And the debate rages on…or maybe you know nothing about this debate and you’re scratching your head wondering what a private online community is. Facebook makes you log on so is that public or private?

First, let me start by explaining what I mean. Public social networks or online communities are sites like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. which allow everyone and anyone to join. You can tell them you are Hulk Hogan and blog as the Hulkster and no one will know any differently until the real Hulk comes forward and kicks you into next week. On these sites, you are exactly who you say you are. These sites are free.

A private online community can be set up by your school, church, industry, company, association, fraternity/sorority, etc. Members are asked to sign in (like the public) but members are either dues paying, personally invited or screened in some way by the admin of the site. Someone is paying for these sites (usually the host of the community).

When deciding what is best for you it’s easy to go with the free option, and certainly saving money is ultra important to everyone, but make sure you consider the return on your investment (ROI). Even “free” public sites must be managed with the same thoroughness and dedication as a private site. Content creation is still on your shoulders whether you go with public or private.

Private sites have a multitude of advantages such as reporting features (on both your members and activity), administrative control over content and organization, branding capabilities (your site, your look), security (no phishing or scams to take info from members), customer service you can reach, monitoring of your site, online store, career center, potential ad sales revenue (for your site), continual training, dues collection and auto-renewal, member exports, event registration, SEO benefits to having your own site, even input into product development.

No one is saying not to use public sites at all. They’re wildly popular but consider the benefits you’ll gain from something that’s yours. It’s about more than just cost. If someone offered you a car for free your first reaction might be – what’s wrong with it? We’re not suggesting there is anything wrong with free but if you need something that will grow with you and have your needs in mind, free may not be the perfect fit. 

When you are new to technology it is tempting to choose something for less money with few bells and whistles. What do I need that for? I won’t use it. But as your knowledge base grows and your organization’s needs change, you will be left with something that does not meet your basic requirements. You’ll end up trading it in anyway for the pricier model. With YourMembership.com’s management software, you don’t have to do that. All of our features are included in our low price. Use them, don’t use them. Use them in June but not in July. Administrative control is up to you and we keep costs down so that you really can have what you want when you want it.

YourMembership.com is not the least expensive option in membership software but it is the most cost-effective with the most features for your dollars. But don’t take our word for it, look into it, let us know what you find.

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Social networking + membership management = the complete online member community

Hear me tweet!!!

Since social media is fast becoming a religion for some, I figured I’d take a stab at establishing some commandments. As a disclaimer, I am not a Deity in Social Mediaville so please think of these as merely suggestions on playing nice and if they help you and your organization – I am pleased. 

1. Follow others as you would like to be followed or brilliance is as brilliance does. You can’t just sit in your twitter tower and proclaim edicts on high. You are not the only one with extraordinary things to say. Pick some people, follow them. Enjoy their 140 character-limited brilliance and comment when pertinent.

2. Do not bear false witness against another twitterer (unless it means you bring on more followers). Joking aside, if you are tweeting for a professional reason, don’t spend your time putting others down. If you’re worth your salt you will rise above the competition without dragging them through the mud.

3. Do not covet another’s followers. Give it time. You too will build up a following. Just keep offering valuable insight and empowering your members or customers with something they can’t get elsewhere. Don’t know what I mean? Then….Houston, we have a (bigger) problem.

4.   Do not steal other people’s thunder. If someone has a great idea, concept, article, tweet, blog, etc. don’t launch into a tweet like “Great idea. Shame I covered this yesterday on tinyurl123.” Sure it will drive some people to your site but it will drive others away – far, far away.

5.  Give credit where credit is due. Maybe this is really number 4-1/2 or 4a. but it goes beyond attributing your sources. When someone deserves a compliment, give it freely. It’ll make you fee-ee-eel good.

6. You are not the next American Idol (or maybe you are) but if you are tweeting for business reasons you should serve as a source of wisdom. You are not holding court or inviting worshippers. Provide a service, knowledge, empowerment not preaching from a pedestal.

7. You shall not make wrongful use of the word “twitter.” Twitter is the site/service you use. Tweet is the verb (and occasionally noun) form. Conjugate properly, lest your tweets (not twitters) shall be grammatically incorrect. 

8. Slow down. In microblogging it’s easy to be sucked into hyper speed and, like texting, a certain amount of typos can be forgiven (as long as they use less characters and save space) but if you want to be taken seriously you need to take your communication seriously as well so put forth every effort two check ur work. (point maid).

9. Twitter shall be more than just your personal megaphone. There is a lot to be learned from Twitter. Check out what conversations are going on around you via search, checking the top ten trending topics, even take a look at what your competitors are doing. Public space means it’s a good place to cyber eavesdrop and learn something.

10. Enjoy yourself in a professional way and keep at it. Consistency is key. Twitter is a useful marketing tool because it allows you to get in people’s faces often and quickly but just like you don’t want people in your face all the time, be considerate. Share what you know in a conversational style. Engage your audience and be yourself (as long as you are not an annoying know-it-all, then maybe you should be someone else.)

Any rules you live by on Twitter? Let me know.

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Social Networking + Membership Management = The Complete Online Member Community® http://yourmembership.com

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that there is a divide among how different generations use technology at work and at home. LexisNexis recently conducted a study that solidified that assumption. The study focused on 3 groups – the Boomers (ages 44-60), GenX (ages 29-43) and Gen Y or Millennials (28 and under). It’s easy to stereotype – after looking at the study – that the Boomers are painted as minimalists in technology usage, while the Gen Ys are practically computerized autom-a-tons but let’s instead throw out some of those valuable numbers:

• Over 66% of Boomers believe Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cell phones have caused a decline in workplace etiquette, and think using a laptop during a face-to-face meeting is “distracting;” less than 50% of Gen Y workers agree.
• Gen Y workers average 10.6 hours a day on social networking sites, news Web sites, blogs, forums, and multimedia sharing Web sites, versus 5.6 hours reported by Boomers.
• 62% of Gen Y use social networking site(s) from work, while only 14% of Boomers do.
• 39% of Gen Y workers report gaming at work, versus 14% of Boomers (bet you’d notice a difference in games too but we’ll leave that for another study).
• How about multi-tasking? Here we see the biggest gap in the generations, with Gen Y logging a cumulative total of 22.9 hours across e-mail; Internet browsers, instant messaging, and Microsoft Office in a work day, versus 10.3 for Boomers. (to that I say, sure you have to be a multitasker if you’re gaming at work. Gotta have a second screen up so you can flip to something when the boss comes in.)

Managing multigenerations is a challenge and Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis U.S. Legal Markets, suggests a multi-faceted strategy to make the most of the generational divides. He suggests:

• Investing in technology and workflow solutions that increase workplace productivity instead of increasing multi-tasking;
• Establishing office guidelines around company-accepted uses of technology, along with providing training on new technologies; and 
• Embracing the significant impact of social networking by investing in professional networking solutions.

Moral of the story: There are mature people and immature people in the workforce. The mature ones think the immature ones are rude and too attached to their gizmos. The immature ones play a lot of games but also log a lot of computer time. Professional networking software is the answer to conquering the generation gap and possibly attaining world peace. (At least that’s what I got out of it.)

Annie Young-Scrivner, Chief Marketing Officer and Sales VP for Quaker Foods & Snacks, reported on her company’s efforts to connect with consumers in an online presence, “We monitor our consumers’ online behavior so that we can continuously optimize our programs and offer consumers what they are looking for.”

Sound like a good idea to connect to your customers? Seems so obvious but often it’s a partnership left untouched. Want to create stronger corporate relationships, a higher level of consumer engagement and authentic two-way communication with your audience? YourMembership.com  can help with business social networking software. We develop online member communities and web-based membership management software for corporations,associations, non-profits, government organizations, congregations, secondary schools, universities, foundations, fraternal organizations and private social networking sites. Serving hundreds of customers around the world, YourMembership.com creates truly dynamic, secure and vibrant member communities with all product features, design, hosting, future product upgrades and customer service included for one low fee.

Still need further reason to set up an online community for your product (see previous post on Business Social Networking)? Recently PepsiCo discovered the power behind online communities and branding when it changed its logo for Tropicana Orange Juice. It replaced the orange and straw logo with a glass of orange juice. Consumers raged against the change on peer-to-peer forums and social networks. Many threatened an all out boycott. Less than 2 months later, Pepsi gave in to the demands of their customers and is returning to their logo of 24 years.

With a corporate-sponsored social network for their customers, they could’ve rolled-out the new design to their most loyal before anyone else. They could’ve surveyed their customers, gotten their feedback. They could’ve saved a lot of hassle and expense. Plus they would’ve been clued in to the firestorm quickly through monitoring their own forum. Loyal customers think of the brand as theirs, and I guess in this example, they were right.

It’s social. It’s business. Whatever is business social networking? Although the terms can be confusing, the idea can be very lucrative for your company. You have a product. It’s marketed traditionally you have loyal customers but want more. How about providing an online community forum for your customers to interact with one another? Need more ideas on how you can capitalize on your customers online time? After all, they’re already surfing the web and social networking – might as well be on your site. Things membership software  from YourMembership.com can do: 

• Provide your customers with a social networking opportunity. You’d be surprised how many consumers want to share experiences about the products they love.
• Conduct polls and surveys on existing products, new products, even products you are considering offering.
• Make coupon codes or coupons available to all (or some) of your members.
• Send out e-newsletters and bulk email to your clientele.
• Create blogs. Give your product a face by introducing the consumer to a member of your design team or a research and development person.
• Post community events/projects your company is taking part in.
• Upload pictures and other media from these events.
• Upload streaming video of your latest ads.
• Create a VIP section for power users that allows you to reward them for their customer, brand or site loyalty.
• Encourage employees to post as well. You know they are out on other sites so bring them into yours, plus they can link to their other social networks through their employee/customer profile on your site.

YourMembership.com, a global leader in online member communities and web-based membership management software for associations, non-profits, government organizations, corporations, congregations, secondary schools, universities, foundations, fraternal organizations and private social networking sites can help you reach and hold your customers through interactive member sites. Serving hundreds of customers around the world, YourMembership.com creates truly dynamic, secure and connected member communities with all product features, design, hosting, future product upgrades and customer service included for one low fee.

More than likely you’ve got a profile on a social networking site: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn.  Millions of Americans have created profiles and started connecting with friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and of course, coworkers.  It might be possible, though not quite as likely, that you’ve participated in some mass collaboration sites, like wikipedia or an open source project.  Or perhaps some content sharing sites like Delicious.com and YouTube.  These are all examples of social media sites, and they’re like a tsunami on the Internet today.

I’ve always liked to say that our behavior on the Internet mirrors our behavior in real life, and social media polishes the mirror like never before.  I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel the need to attend a real-life high school reunion again, as I’m already connected to (nearly) my entire class on Facebook.  I can hang out with all my friends, past and present, in the virtual world, and I can collaborate with my colleagues in an instant.  A sidebar: Facebook is where I hang out with my friends, LinkedIn is where I hang out with co-workers, partners, and colleagues (does everyone else use these sites this way?)

What does social media mean to HR?  Managing human capital means you deal with human behavior, which as I said before, is mirrored–and quite easily–into these social media sites.  Deft managers can use this to their advantage, but there are potential pitfalls.

Some of the advantages social media brings to the HR function have already been well documented: for example, if you haven’t identified a social media strategy for recruiting, you’re way behind the curve.  Recruiting today’s top talent using social media isn’t just for finding and courting the younger workers; almost overnight, using social media as a recruiting technology has spread throughout the entire workforce.  Humans like to interact with one another, regardless of their ages, and social media facilitates that behavior.

But you can look beyond the conventional advantages of recruiting using social media and find other advantages.  Think of social media–from Facebook to your own corporate private network–as a spider web.  Who is at the center of the web, and what kind of employees are those?  Who is at the periphery, and what kind of employees are those?  Are there correlations between performance and an employee’s place in the web?  You might theorize that better connected employees (at the center) are the ones that are upwardly mobile, are the ones more likely to introduce outsiders (customers, potential recruits) to the organization, but you might also theorize that these employees are more likely (through external connections) to identify other opportunities and leave the company; what is the case for your organization?

The case studies for success in private, corporate social networks follow a theme: connecting human resources at the right time for the right needs.  True story: a salesman in a large multi-national needs to find a resource with unique and specific skills to win some new business; he sends out feelers on the company’s private network, finds an employee on the other side of the country who has a friend (on the “outside”) with the right skills who also happens to be looking for a job.  While I’m thinking of a real and specific case, I’ve generalized it to describe something that’s happening all around the world every day now.

Mass collaboration also holds obvious potential advantage to the organization, in that if used right it could facilitate the more rapid and thorough collection of “tribal knowledge”.  Employees might be encouraged (even rewarded) to participate in the company’s wiki, but are the employees with the most (and most valuable) tribal knowledge the same employees with the wherewithal to create wiki entries?  I don’t think many organizations have considered the potential in mass collaboration–as in open source software projects–for getting work done, but if a virtual confederation can create viable commercial software products, what could be accomplished with some management and encouragment by the organization?

On the flip side of the coin is the fact that the new social media technologies do in fact mirror human behavior, and not all such behavior is desirable or benign.  These technologies can allow you to find the right human resources, whether they exist within the organization already, or whether you’re attempting to recruit from the outside, but they are also being used by your competitors to find the talent on your team that’s ready to make a switch.  Vital tribal knowledge is not being captured, or it might actually be captured in public venues where it could do damage to the organization.  Indiscriminate control through policy and edicts may solve some of the problems, but at what cost?  Will people be inhibited from capturing knowledge in the desired venues?  Will people think twice about recommending colleagues enter the recruiting cycle with your firm?

While privacy and protection of the organization’s information is an area of concern, as is the constant siren song of “the grass is greener over here” to your talent, I think an overlooked concern for managers of human capital when it comes to social media is simple distraction.  With so many opportunities for human contact, both internal to the organization and external, so many profiles to maintain, so many wiki articles to create and defend, so many friend requests, so many colleague inquiries, are we overloading our workforce (or allowing them to overload themselves) with social content to create and maintain?

Stay tuned for my next blog on web 2.0 and HR; I’ll discuss rich internet applications!

Social networks are slowly oozing inside companies, which are rolling them out to better connect with employees and former employees. You can read more about the trend in OurSpace: Creating An In-House Network, a new story I wrote for IncTechnology.com. Inc., the magazine for entrepreneurs and small business, started IncTechnology in 2007 to cover technology issues of interest to small and mid-sized companies. The site is edited by Elizabeth Wasserman, a former colleague of mine from our days at The Industry Standard. I started writing for IncTechnology this fall. Look on my Clips page to see more of my work at IncTechnology.

Brent Schlender aka the Grouchy Geek on CNN.com wrote an incredibly insightful article on Facebook’s decision to choose Microsoft as its global advertising partner.

Facebook could have chosen Google, Yahoo! or even Ask. However, as Schlender points out, Microsoft is a much better fit considering Facebook’s long-term business model. They actually want to become the premier social software platform for hosting web applications.

As a partner, Microsoft can help them understand software, integration, and of course monetization. Something many web applications struggle with. They also hold the keys for getting into nearly 99% of businesses in the U.S.

Coinciding with Microsoft’s investment is a new set of business communication tools they call, Unified Communications. In their own words,

“Microsoft unified communications technologies use the power of software to deliver complete communications–messaging, voice, and video–across the applications and devices that people use every day.

Integrating the experiences you associate with the telephone–phone calls, voice mail, and conferencing–into the work you do on a computer–documents, spreadsheets, instant messaging, e-mail, calendars–has the power to fundamentally change the way the world works.

We believe unified communications will transform business in the coming decade in the same way e-mail changed the business landscape in the 1990s.

When phone services become software, are managed by a server, and are delivered to desktop applications, many interesting things happen.”

Basically, while Apple was busy developing the iPhone, Microsoft was developing a plan to become the phone – and email, instant messaging, video conferencing – and dare I say it, a bunch of corporate social networks. Thus it made sense for them to align themselves early with the most forward thinking social network in the world.