Yesterday and today, we shared news of the realignment of one of BJC's marketing and communications functions. I realized as I was running to ensure that as many people as possible heard the news face to face, just how difficult that is now with ease of information sharing. One of the long-held tenents of corporate and employee communications has been to try to ensure that employees heard important news directly from the company/organization before seeing or hearing it on the news. Given online reporting, that is almost an impossible tenent to achieve. Newsfeeds, tweets, blogs, facebook postings, newspaper websites, microsites and the like give instantaneous access to information. I have had to get used to the fact that when speaking at conferences, what is said is likely to be paraphrased, tweeted and posted in a matter of nano-seconds. Tongue in cheek comments that are obviously humorous when delivered in person can take on a twisted meaning when read out of context.
So, last night I fretted a bit that some of the messages I shared in person with the marketing & communications team members, might not translate as well in tweet-dom. I am very excited about the change and looking forward to working more closely with the team. But, as I have shared before, change is always a bit disconcerting, so I would be less than honest if I did not 'fess up to some nervousness. I would also be less than human.
But, back to technology. Last week, we were fortunate to have guest speakers at our monthly Management Council meeting. They were invited to help us think strategically about mobile apps and applying them in health care. While I was at first thinking a bit too narrowly with a marketing hat on, I quickly realized that the technology could have perhaps even more value-added benefits outside of marketing. Of course, this was after I confused a mobile website with a mobile application -- so much to learn. Like many, I am excited about the tools that can help us all be better communicators. And, like many, I want to make sure we are thinking through the "whys" as well as the "hows" as we take advantage of these tools. Just as I was literally running yesterday to make sure that I stayed ahead of potential tweets, I know that staying on top of technology that will help us do a better job will require more skill than just running in heels.
J
