Social Networking tools are everywhere.  Whenever I see someone on their phone, they are: 1) talking  2) emailing  3) “facebooking” 4) tweeting or  5) all of the above at once.   We seem to find more and more ways to communicate with each other, although sometimes I wonder how much we really have to say that is truly “interesting” .   Our desire to communicate appears to be insatiable…and that fascinates me.

I have been on facebook for while now, but mostly to reconnect with old friends and lost family.  Twitter on the hand, was relatively foreign to me.  Tweets?   What is that?   Thankfully though, a colleague of mine pushed me to start looking at Twitter.   Not only for the social connections but also for the educational aspect (I will get back to this one) and the ability to talk about, I mean tweet about, my organization and how we can help others.

I have to say, I was reluctant at first.  Talk about information overload.   However, once you learn to cull and search and follow your own interests, an amazing world starts to open up.   I mentioned Twitter and education.  I am amazed at how twitter has enhanced my knowledge, especially around areas of personal interest.   Twitter in some ways (for me at least) is like a living encyclopedia that is grows each day.  Granted, there is some junk out there, but being able to tweet with people around the world about common interests and get their perspective on topics and current trends is simply amazing.

The more I learned about twitter and social networking, the more I was on the fence about “promoting” our business via social channels.  Part of me felt as if the social networking world was meant for you and me and not business.  After all, I really don’t want to login to twitter and see Pepsi ads.   My business half realized the opportunity social media offered, but I wanted to strike a balance.  I have always promoted my company as being real people helping others succeed, not some corporate monster trying to take over the world.  So, I decided that any discussions about my organization via social media would have to meet that same standard. No brash used-car sales promotions or ALL CAPS TWEETS!   Its important to me that we connect with people and if that leads to business great, but making friends can be even more rewarding.

As we continue diving deeper and deeper into the Twitter pool, I hope to post new aritcles updating everyone on our experiences and what we have learned along the way.

Launching any kind of technology project is not an easy task. It’s a lot like building a house. Your clients are the eager home buyers who above all else want the house delivered as they envision it. You’re the home developer balancing the demands of your clients against the pace of your work crews and the limitations of the housing association.

No project is perfect. Trade-offs have to be made. Unplanned issues begin to seep in. Communication breaks down. It’s easy to lose sight of the common goal of building a great house. But that’s why it’s essential to have a solid project process in place on every project. The project process is the best way to keep everyone connected and collaborating.

After the house is standing and the clients have moved in, then it’s time to hone your process with the lessons learned on the project. Your future projects can benefit from the things that worked and avoid the pitfalls in the things that didn’t work.

At Bayside we put a lot of thought and practice into our process. We’ll try to use this blog as an outlet for our own ongoing learning process. Hopefully we can start some interesting conversations along the way.