Seven organizational characteristics of social networks?

Members are driven

Have you ever found yourself wondering why you still have that same old job? Maybe you ticked of the box ‘interested in job offers’ on different business/social networks? Those lucky few that find their jobs so rewarding that to them, it is in fact a calling, might never experience having these thoughts. In “Don’t kill the messenger” Chris Rock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3YWszftWWg) says “the people in the audience with careers need to
learn to shut the f… up – when you’re around people with jobs’!

I think that a lot of us find our time occupied by a job rather than a career, and I wish to God that we could all have ‘careers’. In some high performing and high spirited organizations you’ll find driven employees. They will typically not consider themselves employees but rather fortunate members of the organization. Driven translates into ‘self motivated’ or ‘high spirited’ in this context.

We don’t need to convince ourselves that we have to spend time on Social Networking do we? We do it early in the morning, during our day, in the evening and at night. We’re ‘driven’.

Social acceptance depends on actions rather than money, breed or good intentions

In society at large as well as in Social Networks we have to establish some sort of proof of our worthiness to be socially accepted by other people. Status is typically linked to wealth, breed, power or extraordinary achievements. Presidents are elected on intentions to do good or intentions to bring about change.

In Social Networking actions count! If you’re only in for the ride without contributing anything you’re not worthy. If that is the case you won’t get any attention, you won’t have any followers and your word won’t get around.

However, if you are contributing by volunteering important or interesting information and by giving just as much as you take out you’re accepted! Of course you need to refrain from profanity and obscenity but otherwise even the language is free.

Rules are substituted by empathy

Every society or organization has rules. If they didn’t we wouldn’t know how to manage the members of them or how to control the development and growth of them. In the same way the traffic on the web in general is heavily guarded and censured.

In the society as well as in the typical workplace the members are physical beings. In the Social Medias however we are mental entities represented by an account, a name, a picture and perhaps a gravatar and defined by our actions. For whichever reason there doesn’t seem to be any need for regulations, reductionistic filters or any other restraints in here.

Inside the Social Medias our empathy is our compass. It will provide us with direction and guide us only as far as the depth of it allows.

Roles are neither given nor static – they are taken and they are dynamic

When we enter an organization we assume a role. No matter what end of the organization we enter we will have to adhere to a role description encompassing a list of what is expected of us, what charge and place we have in the organization and how we can expect to be compensated for our efforts. Also the culture, policies, vision, mission and values are likely to be expected of us to adhere to.

In the Social Medias no such preformulated and static roles exist. You yourself decide what role you want to take, and your efforts determine if you get it and/or keep it. If you find that your role no longer fit your needs, fantasies, dreams or wants you simply change efforts and actions.

In so many ways the Social Medias offers a safe haven for reinventing yourself. (I’ll get back to this in a later article) You can ask questions out in the open, address matters of personal interest or concern or offer your reflections.

Leaders are randomly substituted by individuals with mental affluence and willingness to share

And this is really interesting! You can enter the Social Medias as a business leader and if you’re well known and respected you’re likely to get a lot of followers. However if you have nothing to offer your followers in these same Medias or if you don’t share, you will get nothing back – and you are not a leader in the eyes of the Social Medias.

Individuals with mental affluence are those that look like the next person but are so much more. More because of their mental surplus, energy level, insight and willingness to unselfishly share their knowledge and insights. Those are the ‘true leaders’ of the Social Medias.

Inherent Political Influence of social networks is potentially enormous

In my company our slogan is: “Imagine all the people, we do”, which we struggle to live up to everyday. Our point is that if you imagine all the people in the world or in your organization, in the classroom or perhaps in your family it gets so much easier to avoid the rash and bad decisions. All of a sudden you can see that change, development or help offered to any one unit alone won’t do the organization any good. The context is extremely important and should always be a part of the basis for action.

Large social groups or organizations as the “Twitter community” hold a tremendous potential power, especially if you consider all the people in it! Imagine that all the twitters in the world decided to boycott one specific Television Channel because of their serious misbehaviour? Or decided not to buy products from one specific company and at the same time decided to spread the word on Facebook? That would amount to almost half a billion people.

Now, imagine all the people decided to help the Haitian people for instance? Imagine all the people getting together to do good!

There’s no organizational strategy

Even though Jack Dorsey (Jack Dorsey^[8 ) without any doubt had a plan with Twitter (which it might even follow), the organization in itself hasn’t got any strategy. It is doing whatever we decide it should be doing which in itself is a historic organizational accomplishment.

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