Leading in a Digital World: How Could Something so Sweet be so Evil?

 

By: Morgan Bade

When the internet was created, it was sought to be a place for freedom and and globalization, but in 2017 we are starting to see the opposite effects. Technology was thought to be a huge help for people’s lives, but now it has become enmeshed with their real life. Screens are no longer just screens. Not only has it taken a hit on the political climate, and almost swung the election in Trump’s favor due to the huge surge in fake news and false tweets, it has taken effect on every user on the site. Digital Leadership goes hand and hand with the complexity of what social media is doing to the business world. Every worker has been stalked before they even had their interview, which puts into question the role of social media and digitality in these contexts. When leaders are too overly involved with their employees lives the communication climate can break a company. Since we are also becoming one with our profiles, we might feel like we are losing some social skills in the workplace, which is creating more difficulties. When a company or brand starts to bring digitally into their office, it must be taken very seriously. These leaders must be educated about the positives and the negatives before they can begin to think about the advantages.

The Challenges of Digital Leadership

The main challenges within digital leadership are that it is so new. It is important to realize that  there are administrators all over the world on digital leadership issues. This is “because digital devices and online environments can simultaneously be transformatively empowering and maddeningly disruptive, the work of integrating digital learning tools into schools is usually difficult and complex” (McLeod, 2015). One of the biggest issues are schools struggling with their technology integration and implementation is the lack of a collective vision for how digital learning tools will be used to enhance learning (McLeod, 2015). If educators are not teaching their students about the benefits, they will not see it as a positive. There is also a lot of fear that plays into the digital landscape. The fears about digital learning tools are especially tricky because they’re primarily emotional, not logical, which are fed by our own uncertainties (McLeod, 2015). So many leaders are not even thinking that leadership could very well when a new technology is added, which is why they misuse it. Also they don’t want to have a lack of control. Heavily teacher-directed classrooms that they are leery about giving up control – and can’t see the value in doing so (McLeod, 2015). By having these fears and bringing them into the workplace only makes the communication climate worse. By understanding our limitations, we can also see the possibilities when we let go of those things because there have been a lot of negatives from poor uneducated leadership.

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Leading Innovation

A huge factor of leading digitally is to create a positive change. Since the digital landscape is so large companies have to work much harder to create what sets them apart from one another. The MIT Technology Review has stated, “the convergence of technology trends like cloud computing, hyperconnectivity, Internet of Things, and access to unprecedented compute power are driving companies to integrate across disparate platforms; enhance connectivity and use real-time analytics to get closer to their customers and to grow the business” (MIT. 2017). These digital leaders are innovators able to truly transform their business, but they can’t just be subpar- they have to be on the top of their game. Being a digital leader is about being a people person, and being extremely kind- but knowing when to take a step down. One of the huge negatives of digital leadership is that these transformational leaders must make it their whole life to please everyone and transform their name. It might take a lot of emotional labor, but the person who is dedicated will succeed.

The Dark Side

There is always a dark side to everything that sounds too perfect to be true. Even though leading digitally could create even worse problems than imagined. We have to now replace a structure that was already set with a more complete picture as a result of “networking systems together, deploying sensors, connecting fleets with telematics, mobilizing workforces, collecting online data in real-time, employing omni-channel strategies, collaborating, analyzing and managing it all with an OILS (optimized information logistics systems) in real-time” (Benedict, 2016). Reducing the amount of conjecture is one of the top goals of digital transformation, but it also comes at a high price (Benedict, 2016). Now companies must budget very carefully because they have to spend so much on the technology. There have recently been studies done that The Center for the Future of Work have done that stated, “the survey we conducted of 2,000 executives across 18 countries, digital leaders reported cybersecurity was the digital technology having the biggest impact on their businesses today. Digital transformation initiatives are guaranteed to attract hackers and those with nefarious intentions” (Benedict, 2016).  It is even stated that, “all digital transformation initiatives introduce new problems, software bugs, guaranteed network vulnerabilities, new competitors; new business challenges and new stresses’ (Benedict, 2016). The worst part is that the elimination of all negative consequences and vulnerabilities are impossible (Benedict, 2016).

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Balance is Key

When one is working digitally they want to feel like they also have a home life, since their office is at home.  There is great flexibility when it comes to scheduling and getting to receive bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs, remote access capabilities and cloud computing is to enable employees to be productive from anywhere, at any time and on any device (Johnson, 2014). A recent Gallup study exploring the effects of mobile technology on politics, business and well-being in the U.S. found that “workers who email for work and who spend more hours working remotely outside of normal working hours are more likely to experience a substantial amount of stress on any given day than workers who do not exhibit these behaviors” (Johnson, 2014). Leaders could be giving their workers a lot of stress without even realizing it.

Learn From Amazon

Bringing the digital world into the workforce is usually very helpful to companies branch out and take advantage of the market online. Amazon does a great job of being a huge leader in the digital industry for products, but apparently they do not know how to handle their relations with the employees they have had. Business Insider states working for Amazon is a, “’bruising workplace’ where employees are asked to harshly critique their peers, and those suffering personal crises are often pushed out of their positions” (Stone & D’Onfro, 2015). Due to the high level of expectation that Amazon gives to their employees that work online, the employees feel like they cannot live their real life as well. When someone is working from home they are usually set with hours that they are on schedule for, which also means availability to answer emails. Amazon puts too much pressure on employees by not caring and calling them at all times of day, with no days off. When an employee state that they cannot be bothered at certain times, these requests are usually pushed away. Also they do not get paid bonuses for their hard work as told by Business Insider, “‘One aspect of Amazon culture that turns many people off is the constant emphasis on frugality,’ Eric Aderhold, a former software engineer, writes on Quora. ‘Amazon doesn’t tend to buy lunches for its employees, offer outstanding fully-paid health coverage, match charitable contributions, invest in top-of-the-line workstations for developers to use, or other expensive things that other top employers are known to do’” (Stone & D’Onfro, 2015). There have been reports that a lot of people work late into the night and on weekends and holidays, though of course this varies between departments (Stone & D’Onfro, 2015). By working their employees to the bone and not rewarding them, it sets an idea in their employee’s heads of the work that is expected of them. If they are not being treated like an actual employee just because they work at home, means they won’t take the work seriously. This is bad for the overall company and the brand of their image. We can all take Amazon as a huge example of what not to do in the digital landscape. Other businesses should take note so they do not fall into the same trap. Amazon seems to be getting bigger but that might be their downfall.

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Emotional Intelligence is a Must

Now that the workplace has changed in many ways but one, it is important to realize that we also must change leadership as well. Traditional leadership has been outdated and it no longer works in many cases. Businesses who try to keep traditional leadership tactics usually fall in the cracks. This is why transformational leadership has been gaining popularity in the last few years. This also differs from transactional leadership, with was a contingent reward, management by exception and laissez faire management (Barling, Slater & Kelloway, 2000). This seems outdated now because it treats people like they are just workers and not actual people. Transformational leadership comprises of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration (Barling, Slater & Kelloway, 2000). This focuses on learning how to deal with problems before they start. In the digital landscape it is very hard to tell when people is mad or upset with you because of the elimination of nonverbal ques. By increasing the communication one can have an environment that is stress free and great to work for (Barling, Slater & Kelloway, 2000). One doesn’t have to be a transformational leader, but it is essential to take these aspects into one’s leadership qualities in 2017.

References

Barling, J., Slater, F., & Kelloway, E. (2000). Transformational Leadership and Emotional

Intelligence: an Exploratory Study. Leadership & Organization Development Journal,

21(3), 157-161.

Benedict, K. (2016, August 2). Digital Transformation – The Dark Side. Retrieved from

http://www.futureofwork.com/article/details/digital-transformation-the-dark-side

Johnson, N. (2014, May 30). Work-Life Balance in the Digital Workplace. Retrieved from

https://statetechmagazine.com/article/2014/05/work-life-balance-digital-workplace

Madeline Stone and Jillian D’Onfro. (2015, August 21). Employees confess the worst parts about working for Amazon. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-parts-about-working-at-amazon-according-to

Employees-2015-8

McLeod, S. (2015). The Challenges of Digital Leadership. The National Association of

Independent Schools. Retrieved from ISSN-0145-9635

MIT Technology Review. (2017). Leading Innovation: The Challenge of Leadership in Digital Transformation. Retrieved from

https://www.technologyreview.com/content/sap-partner-webcast-leading-innovation/#.Wf9ktVynEWo

Ordinary to Extraordinary Through Social Media

By: Elizabeth Cerreto

The Rise of the Digital Era

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It’s the year 2000, cell phones were just becoming a huge hit, and the Internet moved a bit faster than it ever did. MySpace turned into Facebook, and the rest is still being understood through the thousands of different social media and digital platforms that have launched since.  Benjamin Hale (2015), explains the evolution of social media as platforms that cater to everyone and humans who engage in social media as social animals. Since the rise of social media people all over the world have connected and involved in communication that they can build networks out of and build new, innovative brands for themselves and companies and organizations. Social media has changed the way we do business, it has changed the way we communicate, and most important altered the way we become and sustain our leadership styles.

The Science Behind Social Media

The world of social media has expanded so much in the past decade that there seems to be a science behind building a brand, gaining followers, and reaching your target audience. Users of social media platforms ranging from large businesses to ordinary people. Everyone on social platforms is engaging to reach out to others and to build a brand for themselves or their company that will be recognized and hopefully takes off into something that can turn themselves or their company into a widely known person or place. In the podcast, The Science of Social Media, many different contributors talk weekly about various aspects of the digital world. Michael Stelzner (2017), introduces the idea of social media algorithms that allow people to calculate and use them in their favor to reach as many people as possible. Stelzner says that at one point all posts that were made on social platforms were able to be seen, however now that so many people are on the platforms it is impossible to see everything. Algorithms are used to cater to what each specific user is interested in and lifts up the quality of their content they are seeing. Marketers are trying to build brands, and this could potentially make them struggle. Companies need to strategize and look at the types of people that are visiting sites in order to increase their sales and engagement over their platforms.

Engaging Through Digital Platforms

Engaging through digital platforms has allowed the world to become such a smaller place. To start, businesses can interact with other companies all over the world to network and build their companies around the globe. Hale (2015) said, “One of the things that started happening right in this period is that social media not only became widely used, it also became widespread in business.”  Businesses took advantage of the social media sites that were being launched and began to include plugins on their sites to easily access their own company’s platforms. This allowed people are visiting company’s websites to have straight access to their latest posts and up to date news on what was going on in the business. It is easier to grow and to have many locations all over the world because social media allows for communication to be done digitally instead of face-to-face. Companies are strategizing and branding their organizations through platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Zachary Small (2017), showed how a fast food company, Wendy’s, took to twitter to build a persona and reach users with a different marketing strategy. Wendy’s decided to “roast” accounts that tweeted at them, and it successfully engaged other Twitter users, which increased their sales and gained them more followers on their social platforms. Another excellent example of building a person on social platforms is Sour Patch Kids. According to Small (2017), Sour Patch Kids went with being funny and launched a pranking campaign on Snapchat that gained them over twelve thousand followers. Small (2017), says that if a company is able to build a noticeable persona through their social platforms, then they are aimed for success. It is all about strategizing to be different and give the people what they want.

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Culture Formed From Social Media

picture: ©iStockphoto.com/anttoniu

Building a brand for oneself or a company is a set of techniques that create a cultural persona of how you wish someone or something views you or your business. According to Douglas Holt (2016), “digital technologies have not only created potent new social networks but also dramatically altered how culture works.” The launch and rise in popularity amongst connecting through social media have built a fast-paced, innovative, world of collaborating users. In a specific way, social media has changed everything because it allows users to not worry about geographic locations and instead makes it very easy for people to connect in ways and with people they may not have been fortunate to connect with, without social media. Holt (2016) also notes that because communities are so intertwined and connected their cultural influence on each other has become very direct. He calls them crow cultures (2016) in which large groups of people are breaking new grounds because of the abilities social media has given them.

What It Means to Be A Celebrity On Social Media

With the culture that has formed and the techniques understood to make content go viral and engage people in specific platforms a lot of people have found ways to gain fame and be known as a social media celebrity. Ordinary people have created content on YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram that have blown up and completely have them known very well in society. A bunch of major celebrities that are breaking records in the entertainment business started on social media platforms. Kate Knibbs (2013), made mention to stars like Justin Bieber who wouldn’t be anything if it weren’t for his YouTube videos that went viral and gained popularity in the very beginning of his career.  Knibbs (2013) wrote, “Plenty of people have used social media to carve out niches for themselves.” Ordinary people took their talents and used social media to their advantage to be seen and heard. Another ordinary girl, Megan Amram, who is now a television writer for Parks and Recreation, was noticed on Twitter because of her humor. Knibbs (2013) makes mentioned to Amram and a few others about how their “pithy” accounts led them to stardom and fame.

It is pretty obvious that there are strategic ways to go about using social media and one will see the great impacts it could have on their lives if they take the steps to engage in the most effective ways. It is important to understand whom you are as an individual in order to show your best self on these platforms because you never know when you could be the next leader of a global company or rise to stardom over simple tweets and videos.

References

Hale, B. (2015, June 16). The History of Social Media: Social Networking Evolution!                 Retrieved from http://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-social-media/

HOLT, D. (2016). Branding in the Age of Social Media. Harvard Business                         Review, 94(3), 40-50.

Knibbs, K. (2013, April 15). How social media has changed what it means to be a celebrity.Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/celebrity-social-media-anger/

Small, Z. (2017, April 5). The Importance of Social Media.Retrieved from                         https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-social-media-zachary-small/

Peters, B. (2017, February 27). Social Media Algorithms: How They Work and How to                 Use Them in Your Favor – Michael Stelzner. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from  https://blog.bufferapp.com/social-media-algorithms-show-notes

 

Social Media Power-Up

By: Kelly Afu

Product Brands

A brand is the recognizable name, logo or even jingle from a particular product, company or service. Before the age of the internet, organizations, and businesses connected with current and potential new customers through TV commercials, Newspaper ads, radio, and various other sponsorships we see today. Nike, Budweiser, Underarmour, if you happen to be a sports fan, these brands are displayed continuously in areas or by their athlete spokespersons. However, Social media has introduced a new challenge for the was once considered the “traditional” way to reach out to an audience. Social media provides consumers with a choice, an empowering ability which allows customers to choose which brand content they prefer. In an article by Douglas Holt (2016) “Once audiences could opt out of ads, it became harder for brands to buy fame.” Therefore, illustrating the power shift from a producer, such as a famous brand like Nike, and towards us, the user. We can decide not to see content from a particular brand, which limits their ability to reach out to customers.

130 million followers, Influencer

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Product brands and sponsorships are no longer enough to reach out to an audience. In the newly redefined world of marketing exist a type of the individual(s) which can assists a brand reach a broader group of potential customers. According to the Cambridge Dictionary(2017), “an Influencer is someone who affects the way people behave.” Marketing and social media have become interconnected through what we define as an “Influencer.” The influencers ability to impact marketing campaigns demonstrates the empowering aspect of social media. When certain individuals such as artists and athletes have enormous followings in platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, it provides an avenue or a middleman type of interaction between product brands and customers. In an article by Vanessa Friedman (2017), “Selena Gomez represents Coca-Cola, Pantene, Coach, Louis Vuitton, and Verizon. With an Instagram account followed by 130 million people, one could say that Influencers have become the modern version of marketing and sponsorships”. Individuals can produce content, given the quality and popularity of such material can lead to achieving an influencer status. Influencers serve as a form of leverage, where their actions can alter the way people behave or what kinds of products their followers feel compelled to purchase.

Career Boosting

From product branding to being an Influencer, social media empowers a wide array of users. That being said, Social media platforms can also be utilized as a tool to highlight an individual’s leadership, team, and various other professional skills. One platform that focuses on the career aspect of an individual and companies is LinkedIn. In an article on how to use social media in our career, Sree Sreenivasan (n.d.), “describes how LinkedIn with its 500 million users, provides an avenue to feature personal skills for prospective employers to see”. This platform caters to the “career management” aspect of one’s life, allowing the user to connect with various individuals from a particular industry. This professional network serves as the links that could potentially lead to a new job or career. LinkedIn is not solely a job-hunting site; it is much more than that, which makes this platform multifaceted. Possesses similar aspects of Facebook and Twitter, it incorporates follower lists, being able to share experiences, pictures and news articles. All of which adds up to a tool that can help someone build their brand, and depict the best version of themselves while highlighting the skills which makes them valuable to prospective employers and colleagues.

Harnessing the power of Social Media

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Memes, viral videos, Influencers, we are familiar with this portion of social media and presented with new iterations every single day. What if there was a way to monetize the aspect of social media, where content creation was to become an essential income creation tool, that is precisely what I’ll discuss in the following paragraph. Starting a new business involved raising capital, renting an office or location somewhere in town. However, the explosion of social media and cheap and quick internet access has ushered a new kind of entrepreneurship. The “Social Media Celebrity” is a great illustration of the legitimizing power of social media platforms. If you happen to be a game, there are twitch channels that cater to your needs. Need a makeup tutorial? There are thousands of individuals with games in various platforms to aid you with that. An internet connection, a cell phone, and a cellphone stand are all you need to start an online business as a content creator, with the possibility of becoming a social media celebrity. According to Katherine Rosman (2017), “The images are then posted to Ms. Stauffer’s 2.2 million followers. Recently a Stauffer video got a coveted repost from Kris Jenner, perhaps the ultimate authority on building daughters’ brands. “#iminlove,” Ms. Jenner wrote”. Whether its animal videos, funny kids videos, or impossible sports tricks, having access to social media platforms empowers people to create their content. With this content creation, there are monetary rewards which can be a blessing for many, or an entirely new career for others. We are no longer solely the consumer; we do not have to wait for entertainment companies to create content. We are free to develop and become direct entertainment competition with established industries.

Connectivity, Leadership  and Social Media

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We have discussed how social media and its various platforms possess essential properties on how individuals and organizations alike, behave, interact and communicate with their followers or audience. It empowered the individuals or groups of individuals making decisions from a corporate viewpoint. The power of social media is almost incomprehensible; it gives voice to individuals who are otherwise unheard of, as well as holding individuals and entities responsible for their actions. With platforms like Facebook and Twitter, companies can engage with the individual consumer from a top down or bottom up hierarchical manner. We can interact with a group directly, no need to call for customer service, waiting on hold for minutes or hours, in the age of instant gratification, platforms like Twitter have changed the way we engage with companies and how they engage with us. In an article by Keith Quesenberry (2016), “It is discussed how crucial it is to create content that is interesting to the user, that engages and fosters participation and brand loyalty.” This social media connectivity goes beyond interactions between an individual and a great twitter account like Wendy’s page, which makes it a goal to interact with customers and their complaints.

It is precisely, this connectivity which opens the door to broader, more relevant possibilities. Which brings us back to the empowering capabilities of social media, in a journal by Mowafa Househ, Elizabeth Borycki Andre Kushniruk (2014), “Where Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube videos are used to engage and disseminate information to their patients.” We can observe the power that social media possesses, even from a medical perspective, where individuals can seek information, ask questions, and receive answers through various social media platforms. Overall, it allows individual users to directly impact the behavior of an organization, encouraging those in charge or on leadership positions to receive direct feedback from the various levels on the hierarchical user scale. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky reached out to its followers on December 25th of 2016. His goal was to receive feedback, ideas on what the company should focus on moving forward. This type of interaction is new, where the CEO of a multimillion dollar company wants to hear from the everyday consumer, directly and it shows by far how critical social media has become from a personal, professional, and organization perspective.

References

Chudasama, A. (2015, October 17). 5000 Followers on Instagram Thank You So Much My Fan’s. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/anilchudasama01/22246441905 (Originally photographed 2015, October 17)

Dear, A. (2011, November). Selena Gomez MTV VMA 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/71125567@N07/6432776777 (Originally photographed 2011, November)

Friedman, V. (2017, May 10). The Rise and (Maybe) Fall of Influencers. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/fashion/kendall-jenner-fyre-festival-pepsi-bella-hadid-influencers.html

Househ, M., Borycki, E., & Kushniruk, A. (2014). Empowering patients through social media: The benefits and challenges. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1460458213476969?ssource=mfr&rss=1

Neal, S. (2017, April 13). Op-Ed: The surprising reason why CEOs should be social media savvy. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/13/the-surprising-reason-why-ceos-should-be-social-media-savvy.html

Principato, S. (2010, November 01). Personal Branding Formula. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/stefano_principato/5135317646 (Originally photographed 2010, November 01)

Holt, D. (2016, June 09). Branding in the Age of Social Media. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2016/03/branding-in-the-age-of-social-media

Quesenberry, K. A. (2016, August 31). Fix Your Social Media Strategy by Taking It Back to Basics. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2016/07/fix-your-social-media-strategy-by-taking-it-back-to-basics

Quesenberry, K. A. (2016, April 19). Social Media Is Too Important to Be Left to the Marketing Department. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2016/04/social-media-is-too-important-to-be-left-to-the-marketing-department

Rosman, K. (2017, September 27). Why Isn’t Your Toddler Paying the Mortgage? Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/style/viral-toddler-videos.html

Sreenivasan, S. (n.d.). How to Use Social Media in Your Career. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/social-media-for-career-and-business

Leaders on Social Media?

By: Nikki Weissman

We expect to see our favorite celebrities on social media giving us a peek at their real lives often making us feel that much more connected to them. As social media, more specifically Twitter, is becoming a playground for words where people from all industries go to speak their minds, it is becoming more and more popular to see leaders from organizations big and small online as well. This isn’t just space for millennials and some hip elders to discuss pop culture, current events, etc. anymore. Extensive marketing campaigns could be replaced by one single Tweet. A C.E.O can gain information on their clients with 140 characters or less. There are so many opportunities that come from leader having a presence on social media, and it gives them the chance to connect on a more personal level.

Taking the Leap

The first step to getting online could be a difficult one to make. When someone who is as busy as a C.E.O thinks of creating a twitter account they think of it as another thing added to their plate and all of the negatives that can come with a poorly worded Tweet. It is important for leaders to stop thinking of it as a responsibility, but instead “start seeing it for what it can be instead: a personal toolbox for improving your practice of leadership” (Samuel, 2012). It could be time-consuming to get this ‘toolbox’ setup, but once you start you will see how social media will enhance your leadership. Samuel gives a few tips on how to embrace social media and implement it into your daily lives. First a foremost you should create a leadership dashboard where you can set aside just 15 minutes to not only “monitor the Web for intelligence about your business and brand; mine it for ideas, news and research that will help you develop as a leader” (Samuel, 2012). In the world of social media, there are many distractions, so it is essential to stay focused. The next suggestion is to change channels. If it’s getting difficult to spot the urgent emails escape the inbox by switching to Twitter as your preferred channel for high-priority or time-sensitive communications. Set a Twitter account to follow all your direct reports, key clients, and trusted colleagues. Let these folks know the best way to reach you is via Twitter Direct Message (Samuel, 2012). Samuel also suggests building a CEO network that consists of a set of five to 15 respected and trusted executives, leaders, and advisers whose knowledge, insight and loyalty will have a meaningful impact on your own professional capacity and performance (Samuel, 2012). But, don’t forget to include things that you enjoy to help you relax and decompress throughout the stressful day. Twitter allows you to amplify your voice and let it reach more people than usual by posting your messages online. Twitter could be a difficult space to manage, but with the proper guidance, it will do more good than harm.

Staying Connected

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Social media is not about social media; it’s about leadership and connections. Billions of conversations are taking place on social networks every day. But for “busy executives and business owners, time constraints make it hard to dedicate time to demystifying these communication opportunities” (Kasian-Lew, 2014). Many individuals think of social media as a distraction. The truth is it has introduced a dramatic shift in the way we engage that is turning business on its head. For those who know how to use it properly, social media offers an unparalleled business opportunity and is critical for success in an interconnected world. “The number of people online has doubled since 2007 to 2.55 billion, and 91 percent of them use social or mobile networks.That’s an awe‐inspiring number, but it’s just the start of a steep trajectory” (Kasian-Lew, 2014). With the number of people still joining social networks, it shows that this is more than a fad or trend, but it is here to stay and it useful for various types of people. In the business world, “many leaders remain stuck at arms-length from those they lead and serve, relying on specialized teams to interact with customers, their direct reports to keep tabs on how employees are doing, and on the digital natives in their organization to stay abreast of new technologies” (Li, 2015). When you add social media into the picture, those gaps tend to close as are just a click away from anyone and your followers can keep up in real time.  

Why be Social Media Savvy

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Twitter has many affordances that would not be available anywhere else. It gives users opportunities to instantly connect, communicate, and collaborate with anyone else on the network. Not only does Twitter, or other social media platforms, bridge the gap between the leader and those who she/he leads, a leader can use Twitter to their advantage to engage and receive ideas from what the public wants/needs out of them, their organization, or product. The CEO of Airbnb found this out by posting a simple tweet on Christmas day asking followers “ If @Airbnb could launch anything in 2017, what would it be? He spent hours on Twitter engaged in market research that would drive Airbnb’s market strategies in 2017. Twitter users relished the opportunity to send in their suggestions, and even more importantly, they received acknowledgment that their ideas were being heard and considered by the company’s ultimate decision-maker (Neal, 2017). Without such a public platform Airbnb or any other brand would never have had the opportunity to gain information this quickly from the public or made the general public feel so important. Social media gives organizations new opportunities that were never before seen. While that story teaches a lesson about how CEOs can use social media to strengthen the public perception of their brand, it also delivers a powerful experience that corporate leaders who know how to engage well on social media also exhibit other strengths that make them a better leader (Neal, 2017). Shortly, most leaders will be on online networks, and it will be a trait that is almost required. We saw how useful it was in this situation and this was not a one-off.  

Where to go From Here

In today’s day and age, most individuals are starting to expect to see a leader to be on social media and more specifically Twitter They want to know that a company has a face, voice, a personality. They want to feel a connection to a person (Hoffman, 2016). This is not something an individual leader should fear but instead, embrace the opportunity to openly discuss the truths of your organization’s direct to the public in an open forum. Society is more likely to have a positive view of a leader if they can connect with them in a mature and honest dialogue. In essence, leaders that engage in social media exponentially increase the brand’s digital sphere of influence. Simply put, they reach more people than organizations that don’t have leaders using social. This reach means more brand awareness, a more significant platform for message amplification, and a broader net for talent attraction. For those who think maintaining a Twitter account will take up too much time, Hoffman explains that “spending 15 minutes daily on Twitter is more effective than a linear ad campaign and the payoff will be spherical as well” (Hoffman, 2016). What type of conversations should leaders be having on Twitter? Their primary responsibilities are the human experience of the people that touch the brand — employees, customers, communities. Leaders that are having conversations with these constituencies are directly connected to influencing the brand experience externally and internally (Hoffman, 2016).

Conclusions:

 

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There are a lot of negative connotations connected to social media mainly because some individuals do not understand how to manage and use Twitter. The same things a leader needs to be careful about in their daily lives, they should be cautious about doing online: don’t be boring, don’t be stupid, don’t be fake, don’t be a jerk.This is why there is a direct correlation between emotional intelligence, EQ, and how a leader engages with people — either online or offline (Hoffman, 2016). There is so much good that comes from social media that often goes unrecognized. You can immediately connect with anyone from anywhere, conduct market research, run ad campaigns that reach millions, and merely show who you are to the world. Of course, you have to be able to accurately manage your online account and learn a few tips and trick, but once you get them down, it’ll become second nature.To be a real digital leader, you must connect directly by listening, sharing, and engaging using digital technologies. To master a new way of developing relationships, which begins by “stepping out of traditional hierarchies; how to listen at scale, share to shape, and engage to transform; the art of making this transformative mind shift; and the science of applying the right tools to meet your strategic goals” (Li, 2015). If you do not adapt and change with the times, you will be left behind.   

References

Hoffman, B. (2016, January 21). Why Leaders Need To Be On Social Media: An Interview With Brand-Building Expert Justin Foster. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/brycehoffman/2016/01/18/why-leaders-need-to-be-on-social-media-an-interview-with-brand-building-expert-justin-foster/#d37133a48ad6

Samuel, A. (2012, April 02). Better Leadership Through Social Media. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from                                                       https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203753704577255531558650636

Neal, S. (2017, April 13). Op-Ed: The surprising reason why CEOs should be social media savvy. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/13/the-surprising-reason-why-CEOs-should-be-social-media-savvy.html

Kasian-Lew, D. (2014). <i>The social executive: why leaders need social media and how it’s good for business</i>. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu

Li, C. (2015). <i>The engaged leader : a strategy for your digital transformation</i>. Retrieved=from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu

Politics in Social Media: The Power Shift Between Government and the Public

By: Jennifer Rodriguez

Social Media Expansion

Social media has taken over the world. From Twitter and Facebook to Instagram and Snapchat, the idea self-expression via online platform has exploded. Politics and social media have intersected seriously, and are the effects have been flabbergasting. There are clear, undeniable advantages to political campaigning on social media, however,
this “transparent” outlet can also allow for drastic controversies. In addition to the pro’s and con’s, I eagerly present ethical implications and the shift of power between politicians and the general public, a tug of war that wavers back and forth over the line of control.

Millennials Get Involved

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Millennials are getting in on the action more than ever with the movement of participatory politics. An article from Forbes magazine breaks the ways that The Millennial Impact Project, a new study conducted by Achieve research agency, investigates how millennials became more involved with this year’s past election via social media. The study shows that millennials embrace interacting in the online political realm because they can participate in political discussions and engage in real-time conversations. “Participatory politics, a new political movement that encourages individual engagement and participation in ongoing debates and discussions, takes place predominantly in the social realm,” (Fromm, 2017).

This involvement elevates politics to a new level, incorporating a participatory movement that is has gotten more millennials voicing their opinions. Millennials are the generation that speaks their minds more openly and publically than ever before, and online politics have given the spotlight to anyone that wants to engage. Individuals now have their chance to protest, support, and bring awareness, too many political agendas. The public now has more power than ever before to make a change, but does this outweigh the power of the politicians?

Politicians Exploit Online Campaign Practices

Politicians are capitalizing on this direct relationship to voters, using social media platforms to account for many agendas such as free advertising and fundraising, and use of feedback by weighing the public’s opinion on specific issues through online polls. This can aid politicians in getting a more realistic idea of where voter ideals are aligned. It also gives power to the public to respond with their ideas in real time. Individuals can interact with others online that share or negate their opinions, as well as converse with the politicians they support or oppose. Politicians make use of the demographic information provided by social media to customize their messages based on selected demographics.

More recently they have used YouTube to post campaign advertisements for free. These ads then get picked up by journalists and are further disseminated into the media, free of charge. This open line of communication heightens their power of influence on both sides. The ease of allowing politicians to connect with the public can also have dire consequences, “Direct access to voters also has its downsides. Handlers and public-relations professionals often manage a candidate’s image, and for a good reason: Allowing a politician to send out unfiltered tweets or Facebook posts has landed many a candidate in hot water or embarrassing situations,” (Murse, 2017).

Weinergate Scandal

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The ease with which politicians may communicate with their followers can result in a national scandal when ethics are not considered. “Weiner has been an avid tweeter: he posts to the social networking service multiple times a day, writes from his BlackBerry, makes generous use of hashtags to add color to his tweets, and frequently engages his followers in one-on-one conversations…the R-rated revelation from Rep. Anthony Weiner that may wreck his marriage, ruin his career and destroy his reputation appears to be the result of a one-letter typo: “@” instead of “D.”, (Bosker, 2016).

Anthony Weiner was charged with a twenty-one-month jail sentence for sending an inappropriate photo of himself to an underaged girl on Twitter. Instead of sending a direct message, he tagged the girl in a public tweet. This proves more than ever that one moment of unethical indecency combined with Twitter fingers can result in catastrophe. However, this also prompts the idea of transparency. On his Twitter page, (which has since been deleted) Weiner was a professional and successful politician, but in reality, he is an old man with perverted desires.  

Ethical Repercussions

Due to a lack of ethics, Anthony Weiner has lost most of the essential things in his life. Sadly, he is not the only politician to have been caught in shameful online dealings, and he won’t be the last. “Especially since 2001, businesspersons, politicians, scholars and citizens alike have called for greater responsibility…certainly, recent US scandals have intensified media attention on irresponsible actions and have placed the decision making the integrity of America’s leaders on the national agenda,” (May 2009). Ethics are even more critical the online world because disgraceful acts can easily be shared and broadcasted for the world as a whole to see.

This allocates more power to the people and allows us to keep leaders more accountable for their actions. It also exemplifies Kahai’s point that leaders in the digital realm need to adapt to a Web 2.0 world to flourish. “Future leaders will have to rely more on technology. Effective leaders will need to figure out both the opportunities and perils of electronic communication and take steps to maximize the benefits and minimize the downsides in a Web 2.0 world,” (Kahai, 2010). On the one hand, Weiner did maximize the benefits of online campaigning by interacting religiously with the public via Twitter. However, he did not maintain an ethical standard and got caught with his pants down.

Election Mayhem

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In a 2017 article from the Journal of Economic Perspectives, researchers investigate how social media played a manipulative role the most recent election. The article describes how the majority of American adults (62%), (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017) have access to social media, and Facebook provided an unprecedented amount of fake news stories during the prior election. The majority of these false stories are believed by the public, depending on a breakdown of age, education, and media consumption. Fake news has generated shockwaves throughout social media and the public alike. “An individual user with no track record or reputation can in some cases reach as many readers as Fox News, CNN, or the New York Times,” (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). The notion that anyone can post political stories on social media that are 100% false is a game-changer and needs to be a red flag for anyone taking stories on Facebook at face value. The majority of these stories are shared by political groups attempting to push a specific agenda, and phony news stories played a substantial role in electing Donald Trump as President. This illustrates a deceitful shift of power — people are fooled daily by fake accounts planted by political interests.

Educated Conclusions

To conclude, keep your eyes wide open! Not everything online is what it seems, and as millennials, we need to be questionable and thorough when digesting information from social media. Political leadership has changed dramatically with the help of Facebook and Twitter by handing over a lot of power to the public. Social media can help to keep you more informed and more included in the political process, but can also present difficulties that supersede the pre-social media era. Remembering that ethics plays a dominant role in effective online leadership is vital. Not everything you read online is real, and from fake news to fake intentions, social media can be a tricky place to find valid information.

 

References

Allcott, H. & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election.   Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211-236.

Bosker, Bianca. (2016, August 7). The Twitter Typo That Exposed Anthony Weiner. [Photograph]  Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/anthony-weiner-twitter-dm_n_872590.html (Pop Press)

Debecev, Nicole. (2012, September 9). Politics 2012: Millennials savvy voting bloc searching for solutions. [Photograph] Retrieved from https://www.upi.com/Politics-2012-Millennials-savvy-voting-bloc-searching-for-solutions/11701347177960/

Fromm, J. (2016, June 22). New Study Finds Social Media Shapes Millennial Political Involvement And Engagement. Retrieved November 03, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2016/06/22/new-study-finds-social-media-shapes-millennial-political-involvement-and-engagement/#11bc7e442618 (Professional)

Kahai, Surinder. (2010, May 11). Yes, Leadership Changes in a Web 2.0 World. Retreived from http://www.leadingvirtually.com/yes-leadership-changes-in-a-web-20-world/ (Professional)

Lee, Timothy, B. (2016 November, 26). Total Facebook Engagements for Top 20 Facebook Stories. [Photograph] Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/11/16/13659840/facebook-fake-news-chart

May, Steve. (2009). Transforming the Ethical Culture of Organizations. Friedland, Julian, Doing Well and Good: The Human Face of New Capitalism (pp. 87-111). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. (Academic)

Murse, Tom. (2017, August 17). How Social Media Has Changed Politics: 10 Way Twitter and Facebook Have Altered Campaigns. Retreived from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534 (Pop Press)

Weiner, A. (2016) Pop Goes The Weiner. [Photograph] Retrieved from https://nypost.com/2016/08/28/anthony-weiner-sexted-busty-brunette-while-his-son-was-in-bed-with-him/https://nypost.com/2016/08/28/anthony-weiner-sexted-busty-brunette-while-his-son-was-in-bed-with-him/