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Please – don’t do this

by Dennis Howlett on September 22, 2009

I’ve no idea who sent me this link, probably some well meaning soul on Twitter but the embedded Slideshare presentation is worrying. Stuffed with out of date ’stuff’ like on overfull suitcase, it takes the wrong angle on so-called social media, a term I detest, for accountants. It demonstrates a lack of understanding about what makes this style of audience tick. It’s hard enough to get professional accountants to understand the world of marketing, social media as presented here will blow their heads off.

Instead, can I suggest that those who are curious steer away from the consumer facing spiel and think more about communications, internally at first and how sharing information might better serve the practice. Professionals should be looking for ways to better collaborate both internally and among their communities. We’re starting to see that at ion. And it’s not about using these tools as direct marketing tools or gimmicks but about the indirect effects that arise out of your efforts at supporting those around you through the stories you tell.

But above everything, please don’t see this as any quick fix. Making these things work takes time.

Bonus link: evil plans and English Cut - this is where the rubber meets the road

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  • Firstly i worried with this "I’ve no idea who sent me this link" but i had decide to read and view this slide presentation and after all all things was mind blowing. Thanks
  • Dennis, many thanks indeed for taking the time to look through my slides and the trouble to bring them to a wider audience!

    I'm keen to take on board constructive criticism, which is why I published them and asked for comments (yours included) via Twitter.

    I'm conscious that the suitcase may indeed be over-full, and I'm hoping that the good folk at RMT will have time for me to deliver a dry run.
    - That way we can edit out anything that blurs the message.
    - I recall doing a similar thing for a Best Man's speech and it's surprisingly useful!

    I'm also keen to take on board your point "It demonstrates a lack of understanding about what makes this style of audience tick."

    As someone with a consultancy background in Knowledge Management and Collaboration (I used to work for Fujitsu Services), your point about improving communications across the board is well taken.

    I'm due to present on 2nd October, so intend to publish a later version asap and intend to include your thoughts, and well as the feedback from Phil Richards - a comment on my post.

    fyi a later version included a copy and paste (with appropriate credit) of "Why Accountants should blog" - i.e. a quote from you [before I saw your feedback though! ;-)]

    As someone working in whatever-field-you-want-to-call-it, I'm trying 'practice what I preach', so thanks again for giving me this piece of your mind ;-D
  • @justin: many thanks for coming back. Check out some of the Headshift stuff on Slideshare, also take a peek at what @gapingvoid is doing - his more recent posts are really useful. Hint: less slides, use lots of pictures or illustrations. If you're on the IT Counts roster then I have a post coming very shortly on this type of thing.
  • krupo
    Conversation prism? WTF?

    Heh, you're on slide 40, nice? ;)
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