Blogs do they work for you

Web 2.0 and all that it means… blogs, twitter, interaction etc but what does it mean?

Humans are social animals, we need to be part of a social group, a hierarchy. With the demise of the extended family, the nuclear family and more and more isolation perhaps it was inevitable that we will need to find a ‘new social group’.

It is curious that over the past 15 years membership of voluntary organisations has changed. We no longer go to the ‘clubs’ that we once did to feel part of some ‘collective’. Isolation has been rife. Maybe this has been the trigger of a lot of the stress in our society. That lack of connectedness?

These thoughts were sparked by an interesting piece on “why people stop blogging” and an interesting look at the 5 stages of a blogger life

Social networking sites ‘reward’ people through the use of points, stars, or other factors such as the psychology that the number of contacts you have is what make you. On others it is the number and diversity of the groups to which you belong. This clearly shows that as individuals we crave feedback, feedback that perhaps we don’t get at home or work? If it is recognition people want then why do we not give it to them? sure we ask them and often they will say “don’t make a fuss” what they are really saying (most of the time)  is YES!!! People like to be recognised and emotionally rewarded – so give them recognition that is in keeping with their needs and wants – but recognise success… often and publicly.

Sure in the world of social media many hide behind a nom de plume – that is fine – those that do may do so for a number of reasons

If the lack of feedback at work is a truism then we in the L&D and OD fields can contribute, through “Employee Engagement” or as I read this morning “talking to” or listening or getting involved as replacements for the jargon of engagement.. makes sense, we provide a ‘new label’ dress it up to be something special and important – but at the end of the day its about human relationships and communication. Simple really.

Looking at the stages of blogging we can predict that many will fall by the wayside – what can we learn from this in terms of using web 2.0 technologies within our business – be it for learning, knowledge management or marketing? Be in it for the long term it is not a quick fix

Mike
RapidBI