A lot has been written about Obama's use of social media in the US Presidential nomination campaign. Use of new social technologies could be crucial to both candidates in the next few decisive weeks. I have dug up a post from the Summer from Forrester's groundswell blog (see below) about Obama and his social networking. Why this is interesting is because it highlights how supporters often complain openly to Obama through the social technologies he has made available. Forrester argues that as a leader you cannot always be led by what people say on social networks but you have to get into the network, justify your decision and also be looking to support other ideas that come up. How much time will Obama and McCain spend listening to what is said online in the next few weeks and what impact will it have? Could this be the first US presidential election where social technologies really came to the fore? We will see but clearly they have already made an impact with Obama being credited for using social technologies to energize a younger vote.
The challenges that the US presidential nominees face mirror the ones that organisations face. If you set up your own social networks, how far should you be led by what your customers and stakeholders say? Should you always act on the basis that you know better than your customers and stakeholders? Listening to social networks is crucial as you never know what can be brewing and participating in them is essential I believe. Even if you disagree with what is being said you need to be in there explaining your views and you need to be seen to be adopting and taking on good ideas and suggestions. The online audience is an influential stakeholder in the reputation of your business.
http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2008/07/barack-obama-vs.html
www.itsopen.co.uk
