“Let Us Go Boldly Into the Present,” says Michael Edson

I had the pleasure of attending OpenText’s Purpose-Driven Speakers Series event yesterday morning in DC at the Willard. Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy at the Smithsonian Institution, was the terrific presenter. Not only was he funny, relevant, quick and fresh, his presentation was grounded in decades of management theory and technology history.  Michael has a beautiful knack for making connections that others don’t necessarily see themselves.  If you have a few moments, check out his slides.

Here are a few highlights and key learnings that I took away (on my sad 5×8 lined pad–not on an iPad) and wanted to share with you.

• “Our job is to make YOU succeed” –that should always the be the orientation of organizations’ digital strategies
• “Now” is closer to the future than it used to be; the future has caught up with/is collapsing in on the present… long-term strategy doesn’t matter as much as it once did.  Focus on what you can do NOW.
• Strategy is language that does work.
• “Design patterns” (principles) for going boldly into the present:

• Objectivity: compare the mission of the organization to its actual mission — do a reality check. If you’re going to commit to new approaches, commit to new approaches.
• Be a platform–an enabler; be able to bring expertise in and out of the organization
• Bring innovation at the edges into the center of the organization; transform innovation into infrastructure so that it can become the organization
• Organizations have immune systems & metabolisms — be self-aware and accept change
• Focus on your mission

All leaders should ask three questions:

• Context: what is the world in which I’m living/doing business?
• What impact do I want to have?
• What can I do TODAY?

Success is all about casting.  You can change the people or you can change the people

People grant trust to organizations that are more porous and transparent.

 Just great stuff!  Keep noodling…

Becoming a Truth Organization

What we refer to as “social media” really has very little to do with media.  Media –from cameras to demographics–is a set of filters.  Filters obscure the truth by focus as well as by omission.

Social media strips away the filters upon which content shops–news organizations, marketing consultancies, ad agencies and PR firms–have relied over the past century, and brings us Truth.  Sure, sometimes social media yields too much information and sometimes it’s the cold, hard truth, but its products and processes are raw and authentic, nonetheless.

So, it’s interesting then, that traditional marketers, advertisers and PR folks, are jockeying to stake claim as social media stewards.  From my perspective social media and marketing are not so much the same as they are different.  In fact, I’d posit that social media marketing is truly the opposite of traditional marketing. 

When I speak to clients and audiences about the importance of social media, I first talk about the cultural shift that social media tools and Web 2.0 technologies are catalyzing.  Our culture is shifting from one of facades–advertising, messaging, “spin”–to one of Truth.  The first rule of the blogosphere is “HATs off”: honest, authenticity and transparency.  LonelyGirl15 and the Walmarting Across America were early examples of misuse of social media and why Truth is paramount.

But a good portion of traditional marketers still don’t view social media this way.  Rather, they view it as another set of rich distribution channels through which to send carefully crafted messages.   (It’s not a surprise that social media has gotten all tangled up with marketing.  This likely stems from “social media” being a misnomer.)  Successful social media strategies must start not with marketing, but with introspection. 

The cultural shift towards Truth and collaboration must be felt, understood and embraced by an organization before it can truly sucessfully leverage social media tools and Web 2.0 technologies.  The organization that understands social media first as cultural shift will see why social media is more akin to business strategy, organizational change and strategic partnerships than to marketing. PR and advertising.  That, is the Truth.