Tom Austin, an analyst at Gartner, has just released the results of a multi-national client-based study on success criteria for social and collaborative investments. While not necessarily scientific in nature (e.g., meeting the strict definition of necessary and sufficient criteria), it is hard to argue with the practicality of the final results.
Here is a summary of Austin’s top ten rules:
1. Define what constitutes success in using social media.
2. Get agreement with the business lines on success/failure criteria.
3. Study existing work patterns and add value selectively – lessons learned from others pay big success dividends.
4. Ignore “siren call” of social and infrastructure merchants.
5. Evaluate the culture(s) in your organization and work within your cultural constraints.
6. To make progress with the new, it needs to be 10x better than the old in order to be adopted within your organization.
7. Not everyone is an expert! Build a variety of skills (what is done) and capabilities (how well it is done).
8. Users will go outside the social media model if you make it too difficult for them to understand and work.
9. Minimalism is to be revered – less is more.
10. Be organizationally inclusive at start – involve cross departmental groups like legal, ops, security, etc.
Practical Aspects of Social Media: Art, Science, and Humanity 