Organizations Don't Tweet, People Do

Euan Semple’s “Organization’s Don’t Tweet, People Do” delves into many of the topics and issues we have been covering in class. He presents a lot of interesting theories and scenarios that I can relate to my own experiences in the work force as well as in my personal/social life. Three of the chapters in the first half of the book really resonated with me.

Chapter 5: Evolution on Steroids

Semple explains how people nowadays are more likely to trust information from peers than from authorities. I could not agree more. If I want to find a good restaurant I will ask my friends or search the Internet for customer reviews. Beforehand I would read the Zagaat book or flip through the New York Times to read articles written by professional food critiques. Recently I have also resorted to crowdsourcing on Twitter as a way to get feedback and suggestions on topics such as the next bestseller I should buy! Semple asks, “How do you make the most of this shift in trust from authorities to individuals and networks?” My answer is through hearing about real experiences from real people. People tend to associate the word “authorities” with having greater knowledge and expertise than individuals and networks. This no longer holds true the more and more people share their stories, ideas, beliefs, opinions and skills.

Chapter 12: The More You Give, The More You Get

I really enjoyed this chapter because I felt I could relate to what I have witnessed at my past internships. Semple asserts that it is no longer acceptable to do merely what is asked/expected of us at work. With the vast supply of knowledge and information at our fingertips, we should all be bringing our A-Game to work. This might include questioning the norm and presenting creative/innovative ideas. The truth of the matter is, if we don’t, our peers and co-workers will. Semple elaborates on the importance of not only being knowledgeable, but also being willing to share our knowledge with others. Transparency can be a scary thing, but it is the future of today’s society. If everyone keeps to themselves about what they know then nobody is learning from each other. Would the web be as effective if no one was willing to post/search/share? No. We are all students and the web is our teacher. Semple says sharing what you know doesn’t diminish its worth but instead increases its value. Writing this book is technically giving away his knowledge. At the same time, however, he is informing his audience and leveraging their future careers. In return he will receive praise, potential future book offers and public appearances invites.

Chapter 17: Too Much of a Good Thing

In this chapter Semple discusses the limitlessness of social media “friends,” “followers” and “connections” we can have. I agree with Semple in that the Dunbar theory holds true for face-to-face meaningful relationships, but not for online ones. The more people you follow on Twitter, for instance, the more information, news and ideas you can receive and share with your network. The same holds true for LinkedIn. I tend to use a little more discretion when it comes to Facebook. I feel it is one of the most personal social platforms out there, and that you should have somewhat of a relationship with a person before you take the leap to “friend” them. It is easy to hide behind your computer screen and abuse your Facebook privileges by going on a rampage of “friending” every person who Facebook ”suggests” you know. But people who do so are not using social media in its intended way.