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Paul Papadimitriou | Interview at Digital Domination Summit with @montemagno


hello everyone mark on come on you’re
here digital domination summit 2013 and
we need to say a friend papadimitriou
450 mm wish I’d been a better than and
we are it is coffee just just got a
great short conversation about several
topics Paul is a founder of digital
intelligence cry consultant for company
yes small me you big extra logical yeah
super one topic that are we talking
about in this digital donation stomach
is related with how social media is
changing everything and there are people
telling on our social media is
everything or people say on social media
is the way you know what’s your take
it’s neither ends both at the same time
I think that social media is matured in
the last four to five years now we’re
reaching a point where it is something
more acceptable even companies the
company is still afraid of it but for me
social media just a sign or what’s
happening we’re moving from a formal
turning formal economy we’re moving from
a transactional to an engagement economy
it’s just part of it so basically what
is as dot it has surfaced the fact that
people talk to each other basically
companies if you like humans it’s always
what I say so until now what people were
doing what they were looking themselves
in the mirror hence the vanity metrics
you know we look at self as you know how
many people like me how many fans me i
have right which is great but when we
move beyond that the good thing when you
look at this very bad thing about
looking yourself in the mirror i hope
you don’t do that to job but what
companies do that long yeah the
difference really companies in humans
and humans were hardwired we have DNA we
have instincts who have all these that
are as part of our DNA part of our long
history as humans companies do not have
that they have a DNA if you remember old
companies of how they were organized you
remember these geometric tubes you know
you could a message in the tube and that
would go to someone else right so the
company was organized like that we knew
that from point A to point B the company
was engineered for the communication to
go in a way right right now with the
email especially in science company you
know everybody is kind of telling that
email is failing there’s so many emails
communications are going old all the way
so basically companies don’t have a real
standing who they are so what I’m doing
is trying to actually tell them who they
are looking in the mirror again so it’s
respectin you look what are you as a
company because if you are a company
that knows who you are the company
actually the image you will have outside
for customers and consumers will
actually have an impact because I mean
the kind of magic about how many
followers i am on the messiah on
facebook you can easily cheat i mean you
can buy followers it will it makes no
sense how many friends you have Marco as
a human do you count on well I am one
actually that’s a thing I mean it’s
important to a certain extent before
real social animals and I think
companies are also social animals
because they made it humans it was
everybody kept telling you the past four
or five years how you know social media
was humanizing companies it’s true to a
certain extent but just because
companies are made out of people and
again the difference between companies
you people is and we have instincts so
we’re a hardwired for survival you know
cut we if you are in a very dangerous
position you will act instinctively to
survive you will protect you you protect
your family your kids maybe your friends
and Dick companies do not have these sub
events instincts hence the codec thing
and suddenly sometimes disappear because
they haven’t had this great instinct to
actually sustain their business mall and
and and and change and thus disappears
but then as humans you’re afraid we all
afraid of change to the various levels
you know some people more than others
companies as well or afraid of change so
basically what I’m trying to say is how
do you implement these instincts into
companies I’m not seeing that companies
will ever be like humans but you can you
can teach them some of the things and
one of the things i talked about email
and communication is that you can wire a
company you can understand for instance
you’ve used tools like Yammer social
caste all these tools are internal
communications these internal social
networks they have many problems within
them but one thing that’s quite amazing
is that if it’s used properly it can
actually map how the company okay I can
see someone in the company can see that
Oh Marco and I are actually talking to
each other
it’s never written anywhere in the comp
in the org chart but we are actually
talking to it each other we actually
changing information we actually so if
companies get actually let go of control
and say okay what is happening action
company who’s speaking to whom in a
company how does how the processes are
actually being put in place naturally
not because we decide to depart but
there’s always there was a very good
example is when you have a problem with
the cut with the computer company you
have a number to call this call the help
desk right you’re supposed to call that
guy usually you always know someone you
know you don’t go to help us you like
helping I know I know princess and
presses is good really fix my problem is
exactly what we do as humans when you
have a problem with the computer you
call a friend and companies happen to
same kind of dynamics happen this is
just a small example but if you scale
that to the whole company then you have
you can map your company understand
what’s a DNA what are the all the links
within the company I will think people
that we’re doing throw the placement
agency that we are paid front of plasmin
so I would like you to look for life but
I think a lot of companies they think in
this way like you know there is a
conversation happening here and i put my
product inside and I try to interrupt
your conversation so it’s not probably
right
yeah of course again it’s a conversation
I could stop the conversation now and
talk about something completely relevant
you like why the hell are you talking
about that pallavi what it’s exactly so
basically as humans were being brought
up to actually learn we have these
social surroundings whether it’s through
our education with our parents our
upbringing and etc etc we learn how to
deal with the kind of situations
companies are like young kids you know
they’re four years old internet social
media so it’s still like struggling and
how we will talk with customers they
have no choice right basically what
social media done is just surf facing
something that’s normal that’s actually
human it’s having a conversation and I
know it’s been said over and over again
it’s nothing extraordinary it’s just
that companies have afraid to change is
hard for them to actually implemented
change so they are forced hence holy you
know a lot of people talk about with
social media disasters it’s just because
one person is completely socially inept
compared to the other so you have
customers having a normal voice and the
other side you have a copy it doesn’t
know how to handle the conversation and
then yeah where do you start from if the
company is not it’s very good it’s not
on board yet we’re very good question
because many companies say okay what I
do i create as you should we get team
inside I create I outsourced or what
should I do yeah exactly that’s a very
good question because that’s a problem
like again if you take the same example
of humans if you want to change you know
how we say we say humans we don’t change
yeah we alter a little bit it’s the same
thing with company having big fat plans
usually don’t work companies will resist
people in within the company will resist
so you have to find on greek treuhand
quarter horses so you have to find small
things that will create an exception of
an ID and change it one way for instance
is a website other websites are not very
sexy nowadays and what he talks about
but but is there still important because
the website forces you to think about
how you present yourself especially if
you think about mobile no others like
the real estate on the on your screen is
very narrow so what are you watching
what are the is the essence of your
company why are you selling are you you
have to say that in a very very very
short way because the screen is very
small
so if that example of the website
actually that forces you to the rethink
who you are as a company and when you if
you try to sell a website to accompany
so much easier if you go and say oh I’m
going to change the culture of the
company I’m coming through whatever know
why I know where but you start by the
little things I did the reason I say a
website is a website is part of
information architecture again it’s how
is again within the company information
is organized and what do you show to
your customers this is a map of your
company so this is your DNA the company
so starting with a website is one way
then the next step of course is having
the social conversations of course right
now it’s LinkedIn Facebook and Twitter
the only problem with that is you don’t
have the control of the layout you have
to control the information itself
another layout so I would always say
start with a website even though then I
know people say it’s not sexy but still
sixty-seven percent of the people start
their online journey with a google
search they will search for something
before asking you know everybody says
I’m gonna ask friends yes but before
asking you a where is that this
restaurant or this cafe I will look it
up on Google right oh this is the
address running on ice bridge so this is
how it starts so what size is silly and
then so basically you want to engineer
the way you create your conversation
with mapping who you are inside because
only when you know what you are you can
talk to people it’s like you and me you
know who you are no way a man can have
this conversation specific tool so
platforms that you would recommend to
star film like I don’t know yeah maybe
it’s easier to suffer blog or I don’t
know is any pattern that you see you
over there for companies
to enter successfully social media race
I don’t think chul think it’s people
first I mean of course I know it’s very
evident to say like wow yeah it’s like
I’m opening a door it’s already open but
when up to now this is where i started
with like i said social media is
maturing is that UK we were hiring
people and said you were going to put
someone because someone has to deal with
a Facebook page someone else’s view with
a Twitter account in etc etc now over
over time this is maturing realizing
that social media is much more than just
head of a channel it’s actually
something that’s a conversation that
already happens within the company and
sell the company’s how do you got map
these two so to actually be able to
implement that within a company I would
say that there’s no need to actually
change what the companies are mostly
doing it I’m not going to say I’ll
destruct everything I think this is if
you say that against your company won’t
work what you need to do is hire the
right people make your mistakes except
you’re going to make mistakes and
secretary of your failures exactly
you’re going to have disaster except
that your products won’t sell except and
go on with that process actually learn
about yourself again so of course hiring
the right people very easy to say
they’re having people that just now have
tricking talk to each other I’m sadly
I’ve seen examples of people being
community managers for instance that
have very poor social skills or not a
lot of experience you want to have
someone like here being there all right
someone we actually just knows how to in
you know you’re organizing this
conference you’ve been able to talk to
someone’s a phenomenally amazing
probably any case history that you think
oh gosh this company they really get in
social media what are your favorite but
of course I’m sure that everybody stays
the same example and I will say why it’s
wrong the whites right as that poses a
very good one that was very good because
they have the customer care customer
support due to care for the customer is
completely within the DNA of the company
and that’s why it works so well because
people I mean all that all the employees
actually talk so some way or another to
customers even if you’re like an
engineer it doesn’t you don’t have to be
a customer support representative
there’s even like I remember so the CEO
doing a talk once it said yeah they’re
this phone which is the customer support
line and they change desk every day so
they force people that’s a very good way
the first people like I’m I don’t know
I’m HR whatever and I’ve never told the
customer suddenly the phone rings it
have to answer like okay I cannot order
my shoes or my shoes ovulate you have to
hear that and then you start thinking
out of the box thinking again I may
travel north part of the company’s a hug
the white the way the reason that is
wrong not wrong but is that it’s company
that was created from the start with us
so it’s easier that I’m actually being a
very old traditional company and convert
that so an example like putting the
phone is very like making people realize
that they have customers in a company is
very important you know because of us
everybody kept em stew which is good for
the good of the company may tends to
like focus on his own task or tasks you
want to actually little bit open the box
one question I’m asking to all the
digital donations and speaker is their
favorite tools favorite three favorite
apps or websites or platforms that they
technically use for their business to
improve their efficiency productivity we
have a full papadimitriou thanks of
tools you know the first of all what i
like to use like to see is stuff that is
not linked with what I do so I like
curation platforms and
from dig the Flipboard I mean actual
reading stuff that is not within my
field that opens my mind so of course i
will use that most of my work is done
through mobile I always have my iphone
also have a samsung and also have
windows phones are not religious about
it but I mostly use my iphone to be
honest then maybe these tools curation
tools and also uh that’s also for me a
buffer you know buffer abdominal just
like to actually time your your updates
correctly you for my own sake Evernote
hello to actually Evernote as a whole in
Evernote hello is a way to actually
track people when you meet them yes
eighty-five percent of the speakers at
this elevation Sami talk about Evernote
one day you couldn’t there is discussion
and they are not sponsor you know so it
is forever no nice put everything Mary
and I just just it just works exists it
organizes your life I mean then you can
use it the way you want me organize your
life so Evernote and of course that i’m
not using to be very honest i’m not
using either the HootSuite sand all the
United social media tools that are
because I I’m first of all I’m a
broadcaster and don’t have much time to
actually look at the answers and I’m
very bad and let’s say that you should
follow my example but I believe that
it’s more interesting to become even
companies you know you want to tell a
story that’s the other thing about with
humans we like stories you don’t like
you like will I concepts but we don’t we
like it to be said in a story that’s why
we like fairy tales right yeah and I
think that if you want to be someone
actually is known whether it’s a person
for your personal brand we’re there it’s
it’s a company you want to put out a
story to put in a story so if you
yourself tell your own story that’s also
said with a start-up side work when they
pitched a story tell your own story
always be very good if you’re a company
there’s a concept that a friend of mine
is actually invented it ova story
hunters you’ll find people have great
stories of the company within the
company just maybe they’re not related
to marketing department
have someone goes and have stories to
tell about your company people love that
so it’s for me it’s more of a Content
story hunter it’s more important the
content is more important that the tools
you use tools is practical to time
you’re my update and they don’t change
but that’s that will change super must
question what’s coming next what do you
think if you open your crystal ball in
the next two years in this social media
great is the word were really inside
what’s happened for company what we have
a little business I mean the tools will
change first of all is person and for
all I’m pretty sure the way we access
information well of course I’m sure a
lot of speakers have said about google
glass for instance i’m not sure what we
google glass or not but the information
itself you know and we’ve seen it it was
it’s liberated it was first sitting and
database on paper and databases internal
servers and insistence websites and
social media in classes so information
is will go everywhere it will be around
it it’s already around us we can look
around there’s a name of shopping other
shops all these kind of information will
blend so basically this is why I know I
insist I’ve been boring with I say that
you have you have to really really
really engineer your own information
architecture within the company that’s
the only way people understand you
outside the company because the
information will not be pretty prisoner
of one social network one website it
will be everywhere and the way that
people will find it whether it’s through
friends whether it’s through search
whether you will never know actually
actually like started today so you want
engineer your information to be able to
scale whichever tools happens it will be
less maybe and then it will be contact
lenses and then we’ll have I do a lot of
research to sci-fi science fiction
movies is very very interesting to look
at it you’ll see that the only thing
that matters is information self not the
tools Thanks Thank You Marco
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