The final year of my MBA- studies has started. I’m going to do my dissertation of the theme; the managers’ use of social media (SOME) as part of their leadership. I’ve participated in many Finnish online groups considering SOME and learning. My first experience is that it’s very difficult to join an online group, if you don’t know or have met anyone of the group personally beforehand (offline). How to join as a new partner to the online groups, which are existing already and if you don’t know anyone of the group beforehand. I’m looking answers to that question while doing my dissertation.
I took a part to Helena Aramo’s lecture on 1st September 2010. Helena Aramo presented, that the use of SOME should be very open to all participants. So far, I thought that e.g. Facebook is a tool for co-operation with family members and friends. I don’t share any issues considering my work with my Facebook friends. During my MBA- dissertation studies, I’m going to put more attention to how to use SOME as part of leadership. It will be nice to see if my thinking of the use of Facebook is going to change during the coming studies. The thinking will be changed, if I’m going to share my Facebook profile with my colleagues at work.
I used to use FB also as a tool to work for contacting people related to work. It was a relaxed, more inofficial way to have a contact. In a way more personal and related to affections. It worked very well. Since I changed to another company, I did not want to use FB for work. That's because those before merely work-related people were not working for same company as I - and for competition reasons. I still have contact for those work-related people and some of them have become good friends to me, undependent where I or they work. In some point I even thought to have 2 profiles: One for work and the other one for "real" me. But I did not, for many reasons. My conclusion is that a person has to be very committed to her/his working place, in order to use her/his personal FB profile conected to work. A company profile is an other alternative. But that's never as personal as one's own real profile.
VastaaPoistaYour work for MBA looks very interesting. I'm looking forward to see the results!
BR, Nina
My experience on the SOME use has been more hobby related (and of few online study courses). When persons share the mutual intrest of something (ie. a hobby), there can be quite good discussions and relationships even if writing hundreds of km's apart. All these SOME -groups has been restricted, which of course limits the "bs-factor" and keeps discussion at reasonable level.
VastaaPoistaIn my current workplace, use of Facebook is prohibited and is seen only a entertainment program. This might not be a good opinion, specially when the company is international and working throughout the world. It is also still quite old-fashioned and rigid and the use of SOME as a tool for management might be way out in the future.
BR, Kirsi
After two weeks writing my first blog of SOME, I've changed my Facebook (FB)- policy more open also to my coworkers. The most important reason for this open- FB- policy was that I've learnt to use Group- tools in FB. How much there are other possibilities of the use of FB, which helps your co-operation with other people and you even don't know that there exist these useful options in FB.
VastaaPoista