The Other One Percenters

The entire '99% vs. the 1%' is now a well established concept (thanks to the 'Occupy' movement), or method of describing in very broad terms the income, (and some might say opportunity), disparity that exists in the US economy. When you hear these terms, you immediately understand the concepts, take your own position on the merits of each point of view, and sometimes self-identify with one group or the other.Let's hug it out

But recently I read an interesting piece on the AdAge Digital site about a different kind of 1%, (that was an awkward transition, admittedly), specifically the 1% of a company or a brand's social media fans that seem to actively engage with said company or brand. The article, titled 'Study: Only 1% of Facebook 'Fans' Engage With Brands', recounts a recent piece of research conducted by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute that claims to show that only about 1% of the self-identified 'fans' of a brand on Facebook, (certainly not the only social platform, but indeed the largest), actually 'engage' with the brand by commenting, tagging, sharing, etc. actively with the brand and the content.  The vast, vast majority, the other 99%, simply identify as fans, get exposed to some of the brands' content, and continue on with whatever else they were doing.

While seemingly offering a really low return on investment to marketers, at least according to the study's authors it doesn't paint a totally bleak picture. From the AdAge piece:

"I don't think it's a bad thing," said Karen Nelson-Field, senior research associate for Ehrenberg-Bass Institute who describes herself as a "Facebook advocate." "People need to understand what it can do for a brand and what it can't do. Facebook doesn't really differ from mass media. It's great to get decent reach, but to change the way people interact with a brand overnight is just unrealistic." 

In this understanding of the marketing and media worlds, social is just another media channel useful for its reach rather than any notion of engagement.

While this article and the study it refers to are in a strict sense focusing on consumer brand engagement, I think they offer some food for thought for the Human Resources and Recruiting professionals who are increasingly looking to social platforms like Facebook and Twitter to create interest, conversation, and dare I use the word again, engagement for their own purposes. The main point, that an engagement level of 1% might be the baseline is instructive as HR pros create their forecasts and plans. 

But the second point the AdAge piece brings up is even more thought provoking -  namely whether or not social platforms like Facebook are truly brand engagement platforms, or just another marketing and messaging channel like newspaper ads, company web sites, or large job boards.  I know we like to think that with social all or at least many of the traditional rules no longer apply, but this study (and others), suggest that maybe the change is not happening so fast.

What do you think? Does the 1% number hold up in your experience? And does it even matter?

Company Town

I've lived in the greater Rochester, NY area for over a decade, and while not my 'real' hometown, this mid-sized Western New York city has certainly has become my adopted hometown. And like many similarly sized and geographically situated cities, in the last 20 years or so Rochester has seen a kind of sea-change in its industrial base, demographic makeup, and general perception of itself, as well as the perceptions of outside observers. Rochester's situation and story in some ways is also being told and played out in places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, and others.  The story is as familiar as it is depressing - the exodus or demise of traditional manufacturing firms, taking with them many thousands of decent-paying middle class jobs; a similar exodus of recent graduates from Rochester's numerous and excellent colleges as young people flock to the excitement of New York City and Chicago, or the opportunity and sunshine of California; and the general malaise that seems to overtake a Great Lakes city when the sun sets for the last time in October and doesn't seem to rise again until April.Vintage Kodak Ad - 1920s

For over a hundred years Rochester has been known as the birthplace and hometown of Eastman Kodak, the legendary company founded in 1881, (not a typo, I promise),  by George Eastman, and for most of its history, the global leader in imaging, cameras, and film processing. Kodak, itself an invented word, invented the concept of amateur or everyman photography. By developing and manufacturing cheap, mass-market cameras and film, Kodak made it possible and popular, for just about everyone to capture, chronicle, and pass on memories of people, places, events.  As long ago as 1888, Kodak's slogan, 'You press the button, we do the rest', spoke to several succeeding generations of Americans who captured their own personal 'Kodak moments', as the snapshot became ingrained in the culture.

As time passed, Kodak continued to innovate and grow, eventually reaching almost every household in the country and employing at its apex about 145,000 employees, reaching about 90% in market share for film and cameras, and having revenues of $16 billion. But as is often the case with corporate giants that possess near-monopoly power and profits, a series of managerial mis-steps, failure to quickly assess and prepare for the rapid changes in the market and consumer preferences for new digital technologies, and the decision to protect the still very profitable if shrinking film business have all conspired to lead to what is now a precarious, teetering on bankruptcy situation for the once mighty Rochester icon.

I won't even attempt to delve into the specifics of Kodak's key failures of the last few decades, for this excellent piece from the Economist covers the saga in depth and better than I could. Rather I'd like to speculate on what, if anything, the idea of the 'Company Town' means in 2012. For over 100 years Kodak, (and really George Eastman himself), dominated the local economy, influenced community affairs, and by virtue of the incredibly high proportion of direct and indirect employment supported by Kodak, the day-to-day well being of the entire region. For a long, long time Kodak was Rochester and vice versa. Sure over time several other major corporations rose, (and have also fallen), in this city, but none ever rose so high and were so much a part of the essence of the community as Kodak. Everyone here has a friend or relative that at some point worked at Kodak.

Kodak's long and slow decline - with it shedding workers, closing facilities, spinning off divisions; has taken the element of surprise from its demise, but it has not made it any easier to accept. The likely end of Kodak as we have always known it, an American corporate legend, and in many ways the foundation of this community, will take with it more than the last few surviving employees and some landmark pieces of our downtown skyline. It will take a part of the city's soul with it as well. 

No, Kodak's end is about much more than money or jobs or fodder for eventual business school case studies. It's mostly about a legacy and a memory of a different age, when organizations, their leaders, and their cities were much more intertwined and inextricable from one another. Kodak-Rochester, Rochester-Kodak; when you live here, you can't imagine one without the other.

But soon it seems like we will have to. Rochester, certainly, will carry on. There are already positive signs that Rochester will be just fine in the long run. And perhaps something of Kodak will survive after all. But either way the city of Rochester, and America, will have 130 years of memories.

Almost all of them taken by Kodak cameras, captured on Kodak film, and printed on Kodak paper.

Smarter than you

Yesterday Shauna Moerke, the HR Minion, posted a thought provoking and really interesting piece about the nature of the online HR community, and examined whether or not this community (like pretty much every community from middle school, to sports teams, to the workplace) possesses its own share of cliques or sub-communities.

It is an excellent post, and if you are at all interested in taking a closer look at this (still tiny) micro-community of Human Resources folks that travel, circle, and populate this space it is very illuminating. The many comments as well shed some light on what some of the most active and well-regarded folks in the space feel about the discussion.

The inspiration for the piece seems to be the idea that some people, especially people new to the world of blogging, tweeting, attending the seemingly limitless conferences that are in turn live-blogged and live-tweeted, can find the notion of getting involved, in participating, in contributing very intimidating.

And I guess in some ways it is.

To some of the many HR professionals just getting their feet wet in this whole online blogging/social media world it can be kind of disarming.  And I think there will be many, many more great HR pros getting involved.  Look at pretty much every HR conference from SHRM National, to state SHRM councils, to HR Technology - all of them are bringing in 'HR/social media' types to help educate and spread the message. Dive in, participate, engage, etc. - that is the gist of the message being carried far and wide.

For someone new to the space it can be easy to look at 'Blogger XYZ' and see that they have years worth of posts racked up, scores of comments, hundreds of Facebook fans and thousands of Twitter followers, and feel a bit intimidated, and even uncertain about their own ability to make an impact.

But to let fear or uncertainty, or shyness hold anyone back from diving in, adding their unique and personal perspective, and contributing to the community (such as it is), is exactly the worst possible outcome of all.  We can't have a growing, vibrant, interesting, and valuable community without a constant influx of new voices and ideas.

To anyone, seasoned pros, recent grads, or students - you know who is smarter than you?  No one.

And everyone.  

Everyone has something to offer and it would be sad to think that anyone, be design or by accident holds you back from joining in.