Many in my generation question the value of social media — the kind in which people engage in social chit-chat. A father, whose 31 year old daughter married recently, was no different. It was at his daughter’s wedding that he learned about the usefulness of social media for staying connected on a human level and enriching one’s life. His earlier… Read more →
Technology is meant to connect us. Instead, it often creates feelings of isolation. Such as when there’s no reply to our emails. We don’t care as much when our email to a company’s customer service is unanswered but when we send it to someone we know or an individual we are trying to establish contact with, not receiving a reply… Read more →
I often hear from business leaders that while they see some value in using Facebook for business-to-customer interactions, they see little value in using it internally. They argue that the use of Facebook to engage in social chit-chat will distract employees from their work and make them unproductive. I believe that these business leaders are not seeing the value… Read more →
Among the many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving was a set of free tools that I have been using for years now. Many of my students find the tools useful when I share the tools with them. I thought I should share these with my readers who might also find them useful. Several of the tools I… Read more →
Social media isn’t what it used to be — there is a lot more content but the interaction is missing. As more and more companies are creating social media accounts and encouraging people to interact with them through these channels, it becomes increasingly more important to follow social media best practices to avoid unintentionally pushing away those who wish… Read more →
A recent Harvard Business Review blog post by James Champy argues leadership does not change in a Web 2.0 World. Mr. Champy’s core points are that (a) leadership requires relationships and personal engagement and (b) technology does nothing to alter this requirement in leaders. Based on his points, Mr. Champy seems to suggest that the most appropriate way forward for… Read more →
When air travel to and from several European cities was curtailed due to volcanic ash, people adopted Skype and other video conferencing tools in lieu of travel. Unlike email or telephone, video conferencing is thought to be like face-to-face communication but only somewhat leaner because one is not in the same place as the person one is communicating with…. Read more →
Both AFP and Reuters are reporting a spike in video calling as air travel is halted in Europe due to volcanic eruption. According to Cisco, there has been a huge surge in demand for its telepresence facilities in Europe. Skype, too, is seeing an increase in video-calling during the past few days. Some executives who have been prevented from getting… Read more →
The blockbuster film Avatar showed us how easy it is to move from one reality into another environment where the rules are different. Where a person can be reborn into a 10 foot tall, blue, non-English speaking, dragon-creature-flying, environment-protecting militiaman. So is it all that hard to fathom that leadership inside the four walls of an organization morphs into… Read more →
In my last post, I mentioned that the best way for business leaders to understand Twitter or other social media is to begin using them. I recently saw how experimenting with social media can help business leaders appreciate its power. I had an opportunity to advise a business leader, Ms. Peg Breen, about blogging. Peg was without employment like thousands… Read more →