So why...?

So this stuff isn’t straightforward. It won’t work for everything, and there is no quick-fix or reliable solution that is guaranteed to give you results. The use of these new technologies requires new skills, and also a mindset disposed to riskier, more flexible ways of working. They require a shift of priorities, a new approach to managing people, projects, risks and resources, and a willingness to surrender some control. And even then, they may not give you the results you expected.

Because the possibilities are huge, and the costs are low
Digital technologies bring the cost of failure down. Twenty years ago, making a corporate video meant risking thousands of pounds, but now an enthusiastic intern can make one in an afternoon. Even five years ago, getting a website for your business meant spending thousands of pounds on design and development fees, but now tools like MySpace and Wordpress let you make one for free in under an hour. The investment needed to experiment with these new tools is sufficiently low that it is genuinely possible to act first and analyse later.

Because these technologies are already here, and they aren’t going away
Your staff, your customers, your beneficiaries are already using them, if not professionally then personally, and ignoring them is only going to get harder. Many organisations have banned their staff from using Facebook and instant messaging, but what happens when your customers, or even your funders, start communicating with you via these channels? These technologies are not gimmicks. This is no flash in the pan. They’re here to stay, and their impact on our personal and professional lives is just beginning. As adoption levels rise, refusal to engage becomes riskier to sustain and harder to justify.

Because playing it safe is becoming risky
The world is now a noisy place. Never before has so much information been so readily available to us, and in the face of this we are engaging with it in new ways. We no longer sit and consume content. instead, we give our attention to the few sources we trust and that are offering us something of real value. We seek out people we trust to make sense of the noise, and we expect an increasing level of personal attention in return. So, build your corporate website, send your newsletters and buy more advertising space. But expect diminishing returns, and more and more pressure to engage with people on their terms, and in more personal ways.