HERE AND NOW - Formanchuk & Asociados

Internal Communication 2.0: A Cultural Challenge_______________________________________________________________________________5. Introducing tools 2.0 may affect the cultureI am always asked what will happen if tools 2.0 are introduced in a “broadcasting culture”. Is itany good? I think that it’s better to act first on the culture itself. But in case that’s not possible,we should keep in mind that structures are both structuring and structured. Structured by thesame practice they structure. That sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it?Introducing tools 2.0 may then have an impact on the culture because in their DNA they carry away of Communications, an implied logic, an energy field.they aren’t.They look harmless or neutral butIt is like when you want to start working out. First, you “buy the tool”, which is the easiest thingto do. For example you buy a pair of shoes. Then alter a few days you take a look at your shoeswhich are in your bedroom, you take a look again, you think about the 200 dollars you spent andfinally you decide to wear them. The tool encourages you to take action and, if everything turnsout to be fine, your working-out routine may even be long-lasting and sustainable.Sometimes tools 2.0 may be like these shoes. And they may help you to tell the leader: “If wealready have the blog, the wikis, etc. why don’t we really take advantage?6. Deciding what kind of social media you need to implementLet’s suppose we have the culture. We have the practices. Do we want tools? Let’s think whichones we need because they aren’t the same. For example we can focus on the following:• Expression: If we want to strengthen and ease the creation of contents on the part of thestaff. We use: Blogs, Twitter, etc.• Interaction: If we are interested in easing or strengthening the communication among thecompany staff, creating communities or forums. We use: Facebook, Linkedin, Friendster,MySpace, Orkut, Skyrock, Netlog, Hi5, Tuenti, etc.• Collaboration and education: If we seek to create collaboration and learning, we shouldopen a space where the staff can cooperate to create contents and ask for help or givehelp. We use: Wikis or social bookmarkers such as Delicious o StumbleUpon.Alejandro Formanchuk 23