Rogier Noort, Author at Rogier Noort

Spin Doctor for #e20s

When I visited the Enterprise 2.0 Summit in Paris (in 2013) I was surprised by the amount of quality content (presentations). I learned a lot those two days. And not just about Social Business as a theoretical practice, but also about it’s real world value.

The greatest bonus, or advantage, of being active in this field is that you’re surrounded by people who understand the benefits of social. They are social. They have to be social.

This means they’re open, not closed.
They’re helpful, not obstructive.
They’re friendly, not arrogant.
They’re supportive, not opposing.

All in all, I had a lot of fun, which was a first for me at a conference.

#e20s Meetup

When the schedule for the Meetups was made available, and there was one in Brussels, I simply had to go.

Present was a small contingent (Bjoern Negelmann, Rawn Shah and Frédéric Williquet) and the topic was, of course, Social Business and the upcoming Summit. There was also some regular chitchat, and all-in-all it was a pleasant evening.

Ambassador

I suppose my showing up, being part of the evening triggered enough in Bjoern to ask me to be part of the Ambassadors team for the Summit. This is why I’ve been Tweeting and writing about the Summit so much. That, and the fact it is my favourite conference.

I take that role pretty serious, I do find it to be an honour to be asked. This might sound a little too Klingon for some, but it’s true nonetheless.

Spin Doctor

And then there’s that. Born out of a necessity, my predecessor moved on to a different project, the role was offered to me.

Prove

So, there it is my friends, prove that being active in a community has its rewards.

And this is an important lesson too, because it strikes at the very heart of social. If you do nothing, share nothing, ask nothing.., you will receive nothing.
At the other end of the spectrum, every seed you plant will yield some result. And these results can either be reaped by you at a time of your choosing, or something unexpected pops up or falls down.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. – The Beatles

Social Media is annoying, so let’s ignore it

A friend of mine just started a new job, and me being me, I advised him to ask about their social media policies. In this day and age, we can assume there is bound to be one and it’s important not to make any mistakes with that.

The reaction was a bit unexpected and a little bit worrisome.

Everything is blocked on your desktop, you can use your cellphone for social.

The person asked seemed annoyed by the question, he might be asked about social often, but the company has nothing in place regarding social.., nothing.

No policy
No directive
No listening
No engagement
No presence

As you can imagine, I was stunned. Agreed, it might be a bit naive of me to think that most companies are doing something by now, but doing nothing at all…

Living in a Cave

I’m going to make another assumption. I assume most people do not live in caves any more, there might be one or two, but in Western Europe, that is highly unlikely. We can stretch this assumption all the way to Social Media.

You probably have a home, a telephone, an Internet connection and, statistically, you probably have a Facebook account too. Within any company in Western Europe there are, at least, some managers whom are active on Social Media. At the very least, some employees are.

And judging from main stream media and even the reported news.., you just have to be aware of this phenomenon called Social Media.

I believe this is a fair assumption.

Any Company

It is my believe, and with me almost every professional who has anything to do with social, that the use of social can benefit any and all companies.

Highly customised in some cases, well controlled or monitored in others, but a solution, or beneficial addition can always be found and made.

Just, No

Now we have established that most people in most companies are aware of The Social Evolution, you would assume they’d do something with it, or about it. Well, you’d be wrong. I was wrong.

That is one assumption you definitely can’t make. In fact, it’s save to assume that a lot of companies do not even entertain the thought of doing anything with social.

This company my friend works for as but one policy: No. Just.., no…

Every social site is blocked on the desktop, there is no training, no policy, no awareness, no risk management. I’m sure they have some PR worst-case-scenerios, but I’m also sure this does not involve social. Maybe it gets mentioned somewhere, but without a proper presence and proper training, there is no way you can predict or handle any problems or fall-out, should it occur.

However, you are allowed to use social through your own device (not sure if they have Wi-Fi, but you can bet they don’t).

No Stopping It

There is no way a company can forbid the use of social media. Especially in your own time.
They also cannot stop you from expressing your opinion about anything on any platform, they can only react.

And, they also cannot stop people outside the company, like customers, express their opinion.

Not For All

Now, it must be said, this company is an life-insurance company. Having a solid Social Media presence is difficult in this line of business. It’s not the most dynamic subject, and it’s hard to translate it into anything visual (but it can be done).

Also, one of their prime concerns is customer privacy.

They fear that with the use of social (on a desktop), sensitive information can easily be shared (or leaked). Also, because it is, in part, a financial institution it has to adhere to many rules.
Because of these two factors, its reputation is its most valuable asset. And yes, you can lose that in an instant via social.

However, this may happen regardless of whether or not you have an active Social Media Policy.

And therein lies the dilemma.

Risk Management

I’m not saying they should have a Twitter account and a Facebook Page.
I’m not saying they have to open up all channels on the desktops.

What I’m saying is; At the very least, they have to have a solid policy on the use of Social. Not as a restrictive measurement, but as a clear guide.
Informing your employees on the pitfalls of social, and having a document to fall back on, is not just smart, it’s mandatory. Through this policy you can not only protect the company from harm, but also the individual.

Closing everything of, and saying ‘No’, is not a solid strategy. It doesn’t protect you, it doesn’t educate. It only moves the problem somewhere else, maybe even increasing the risk.

Companies have a responsibility towards their employees, much like parents towards their children.

Social Business

And then there’s that. If we (companies) do not encourage the save and proper use of social by our employees, the gap to a Social Business becomes even greater.
Shunning social completely only prolongs the digital stone age a company is in.

When the time comes to move up, and this time will come, the challenge to change will be enormous.

Any and all companies (and individuals) have to move with the changes. If you do not, you run the risk of becoming obsolete.

Enterprise 2.0 Summit; more than just a conference! – #e20s

In 2014 it will be the third time the Summit is held in Paris, and it’s the foremost European gathering of experts & practitioners on new forms of communication & collaboration. However, it has been in existence since 2008. Giving its organisers plenty of experience and reputation. Which, in turn, provides us with an excellent event with great speakers and cases.

Meetups and Talks

It’s also more than just a conference. The sharing of knowledge starts way before the actual conference.

Meetups are organised in various cities across Europe, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich. The aim is to exchange information and discuss the upcoming conference. Various topics are covered, like the format of talks, or which case studies should make an appearance.
And besides talking, it’s a good chance to reacquaint contacts and meet new ones.

The Expert Talks are a different matter, these are carefully organised by Kongress Media, with a fixed topic and 4 to 6 experts. The discussions are interesting, to say the least. If you want to catch up with the talks, visit Kongress media’s YouTube channel.., there’s a ton of stuff there.

#e20s

Next to the pre-conference events and the conference itself, there is the hashtag #e20s. By now it’s a year round tag which signifies so much more than just the conference. It is used throughout the year in many tweets about social business, enterprise 2.0 and many other related topics.
Of course, the closer we get to the actual conference, the more the tag will appear on the Interwebs.

The Conference

You might have noticed that, lately, I talk/write a lot about the Summit. This is because I was asked to be a supporter, an ambassador of the conference. I was honoured to be asked, so, of course, I said yes.
Besides that, I attended the conference early this year, in Paris, and enjoyed it tremendously. The collective knowledge present during those 2 days was breathtaking. The people were truly social and the presentations enlightening.

So yes, I can say I’m a fan.

Well.., the 2014 edition promises to be no less of a thrill.

Getting Social Enterprise Ready!

Late Adopters

By now, for a large part, we may assume that the necessity for social business is more or less apparent. People are starting to get it. But, a truly successful change can only be had when everybody participates. Only then can you claim the title of “Social Business”.
In very broad strokes; The first 20% is relatively easy, the next 60% will come around given time. However, the last 20% is where the true challenge lies. The 2014 edition of the Summit shall focus on the late adopters in the field.

Because so many projects get stuck in the middle, the conference aims to provide hands-on and how-to information to get unstuck, and get things moving again.

Mind you, this is not just useful for social business conversions, but can also help with many larger projects where change is at the core.

Finally, the business impact will pass the revue. After all.., we can’t make any significant change without real and measurable business results.

Master Classes

The conference is, in actuality, a three day event. On the 10th Februari Kongress Media presents no less than three Master Classes.

These will be lead by, well, masters within the field and the subjects, as they are announced at the moment are:

Putting the Business back into Social with Bertrand Duperrin
Defining the Internal Engagement & Community Management by Rachel Happe
Social Business Leadership – Concepts and Practices by Dion Hinchcliffe

The keywords for the other two days, of the conference proper, are; Enabling, Engagement and Adoption

And yes.., also for this year.., there will be Lego.

Let me know if you’ll be attending too (in the comments or via Twitter), I already know some of you will.

And, let’s meet up.