The SIP Invite - Social Networking Archives

Social Media v Corporate Culture

2012-04-25T19:33:48Z

Earlier today, I sat through a webinar titled "Social Media and the Law", a discussion on the laws that effect social media. Much of it was pretty predictable - stories of employees leaking information, brokers

Image via CrunchBase

promoting stocks, sexual harassment, etc. As with email and instant messaging, people seem to have a tendency to type first, then think.

An article in today's USA Today also discusses the hazards of Tweeting first, then doing the fact checking second.

Back to the webinar: the event was hosted by a company that offers "social media management" software, allowing companies to review, approve and track virtually all social media postings by employees. Sounds like a giant huge wet blanket, surely to snuff out any relevance and spontaneity that makes social media so powerful.

Instead of buying expensive software and playing big-brother, I have a suggestion: How about training your employees on social media, explaining how it can effect the company, the consequences and set policies about posting confidential information?

Sure sounds far less expensive to me. Love to hear your thoughts? (if your company let's you share them)

A Look Ahead at 2010

2010-01-01T16:16:32Z

Wireless Internet - with the increasing use of handheld smart phones, wireless Internet usage will soar and with it will come increased congestion, reliability issues and eventually usage fees. The "all you can use" wireless Internet is going to get expensive.

Apple will end exclusive arrangement with AT&T - with competition from Google Android (the operating software for the "Droid") and ever increasing network congestion and performance issues on the AT&T network (see above), Apple will be forced to finally end their exclusive relationship and expand to other carriers. At first to other GSM carriers (T-Mobile) and then CDMA carriers (like Verizon and Sprint). However, an iPhone for CDMA networks requires a different radio in the iPhone which means there will end up being two different phones and users will never be able to jump from GSM to CDMA carriers without buying a new phone.

Google will aggressively exploit Apple / AT&Ts performance issues (see above) and become a strong competitor in the mobile device market with both GSM and CDMA carriers (still with different devices).

HD Voip - the pieces are all there, and the first few carriers are readying their product launches. Your wireline telephone is about to become obsolete. Once you hear it - you will understand.

Fiber-to-the-home - will grow as fast as they can bury the conduit. Whether it comes from Verizon with their FiOS offering or your local cable operator, coax and twisted pair copper wires are dead. Blazing speed Internet, HDTV and video on demand over IP will drive a wooden stake in the heart of the old copper infrastructure. Long live FTTH!

Video over IP - I've seen the future and it's unbundled video over IP services like Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon.com with their streaming or digital downloads to your DVR. They completely obsolete video on demand with it's limited choices and start times. Also, why would anyone go into a video rental store ever again?

Blu-Ray - with the HD-DVD / Blu-ray battle ending two years ago and sufficient HDTVs in people's homes, it's time for Blu-ray to take off. But, only if Blu-ray disks also include a DVD or digital copy for the kids room/car/portable player. We've got too many other DVD-only devices around the house to limit playback. But, Blu-ray will have to compete with Video over IP services and will never be as ubiquitous as DVD rentals were 10 years ago.

Twitter is in Twouble - it's 15 minutes of fame are over and it will basically settle in as a replacement for PR news wire services with content by the people and for the people. Much like web pages, email, YouTube and blogging, social media in general will find a home in the suite of communications tools. The bottom line is that talented people will always be needed to create interesting/funny/insightful content to keep your attention - otherwise it's just noise.

Morse Code - sorry to see you go, but when the ARRL and FCC dropped it from the Amateur Radio operating requirements, now there is absolutely no reason to keep it around. --. --- --- -.. -... -.-- .

Jobs recovery - Green energy, Biotechnology and security are the growth areas for the next decade. Kids - make sure you prepare yourselves for these industries / careers.

Energy/Fuel prices - with our sputtering economy taking a long slow recovery, I suspect we will enjoy relatively low fuel prices at least for the first six months. This will give time for the auto manufacturers to figure out how to make a plug-in-hybrid for the masses. Hopefully it will be ready when the prices of fuel take off again.

And with that, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and see you soon!

More on The Facebook Paradox

2008-01-18T14:14:28Z

If you recall back in October, I posted a blog article about the intersection between personal and professional "friends" on Facebook and other social networking sites.

I noticed this morning that USAtoday picked up on the issue and published a lengthy article about the issue. It's good reading and expands on what I have been sensing would be an issue going forward. Fortunately, it sounds like Facebook is adding functionality to their offering that will allow creation of "circles", providing some insulation between our social and profession lives.

The Facebook Paradox

2007-10-11T12:38:29Z

Back a few months ago, my friend Jeff Pulver introduced me to Facebook and invited me (and about 2,000 others) to create professional profiles on the much-hyped social networking site. Always appreciating something new - I jumped right in with great expectations. You see, I too had gone through the Linked-In process of creating a profile (read resume) on Linked-In, inviting all of my real connections and getting a few references only to be barraged by head hunters and past co-workers looking for jobs. Linked-In was not what I was looking for and thus my hopes for Facebook were pretty high.

Getting started with Facebook was great, but it seemed a little out of touch for a 45 year old adult. What were my favorite bands seemed more important than my professional credentials of past positions and educational experiences. Oh well - forge ahead.

One of the first people I "friended" was Jeff Pulver along with some other friends of his that I knew well and interacted with periodically. It seemed I had a good start on connecting my professional network on Facebook and we were able to share thoughts and observations about our industry and the work we were undertaking.

Then I ran into my 18 year old son, who too had a Facebook profile. So I friended him...and all his friends. You see they are over at my house virtually every weekend anyhow, so we are "friends". Not adult-to-adult friends, but instead the relationship is more of a parent-to-teenager kind of friendship. They come to us with their successes and hopes and occasional problems - but adult-friends are not the same as teenager-friends. It's been great because I can see what social events the kids have planned and can connect the faces with names as they scurry through the house. I've even been able to put the kibosh on a couple unauthorized social events that were planned at my house.

But not all is perfect in the land of Facebook. You see, because the way Facebook works, now my professional friends can see all of my son's friends - not something I had really planned on. They are all pretty good kids, but do I really want my co-workers to see them?

In hind-site - I wish I had just kept a separation between my work world and my personal world. I know the lines blur all the time, but life was a whole lot easier when I was able to keep them apart.