFT12 and TFT13 never considered it a virtual conference. In large part, speakers felt honored to be selected by their peers. It was that empowerment that moved their careers. To feel worthy of attention and time in a climate short on both, is the brand found inside of confidence and outside of hubris.”

The next LIVE round-the-clock event is tomorrow, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Click here to follow the action in real time, or check back anytime to find content after-the-fact. You can also follow the conference backchannel at #TFT13.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about this business model. Could this work for your business domain? And how could you shape and enhance your personal brand while sitting in front of your computer?

Interesting questions — and enterprising people like Chris Dancy are helping us fill in the blanks. Share your ideas below, or connect with me on Twitter @NickKellet.

Nick Kellet, Founder, Listly.com 015_img_2801(Author Profile: Nick Kellet is co-founder of social curation platform Listly. He believes that effective curation is as much about listening and engaging as it is about publishing and the tools themselves. A serial innovator who loves to jump domains from board games to business intelligence, Nick also believes that passion in the company of friends and community is an unstoppable force.

Connect with Nick on Twitter, on LinkedIn and on G+, and follow his writing via his other guest posts and on his blogs at NickKellet.com and at blog.list.ly.)

Finding Value in Enterprise Communities #TChat Preview

(Editor’s Note: Are you interested in reviewing all of this week’s events and resources? Read “Communities of Practice and Purpose: #TChat Recap.”)

If you know me, then you know that I’m passionate about communities — digital and otherwise.

My interest in cultivating communities is what drives me as manager at HuffPost Live and TalentCulture, and as the founder of My Community Manager. It’s incredibly gratifying to help people build useful relationships, and to facilitate an ongoing exchange of ideas that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Digital communities aren’t just a nice idea. They’re also a huge potential source of business value for enterprise organizations, according to management consulting firms like McKinsey. Yet large companies often struggle with how to connect the social dots among their various constituents — employees, leaders, customers, business partners, and beyond.

What Makes a Great Enterprise Community?

Of course, great networking and collaboration tools are helpful in creating and sustaining any kind of social community. But it takes much more than a solid infrastructure. What does it take? That’s the focus of our TalentCulture #TChat forums in the coming week. And we’ve invited two experts to lead the conversation:

#TChat Sneak Peek Videos

Both guests briefly joined me for a G+ Hangout to set the stage. First Jeff defined key terms — explaining how enterprise communities differ from other social networking groups:

And then Maria explained why communities are essential in today’s business environment:

#TChat Events: Why and How Enterprise Communities Work

Need I say more? As you can tell from their interviews, these two experts are just as passionate as I am about exploring the benefits of business-oriented communities. And they’re eager to exchange ideaTChatRadio_logo_020813s with a circle of like-minded professionals. So please join us next week, and add your unique perspective to this very special “community” conversation!

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30pmET / 4:30pmPT — Maria and Jeff join our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, for a LIVE 30-minute discussion about enterprise community issues and opportunities.

#TChat Twitter — Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pmET / 4:00pmPT — Calling all #TChatters to join us for an open online discussion on the #TChat stream. Come on over and share your thoughts. The more, the merrier!

Q1: What are the differences between social and enterprise communities?

Q2: Why has community development and management been more difficult for the enterprise?

Q3: What are best practices for enterprise community management?

Q4: What can business leaders and internal champions do to facilitate quality enterprise communities?

Q5: What community & collaboration technologies make sense for today’s enterprise?

Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our new LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.

We’ll see you on the stream!

High-Flying Talent Communities: #TChat Recap

Birds aren’t known to be mental giants. After all, does anyone really want to be called a “bird brain?” Yet, when it comes to communities, perhaps one of the smartest things you can do is to think like a bird.

At least that’s one way to summarize the wisdom shared at last night’s #TChat, where the discussion focused on the role of leadership and social media in empowering successful communities. These comments sparked my imagination:

“When birds migrate south they take turns being the leader. Drafting is tough.” @DavidSmooke

“And yet, they’re orderly.” @brentskinner

“And from afar the shape looks the same. The opportunity to lead as one.” @DavidSmooke

Similarly, human birds of a feather flock together in online communities. But the model must be sustainable. It’s essential for members to contribute individually, so the group can move forward collectively — whether the community is intended purely for the pleasure of social exchange, or for professional networking and talent development. As some #TChat-ters noted…

“Both social and talent communities are about learning, connecting and engaging.” @susanavello

“More similarities between talent and social communities than differences, it seems…” @YouTernMark

“Communication, connection and collaboration: a trio that works well…” @TaraMarkus

Just as with winged migration, every community has a purpose. Birds don’t fly for the sake of movement. They are en route to a destination, using both individual skill and collective strength to move the flock to its goal.

So, what are the implications for online community leadership? What’s the best approach to move a human flock forward in a loosely-coupled, but sustainable way? Some suggested that it requires a particular type of leadership, one that doesn’t easily fit into the classic command-and-control mold:

“The leader’s sweet spot is with the community – not behind or in front but listening & pointing the way.” @AlliPolin

“Leadership within talent communities is inclusive, open and dynamic.” @ReCenterMoment

On the other hand, some participants underscored the need for social leadership that carries over from the best real world organizational settings:

“No structure = chaos.” @RichardSPearson

“Leaders who foster communities in orgs break down silos – help develop more collaborative work relationships.” @nancyrubin

“The collaborate-&-bring-out-the-best-in-all thing? To me, that’s a big part of leadership, no matter what realm.” @AnneMessenger

“The best leaders lead by knowing how to ask the right questions, no different with a talent community.” @ideabloke

However, as our own community leader, @MeghanMBiro, observes, social engagement may not be a skill that many leaders have developed.

Regardless, for a loosely coupled talent community to thrive, its leaders and participants must embrace the community’s interests. Just as with birds of a feather who aim to reach a distant destination together, sustainable communities require individual skill, combined with collective engagement, and awareness of a common purpose.

Technology can provide tools to connect us in real time. Leadership can offer guidance and direction. But ultimately, the power to propel a community forward rests in the hands of those who show up.

Want to learn more? For complete insights from the discussion stream, see the highlight slideshow at the end of this post.

#  #  #

Highlights & What’s Ahead on #TChat

Did you miss the #TChat preview? Go here. Are you looking for the highlights slideshow? Keep scrolling to the end of this post.

NOTE: If you’re a blogger, and this #TChat session inspired you to write about social communities, we’re happy to share your thoughts with others. Just post a link on Twitter (at #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll add it to our archives. There are many voices in the #TChat community — with many ideas worthy of sharing. So let’s capture as many of them as possible!

We hope you’ll join us next Wednesday at 7pm ET / 4pm PT for another #TChat. We’ll be exploring issues related to military veterans in the workforce. Look for the preview early next week via @TalentCulture and #TChat. Enjoy your weekend!

Image credit: “Gulls Over Head,” courtesy of V Fouche

#TChat INSIGHTS Slide Show: Communities and Leadership
by Sean Charles (@SocialMediaSean)

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The Sound of a Talent Community: #TChat Preview

Online social communities are the voice of your users, buyers, your sales and recruiting prospects, your employees — anyone who’s involved with your products, services or other offerings. Is this impacting the World of Work or what?

Social communities have more power than the individual customer, prospect or employee because they speak with a VERY LOUD voice, even if they’re not all saying the same thing. It’s not just volume any more; it’s reach and amplitude. And, with the number of channels across which these communities interact, you get to contend with the network effect.

One ticked off person talks to you; a ticked off community talks to you and the world. It works the other way as well, but of course we notice it more when communities are unhappy than we do when they’re pleased. This is a direct metaphor with your workplace culture. It’s tough to deny this fact anymore.

I never get tired of talking about social communities and their impact on brands and the recruiting process for the right talent. To broaden the discussion a bit, this week we’re going to add the notion of community managers to our #TChat Twitter get-together.

More companies and organizations are hiring community managers, and the job’s influence is expanding quickly. Of course some communities may organically grow to encompass the need for a community manager, but these tend to happen more with technical communities, and less so with consumer or B2C brands.

When companies decide to develop communities online, they often take a different course. Organizations need to be prepared to manage the trajectory and understand the personalities of people who fit and are passionate about these roles.

Against this backdrop, here are the questions we’ll be discussing this week:

Q1: What is the connection between a social community & a company’s brand?

Q2: What is the role of “community manager” & what does the future of this role look like?

Q3: Why do leaders & companies need social brand ambassadors & community managers?

Q4: Can you manufacture online communities, or are they best left to develop organically?

Q5: What are the pros & cons of social communities as an extension of orgs’ talent attraction & recruiting programs?

The last question is especially important, I think — we need to realize that there are pros and cons of social communities, and pros and cons for community manager roles.

Bringing much wisdom to the discussion, our guest moderator this week is Tim McDonald (@tamcdonald), community manager for HuffPost Live, founder of My Community Manager, and co-organizer of #cmgrUN. Wow! Joining us, too, will be Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) and the rest of the #TChat gang.

So, be prepared: Please bring your experiences and thoughts this Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are). And, be opinionated — you’re part of the TalentCulture World of Work community, after all.

We’ll chat with you soon!

Image Credit: Pixabay

Risk, Reward & The Social Workplace: #TChat Recap

“It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.” – Moliere

Opportunity cost is a powerful concept. Finance 101 teaches us that inaction is the riskiest move of all. If you hide your money in a mattress, you remove yourself from the game, abandoning all hope of future return. Even worse, what happens if the mattress accidentally goes up in flames? Game over.

In business, as in life, every decision involves some risk. Each time an organization chooses to pursue Path X, it sacrifices the potential upside of Path Y or Z. But credible information can reduce that risk, and strong leaders look for reliable signals to guide their choices.

When deciding how social media fits into the workplace, leaders would be wise to watch and listen for signals from employees. These days the noise is deafening. New methods of organizational collaboration and communication are proliferating — not just through authorized corporate initiatives, but through ad-hoc efforts of workgroups and individuals who are pushing the social envelope just because they want to work smarter.

This isn’t heretical. It’s progress. It’s a by-product of human culture that’s as old as fire and as enduring as the wheel — and it was the upshot of yesterday’s #TChat World of Work exchange, as @Hootsuite HR Director Ambrosia Humphrey (@hambrody) and her team moderated a spirited discussion about social media’s role in work life.

The Big RT

Among hundreds of comments, which one registered highest on the retweet scale?

“Telling today’s employees not to use social media is like telling employees several years ago not to use the phone.” @MattMonge

In other words, business leaders, the social ship has left the harbor. Many of your employees eagerly climbed onboard, and it’s not too late to steer that vessel toward a desirable destination.

But which way to go next? We feel the pain of that question even here at TalentCulture.com, as we choose social platforms and tools that will best serve our mission, going forward. Recently, we’ve been exploring dozens of solutions to enhance workflow and internal communication, as well as tools to engage the TalentCulture community. Our conclusion? Even for a fearless crew of passionate social media advocates, the options can be overwhelming.

Sure, there’s a price for progress. The process can be messy. But even if you stumble, you’re still moving forward. And if our #TChat comrades have anything to say about it, environments where social connections are enhanced promise far more benefits than the status quo.

Bottom Line

The only rationale for standing in the way of social workplace progress is fear. But in this brave new socially-driven world of work, fear might as well be money in a mattress.

Did you miss this week’s preview? Look here — and look below for a swanky slideshow of yesterday’s many tasty tweets. We again thank our new best friends over at Hootsuite, who guest moderated #TChat World of Work with characteristic Twitter savvy: Joining Ambrosia were Ben Watson (@bitpakkit), Hootsuite’s vice president of marketing; Steve Johnson (@steve1johnson), Hootsuite’s chief revenue officer; and additional members of Hootsuite’s HR team, Sabrina Lavin and Kristine Naldoza.

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#TChat INSIGHTS: One Trillion Dollars of Social Media Tweets

Storified by Sean Charles · Wed, Sep 19 2012 21:23:51

Guess Hoo’s Coming to #TChat Tonight Wed 7pm/EST? Bam, it’s Team @hootsuite Join US! http://pic.twitter.com/cOAIPB9CSean Charles
Five minutes to #TChat. Just wanted to say hi to everyone! Online now…ambrosia
Hello! Supporting our owls and looking forward to this chat. RT @steve1johnson: Awesome joining the great folks at #tchat tonight!Kristine Naldoza
Me and Adrian droppin’ into #TChat from the @WorkSimple office in #SF! http://pic.twitter.com/R1XUp5BkJocelyn Aucoin
@FaronicsHR @FrankZupan @KevinWGrossman @DaveTheHRCzar @ybalanced @PRGWest @RichardSPearson arrr #TChat http://twitpic.com/aweka2Sylvia Dahlby
Coffee is on and in the office ready to #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/a5TkAFK8Jen Olney
#Tchat Live from the Czar’s basement/mancave http://twitpic.com/awebm7Dave Ryan, SPHR
Going to get started Q.1 Social tech is valued upwards of $1.3 trillion. Where’s the greatest biz opportunity in the next few years? #TChatambrosia
Q1 Learning culture requires participation from top level management to workers at every level. Can’t just roll out without buyin. #TChatJudy Martin
A1 Knowledge / data sharing. Consolidation of services in the “cloud”. #TchatRedge
a1 social media is an invitation to co-create meaning & build engagement – both customers with a brand & employees with organisation #tchatrobbie semple
@hambrody A1: Increased innovation from workers who use & *get* #socialmedia. #tchatTara Eames
A1 Online “Techspertise” consulting & marketing / selling via brand content management. #TchatRedge
A1 #Privacy by design vs. an ad hoc / “make it up as you go” approach will become increasingly important in social tech. #TchatJoe Sanchez
A1 Device won’t matter… function for all #tchatsteve johnson
A1: Knowledge sharing across levels, functions and geographies #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A1: Improved communications and collaboration within and across enterprises #TChatSean Charles
A1 Certainly another opportunity is in the realm of recruitment in terms of changing the way we interact and engage potential ee’s #TChatJanine Truitt
A1: Integration all of the social media, communication to include business side. #TChatRobert Rojo
A1: Smarter utilization of data. #tchatRob McGahen
A1. Mobile Apps Cloud Storage & Predictive Software #FutureGrowth #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A1 Greatest biz opportunity for social? Company engagement for all externally facing employees #tchatsteve johnson
#TChat – A1: Keep your current employees more engaged, as the economy improves, more opps, so spend money to retain talent, not replace!Michael!
A1: It’s gotta be in converging all aspects of the business enterprise under a common SM brand. #tchatMark Salke
A1) Integration. Social shouldn’t require unique, stand-alone apps, must integrate into work tools. #tchatJD Dillon
a1. Social business can save and transform our planet. #tchatMichael Clark
A1 The greatest biz opportunity is for big data aggregation tools & Mobile – m-o-b-i-l-e #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A1: The greatest opportunity in the next few years involves combining the automation of systems with the personalization of social. #TChatTalent Generation
A1. Gotta go with marketing and advertising as the BIGGEST (but not only) #tchatChris Fields
A1. Internal collaboration, info-sharing as a knowledge management tool, get knowledge in people’s heads out into the org #TChatJane Watson
Moving forward Q2. Currently only 5% of U.S. online content sharing happens on social media. Will this change? #TChatambrosia
A2: People may be afraid of negative consequences if they share something that goes against their work ethics. #TChatAuchoybur Ferane_HR
A2: Like the larger economy, what happens depends on us–*right now* we are creating the future w/our choices. #DecideThenDO #TchatNancy Barry-Jansson
A2 – push marketing to users will explode as GPS proximity to events/products /targets is fine tuned #tchatRichard S Pearson
Q2) Agree with others that it HAS to. As more companies adapt and grow it will increase. #TChatAmber Britton
Q2 Where did that stat come from? 5% #notbuyingit #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A2: If you’re sharing online content, aren’t you, by definition, socializing media? #TChatMatt Charney
A2: Yes, as long as it is easy to create content and share it with social. Path of least resistance wins. #TChat #tchatFaronics HR
A2: if companies want to stay relevant and current, and be where the ppl are..it has to! #tchatPlatinum Resource
A2: To succeed it has to change, we’re creatures of habit, change comes slow, #TChatRobert Rojo
A2: Social sharing habits will change depending on the behavior of how people want to interact with platforms #tchatJen Olney
#TChat A2 – Some orgs are still using #SocialMedia like web 1.0, one sided engagement. NOT the way to use it, that is NOT social.Michael!
a2. Haven’t we always wanted everything to be more transparent? #tchatMichael Clark
Q.3 How do leaders overcome perception that employees “waste” their time on social media? Definitely not #hootsuite office concern;) #TChatambrosia
A.3 Being on social is a vital part of our recruitment strategy. It is definitely not time wasted for us! #TChatHootSuite HR
Haha touché > @bitpakkit: a3) Posting what you had for lunch isn’t bad if you work for the restaurant where you ate it. #tchatambrosia
A3: Orgs need to embrace the tool and even help employees learn how to use the power of social media. Stop trying to ban it. #tchatMatt Monge
#TChat A3 Leaders need to use it to engage with customers & focus their messages to share their vision/mission.Naomi Caietti
A3 Quite frankly I learn a lot more on social media than hanging around the water cooler. Gossip never taught me a thing. #justsayin #TChatJanine Truitt
A3. A good servant leader communicates well & has transparent relationships developing your people – TRUST Social as part of that #TChatKeith C Rogers
A3: Leaders need to find value in that ‘waste.’ Turn the perceived weakness into a strength. #tchatRob McGahen
A3. Recognize employees as a sample population. Value Social Media brings to employee’s lives mirror the customer’s. #TChatThinkCEO
A3 Trust . Employees aren’t mindless, they are an asset. Of you don’t trust them they won’t trust you. Employees will surprise you #tchatArron Daniels
A3. employees won’t be wasting their time if they learn how to use it effectively. @wilsonhcg showed me how to find candidates :) #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A3: Most leaders know the ROI of social, but do they know the value of it? #tchatRandy Thio
A3. Recognize employees as a sample population. Value Social Media brings to employee’s lives mirror the customer’s. #TChatThinkCEO
a3) Posting what you had for lunch isn’t bad if you work for the restaurant where you ate it. #tchatBen Watson
A3 If employees are being unproductive it’s usually an engagement and performance issues not a social media issue #TChatPam Ross
A3: Find examples of productive/effective/relevant enterprise social use w/in the org & showcase it. Nurture it. Reward it. Model it. #tchatExpertus
A3: Devil’s advocate alert -> Aren’t plenty of employees indeed wasting their time on social media? #TChat #tchatBrent Skinner
A3: Allowing employees a quick SM break every now and then can promote a more relaxed atmosphere at work and increase productivity #TChatSpark Hire
A3. I show my boss that I spend time on so me connecting with stds, promoting career svcs & share relevant blogs, articles with staff #tchatGuy Davis
Great discussion here. Q.4 Will social media only be valued by extroverted sharing & collaborative people? Is it an ego thing? #TChatambrosia
Spot on! @steve1johnson: A4 Social media’s value is substantial b/c it ISN’T about being extroverted. It’s about content, empathy… #tchatVicky Truong
A.4 Room for everyone. Various platforms have their spheres in #recruitment too: Twitter = public, FB = private, Linkedin = professional….ambrosia
A4: in many ways yes, but #bizsocial is more accepted than typical #socialmedia and gets everyone involved if it is a biz necessity #tchatJohn T. Lawrence
AWESOME! community, working together, feels good to be helpful @gingerconsult A4: it’s WE not ME #tchatLori~TranslationLady
A4. Social media gives individuals access to real-time info on any topic/event. Extroverted or not, you can’t deny the value in that! #tchatLaura Crawford
A4 No—asynchr. nature of #sm offers chance to compose thought—appeals to introverts. Increasing # of convos or ego isn’t only value! #tchatShawna Kelly
#TChat A4: Recognize and adapt to the cultural norm of social media or become dinosaurs sticking to legal compliance and a static brand.Avi Lambert
A4: Social media is about conversation, collaboration and filling diverse gaps that normally would be left open due to lack of info. #tchatBeverly Davis
A4 – Social media is like other communication tools, people will use it when they need it. #tchatMichael VanDervort
A4. With social media compliance becoming increasingly important in regulated industries it ll be valued by people w/ diverse natures #tchatsandrachung
Extroverts adopt early, but: @MeghanMBiro: A4: I’ve seen many INTROVERTS do very well w/ #socialmedia – It’s not a necessary skill. #TChatKeith C Rogers
@talemetry re: A4 Everyone participating on #socialmedia is collaborative; gives introverts an equal voice, too. #TChat > Smart perspective!Ian Gertler
a4 social media no different to a meeting. introverts can add value too just need to have an easy method… like buttons? re-tweet? #tchatrobbie semple
Big final Question: Q.5 What are the best social tech tools for recruiting, onboarding, learning, performance, retention & mobility? #TChatambrosia
A5) When selecting tech, my first question: “is it mobile?” If I can’t share from my phone in a movie theater, I’m not buying. #tchatJD Dillon
a.5 we launched this entire cultural initiative through our social platforms Twitter and 7Geese! http://ow.ly/dQuzY #TChatambrosia
#TChat a5. @Evernote @Rypple @jobs2webMichael Danubio
A5. ESNs like Tibbr or Yammer or MoxieSoft… #TChatBill Cushard
A5) Twitter is my muse. I spend a lot of time in @confluence for content curation, sharing, and learning. #tchatJD Dillon
A5 Twitter &LinkedIn are gret tech tools for HR to connect, as well as provide insight. #TChatAmy Do
A5: Another GREAT tool for workspace management is @Podio. It beats Basecamp any day of the week! #TchatGwen Woltz
A5 LinkedIn is good for recruiting / learning. Blogs are great for learning / engagement. Twitter an avenue for all of the above. #TChatRedge
A5. The best social tool for reruiting is YOU! #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
a.5 Twitter (@hoothr) has been a huge game changer in not only recruitment but also our onboarding, and cultural initiatives! #HR #TChatambrosia
Hurrah @hoothr RT @hambrody a.5 we launched entire cultural initiative thru social platforms Twitter and 7Geese! http://ow.ly/dQuzY #TChatDaveO from HootSuite
Thanks #Tchat and @talentculture @meghanmbiro for having @HootSuite on today. We’ll post a storify tomorrow. We had a brain blast! #wowambrosia

What’s Next on the #TChat Radar?

Be sure to join us next week (Wednesday 9/26, 7pmET/4pmPT) as we explore the dynamics of generational differences in the workplace — especially when older workers report to younger managers. (Read the preview post.)

Image Credit : Riesgo frente a recompensa, by Daniel Lobo

Channeling Crowd-Sourced Mindshare: #TChat Recap

“I don’t want to be out here doing nothing. It’s dangerous.”

This from a 14-year-old boy in Chicago who should be in school, but is not, because of the Chicago Teachers’ strike. This isn’t a rebuke of why he’s not in school, it’s just a brief commentary about the phrase itself as metaphor for the power of social and informal learning.

Many of you have heard the quote, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop,” which comes from H.G. Bohn‘s Handbook of Proverbs, published in 1855. Its Biblical origins comes from the belief that hard work keeps us focused and out of trouble, and without it, we can only conceive evil deeds from laziness. But with the latest in neuroscience research, we now know that our frontal cortex has much smaller windows of focal strength during the course of the day, that we need idle breaks in thought, to allow the mind to rest and revitalize, letting what we’ve absorbed during the focal spikes to reengineer our synaptic pathways.

Of course I don’t literally mean that teenagers should be roaming the streets unchecked with no formal or informal learning in place. I’m segueing more to the adult world of work and how the progressive enterprise understands how we truly learn and adopt and adapt — and it is doing what it can to integrate this into the workplace, from applicant to alumni.

But we’ve got a lot of “process debt” to deal with. Similar to “technical debt” that refers to layers of outdated programming code that we just overwrite instead of starting fresh, process debt is the same thing when it comes to change management in the workplace. Our decades old learning and development processes haven’t changed much even in the light of research referenced above. We still throw the new employee handbook at new hires, make everyone sit for day-long training seminars where we check out halfway in, and then we silo ourselves in self-branded promotional kiosks with limited if any exposure outside the firewall to valuable content from informal learning channels.

I’m talking about social channels, of course — which of course we’re getting access to anyway inside and outside the firewall, via mobile and tablet devices.

The democratization of social learning is here to stay, and we should embrace the shorter bursts of quality peer-to-peer interaction and actionable insights. By letting us do what we’ve already been doing for thousands of years, the sharing and learning around relevant topics across brand agnostic open networks, organizations can channel the crowd-sourced mindshare and elevate the great global enterprise of empowerment and improvement.

“I don’t want to be out here doing nothing. It’s dangerous.”

The good news is, we’re not doing nothing. The danger is in resistance, not idleness.

Did you miss this week’s preview? Click here, and check out all the crowd-sourced mind-sharing below, channeled through a slideshow of your #TChat tweets. Thank you, Joe Sanchez (@sanchezjb), for your guest  moderation of yesterday’s chat. We look forward to seeing everyone next week.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

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#TChat INSIGHTS: These Are a Few of my Favorite TWEETS (Social Learning Culture)

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Storified by Sean Charles · Wed, Sep 12 2012 22:23:10

Just me and my pigeon friend #TChat ing it! Don’t jump lil guy! It ain’t worth it! ;) http://pic.twitter.com/W0OHRqH6Jocelyn Aucoin
@SocialMediaSean Chi-town!! #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/vGgg5pvbBarb Buckner
There are always more ways to fail than to succeed – always. Change the questions, walk a new path, see differently. #tchatVala Afshar
Let’s roll! Q1 What are the top attributes of a learning culture? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A1. Look around, do you see learning outside of L&D? Do you see learning happening organically? Yes? Yes. #tchatJustin Mass
A1. Must be adaptable. Things change ridiculously fast. #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A1) Must be open to honest criticism about the environment. Tear that bandaid OFF #tchatKeith Punches
A1: Total Employee Collaboration towards shared values #tchatNissrine Ghannoum
A1. Here’s a simple answer we overlooked: investment in creative methods of training! (Disclosure: These include our platform!) #tchatTeamalaya
A1: The culture of learning runs from how you approach meetings to performance reviews, every facet, it’s a total rework of process #tchatJen Olney
a1) confidence in taking risks. Don’t over-analyze. Do it, assess it, do it again if it works #tchatRich Grant
A1) Much informal learning isn’t directly tied to performance, yet it results nonetheless. Don’t try to measure its ROI #tchatTom Spiglanin
A1: permission to fail #tchatAndy Phillips
A1: No killer phrases like “that will never work” #tchatKathy Herndon, GPHR
A1 Be open to the diverse way people learn best. Give options, be flexible and all inclusive. #tchatTeala Wilson
A1: #Learning cultures take risks and value the experience of failure. #TChatAndrew Henck
A1: Learning cultures encourage everyone to ask questions and share stories about successes, failures, and what they’ve learned #tchatJen Olney
A1: A healthy learning culture might allow one to admit mistakes with fear. #tchatMark Salke
A1: The celebration of mistakes that result from courageous adventure if they’re not careless. #tchatDavid Lapin
A1) Equal access to learning for all; open access to informal learning channels thru #SoMe #tchatTom Spiglanin
A1: Also about providing mentorship at the mid-level. Younger #employees need to know it’s safe to ask questions #tchatLara Zuehlke
@sanchezjb A1) Open-minded to new ideas, enthusiastic and willing to take risks. #TChatIcarus Agency
Curiosity may have killed the cat but it gives rise to a learning culture. A1 #TchatJocelyn Aucoin
A1 – the right to fail trying something new #tchatRichard S Pearson
A1 When comps present themselves 2 job candidates as employer that supports employees growth, stage is set 4 what ppl can expect. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A1) On-fire learning finds value in every interaction. The culture that stimulates that values innovation. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A1. Collective spirit of inquiry and open source leadership #tchatSalima Nathoo
A1 Availability of “learning materials”. #tchatObjectiveli
A1: ability to ask questions no matter the circumstances #TChatBrad Galin
A1. A place where leaders encourage teams to continually grow professionally and personally by being open to new ideas and concepts. #tchatTerri Klass
A1) A learning culture just “is” – it’s like a good film, you know it when you see it. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A1: Needs to be supported from the top, organizational culture, competency of leadership, talent management etc. #tchatRobert Rojo
A1: Trust! Trust->fearlessness->sharing knowledge->everyone benefits #tchatBright.com
A1. Learning should actually occur :-) #tchatSheree Van Vreede
A1 Starts with an open “mindset” – values ideas. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
A1: A learning culture must continually promote curiosity, that’s where it all starts. #tchatRandy Thio
A1: If we are open-minded, aren’t we always learning despite the #culture? #TchatLara Zuehlke
@sanchezjb A1. Strong learning culture acknowledges all ideas, good and bad. #TChatJason Ebbing
A1: An organization that commits to training established employees as well as onboarded employees. #tchatTeamalaya
A1: Providing dollars as well as support for cont education, learning & sharing. #TchatLara Zuehlke
@SocialMediaSean @marksalke I’ll go you 1 better: late summer @ my office. http://pic.twitter.com/fMVP2eORMandi Bishop
Q2 How can leaders teach employees to learn how to learn? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A2 “Enable everyone to be a teacher” @4KM More priceless advice from #tchat on Twitter!Daniel Hudson
A2: Leaders can advocate for their employees to experience growth opportunities and share experiences with employees #tchatTeala Wilson
A2: Learn from mistakes, they’re a great opportunity to teach, learn and grow from. Will add value to organization. #tchatRobert Rojo
A2 asking q’s (genuinely), building trust, & designing 4 cooperation help spur learning. teaching doesn’t nec. mean learning happens #tchatMiriam Brosseau
A2: when ppl share knowledge, f/u and say thank you. = creating open learning & sharing environment #tchatPlatinum Resource
A2 Enable everyone to be a teacher #tchatAlice MacGillivray
@SocialMediaSean Awesome panorama from 21st floor ! Ottawa #Canada #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/sZJkojGMNissrine Ghannoum
A2: Isn’t #learning the point of working? To teach, connect, grow? You can make money all kinds ‘o ways. Don’t need a job for that. #tchatLara Zuehlke
#tchat a2 asked them what area they would like to receive more trainingSage Bramhall
A2: by using tools like #SoMe – being progressive examples #tchatKathy Herndon, GPHR
A2 Leaders need to challenge employees to answer their own questions, not provide answers, make people uncomfortable at times #tchatPam Ross
A2 Allow people room to “fail forward” #tchatWandaHopkinsMcClure
A2 Worked 4 comp that encouraged ppl 2 join Toastmasters & allowed time during work hrs. & considered it part of annual learning goal #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2 Looking back and admitting what didn’t work – then moving on. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
A2: Leaders have to be intentional effort to offer and gain a new perspective so that everyone can see situations in fresh new ways. #tchatJen Olney
A2: by Fostering dialogue, setting an example & connecting employees to the org objectives #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
#tchat A2 you can help others learn. Adults are hard but make them love learning as much as u thru example. I provided proff dev. For 8 yrs!Sage Bramhall
A2: Share learning experiences and demonstrate the importance. Allow opportunities for self and team to apply learning on the job #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A2 Leaders have to be open to feedback and change. Modeling learning from experience so that employees learn. #TChatPam Ross
A2. Leaders can take interest in what their team wants to learn and pursue. Ask. Listen. Integrate ideas. #tchatTerri Klass
A2: Everyone already knows how to learn, they just need to be reminded to keep doing it at work (managers and peers can help) #TChat #TChatFaronics HR
A2: Encourage EEs to trust themselves & ask questions. If they didn’t already know how to learn, they wouldn’t have gotten very far. #tchatBright.com
A2 The leaders should encourage participation without the fear of failing or making mistakes #tchatRitu Raj
A2: #Leaders need to be OK in their own skin. Insecurity is what erodes #learning & growth. Leads to micromanaging. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A2 – be willing to walk the walk as well as talk the talk when it comes to learning. Many ldrs don’t do this #tchatBrad Galin
A2 There’s value in teaching people how to ask questions – the right questions. #tchatJoe Sanchez
A2) lead by example. Show them you are open to their ideas by accepting their honest appraisal of current status quo. #tchatKeith Punches
A2) Lead by example, a leader who is still passionate about learning themselves will naturally encourage those around them. #tchatBlair Hite
A2 Companies can include “fun” time learning into the mix so it’s not always a classroom or CBT learning experience. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2) give them some breathing room. Let them figure things out; consult when needed #tchatRich Grant
A2: Leadership has 2 drive it, need 2 encourage, can’t b afraid of failure use it 2 develop the culture and character of organization #tchatRobert Rojo
A2: I believe you should teach by modeling. #tchatTyrrel Walker
A2: Leaders must be committed to a day-in and day-out shift in attention and practice to learning and make it consistent #tchatJen Olney
A2. Stay present; stay on message; and keep listening. #tchatSheree Van Vreede
A2 Mentoring might be good start… #tchat #csuite #leadership #workplaceGood Business
A2 At Teamalaya, all employees are willing to do the dirty work. It will show future employees that we’re willing to do w/e it takes. #tchatTeamalaya
A2. They can create the conditions that give people permission to learn without boundaries or borders #tchatSalima Nathoo
A2: By starting everyone in preschool. Really. Soft skills and learning cultures start there. #TChatKevin W. Grossman
A2 Mgrs can set reasonable expectations for a set # of learning hrs per month/yr. and tie learning into the performance expectations. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2 model learning, be open to it, provide learning at every opportunity, ask questions, challenge assumptions, don’t give answers #TChatPam Ross
A2: Identifying + recognizing the strengths + learning styles of your team is key. #TChatAndrew Henck
A2: Set an example and then provide the same opportunity #TChatBarb Buckner
a2) ask them the questions; don’t spoon feed them the answers #tchatRich Grant
A2 Model the behaviors. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
Late summer on the deck in Ann Arbor. @SocialMediaSean #tchat http://pic.twitter.com/OtjDfSOQMark Salke
Q3 How can an organization leverage informal social learning opportunities? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A3: Provide UNSTRUCTURE time to think, dream, mastermind,tinker, explore reflect- genius is not a lightening bolt #TChatAngela Maiers
A3. Recognizing informal learning value and understanding its benefits, could be a good start #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A3: Orgs can leverage informal #SocialLearning by mixing it up – provide content that provokes personal and professional interest #tchatTeala Wilson
A3: Build intentional reflection and inquiry into meetings and exchanges. Questions like, “What did you notice when…”#tchat #hsdinstituteRoyce Holladay
A3 – Create intersections – social is fast moving & ideas spring up – then do something w/those ideas as a jump board for learning #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A3) @hjarche @C4LPT and others promote narrating work. Within the org, this goes a long way to show others how it’s done. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A3 employees are a great way to bounce ideas around about new ideas and new opportunities. #TChatKZO Innovations
Less social media. More face to face. More work. More production. Less chat. #TChat A3Lois Martin
A3: Afford ppl the freedom to learn using a method that makes sense for them, often is met with less resistance. #tchatRandy Thio
A3: Peer to peer teaching opportunities allow everyone a chance to gain knowledge. Create the space and time to make it happen #tchatJen Olney
A3 Learning is caught; not taught. Communicate, collaborate, celebrate together. #tchatWandaHopkinsMcClure
A3: Effective learning cultures already expect folks to bring outside (formal/informal) learning in + share it. #TChatAndrew Henck
A3: YouTube and TED are excellent sources of inspirationand information which can start ur creative juices flowing! @AngelaMaiers #TChatZenYinger
A3: We need to invite someone we don’t know well or from another area to lunch…. break bread, break barriers. #TChatJon M
A3. Embrace social learning as critical to innovation and cutting-edge knowledge. #tchatTerri Klass
A3: Make it public. So many opportunities in social learning to highlight your learning culture #TChatSean Charles
A3: Buy letting us do what we’re already doing. Sharing and learning around relevant topics across brand agnostic open networks. #TchatKevin W. Grossman
A3: Approach everything as a learning opp. Encourage learning by doing, observing, teaching. #tchatBright.com
A3 Onboarding is one opportunity. Social learning def. required. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
A3: give people some downtime to process and collaborate. Need to let go of control! #tchatBrad Galin
A3. Build a social sandbox in the workplace and champion creative sandcastle architects. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A3) Identify existing pockets where social learning success exists & seek ways to cross-pollinate/expand/amplify on those examples #TchatExpertus
A3: Create an org culture that first values “out of the box” thinking + innovative learning opps. #TChatAndrew Henck
A3 Leverage by creating an environment which supports informal learning opps, ie, outta cubicles! It’s culture & physical #TchatClaire Crossley
A3: Provide UNSTRUCTURE time to think, dream, mastermind,tinker, explore reflect- genius is not a lightening bolt #TChatAngela Maiers
A3 – an open work environment – no cubicles – and encourage collaboration thru social media… #tchatRichard S Pearson
A3: accept unorthodox learning styles. org leadership retreats, to bond teams, and give back to community. displays comm, & collabora #tchatPlatinum Resource
A3 Informal learning allows ppl to learn in a place, time and thru a venue (i.e., mobile device )to fit employee’s learning style. #TchatCyndy Trivella
“@SocialMediaSean: Tweet a photo of where you are tweeting from tonight. Love to add pictures to the Storify. #TChat” http://pic.twitter.com/tSX0nbrhFar North Media
Q4 Why do learning cultures create competitive advantage? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A4 – The struggle after a company has been ramped up is ‘the founders dilemma – can you scale? #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A4) Seeing love for failure. OK. But it’s how we attend respond & adjust & move forward that is the source of value in failure #TchatExpertus
A4 – barriers can be overcome by continually evolving the teaching models through an innovation lens #TChatLeAnna J. Carey
A4: Learning cultures tend to be more civil. #tchat #leadership #learningLindaFisherThornton
A4: Growing Leaders , Growing Companies #tchatNissrine Ghannoum
A4: there’s a jack welch quote about comp advantage is orgs that that learn fast ad convert that learning into action.. #tchatBill Cushard
A4: Adaptable to responding to external changes,competitive to innovations. The culture of learning is always shifting into high gear #tchatJen Olney
A4: A #LearningCulture creates a competitive advantage by allowing ideas and innovation to flow and be heard #tchatTeala Wilson
A4 Competition fosters efficiency–> production. Experts learn & produce. Leaders teach WHILE they learn & produce. #TChatJoseph Ned
A4: The more you “Learn” the more you “Earn” in life & business #TChatSean Charles
#TChat A4:More opportunity 2 empower employees to learn new things as well as challenge them, instead of “just showing up at work”! #rewardsMichael!
A4) Knowledge hoarding is a tactic for failure. Knowledge sharing is like passing down the recipe for success. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A4: To emphasize to employees to go the extra mile, be accountable & define expectations. #tchatRobert Rojo
A4: a learning culture is able to embrace diversity and this allows good mixing of ideas to bring new ones to life. #tchatBrad Galin
A4 Companies can have customer satisfaction recognition programs that R tied into learning new procedures/processes. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A4) because learning cultures = innovation = competitive advantage #TChatRich Grant
A4. Because they are inclusive, not exclusive. #tchatSheree Van Vreede
A4 I think a good place to look in organizations where and what learning is required, that also goes for tacit and general learning #tChatRitu Raj
A4. Encouraging emps to take part in their own education is empowering…and contagious #TChatKara Singh
A4: Learning cultures are inherently adapting to the changing needs of the day. #TChatAndrew Henck
A4. There are always opportunities to learn. It’s not only up to the mentor but the individual to take the lesson. #TChatKara Singh
Tweeting from Michigan State – #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/SfuOOLWoMarla Gottschalk PhD
Q5 How do you know whether or not an organization’s culture is conducive to learning? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A5 How they react to mistakes – do they learn from it or sweep it under the rug? #tchatAmy Do
A5. By profiling managers… are they multipliers or diminishers? The latter ones don’t leave room for failure and practical learning #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A5: Active Listening , Questioning & raising awareness #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
A5 transparent processes – opening up for feedback & taking it seriously – represent a learning culture #TChatMiriam Brosseau
A5 – It’s important to assess the appetite for change – can close up some barriers! #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A5 The best learning, especially in business, comes from discovery. How does the org take what’s been discovered and create insights? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A5 you FEEL it! There is a good vibration in the air. #TChat #tchatLori~TranslationLady
A5) I facilitate a social session with newer employees to get to heart of our culture, which is knowledge sharing. Walk the talk. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A5 Leadership must set a purposeful direction for continual learning. Can’t be haphazard. #tchatTerri Klass
A5: I find there is a strong sense of humility in learning focused organizations. #TChatSean Charles
A5 An organization that fosters innovation, trying out new ideas – is more likely to be a learning organization #tchatKimbra Fox
A5. I’d agree on the fact that employees may be the ones to give some key evidences #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A5 Really, all you have to do is look around. If things aren’t changing, people aren’t learning. #TchatRedge
A5) In our org, a VP welcomes every new employee, even if some weeks it’s just one or two. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A5: Find out about an org’s rate of internal mobility and process for determining strategy & best practices #tchatTeala Wilson
A5- Examine how the highest level employee interacts with the lowest…if you see/feel the hierarchy probably not a learning org #TChatAngela Maiers
A5 How they react to mistakes – do they learn from it or sweep it under the rug? #tchatAmy Do
A5 open your network and find people who work there to talk to. They won’t hesitate to share if they are in a great (or horrible) co. #tchatRichard S Pearson
A5: Ask one of their regular employees what the company mission statement is! #tchatRandy Thio
A5: Are the leaders challenging their employees to push their own status quo beyond its limits and seek new perspectives? #tchatJen Olney
A5: if they are in survival mode or not. those they want to survive, tend to skip out on training & learning #tchatPlatinum Resource
A5) do SVPs and above ask more questions than make pronouncements? #TChatRich Grant
A5 How boring are the meetings? :) #tchat #csuite #leadership #workplaceGood Business
A5: If the org culture values failure + innovation, it is conducive to #learning #TChatAndrew Henck
As a manager you can either command excellence or help build excellence. Leaders always choose the latter. #tchatVala Afshar
@TerriKlass Dont use White Boards. Use butcher paper and markers. More creative thought. #tChatGenny Harrison
People can be human. Learning, growing, flawed, passionate, humans. Groups like that learn w/ and from each other. #tchatMatt Monge
@TerriKlass I got your jealously ripening in my yard right now http://www.twitpic.com/aqgpwe #TChat pina coladas for everyone!Sylvia Dahlby

#TChat Communication Tools: You Can't Use Them ALL

What’s your morning communications, social media routine like? Mine’s getting more complicated every day. Personally, just email requires checking at least three accounts on three devices. At least one is Gmail, so I green-light Gmail chat and also Google+. Then it’s on to open a Skype window – many clients, friends reach me through Skype instant message. And to make sure I’m truly open, AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Messenger are active, too. They’re a bit old-school, but a few of my clients still use them, so it’s not really negotiable in my world.  Then it’s on to Yammer to check up on the latest and greatest with my teams.

Twitter comes next. Hootsuite, Old School “regular” Twitter, and TweetChat  helps me monitor multiple Twitter streams and also makes it simple to cross-populate Facebook and LinkedIn with content. Another communications tool I’ve been checking out is the open-source Trillian, which automates the  management of multiple chat clients on both desktop and phone.

When it comes to corporate communications, it’s a whole new ball of wax, Facebook page admins, several WordPress log-ins, all the email and communications platforms like MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber and more. There are even ways to communicate via song (Spotify) and visual interest (Pinterest). Granted, not all of these apply to professionalism, but in our connected world, they sure do influence it.

The new tools can also be overwhelming; it’s a matter of choosing and experimenting. But when do we finally just pick and stop experimenting? What works best for workplace collaboration and productivity? Do you stop communicating? Ever?

Actually, no. Facebook is saved for stolen moments between calls and meetings on my end. I’m trying to use it more frequently, and in a way that does not make my friends have to deal with all my tweets (always a work in progress). Let’s not forget Facebook messaging – again, I’m trying to make it work into my weekly routine. And LinkedIn – the ole social standby – is a great business communications tool, so there’s always a browser tab open for it. Mind you, this is all before my first cup of coffee.

Does your social blend in a way that feels comfortable and consistent yet? Do you sense a theme emerging here? I think many people are trying to determine the very best way to manage communications tools both for  business and for pleasure.

The irony: in this flurry of activity, there hasn’t been  a single F2F social interaction, not even a cat sitting on the keyboard. Over the past year, actual live phone conversations have dropped off a tad. I’ve been making a point to schedule more meetings in person and to call people via Skype, Google Voice, or cell. Sometimes there is simply no time for in-person meetings. I live my business and social life, increasingly, in the world of social media. Some days it doesn’t seem healthy. Some days it feels just right. Some days I wonder how I ever existed without it. Some days I long for more IRL “In Real Life” contact with people.

In this week’s TalentCulture World of Work #TChat – brought to you through the wonders of social media, of course – we’re looking at the good, the bad and the ugly of social communication and workplace collaboration tools. The beauty of  Twitter Chats are clear – hundreds of people worldwide can have a discussion in real time, regardless of physical location – but it’s not clear which other social and workplace communications tools deliver a similar value.

And we have a hashtag where people can show up and share content, insight and fun with us 24.7. It’s become a unique online community and we look forward to continuing the conversation this year. We are going with the connection flow and enjoying every moment.

So let’s come together to explore which communications tools add value and which merely distract us from being productive. Because you can’t use them all. Or can you? Join us Wednesday night on #TChat The World of Work January 18th from 7-8 pm ET (6-7 CT, 4-5 pm PT), where social media and communication topics are in the hot seat. Join meKevin GrossmanMaren Hogan, Sean Charles and Kyle Lagunas for a very special #TChat.

Questions we’ll be discussing this week are here:

 

 

A Talent Community for Angels

Post written by Thom Haslam

One of the most beloved movies of all time, It’s A Wonderful Life is a favorite of every cable station during the holidays.  This heart warming story of a Guardian Angel earning its wings is also one of the greatest movies about careers in the history of Hollywood.  The story revolves around George Bailey, who has dreams of doing big things in his career, with hopes of “lassoing the moon.”  He reaches his goal eventually, but not in the way he dreamt it would happen. No, George never leaves his home town of Bedford Falls, but over the years he builds a company Talent Community that helps him overcome career hurdle of becoming, as his brother says at the climax of the film, “The richest man in town!”

Social Recruiting

Unfortunately, we’ve been drinking too much Egg Nog during all those reruns and the message has been missed.  Instead, companies have joined the stampede to Social Recruiting by establishing a “talent community” on Facebook or LinkedIn and attracting as many followers as possible.  As George demonstrates, it’s the quality of interactions he has over the course of his career that earns him all his riches.  The giant Fan Page Communities are great places for people who have applied for a job to get their voices heard, but are not great for meaningful exchanges that will cultivate a talented person who is not looking for a job.

In its current form Social Recruiting is labor intensive.  A company that builds a Fan Page with a promise of interaction for all comers, finds it impossible to stop the constant flow of chatter that is needed.  The millions spent for this purpose is breathtaking, but the Return On Investment has been called into question – rightfully so.  These activities probably shouldn’t be considered Talent Communities as they’re more appropriate for marketing products.  To be successful, a Talent Community needs a more structured engagement program that cultivates people of interest and provides an Employment Message with justified expectations.

Talent Community Difference

The promise of Talent Communities to provide a more efficient employment process can be huge, with recruiting time spent, talent quality, hiring costs and “time to hire” metrics drastically altered from what we have all come to expect over the last 40 years.  By maintaining a specific Community goal, a company has a real opportunity to attract workers like George Bailey who aren’t looking for a new job, but are focused on taking on greater challenges instead.  The elusive “other 80%” of the workforce, that have been difficult to attract with employment advertising and referrals, can be cultivated with a Talent Community.  This can be a major break through that if fully embraced can change the employment landscape forever.

Talent Neighborhoods

The broader Talent Community’s main focus is to increase the exposure of the Employment Value Proposition or Branding on an industry wide pool of talent, while smaller Talent Neighborhoods provide for development of targeted hiring Short Lists.  A company can get the most out of their Neighborhoods by segmenting them into numerous functional areas of need.  In this way, a recruiting organization can tailor their message to a more targeted group, and the size of the company wide Community can be pared down to a more manageable level for interaction and engagement with the various division or team based hiring authorities.

Obviously, it makes sense to create Talent Neighborhoods for roles within a company that experience a high degree of turnover or that come open several times during the year so a “renewable recruiting” program for these jobs is created, saving time and money.

Heavenly Hiring

Taking lessons from a fictional character like George Bailey may not always be a good recipe for success, but the desire for career consumers to want an upwardly mobile work life at a job they love should not be left to fiction.  For the past 40 years we have screened out nine out of ten workers for every req we filled, mostly with little to no explanation except, “you weren’t good enough,” and workers haven’t appreciated it.  With Talent Communities we have the opportunity to eliminate  decades of neglect and change the way our country’s work force view their career so that bells are heard jingling throughout the economy and talent shortages of angels in heaven are a thing of the past…

 

Social Media Meets Lightning Workplace Learning: #TChat Recap

Two camps.

One that digs social media as THE engine driving recruiting, learning and organizational development.

And the other that does not.

That was pretty clear during last night’s #TChat about social media in the workplace.  Some of you may have tired of the social conversation, but many of us have not.

Remember the resistance to e-mail and the Internet?  Good Gosh — what business value do those time-wasters and secret sharers have?

So much fantastic input last night — like workplace laser word tag.  Zap.  Zap.

Zap.

For me, “social” has always been about networking and learning outside and in the organization and taking the conversation offline to “live” to further discuss:

  • That job opportunity
  • That sweet hire opportunity
  • That business opportunity
  • That learning opportunity
  • That sharing knowledge opportunity
  • That mentoring opportunity
  • That business birth opportunity
  • That consulting opportunity
  • That collaborative R&D opportunity
  • That partnership opportunity
  • You know, these opportunities and more

Again, the key is taking these conversations offline to “live.” The anecdotal statistics are there for me and many others; I’ve generated many of those opportunities above as I’m sure many of you have as well.

But, the business metrics are still all over the place and underreported and overestimated.  Such is the life of a business metric, right?  I wrote a little about that yesterday in my post I say recruit how we do business, and do business how we recruit.

With the rise of the mobile/virtual workforce, I can’t imagine the world without organic and holistic social connectivity.

The “does not dig” camp is choking on the words organic and holistic right now.  We are here to share different views. Like a real workplace. Like a real social community.

Here were the questions we asked last night:

  • Q1: How has #SM specifically impacted the way you conduct a job search and manage your career?
  • Q2: Within your org, how have #SM platforms/tools been used to enhance HR/recruiting initiatives?
  • Q3: Within your org, how have #SM platforms/tools been used to enhance learning initiatives?
  • Q4: How have #SM platforms/tools been effective – or not – at any or all levels within your org?
  • Q5: What business metrics have you established to measure how effective your #SM efforts are?
  • Q6: What specific barriers do you see within your org that impede top to bottom acceptance of platforms/tools?
  • Q7: Be honest – how do you see yourself improving your efficacy in utilizing #SM platforms/tools within your org?

Thank you to all who participated.  It’s good folk like you who make every #TChat a lightning learning round of workplace laser word tag.

Zap.

Social is about us, not the technology.

Here were the top contributors from last night:

  1. @talentculture – 172
  2. @meghanmbiro – 129
  3. @KevinWGrossman – 105
  4. @IanMondrow – 89
  5. @JeffWaldmanHR – 79
  6. @gregoryfarley – 77
  7. @LevyRecruits – 77
  8. @CyndyTrivella – 64
  9. @dawnrasmussen – 53
  10. @Kimberly_Roden – 52

See you next week, January 25, 2011, 8-9 pm ET (5-6 pm PT).

Communities Go Mobile With Real World Exploration Apps

Thanks to a new set of location-based mobile applications that have cropped up over the past year, our social interactions online are beginning to impact our real world lives in very real ways. Here’s how they work now:

  1. Users open a location-based mobile application like Whrrl, Foursquare or SCVNGR and find recommendations from other users for how to experience different places near them.
  2. Within the applications, users bookmark recommendations that they want to do.
  3. Users then use their virtual to-do lists to explore the world around them.

Here’s a use case: I’m waiting in line at the ticket booth of the San Diego Zoo. To kill time, I open my Whrrl application. I view a few recommendations from other users who have been to the zoo. One recommendation from a friend of mine says, “Get to the back of the zoo right when it opens. You’ll get to see the lions eating their breakfast.”

I think to myself, “I don’t want to miss that!” and I dog-ear that recommendation. Forty minutes later, I’m watching the lions chow down with a few other spectators who were wise enough to download Whrrl. The rest of the park is waiting for the sloth exhibit in the front of the zoo to open. I click the “I did this” button on Whrrl and my friend who made the recommendation about the lions receives a reward within Whrrl.

That reality is evolving quickly, and with it, affiliate marketing is about to change forever.

Recently, Foursquare released its “Add to Foursquare” button, which allows anyone to tag places (and eventually recommendations) into the Foursquare network from anywhere on the web. Here’s where the fun begins. Remember that old  pay-per-click model affiliate marketers used to base their income on? It’s about to be taken to the real world. Here’s how these location-based exploration apps are going to work after a couple of more years of innovation:

  1. An affiliate marketer or influencer will be given designated links to specific recommendations and will plant those links using technology like the Foursquare button.
  2. Users will add those recommendations to their virtual to-do lists, and the marketer or influencer who planted the recommendation will be compensated for the real world “click.”
  3. If a user acts on the recommendation on his/her to-do list, the marketer will be paid even more.

When this world becomes a reality, my friend who made that recommendation at the San Diego Zoo will be compensated with a real world reward (monetary or otherwise). That new incentive may be enough motivation for mass adoption of mobile applications that guide real world experiences.

This is how technology will drive real world action. This is how social influence online can translate to the real world. So what does it mean for your social community? It means that with every new innovation in location-based technology, we are closer than ever to breaking down the boundaries between online and offline experiences.

Twitter chats and LinkedIn groups are on the verge of becoming experience-based, not just interest-based. Niche social networks on Ning will provide digital incentives for real world experiences. Facebook groups will be married to verticals of exploration and activity. As community managers, we no longer need to limit our thinking to what our communities can talk about on discussion boards, chats and blogs. We can now start to strategize about enriching our community members’ lives while they aren’t sitting at their desks pounding away on their laptops.

If you haven’t tried out a location-based app like Whrrl or Foursquare, I highly recommend it. Understanding the dynamics those applications use will be key to running a successful community in the very near future.

10 Tips To Building a Social Community

The human resources, career, and recruitment communities are communities in the truest sense of the word. Social media communities are popping up everywhere these days. Why do some work, and some don’t? How do we build stronger communities? Where do you go for advice and resources for community development?
First, the success of any social media community depends upon engagement, interaction, and positive reinforcement for participation. Back in February, I started a job search community called #HireFriday. It spread to 3 Countries within the first 3 months, and went viral throughout the web. HireFriday is not just a community, it’s a movement with grass root supporters, volunteer community leaders who act as stewards, and evangelists to grow our community.

I attribute this to the pay it forward aspect of our social community. I believe it is hunan nature to want to be kind, and helpful.  In the down turned economy, people seek out ways to make a difference.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Engage-give people a reason to be part of your community. Reach out to your industry leaders and enlist their support.

2. Interact-be a conversation starter. People appreciate making contact – particularly when the banter is positive and upbeat.

3. Reinforce interaction with public recognition. Retweet on Twitter. Create a blog post noting and linking the people who are engaging with you community. This encourages other people’s participation.

4. Find people who need your help and help them. Enlist others to do the same. For instance, job seekers appreciate it when you amplify their search with a retweet, or tweet.

5. Make sure you are listening and responding to participants in your community.

6. Be prepared to address negative comments immediately. Rapid response is crucial to building a better relationship. A problem resolved quickly and attentively builds community loyalty.

7. Provide excellent content.

8. Be consistent in your content by staying on message and reinforcing your core brand values, goals, and mission.

9. Don’t spread yourself too thin-find the space where the interaction is greatest and focus your attention there.

10. Stay positive. Garner support from your community and build those relationships.

The relationships I’ve built over the past few years in social media communities have grown dear to my heart. Nothing builds community loyalty like deepening relationships with your participants. The top ten tips I’ve mentioned have helped me focus my community building efforts. I hope they help yours.   Mashable and Techcrunch are staples in my Google Reader. I like these topical articles – Enjoy:

How To: Use Social Media to Connect With Other Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur People & Lists

The Fastest Growing Social Sites

8 Things to Avoid When Building a Community