Nov
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The Adoption Problem
An E2.0 application only works if enough people use it. To me, this is the single biggest reason that abrupt rollouts or “adding microblogging as a feature” to existing software seem doomed to fail.
When people organically find a microblogging platform to be powerful for them, perhaps as it opens significant opportunities in their lives, it is hard to assess the precise hows and whys of how they got there. They no longer care, for having experienced the benefit, their buy-in is strong enough for them to persist. Others looking at their case will struggle to understand it and find universally applicable lessons.
But it takes time, luck, critical mass and enough of a network for the reaction to get started.
So if microsharing is introduced all at once, or stapled on as a haphazard feature to existing platforms with various rates of adoption and user buy-in, can the same powerful network effects be created?
I’m skeptical.
Adoption Solutions
1. Convey compelling, appealing use cases
2. Discover and seed the natural talents
3. Encourage “softer” functions to habituate employees to the tool
4. Recognize and encourage those making creative use.
Specific advantages and their inherent “use cases” are exploding. In an enterprise build of microsharing, it seems better to scale this down to a handful of really compelling, really salient use cases. Be direct and persuasive with the adoption pool about what they can do with it and why they might want to, but also do a good enough job expressing some clear, actionable, useful habit that will become possible. There needs to be a “slide” on the otherwise strange-looking playscape to get kids started playing.
Once a critical mass of people engage, network effects mean that the benefits grow stronger and stronger and become more obvious. Word-of-mouth adoption and uptake spreads. “Pied Piper” types — who draw others in closer by their creative and compelling uses of the platform should also be discovered within the organization.
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Well put, Laura. We found what you said to be the case in practice with our team. For example, the use of OraTweet, as was previously talked about on your blog, was rolled out to address a specific, scaled-down scenario. This scenario was well described by a frontline leader, so the team understood the point. There was also a “slide” to help people just get started without expending too much effort. Adoption gradually picked up steam as more people saw the benefits and then we saw the “network effect” kick in.
I agree, adoption is a major issue if it comes to the use of microsharing applications in a company. Also, I think, in the context of a general Twitter enthusiasm the adoption issue has not received any attention at all. Or does anybody know about a study on that matter?
There are segments where micro-message platforms are a no brainer: front-line service situations (as Mark points out), call centers, geographically diverse project teams, that sort of thing. Although it counts as “low hanging fruit,” you still need to be strategic about the implementation. It’s far more likely, as you suggest, that the specific implementation will grow into an organization-wide engagement with the platform.
My own personal bugaboo is law firms and their widespread inability to manage data or communication mediums effectively. In that context I believe (but am not certain) that a micro-format could gain significant traction if it was attached to existing file- or time-management packages. But all of those are so awful already that Yet Another Stupid Feature is hardly adding value…
One idea I’ve kicked around is the notion that every project might consider is:
While your project should live, flourish and grow based on the network effect, it should not die from it. By hook or crook, make sure that the very first person using your application finds value in it, even if their network is non-existent.
To add to Mark’s comments about the adoption of Oratweet. Aside from the early tech adopters who helped us just get the whole thing going, a very important phase was the early adoption by the Web 2.0/bloggers. They already knew the benefits and were anxious to use it. Their cheerleading, support and (perhaps most important) stream of dialogue made OraTweet more easily understood as we brought our target teams in.
One word of advice: the medium will cater to the needs of the users. Do not place too many expectations on what ways it is used or how the conversations should appear. As long as it IS used for the betterment of the org, pay no mind to whether it looks like what you think MicroBlogging should look like.
My thought is people who are natural cheerleaders for microblogging will have started their efforts outside of the organization in an environment that supports those efforts. When that same level of support fails to materialize within the organization, those enthusiasts will be difficult to lure back to an internal effort.
Also, organization’s instinct to protect their information and regulate their conversations goes against the ethos of most social media & offends the people who use these tools successfully outside of the organization. I haven’t seen a successful enterprise implementation — most of the discussions start around how to control access and information. They kill the children in the cradle.
Ultimately, I think organizations won’t be able to adapt to the culture of openness and transparency that microblogging & other social media requires. Ultimately, they will either abandon internal social media efforts (on an enterprise scale) or participate in thriving social networks outside of their direct control on the web, choosing to influence rather than manage micro-conversations.
My two cents.