Social Media Adoption and Deconstructing the Scare House on Santa Cruz Boardwalk with Nina Simon

On the way to taking my kids to the Montery Bay Aquarium a few weekends ago, we stopped in Santa Cruz to have some fun on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.   My colleague, Nina Simon, who writes the Museum2.0 Blog and is a Santa Cruz local, joined us.

We know that social media inspires fear.  What's out there in the darkness that might catch us off guard?   The way to get past fear of uncertainty is to deconstruct it.  So, what better metaphor for this is to deconstruct the scare house by riding it with an expert in participatory exhibit design?

The first part of the video is the actual ride through the scare house which lasted all of two minutes.  After we finished, I interviewed Nina about what was and what was not scary.  

So, why not take that same approach to deconstructing social media concerns?

But don't take my word for it.  I recently came across an article by Rosabeth Moss Kanter (no relation) from the Harvard Business School called "To Master Change, First Dread It"   She describes the stress and feelings of lost control that change in organizations engenders.   She goes on to say that the stress leads to paralysis.   She offers a counter-intuitive tip for moving past it:

A counter-intuitive tip for mastering change is to start by wallowing in the feelings of dread it arouses. The sheer nail-biting horror of it all. Get in touch with every negative aspect, all the things that could go wrong. Then figure out a way to get that negative force on your side. In short, "Dream your worst nightmare and invest in it."

I think this is the key to adoption and social media success.  To create your social media guidelines, examine the worst possible scenario, ask what if questions, wallow in all your fears, etc.  I call this putting a smiley face on the screamer.

How has your organization worked past fear of social media?

Comments

[Will Hull - United Cerebral Palsy eCommunications/eDevelopment Specialist]

I acutally grew up on Reno, NV and my grandparents, both sets lived where San Jose borders Campbell, CA. I spent my summers right near the Highway 17 that leads to Santa Cruz. I have to say, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is my old stomping ground as a kid. It's a great place. What did you think of the cavemen riding the gondola chairs? Did you go out on the warf? I used to fish off the end of it and feed the seals. The best experience is eating clam chowder out of a bread bowl there. Glad you were able to apply it to the nonprofit/fear of the unknown. Makes me happy to reminisce.