Wild and Crazy Tweeting
March 1, 2010
In the flow of stories for our Strategic Social Networking blog we see a lot of wild and crazy articles. Some of the information is a reminder of the “Wild and Crazy Guys” skits on the fourth season of the American comedy show Saturday Night Live. The tag lines, “We are wild and crazy guys” still echoes when I read some of the outputs from the azure chip crowd with its mavens, poobahs, and self appointed experts.
One of the more interesting items was “DOD Authorizes Soldiers to Tweet, Access Facebook,” which appeared in PC Magazine on February 26, 2010. The main point was:
Provided they’re not giving away classified information, employees at the Department of Defense are now officially allowed to use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter…The policy covers everyone using the department’s non-classified Internet system, known as NIPRNET.
It is, therefore, not too surprising that some think tanks, azure chip consultants, and poobahs are on the social media bandwagon too. A reader sent me a link to “Banks Need to Wake Up to the Potential of Social Media.” The “article” appeared on the Datamonitor Web site (“the home of business information”) on February 18, 2010. The main point, in my opinion, is:
UK traditional banks need to recognise the value of social media if they are to keep their grip on customers in the thawing economic climate according to Datamonitor. The independent market analyst believes the rise of social media has facilitated a fundamental shift in power from banks to consumers. The research* reveals how UK consumers are leading the way, as 50% are using a variety of online tools to make their financial decision compared to 41% globally. According to the Datamonitor findings, ‘online media’ is most popular amongst the 25-34 year old segment in all regions except APAC (Australia, Singapore and Japan).
Lots of buzzwords and fancy verbal dancing. When I read this, I heard the voice of Steve Martin.
Steve Martin, “Yes, the military and banks should make the tweets.” Dan Aydroyd: “We must post pictures of our strategic policy meetings on Facebook too.” Source: http://www.la2day.com/images/page_image/SteveMartinWild.jpg
Audience laughs. Loudly. A lot.
What caused me to think about this quite remarkable paragraph was another news story, “Experts on Bank Crisis Will Name and Shame.”? The main thrust of this story is that the exploration of some “issues” in Ireland will identify some bankers who may be involved in an interesting way.
Now why did I connect the “Banks Need to Wake Up to the Potential of Social Media” and “Experts on Bank Crisis Will Name and Shame?”
Easy.
Can you imagine folks like German economist Klaus Regling or Max Watson, a bank expert, sending tweets about their activities? How about some Facebook posts with pictures of a couple of meetings or a toast at a restaurant? What about a link to some little-known public PDF documents on a public Web site?
What about the banks themselves? Should the Royal Bank of Scotland, an outfit that managed to match some of the fine lads and lasses in the US with a lost of $5.5 billion in 2009. See “Royal Bank of Scotland Loses $5.5 Billion in 2009”?
Yep, the financial community should jump on that social media bandwagon. Start a social media campaign? Forget information policies, governance, and legal concerns. Tweet now!
Sometimes I wonder why the azure chip crowd with its assorted poobahs, mavens, and glib souls cook up recommendations that: [a] will not make much sense to the senior executives, [b] may create additional legal hassles if the messages are not in step with what the legal eagles define as appropriate, and [c] are little more than a sales pitch less subtle that the columns I write for Information World Review.
Now back to the military. The alleged assassination in a far off country, reported in “Inquiry Grows in Dubai Assassination”, which appeared in the digital New York Times, is helping to keep this story fresh. I am not sure who is involved in what. The social info zooming around adds layers of messaging to a strange story.
I am on the fence about the military and the banks getting “social”.
So what about search?
Well, that’s the point. With services like Collecta.com or even the newcomer like Wowd.com, an investigator or attorney working in one of the legal matters related to “name and shame” are going to have an * easy time * of finding a comment, an observation, or other item that * may * be material to the legal proceedings. Great idea to urge more social media in the midst of a financial downturn. Keep in mind that Datamonitor’s poobahs see the economic climate “thawing”. Sorry. I don’t agree.
I sure hope that the folks pushing certain institutions toward social media have thought about some of the implications for security and personnel safety.
A more prudent approach would emphasize the use of social media in a particular context with certain information governance policies in place and working. Defense and financial institutions may find that more analysis preferable to a rush to tweeting.
For one, I am leaning toward a more conservative approach to social media unlike the cheerleaders, poobahs, and bandwagon riders.
Stephen E Arnold, March 1, 2010
No one paid me to write this. I think I have to report non payment of articles that are about wild and crazy consulting idea must be reported to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a canny lot.
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