Antony Mayfield has an excellent as ever post on Social Network Optimisation over at his Open blog. I've long been thinking about networks and the way they're used in terms of PR but couldn't quite put my finger on how exactly to use networks in a strategy or campaign. Antony's post has cleared up - or has at least helped clear up - some of those issues.
I like the idea of social networks and their potential, not just for the evolution of PR but becuase of the wider social and cultural implications they may have.
Antony suggests (and I agree) that the guiding principle - some would say golden rule - of social networks is:
"If you are useful to the network, the network will be useful to you."
Antony even puts this in red so it must be very important.
The concept of getting out what you put in is a general one in society, but it is also often forgotten or overlooked when deadlines loom or projects are up against the wall.
However, one sector in the UKis well placed to understand the social network mantra better than others: the vever expanding voluntary sector.
In the past I worked in the voluntary sector and some of my current clients are still charities. One thing that most charities have on demand is willingness and drive - a 'can do' outlook.
This puts the sector in a very good position to exploit (and I mean that in a positive sense) the potential of social networks.
The following is a generalisation to make a point, so I apologise in advance.
All groups in society and the economy - businesses, trade unions, charities, public services, universities etc - can access social networks and providing they adhere to the above maxim then it is likely these groups can be successful.
Business traditionally has had more finance available to it than charities - nothing wrong with that, it's the way the economy works. Where charities usually rely on tight budgets and goodwill, business can generally afford to invest money in the right people and technology to achieve the best results.
But when it comes to applying 'usefulness' to a network, this concept doesn't necessarily rely on a financial transaction taking place.
This is why I believe the voluntary sector has a head start when it comes to making the most of social networks. The sector already largely understands that an exchange of goodwill can be just as valuable a commodity as hard cash.
Charity volunteers regularly give up their time to give talks or fundraise. Thus those working within the sector already understand the concept of exchanging goodwill for return.
In the Wealth of Networks (of which I confess to having not got beyond the intro), Benckler makes clear that in a networked society the old industrial economy of remuneration for services or products is being replaced by a society of non-market activity where people exchange their time and effort for free or other forms of reward.
To get back to Antony's original post: he gave me a lead-in to how to identify and best use social networks. What I hope to look further into is how these tools are adopted into use. I would like to think that with a conceptual head start the voluntary sector will adapt quickly to the challenge - turn the possible into the actual.
This isn't to say that charities will steal a march on business. There are some really clued up businesses who are already exploiting the technology and some really backward charities who won't have heard of blogs or MySpace.
The main points are:
1. the fundamentals of social media and social networking are not new ideas.
2. The development of the internet has acted as a catalyst and given social networks the potential to become powerful mediums that go beyond traditional economic and social thinking.
3. Unlike in an industrial economy which favoured financial transaction and reward, social networks can help level the roles and actions of social and economic groups hopefully creating a fairer and more just environment - which is nice.
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