Social Media Day 2014

We just celebrated Social Media Day #SMDay here in the Philippines, a Mashable initiative, launched in 2010 to celebrate the digital revolution.  

Coinciding with the celebration is the news that PH has doubled its internet penetration rate, though this is not surprising given the affinity of Filipinos to social media and the internet, plus the lower cost of tablets and smartphones, and bucket data deal of telcos.

In fact the Philippines, bec. of its social media engagement, was accorded the title “social media capital”, and home to at least one of the “selfie capitals of the world”. But the boom of the internet and social media in PH  appears to be under utilized in the academe and mainstream businesses, though the Philippines  have a Digital Strategy  from 2011-to 2016,  more needs to be done to expedite implementation. The following observation highlights the gap of the current situation to an ideal social business environment:

• Our cybercrime law is new and few provisions are still being challenged
• We don’t have a cyber bullying specific law that will address adult victims and offenders.
• There are schools and companies who can only see negative effects of social media
• There are companies and academic institutions that don’t have a clear internet and social media policy
• Not all companies and academic institutions have an integrative internet and social media strategy.
• Responsible corporate social computing and employer branding is not a training need to some business organizations
• Only parent organizations of private schools, based on our experience, has taken the initiative to have a seminar to catch-up with the digital revolution.
• Some people tasked to guide students, based in our engagement, are not equipped to deal with the present digital landscape.

Marketing agencies, and mainstream media have embraced and used social web in their services. But the strategic use of social media by other silos appears to have not taken off yet.

What’s The Added Value In Celebrating Social Media Day 2014?

In my opinion, stating the obvious, is not value adding. Evangelizing those who are already believers has no value. If we can bridge the digital divide and lure those that control the purse, whose decisions can affect the majority in an organization, to embrace the tool  is a positive step towards Social Business. An academic institution, business enterprise and any organization who will engage and listen  to people (employees included)  and do something from the information  gathered ( social and business analytics) can make any organization proactive and relevant in the digital age. In addition, if we can reach out to parents, nannies, teachers and guidance counselors and equip them to lead  kids for responsible social computing, we can also make our digital space less hazardous to kiddos who are both the instigators and recipient of abuses. We have been to different professional & parent organizations, and academic institutions for our advocacy, I can attest that there’s a REAL need.

What about you, what’s your take on the #BoomPH Social Media Day 2014 Celebration?