Jon DiPietro is Domesticating IT

Let’s say you run a day-care center and you’re tired of parents being late to pick up their kids. What do you do? How about instituting a fine? That seems like it’s logical and could be effective. If parents had to pay extra, one would assume that they would be more likely to be on time. But one would be wrong.

In January, 2000, Uri Gneezy and Aldo Rustichini published a study titled, “A Fine is a Price.” In this study, they followed six day-care centers in Israel. They found that, on average, there were seven or eight late pickups per week across the ten centers they were monitoring. At six of these centers, they instituted a fine for late pickups and the effect was immediate and striking. The incidences of lateness steadily increased over a four week period. Eventually, the average number of late pickups peaked around twenty – almost triple the original rate. What happened? And what has this to do with social media?

Mixed Norms

Gneezy and Rustichini attributed this to something they called an “incomplete contract.” The rules that were in place were sufficiently ambiguous that customers had to figure for themselves what was appropriate behavior. In those circumstances, we tend to fall back on social norms. Social norms are a set of unwritten rules that determine what is and is not acceptable behavior in social situations. However, in the case of the day-care experiment, instituting a fine shattered the ambiguity and replaced it with an economic norm. The parents no longer feared social repercussions. They determined that the convenience of showing up whenever they wanted was worth the price.

Oil and water courtesy of andredoreto on Flickr

This is an example of “mixed norms.” When we combine social behaviors with an economic situation or vice versa, we get unpredictable (and sometimes volatile) situations. Consider, for example, finishing a holiday dinner at your parents’ house. You compliment the cook(s) on a terrific meal and pull out your checkbook asking, “How much do I owe you?” Most people would be offended and might even throw a utensil in your direction. Dating also carries such risks.

Social media also carries such risks.

Social Media and Norms

Make no mistake. Social norms are in play in all social media channels. The main reason for this is that when it comes to social networks, the users are also the owners. This is not the case in most other media with which companies are used to dealing (e.g. television, radio, newspapers, even Google). And so their tendency is to dive into social media with their economic norm behaviors. The result is that people will automatically tune them out and unfollow/unfriend them. In a sense, the companies have placed a virtual fee on their social media presence. This fundamentally changes the relationship from a social one to an economic one. Game over, influence squandered.

And here’s the really bad news…

Mixing Norms is Irreversible

Back to Gneezy and Rustichini. After five months, the day-care centers rescinded the fining policy. However, the behaviors didn’t change. It turns out that once you change the relationship from social to economic, you cannot go back. It’s altered permanently and there’s nothing you can do about it.

This should give pause to companies currently or planning to be involved in social media. You had better get it right the first time, because you won’t get a second chance. So how does a company insure it’s following social norms? Well, there’s a four letter word that spells social media success; gift. Make sure the vast majority of the content you’re creating and sharing can be considered as a gift to your audience and you should be fine.

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Does Web 2.0 make a company effective or does an effective company use Web 2.0 to its advantage?

It’s all to common to make an observation and infer its cause. If you were to measure elementary school standardized reading test scores against shoe size you would find a direct correlation. Students with larger shoe sizes perform better, therefore large feet make you smarter.

I was thinking about cause and effect while reading about a McKinsey survey, which found that companies using the Web intensively gain greater market share and higher margins. The report states that:

…a payday could be arriving faster than expected. A new class of company is emerging—one that uses collaborative Web 2.0 technologies intensively to connect the internal efforts of employees and to extend the organization’s reach to customers, partners, and suppliers. We call this new kind of company the networked enterprise. Results from our analysis of proprietary survey data show that the Web 2.0 use of these companies is significantly improving their reported performance.

The report found significant benefits enjoyed by these networked enterprises in areas of internal adoption and reaching out to customers, suppliers and partners. Furthermore, 27 percent of these companies reported market share gains and higher profit margins versus their competitors.

Several blog posts I read about this study stopped there and reported these benefits as if any company could start chugging Web 2.0 solutions like a magical elixir. But I think this sentence from the study is revealing if you read between the lines:

In fact, our data show that fully networked enterprises are not only more likely to be market leaders or to be gaining market share but also use management practices that lead to margins higher than those of companies using the Web in more limited ways.

As George Costanza would say,

Ah Ha!

They found a correlation between management practices and results. So which came first? A management style that encourages autonomy, mastery and purpose or a workplace that is transformed by using shiny new tools?

Just like buying a pair of Air Jordan sneakers doesn’t make you a professional basketball player, making Web 2.0 part of your company’s tool set won’t automatically deliver the results uncovered in this study. Using Web 2.0 requires a management style that is not common these days. Most companies’ culture and rules are designed like factories – show up, follow directions, and fit in.  They demand and reward conformity.

Conversely, Web 2.0 work best in environments of creativity and innovation. That’s kind of the whole point, actually. Web 2.0 applications and services are like blank canvases while most companies are like paint by number. I’m not saying one is necessarily better than the other; I think they both have their place. But it is important to understand whether your culture and workforce would look at a blank canvas as an opportunity to create a wonderful work of art or simply stare at it, frozen in fear.

I suspect that those networked enterprises who enjoyed market share increases and higher profits already had a corporate culture that rewarded standing out over fitting in.

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Let’s face it – most organizations’ social media efforts are lame. We like to mock them and ask, “What were they thinking?” While it’s easy to criticize, I doubt most people could actually articulate the fundamental reason why a particular effort is lame or cool. Or take it one step further – what would you change to improve it? I think it’s like watching an athletic performance; easy to criticize but difficult to do better.

But there is a very simple rule of thumb every organization can follow. It won’t guarantee success, but it will absolutely prevent lameness.  The rule can be summed up by a single, four-letter word: G-I-F-T.

If the answer is so simple, why is it so hard to execute?

When Norms Collide

I’m not talking about two guys named “Norm.”  I’m talking about two different sets of rules of thumb that determine how we behave.  Economic norms are the rules that we follow when we’re conducting business. Social norms are the rules we follow when we’re interacting on a personal level. When a particular situation clearly dictates the appropriate set of norms, it’s easy to know what is and isn’t acceptable behavior.

Problems appear when those norms get mixed together and we aren’t sure which rule of thumb to use in a given situation.  The classic example of this is dating. While dating is mostly governed by social norms, there are elements of economic norms that can creep into the picture. When those situations aren’t handled delicately – like who pays the dinner check – feelings can get hurt and things can end badly.

And here’s where businesses get social media wrong. They behave according to economic norms in a situation that demands social norms. Social media is the ultimate form of democracy. Everyone gets one vote and every vote counts once. As a result, there are two coins of the realm in social media; trust and generosity.  You earn the former with the latter.  Think of it this way.  When you’re invited to someone’s house for dinner for the first time, what’s the customary behavior?  We generally bring a bottle of wine, flowers, or some other form of housewarming GIFT. Our social evolution as humans has taught us to build trust through generosity.

I Have No Gifts to Bring

I’m not buying that. But before we get into that, I think it’s time to bring Seth Godin into the conversation yet again.  In a blog post titled, “Generous gifts vs. free samples,” Godin provides his definition of what a gift is (and isn’t):

A generous gift comes with no transaction foreseen or anticipated. A gift is a gift, not the beginning of a transaction. When you see a Picasso painting at the Met, Picasso doesn’t get anything (he’s dead). Even his heirs don’t get anything. His art is a gift to anyone who sees it.

There you have it.  Your product brochures and press releases are not generous, they’re self-serving.  In other words, they’re lame. The chances are that if you’re a competent and experienced professional, you have gifts to give to people. Furthermore, most of the people who could benefit from those gifts are probably potential customers.

So before you post that next Facebook update or Tweet, look yourself in the mirror and answer the question, “Would this make someone’s day a tiny bit better, in some form or fashion?”  If you can honestly answer, “Yes,” then go ahead and pull the trigger.

Simple Does Not Mean Easy

I’ve laid out a case that it’s simple to avoid social media lameness.  However, I am certainly not saying it’s easy. In fact, I’m not even saying it’s always worth it. But it’s definitely worth considering what it will cost for you to be generous and how that trust you earn in social media will translate into your desired outcomes. Because hope is not a strategy.

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I occasionally post subjects with the subtitle, “I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means.”  The subtitle pays homage to one of my favorite sources of movie quotes, The Princess Bride (you can view this particular quote on YouTube).

Today I’m commenting on the current plague of companies looking to enslave college students and recent graduates in order to help them establish a presence in social media.

I subscribe to multiple Craigslist RSS feeds and every single day there is at least one advertisement from a company looking to bring in unpaid interns for various jobs.  Many of them are mundane, computer-oriented tasks but many of them look just like this one:

Do you tweet, blog and use social media like Facebook all day, every day? Are you a creative individual who can take things to completion? Does the event industry interest you? You may be the perfect fit for our next internship!

[company name removed] is looking for a detail oriented, knowledgeable and passionate person to help develop its’ social media campaign.

The perfect candidate will have experience in all areas of social media; Facebook, Twitter, Blogging Platforms. Have exceptional writing skills. Proficient in MAC and Basic HTML. A passion for weddings is a plus!

This is an unpaid internship, but has great potential to become a full-time position. Internship credit is available.

Please email resume. No phone calls please.

Aside from the spelling errors and poor grammar, what’s so bad about this?

Crime Doesn’t Pay

That’s right, if your internship doesn’t meet six federal legal criteria you are violating federal labor laws.  Many employers mistakenly think that they can hire unpaid interns because they are providing enough value through the experience the interns gain.  However, this is the wrong perspective. They need to consider whether or not the person materially provides value to the company.  If so, they must be paid.  If not, why are you wasting everyone’s time?

Hobbyist Vs. Professional

Let’s try rewriting the advertisement listed above using a different profession and see how it may turn out…

Norm Abram is the seemingly superhuman master craftsman who has hosted the PBS television show, "The New Yankee Workshop" for some 20 years.

Do you caulk, paint and watch television programs like the New Yankee Workshop and This Old House all day, every day? Are you a creative individual who can take things to completion? Does the construction industry interest you? You may be the perfect fit for our next internship!

[company name removed] is looking for a detail oriented, knowledgeable and passionate person to help develop its residential construction business.

The perfect candidate will have experience in all areas of construction; hammers, nails, saws. Have exceptional painting skills. Proficient driving Fords and Chevys. A passion for subdivisions is a plus!

This is an unpaid internship, but has great potential to become a full-time position. Internship credit is available.

Please email resume. No phone calls please.

Sounds absurd, no?  Just because a person knows how to use a hammer or circular saw doesn’t mean they know how to build a load-bearing wall, right?  And watching Norm Abram every weekend for two years doesn’t mean you’ll be able to build a ten foot Clancy sailboat from scratch.  Knowing how to use tools does not mean that a person understands how to design, finance, construct, and sell a home.

Well, just because a student posts pictures of friends’ compromising antics on Facebook and has a few thousand followers on Twitter doesn’t mean they understand how to effectively architect, implement, and measure a social media marketing campaign.  That’s even assuming that the business already understands how the social media marketing strategy will fit into its overall marketing strategy, but they frequently do not.

What’s the Harm?

Here is a short list of some of the missteps that can lead to more harm than good:

• It is possible to attract the wrong audience. The first rule of search optimization is, “do no harm.”
• Blogging carries legal responsibilities including copyright infringement and Federal Trade Commission regulations.
• Facebook’s Terms of Use are complicated and even contradictory. Violating them can get you banned.
• Anything worth doing is worth measuring. Fan and follower counts do not tell the story.
• Creating compelling, engaging content is challenging and dynamic.
• Hope is not a strategy.

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Paul Adams is the Senior User Experience Researcher at Google. He posted a presentation on Slideshare that is providing a glimpse at the philosophy behind the rumored “Facebook killer” that Google is working on. This presentation indicates some fundamental differences between its view of social networks and the way in which Facebook is currently implemented.

The title of the presentation is “The Real Life Social Network” and it exposes some fundamental differences between the way our relationships exist in real life versus the way they are modeled on Facebook (or pretty much any other social network for that matter). Given Google’s specialty – writing algorithms that model relationships – it’s easy to see how their background in search algorithms has imprinted the thinking in this presentation.

Groups

One fundamental design flaw with most social networking applications is that they force us to into using one generic group of “friends.” Adams says his research indicates that people actually have between four and six groups of relationships. When they examined 342 groups that people used to describe their real life networks, only 15% actually contained the word “friend” at all! Furthermore, 61% of the names were unique, which means that there is not a lot of common ground in terms of how we categorize our real life networks.

Connections

Not all connections are created equal. Adams talks extensively about “strong” and “weak” ties between people. Strong ties exist among family and close friends and tend to be in the single digits. Weak ties make up the remainder of our relationships, which caps out at around 150 (see Dunbar’s Number). Any connections beyond that are classified as temporary connections.

Privacy

While it seems almost too easy to assault Facebook for privacy concerns, Adams does so by tying it in with the concepts of groups and connections. If it’s true that we have these different relationship groups and that the strength of our connections within each of these groups varies, then it logically follows that our desires for and expectations of privacy will differ greatly as well. It will be important, not to mention challenging, to support these different models in a way that is easy for people to understand and implement.

The interactions between these different groups and different types of connections is a complicated dynamic that, according to Adams, is greatly oversimplified in current social networking applications. Presumably, this document is a sneak peak at Google’s major push toward a new platform that aims to end the threat Facebook poses to Google in the form of social search. They’ve clearly identified three major weaknesses that they plan to exploit.

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