Why I Am Breaking Up With RIM. Slowly.

Anyone who knows me will be familiar with my rants about RIM and their beloved Blackberry smartphones. I've had the dubious pleasure of using several corporate issued Blackberrys over the past few years and for access to enterprise email it is fine. However, increasingly I have become more and more frustrated with the Blackberry when trying to use it for anything other than email - for example social media sites, internet, or even the built in camera.

To be fair to RIM, the Blackberry is probably an acceptable smartphone if you are using it outside of a corporate environment (although to be honest I am not sure why you would). And equally, corporates have a multitude of good reasons why these devices are locked down so apps can't be installed (eg for more efficient support), or that traffic is routed through the firewall (for data security and tracking). After all, if they are paying for the device and data then its fair that they should also decide what its used for. And I'd say that 2 years ago that was fine. But increasingly in today's world that is not fine and putting a Blackberry device into a corporate environment pushed me to the brink of RIM suicide.

Why is that? Well I need access to my corporate email in order to do my job (and I'm pretty much connected to it 24/7). The best way for me to contact my work colleagues is via corporate email/phone call and all their details are readily available via Blackberry so its perfect for that. However, I have a lot of people outside of the organisation who I also keep in contact with via Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and others. I'm not talking about checking what Britney Spears had for lunch - I'm referring to contacts within the industry I work in, knowledgeable experts on particular subjects that are relevant to me and my role, or even keeping abreast of competitors. So my world is wider than the confines of the corporate firewall and this was causing me a lot of frustration.

And I am not alone. This week I attended a seminar which was packed with representatives from the financial services industry and you could easily be forgiven for mistaking it as a RIM sales convention from the number of Blackberrys littering the tables. I had a chat to some of the other delegates about this topic - many had complicated work arounds they used to circumvent the restrictions of their Blackberry or IT policies so that they could work from outside of the office or access data from portable devices such as iPads, Macbooks etc. It was clear that in today's wave of consumerism in IT that where there are loopholes, they will be exploited.

A recent article about the Rise And Fall Of RIM included this telling quote “The fact that people are spending their own money to buy the iPhone, when their company is giving them a ‘free BlackBerry’ sends quite a message to RIM.” Hmmmmmm.

So, after weeks of swearing at the Blackberry, followed by several hard restarts each day, I purchased an iPhone so I can run 2 devices. Initially I thought that I would just have the iPhone as a supplement for the Blackberry (which would remain my primary device as it is the only access I have to corporate email). But after a weekend of being able to tweet and post without firewall timeouts, using Facetime, plus installing apps which let me read my RSS feed on the go means that it seriously challenges the Blackberry for being my device of choice. If I am standing in line for coffee, then I would choose to catch up on reading news and articles of interest via Reeder which was not previously available to me. So will I carry both devices round with me all the time? Yes probably, but how it works in practice remains to be seen and will shake out over the next week or so.

This is an interim solution as its only a matter of time that enterprises will change and adapt, and some such as Wells Fargo, Unisys, Kraft and NBC already have by allowing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). For those who are resistant to change, it's more than likely that RIM fold or be bought, leaving those companies who have invested heavily in Blackberrys facing a potential dilemma of unsupported and outdated devices for their senior management.

My biggest dilemma is whether I should run 2 mobile numbers or continue to use my Blackberry as my main number? I suspect the answer to this will become clear in the next few days too.

Do you use 2 devices for work and personal? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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Which Social Media Content Should You Post Where?

The social media world recently got a bit more cluttered with the introduction of Google+ and there is a lot of talk about it being a 'Facebook Killer' (insert here the shower scene from Pyscho), or how everyone will abandon Twitter leaving it to the tumbleweeds, the bots and the news media (bless their cotton socks).

If you haven't given Google+ a whirl then you definitely should - if only to form your own opinion about whether its another timesink or something actually useful. My favourite, favourite, favourite feature of G+ is the Hangouts - group video chat for free. But this blog is not about the merits of Google+, there are over 100,000 blogs on that topic, just... errrr... Google them.

Even without the introduction of another social platform it is worth putting some thought into what content you post and where. The 'one size fits all' rule doesn't work for a number of reasons:

1. Different audience (and your relationship to them)
2. Different frequency
3. Different timing
4. Different formats

Some people hook up the integration between various platforms - for example automatically publishing tweets from Twitter to LinkedIn. Can I just say that I hate that? When I look at Linkedin, I do not want to see the trivia and witty quips that are acceptable on Twitter. Linkedin is for professional networking and unless that is only what you use Twitter for, you should disconnect them. Now.  (You know who you are). Instead use the #in and #fb hashtags on Twitter which allows you to selectively publish content from Twitter into Linkedin or Facebook where appropriate.

Some brands have a feed from their Twitter account into their Facebook Wall which is sooooo wrong. Facebook communities don't appreciate too many posts - more than 2 or 3 a week and you'll find interactions with your posts start declining. Why? Because your community have clicked 'Hide' in their Facebook Newsfeed so even though they still Like your page, they are not seeing any of your posts (and never will again). If you are following the rule of a couple of posts each week then timing is important as you don't want your precious posts to get lost in the noise of all the other updates from the 600m others on there as well. Some Facebook communities are online either very early in the morning (ie before work/school) or later in the evening after dinner, but not much in between. However stay at home mothers may be online at baby naptimes - the point here is that it differs for each community so test out different post times and track the results. Also keep in mind how many companies block Facebook access from work, meaning posts during business hours may get less interaction.

Twitter is a lot more forgiving when it comes to frequency. In fact it's beneficial to keep up a steady stream (not a firehose though!) of tweets and responses with your followers. It is very harsh (but unfortunately true) to realise that if you didn't turn up on Twitter one day then hardly anyone would notice. So you have to do the leg work - there are no free lunches on Twitter - unless you are already famous, like, In Real Life. The 140 character limit forces you to be concise (don't use tweet lengtheners like deck.ly or any other .ly service - they are just wrong). Being concise does not mean it OK to use txt lingo though - except if you are 13. Not everyone will click on links either, and remember that many Twitter users are using their phones to view their feeds (not all of which will open links easily). Photos which are supported by most apps (eg twitpic, yfrog, instagram) and can be easily viewed without being sent off to another app or browser tab are very popular.

On Google+ you have the luxury of choosing who to publish your content to (pick a circle, any circle), so you can deliver more relevant content to the people in those circles meaning there is less chance of spamming people with irrelevant messages. You can also choose to mute each post (rather than the person who posted it) so you can selectively opt out of posts which are not relevant to you. Frequency is developing as Google+ is more Facebook-like, so repeated posting through the day will probably be frowned on, however as you can target selective groups you have a lot more freedom and control. Access via mobile phones will increase once Apple gets round to approving the iOS app - not high on their To Do list it would seem.

So try out posting at different times and using different content on your social media platforms, track the results to see which works best for you. And don't forget to give Google+ a whirl. Circle me and we can Hangout!

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So You Want To Work In Social Media? Really? Read This First.

I was chatting to someone last week who is on the social media team of one of NZ's large corporates. She was telling me that lately there are not as many people within the company expressing interest in joining the social media team and perhaps the 'shiny'ness of working in social media is wearing off.

I agree. A year ago, placing an advert for someone to work in social media would have resulted in a nervous breakdown for the recruitment consultant. However since then, NZ has experienced the Christchurch earthquakes and the community using Twitter and Facebook has mushroomed in size. This in turn has placed huge expectations on what social media can and should deliver to the community. Organisations providing core services - such as media, telcos, banks or airlines - have been stretched responding and informing the community during a crisis.

Most large NZ corporates have a social media team staffed by just a few people, or several part-timers (in addition to their 'real' jobs). We are not yet at the point where scale has forced a change in the operating model but its probably not far off.  Web Strategist Jeremiah Owyang depicts the typical social business structures below, and in NZ the majority would be some variation on the Centralised model.

Copyright Altimeter Group http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/

At the other extreme are companies such as Dell, who have been leading the way in embracing social media and becoming a social business. Last week I was fortunate enough to meet with Andy Lark who was responsible for spearheading Dell's social media success. Dell receive over 24,000 mentions on social media each day so scale was something they addressed a long time ago - they have over 10,000 employees trained and 4 levels of certification in social media. The catalyst for Dell was 'Dell Hell' in 2005 which spurred them into action to address the community of bloggers who were writing about their poor customer service, technical support and faulty products. Dell has turned its organisation around to become a social business - a significant  undertaking that took years and a lot of moolah.

From Melbourne's iStrategy Conference, May 2011

These stories and case studies have held the role of social media up high but its not all champers and roses. There is a darker side to social media which is whispered about in hushed tones in the backwaters of social networks. Comments about fielding work questions on personal Twitter accounts are commonplace, as is the pressure of being forever 'on' and connected. Receiving personal abuse from an angry community can be alarmingly commonplace, and being stalked or trolled on social media all comes with the role. You need to have a thick skin and a healthy sense of humour. Biting your tongue off probably will help too.

Then there are the physical effects. A close colleague of mine who works in social media has been diagnosed with what is being called 'social media elbow' - although we jest, this is a serious condition of tendonitis almost certainly aggravated by being 'always on' and using not only a work computer non stop during the day, but also 2 smartphones, a tablet and a laptop or computer at home as well.

Working in social media is not all glamour. In fact it is not glamour at all. A quick look round the office does not reveal Old Spice Guy lurking in the corner - the sad truth is that often the office has been long empty. There are endless hours, dealing with a range of customer issues and a multitude of internal stakeholders all while under the watchful scrutiny of your employer, your customers and your competitors. Nothing is hidden in social media. Nothing is hidden.

If you love tweeting or are addicted to Facebook then working in social media is not for you. You'll be disillusioned pretty quickly once you discover that tweeting for a brand is nothing like tweeting in a personal capacity. You'll find out about governance, policy, procedures, audits, legislation and a ton of other things that will rule your life. You'll probably find you don't have time for tweeting on your personal account any more - or if you do that you don't really feel like it.

But if - and only if - you love your company with a passion then you will thrive. If you believe in your brand, its values and the people behind it, then you will gladly take the bad with the good and will feel real pride in representing your company on social media. You'll love talking with your customers, hearing their stories, forming a connection with them. You'll become an expert on every nook and cranny in your organisation and know which haystack to find that needle in. You'll meet others who work in similar roles who can share your frustrations and your highs. Its more than just being an avid tweeter or being in on the first round of invites to Google+, you are the most visible brand ambassador for your company - embrace the good with the bad.

And if you are able to condense a media statement into 120 characters - to allow for a retweet - and include a hashtag, then that will help too.

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