Creating Social Media Identity @TechHR

It all started with some colorful bean bags and a cup of tea. A perfect setting for some interesting conversations. Isn’t  it?

I sipped that perfectly brewed cup of tea and was amazed to see some savvy product demos around me with a perfect blend of HR need and Technology support. This was the  ‘Unconference’ area at the Tech HR hosted by People Matters, where we were waiting for one  of the most awaited session with Social Media guru, Gautam Ghosh. Have been following Gautam Ghosh on twitter for long and this was my first experience to have live interaction with him. Unconference as the word suggests was an informal setting for some direct interactions with the speakers and that definitely made all the more interesting . What an apt place to learn from the experiences of some aspiring entrepreneurs and HR stalwarts.

Gautam opened his discussion with quizzing people a bit on social media and for once I had to stop tweeting and start being more attentive towards it. I of course didn’t wanted to be caught off guard and this is what I could capture from his thoughts on “How to make Social Media Identity”

“Twitter makes you celebrity” : Yes imagine the fun of having 1k+ followers and flaunting the same. Twitter not just made this possible but also allows reaching the unreachable. Where physical media would simply add to the odds this one made it quick and unbelievably smooth and much higher on connectivity.

“Social Media is the new customer care”: He shared an anecdote about how a popular telecom player sorted out a pending issue in record time with just a simple ‘tweety complain’. Social media accessibility has given an edge to customer and this for sure has been quite a trend setter. Thanks to the power of information speed that no one can be taken for granted. Not only does it affect the employer branding but also positions the organization differently. What probably couple of calls or an email could not do, now the solution is just a tweet away. Social Media is making organizations  walk on tight rope whether to lose one customer or stop many others from even trying their products.

“It’s a Personal learning Management system”: Social Media has an immense potential for self learning. It’s about learning from your own fraternity and imbibing knowledge for good. Learning can be through medium like webinars, twitter chats, Facebook groups, and subject matter blogs. Infact he mentioned how MOOCs have added a new dimension to social learning and now global learning is just part of daily dose.

“Use Google news for better”: Specific to twitter it’s all about give and take. Learning is incomplete without sharing and here is Gautam’s quick tip. Subscribe Google news and share the relevant topics with the followers. Though it can be very overwhelming but using hoot suite helps lots in managing time yet connecting with the best.

There was much more which he discussed like how blogging gives a voice and platform to an introvert personality and how everyone has his own choice towards different social media. I could have not agreed more on all what he said and coming from him made so much more sense. I am thankful to people matters to give me an opportunity to connect with some very interesting people and learn about how Technology has impacted the age old HR domain.

We all look forward to see a future where people management is more tech savvy without losing the real Human!!