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The IT Strategy Triad - 3 focus areas for an optimized IT Operation

Social Web Primer for IT Professionals

I was recently discussing with an IT executive what it means to run your business on the internet. In early discussions the usual questions of security and integration are front of mind. Once those concerns are addressed however (and they are not always addressed satisfactorily by every cloud provider), the conversation inevitably turns to the reality of the impact on employee productivity. So asks the IT Exec, "if I cannot get my head around search/tag vs categorize/navigate or configure vs customize how is the rest of the organisation supposed to?"

The answer is simple, the vast majority of employees coming into your organisation have the web in the DNA. The web and more importantly the social web as it is today, is embedded into their psyche so much so that many ask, "is Facebook accessible from my corporate desktop?" before accepting a job offer.

So I decided to share 3 activities every IT professional can be doing to help them understand the social web and the opportunities presented by cloud computing to achieve business goals.

1. Google Reader

Using Google Reader is essential if only to understand some basic technologies and concepts, such as RSS, searching, tagging and flat data structures. Clear your inbox by unsubscribing from all email lists and use Google Reader to subscribe instead.

Once there, you can subscribe to two of the preeminent thought leaders on the subject.

Dion Hinchcliffe http://feeds2.feedburner.com/zdnet/Hinchcliffe

Phil Wainewright http://feeds2.feedburner.com/zdnet/SAAS

2. Participate on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Once you have established these accounts you can focus on the following.

• LISTEN to the conversation, monitor what is said about your brand and connect with your personal and professional network. Understanding the concept of "one to many" as opposed to  "one to one" is crucial. Follow relevant individuals and thought leaders in your industry.
• PARTICIPATE by scheduling 30mins a week to update each account. Social media need not be a time waster. Scheduling 30mins to participate will ensure you maximize the value you get out of each.
• INTEGRATE by linking each of the three statuses (so you can update all three from Twitter). This will give you a glimpse into the future of decentralized sharing of information inside and outside the firewall.

3. Search, search, search

Research suggests that if customers don't find what they're looking for on your website through the navigation within 10 seconds they will revert to search.

If you're categorizing and navigating past a single tier (eg. in Outlook or in your documents),  you are wasting your time and you need to stop!

Keep your folder structures to a single tier. Install a desktop search tool and configure it to search your email and documents.

These suggestions might seem like no-brainers but you'd be surprised how many IT professionals are still dismissive of the relevance and impact of the web inside and outside their organization.

Da Vinci, the art of the science

Email is dead... long live Yammer

In the past couple of years I've come to the realization that email is becoming ineffective as a business communication medium, delivering a stagnating ROI and generally diluting the value of face to face communication.

There are a number of micro-blogging services for the enterprise that could do a better job, Yammer is one of the most popular:

5 reasons why Yammer can replace email...

1. Context - receive the right information, when you need it.

2. Accessibility - Use it on the web, on your mac, on your PC, iPhone, Blackberry, at home or on the road.

3. Engagement - Flatten out the organisation and allow your team to engage at all levels.

4. Integration - RSS integration provides an opportunity to present and monitor the collective intelligence of your organisation in real time.

5. Transparency - The relative privacy afforded by email is no longer relevant. If its sensitive, say it in person. If it's not share it with everyone.

Of course, this would be impractical for most companies and it doesn't solve the problem of communicating with external parties. Nevertheless, a quiet revolution is underway to disrupt the way we communicate @work.

Social Media... show me the money!

Will display advertising will deliver the monetization social networks need to stay afloat. I'm not so sure.

Apple have it right with their App Store. Salesforce.com are making money from force.com, Google Apps ditto. What do all of these have in common?

Platforms, platforms, platforms, platforms. I think the future of monetization on the web will be in platforms that can deliver a rich application ecosystem. People will pay for applications that are priced right and deliver functionality (or frivolity). Each of these platforms of course have a unique value proposition - mobility for the App Store, social graph for Facebook, useability for Google Apps, business productivity for Salesforce. Certainly, every mobile vendor under the sun now has an app store.

I recently paid $70 for a GPS app on the iPhone. Why? Because I didn't have a GPS and it made sense to purchase a $70 app rather than another $300 gadget. There is no reason why I wouldn't pay for the right app at the right price on Facebook.

Is Twitter A Fad?

Those who are calling Twitter a  fad are missing the point. Twitter is simply a very effective "one to many" communication medium. Twitter as we know it will certainly pass, either evolving or being superseded by something else. Does that mean individuals and business should not be investing time and resources building their presence on it? No. Does that mean that it has disrupted how we communicate and congregate across geographical boundaries? Yes. Will understanding and building strategies around Twitter hold you in good stead for "the next big thing"? Yes.

Meaningful dialogue the key to social media

Think about it, if you had an opportunity to conduct a meaningful, ongoing dialogue about your brand, company or product would you take it? When viewing social media this way it provides the basis for the development of a social media strategy. Mention meaningful conversation or ongoing dialogue to your CEO however and you would most likely be met with a blank stare or bemused smile. So how can a company utilize social media to engage with current and potential customers?

1. The first step would be to identify the top social networks where your customers or potential customers may frequent and join in the conversation (and it is a conversation).

• Twitter - Search on keywords, individuals and companies to follow relevant to your industry. Contribute. Add value.
  
• Facebook - Search and join relevant groups, pages. Contribute content. Build  and promote community.
• LinkedIn - Answer questions about your area of expertise. Ask questions, help the professional community.
• RSS - Blog about your industry, upload relevant content. Use Feedburner. There is a significant subset of people who chose to utilize email subscriptions and RSS. Don't neglect them.

2. Measure your success! Implement analytics (Google Analytics) on your website. Measure the most effective activities which drive traffic to and activity on your website. For an overall brand engagement metric, you can try Net Promoter Score as a way to measure your success. Adjust and focus your social media efforts accordingly.

3. Start today. Most suggestions in this post can be implemented immediately and at an incremental cost. The most effective use of social media is to start using social media.

So the common thread for effective social media marketing is to promote community around your brand, add value and initiate and contribute to meaningful conversations - if you're doing none of those things what are you waiting for?