TechWag

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… it’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses …

Ever feel like social networking is like stumbling around in the dark with a million things to pay attention to, people telling you what you can and cannot do, what you should be doing, and a world filled with good intentions, that often do not amount to very much in the longer run because they do not apply to you? Let’s break down social networking in relationship to the movie “The Blues Brothers”.

The synopsis of the movie as written by Sami Al-Taher at IMBD goes like this.

After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood go to visit the old home where they were raised by nuns. They learn the church stopped its support and will sell the place to the education authority, and the only way to keep the place open is if the $5000 tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers want to help and decide to put their blues band back together and raise the money by staging a big gig. As they set off on their “mission from god” they seem to make more enemies along the way. Will they manage to come up with the money in time?

If we take this piece by piece this is what you can do to learn more about social networking.

After the release of Jake Blues from prison, he and brother Elwood go to visit the old home where they were raised by nuns.

Ok, I am not comparing the corporate experience as a prison, but the corporate experience can be as authoritative as any other human endeavor. The key here is that even though they are dealing with a highly authoritative hierarchy, Jake and Elwood are very dedicated to their old school, and have a high level of loyalty to their social groups. Even when in trouble, they are trying to do good here, along the way they do many things that are inexplicable, but each time it seems to work out ok. Think of this like your employees, they are loyal to the company in many ways, and when looking at social networking, sometimes you have to let them go, and start social networking.

They learn the church stopped its support and will sell the place to the education authority, and the only way to keep the place open is if the $5000 tax on the property is paid within 11 days.

Jake and Elwood see a need, they see something that needs to be done, and are willing to take the project on. Much like anything else in social networking, it starts with a vision, either talking about the company in a positive manner, using social networking to raise money for charitable works like Beth Kanter, or otherwise showing the human side of the company. Companies right now are losing much of their external support, and are finding themselves being abandoned by consumers. It is up to the company to start talking to consumers and bring them back to the store. Imagine if the CEO of Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase started blogging. At first there would be an enormous amount of vitriol and anger, but as the bank started talking to people they might find that they would make a ton of good will by just talking and listening. Much like the church hierarchy, it is often difficult to talk to people at the top, social networking as a bottom up movement could break down those barriers.

The brothers want to help and decide to put their blues band back together and raise the money by staging a big gig.

Jake and Elwood see a solution to the problem. Much of the story then is building up word of mouth about the upcoming gig. They enlist help of powerful friends, they talk about why they are going to do this, and they show that this is a good thing to be doing. Because they are doing a good thing, others start to talk about it and follow along with the plan. Buzz starts to build, venues are booked, people start to help out, a true bottom up process where individuals start taking good action to make sure that the plan comes through.

As they set off on their “mission from god” they seem to make more enemies along the way.

Many of the enemies they make are authoritative, while the general population reacts well to what is happening through the movie. Despite what people do to try to shut them down, with a steadfast inability to stop or otherwise do what others want them to do, Jake and Elwood carry on smartly throughout the entire movie to do the concert to raise money for orphans. Like many social network endeavors, there is always good and bad, people will try to tear you down or build you up. If you keep positive and keep focused on the strategic vision that you started out with, eventually you make a support base that no matter what others do, you can realize your social media goals.

Will they manage to come up with the money in time?

Yes, eventually the process will get noticed, people will start in the conversation and you can have very good conversations with people. I think right now it would be harder for Bankers to be successful, but once the storm has blown over banking can profit heavily from social networking. Depending on how well the strategic vision for the social networking campaign has been set up, and if there are realistic time lines, goals, milestones, and other good business processes in place, this could be the best thing for a company to do. Generally social networking is not bound by a hard fast date, you can set mile stones, but social networking is open ended. The more you do this, the more people at the company do this, the more interaction you will have with external viewpoints.

Tags: the blues brothers, social networking, lessons, learned, comparison, social, networking