Online Communities & Communities of Practice

Week 8 of Social Media for business introduces COP – Communities of Practice. In this blog I will try to analyze what are the characteristics of COP and their relevance to business strategy, and their benefits and limitations of online communities.

Today’s economy runs on knowledge,  and use of cross-functional teams, customer- or product-focused business units, and work groups to capture and spread ideas. In many cases, these ways of organizing are very effective, and no one would argue for their demise. But a new organizational form is emerging that promises to complement existing structures and radically galvanize knowledge sharing, learning, and change. It’s called the community of practice.

Etienne Wenger summarizes Communities of Practice (COP) as “groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

The author (Etienne Wenger) noted three important elements:

1. Domain – an identity formed through a domain of shared interest. Being a part of the domain implies commitment & therefore a shared competence distinguishing members from non-members.
2. The Community – has shared interest in its domain and engage in building relationships that enable them to learn from one another. Commitment to the community can run deeply within its members.
3. The practice – members of a community of practice are practitioners. Over time they develop tools and a practice that is enduring an beneficial to its members

 

Characteristics of COP

Communities of practice have different names in all organizations. They are known under various names, such as learning networks, thematic groups, or tech clubs. Communities of practice have been around for as long as human beings have learned together. At home, at work, at school, in our hobbies, we all belong to communities of practice, a number of them usually. In some we are core members. In many we are merely peripheral. And we travel through numerous communities over the course of our lives.

The concept has been adopted most readily by people in business because of the recognition that knowledge is a critical asset that needs to be managed strategically.  COP is used for:

• Sharing and co-learning about related practices across projects.
• Learning while doing.
• Support for practitioners spread across the globe.
• Professional development.

Communities of practice are as diverse as the situations that give rise to them. People in companies form them for a variety of reasons. For example, when a company re-organizes into a team-based structure, employees with functional expertise may create communities of practice as a way of maintaining connections with peers. Sometimes people may form communities in response to changes originating outside the organization, such as the rise of e-commerce, or inside, such as new company strategies—think of auto manufacturers going into the financing business or computer makers offering consulting services.

COP and Business Strategy

The COP raises the capability and facilitates innovation through the cross-domain exchange. As a business strategy a COP offers a lot of value. The informality and passion that drive COP’s if harnessed effectively can be a very effective business tool.

The infrastructure to support COP’s doesn’t need to be complex. It needs to be simple and easy to use  social media tools, like blogs, wikis, discussion forums, on-demand video/teleconferences etc. are highly effective.

An example from Hewlett-Packard, where a community of practice consisting of product-delivery consultants from around North America holds monthly teleconferences. The community focuses on an HP software product called High Availability, which minimizes computer downtime for customers. The core group of consultants, who had been somewhat isolated, came together a few years ago with the help of facilitators from a knowledge management support team. The members discovered that they had many problems in common and that they could learn a great deal from one another. The community has succeeded in standardizing the software’s sales and installation processes and establishing a consistent pricing scheme for HP salespeople.

Online Communities

An online community is a virtual community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. For many, online communities may feel like home, consisting of a “family of invisible friends.  An online community can act as an information system where members can post, comment on discussions, give advice or collaborate. Commonly, people communicate through social networking sites, chat rooms, forums, e-mail lists and discussion boards. People may also join online communities through social media like blogs and virtual worlds.

What is an online community of practice?

The evolution of Internet and Web technologies has:

• Impacted on the way individuals communicate;
• Greatly enhanced the development of communities online; and
• Provided the opportunity for online communities of practice to facilitate the creation, refinement, sharing and use of knowledge effectively between individuals.

Benefits And Limitations

An online community of practice requires more than simply transferring a community of practice to an online environment.

Technology infrastructures have to be created to support the functioning of online communities of practice to overcome barriers that do not occur in co-located communities of practice. These barriers include:

– Time: to meet and communicate;

– Size: membership may be large and involve many locations;

– Affiliation: members spread across organisations; and

– Culture: members experience different organisational cultures.

Can communities of practice be totally supported and operated online? An ongoing debate is whether or not communities of practice can be virtual. Two key issues raised in this debate concern:

• Whether relationship and trust can be built online
• Whether tacit knowledge and practice can be shared online.

Limitations:

• Very little information is available regarding bilingual online communities of practice.
• Conducting online discussions in multiple languages is complicated.
• Designing a bilingual website requires more than translating the words.
• Providing bilingual websites makes an important statement regarding the value of that culture to society.
• More research is required into the provision of bilingual online communities of practice.

Benefits of online communities of practice include:

 

• Membership is diverse;
• Leadership is strong;
• Technology is used appropriately;
• There is an emphasis on participation and community building; and
• They are long-term

 

It should be noted that communities of practice can be very effective in a digital world, where the working context is volatile, complex, uncertain and ambiguous.  A large part of the lifelong learning market will become occupied by communities of practice and self-learning, through collaborative learning, sharing of knowledge and experience, and crowd-sourcing new ideas and development.

Reference:

Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice: A brief introduction.   Retrieved from  http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/07-Brief-introduction-to-communities-of-practice.pdf

Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier. Source: https://hbr.org/2000/01/communities-of-practice-the-organizational-frontier

Online Community.  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_community

 

 

The 4Cs of Social Media

Social networking is when a person uses already existing contacts to meet new people; creating potential social or business links. Such links, in turn, will help expand future connections. Small and local businesses may already do this offline simply by attending community events or participating in trade shows, etc.

Anything that gets your company name out there, or connects you to helpful resources, is considered networking. Technology has brought this essential activity online, giving businesses the opportunity to further develop network relationships in new ways.

Social networking can be compared to the concept of the six degrees of separation, based on the idea that any two people can be connected through a chain of five or less intermediaries. Through social media sites, people join, and then invite their established contacts to do the same. Those contacts will likewise invite other individuals.

After reading this weeks notes and doing some research, I will try analyzing the following:

• What are the Four C’s and why are they important to Social media and social networking
• What is Cisco’s S.O.C.I.A.L approach
• What are personal knowledge networks and how they be developed for personal and organizational advantage

The concept of the 4Cs  was introduced in a  social media article “How Social Software Will Change the World” (Cook, N. 2008) .

The 4Cs are defined below:

1. Connection
2. Collaboration
3. Communication
4. Co-operation

Connection + Collaboration + Communication + Co-operation = Social Media Marketing

Connection

Not everyone you are trying to reach via social media is a customer. Some of the most important connections within a connection base are influential people in various social circles.

Connection refers to the networking technologies making it possible to connect with other known or unknown people.

An organization will benefit if they allow it’s employees to come together, share and use each others information by making the workplace more knowledgeable.  By allowing connections between employees to happen, the business may allow people to work more time efficiently and finish projects to a much higher standard.

Collaboration

Collaboration is the most integrated form of group work, and is therefore potentially the most difficult and the most rewarding. In the case of collaboration, the group members work toward a common goal, one that carries a mutual investment. For example, in a project, employees or contractors may each work on different areas, consulting each other.

Collaboration refers to encouraging employees to come together on issues and ideas and collaborate with each other, directly or indirectly.   With indirect collaboration people come together and wait for the moment when a solution magically appears before them. On the opposite end of the spectrum direct collaboration requires leadership and is a better option if you want a solution now.  If businesses allow for both kinds of collaboration they are covering all bases. The main concept here is to allow employee to collaborate: two brains is better than one!

Communication

In today’s world, news travels faster then ever before, people demand and expect information when they want it and how they want it.  People need to communicate to express their views, opinions and thoughts. Communication needs to be clear, consistent, convenient and compelling.

 

Three motivators behind informal communication (Festinger, 1950):
– Need for people to share … to feel that they belong together in the group.
– People need to share hopes, ambitions … achievement, affiliation and power.
– People need to express emotions

Co-operation

Cooperation is important in networks where individuals exchange relevant information and resources in support of each others goals, rather than a shared goal. Something new may be achieved as a result, but it arises from the individual, not from a collective team effort.

 
Large quantities of relevant, education-based, and perhaps user-generated content is filtered, aggregated, and delivered in a context that makes it useful for people who are starving to make connections with people, products, and brands they can build a community around.

In order to fully leverage your social media networking opportunities, you need to:

• Use appropriate networking strategies to establish and maintain relationships that promote the development of business opportunities.
• Identify and pursue network opportunities to maximize a range of contacts.
• Communicate information regarding new networks to inform individuals, colleagues and clients of potential benefits.
• Participate in professional networks and associations to obtain and maintain personal knowledge and skills.

Modern organizations understand they need to react to a rapidly changing business environment quickly. The need to address customer demands, react to competitive threats, and improve profitability, is largely dependent on the way employees interact and engage, collaborate and communicate – not only with each other, but also with business partners and customers.

What is Cisco’s S.O.C.I.A.L approach?

Cisco is a company that learnt early on that savvy buyers now use social media to gather information, connect with their peers and share their experiences. This gives companies the opportunity to grow and nurture online relationships.  So they created the bewlo social approach:

• S – Scalable – to train and empower employees and SME’s to scale your soil efforts globally.
• O – Open – to lead from the top by encouraging executives to participle in an open and transparent manner.
• C – Consistent – to adopt an “always on” mindset to show commitment to ongoing conversations with your audience.
• I – Intuitive – to make it easy to connect with your brand and SME by providing easy to navigate web and social experiences.
• A – Active – to create and share informative and interesting content to trigger and sustain conversations.
• L – Limitless – to be flexible and tailor your plan based on the executives comfort level and consideration to the target market.

 

What is Personal Knowledge Management

Personal knowledge management (PKM),  is a collection of processes that a person uses to gather, classify, store, search, retrieve, and share knowledge in his or her daily activities and the way in which these processes support work activities . It is a response to the idea that knowledge workers increasingly need to be responsible for their own growth and learning.

PKM is a set of processes, individually constructed, to help each of us make sense of our world, work more effectively, and contribute to society.

References

Chapter 3  Cook, N.  (2008).  Enterprise 2.0:  How social software will change the future of work.  Hampshire:  Gower Publishing Ltd.

Personal Knowledge Management: source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_knowledge_management

Social Media And The State

A very interesting topic to write about.  I recall the days when the first we would hear anything about the government used to be via the 6pm news on the telly.   Now I log into Facebook and see feeds and posts on parliament updates from various sources.  How has this changed? What changes has the state made so that the public can know more about things that matters? What is the benefit of using social media by the government?

The Turning Point

Rapidly growing interest in the upper house affairs and the recognition of the citizen’s rights has brought many positive changes in how information has become readily available to the public via the use of social media and internet based sources.

The government holds data on behalf of the New Zealand public and they release it to enable the private and community sectors to use it to grow the economy, strengthen social and cultural fabric, and sustain the environment. The release of this information helps the public, local communities and the business sector to make informed decisions in regards to government related matters.

Through this commitment New Zealand citizens and businesses can expect a more efficient and accountable public sector, more services tailored to their needs, and a greater level of participation in shaping government decisions.

A programme of work called “Open Government Information and Data” was initiated in 2008 and, is currently hosted by Land Information New Zealand, and led by the Open Government Data Chief Executives Governance Group, and the Open Government Data Steering Group.   The Declaration on Open and Transparent Government was approved by Cabinet on 8 August 2011.

Benefits Of Open Government data

There are four key benefits of releasing government data:

• Improving government – Open data is improving government, primarily by tackling corruption and increasing transparency, and enhancing public services and resource allocation.
• Empowering citizens – Open data is empowering citizens to take control of their lives and demand change by enabling more informed decision making and new forms of social mobilization, both in turn facilitated by new ways of communicating and accessing information.
• Creating opportunity – Open data is creating new opportunities for citizens and organizations, by fostering innovation and promoting economic growth and job creation.
• Solving public problems – Open data is playing an increasingly important role in solving big public problems, primarily by allowing citizens and policymakers access to new forms of data-driven assessment of the problems at hand. It also enables data-driven engagement producing more targeted interventions and enhanced collaboration.
• Building trust – Open government enables transparency and help to build and maintain trust of the public and to seek and engage the public along the way.

Government Initiative To Use Social Media

In 2011 (November), the ICT Strategy Group (external site link) approved the “Social media in government” guidance and the aim was to encourage best practice of social media use by government agencies, provide useful templates and tools for planning, and give an overview of the strengths, weaknesses, benefits and risks of this very important and rapidly growing toolset.

 “Government agencies are beginning to view data and information as key public assets – the release of which can play a significant role in driving innovation through better decision making and the creation of new services, tools, and knowledge.” – Minister Louise Upston

soruce of extract: https://www.ict.govt.nz/programmes-and-initiatives/open-and-transparent-government/open-government-information-and-data-work-programm/

 

Social Media In Action

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=921013891326500&set=p.921013891326500&type=3&theater

 

Social media include but are not limited to blogs, wikis (e.g. Wikipedia), social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), micro-blogging services (e.g. Twitter),and multimedia sharing  services (e.g. Flickr, YouTube). Social media are often associated such concepts as user-generated content, crowdsourcing, and Web 2.0.

Social Media opens up communication channels for the Government and the people to engage in various matters.  It makes the Government accountable for its decisions on a daily basis and overall approachable. A recent example is the flag referendum here in New Zealand. By expressing your opinion on Facebook, Twitter or your social media platform of choice the potential is there to reach an unprecedented amount of people to join in with their own opinions and have their voices heard.

 

image source: https://www.facebook.com/nzflag/

In terms of anti-corruption, social media has four major potential strengths: collaboration, participation, empowerment, and time. Social media is collaborative and is defined by social interaction. It provides the ability for users to connect with each other and form communities to socialize, share information, or to achieve a common goal or interest.

Social media can be empowering to its users as it gives them a platform to speak. It allows anyone with access to the internet the ability to inexpensively publish or broadcast information, effectively democratizing media. In terms of time, social media

Technologies allow users to immediately publish information in near real time.

While the push is to have more digital / internet based communication between the government and the public, it certainly pays to bear in mind that not everyone is computer savvy and that are technology glitches.  Also with access to any information, the responsibility to use (not abuse) lies with everyone.  Be good digital citizens.

 

References:

• Anderson, T. B. (2009). E-government as an anti-corruption strategy.
  Information Economics and Policy,21, 201−210.
• Bellamy, C.  & Busby, P.   (2011).  New Zealand Parliamentarians and Online Social Media.  (Parliamentary Library Research Paper 2011/01).  Wellington.

• ICT.govt.nz: https://www.ict.govt.nz/guidance-and-resources/open-government/declaration-open-and-transparent-government/

• https://www.ict.govt.nz/programmes-and-initiatives/open-and-transparent-government/open-government-information-and-data-work-programm/
• https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiTru3YgPnMAhUFn5QKHdtoB4gQFghIMAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdata.govt.nz%2F&usg=AFQjCNG47MEmSC6rmDwc-TOAKddf4b0VjQ&sig2=ENeLIyA0imBkXNN8iEeSYg&bvm=bv.122676328,d.dGo
• https://twitter.com/opendatanz

 

 

 

Small Businesses & Social Media

The aim of this blog is to understand the following:

• How can small businesses and non-profits use social media?
• How might the use of social media differ for small and large businesses and in B2C and B2B contexts?
• When used by businesses, in what ways does mobile social media differ from ‘traditional’ social media?
• What are the risks of using social media to small businesses?

Intro

In this competitive world, small businesses are finding it harder to maintain their competitive edge.   Then technology evolved and social media was born.  Social media helps businesses to reach new and different audiences. It allows businesses to interact directly with their customers or potential customers . The reality is that social networks can bring a whole new dimension to your business.

 

How can small businesses and non-profits use social media

Small businesses and non-profit organizations can use social media in a number of beneficial ways.   Whether it is promoting your brand, new idea, products or just creating engagement, social media can be easily archive that and much more . Below are some of the major benefits of using social media for small businesses and non-profit organizations.

• gain more customers. Ask your customers for suggestions and improvements. Ask them what they like and dislike. They will be happy to tell you.
• maintain relationship with existing customers and establish with potential customers. Create trust with customers and prospects
• connect with similar organizations or businesses  with common interest
• promote their brand,  generate awareness regarding a product or service. Differentiate your brand
• free form of advertising. Your business might be small and you may lack the advertising budget of larger businesses. But social media can be a great leveler. It allows you to compete on equal footing with much larger companies. You can even use it to make a virtue of your size.
• gives visibility on your customers / interested parties information such as gender, activities, information. By following other organizations in your area of business, you can keep up to date with trends, news and key information.
• Build your reputation

Of course not all small businesses and non-profit organizations are presently using social media as some of these may have their own websites or are hesitant to use social media.  The hesitancy stems from using a new methodology, not having the required expertise to update or interact in social media.

B2B Small Businesses Use Social Differently Than B2C

Social media sites have been successfully adopted and used in the B2C (Business to consumers) context, they are perceived to be irrelevant in B2B (business to business) marketing. This is due to marketers’ perception of poor usability of these sites in the B2B sector. B2C companies, on the other hand, go to Facebook first and in larger numbers. This makes sense because B2B businesses are looking for the marketing people, facilities managers, buyers and others who rely on LinkedIn for industry connections and news. B2B companies are more interested in promoting their brand.

Research evidence indicates that social media is important for B2B companies. B2B companies can use social media and specifically such as Facebook and LinkedIn to communicate with their customers and suppliers, build relationships and trust, as well as to identify prospective partners in terms ofB2B selling.  It is

notable that while B2B e-commerce is valued at more than three and half times that

of B2C e-commerce the interest in,and subsequent adoption of, social media by B2B organizations has been slow compared to their B2C counterparts. Facebook is comprised of nearly every consumer on the planet.

 

 Mobile Social Media Vs Traditional Social Media

News paper, magazines and promotional pamphlets are fast fading away and getting more and more replaced by mobile social media. With the introduction of smart phones, social media networks are just a click away.  Almost everyone with a smart phone has connection to some form of social media network, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.  This means that mobile social media is accessible almost anytime, anywhere.

 

Risks Of Using Social Media To Small Businesses

Information on social media is visible to more than one user.  This means a response to a customer’s compliant is visible to almost everyone who has linked to that page or post.  Whether you’re a small, medium, or large-sized business, your brand’s health and reputation is often defined by the way you engage in public environments.

Below are some of the risks associated with using social media:

 

• Human Error – mistakes are bound to happen. Employees may also be hacked because they trust fellow members of their “tribe” of social media users and may be tricked by fraudsters.
• Reputation –  Content is being created in real time, outside of the firewall, with resultant reputational risks. Mistakes and hacks can have a negative impact on the brand and loss of employee, customer, or investor confidence.
• Processes –  Firms need to define and approve the right permissions, approvals, access, data classifications and collaboration processes before they get started.
• Legal –  Potential issues range from adherence with privacy laws, to content ownership, to intellectual property infringement, to human resources issues such as unauthorized activities such as harassment, discrimination and defamation.
• Data (collection, protection, security): Firms need meet the regulatory requirements of collecting, processing, handling and storing data. The corporate network should be secured to prevent confidential client and other information from leaking out, or even across, the organization. The firm should be protected from incoming threats when social media users inadvertently introduce malware into the organization or employees are targeted by cyber criminals.

In light of these risks,  users can get the most out of social media “through good governance and risk management. Governance is really all about how you operate social media, your policies and procedures, and being aware of the risks and how to manage those.

 

 

References

• Lacka, E., & Chong, A. (2016). Usability perspective on social media sites’ adoption in the B2B context. Industrial Marketing Management, 5480-91. doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.01.001