Goozeberry: For the Mobile Future 2.0

Ok, I know I have been slack. No blog posts in 3 months is poor, but hey – I’ve been busy.

Social media in South Africa has certainly had a shot in the arm with initiatives like Thought Leader, My Digital Life (although I am not a huge fan), and product blogs like Auris and Corolla being launched. But the thing that has made corporate SA really take note has been the phenomenal success of Facebook in  South Africa. At least it has increased awareness, initiated debate and started the next cycle of innovation.

In late May there were about 88,000 members of the South African network, now we are closer to 500,000. In the past 12 years of internet access in SA, I can’t remember a single service or website that has generated so much offline conversation. The upshot is that companies are either banning/blocking it, or embracing it. Two schools of thought, and two very interesting debates.

If anything, the Facebook hype has made marketing, corporate communications and even HR departments think about the potential of social media. We are still at the very start of this trend. As I’ve said before, my view is that it takes 6-7 years for something to be properly adopted. So if it all started in SA in 2005, we have a good few years of strong adoption, education and innovation ahead of us.

Finding time to blog is important. It is empowering and refreshing to do, and keeps me thinking – thinking a little harder, more critically and more often about the consequences, impact and meaning of everything.

My own experience (of not blogging for a few months) is a lesson for corporates. There is a lot that is and can be done by business in the social media arena, but it needs attention, focus and commitment. Having a branded social network with 300 members that don’t really use it is of no real value to anyone. The same can be said for a corporate blog that ends up like the ‘Latest News’ section of a website.

If it is going to be done, do it properly – or alternatively, manage the expectation from the beginning that updates will be infrequent (but hopefully meaningful).

Now – back to work, via a Facebook status change.