Does HR matter in social media, or are we just an echo chamber?

helloooooooo!!!!! hellll-oooooo-oooo-ooo???

Is there anyone out there?

Of course there is.   Otherwise, why would I be writing this?

I had an interesting discussion with Mark Stelzner the other day.  It was discussion that we have been through before, and one that many of us probably have on a regular basis.     Who are we talking to with our blog posts, Internet radio shows, tweets, and various other forms of socialmediaspheric content generation?

Are we writing for a general audience of interested people, or are we chatting inside a comfortable echo chamber of our own making?

I think the answer as it pertains to the HR community at large is a little bit of both.    The discussions we have inside the HR social media sphere are important and do influence a small portion of the dialogue for our field at large, which I believe is a good thing.   But I would be willing to bet my next paycheck that the majority of practitioners in human resources are blissfully unaware of the stirring controversies we generate.

Fortunately there is no way to accurately measure that assertion, so I should be able to make my mortgage payment next month!

They just aren’t pertinent to many people.  Lots of issues on the Internet are like that in the real world.

The echo chamber is a seductive mistress.

Do you know anyone who doesn;t like to have people pay attention to what they have to say?  Even introverts enjoy knowing that people are paying attention to their important ideas.  And there is no better place for that to occur than inside the self-perpetuating environment of the Internet echo chamber.

When you speak pre-dominantly to those  to those who want to hear your message or agree with you, it is easy to believe that your message has influence and is reaching out to a broad audience.   It is easy to become involved in dialogues that reinforce your ideas and create a feeling of importance that may not be totally accurate.

Break down the walls

This is why it is important to make sure you break out of the echo chamber from time to time.   I do this in a variety of ways.

• I check my messages with other people, including soliciting input from people that are not part of my social media network.  This provides a different point of view, and helps to keep me honest.
• I engage in dialogue with people who state a position that is obviously different than my own. I do this in order to understand their thought process, concerns and motivations.
• I read material from a lot of different sources, including many that hold views contrary to my own.

Reader comments are hugely important

Dialogue within your social media community is also important.  Knowing what people think about what I write about is helpful in so many ways.  It generates a conversation. It stimulates additional ideas for further writing.  It helps me to know my audience and my friends better.

This site gets visitors from all over the world, but not nearly as many comments as I would hope.   In the few months, people have visited Human Race Horses from numerous countries, including:

The United States	5,608	82.4%		+668%
The United Kingdom	222	3.3%		+144%
Canada	209	3.1%		+621%
India	119	1.7%		+417%
Australia	70	1%		+367%
Indonesia	54	0.8%		+980%
Estonia	47	0.7%		0%
Germany	40	0.6%		+208%
Belgium	30	0.4%		+275%
The Philippines	29	0.4%		+999%
France	28	0.4%		+999%
New Zealand	24	0.4%		0%
The Netherlands	17	0.2%		+89%
Hong Kong	16	0.2%		+433%
Spain	14	0.2%		0%
Singapore	14	0.2%		+100%
Russian Federation	13	0.2%		0%
South Africa	13	0.2%		+999%
Sweden	13	0.2%		0%
Poland	13	0.2%		0%
Pakistan	12	0.2%		+999%
Malaysia	12	0.2%		+500%
Switzerland	11	0.2%		+999%
Portugal	11	0.2%		+999%
Italy	10	0.1%		0%
China	9	0.1%		+800%
The United Arab Emirates	8	0.1%		+700%
Ukraine	8	0.1%		0%
Norway	7	0.1%		+600%
Romania	7	0.1%		+600%
Denmark	7	0.1%		+600%
Mexico	6	0.1%		0%
Finland	6	0.1%		+200%
Hungary	6	0.1%		+500%
Austria	5	0.1%		0%
Israel	5	0.1%		+150%
Thailand	5	0.1%		0%
Brazil	5	0.1%		0%
Argentina	4	0.1%		0%
Greece	4	0.1%		0%
Republic Of Korea	4	0.1%		0%
Costa Rica	3	0%		0%
Bahrain	3	0%		0%
Slovenia	3	0%		0%
Japan	3	0%		0%
Czech Republic	2	0%		0%
Egypt	2	0%		0%
Austria	5	0.1%		0%
Israel	5	0.1%		+150%
Thailand	5	0.1%		0%
Brazil	5	0.1%		0%
Argentina	4	0.1%		0%

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Tagged as: Arts, Business, Canada, Human Resources, Mark Stelzner, Radio, Radio programming, Social Media, United States