As an individual, I have come to cherish the adage that says only fools doubt proofs. It is good to read good books about anything but if all our experiences stop at reading books without a practical application of all we have read, it may become a wasted effort. To excel today, we must be able to ‘show’ it instead of just ‘telling’ it.

While major profit brands are still in the doubt whether this stuff (new/social media) works, a non profit brand (Daystar Centre Lagos) is blazing the trail and I am happy that Non-profit may dictate the phase of what should be with the use of new/social media in our nation.

As our community would recall, it is this same non-profit brand that initiated the first ever social media campaign in Nigeria with its Excellent Leaders congress (ELC 2009) in November 2009.

I am so excited to break the news that this non-profit brand initiated the use of new/social media on Sunday March 28, 2010 to strengthened internal bonding among its audience. This experiment of using new media to reach internal audience that work successful came as a result of long absence of the President/ Senior pastor of the congregation. The senior Pastor fondly called Rev, Sam has been away for about six weeks on a preaching tour to United Kingdom and Western Europe. Apparently, this is the first time the senior Pastor would be away from home for such a long time in Fifteen years.

Expectedly his internal audience is beginning to miss their ever-cheerful, easy going but sound teacher of the Word who has nurtured them for about fifteen years. The audience is used to seeing him regularly as he is accessible to all. A great lesson to some brand’s leaders with less than two thousand employees/volunteers who have remained elusive. This long absence of the senior pastor is beginning to show despite the fact that the leadership of the brand has efficiently run the brand as if the senior pastor were to be around.

So it was a pleasant surprise and a great relief to the internal audience when a life ‘broadcast’ of Pastor Sam’s preaching was powered through ‘SKYPE’- an internet communication device that functions like Yahoo messenger- from London. Even though there was a little interruption due to internet disconnection during the second shift (which was quickly fixed), the audience was happy that at least they could feel their senior pastor all the way from United Kingdom. The four sessions of the church ran normally as if the senior Pastor was with the audience life. A great kudos to a brand that work hard on breaking new ground.

My concern today is why is it that our corporate/profit brands  are running away from reality of our time? What if the corporate brands use the new/social media to promote internal bonding, build support for the corporate ideas through a bi monthly/quarterly session with the Managing Director through the use of social/new media tools? Will there be a big difference. Many employees have not had any opportunity of meeting, interacting with the Chief Executives immediately after the meet the MD chat. Will a life meeting powered through ‘Skype’ make a little difference?

What if the Top Executive holds a quarterly briefing with major distributors of their products with these devices at the distributors’ zones and locations? What if a corporate twitter account is created for this purpose where meetings with zonal employees could be done through that medium? All that is needed to be done is to protect the tweet from external party that is not part of the team. What if a corporate retreat is powered with these tools and no one needs to travel long distance? Can we save cost through this mean? The question can go on and on. But what do you think? Use the comment section. I cherish your opinion.

Disclaimer: I am a member of Daystar Centre and I served as head, Content creation, development and management (New/social media) for the ELC 2009

Each new day gives me a new excitement. I am happy I am making progress and that I am involved in shaping the new paradigm in my country. Now it may not make enough sense but after a while, we will wake up to the reality of time. It is now obvious that treating new media or what I like to refer to as social media with levity is tantamount to brand destruction.

I love the way one online author defines new media. He says ‘new media refer to here as a wide spectrum of content production and dissemination frameworks that use the internet & web’. This show there may not be clear cut difference in new media and social media as some experts want us to believe. This online writer went on to say ‘the emphasis of new media is on information produced by citizens for the benefit of the commons. This also point to the fact that the online citizens care less about any brand that does not value them. They want to reach their community members with burning information that affect them either positively or negatively. God helps any brand that falls on the wrong side.

To ignore the conversation today is dangerous and given the fact that citizens’ access to information can not be controlled, it will be wise to initiate a process that will put your brand where the conversation is. In our clime, we keep saying the population is still insignificant hence why the noise/fuss about social media application. Butt my concern like any other forward thinking individual; brand is that one does not need an entire population to destroy anything. Recently a major print media is involved in online reputation damage due to mismanagement of internal communication process. I stand to be corrected. while I am still thinking and frowned at why such vital document leaked to the hands of online media I am of the opinion that( with regards to our discourse here) such can serve as a good case study.

About five major brands were also mentioned as accomplice. Up till now, none of the affected brands have seen any justifiable reason to say something. That is a sign of our ignorance of the power of social media. I am particularly concerned about this issue because it has been reproduced in a platform that has over 173 countries membership with an average of 350 million members around the world where the statistic have also shown that an average of one hundred million log on are recorded daily.

Whatever the cause of this damage is not of our concern in this piece, our emphasis is the need for brands here to wake up to the reality of what new media can do to any brand that ignores it. My fear for brands that continue to overlook the importance of new media agrees with an online writer that says ‘With the introduction of vernacular language capable mobile phone handsets and the increasing affordability of multimedia mobile devices, it is increasingly difficult for brands to stifle voices from the ground’

While everyone is becoming content provider and speaking their minds, why are our brands here keeping silent and pretending that nothing has changed? Why are they waiting for the day of doom to start the process of incorporating social media in their communication/marketing plans? Why are they going on with the old paradigm that regular media will always holds the sway. There is an urgent need to embrace, hire the services of new media experts who can help position their brands against the raining days and more importantly save their brands from colossal shame that online community can cause them. I am still waiting and monitoring how the above mentioned case will be resolved when it has become international issue that bothers on hard earned image the brand has. If I must conclude I love all the major brands involved with passion but why are they not using the same medium to undo the damage done.

We must also remember that Google does not forget. Every information is archived by Google. An African adage says when you hear carry it, carry it and you keep quiet, they may drop it at your doorstep/backyard. We all have an equalized platform in new/social media to build support, understanding, engagement, strong reputation, reduce, and eliminate impact of damage. Silence may not be golden now except it is a worthwhile strategy. The danger of ignoring the new/social media is traceable to its viral effect as well as the buzz. It can be associated with the Yoruba adage that says ‘the god of thunder does not know any boundary when it fights’. New/social media does not know any boundary. It crosses every nation, tribe, clan, settlement