Changing Places and Platforms and Names

After a long Summer break with feet in the sand and sea (yes, we all need that sometimes), I am coming back to the blog to say that it soon will be moving. I find that with the increase of people in my network accessing from China, the less accessible I am. I have used Google blogger with YouTube as my host for a long time, but alas, I think it is time to move on (at least for business purposes).

At the beginning of Summer, I made the leap, or plunge to go back to Apple. I converted my phone, my laptop, my desktop, my network and even invested in an iPad for development of the forthcoming interactive "book" development. This has left me with a Summer of relearning and discovering the world of Apple and how to do what I need from this platform designed for user-friendliness. My old html coded webpage has to be redesigned and images need tweaking, but I am loving the ability to finally edit my films that I have been accumulating. So there are a lot of good things to come.

With time to reflect, I realized that the majority of my time being dedicated to advisory services and workshops based on the Art of Social Strategy. I need to move away from 2BalanceU as a brand to avoid confusion. So I will be moving my blog and my website shortly (don't worry this will all link over so you need not go looking for it) to one carrying my name.

Oh yes, and lastly (but not least), the demand for my services is greater than my available time, without diminishing the quality. (This is a blessing, thank you, I do appreciate your interest.) There are after all, only so many hours in the day and days in the week. First, I will be bringing in some interns this Fall to train them to run the workshops and help with keeping the research and cases up to date (nothing like stimulating the economy with more work). Plus, I will be collaborating with several organizations and groups to create learning materials that you can be used both online and off in an interactive way.

So as they say, back to work!

Rebranding, repositioning and renaming

It is time again to re-evaluate my own strategic communications.  Too many channels and a changing business require adjustment to the current needs of 2BalanceU.  I am currently writing content for an interactive piece that will support and provide more clarity for my current lecturing, speaking and consulting.

I try to be true to my commitment to Balance (literally, professionally and figuratively).  Therefore managing three blogs, six twitter accounts, 2 companies, two face to face networks and being an ambassador (not to mention mother, wife and friend) and keep healthy in the process, somethings gotta give. Time to practice what I PREACH!  Discover efficiencies, have clarity and be relevant for maximum effectiveness.

Keep an eye out for some new changes.  I hope you will be happy with the improved context, and perhaps a few interesting and entertaining anecdotes while we are at it.

What is “Social” and why do I care?

Driven by the belief that knowledge is power and sharing is powerful, I dedicate my work to creating better understanding of the social tools that enable sharing of knowledge both in organizations and their stakeholders. The global benefit will be a greater use of knowledge resources to stimulate development and more effective and sustainable growth. Social begins with people.

The tools available today from new media to global networks and their events provide us with the ability to have far greater reach and impact with our social interactions. Handled wisely with strategic forethought, each one of us has the power to be a change-maker. With the right social strategy each organization has the power to make the world a better place, while improving their bottom line.

Social tools are not limited to new media or social media. They are the social interactions we have face to face that we support through online interactions. They are the communities we choose to support and participate it. They are the relationships that we develop and nurture over time that define us and the people that we interact with. They are the opportunities to interact with like minded people. When we understand how to use them more wisely.

Conversation Prism by Brian Solis & Jess Thomas

Great graphic for continuing the conversation on social tools:

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

Growing Business Through New Media at Global Summit of Women

Growing Business Through New Media for Entrepreneurs

Growing Business Through New Media

View more presentations from Heidi Forbes Öste.

Here are the slides from my presentation at the Global Summit of Women in Beijing last week. The panel was titled Growing your Business through New Media. The other panelists were Bobbi Dangerfield from DELL and Kristina Bouweiri from Reston Limousine.

Social Strategy needed for Economic Recovery

“Honesty, integrity, cooperation, collaboration, partnerships that mutually benefit and respect, public engagement, accountability, transparency, role models, knowledge sharing, perspective.“ These are all words that we are hearing repeatedly in the common theme of the Global Summit of Women in Beijing . From Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (so glad to see her here as a role model for Swedish women professionals) to Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States, to Wang Lili, Senior Executive Vice President, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in their session on Global Mega-Trends of the Economy to the Leading Corporate Change CEO Forum with Microsoft, Haier, Boeing, Korn Ferry execs all leading the call for action. This is no small talk. It is not whining about problem, it is talking about solutions. They mean business when it comes to making the case for change and how it can happen.

The solutions and themes share something at the root: SOCIAL. I came here not only to speak on Growing Business through New Media, but also to see what women of influence are talking about and to whom. Who are the companies that are investing in making a difference through engagement and CSR? I want to know which companies and organizations realize and walk the talk to the 50+% of their market and 80% of their decision makers on the purchase of their products and services. They come together here to make a difference and it is resounding. As an advisor on social strategy I believe it is critical for companies and organization to get involved in people not just the technology they use and platforms of networking.

This is just the first morning, but I am glad to be here and will be writing more as the event continues. My connection is limited, so I will work with what I have got. Pictures will be posted when I return to Sweden and my beloved unrestricted access and bandwidth. Some things we just take too much for granted. (It will be nice to get back to the balance with men too, a little too much estrogen can be a bit overwhelming.)

written on Day One of the Global Summit of Women in Beijing, but unable to post until now. More to come...

The Art of Social Strategy keynote video

Get hired using the Web

Published: 10 May 2010 in Svenska Dagbladet (SVD) -in Swedish
Like it or not - social media like Twitter, blogs and Facebook are becoming an increasingly important part of our lives. For those looking for a new job or dream of headhunted, they are also more than just entertainment. Few employers want to admit it but many do use Google in prospecting for the new recruits. Then you have to find the right information.

Heidi Forbes Öste, Adviser in communication and social media, usually recommends everyone to sit down and reflect on what they want to achieve and to decide how much time they want to spend. - Build a strategy. What do you want to communicate and with whom? Otherwise it is easy to spend a lot of time without actually achieving anything, "she says. 

There are a tangle of sites, and popularity changes over time. Heidi Forbes Östes advice is therefore to build a "base" 

- a profile, blog or website to which their other profiles pointing to. There you can collect information that an employer may need.

- Social sites often have a limited number of words, so it is good to have a place where you can follow in detail explain what you're working with currently, what you know, what references you have and so on, for those who want to know more about you. 

"Status update on ie. twitter or facebook you every time you post new information there, to bring attention to your post, "she says. 

"For those who want to be perceived as an expert in their field, be visible and participate in relevant forums." Post links to relevant forums in your status updates.

Mi Lennhag is a PhD candidate in political science at Lund University and the research on corruption in Eastern Europe. She blogs about her area of research, links to posts on Facebook and follow others with similar interests on Twitter. 

"I know it has been seen as an advantage when I have searched some job or wanted to write some stuff. When people have searched for a lecture, I have also been told that "we saw your blog and it gave a serious impression," she says. For her, it has been a conscious strategy to be active in social media, and in addition it has led to the assignment, she also received a large network. 

"When something happens in Eastern Europe I go to my Twitter Feed where I have a collection of individuals whose reporting I trust. In my contacts, many people who have specific knowledge of Eastern Europe and I can quite easily contact someone to ask something specific, get feedback and disseminate research and lectures,"she says. 

Heidi Forbes Öste recommend everyone to go out on the web. "Even if you are a bit older and maybe just lost your job. Then it just in time to get started now! On LinkedIn you can post your resume, connect and network with old colleagues and get references (and provide them). You will be amazed at what contacts you have.  

Facts Guide to networking sites, three sites 

LinkedIn: A professional network where you can post your resume, contact information, references and more. 

Facebook: Social networking.Here you can socialize with friends, chatting, posting, uploading photos, etc.. 

Twitter: A micro-blog. Others can follow your brief updates, you can follow others.

translated from original article written in Swedish by Anna Roxvall (anna.roxvall@svd.se)

text in italics were edited with additional information for clarification

Google Head of Social needs to be Strategy not Product

All morning I have been reading updates about Google's new job search for Head of Social.  Being an avid Google user in many regards, my initial reaction was: Yes, Finally!  Then I began to read the job description and the further comments and blogposts from other techies and social media experts.  I'm afraid Google has missed their mark.  Indeed they need someone with social media experience, management and strategic thinking, entrepreneurialism and competence, a leader, and so on.  But as long as they understand the capability and potential of the technology, their understanding of human behavior in social and global marketplaces is more important in order for them to succeed at social.

We are talking about "social" here.  And what is social? People. When I work with clients on social strategy, they have been caught up in the technology and forgotten about the people element.  "Needing" the latest social platforms and tools, referring to people as users, not looking at the human potential or needs, understanding how their own strategy fits in the social strategy are all challenges they share.  I am just surprised to see a colossal like Google making the same mistake. Fix it by making it more applications or gadgets or going away from the mission itself will not solve the problem, in fact it will make it worse.  Buzz and Wave have great functionality, but who needs yet another  thing to add to their list of places to check in order to be sure you are up on the latest information.

Head of Social at Google is being positioned under Director of Product Management, Social.  To solve the problem their needs to be a more social emphasis that is not simply product based (although this role is also needed).  I agree with some of the point brought up by Mehendra in  10 questions presented for the Google Head of Social   on Skeptic Geek blog. Mostly I think he captured the point of where is the strategy overall.  If Google is to succeed in the social marketplace, they need to re-evaluate their social strategy and integrate it into their business strategy overall. They need to look for a Director of Social Strategy who understands the big picture. Hiring just a product manager when the overall strategy is missing a critical component is set up for failure.  Look at sociology or community experts to add to the mix.  Just because they are big doesn't mean they don't have the same challenges as everyone else adapting to the social economy.  Fortunately for them they have the capacity and the resources to do something about it.

Expert: Companies miss chances on Twitter

several people have asked me for an English translation of the article by Thomas Lövgren in Metro Teknik (22 April 2010) So here, it is.  I hope the translation is ok.

Many companies have no strategy when they use social media, according to advisers. A clear policy is needed to encourage businesses to make better use of employees' social skills.  Social media is a buzzword reminiscent of blogs, micro blogs and Facebook. For many, social media is a way to talk with friends and meet people with similar interests.

This is also a the perception that many companies have. But it also means that companies are in danger of missing out on the opportunities social media can offer, "says Heidi Forbes Öste, Adviser in communication and social media.

Companies with a clear strategy would be able to channel the workers' social skills in order to gather tips, information and establish important contacts.

Each company also has a background story, to attract people through social media, it is important that the story be communicated clearly. 

- It is important to know who they want to be, to explain their company's identity, "says Heidi Forbes Öste.

For employees to use social media at work requires a vigorous but brief policy so that people know what they can say and not say.

- If it is ten pages long, no one reads it says Heidi Forbes Öste.

TIP!

Heidi Forbes Öste's five tips to consider when investing in social media in your business.

1st Have a strategy that clearly communicated internally.

2nd Invest only in social media, that are value added for your business.

3rd Be consistent and relevant with information that employees use externally

4th Be patient: Building relationships takes time.

5th Social media should affect all areas of the organization to get the best returns.

6th Invest in one's own social platform, where employees can share information and knowledge internally that is accessible to all employees where relevant.

10 Truths about Social Strategy

1. You must cultivate an environment of trust for social tools to be effective.

2. Social requires people interacting, the tools enable the interaction.

3. People are individuals, effective social draws on their strengths and passions.

4. Social impacts every part of your business that is not automated by a machine.

5. You do not have to be a "people person" to be successful in social business.

6. Listening is more than monitoring.

7. Social tools are not just on-line, they begin with face to face interactions.

8. The extensive power of social is in engagement and resonance.

9. Communities do not get authentic commitment by force, but rather by seeing value.

10. Social strategy must be aligned with your business strategy.

The Art of Social Optimization

Bringing all the elements of social together to consider the benefit and impact on organizations and their influence has become an increasingly important. To speak about being "a people oriented organization" social must be taken into account. My recent workshops in Egypt and Ethiopia followed by strategy sessions with a global company and executive trainings for business leaders have all had a common thread. In revising my presentation for the Ethiopia (note, 0.4% Internet penetration) to provide context, I removed the social media tools themselves(that all clients seem to want to jump ahead to). Doing this, the opportunities and the pitfalls of social became more distinct. I have returned to my "social optimization" theory that requires developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships for growth and sustainability in a social economy. This mean you have to look at how and why you interact with your human capital first BEFORE you apply to on-line tools. It is the cultivation part that is so critical and often overlooked.

The above presentation, of course, had much discussion that lead in different paths depending on the context for the audience. The workshops in Ethiopia and Egypt were more focused on growing businesses to compete in the global marketplace, and emphasized Networking and Communications. We spent a lot of time bringing clarity to their stories and finding context for growth. The corporate and executive presentation and workshops were held in northern Europe, and had more of a business strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility emphasis. Engagement and finding ways to be more effective were the focus of conversation.

A note regarding the video, as it may not have as much context without the accompanying dialog. Aired in 2002, its re-emergence explains the power of word of mouth and sharing things in social tools beyond their original intended use. I use it often in presentations because it touches beautifully on the feeling of discovering context and connecting to something greater than ourselves by listening.

On a personal note, I have to say that I am thoroughly inspired by the people and the opportunities that working in social strategy has presented. I work with interesting and companies and executives that recognize the need to prepare their organizations for the social economy in order to sustain their company's and their markets' futures. I devote part of my work to creating change through knowledge sharing in the networks where I feel it will have the greatest impact. In this part,I am both supporting economic growth through women entrepreneurs, especially in developing markets, as well as teaching for the academic and non-profit arena where there social tools can have immense impact on change and the next generation. I look forward to connecting to more people that are working in this cross-over area. For me, that is social optimization, as I get to learn, to teach, to be inspired, and hopefully to inspire some along the way.

Social Strategy in Global Context

Perspective is thrown at me like a rocket.  Next week I fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to present a workshop on Social Strategy for Women Entrepreneurs.  For those of us from developed and highly connected countries (myself living in Sweden), let me put this into context. According to the Internet World Statistics, Ethiopia has the lowest rate of Internet and Mobile penetration in the world (0.4% of 28 Million people).  There is one national telecom provider, ETC, which politically filters ( censors) content.  The GNI per capita (annual individual income) is $280 (no, it is not missing a zero). 

That said, there is a concerted effort to create change and leapfrog growth via access to knowledge, education and new business through the Internet.  They are making strides in privatizing the telecommunications and building up infrastructure.  CyberEthiopia reports on progress and access such as IT programs at the universities and companies are gaining momentum.  These people are thirsty for knowledge and the desire to connect.  

I am very excited about this opportunity to learn from them and to share what knowledge and tools that I can to help them in their journey.  My greatest challenge is to provide context within realistic means for their achieving their goals.  My workshop will begin with the importance of strategy and “base social rules” for engagement.  The sections are as follows:

CULTIVATE, CLARITY, CONTEXT, COMMUNICATE, COOPERATE, CO-CREATE

The advantage they have is to not get caught up in the latest and greatest app or widget (which quite frankly is refreshing, teaching twitter is not really what strategy is about).  We can focus on the most essential tools and elements of strategy that cultivate a business that is prime for whatever social tools they can gain access to.

I look forward to writing more on this experience after my return. What are your ideas with how we can influence change and help them succeed in their efforts to leapfrog to catch up?

Davos on Growing Influence of Social Networks

This entry is in response to the World Economic Forum's commencing in Davos with the Growing Influence of Social Networks and the workshop topics they will cover.  First of all, It is great to see this critical topic put so high on the agenda at Davos.

“How are social networks changing society?”
 Working with face to face and on-line global networks, it is clear to see the benefit of the reach that on-line social networks provide. We are able to interact with our community members regardless of their location and mobility. We are introduced to secondary and tertiary communities for knowledge sharing that both sides benefit from. Knowledge is shared based on need or interest, not simply, who you know or what you can pay for. We therefore see accelerating growth in the developing markets, especially through women entrepreneurs who have been given access to knowledge previously unavailable. Women are building businesses that give back and are supporting each other through microloans, distribution of products and building networks for growth and education.

“What are the most important implications and risks for society?”
 The risks are that we ignore the conversations. Education and training are important. So is building the infrastructure to avoid creating further disparities in wealth in developing areas. One response here was that the risk is isolating those that are not connected. This is no different than with the emergence of email. Social media are a new communication form, NOT just a channel. The risk is that we treat it as a channel and miss the opportunity to communicate, share knowledge and learn.

“What should individuals and institutions do to leverage the power of social networks and improve society?”
Individuals and institutions should focus on learning and teaching effective uses of social media and networks. Face to face interaction is the foundation of networks and relationships, but social media provides a needed opportunity to have fare greater reach in depth and breadth. Knowledge sharing is critical for the future. Identify the thought leaders in social strategy (in your organization and from outside) and work with them to learn and teach you and your organization to benefit from the new tools not be left behind by them. Define a strategy, and align it to your vision. Create guidelines and policies to simplify the best practice both for yourself and for your organizations.

What are your thoughts on Social Networks at Davos and what they should be discussing?

Social Media Policy, laying the groundwork for the global market.

It is great to see some big players making concerted efforts for cultivating a collaborative culture that supports their strategy through establishing effective social media policy. Here are a few examples that stand out. Here is Adam Brown, Head Of Social Media at Coca-Cola as interviewed by Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing.

IBM-s policy can be seen here: IBM Social Computing Guidelines or heard here: IBM Social Computing Guidelines video
Social Media Governance has created an online database of Social Media policies
Interestingly enough many organizations still have no fixed guidelines or policies on a global scale. These are simple and necessary to improve effectiveness and to avoid major mistakes. The details can come at a market to market level. Kudos to those who recognize this as a top priority. Please feel free to add to the list. I am sure there are many more, although some do not share links to the greater Internet community.

Cultivating Social Business Success

Cultivating social business success requires renovating your communications to find value in your human and social capital. 2BalanceU's methodology of cultivating a landscape for maximum added value of social communications tools (dialog not broadcast based) implementation. Achieve balance between listening and broadcasting for success in the new marketplace.

Hewlett Packard fails in Social Media

It is always interesting working in social media how cases sometimes just fall into your lap. I have made it a policy with my own work to try to focus on the positive side of things. The positive side of this is that I get an active case study to use with my clients of what NOT to do. To start with, we must remember the range of what social media entails, we are not talking just Facebook here. Communities and dialogs of all sorts, blogs, microblogs, social network sites, intranets, are only effective if we partake in the dialog with which they are designed for. When we invite dialog, we must take part in listening and responding, not just setting up a forum.

We have all had moments of frustration that involve the hardware and drivers of various gadgets and connections. This time, it was my HP printer, yet again. When it works, I love it. Unfortunately, more often than not, it doesn't agree with me. I think I have removed and re-installed the printer drivers and software more times that I care to name. This time it was the printer cartridges, which is clearly where they make their money. After the printer demanded, yet again, to replace the ink cartridge that I recently replaced. Despite replacing it yet again, it continued to refuse printing for lack of yellow. The natural solution was go to the HP support site. To my grave disappointment I discovered a years worth of similar customer complaints over eight pages, without one single response from a HP support representative. The solution presented, by several of the customers, never buy another HP product and switch to Canon. Very sad indeed. This is exactly what NOT to do when your company decides to enter the dialog, be-it a forum, or other forms of social media.

Out of curiosity, I checked their Facebook presence. Many official sites, not so much activity and all employees (ie. no trust). I must say that I am not surprised given the start. So I shall tweet and maybe if I am feeling adequately irritated, I will start a Facebook fan page for fans of "HP doesn't listen". I could even invite all the poor victims of the support forum that had the same complain, after all united voices have greater impact.

I have now replaced my printer with a Canon, as I need to continue working, and the printing job cannot wait. My HP printer at home has been acting up too, so we shall see how long it takes to get to "adequately irritated" even for a patient person like myself. I am just one of many. Shall we practice a ferocious roar for disturbing our workflow, wasting our time and our money.

Don't Waste Your Time on Social Media

Don't waste your time on Social Media. Make your interactions count. Having a clear Social Strategy and policy for your employees (and yourself) means the difference between return on your investment and sunken cost and time. Before opening the floodgates consider these steps:

Create a clear policy on what type of social media interactions are within the professional area of your employees. For example, human resources, should be using Linkedin and Facebook to review potential new candidates. They should also ensure that the company listings are current and appropriate. A great example is Boston based recruiting company Hollister staffing, where they are also active in groups for seeking new candidates from the experts.

Divide time between monitoring, replying and feeding. Some of this can be automated, and the tools are improving for monitoring. Be careful to keep it authentic. Too much automation in reply and feeding can have a reverse effect. One company to watch that is doing some interesting things here is Stockholm based Springtime. They do the filtering and deliver to the appropriate expert within your organization.

Keep it professional: When on the company twitter account, posts should be relevant and of interest. Share articles of interest to show your keeping current. When posting news, always link back to company blog or website. Provide time constraints. Keep the talk clean, limit slang and avoid swearing. Jeff Bullas in Sydney has written several great blog entries about the importance of linking back.

Learn how to use social media as a resource for new information both pre-existing and that which comes from requests. Teach your employees to do the same. The more clarity you have in your policy for social media use in the workplace, the more effective your team will be. They will thank you for it and you will see the results.

It is helpful to always remember that social media and networks are tools for knowledge sharing in a dialog, not simply new media channels. The sooner you create a clear policy for use, the better off you and your organization will be.

Clarity

There is something beautiful in the concept of "clarity." What I have semantically mistaken for "simple" has been corrected to "clear." In the process I have found clarity. When we draw our stories for use in strategy sessions, the ultimate goal is to find the clarity in our voice and our vision. It is not about making things less complex, but rather about making complex concepts easier to understand. Coming from the perspective of keeping things positive, I really like this approach and better way of expressing it. (Thanks for fixing my semantics, GK Van Patter, Humantific)

Applying my new semantics, my presentation on Social Business Strategy had greater resonance. For after all what we are trying to achieve in workshops is create a greater understanding of complex concepts in a short period of time. I like to refer to it as teaching us what we already know with a new approach to applying them. It is not as if we don't already know that if we express ourselves more clearly people will understand our message or our intention. "Get to the point.","K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid)", "Elevator pitch", "vision statement", they all have something critical in common - clarity. For communications professionals, Clarity, is where they excel and where their skills are overwhelmingly needed. The channels and audiences can vary as long as you have a clarity in your story and vision for your strategy.