Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting a market leaders track of the same name at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston.  I only had 20 minutes to chat about a topic that would fill many hours, so I thought this blog to be a good venue for delving  deeper into a topic that has been burning a hole in my keyboard.

 
There is much chatter about the cultural implications of social computing tools and technologies in the enterprise.   We constantly hear about transparency, emergence, democratization, ambient awareness and on and on.   I consult with Fortune 500 customers on these very topics and even have a methodology to help with the cultural transformations afforded by a well designed and delivered social computing initiative.   So, you certainly don't have to sell me on the value, the promise, the nirvana to be acquired. 

But, I also find myself observing and pondering much more granular activities and usage patterns that are perplexing and more challenging to address than one would think when focusing on the strategic aspects.  One such phenomenon is that of the zealous participant.  How can that be?    Isn't active participation what you want?  Aren't high adoption rates the Holy Grail?  Well, yes.  Sort of.  I think so.  Allow me to expound on this topic with a story.

Active Anita (or Amrita or Ashley or Ashanti) is a high ranking executive in a Fortune 50 company.  She is an evangelist of social computing tools and is doing her best to set a good example by using the tools frequently to address real world business problems.  Good!  Having an executive set a good example is a best practice that just about any social computing consultant would recommend.   She regularly contributes to discussions, blogs, comments on blogs, makes contributions to wikis and bookmarks relevant articles.  In fact, regularly is an understatement.    On any given day, Anita will create new content or contribute to existing content about  250 times.    She eagerly awaits reciprocal contributions or acknowledgements.  Is Anita an angel or a demon?

We have established that, in theory, she is an angel.  Unfortunately, her actions are having some deleterious impacts on her peers and, much worse, her staff.   The biggest issue may be that others simply can't keep up with her activity.  Particularly in tough economic times when employees are over-worked, taking the time to read and respond to the contributions of an over-zealous manager may add to workloads and increase stress levels.   

While this content may be useful and even critical to one's job function, piling on new content is the metaphorical equivalent of piling stacks of paper on a desk that is already over-loaded.  So, what should be down to manage Anita's zeal and valuable contributions without breaking the backs of her employees?  Expectations regarding creation and consumption of contributions should be established:

- How much contribution is acceptable? 

- What guidelines should be used in terms of how Anita creates content to reflect call to action, priority, etc?

- What guidelines should be used in regards to expected turnaround time for response?

Another concern with Anita's actions is that her fervent contributions could be squelching activity from other participants.    Studies have shown that high-volume discussions amongst a select group of members can actually decrease participation from other members who may actually have something important to add to the conversation.    Also, if Anita is thin-skinned and reacts adversely to dissenting opinions or less than flattering commentary, her attitude and retort will quickly scare off her subordinates.  This is the antithesis to the attributes of democratization and openness, so crucial in social computing initiatives.

There are no cookie cutter answers for every group within every enterprise.  Beware platitudes about what always works or always doesn’t and take the time to scrutinize your activities to determine the best practices that make sense for your organization. 

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