[NOTE--This is the next chunk of the analysis portion of the SAP Global Report on Culture, Business and Technology. It continues with the analysis of critical areas. If you missed early portions of this report, based on 48 interviews with people in 25 countries, please check these out: PPart 1, Overview; Part 2, 7 Key Findings; Part 3 Findings by World Region. and Part 4 Business Analysis.]
Communications & Culture
I define social media as any online space where people can have conversations via text, video, photos or audio. Although, VOIP, email and forums are somewhat conversational, they were not included in my investigation. While others define the term differently, the important point is to understand that social media may be used by marketing departments, it is not merely a tool of marketing. I am among those who would argue that it is in fact a great disruption to the way marketing has been traditionally practiced for the past 5-6 decades.
I see social media as a communications toolset. As such, its use in the enterprise is much broader. I have called social media a revolution. It is important that this not a marketing revolution, but a conversational revolution. The revolution moves the corporation from one-way monologue to two-way dialog. Now, a corporation can listen and respond to what people who matter have to say and the implications to efficiency are quite vast.
Social Media allows news, information and rumors to travel from peer-to-peer-to-peer at amazing speed. If something inaccurate or malicious is said about a company or person, it can be responded to immediately. One person with a smart phone on a street corner, in a London Tube, or a plummeting plane can be heard or watched worldwide in minutes after an occurrence. And anyone who cares can respond.
A company can no longer effectively manage and control relevant conversations regarding its business, products or services. Its traditional use of “communications channels” via traditional analysts and media is eroded and in some cases, has hit a point of near disintegration.
Demand-side revolution
Social media is creating a revolution in demand as well as supply” as industry guru Doc Searls said in his Survey interview. This may be the underpinning of a fundamental shift of control from large, centralized organizations out to communities of customers, prospects, partners and affiliates. Social media is driving a decentralization of power that has fundamental implications.
In fact, one of the phenomena that needs to be examined is the issue of decision-making powers. Evidence is overwhelming that power is moving from the center of the enterprise to the edge where an increasing number of decisions are being made. Social media is said to be a cult of generosity and the evidence would argue that the most influential people in social media are indeed the most generous. In short, generosity is good for business, and in fact, can be used as a competitive edge.
Culture & Language
My research shows more than a little ambiguity regarding language and culture. There is some evidence that language is emerging as the language of Internet commerce and there are obvious benefits to the world speaking just one language. While we may be closer today than at any point in this post-Babel Era, we are not significantly closer.
Most of China’s 1.3 billion people would disagree with any claims for English dominance, if they could read these words. While many Japanese business people read English; they are uncomfortable writing in it. In Poland, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia and a great many other countries, English is taught to children and elite members of the business community speak English.
But regional markets speak local languages and this is unlikely to change for a very long time. A business wishing to use social media to conduct conversations in these markets needs to participate in local language conversations as well as those conducted in English.
Social Networks
While three of the world’s largest social networks, MySpace, Facebook and Bebo are mostly English speaking, Orkut and Hi5 seem to be strong because of their adaptability to multiple languages. Add to that, popular localized social networks in a great many countries, it is clear that a majority of social network users prefer local languages.
The wisest course for a multinational company of any size is to develop and maintain a two-pronged approach.
Culture shapes more than just the language. It also shapes who uses social networks and how they use them. Canadians and the British, for example, have embraced Facebook, but they use it differently than many Americans. While the Americans often use social networks to make new acquaintances, the British and Canadians tend to use it to just speak with people they already know in the tangible world. This behavior is reinforced by the fact that neither the British, nor the Canadians, or the Germans for that matter, blog in great numbers, perhaps because blogging can be viewed by strangers as well as friends.
Citizen Journalism
In cultures where society is emerging from monolithic governments, such as Russia, China, the former Soviet satellites and Singapore, citizen journalism is on a rapid rise. In societies where a free press is entrenched it is emerging more slowly. Companies choosing to conduct business in these emerging countries should consider citizen journalism as part of their communications strategy that will increase in time.
German culture
Of the developed nations, Germany appears to be the slowest to embrace social media. While some say German business cultures stress privacy, there is greater evidence that German business is more concerned with ROI. Like England, Canada, and for that matter Estonia, young Germans eschew blogs but embrace social networking.
[Next: Respondent perceptions of SAP.]
