The Social Web is Not Flat

In less than 24 hours, I will be boarding a plane bound for Mumbai to present at the NASSCOM conference called NASSCOM India Leadership where I'll be on a panel on NGO and Social Media as well as lead a discussion at an unconference on whether CEO/Executive Director's should use social media.  I will also have an opportunity to lead two social media strategy workshops which features the Social Media Game.

I've using the social media game as a teaching method for nonprofits experience a strategy brainstorm that links to a communications objective or theory of change.  It starts with audience identification, followed by selecting tools.  My version of the game includes "life happens" cards where groups gain points if they solve certain problems like staff resistance or define metrics.  I've played the game outside of the US - bringing it to Cambodia, UK, Australia, and Romania.

I've been obsessing about the "People" cards which are based on Forrester's Social TechnoGraphics profiles.  My cards all have US data.   I have seen the framework used in other countries.  For example, when I did this workshop in Australia, I met Dr. Linda Kelley who had just finished an analysis of the technographics of Australian museum goers. 

What to do?  Tell them to ignore the numbers, but focus on the profiles?  Make assumptions about social media participation in India. 

Kismet!  One of fellow panelists is Gaurav Mishra who I very much respect and he has been a guest blogger for me.  And then it clicked, he did an analysis of Forrester's Social Technographic profiles in India using secondary data.   So, using the information in his post, I was able to create a translation of the people cards for India!

Comments

[Scott Gould]

Totally.

I wrote a similar thing today that the SOcial Media world - despite the mantra - is just not flat.

[used computers]

I've using the social media game as a teaching method for nonprofits experience a strategy brainstorm that links to a communications objective or theory of change.