Social Media in 2009

Although our challenges remain unchanged from last week, it’s a new year.

I, like many of my colleagues, have been out of the office since Christmas Eve. I took a much deserved break from the Internet and my work, spent time with family and ate way too much good food.

As I’ve caught up this morning on email and messages, I’ve taken some time to review what other social media thought leaders have had to say as of late. Many have blogged about priorities in 2009.

I don’t think we’ll see a fundamental shift away from social media in 2009. Rather, I believe we’ll see companies and organizations using social media in smarter ways. There are enough corporate communicators who are getting the hang of it that others will follow their lead.

You may recall that in November I blogged about General Electric’s new blog to communicate directly with stakeholders. This week another company is leading the way with an open, direct-to-consumer blog focused on a merger. It’s the Wells Fargo – Wachovia Blog. From what I’ve seen, I believe this to be the first use of a blog for a large corporate merger.

It’s refreshing to see legitimate corporate blogging that’s not just PR-speak. (And yes, that comment is coming from a PR professional.)

For 2009, here’s a wish for refined social media tools, better utilization of those tools, and good old fashioned straight talk.