Ann Holman's Blog - Latest Comments

Re: What’s in Store For 2012

Ann — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:52:42 -0000

Thanks Brian! Hope all good with you!!

Re: What’s in Store For 2012

Brian O'Donnell — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:15:30 -0000

Ann, sounds fantastic. Congratulations on making such progress this year, looking forward to seeing more exciting developments in 2012.

Brian

Re: Facebook Has Become An Ad Network

Ann — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:53:26 -0000

Yep and then the Brands will wonder what the hell they are doing spending money on the ad's. Or perhaps not! :)

Re: Facebook Has Become An Ad Network

teedp — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:19:22 -0000

Yes - what is "social" its as much a philosophical point if not a financial one. If only people (my generation x - thought about this so much!). I doubt they do - they ignore the broadcasts!

Re: It Is The Density Of Social Media That Matters…..

Ann — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:23:00 -0000

Thanks for the comment. What is so great about the social web is the fact we can offer opinion in a public environment. Its the first time I've ever been cited as being contradictory which is interesting in itself and has obviously given cause for reflection. I'm interested in specifically where you feel the dissension and inconsistency is, as that helps us get better at what we do?

Re: It Is The Density Of Social Media That Matters…..

Startled — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:55:56 -0000

I have read some anal garbage in my time but this beats it all.

If the prime objective of social architecture is to communicate and be understood by others, well Ann, you need to have some training yourself. This site looks like regurgitated naval gazing and disjointed contradictions.

Re: It Is The Density Of Social Media That Matters…..

Ann — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:13:43 -0000

Here here Julian. Social is being pillaged by the marketers but we only have ourselves to blame, its how we trained them....short term gain, get as much out of someone then move on! I'm bored of the lack of imagination in selling products rather than building relationships.

Got another post coming up about how brands are walking into a dark alley with regard to their presence on Facebook. We need to stop pinching other peoples space and start building our own place around our brand!

Thanks for taking the time to comment Julian!

Re: It Is The Density Of Social Media That Matters…..

Julian Summerhayes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:55:02 -0000

Ann

I am fed up with all the Free offers and pop ups that I bump into with increasing alacrity. The formula is s-o--o---o----o tired. If you go to the website for Tom Peters (www.tompeters.com) you will find a treasure trove of valuable material based on a lifetime's experience of working with some of the best companies on the planet. I don't see Tom going boom! get your programme here which will transform your company or your lives forever. He has desevedly won the respect of his followers based on solid research, hard work and being passionately committed to the EXCELLENCE cause. That's his thing (as Chris Penn would say). There is not enough thoughtfulness in the market-ing. It is all about the SHORT TERM "How the hell can I leverage the heck out of this group of people." For me, I intend to keep plugging away trying to create meaningful content, trying to help as many people as possible and add value whereever I can.

Best wishes
Julian

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:32:42 -0000

Hi Gordon, you make some great points especially about 'social' not being something new. I really do think it is moving into a different phase where we will see the good, the bad and the ugly unfortunately. Social brands, organisations and institutions have the ability to build communities around them. I think we focus too much on social media and its relationship to economics and not enough on social capital/social connections and their affinity with economics. Which then brings us to exploring social economics (another time maybe.)

I believe that the successful brands of the future will stimulate social and particularly social capital as a means to developing strong social fabric not just in the places we live but, within the spaces that we work too in ways we are still trying to imagine and articulate. Thanks for contributing, you have moved the conversation on!

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Gordon Rae — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:25:53 -0000

Thanks for stimulating this conversation, Ann. There's one phrase that you have missed, and that is 'Social Tools'. I first strated attending David Gurteen's Social Tools seminars in 2005, where I met people like Euan Semple, Stowe Boyd, and Lee Bryant. I still like the term because it emphasises the two most significant aspects of the change ... that we have new tools and technologies that enable communication between people, and they are cheap enough and widely enough available that they can be put into many people's hands rapidly. I think of projects like Ushadidi and of course Childsi, which Anne McX has been involved in.

Looking through the various terms you discuss, I'd say there is definitely a clash between two meanings of 'social'; one pertaining to friendship and companionship , and the other pertaining to the organisation of society.
Society is not always a nice, cosy, touchy-feely thing. Sometimes the social structures that bind people together create relationship of serious inequality, where you don't count if you didn't attend the right school or church, or play golf, or get invited to the right partiers, can't bribe the right official or get in the good books of the right gang leader.

Collectives are not always good, and individuals are not always bad. In fact, one of the defining characteristics of society in Europe since the Reformation has been the importance of freedom of association: to allow everyone (or achieve for everyone) the right to choose their neighbours,their friends, their workmates, their church, and freely to participate in whatever social networks and groups they feel best reflects their ethics and values and allows them to build the world they want . The term 'social' covers all of this, the nice and the nasty alike, but I do feel that the proliferation of social tools to support new forms of communicating and organising is an unqualified good, because more people will be able to do what they believe in.

You mention marketing a lot, and I do feel that the term 'social media' has been horribly diminished over the years. "You can publish a blog." is an empowering statement. "You can get bloggers to promote your brand" is not. The first time I met Lee Bryant, he had a reputation for his humanitarian work in Eastern Europe, now he's advising multi-national corporations. This is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned, because social business has huge potential, and I want to see it adopted in every kind of organisation, but I worry a lot that we will lose the potential and miss the magic if we allow the 'social' meme to be absorbed and co-opted by twentieth century corportae marketing.

People describe 'social' as something brand new and a fundamental shift in business. That is only true from the point of view of the organisations that have something to lose. For everyone else, it's business-as-usual, but with a much bigger upside than ever before! The situation is very much like the Reformation. Before Gutenberg, people could discuss the Bible, but they couldn't compete with the power of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was able to publish his theses and distribute them through a social network. The challenge, then as now, is diminishing returns to hierarchy. Since the industrial revolution, there have been real advantages to hierarchical organisations, because they could do things non-hierarchical organisations couldn't. Now that's not true, we need to look anew at how we organise for creativity, productivity and the best use of resources, and how we create the most value we can with what we have.

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:06:05 -0000

Definitely Jonathan. I'm just doing some research for a keynote I'm delivering on 'Social Capital' in September and that is what that is about. We have been too focused on human capital and forgotten how important social capital is ie: our connections and networks. Thanks for commenting!

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:04:22 -0000

Absolutely Anne, like your bit about designing for connections rather than divisions. Perhaps its also about designing for freedom of innovation rather than surveillance of compliance!

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Jonathan Lea — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:39:01 -0000

Interesting definitions which I'll probably refer to again, although as you say I'm sure they'll keep evolving! Building on Anne's point about organisations now not being fixed things with walls and a logo, it seems to me that organisation now is more about the strength of a connected individual, their virtual networks and access to people and information - infostructure, as opposed to the physical infrastructure that was necessary to organise in a pre-digital world.

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Anne McCrossan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:32:17 -0000

Yes, exactly. It an an act of being and of designing for connections now instead of divisions. The trick for many organisations is to keep the existing equity of their brands intact, and to enhance it appropriately to generate value, as the fabric of their existing business changes shape fundamentally.

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:20:37 -0000

Thanks for this Anne and for the feedback. You, as well as Scott Gould, are touching on how fundamental I think all of this is. I love your point about the organisation not being a physical thing but actually about just 'organising.' I agree with your comment that its all about us being 'socialised.' You don't do social, you are social!

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:18:06 -0000

Agreed Scott and thats why all of these changes around 'social media' are so significant and why we are moving into a different society!

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Anne McCrossan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:03:43 -0000

Interesting article, Ann. I think you've captured the point perfectly that we struggle with these definitions because we're still in sense-making mode about what we are actually moving towards, which is a bigger shift than many of us can countenance.

My own view is that it's all about reframing what 'organisation' means now. What organisation is now is not a fixed thing with walls and a logo - it is the very act of organising; vital and dynamic. We are organising around opportunities, challenges, tasks, fluidly to solve problems and build reputations. We are not transacting or simply exchanging products and services for profit, which is linear and not scalar.

Socialised organisation can take therefore many forms and have many components, as you have expressed it. But it boils down to me to being 'socialised' in thought and deed. Everything else is secondary and semantic.

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Scott Gould — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:12:15 -0000

For me, it goes down to the fundmental difference between social and broadcast. They are more than media, more than business, more than commerce, more than brands, more than communication. It goes down to the very mindset of mankind.

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Ann — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:10:43 -0000

Hi Scott, thanks for commenting.....looking forward to that grand theory! The change is huge and we really are right at the genesis of it! One of things I'm contemplating is the difference between social business and social brands....if there is one!!

I love irony!! :)

Re: Is Social Media The Right Term?

Scott Gould — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 06:07:50 -0000

Very good Ann. Each one has a different nuance and that tells us how big this change really is.

I have a grand theory to explain my understanding of it all, but that'll have to be shared another day!

One final note: I agree that Social Media is the realm of marketing, etc, and this change is bigger than that. Ironic thing is that this post is in your "marketing" category ;-)

Best,
Scott

Re: Shutting Down Social Networks?

Jbharvey1407 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 03:04:55 -0000

Wise words... At this moment in history there's a risk of identifying 'easy' targets, rather than asking the fundamental, and uncomfortable, questions we need to ask if we're going to move our society forward in the right direction...

Re: Shutting Down Social Networks?

Ann — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:14:17 -0000

Thanks Chris. We are in danger of making decisions of Orwellian proportions that are not fictional totalitarian but real!

Re: Shutting Down Social Networks?

Chris Penberthy — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:03:36 -0000

You're so right Ann - this is a knee jerk reaction that undermines the basic principle of free speech whilst also punishing the majority for the actions of a very small minority. And let's not forget that it was through social media that an army of community activists was mobilised to clear up the mess and help those who had suffered at the hands of the rioters.

Re: Shutting Down Social Networks?

Ann — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:10:01 -0000

Thanks Nathan....you are right it is 'kicking the cat.' :)

Re: Shutting Down Social Networks?

teedp — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 06:36:10 -0000

I am totally against this sort of thing - Free Speech is a huge principle! A knee jerk reaction - that looks like more "state control" - agreed somethings should never be done..its like stopping the printing presses n earlier days because they didn't like the manifestos or bibles we produced !!

Kicking social media - It is a quick fix - kick the cat type of response - makes you feel better but does no real good. Its so not looking at the underlying issues!