Social media gives people a voice

I have laryngitis. Whilst yesterday I sounded a bit like Ferdy (Ricky Gervais) in Stardust after his voice has been turned into that of a seagull, but today I have nary a squeak. Yet because the vast majority of my daily interactions are via social tools such as Twitter, IM, wikis and blogs, most people won’t even realise that I have no voice.

That’s a good reminder that social media gives voice to the voiceless, sometimes quite literally. It enables conversations that couldn’t otherwise happen and builds relationships and trust between colleagues and strangers alike. Sometimes these technologies may seem frivolous, but they can also be incredibly powerful and empowering. It’s important we not lose sight of that bigger picture in our search for ROI, metrics and business cases.