Given the government’s reputation in some quarters as a stodgy, slow-to-adopt monolith in matters of online communication, some might expect Web 2.0 social media tools, spreading so infectiously in the private sector, to have little appeal among the feds (at least during this decade).

Federal Computer Week gives the lie to this cliché in two articles published earlier last month. FCW ranks the federal agencies most successful in using Twitter and Facebook, respectively, to engage the public. The reach and social media savvy of these early adopters might surprise you.

The agencies on either or both lists are not—primarily—reaching out with a human capital and recruiting agenda top-of-mind.  Even so, if you’re inclined to regard these social media programs merely as plain old information dissemination, you’re understating their influence on their audiences. That’s like calling a popular music concert just an exercise in listening enjoyment. Yes, the description may be accurate at its core, but—especially if it’s a rock, R&B, or hip-hop event—it doesn’t quite capture the full experience of being in the auditorium.

For many in these agencies’ social media audiences, that “experience” is charged with high value, and often as much as the information content itself. The truly committed among them gain what brand adherents thrive on—the felt sense that they are insiders and sharers. To me this seems like a pretty cost-effective way to tap the collective enthusiasm and energy of appreciative individuals, in effect, kick starting the social motor of brand contagion. In their efforts to cultivate attentive communities for the agency and the medium—not merely to distribute information—these leading agencies are showing that they “get” social marketing and Web 2.0.

Will the sponsoring agencies also reap recruiting benefits from these Gov 2.0 initiatives? Do you really need me to state this obvious benefit outright? As you build a compelling brand and a community of admirers, you will attract more and more qualified and enthusiastic individuals to your workforce. It's as simple as that.

Text in graphic on right:

Government Twitter leaders (FCW, September 10) 

• The White House: 1,071,927 followers
• CDC Emergency: 808,979 folowers
• NASA: 125.901 followers
• U.S. Army: 14,263 followers
• Smithsonian: 12711 followers

Government Facebook leaders (FCW, September 14)

• The White House: 327,592 fans
• Marine Corps: 83,144 fans
• U.S. Army: 49,416 fans
• CDC: 21,257 fans
• State Department: 16,386 fans

I'm a big fan of Wayne Gretzky, in fact, he’s one of my heroes. He’s arguably the greatest hockey player of all time, and certainly the most prolific scorer, in part because he always went where the puck was going, not where the puck had been. At TMP Worldwide, we consistently strive to ensure that we are leading our clients where the talent is going, not where the talent has been. For the past 17 years, TMP Worldwide has worked diligently to ensure that our clients are ahead of the recruiting curve. Today, being ahead of the curve means making sure that our clients are harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to activate their brands and build branded experiences that will help them attract top talent.

Since 2004, when Tim O’Reilly coined the term “Web 2.0,” there has been significant confusion about what that term actually means. Some people want to know where they can “download” Web 2.0, others think it is limited to emerging social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. In fact, Web 2.0 is a much larger and more powerful concept that refers to new principles of design and development centered on user desires and behaviors. Web 2.0 tools and technologies - also known as the “participatory web” - have empowered individuals and given them the opportunity to have their voices heard. From book reviews on Amazon.com and travel tips on TripAdvisor to insights on work experiences, company cultures, and employer brands on sites like Vault.com, JobVent.com, and GlassDoor.com, individuals now have a way to participate in conversations that previously they were only able to observe or share with a close-knit circle. The Internet has allowed conversations to spread - at light speed - around the globe and be heard by millions within minutes. With participation comes influence: individuals’ opinions and reviews have the power to change the behavior of other individuals. A bad review on Amazon or TripAdvisor causes other users to pass on buying a book, eating at a restaurant or staying in a hotel. A bad review of a company’s culture could stop a user from applying for a job.

With the explosion of social networking options, individual voices are joined together in conversations and dialogues via Twitter, Facebook, Hi5, Orkut, and an ever-expanding universe of sites and tools, exponentially increasing the reach of the individual. People have been given the power to share through the use of YouTube (think of it as a free television broadcasting tool), RSS feeds (think of them as syndicated newspaper columns), and podcasting (think of them as radio stations) to name just a few outlets.

Lev Grossman, in his 2006 TIME Magazine cover story naming “You” as Person of the Year said of Web 2.0:

"It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

TMP Worldwide was one of the first agencies to truly understand its clients’ need to harness the power of the Web 2.0 revolution. The thought-leaders in TMP’s Innovation Lab grasped the idea that people trust people and by enabling people to interact with each other, by allowing them to begin dialogues and conversations, organizations could truly leverage the participatory nature of Web 2.0 and their own employer brand evangelists to influence candidates in a positive way. Central to Web 2.0 are the ideas of authenticity, transparency, and trust. Today, there is an inverse relationship between control and trust: Companies must give up some control in order to gain the trust of their current employees and their candidates.

Companies that first listen to, and then participate in, the conversations around their brands have the power to influence public opinion and this has a direct and obvious effect on that company’s ability to attract talent. Companies that don’t participate run the risk of having their brand hijacked by outsiders who can then exert influence over the applicant pool. Companies need to understand that if they don’t define their own employer brands, someone else will.

TMP Worldwide’s work with Web 2.0 ideas began with message boards and chat rooms and quickly evolved. We were the first agency to develop a full, in-world recruiting event within the SecondLife virtual world, allowing candidates to interact with companies and with each other. We pioneered the development of a Facebook widget called “Work With Me” which allows companies to power their employee referral programs with the largest, fastest growing social network. We were an innovator with the use of Twitter to share career information and job postings - catapulting Verizon’s Twitter-feed from launch to a place on the “Top 50 Employers Using Twitter” rankings in just two months. We were early adopters of mobile technology, leveraging Bluetooth and SMS messaging as well as QR tags and image recognition. We are deeply involved with and engaged in the use of Web 2.0 tools across multiple industry verticals and are often called upon to provide expertise at public events such as the Conference Board, the Social Media Summit, and SHRM to name just a few. All of our work in this area has been designed to fit strategically into a customized, overarching and integrated employment communications plan as well as to deliver demonstrable return-on-investment for each of our clients. 

As we move toward the next iteration of Web 2.0 - whether it is called Web 2.1 or Web 3.0 - we will continue to ensure that we position our clients at the forefront of emerging technologies. We see the next evolutionary step in this process being “brand activation” - a process that is less about new technology per se, and more about using technology to create immersion and engagement. Using Facebook as an example, we believe that it is no longer about simply having a Facebook page, it is about what you do with a Facebook page.

We believe that the next iteration of Web 2.0 is about the convergence of immersive media - mobile, video, photo, etc. - with employer brand and that these media will become delivery vehicles for participatory brand experiences. Our vision is to leverage these Web 2.0 channels to create engaging brand experiences that our clients’ target audiences will want to share with others. In this way, we will combine the viral aspects of social media with the experiential facets of emerging technologies, allowing our audiences to participate in conversations with people they trust.

We also know that the gateway to social media and shared experiences is through search engines. People start their web experiences more often than not on a search engine - usually Google. Because social media is highly visible to, and indexed by, search engines, if we build atomized and ubiquitous Web 2.0 experiences - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc. - search engines will find them and make them discoverable by candidates. Thus, Web 2.0 and search are inextricably linked and must be thought of as vital components of a truly integrated digital strategy. 

Yes, I am proud of the agency and our legacy of innovation. Yes, I have been a bit boastful, but it is with a didactic purpose. Candidate behaviors have changed. Now employer behaviors must change. Employers need to embrace new tools and technologies, new media options and new paradigms of candidate engagement. It is no longer enough for employers to pick and choose from the pieces of Web 2.0. Creating a successful digital recruiting strategy is no longer about ‘or,’ it’s about ‘and.’ It is about determining the best way to weave all of the Web 2.0 components together to form a truly integrated digital strategy. 

As I said at the top, companies must go where the talent is going, not where the talent has been.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me and join the conversation.

Twitter - @99GR81
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LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/stevenzehrlich

SZE

Lets keep the "doomed" part short : my answer would be iPhone (and it's siblings).

This is why : ban it from the company’s internet access makes no sense, as a growing number of your people will reach facebook anyway from their phones.

You waste just as much time on a phone than on a computer.

Ok, now, why is banning facebook bad decision?

Most of the companies I meet with want to know what they could or should do using social media and Facebook in particular.

Well, of course you want to hear more about the website which has about 300.000.000 members (by the way, the 5 biggest Facebook countries are #1 USA - 81M, #2 UK 20M, #3 Turkey 14M, #4 Canada 13M, #5 France - 12M) 

According to Universum, 88% of French master degree students (and equivalent) are on Facebook so whether you like FB and the hype around it, or not, you have to consider it for its advertising potential and interaction.

Chances are, no single website will gather a larger portion of your audience when it comes to millennials.

Now you just have to figure out how you can put Facebook to good use within your HR marketing strategy ... and that's when it gets complex.

According to an (already old) survey, 50% of US companies seem to ban Facebook from the office.

Are those companies willing to ‘look cool’ although they're not?

Of course, there's the fear those highly qualified employees, selected to shape the future of multi million dollars companies, might not realise the money they receive from their employer is not meant to fund their time on FB ...

I mean ... really?

A client of mine formulated that very sensible theory : "I think when the first phones in the office came, management would not allow just anyone to have one because those people would be so overwhelmed with being able to give phone calls to people that they would do it all the time; its probably the same for social networking, it needs time to settle as something people will know how to reasonably use" (Vincent, if you read me, thanks).

There are risks you should consider if your company is one of those 50% though ...

1st, assuming you chose to use social networks as part of your HR marketing (which you definitely should by the way), you risk disappointing new hires by selling them what you're not (how come social networking is cool enough for the company to use as part of it's attraction strategy but not enough for them to use as employees?).

2nd, you'll end up loosing some of your employees. This Accenture survey (USA, Nov 08) called "New generation workers want technology their way" is a MUST read.

I'll just quote their conclusion :

“The message from Millennials is clear:  to lure them into the workplace, prospective employers must provide state-of-the-art technologies,” said Gary Curtis, managing director of Accenture Technology Consulting.  “And if their employers don’t support their preferred technologies, Millennials will acquire and use them anyway. In order to acquire and retain the best talent, organizations must understand the technologies that the new workforce expects and then find a way to support their employees without compromising enterprise security.”
 

If that's not enough, I'll quote another survey (and, by the way, I just love quoting surveys) that found out that "39% would consider quitting work if social networking was given the chop."

With the rise of the Blackberry powered "Nights & week ends working availability", workers have long learnt that they had to keep room for work within their personal time, now they want to right to slice some personal into their work time : "I'll stay in the office until 8PM and then go to my friends place for dinner afterwards assuming I had the chance to plan it on Facebook during the day (20 minutes?) ; otherwise, I'll just leave at 6 and plan the exact same dinner ..."

So, i beg you "Don't ban Facebook at work" (and yes, that’s another survey!)

PS : Assuming you work for one of those companies, you obviously have tried replacing "http://" by "https://" at the beginning of the URLs when trying to access Facebook? (works more often than not).

As we are all more than aware, there is great upheaval taking place in Iran. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media tools (collectively the "new" new media) have provided a conduit for real-time news and information that organizations like CNN (the old media - even when considering CNN.com) have not been able to match. The twitterverse has been filled with tweets about the Iranian situation and CNN's coverage thereof followed by the hashtag "#FAIL" since CNN has not kept pace with the story.

Clay Shirky delivered a TED Talk at the U.S. State Department this month (June 2009) about the impact of social media on the dissemination of information. He discusses how "Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics."This video showcases how these tools are fundamentally changing the way we communicate as a society. It is absolutely worth watching.

As you watch Clay discuss the impact of these tools on the global stage, think about these open questions on a more local HR level: How do we share information about employers? How do we engage with employer brands? How do we leverage these tools not only for attraction, but also for retention? How do we identify and empower our internal and external brand evangelists?

In NO WAY do I wish to diminish the severity of the events in Iran. The questions I raise above are about the impact of social media and the fundamental shift in the way we communicate on every level.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE

At TMP we always take the users' needs into consideration first. We follow user-centered design principles because we know that the user-interface matters.  People want a good experience.  

I have heard lots of people complain about the new Facebook interface. I personally dislike it and think of it as FaceTweet or TwitterBook. Apparently, there is some internal conflict at FB HQ about the redesign. You can read about it here.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE

My friend Sarah Vroman shared this link with me and I found it to be a perfect explanation for the current social media boom. People ask me all the time "Why would anyone want to Twitter or Facebook?" and I never have the perfect answer. The article by Joshua-Michele Ross is a worthwhile read.

Let me know what you think.

Want to know more? Reach out to me with a comment here and join the conversation.

SZE