Oct. / Nov. / Dec. 2009 - Nebraska Public Power District

An NPPD Facebook account was set up primarily
for employment branding and recruiting purposes and
includes photos and videos about working for NPPD.
LinkedIn allows registered users to maintain
a list of contact details of people they know
and trust in business. The people in the list are
called Connections. Users can invite anyone to
become a connection. Connections are made
via introductions to someone a person wishes
to know through a mutual, trusted contact. The
social media tool is primarily used to find jobs,
people and business opportunities recommended
by someone in one’s contact network. Employers
can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
Job seekers can review the profile of hiring
managers and discover which of their existing
contacts can introduce them.
NPPD has a LinkedIn account primarily to be
used as a Human Resources tool. However, NPPD’s
Economic Development department has shared that
LinkedIn has been a social network of choice for
economic development consultants and prospects.
Flickr is a popular website for users to share
personal photographs, and is a service widely
used by bloggers as a photo repository.
“NPPD used Flickr for the 2009 Nebraska Open,”
stated Przymus. “Instead of printing photos for all
participants, we posted them on Flickr and provided a
URL for them to download and share, thus saving us
hundreds of dollars.”
A blog is a type of website, usually
maintained by an individual with regular entries
of commentary, descriptions of events, or other
material such as graphics or video.
“Blogs provide a great platform for sharing
information and starting a conversation,” stated
Przymus. “NPPD has set up test blogs to evaluate
potential future use. Topics considered include energy
efficiency or industry issues, which could be displayed
on nppd.com and ItsYourPower.org. We may also
simply use the technology as a platform to distribute
news to our customers and retirees with the additional
added benefit of providing an opportunity to start or
participate in a conversation around the issues.”
ENERGY INSIGHT • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2009 9
Social Media for
business purposes
In summary, NPPD is exploring the use of social
media today primarily to communicate with external
audiences for employment branding and recruiting,
media relations and issues management.
While the District is getting acquainted with
the tools, it is important to remember that the
tools are being looked at for business purposes
and are not without risk stated Information and
Telecommunications Technology Manager and
Management Planning Council Chair Dave Webb.
“I am excited about the potential these new
technologies represent for NPPD,” he said. “Of
course, as ITT Manager, I am also responsible for
ensuring appropriate security for NPPD applications
and content. As they have become more popular,
Web 2.0 technologies as they’re often called, are
increasingly used for attacks. Even with access
restricted to business need only, ITT Security had to
temporarily block all access to Facebook twice this
year to prevent active attacks from impacting our
facilities. The MPC has also discussed this, and while
we recognize the potential for mis-use, we also noted
similar concerns when email, personal computers and
other new technologies were introduced. Like any
tool, we recognize the need to manage social media,
but we fully support providing the best technology to
those who need it.”
“One could look at social media as additional
tools for our communication toolbox,” said
Communications Supervisor Brenda Sanne. “Despite
the growing popularity and interest of social media,
it is important we evaluate the application and use of
these tools in a business environment. If we can safely
and securely add a new social media tool that will add
value and help us be more effective at telling NPPD’s
story, then we may consider using it when and where
it makes the most sense. At this time, most of the
social media uses we have identified are targeted at
niche external audiences.”
Source: Wikipedia