The Information Stream

25. May, 2009 1 Comment

by Caroline Herndon, Staff Writer

What is “the stream”?

Depending on who you talk to, it’s the bane of business or a godsend. It’s the shift from article-writing to instant commentary, from teaching to “sharing” information via Twitter or Facebook. It’s a way of seeing information: as an ever-changing web as opposed to a simple paper trail.

It works like this. Your aunt Susan emails you a link to Liz Pulliam Weston’s financial advice on MSN Money. There, you watch a video on emergency funds. You add it to a live feed, where your co-worker hits the link and reads about credit counselors on scam alerts. He adds a link to his Facebook page, where 150 “friends” see and chase the link.

Let’s be honest: people with real jobs simply don’t have the time or patience to “jump into the stream” of social media, follow every hyperlink, or keep up with all the “real time” commentary on blogs and company websites.

But can they use it? Can you?

Take AT&T. Their Twitter updates are mostly answers to customer questions. This simple format does two jobs at once: it satisfies customer questions in real time, and it’s great PR.

Don’t fall into the trap of all or nothing. Share your successes, network, and find creative ways to do business using the stream – just don’t get swept away.

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One Response to “The Information Stream”

  1. Tricia 09. Aug, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    I’ve found when talking to business leaders/decision makers/owners that it is overwhelming to tell them about the opportunities that exist within social media applications. That’s why I like this Stream article from TechCrunch so much (see Jump Into the Stream link above).

    Instead of thinking about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc like an inbox that has to be cleared out, these social networking tools are meant to be used at your point of need: to find a friend, to find what your competitors, suppliers or customers are doing, to post a job and get industry focused news.

    Now, certainly if the goal is to use social media as a marketing tool, it will be important to build the maintenance of your presence into the actual workflow of your existing business structure. And it may be worth considering your social media forays as a customer service mechanism first, rather than a PR outlet. Your customers are in the stream, wanting to know about things, wanting fast efficient ways to find an answer to a problem or to share a success with each other. Meet them there.