By Richard Lieberman
Have you looked at your friends who are active social media users and thought that they are wasting their time on a silly, frivolous hobby? Perhaps they are wiser than you think.
By participating in social media such as Facebook or Twitter, they are preparing themselves for the changing work world. Businesses are beginning to adopt the social networking model in the workplace to permit employees to collaborate in new and more efficient ways.
What can you do to prepare for this rapidly changing workplace? For one, practice using social networks. If you lack the ability to use social networks to connect with others, share and obtain information, and communicate your intentions and ideas, you will be obsolete in the coming work world. Experts identifying future work skills recently concluded that: “Connective technologies [like social media] make it easier than ever to work, share ideas and be productive despite physical separation.”
Since social networking will be the model for business networking, to be proficient, you should be an active participant and in this way you can train yourself. It is important to have good technological tools; that is, a fast and stable Internet connection and a mobile device (tablet or smartphone).
Practice by being proactive in seeking out friends and contacts on your networks. LinkedIn, the business network, is a good vehicle to expand your work contacts and receive and communicate information. If you have a special interest such as a hobby or medical concern, find a social networking site that allows you to share and communicate with like-minded individuals.
You must share information about yourself, and, to the extent you can aid and help other people. If you do not know how to locate people or groups who are interested in your issues, learn how to find them.
As you begin to engage in social networking, learn and practice how to effectively communicate. There is a different language for virtual communications. It is more than acronyms; it is the context and subtext. Look at how people communicate and the emotional context of what they are conveying. If you write a sentence that seems terse and severe, learn how to soften it. In social networking, people learn how to say more with less. In the business, you may have also noticed how some of your colleagues at work come across as dynamic in email communications, while others convey no sense of their personality. Practice fully expressing your personality as well as conveying clear information in the short social media formats.
People now use numerous social media platforms to present ideas. For example, a person’s tweet about breakfast may contain a link to his YouTube video demonstrating how to cook the perfect omelet, as well as another link to her cooking blog containing his favorite recipes. This is a window into what will soon happen in the business world as employees use the most effective social media platform to express themselves.
You must also learn how to act appropriately on social media. Just as in real life interactions we modify our behavior according to the situation, we must do the same in social media communication. You have seen the problem with an individual who does not know how to write a proper email, offends where he intends to instruct, amuses where he intends to be serious, and uses the wrong acronyms.
In addition, you should understand that your communications on any social media platform will be available to the world. People over 40 have a very difficult time internalizing this because they have grown up in a world where face-to-face verbal or telephone communications disappear immediately. Mitt Romney made highly damaging statements during his presidential campaign in a private meeting because he lacked an implicit understanding that phone video is almost always used when a celebrity speaks, and that words and conduct never disappear. By becoming proficient on social media, you can learn these lessons before you begin working in a business network environment, where your mistakes can have serious, permanent effect.
Studies by the Pew Research Center found that the most active users of social media had a larger and more diverse network of friends and acquaintances as well as an active virtual social life. So by learning how to connect and establish online rapport with others, you will be enhancing your work and social life.
Richard Lieberman is a retired attorney and long-time business consultant in Chicago. He is the author of “Your Job and How Technology will Change It: Surviving and Succeeding in the New Work World.”
