Social Media for Trainers
By: Jane Bozarth
Published Date: September 7, 2010
The book that I read talks about the growth of Web 2.0 technologies and how it has made social media and social networking grow at an alarming rate. The author concentrates a lot on how Web 2.0 technologies can help trainers in the workplace. The author feels that the training department needs to use social media tools in order to remain viable and credible and to enhance the development of the employees. It opens up by comparing Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and how a person 10 years ago that wanted to create a simple web page with pictures, links, and video needed to have some experience with programming and graphics. Nowadays if you have basic computer skills you can setup any type of social networking account and add pictures, videos and links with a few clicks of the mouse.
One of the most popular is facebook which has two hundred million people that check in daily. One of the main reasons that it’s so popular is that is so user-friendly. The author thinks since so many people check facebook that it can be an advantage for trainers. They can put instructional materials and have employees access it from work or home. The disadvantages that this can bring are the many games it offers and the constant amount of content that is thrown at us every day.
Twitter is a tool for sharing quick ideas, links and articles. This is a communication tool that can help trainers by getting their information quick and to the point. The author compares it to a virtual water cooler. Since it has a 140- character limit that teaches people to be concise and get to the point. These are some of the advantages. Now for the disadvantages, some people get very frustrated with the character limit of 140. But Twitter accommodates people with the need of speed. Get to the point and make it quick.
Blogs are free, easy to create and update. The tools are easy to use for adding pictures, videos and links. Many blog sites offer options for audio and video posting. This is a great way to hold meetings and conferences with employees. Blogs can be password protected and viewable only to those to whom the instructor gives access. The many setting that it has can be used to notify the instructor whenever a comment is made to the blog. Now for the people that are not good writer’s blogs can be very challenging. The comments are usually longer than facebook and twitter.
Wikis are very easy to learn and anyone that has access to them can edit them. Wikis are a good tool for workers that work out of the office or even if they work out of the country. Its password protected and the owner can approve users and set access levels. The great thing about Wikis is that anyone can edit it but that can also be a disadvantage for some. It can become disorganized very quickly. Some people also have a hard time editing someone else’s work. But the instructor usually is responsible for creating the final product.
The author feels that many of the tools are not being used in business to their maximum. Social media allows a better connect with employees and making better used or the time and sometimes makes it easier to present the information. I was not a social networking person until I took this course and read the book I have found facebook to by my favorite because you can connect with people all over the world. You can search by your home town and even by your college or high school. I have found myself viewing and reading more blogs. The author really describes the Web 2.0 applications very well. Gives you a very good understanding of each one and gives you the advantages and disadvantages it has. The only weak points I have is that the author really pushes for social media and social network in the work place. I believe we are heading towards that but we still have lots of people that do not have basic computer skills. I work in customer service and I have people that have trouble creating a username and password. But the newer generation will definitely be ready for all the social outlets we have because we are surrounded by them. We have computers, tablets, smart phones and we even have them in our vehicles. Overall the book is very well written and gives many examples of the Web 2.0 applications and its uses.
