Tweet

The Facebook Future

Guest post by: John Grubbs

Article Overview: Almost twenty years ago, the President of the company that I worked for made the statement, "If I catch any of my managers wasting time on a computer, I will fire them!" I can still recall the days of memorandums that copied others as the primary form of internal business communication. Wow, so much has changed so fast that it is almost impossible to absorb.

The Facebook Future

Almost twenty years ago, the President of the company that I worked for made the statement, "If I catch any of my managers wasting time on a computer, I will fire them!" I can still recall the days of memorandums that copied others as the primary form of internal business communication. Wow, so much has changed so fast that it is almost impossible to absorb.

Email and Outlook or similar platforms along with internet are the foundations for organizational communication today. The next generation of managers will never know any other methodology to communicate unless we experience another communication shift. Could there be another huge paradigm shift that is happening so slowly that we do not readily acknowledge its existence? Could we be seeing yet another major shift as we speak?

Most managers and employees that I interview are quick to admit (off the record) that they check their Facebook page before they check company email. They only typical exception is when they have Facebook live on their mobile device.

The current perception of Facebook in the business world is that of wasting time. This sentiment is not much different from the perception of computers twenty years ago. The concept of time is evolving and we are experiencing a major shift in how work is measured. That being said, Facebook could be the next iteration in the constantly changing world of communication. Today, I actually have business contacts that respond faster to Facebook messages than traditional company email.

The prevalence of smart phones such as Blackberry, IPhone and Droids all have platforms to support an ever changing demand for access to Facebook. This quick hit message system requires only a data package and quick download from the internet. With the buzz about corporate email security and control, younger managers are simply using the traditional email medium as a last resort or sometimes necessary avenue to communicate. What does this mean for the future of communication?

With almost every modern thinking company now having a Facebook presence and over five hundred million users and growing, the progressive organizations are definitely going to make a more profitable use of Facebook.

While only speculation at this point, the trends reveal some interesting possibilities about the future. The internet as we know it will most likely remain as the information super highway; however the vehicles we use to travel will certainly change. Traditional websites that lack a concrete social media link are already dinosaurs awaiting extinction. Companies that resist the enormous demand to accept Facebook will simply break under the pressure. Attempts to control or limit mobile device usage in the workplace will be the losing battle of myopic leaders in the future. These nearly blind managers will not or cannot see the almost endless communication potential of both the devices and the medium. Progressive thinking leaders will see the potential for better communication in Facebook.

The best explanation for the modern mindset is simply to go where the people are in order to get them the message you want them to hear. If they are already going to be on Facebook, then that is the best place to communicate with them. This works for all organizational stakeholders from suppliers to employees to customers.

Unless another major change takes place, the most likely method to communicate with others in business is going to be on Facebook. A quick message with someone you have built rapport with by looking at their profile pictures can be the norm. And just like most email accounts of the present, companies will have a Facebook presence that is official and it may or may not be linked to personal accounts. The clearly defined lines between business and personal are already changing. Companies are going to the people on Facebook as "friends" and "likes" as we speak. It simply doesn't make sense to ignore this potential with your own team members as well.

This does not mean that all of your personal photos on Facebook will be fair game for your boss. It does mean that your ability to "like or follow" a business will give mutually acceptable parameters for what is seen and not seen. The delicate balance between personal and business will also evolve as the business world enters the Facebook era. Both sides will have to agree to honor the boundaries of the new electronic relationships that will soon develop. Ignoring the boundaries will simply get you "unliked" and you will close the communication portal that previously existed.

Social media will evolve to the point that is no longer considered "a" way of doing business and eventually become "the" way of doing business. Marketing savvy companies like Disney are already exploiting the vast potential for Facebook. Free access to millions of current and future customers is a no brainer for business. Failing to understand the Facebook potential is like making "buggy whips" or "typewriters". We are seeing the beginning of the end companies that do not embrace the potential for Facebook.

Related Articles
  Not All Publicity Is Good Publicity Says PR Consultant Dan Janal
  How To Use Facebook For Business | 6 Powerful Tips!
  Facebook? Yes. Or Maybe No.
  15 Ways to Create High Visibility with FaceBook
  "Get Facebook Ads Free" What 2,710 people are saying.
  Using Social Networking to Boost Your Business
  My Daughters Are So Pissed
  Offering Free Samples On Facebook For Retail
  The Best Business Marketing Tool
  Facebook Fans & Likes for your Online Business
  Free Sample Marketing On Facebook
  Facebook Tips For Business Promotion Success!
  Use Facebook Pages to Market Your Online Income Opportunities
  Hacking Facebook Password with the help of free hacker tools for everyone
  Attorneys using Facebook to serve legal papers
  Facebook Email Sucks
  Ways to Promote Your Business on Facebook
  The Facebook Revolution
  Promote Your Home Business On Facebook To Get Tons Of Free Traffic
  Social Media Management Tips

Article Tags: business, communication, email, Facebook, future, mail, time
Referred by: http://www.thetrainingbank.com/



Related Forum Posts
Re: Social media question - Facebook is where I get all my traffic. Facebook is great, because you can create fan pages and your customers come to you. Twitter is good, but I just don't see the same results. I think Facebook is the most popular and it's easier for people to find what they're looking for.
Re: Facebook Advertising? - Facebook has more than 700 million active users and half of them log in on a daily basis. Through Facebook advertising, you can be sure to reach any particular segment. Conventional advertising models are expensive and difficult to reach a narrow target. Facebook advertising is one option that can get you results and target specific user groups. You may be the local beauty parlor, restaurant or a Fortune 500 organization, but eBizUniverse will show how to build your brand equity through Facebook advertising. Consider these ideal scenarios: You own a restaurant and wish to target those who are recently engaged to be married for their catering business. All you need to do is to find the women with the relationship status of “engaged” on Facebook and you have your desired segment with Facebook Ads. (See Sample Ads Below) There is a birthday special that your restaurant is offering and the Facebook Ads would be displayed only to those whose birthdays are in the offing. An event is being organized and you wish to target local college graduates, who are single and 25-35 years old. They are on Facebook and you can reach them with Facebook Ads.
Re: Are you going to use Facebook Timeline? - Hi apu, I Recently used Facebook Timelines, actually it seems like a Facebook blog which makes profile page more attractive but i don't think it will help in internet marketing because it also slow the speed of Facebook Page. Share your Experience!
Future Financial Corporation - I've never heard of Future Financial Corporation is this a new company?
Re: Facebook or Twitter? - Thanks for the feedback guys! I personally started with Twitter and am now moving over to Facebook. I polled people on both my accounts and (not surprisingly) the Twitter people said Twitter and the Facebook people said Facebook! The actual order of my social media presence looks like this: 1) LinkedIn (with little success) 2) Twitter 3) YouTube 4) Facebook


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Ten Steps to Go from Idea to E-book for Sale

Adjusting Your World

The Importance of Master Data Management (MDM)

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.