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January 24, 2010
Does social media make us more honest?
This year, the World Economic Forum explores the influence of social networks at the start of the Annual Meeting 2010 in Davos. The discussion is moderated by Loïc Le Meur, Founder of Seesmic and includes, among others Gina Bianchini, CEO, Ning, George Colony, CEO, Forrester Research, Reid Hoffman, Founder, LinkedIn, Owen Van Natta CEO, MySpace.com and Evan Williams, CEO, Twitter.
You can submit questions to Davos as videos, so...if you don't like to read, watch the 3 min video version of my question at http://tinyurl.com/ydmu9e8
==> My question is: "Do you think that social media helps people and companies become more honest?"
I believe that social media will help and based my argument on the below observations. However, I would like to hear what the panel has to say.
1)Transparency: social media enables information to be shared faster than ever before. Of course, transparency can be scary for some, especially if your "friends" publish your information or photos without your permission. However, with transparency comes accountability - if you state on your Facebook page that 'you never drink' and your friends put up photos of you bar-hopping...you can run into some credibility issues. This principle is true for individuals and companies. It presents particular challenges for organizations who mislead customers as their modus operandi, and that's a good thing.
2) More intelligent use of social media: the ability to find information across multiple social networks simply by searching allows many of us to figure "what a person or a company is about". This technique is well used by recruiters who search the web and look up people's profile prior to bringing them in. Consumers are now more sophisticated in their use of social media - particularly prior to making a buying decision. While their perception of a product might have been shaped by an organization's marketing efforts in the past, they now can solicit their networks for reviews. Given the importance we put on the opinions of our network, the little information a few trusted friends can provide will outweigh any marketing dollar the selling company can invest in trying to change our perception.
3) Consumers at the center of companies 'brands: now that everything is in the open and that consumers have a channel to broadly express their opinions, companies have to be more honest with their customers. Let me provide an example. I had a layover in Paris on my flight from Seattle to Copenhagen. My flight to Copenhagen was delayed so I sat down to check email and my FB page. I immediately let my FB network know that I was delayed in Paris. Within minutes of sitting down, I got an email from the airline company apologizing for the delay….wow...when was last time you got this level of care from an airline? The email isn't much but it indicates that the airline understands that my dissatisfaction could impact others. Given the airline doesn't know me and doesn't want to take the risk that I might influence a large network of their clients - they want to proactively reach out to me.
There are, of course, positive ways by which social media makes people want to be more honest - but I thought I would highlight the ones that I believe offer the most pressure.
What do you believe? Join the conversation @ http://tinyurl.com/o89vep
Best,
Bruno Aziza
Co-author, Drive Business Performance
Follow @ http://twitter.com/brunoaziza
Join on Facebook @ http://tinyurl.com/ykcwkap
Posted by Bruno Aziza at January 24, 2010 1:15 PM
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