Twitter, the micro-blogging service that sounds stupid until you use it, is hitting the mainstream, with all sorts of celebrities and politicians piling on. (See also my big Twitter at Work post.)

The celebrities are amusing but benign. The politicians are more interesting, but already their twittering is causing controversy. They’re being accused of not paying attention.

The Globe & Mail reports:

Edmonton — Alberta’s Speaker of the House Ken Kowalski issued a stern warning to provincial politicians yesterday to stop using their BlackBerrys during Question Period.

“There’s something going on in virtual wonderland called Twitter-ing. And it seems that even as the Question Period goes on, some honourable members have been accessing their BlackBerrys to put some messages in the virtual world before the question is even answered by another person,” he said.

Some notes on this.

• Question Period, for those who aren’t lucky enough to live in a Parliamentary democracy, is the time when politicians are allowed to yell at each other (including the Prime Minister) with tremendous vigor.
• “Virtual wonderland?” Is that connected to the series of tubes?
• How many decades will we have to wait before the majority of our elected leaders across the globe actually understand the most important innovation since the internal combustion engine?

Regardless, there’s some wisdom in the Speaker of the House’s words, at least as it pertains to Question Period — it’s good practice to at least wait until you get an answer before you start flinging crap into the virtual wonderland.

The article continues:

It’s not the first time he’s made the request in an attempt to restore decorum. Mr. Kowalski recently sent letters to MLAs asking them to refrain from using any electronic devices, including laptop computers, in the legislature.

This is where I start getting more annoyed. There’s something inherently backwards about this sort of “no technology” policy¹ that starts to push my Generation Y buttons. Why the anti-technology bias?

A Quick Story

A couple of years ago, I was sitting in an all-day workshop held in an auditorium with theatre-style seating. The content was actually really good. I was into it.

Midway through the afternoon, I was joined by someone who was kind of my boss. I didn’t directly report to him, but he certainly could have gotten me fired if he wanted to. That kind of boss.

We sat for a while and listened to a keynote. Part-way through, I realized I had no idea what time it was. I don’t wear a watch, so I pulled out my cellphone from my pocket to check. My pseudo-boss looked at me with a gigantic look of disapproval, tapped the phone, and literally wagged a finger.

I had a similar experience this past year at another conference, when I brought out my iPhone, opened the “Notes” application, and typed a couple of points I wanted to remember. The lady next to me looked at me like I had just wronged her personally.

That’s the anti-technology bias in a nutshell. It’s the belief that this device in your hand means you’re not paying attention. That you’re being disrespectful. That you’re just a big insensitive jerk.

Why We Twitter

The notion that people in the audience using twitter (or blogging) during presentations is quickly shot down by the amazing benefits that liveblogging or an active ‘backchannel’ brings to conferences, workshops and other events. These kinds of communications bring the content and messages of a small, in-person event to a much larger audience online. Everyone benefits.

Web people, marketers, anyone at Unconference or ‘camp’ suffixed events already understand this: an audience twittering or typing away as you talk is generally a good thing. It means you’re saying something that people want to share. Hopefully it’s something smart.

The anti-tech bias is motivated by two forces. The first is the belief that technology is inherently distracting and there is no way for people to overcome that. The second is the really weird belief that this is one instance where multitasking is impossible. Neither of these things are true.

The benefits to increased real-time communication through twitter and other web-based means are innumerable. There are THOUSANDS of them for business and for government alone. We should not sacrifice these in favour of some outdated notion of proper manners.

Caveat

I have some misgivings about writing all of this, if only because I’ve been annoyed by people using their Blackberries under tables at conferences, checking their email every two minutes. There’s often a look about them that seems disengaged. Despite all I’ve said, I still find that rude.

There is a balance, I believe, that must be struck. We owe it to ourselves to be responsible users of technology, and that includes using common sense. Twittering “In a great presentation on Google Adwords – what’s your ideal CPM?” is great. Composing an email to your mom about the new car you bought is bad.

The biggest worry, I suppose, is that the technology is almost invisible. When someone takes notes, at least you can sort of see that they’re writing. A computer or especially a smart phone gives a kind of anonymity to your activities. There’s no real visual evidence that you’re not just screwing around.

But I really think that’s something we’re just going to have to get past. The anti-tech bias must die.

Photo by Julian Bleecker. Licensed under Creative Commons

1. or attempted policy, to be fair [↩]

One of the things I missed during my month of sickness was the publication of a series of five articles from IT World Canada about a new report called Freedom to Compute: The Empowerment of Generation Y. The articles’ author, Shane Schick, interviewed me via phone for portions of the articles, and I think he did a bang-up job of putting everything together.¹ They’re well-worth reading:

• Why Gen Y workers bypass IT usage policies
• How Gen Y workers turn CIOs into IT watchdogs
• Gen Y workers: We know all about this IT stuff
• CIOs: Learn the wireless workaholic ways of Gen Y
• One in five choose relaxed IT policies over money

Shane also followed up with a really good blog post about the series. He asks:

Much in the way we try to encourage bookworms to take up sports, and get the jocks singing and dancing in high school musicals, wouldn’t employers prefer a Gen Y that was a little more well-rounded in their approach to work and IT? There could be young employees who tap into social networking services, but who also keep a log of what they’re doing for potential audit purposes. There are those who use mobile computing devices, but who also demonstrate leadership in backing up data and ensuring antivirus software is updated. Imagine a Gen Yer who not only thinks they’re computer-proficient but can identify areas about technology they still need to develop.

To which I responded:

I really like your last point, and I think it’s an important one. Am I, as a 25-year-old guy in the business world, fully developed? As much as it’s tempting to throw to the ego and say ‘Hell yeah; I’m the best at everything there is!’ I’ve been smacked down enough times in my three years on the job that I know that I still have a lot of things left to learn and a lot of skills to acquire.

It’s a bit of a cop-out answer: but the solution here really is a matter of balance. Gen Y will try to convince managers to throw out all their policies and just go with the groove. The other side will just tell Gen Y to shut-up and be thankful they even HAVE a job. There’s a ton of value in the middle: in questioning long-standing probably nonsensical policies, in exploring new technologies and ways of working (’going with the groove’), and, then, synthesizing all of that into something that can work, and make money, and be tracked, and shared vertically.

I’m biased, sure. And I have a strong voice. But I think strong, sensible voices in organizations are always valuable, even when they’re wrong. Or thought wrong.

Lots of interesting stuff here — and much of it very positive. There wasn’t even any real, solid examples of someone saying “Let’s ban all fun websites from work!!! For productivity!!” Granted, I think that might be because IT companies are a few steps ahead of other sectors when it comes to understanding these kinds of things, but it’s good to know that the leaders in the race are running in the right direction.

1. He even spelled my last name in a couple of totally awesome ways — it has too many l’s and t’s as it is. [↩]

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about twitter because, well… that’s what twitter users inevitably end up doing. Twitter is almost infuriatingly great. Infuriating because it doesn’t make sense to anybody when they first discover it. Great because, once you take the leap and start using twitter, it fits into your life so damn well.

Trying to explain what twitter is to a non-techie person is damn near impossible. You end up sounding stupid: “It’s like a weird hybrid Blog/IM/Facebook/Chat program with an arbitrary character limit for every post. You should try it!” They probably won’t. But the thing about twitter is that, once you do start using it, it’s remarkably easy to become utterly obsessed with it.

It happens organically. You sign up for an account. Start following some people. Maybe it’s only something you check a couple of times a day. But, soon enough, it takes hold. And you can’t get away.

I think Tim Bray pretty well nailed twitter earlier this year, when he wrote this:

I think that with Twitter, something important is happening. But I’m having trouble figuring out what.

So here’s twitter: a web application that doesn’t sound very appealing, but whose users are often obsessive about it. An internet milestone that no one can really define.

Does it have a legitimate business use?

This is the question that I’ve been turning around in my head. There are a few places where twitter has already had a sizable impact at the business world. In tech and design circles, it’s become an inseparable part of the conference/trade show experience. Having a dedicated backchannel is incredibly useful, and makes networking a snap.

Further, I’ve seen some stories of people using twitter as a successful marketing tool. (Here’s a good rundown of one example.) It’s a way to directly interact with potential consumers, and join the conversation. If twitter does nothing else, that’s valuable in itself.

Still, though, I can’t help but feel like twitter is still mostly untapped potential for business users. In terms of marketing, communication, promotion and brand, twitter offers something that no other social networking app has been able to before.

Twitter versus Facebook

Brief digression time: A lot of markets are focused on Facebook right now. And Facebook is a huge resource, especially considering its market penetration. But I’d argue that twitter is far more potential-laden. The differences between twitter and facebook are pronounced, especially when it comes to features. (Facebook has a lot of features; twitter has none). But the important differences may seem minor: Facebook is a closed system, twitter is open. Facebook is still very passive (You don’t need to contribute a lot to enjoy it), twitter is active, and requires you to be outspoken. Facebook users are generally either netural or wary of the service, twitter users are passionate.

Small differences, but incredibly important.

What to do with twitter in your business today

If I could tell you exactly how to use twitter as a business tool right now, I’d be in an incredible position. I could make tons of money if I had those answers. But I don’t, unfortunately. The exciting thing about twitter is that it’s all still kind of uncharted territory for business.

I can tell you what NOT to do, though, if you want to experiment with twitter. First, DON’T create an account that is just a feed for your blog. (The only case where it’s okay to do this is if you’re very clear that this is all your twitter feed is. You probably need to have an enormously popular blog to do this.) DON’T go out and follow 1,000 top users you don’t have an interest in, then get mad when they don’t follow you in return. DON’T send messages from the guise of some disembodied ‘company’ — be a real person. And, finally, DON’T expect success overnight.

The last one is key. The thing about twitter is that it’s virtually no risk. It costs nothing to join. It’s very easy to use with no learning curve. And, unlike a blog, you really can’t spend a whole day working on a post. Just dive in. And have fun.

Photo by Carrot Creative. Licensed Under Creative Commons.

Playing with a new design for the site. Be patient as I put up all the new wallpaper.

In the meantime, check out this little article from ZDnet: Businesses Struggle to Serve Gen Y.

It’s a standard article on Generation Y and businesses’ total inability to rationalize how things are changing and what they need to do to meet those changes:

Although 75 percent of respondents said the Gen Yers will impact their organization as consumers in the next three years, 54 percent have yet to establish business or marketing strategies for this generation, despite wide recognition that such steps are needed.

That’s not surprising data, though I do love uncovering stats like this, especially in the face of those who still have trouble admitting anything is changing with Generation Y coming into maturity. The flip side of that, of course, is the crushingly depressing reality that, despite struggling with generational differences, no one has any idea what they are going to do about it.

Read more »

ITWorldCanada.com has the scoop on a survey of 27,000 Canadian university students, the results of which are pretty interesting:

The study found that two of the top five places to work were tech companies: Google and Apple. According to DECODE partner Eric Meerkamper, “The brands that were chosen are considered to be authentic and innovate; part of some new and important values emerging in the workplace. All of these organizations are places that resonate as being stable and secure. This is an important variable considering the substantial debt load many students will carry upon graduation given rising tuition costs.”

You could essentially distill this down to “people want to work somewhere cool.” And a lot of what’s cool is admittedly perception more than it is reality. Is that fair? Not particularly. But I’d argue that’s almost unavoidable. Think about this question, and answer honestly — would you rather work at Exxon Mobil or Google? Deloitte or Apple? Ernst & Young or Nintendo?

People tend to gravitate towards the younger, hipper companies, even if there’s really not a huge difference in individual experience at the entry-level. And what makes these companies seem “young” and “hip” are actually small things, which don’t have to impact your bottom line. In fact, employers can make their businesses instantly more Y-friendly through just a few small changes to their corporate culture.

Here’s five to get you started:

Read more »