Wedia Buzz Blog

A few weeks ago I wrote about the connection between project management and social media, about how social media can improve the communication between project managers and their virtual teams. Now, I don’t think I went far enough; improving project management in virtual teaming is just a small piece of what social media offers to project managers – to anyone, really.

I belong, as do most of you, to project management related groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and subscribe to many, many blogs and other related sites. As a marketer/social content contributor for a Project Portfolio Management Software company, I read them to keep myself updated and to find interesting tidbits to share via Twitter and etc. What I realized (in a recent ‘oh, duh’ moment) was that all of you use social media sites to be better managers.

It used to be that if you wanted some real, honest-to-goodness peer networking/educational opportunities you had to travel to user-group meetings or educational seminars to find them. There were bulletin boards and association websites, and perhaps the odd blog or wiki that could help a bit, but those were mostly either one-way or so badly organized as to be virtually useless. And of course there are books on everything … but who’s willing to take the time to read them?

Today, anyone who wants to learn something, share something, ask, answer, or merely comment on a discussion can do so via social media. Truth is, there are a lot of tasks to complete and too much information out there to sort through yourself. So, anytime you find yourself or your project stuck on something new to you, a quick tweet or post on LinkedIn or shout-out from your own blog will bring a range of possible solutions right to you. It’s not just about expressing yourself, saving on postage, or finding new friends any more … social media has eliminated all the walls and boundaries that once limited peer collaboration and ongoing education.

A year ago I though Facebook was just the newest MySpace, and avoided it. Six months ago I thought Twitter was just silly. Now I spend most of my day on both, and they are not silly at all  – they are one of my best project management tools. And it no longer matters if you’re competitors. We’re all getting along! Moms everywhere should be thankful.