Challenges of social networking: Good over bad
Dr Steve Hodgkinson
30/10/2007

Start by understanding the characteristics of the new media. Content in the web 2.0 world is:

globally and instantly scalable - able to be seen, linked to, forwarded and rapidly referred around the world by the network effect;

persistent - stored forever in a highly distributed, globally accessible, information repository;

searchable - indexed by search engines and tagged by individuals for easy and virtually instant retrieval;

'mashable' - able to be cut, pasted, edited and re-mixed with other media with minimal technical skill;

serendipitous - available to unknown audiences with unknown interests and motivations.

The reality is that content is now a hybrid of the original message intended by the author and the contributions and interactions of others who have an interest in it.

If initiating court action against the owner of a social networking site, this would be seen as an unreasonable action by hundreds of vocal bloggers around the world - a threat to the freedom of digital speech. People who had no interest in the company or the supposed failings of its products turned out to have a very big interest in its actions in attempting to use the courts to influence what can and cannot be said in the context of social networking. The interactive nature of the media enabled a rapid and effective backlash.

A better reaction would have been to respond to the critical comments directly and positively - acknowledging them as valid feedback - and providing either a factual and constructive rebuttal or indicating what the company is doing about addressing the issues raised.

The interactive nature of the media now means that interactions are transparent to a wide audience, and the flow of the dialogue needs to be actively managed. It is not a 'fire and forget' media. Active monitoring and follow up is required to ensure that the desired message is created and if necessary additional content and comments added to the interaction to keep the messaging on track.

A good way to think of this is to imagine all the material that exists on the internet about yourself. 'Google' yourself and see what you find. If you find material that you don't like you typically cannot delete it (unless it is on your own website!) The best defence is active offence - by publishing new 'desirable' media that is more current than the old material. Most searches operate, in practice, on a last-in-first-out basis - with the most recent and popular material tending to filter to the top. Few people scroll past the first few pages of search returns to view older and less popular material. The solution to 'bad' material on the internet is to keep publishing new 'good' material about yourself until the old material is so far down the search response that in practice most people will never find it.

Write good over bad. Respond to critical or negative comments with positive, constructive and authentic responses. This is an interactive media, and success now requires that we all develop the skills to create and shape our own and our company's brand perception in social networking dialogues. This is done by winning the respect of your audience - not by challenging your critics to battle in the courts.

- Dr Steve Hodgkinson is the director of Ovum's government practice in Australia and New Zealand.

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