Social Media in the World of PM

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

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Social media has become a mainstay for people and companies these days. Facebook, twitter, blogs and more dot the social media landscape. The world of project management is no different. Online collaboration tools, texting and document portals are being woven into the fabric of many a project’s communication plan. However, not all social networking tools are prudent for use on projects--and in some cases can spell trouble. So which types of social media tools are best suited for inclusion in project communication plans?

To answer this, it is important to hold to the guiding premise that to the extent social media tools enhance the effectiveness of communications related to project issues, status and decision making, they are good; otherwise, they are just clutter.

The primary thread that definitions of social media have in common seems to be that they are internet-based tools that foster communications within a community of like-interested people. While this may seem an over simplification to some, this definition provides a good place to start. However, just in case you want more involved definitions consider these (emphasis is mine):

Wikipedia: “Social media includes web-based and mobile technologies used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based …

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