Keith Shirley

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I’ll be going to the first meeting of the IIA Social Media Working Group next week. To quote their website -The Social Media Working Group seeks to support businesses in the development of strategies for engaging with social media, including blogging, social networking, community sites, RSS, tagging, and podcasts.

I’ve always been facinated with how technology can best be applied to business – especially a small business. It’s often tricky to know which technologies are going to prove useful and which ones are a fad. I’m lucky in the sense that it’s “ok” for me to experiment with different tools and technologies as I get paid to pass on what I learn.

The small business owner generally can’t afford to spend much time experimenting. During the startup phase it can seem impossible for a new business owner to manage to get everything done. Social media can be really helpful at this stage – not only does it provide a mechanism for people to get their name publicised but it can provide a great support community during what is often a very lonely time.

Of course the other side of the coin are the costs to a business when people spend hours on social media sites.

The output from the working group will be available to the public and now is your chance to influence proceedings:

- Do you have any comments on how and why you use or don’t use social media?

- Do you have any success stories or failure stories? A wise man (or woman) can learn from the mistakes of others. I’m personally especially interested in comments from “non-techie” businesses.

- What kind of results would you like to see the group produce?

Feel free to leave comments on the blog directly or email me at K.Shirley@Shercom.com

Keith