Corporates just not getting it

My first thought when I saw the front page lead, this morning's Press - Erebus censor found at Air NZ: 'what were they thinking?'

My second: I know exactly what they were thinking.

They were thinking that somehow the old rules still applied.

The Air NZ/Wikipedia fiasco is yet another example of 'social media creep' - the gradual, inexorable seep of a communications culture once tidily confined to the geeks and nerds of the blogosphere, now inconveniently (and persistently) oozing into the corporate world.

There are those who get it, who embrace it and who move with it. They may not completely comprehend the social media phenomenon (or its wider implications), but they at least acknowledge its existence, and vitally, understand that their consumers/staff/stakeholders are increasingly a part of it.

There are those who think they get it but show they don't (not looking at anyone in particular here) by violating the very tenets social media operates under. This is the group most likely to key message their blogs, plant PR fluff in those of others and mess with their Wikipedia entries. This group mindlessly and and doggedly applies old-world communications strategy to these new-world tools and pays little attention to the impact of being so out of step with their comms environment.

Then there are the ones who are in denial: either their eyes glaze over and they switch off completely or they'll shake their heads and launch into a diatribe about how 'it's all so weird, and why do they do it and you'll never find me in a place like that and how sad it all is'...(meaning  Second Life/Facebook/the enture blogosphere/wherever).

What they're missing is this: like it or not, these tools are influencing the way that ordinary people connect, they way they get and process information and what they expect from the organisations they connect with. Things are changing slowly but surely. That change is reaching the sort of critical mass that redefines the whole communications culture. And organisations are going to have to change eventually, too - or risk being left behind by being so out of step with the people who matter to them that they end up talking another language.

Social media takes no prisoners.

Its communications culture is largely anti-corporate, with an emphasis on increased transparency, impatience with inflexible and out of context messaging and a strong anti-hierarchical sentiment.  Social media is about values like trust and collaboration - breaking down the 'us vs them' sense that seeps through from so many traditional organisational communiques - and leveling the playing field.

Increasingly, organisations are having to show whole new levels of respect for their consumers, both in the way they communicate with them and the style of that communication. Mass, push communication is out. Niched, pull tactics are the tools of choice. It's a brave new world, folks, and that means a bunch of brave new rules.

Gone are the days when PR meant 'controlling the message' and 'managing a reputation'. Gone are the days when a giant, lumbering monolith like Air New Zealand had the power and the grunt and the weight to do what it wanted - and what it could - and maybe get away with not getting caught out.

This is the age of citizen journalism where every second person is an investigative reporter.  Those scrutinising the corporates are no longer confined to people with training with a press pass and the privilege of being able to be published. We're all potential journalists and publishers these days - and we're surrounded by media that never sleeps.

Expect to see more corporates being 'outed' for prettying up Wikipedia entries. Expect more con-men and confidence tricksters to be nailed for creating puff profile or trying to rewrite their own history in a bid for credibility. Expect more old school PR folk to come unstuck for trying to apply old world tactics to new world channels.

Social media is here, and it's here to stay. It's changing the way we communicate, forever. The old hierarchies, the pedagogical systems that protected publishers and broadcasters (and, ironically, those they reported about) by limiting those who had a vehicle to express an opinion are becoming less and less powerful. There are way more people with the power to say 'gotcha' - all the time.

Whatever Air New Zealand was thinking when it tooled around with its Wikipedia entry, you can bet it wasn't thinking that. But odds are on it'll think twice next time.

Comments

[dad4justice]

"Social media takes no prisoners."

How true Susi , time for society to get used to the impact of the internet and our consitutional right of freedom of speech in a fair democracy . Inspirational article .

[Peter]

Susi, I read this article in the press today and I though it was a great summary of the opportunities of todays media resources but it also demonstrates the pitfalls.

We have to change our thinking heaps in our communication processes to both potential and current clients, and make use of what the web offers

Peter

[Susi Maclean]

Hi 'dad4 justice' and Peter

Really appreciate the feedback on the story. And loving having some interaction on the blog (isn't that what it's all about?). It's fantastic the number of people who are waking up to the opportunities social media tools pose: but sobering to see some of them barrel on in without a great deal of thought.

One of the hardest things of all for organisations is understanding the power of grassroots now that all of these opportunities are available to give them a voice. And that it's not just about playing lip service by starting a blog or doing something cool on YouTube.

It's not just about what you do - you actually have to change the way you think about the people you're communicating with. All the barriers are coming down. It's a scary place to be for a lot of CEOs. And even scarier for lots of communicators!