Make Social Media Work in the Hyperconnected Workplace
Adapt and experiment social media use for well being in today’s workplace
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My 12-year-old pug is going deaf. I am sure of it. I started to suspect it when she did not respond when I called her name, Genie, named after “Genie in a bottle.” As a pug, she had the quintessential expression of turning her head in puzzlement when she heard her name in quick succession. Recently though, I noticed that she did not turn towards me anymore at the sound of her name. Then gradually more signs emerged. When I approached her while she was asleep, she often jerked awake, unaware of my footsteps towards her up to that point.
My friends know that I often refer to Genie as my special needs child, equal in my affection for my two human children but different in what I expect of her. For my human children, I wish for a full and purposeful life ahead of them. For Genie, I dote on her with abandon, knowing full well that her time with us is limited and barring unforeseen circumstances, she would depart this world before I do.
As I watch her descent into her senior years with dulling sensory functions, I cannot help but wonder what the world is like for her. Her gradual deprivation of connection to the external world stands in contrast of my ascent into the hyperconnected workplace.
I started my career right before the dot com days, about the time when email was introduced en mass to the workplace. We were the first generation that never had to deal with paper mail for work. We reveled in the expediency of email and watched in excitement as it redefined the workplace.
Then social media emerged, multiplied and amplified over the years, impacting all facets of life and age groups. As social media exerts its muscle of impact, I came to the realization that it’s also redefining the workplace communication patterns.
Out is structured and planned communication, in is the unstructured and hyperconnected world of stimuli from all persons, all channels, all topics — small or large, and all the time.
I recently shared my observation with a dear friend of mine, who knew right away what I was trying to sort out. I have always been known as somebody who plays chess, she said, while most people would default to checker. Indeed, if I could have one super power, the one I covet would be the ability to see the future. I am fascinated with the future, cannot stop myself from observing all the breadcrumbs, just so, maybe, that I could peer into the future, if only for a glimpse of it.
Yet, to have the honor of peering and anticipating, I have learned, I have to decidedly separate the noise from the signal. Too much noise distracts and disorients me in the information jungle.
How do I then adapt to the hyperconnected workplace? I do use social media, but selectively. I was early among my peers to use Facebook, until the unfiltered communication from all people, for all topics, all the time consumed me.
One night, after seeing how Facebook adversely impacted my well being, I decided to turn it off cold turkey. I removed the app from my phone, iPad, and willed myself not to log in for a few months. At the same time, I started to ramp up my use of LinkedIn and develop a deep appreciation for a few sources for their continued streams of thought provoking posts. I have dabbled in Twitter but have not gravitated towards its bursts of communication snippets.
So yes, I do use social media. I experimented, learned and adapted until it worked for me. I selected the channels and doubled down on the sources that challenge me intellectually so as to think and anticipate ahead.
To my dear friend, I hear you. As you said before we ended our phone call, you see me put on my war paint, all suited up, ready to face what’s ahead of me in the era of the hyperconnected workplace. Let the experiment begin!
As for Genie, although she does not respond when I call her anymore, she continues to leap at the smell of food and wait by the door for my return each work day ready to greet me with her tail wagging.
