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The changing world of “Social”

Social media has been changing the destiny of nations in the last decades, eradicating entire countries’ political systems, and creating the momentum for drastic changes in entire regions. A photo or video going viral can affect people’s perception of events, such as some photos that have ignited outrage over the deaths of thousands of desperate refugees and prompting hitherto blindsided countries to aid in what had proven to be one of the largest humanitarian crises of this century. Such stories of fundamental worldwide mobilization are a crystal clear revelation of the power of social media channels and their impact on changing the status quo.

Social media and enterprise social networks:
identical or fraternal twins?

Figures on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are on an exponential rise, illustrating social media’s high penetration rate as it increasingly becomes part and parcel of people’s daily lives. But what is it that makes these platforms so successful and what are people seeking from such daily engagement? Is it the technology itself or the networking and relationship-building part? The knowledge-sharing one? Or is it the fear of missing out?

And do these same needs apply when it comes to having people use internal social media networks, referred to as Enterprise Social Networks (ESN), at the workplace? How long will it take ESN to potentially outshine their “public” twin and meet their objectives of fostering collaboration, communication and knowledgesharing among employees? Are external social media platforms and enterprise social networks identical, or fraternal, twins?