Explain this one to me: CIOs Don’t Plan To Implement Social Media Tools
So itWorld Canada reports that a Robert Half Technology survey shows nearly two-thirds of CIOs aren’t planning to implement tools like wikis, blogs or social networks at their companies. Isn’t THAT ironic, Alanis.
How could Canada’s CIOs not appreciate the way these tools improve internal communications at corporations-something so vital during (to use the phrase of the month) these tough economic times?
That’s the problem, I realized. CIOs are more knowledgeable of new technologies than anyone else, but their appreciation of their value ends there. In fact, technology executives are probably more concerned about the risk Web 2.0 tools pose to security and, yes, productivity, than the benefits of them.
This is where communications people come in.
Public relations professionals are in a position to show CIOs how these tools can be deployed effectively in a corporation, improve its top down communication and improve, not harm, the bottom line.
It will take cooperation from chief marketing officers and chief technology officers, but if the survey is correct, it will be the only way to get Canadian companies to improve internal communication by the use of these tools.
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You have it bang on, Christie. “technology executives are probably more concerned about the risk Web 2.0 tools pose to security and, yes, productivity, than the benefits of them.” And to add on to the point, technology executives can often find themselves taking responsibility for things that frankly aren’t in their ambit.
It’s not the CTO’s or CIO’s job to make CONTENT decisions about tools which are communications-based. And I think they do in the case of social media. Would the CTO decide that having phones on desks was just too tempting to people that might want to call their mom or spouse? Mmmm, no. But there’s no hesitancy to veto (or try to) blogging, networks, etc.
There’s a difference between the guy who maintains the pipes and the people who manage the water supply. And sometimes we need to fight to ensure the water supply is OURS.
The best way to do that might be to make sure the guy who maintains the pipes and the guy who maintains the water supply work together to achieve a common goal-a safely flowing supply of h20.
Fight? Maybe. Collaboration is better and will happen once CTOs, CIOs and CCOs realize they have the same interests in mind.
Oct 27th, 2008 at 8:23 am
[...] Explain This One To Me: CIOs Don’t Plan To Implement Social Media Tools [...]
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