S.M.A.R.T. Blog

Digital Era Terms and Expressions: Sharing Favorites

What's in a word? A lot, more often than not! Language is a powerful reflection of the world in which we live and the realities we must embrace, a fluid and ever-changing reminder that neither time nor progress stands still. This post shares some of my favorite Digital Era terms and expressions and invites others to participate in a crowdsourcing exercise to expand the list.

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Like other tranformational periods in history, the Digital Era has spawned its fair share of new terms and expressions. Today, people don't think twice when they hear once-nonexistent words like email and internet, and they easily understand new meanings of terms like web, cellular, and tablet. Google has entered the vernacular as a verb, virtually (pun intended) achieving Kleenex or Coke status by becoming a generic term that's used to refer to more than just the brand itself. And speaking of brands, who knew we'd be referring to new products and services with names like HootSuite, Spotify, Dropbox, Flickr, Yelp, and Tumblr?  

As newer social and digital technologies become more fully integrated into our lives, commerce, and the larger culture, we've become increasingly comfortable saying things like ping me and message me, as well as ascribing new meaning to terms like friending, tweeting, linking, profile, page...

The list of new terms and meanings is seemingly endless, as our language - and the ideas that the language we use conveys - continue to evolve. Earlier this year, I wrote "Social Media" is SO 2009! 7 Proposed Semantic Upgrades. Now I'd like to crowdsource a collection of Digital Era terms (new words, acronyms) and expressions (quotable quotes, bon mots) that goes beyond the basics to reflect some of the newer and/or more sophisticated phenomena we're dealing with.

I'll kick things off by sharing a somewhat random collection of some of my favorites. What are yours?

- Courtney Shelton Hunt

 

New Words and Acronyms

Cost of Inaction (COI): I've now lost track of who originated this term, but it's a great concept to include in discussions of ROI (Return on Investment and other variations) in the context of digital engagement because it highlights the fact that "doing nothing" is not a risk-free option.

Denovati:The Denovati are "Digital Era explorers, pathfinders and immigrants who see to understand and effectively leverage new social and digital technologies." Yes, it is our new brand identity (click here for details), but I would be remiss if I didn't include it. 

Jobgram: This term has been trademarked by a company in New Zealand that creates infographics and videographics that provide quick descriptions and realistic previews of jobs. They refer to what they do as "Next-level job advertising" and refer to the products they create as "visually engaging job opportunities." Brilliant.

SMAC: On my personal favorite new terms is SMAC, which stands for social (software), mobile (devices and access), (data) analytics, and cloud (computing) and reflects the convergence among these technology movements. The term is short, comprehensive, catchy, and memorable - a descriptor that is as psychologically powerful as the movements it describes.

Technosapien: I learned this term from a commenter on a Fast Company article I read in 2012. To me it means a person who has a strong understanding of and facility with new technology. It's kind of awkward, but its retro-scientific vibe appeals to me.

Tutoricle: This is actually the name of a blog site, but I love the idea of using the term more broadly to describe articles and blog posts that are focused on teaching something and/or providing how-to guidance. We could also have tutorigrams and tutoreos... :)

Videographic: Basically, an animated infographic. Interestingly, although the term is relatively new the idea may actually have preceded infographics. Erik Qualman's classic socialnomics video (original version produced in 2009) comes to mind... Speaking of which, socialnomics is a great term in and of itself - as is his newer term (and related video) - mobilenomics!

 

Quotable Quotes and Bon Mots

It's a Brave New World... Even if you want the old one back!

People often use "brave new world" to describe the Digital Era, but extending the idea is a reminder to laggards and Luddites and late adopters that the world they knew (and preferred) no longer exists.

Technology creation, adoption, and adaptation are fundamentally human endeavors.

There is such a strong tendency to anthropomorphize technology that it's important to reinforce that it's people who give it life and sustain it.

Technology doesn't care how old you are.

I am not a big fan of the Digital Native/Digital Immigrant distinction. Although it's important to recognize and respond to the growing digital divide, we have to be careful not to correlate age and digital competencies too strongly. It's a language in which we all should strive to be fluent.

Saying social media is "just" a communications tool is like saying a nuclear power plant is "just" a way to turn on the lights.

I came up with this expression in response to the well-intentioned but misguided efforts of many earlier adopters to try to reduce the fear and perceived risks of using new technologies.

Simple doesn't mean easy.

The relative simplicity of many social media platforms and tools can lead to a misconception that it's relatively easy to learn how to use them efficiently and effectively. It's not.

Related ideas: Strategy trumps tactics. and Technology is not a substitute for good judgment.

Digital engagement can be described as "hours of tedium punctuated by moments of 'Oh #@&(%!'”

A variant of the old pilot's expression: Flying is hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror

Everything in cyberspace is subject to change – often in an instant and without any warning!

A variant of a bumper sticker saying from the Quest Bookshop in Charlottesville, Virginia: Everything in the Universe is subject to change–and everything is on schedule!”

Denovati, Here We (Be)Come!

Earlier this year we announced an initiative to create a new brand identity for the SMinOrgs Community. This blog post details the reasons for making the switch, as well as the 13 criteria we developed for selecting the best new brand. As the effort evolved, it became evident that what we were doing was much bigger than simply coming up with a new name for SMinOrgs. It was really about rebranding and consolidating SMinOrgs, the Renaissance Strategic Solutions consultancy, and the Global Center for Digital Era Leadership (GCDEL) under a single unified identity.

The results of a survey we conducted in February to solicit feedback on the four brand options we had identified produced a clear winner: Denovati (day-no-VAH-tee), which translates roughly as follows:

• DE = Digital Era
• NOV = short for novani, the Latin term for colonists, immigrants, new residents...
• ATI = those who seek knowledge and/or are in the know

Put another way, the Denovati are Digital Era explorers, pathfinders and immigrants who seek to understand and effectively leverage new social and digital technologies.

The Denovati Group can be viewed as an alliance that enhances the success of individuals and organizations in the Digital Era. Here's an overview of how the alliance will be organized, along with some of our working taglines (click the image to enlarge it).

 

 

Our working short descriptions are as follows:

• The Denovati Group enhances the success of individuals and organizations in the Digital Era through research, thought leadership and guidance, consulting and training services, and a professional community that fosters communication and collaboration.
• The S.M.A.R.T. Blog explores the applications and implications of Social Media And Related Technologies in organizations, focusing on both opportunities and challenges from both conceptual and tactical perspectives.
• S.M.A.R.T. Resources include white papers, research reports, ebooks and other materials that provide both strategic and tactical Digital Era guidance for individuals and organizations.
• Denovati Solutions (formerly Renaissance Strategic Solutions) helps individuals and organizations function more efficiently and effectively in the Digital Era through the design and implementation of innovative and leading-edge strategies and programs.
• The Denovati Network (formerly the Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community) is a global, multi-disciplinary professional community that helps individuals at all skill levels successfully navigate Digital Era opportunities and challenges.
• Through research and thought leadership, the Denovati Institute (formerly the Global Center for Digital Era Leadership (GCDEL) and SMinOrgs) provides a forum for exploring important Digital Era issues that individuals, organizations, economies and societies face.

We are still finalizing our brand identity, including the logo and color scheme, and have started building our new website and related digital network. We'll be revealing additional changes gradually, targeting a full official reveal by the end of May.

Stay tuned... Lots of new and exciting developments are in the works!

Do People Need Social Media Training? Yes. And (Much) More.

Earlier this year I shared my thoughts about online social learning communities in response to a Forbes post by Meghan Biro. This post supplements those ideas by reflecting on a 2012 series written by Shel Holtz about social media training:

• Part 1: Introducing a series on social media training
• Part 2: Getting buy-in for social media training
• Part 3: Research is at the heart of social media training
• Part 4: Social media training for employees: decisions, decisions
• Part 5: Should C-suites and boards of directors be exempt from social media training?

I'm always glad to see others write about the need for education and training, which becomes more important as the gap between technological and human capabilities continues to grow. I especially appreciate the thought and effort leaders like Shel Holtz put into helping leaders understand why the issue is important and how it can be addressed most effectively.

But just as marketing is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the applications of new communications technologies, so is social media training when it comes to Digital Era competencies. Based on my own research and writing on the subject, as well as the preliminary results of some focus groups on digital competencies I've been conducting, I offer the following considerations for both individuals and organizations:

1. As internal applications and implications of social and digital technologies expand (and will become far more pervasive and relevant to workers of all types), the training provided by organizations will need to expand as well. The focus must move beyond external discussions on public platforms to internal communication and collaboration on private digital networks. No functional area is exempt.

2. Our prevailing LIY (Learn It Yourself) attitude may have some limited effectiveness for personal uses of new technologies, but it is both inefficient and ineffective for professional uses. Most people - and especially later adopters - need help to develop the competencies they need. There has to be a balance between formal and informal learning, with different weights applied to each depending on an individual's baseline competencies. The ultimate goal, however, should be to enable people to engage in self-directed learning.

3. Education and training will have to range from high-level concepts to specific skills. Everyone should know how to do basic tasks like insert and crop an image and hyperlink text, for example, but they should also have at least a basic understanding of things like the role of mobile technology in commerce and legal considerations for both individuals and organizations.

4. Similarly, we have to focus on both the simple and complex. Yes, learning can often be boiled down to a few simple points, but those points hardly reflect everything someone needs to know. For example, knowing basic accounting principles like "assets = liabilities + owners' equity" and "revenue - expenses = net profit" is important, but that knowledge hardly qualifies someone to be a bookkeeper, let alone a CPA or CFO. 

5. Education and training must also address strategic and tactical considerations, again to varying degrees depending on the learners and the learning objectives. In addition to knowing what they need to do and how, professionals - and especially organizational leaders - need to understand why they should be be doing it.

6. Not everything can or should be taught in house. Some aspects of education and training should be customized, but general concepts and skills can be developed through more standard approaches. We need more valuable services to provide what organizations need - and organizational leaders must be willing to make the necessary investments in those services.

7. Higher education - especially in professional schools like business - has a critical role to play in developing competent Digital Era professionals and effective Digital Era leaders. There is MUCH more that they can and should be doing to create the necessary foundations for ongoing professional development of all types.

You can learn more about Digital Era competencies and the need for education and training through the Related Resources listed below. I encourage folks to share additional resources and especially welcome comments and questions about the challenges faced by digital rookies and what they need to bridge their own digital divides.

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD 

 

Related Resources

10 Digital Era Truths

Social and Digital Tech Trends: 9 Take-Aways for YOU

Digital Era Adaptation in 2013: A Long and Winding Road

The New Digital Divide: Thoughts for Leaders and Laggards

Digital Era Competencies: How Do You Stack Up?

What's Your Social Media Sophistication? The SMQ (version III)

Social Media Education and Training: Pro or Con? Please Discuss…

Social Media Education & Training: Where We Are. Where We’re Going.

A Master’s Degree Specialization in Social Media & Online Communities

Digital Era Leadership: The Role of Business Schools

For even more resources, check out slides 35-42 from my closing Impact99 keynote, The Road Forward: Striving for Balance. More recent pieces can be found in the blog archives from December to the present. 

Welcome to the Digital Era. Now What Do You Do?

Like many professionals - especially those who have attained "senior" status - you are probably unsure of the steps you need to take to enhance your skillset to include digital competencies. If that's the case, you may benefit from participating in a discussion group focused on Digital Era opportunities and challenges. This post provides details and an invitation...

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Earlier this year I gave presentations to two groups of senior professionals in transition. With the first group, comprised of HR professionals, I talked about what it means to be a leader in the Digital Era. For the second group, which included 100+ people from all functional areas, I gave a formal presentation on career management and job search.

One of the most profound take-aways from both sessions was the sincere interest the attendees had in better understanding social and digital technologies and how they can be used by individuals and organizations. They fully understand they can no longer dismiss social media as a fad, but they've barely begun to leverage new technologies to achieve their goals - primarily because they are overwhelmed by the possibilities and have no clue where to start.

Over the past several years I've researched and written about Digital Era leadership, digital competencies, and the need for formal education and training, but I always felt like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. It's very exciting to now see signs of a growing appetite and demand for learning and understanding among later adopters, especially those who occupy senior ranks.

To capitalize on this interest and determine the best ways to help these professionals climb the necessary learning curves, I have decided to run some discussion groups focused on Digital Era opportunities and challenges, from both individual and organizational perspectives. These sessions, which begin next week, will help me better understand the perspective and needs of digital rookies in particular, and will help participants better understand what they need to know/do to be successful as their careers progress.

The initial focus groups are comprised of senior professionals from all functional areas who are currently in job transition, but I also welcome the opportunity to talk with people who are currently working and those in earlier career stages. 

If you'd like to participate in one of these focus groups, please send a message expressing your interest to focus@sminorgs.net. Please be sure to include a link to your LinkedIn profile, so I can learn more about you. In the short term these groups will be face-to-face, so participation will be limited to folks in/near Chicago, but we can experiment with virtual discussions as well if there's enough interest.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you.

Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

Related Resources

Welcome to the Digital Era

• 10 Digital Era Truths (link)
• The New Digital Divide: Thoughts for Leaders and Laggards (link)
• Digital Era Competencies: How Do You Stack Up? (link)
• Social and Digital Tech Trends: 9 Take-Aways for YOU (link)
• "Social Media" is SO 2009! 7 Proposed Semantic Upgrades (link)

Digital Era Leadership

• What Does it Take to be a Leader in the Digital Era? (link)
• 4 Big Barriers to Social Media Adoption in Organizations: Key Research Findings (link)
• Digital Era Adaptation in 2013: A Long and Winding Road (link)
• The Social Media ROI Challenge: Are We Making Progress? (link)

 For additional resources, check out slides 44-51 in the Job Search in the Digital Era presentation deck.

 

The Social Media ROI Challenge: Are We Making Progress?

This post revisits the social media ROI (return on investment) question, focusing in particular on whether we're making progress in terms of the challenges put forth by organizational leaders and other experienced professionals who have been resisting increased digital engagement. Playing off the ROI acronym, it provides alternatives for interpreting the ROI argument. It then articulates – and counters – seven assumptions on which the resistance arguments are often based. The post concludes with some indications that leaders may be moving away from specious arguments and balancing concerns about ROI with the equally important COI (cost of inaction), and invites others to share their insights and experiences as well.

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A little over a year ago I wrote The Social Media ROI Challenge: What it Really Means (and 7 Related Faulty Assumptions). After kicking off this year with Social and Digital Tech Trends: 9 Take-Aways for YOU and Digital Era Adaptation in 2013: A Long and Winding Road, I thought I would revisit and update my thoughts on the question of social media ROI (which can also be extended to the adoption of other new digital technologies).I welcome the insights of others as to whether and how we're making progress on addressing the important Digital Era issue of new technology adoption by organizations and their leaders.

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

ROI is Often Code for...

Technological advances continue to outstrip the willingness and ability of many organizational leaders to address the opportunities and challenges they present. When it comes to social technologies in particular, skepticism has been widespread, and often manifests itself in questions about the kind of return on investment (ROI) leveraging these technologies can produce.

These questions seem perfectly rational on the surface, and it appears that leaders who ask them are fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities and acting as good stewards of their organization's limited resources. But looks can be deceiving. All too often the ROI argument has been used as a smokescreen and/or a form of filibuster against moving forward. In my experience, when organizational leaders and other experienced professionals talk about the ROI of social media, they’re not just referring to Return On Investment. ROI, in fact, is often code for: 

• Ridiculous Online Indulgence. In their disdainful dismissals of social media, people still highlight the (over)abundance of vapid and banal social media activity (e.g., people sharing what they had for lunch) and characterize the people who engage in it as shallow and narcissistic, with too much time on their hands.
• Real professionals Only Interact in traditional ways. There is a clear bias among many professionals toward how things have “always” been done. The phone, and in-person exchanges - and even email - are seen as inherently superior to newer forms of digital interaction. More importantly, the different types of exchanges are viewed as mutually exclusive rather than integrated and complementary.
• Resist Out-of-the-box Ideas. In spite of all the media hype surrounding social media and digital technology, people are not particularly quick to adopt – let alone embrace – new ideas and thinking.
• Reserving Our Interest/Investment until we see what others do. For better and worse, most senior professionals tend to follow more than they lead. Though there may be a strong desire to “keep up with the Joneses,” very few people actually want to be the Joneses.
• Risk aversion Over Innovation. Even when they recognize that they probably need to move forward, fear – of the unknown, of failure, of unintended consequences – holds them back. The risks of engagement are always clearer than the risks of inaction.
• Respect Our Idiosyncrasies and Inconsistency. If pressed, leaders and other experienced professionals would have a hard time defending their negative positions on social media and other digital technologies, especially relative to other positions and decisions. But many of them seem to expect others to accept their arguments at face value and not question or challenge them.

 

7 Faulty Assumptions Underlying Resistance

Generally speaking the resistance arguments contain a number of implicit - and often faulty - assumptions, including:  

1. Social media technologies – particularly the public platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – represent the complete range of digital technologies available today. 

• Today’s digital capabilities are far greater than most people realize – and they’re expanding every day.
• People need to think beyond software, to hardware and networks and analytics too (i.e., SMAC - social, mobile,analytics, cloud).
• When it comes to software in particular, they need to think beyond specific platforms to the tools and technologies that comprise them.

2. Organizational leaders know the ROI of current practices for marketing, branding, selling, etc. - and it's good. 

• The links between many current practices, such as advertisements and trade shows, is difficult, if not impossible, to measure.
• The costs of traditional approaches can be much higher than comparable digital efforts.

3. Current communication and collaboration practices are efficient and effective and cannot be improved on by leveraging new digital technologies.

• The limitations, challenges, and frustrations of email are well-known.
• Many in-person meetings are considered an avoidable waste of time.

4. It's appropriate to hold new practices - particularly new digital technologies - to higher standards than existing practices.

• People need to be willing and able to critically examine current approaches. There should be no sacred cows.
• The relative value and utility of different approaches should be determined based on a fair assessment.
• It’s unrealistic to expect any approach to working to be “drag free.”

5. Leveraging new technologies requires adding them to rather than integrating them with or substituting them for current practices.

• We should all be open to identifying ways to work smarter, not just harder.
• The best approaches to achieving goals/objectives should be pursued.

6. It will all settle down (or maybe go away?) at some point, so why bother engaging and suffering through all the chaos before it does.

• The only constant in the Digital Era is change. Expecting things to settle down is unrealistic.
• By the time the laggards choose to engage, it could be too late. At a minimum, they will have missed out on a number of potentially great opportunities.

7. It's better to wait for a "silver bullet" solution than to invest in the necessary hard work now to climb the required learning curves and lay a foundation for future success.

• As in other aspects of running an organization, there are no silver bullets.
• Success in the Digital Era requires a new mindset, as well as new knowledge and skills. Learning new ways of working is unavoidable.

 

We're Making Progress (Slowly)

It's perfectly appropriate for individuals and organizations to decide not to take more advantage of the digital capabilities that currently exist, as long as they're making informed decisions. When it comes to organizational leaders in particular, they have a fiduciary responsibility to understand the new environments in which their organizations operate so they can provide the proper guidance, both strategic and tactical, as well as the necessary resources their organizations need. 

As a practical matter, digital  technology is only going to continue to advance, and the longer people wait to understand and embrace it, the more risks they take with respect to creating and maintaining their own success. In addition to being concerned about the ROI, in other words, they should also be thinking about the COI – the Cost Of Inaction.

Fortunately, there are encouraging signs. I'm seeing and hearing less resistance. And although there is still some reluctance, the acceptance of new realities and the need to understand (if not embrace) them is increasing. Here are a few specific examples from my own recent experiences:

• In two weeks I will be leading a digital engagement strategy session for the Midwest region of a large grocery chain. This chain's excellent brand reputation has facilitated their talent acquisition efforts for years, but as they expand into new markets where they're less well known, they recognize they have to up their digital engagement efforts to continue to attract top talent.
• Earlier this year I met with two different groups of executives and senior professionals in transition (in one case presenting Job Search in the Digital Era to over 100 job seekers). The response to both sessions was extremely positive, with virtually no skepticism about new social technologies and their importance. The recepton to those talks has led to a project focusing on how senior professionals can and should enhance their digital competencies, from both career management and organizational leadership perspectives. (If you would like to participate in this project, please email focus@denovati.net)
• I am also developing an initiative with a leadership consulting firm that will help leaders develop their digital competencies. The managing partner has the vision to recognize that no quantitative "proof" is needed to determine that this is an important area his firm and their clients must begin to tackle. Proof of concept is sufficient for him to move forward.

Although progress is often painfully slow, I am encouraged by the shifts in both attitudes and behaviors I'm seeing so far in 2013. Are you seeing encouraging signs too? If so, I'd love to hear about them!

 

Related Resources

Social and Digital Tech Trends: 9 Take-Aways for YOU

Digital Era Adaptation in 2013: A Long and Winding Road

What's Your Social Media Sophistication? The SMQ Quiz 

"Social Media" is SO 2009! 7 Proposed Semantic Upgrades

SMinOrgs Social Media Primer

Digital Era Leadership: Defining Characteristics?

Note: many of the above pieces include links to additional resources.

Job Search in the Digital Era

As the Digital Era continues to evolve, it is increasingly important for professionals to provide the same level of care and attention to their professional identities in cyberspace as they do to their presence and reputation in the physical world, especially when they are looking for their next career opportunity. This presentation offers guidance for: 1) Establishing and managing your digital professional brand, 2) Defining personal and professional boundaries and protecting your privacy, 3) Leveraging digital tools and technology to achieve goals, and 4) Bridging the physical and digital worlds.

I really enjoyed giving this talk to members of The Executive Network Group of Greater Chicago last week. Apparently other folks found my tips valuable as well. The deck was "hot" on SlideShare and was featured on their home page in both the LinkedIn and Facebook sections! I also got some positive feedback about it in some of the LI groups where I shared it, which is always gratifying.

Enjoy!

- Courtney

 

Job Search in the Digital Era from Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs)

Digital Era Leadership: Defining Characteristics?

What does it mean to be a leader in the Digital Era? Have the requirements for success drastically changed, or are they fundamentally the same? This post invites people to share their thoughts, as well as related resources, on the defining characteristics of leadership as the Digital Era progresses and evolves.

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In honor of President’s Day in the United States, I’d like to solicit people's views on what leadership means in the Digital Era. Specifically:

• Do leaders need to exhibit new values, traits or behaviors to be effective? If so, what are they? And on the flip side, are there values, traits and behaviors leaders need to stop exhibiting?
• Should leaders be directly involved with social technologies. If so, where, how and to what degree?
• What kinds of fiduciary responsibilities do new social and digital technologies present for leaders?

We’re currently working with Silverman Research to develop answers to these questions by analyzing various "conversations" in cyberspace that try to tackle them. We've created a database with over 70 sources 400 data points (e.g., a blog post and its comments), and we'd love to add more perspectives to the mix. In addition to telling us your own point of view, we appreciate your sharing links to articles, blog posts, and research studies that address one or more of the questions above. And of course we invite you to share the post with your own networks so that we can expand the conversation even further.

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

Note: This project is an extension of research we started in August 2011. The preliminary results of our efforts were summarized in a blog post entitled “What Does it Take to be a Leader in the Digital Era?” Jerry Carducci and Karin Wills have also developed a forthcoming publication tentatively titled “Leading in the Digital Era: Communications, Relationships, and Decision Making.” If you’d like to be notified as soon as it’s available, please send a message to de-leaders@sminorgs.net. Thanks!

"Social Media" is SO 2009! 7 Proposed Semantic Upgrades

At the risk of inspiring unresolvable semantic discussions, this post addresses seven Digital Era terms that should probably be replaced and/or removed from the lexicon and suggests both existing and new alternative terminology to use in their place. What other proposed changes would you make?

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I generally try to avoid semantic arguments. Having clarity about the meaning of various terms, especially those related to emerging technologies and trends, is no doubt important. But when the terms and their meanings are evolving, discussions about them can devolve into an infinite loop of opinions and perceptions that produce neither clarity nor consensus.

That said, there are some uses and misuses that have been bothering me for a while now. And since we’ve reached a reasonable level of maturity and stability in a number of areas, I think it’s time to give serious consideration to making semantic changes that enable us to use more accurate, logical and fact-based language to refer to elements of the world we live in – and to stop using passé terms unnecessarily.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my proposals, as well as any additional recommendations you may have. Thanks!

- Courtney Shelton Hunt

 

Going from the general to the specific...

Social Media. Wikipedia lays out a decent denotation of the term, but the connotation still varies widely. And in my experience, most people equate the term with the public platforms, assuming the social media universe is solely comprised of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and their ilk. That assumption not only misses the point that it's the technologies underlying those platforms that constitute social media, it also (more importantly) leads them to draw erroneous conclusions about the potential that social media holds for both them and the organizations of which they're a part. Plus, for laggards and resisters, the term evokes a negative visceral reaction that's hard to overcome.

I'm not proposing we do away with the term altogether, I'm proposing that we be more precise about when and how we use it. When referring to public platforms, it's the appropriate term. But when we're talking about the technology more broadly, it's better to use an alternative...

Alternative 1: I prefer the terms social technology or social technologies, which are still accurate descriptors but less loaded.

Alternative 2: A more encompassing alternative is social and digital technologies, which encompasses not just software, but also hardware (i.e., mobile devices) and services (i.e., cloud-based computing).

Alternative 3: My personal favorite new term is SMAC, which stands for social (software), mobile (devices and access), (data) analytics, and cloud (computing) and reflects the convergence among these technology movements. Individually, each movement is incredibly powerful. Together, they have the potential to create dramatic transformations. Over time, they will be virtually indistinguishable.

 

Anything 2.0. A few years ago it was important to append 2.0 to various terms (e.g., Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, Government 2.0) to reflect the fact that social media was causing a shift from static internet-based sites with one-directional communication to collaborative sites characterized by multi-directional communication. As social technologies have become more integrated into digital platforms of all types, as well as the organizations that leverage those platforms, it's probably no longer necessary to add the 2.0 qualifier.

 

Social Business, Social Enterprise, Social Learning. All three terms accurately convey their intent; unfortunately they all also have distinct meanings that have no specific connections to social technologies. Both Social Business and Social Enterprise, for example, along with Social Entrepreneurship, are used to refer to for-profit businesses that have charitable or socially-oriented missions. And Social Learning is most strongly connected to social learning theory, which was developed in the late 1970s.

We could argue that we need to find better language to reflect the phenomena these terms refer to, but I might suggest that we should simply stop trying to use them. Over time, as social and digital technologies become more integrated into all aspects of organizational life, the “social” qualifier will become redundant and unnecessary. This applies not only to the terms above but others like social intranet and social recognition.

 

The New Normal. Although it will continue to evolve, the Digital Era is fully established. Even resisters and laggards are impacted by enhanced forms of communication and collaboration every day, often without even being aware of it. So referring to the realities created by social and digital technologies as a "brave new world" or "the new normal" implies a novelty that no longer exists. It is, simply put, just normal.

 

In Real Life (IRL). This term originated to distinguish earth-based interactions from cyber interactions. And even though resisters continue to use the term to disparage digital communication as being inferior to face-to-face communication, most folks have come to realize that it’s all real life! More importantly, rather than creating a false dichotomy between the different ways in which we know and interact with one another, we are better served by figuring out how to integrate them in the most efficient and effective ways to achieve our goals and objectives. This term should go, but we probably still need something to distinguish the virtual and physical worlds. I’ve been experimenting with using earthspace. Yeah, I know - it's kind of awkward. I’d love to hear alternatives…

 

Microblogging. This term is still technically accurate, but it now seems antiquated and kind of clunky, perhaps because the activity has morphed into wall posts, shares, and status updates on a variety of platforms both public (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, G+) and private (e.g., Yammer, SharePoint and a host of social intranet products). And because Twitter and Tumblr have emerged as the dominant microblogging platforms, people tend to refer to those sites and their related activities by their brand names rather than using generic terms. Basically, no one ever says, “I’m going to microblog about that” or “I’m going to post that to my microblog.” Now that I think about it, did they ever?

Note: One could argue we should also get rid of the term “blog,” which no longer literally reflects what they are or do, but we seem to have good consensus on the connotation so it’s likely to stick around.

 

Smartphone. People who own these devices obviously use them for much more than talking on the phone. More importantly, their other uses are likely to be much more significant. Given that, it's more accurate to refer to them as mobile communication devices or a mobile computing devices – or MCDs for short. Yes, people may look at you funny and make fun of you at first, but eventually they'll agree the term is more logical and even a bit more elegant. It's kind of got a Star Trek vibe... :)

Adopting  the term MCD can also bring an end to the silly-sounding term phablet, which according to the Wikipedia definition is a “portmanteau of the words phone and tablet.” If distinguishing based on size is important (which I’m not sure it is), perhaps we can adopt mini-MCD, midi-MCD, and maxi-MCD (which would include both full-sized tablets and hybrid devices like Microsoft’s Surface.

 

What other changes would you suggest?

500+ Books about Social & Digital Technology: Trends and Opportunities

It’s probably no surprise that over 500 books have been written about social and digital technologies over the past 15+ years, and that many of these focus on social media marketing. What’s more intriguing are the topics that have not received much attention yet from thought leaders and authors. This post offers a brief introduction to a research project that explores the Digital Era literature and (in true 2.0 fashion) invites people to participate in its ongoing development.

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Last year, with the help of Marci Stewart and Genifer Snipes, I embarked on a project to identify all the books that had been written about social and digital technologies. It was a naïve quest that has turned into a very ambitious undertaking. Although I was aware of the most well-known books from the past five or so years, I had no idea how many other publications were out there, or how far back they stretched. We’re now at 520 – and counting!

In this post I share some project details, the initial high-level results, and what we plan to do next. More importantly, I’d like to invite folks to participate in the development of the project by sharing the questions, analyses, and information they’re most interested in. And of course I welcome recommendations for books lists, titles, and authors, to make sure our final list is as complete and accurate as possible.

I look forward to hearing from you!

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

Methodology

Here, in a nutshell, is the approach we have used to create the database:

• We selected Goodreads as our primary source of information, primarily because it’s vendor neutral – and of course it’s a social media platform in its own right!
• We seeded the list with titles from “best of” lists like The 25 Best Social Media Books of 2011, 10 Best Social Media Books, and Top Social Media Marketing Books.
• For each book we collected the publication data, Goodreads rating information, title, author(s) and book description.
• To expand the initial list we checked the titles listed under “Readers also enjoyed similar books” and “Lists with This Book.” Once we had exhausted those sources we conducted 40+ searches using all the potentially relevant terms we could think of, including general terms like social media and big data as well as specific terms like Facebook and Tumblr.
• In an effort to make the data collection effort more manageable, we only included books that were written in English and had at least one review. Yes, that’s somewhat arbitrary – but we needed some kind of cutoff! We also tried to limit the database to books that were targeted to non-technical readers.
• Throughout the process we added relevant titles as they were brought to our attention if we hadn’t already identified them.

Using the book descriptions, we created a three-tiered coding scheme to reflect their focus:

• Perspective: conceptual (focused more on conveying information or discussing topics at a high level) and tactical (“how to” oriented).
• General focus: categories ranged from macro to micro and included society, commerce, marketing, workplace, individual, and data.
• Specific focus: used to indicate if a book was specifically focused on a single topic (e.g., cloud computing, Twitter, mobile, LinkedIn).

We’re happy to provide more details about our methodology upon request. Please add a comment or email books@sminorgs.net with your specific questions.

 

Initial Results

To convey a general sense of what these 500+ books are all about, we have created two Wordles using the books’ titles (after cleaning them up by deleting unnecessary words and combining similar terms).

The first Wordle includes all the relevant terms (click to enlarge):

Because SocialMedia, Guide, Marketing and Business dominated the results, we created a second Wordle without those terms to dig a bit deeper into the books’ focus (click to enlarge):

The initial results may seem “no duh-ish” to some folks, especially early adopters. There’s nothing particularly revelatory about the fact that the books published to date have had a heavy emphasis on business, specifically social media in the context of marketing. The “how to” focus of many of these books, as well as the promises of success, are also not surprising.

But some of the emphases are less obvious. For example:

• Blogging (which has been declared “dead” at least twice in the past 5 years) remains a primary topic.
• Even though Facebook is a significantly larger platform, Twitter and LinkedIn have received relatively more emphasis as book topics.
• Although people are still wrapping their brains around what to do with data, there have been a relatively substantial number of books focused on the topic (e.g., analytics, metrics). Similarly, cloud computing has also been a fairly significant topic of discussion.

And perhaps most importantly, we need to think about what’s not been addressed, as those are the areas in which there is perhaps the greatest need – and the greatest opportunity for thought leaders and authors. These include:

• More discussion and guidance about topics like gamification and mobile technologies.
• How social and digital technologies can and should be used in non-commercial sectors, including in non-profit and religious organizations, public sector entities, and academic institutions. In a similar vein, there’s probably a need and opportunity for more focused discussions on digital communities and community management.
• Applications and implications of new technologies inside organizations (e.g., enterprise 2.0, social business, social enterprise).
• Leadership-oriented discussions, especially in terms of what it means to be a leader in the Digital Era.
• The human-capital management implications of new digital technologies, as well as legal/policy issues and risk management considerations.
• Applications and implications of new technologies for individuals, including digital competencies, jobs, professions, and careers.

 

Coming Up

We are conducting more in-depth analyses of the data (including a formal text analysis in conjunction with Silverman Research) and plan to share more results in the coming weeks/months, including:

• A slide deck of Wordles that reveal emphases by year, category, etc.
• An infographic, which will include things like the first time Social Media appears in a book title and most popular buzzword(s), as well as various representations of general and specific categories.
• A white paper that offers a more formal treatment of the methodology, results, and implications.

If you’d like to be informed as soon as these and other results are published, please join our mailing list or subscribe to the S.M.A.R.T. Blog.

 

What’s on Your Mind?

To enhance the value of this project, we’d love to hear from you. Specifically, we’d like to know things like:

• What books would you like to make sure we include? Are there specific “best” lists we should double check? Favorite books or authors? Your own tomes? We’re especially interested in hearing about recently-published books, as we are more likely to have missed them.
• What other topics, categories and/or questions do you think are important to explore?
• What questions do you have? What would you like to know? What are you curious about?

Please add a comment or email books@sminorgs.net with your specific suggestions. Thanks!

 

Related Content

Paper or Digital? The Results are In… And It’s a (Virtual) Tie! With over 500 votes and nearly 200 comments, the results of a recent poll indicate people are fairly evenly split between paper and digital book formats. Although the poll wasn’t perfectly scientific, the richness of its results can be of great value to authors, book publishers, and designers, as well as professionals in other fields such as training and development, academia, and communications.

4 Big Barriers to Social Media Adoption in Organizations: Key Research Findings. The results of a unique and ground-breaking study by Silverman Research (n=644+) indicate that there are four main barriers to increased adoption of social technologies in organizations: lack of knowledge and understanding, unprepared leadership, fear, and the absence of a well-grounded business case. This post highlights those findings and offers recommendations for overcoming the barriers. It also provides a link to a free report with details on the research and its results.

Online Social Learning Communities: Necessary but not Sufficient

As the Digital Era progresses, professionals at all levels and career stages need to develop and maintain a core set of digital competencies. These competencies can be developed informally, through online social learning communities, but they must also be developed through formal education and training programs. Academic and other organizational leaders must recognize that it is in their own best interests to make bridging the new (and expanding) digital divide a strategic and tactical priority.

In 5 Ways Social Learning Communities Transform Culture and Leadership, Meghan Biro asserts that "we are seeing the beginnings of an online social movement which will enhance traditional classroom education and breathe new life into the world of work" and describes some of the shifts behind this movement:

1. Online learning communities are challenging the value of academic ‘brands’.
2. Online learning communities have leveled the financial playing field and advantaged learners, not purveyors of degrees.
3. Online learners are empowered, and they will change your culture.
4. Leaders are born and made.
5. Online social learning communities are changing the value of employer brands.

I love the term "online social learning communities," which aptly describes the focus of the two digital communities I have founded: Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) and the Global Center for Digital Era Leadership (GCDEL). Like many early adopters, my knowledge of new technologies was informally acquired, through my own efforts - and mostly through cyberspace. As I've learned, I've shared that knowledge and expertise with others and have facilitated their ability to share as well. But as valuable as my informal learning has been, I know it's not for everyone. In fact, it's not for most people. I deal with digital rookies all the time, and I can personally attest to how challenging it is for them to develop and execute a self-directed learning plan. Many of them don't even know where to start. I've explored the new Digital Divide and the need for Digital Era competencies, and I don't believe we have the luxury of time for people to be self taught. The situation is becoming too urgent.

I've recently started talking about the flaws in our LIY (learn it yourself) approach to skill development. As Meghan notes, organizations are reluctant to invest in training and developing their staffs - and when it comes to digital skills in particular, there's a prevailing assumption that people can figure things out on their own. They can't - and they don't - which creates tremendous inefficiencies and diminished effectiveness. This is as true for so-called Digital Natives as it is for Digital Immigrants.

Many early adopters and social technology mavens scoff at the notion of formal education and training in maximizing the use of new technologies. I've addressed that issue too, arguing that though formal learning is not a substitute for experience, it does lay an effective foundation that enables people to climb their learning curves faster and better.

The bottom line, as Meghan alludes to, is balance. We need both formal and informal learning, in whatever combination makes the most sense for an individual and an organization. The key, though, is to recognize and respect that learning MUST be a priority. If nothing else, enlightened self-interest should compel leaders to make it an operational priority.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

Related Resources

The New Digital Divide: Thoughts for Leaders and Laggards

Digital Era Competencies: How Do You Stack Up?

Social Media Education and Training: Pro or Con? Please Discuss…

Social Media Education & Training: Where We Are. Where We’re Going.

A Master’s Degree Specialization in Social Media & Online Communities

What's Your Social Media Sophistication? The SMQ (version III)

For even more resources, check out slides 35-42 from my closing Impact99 keynote, The Road Forward: Striving for Balance. More recent pieces can be found in the November and December blog archives.