Why Top Executives Are Resisting Social Media

If you’re reading this blog, you probably “get” social media to some degree. Isn’t it amazing how few people you know actually read blogs or other fast-changing online media on a regular basis? It does tend to put a damper on one’s enthusiasm for social media, that’s for sure.

If you’ve been wondering why it’s so hard to get the boss to let you blog, Twitter and podcast all day, here’s a survey that might help you understand it: the “Resistance to Social Media Survey” conducted by the USC Marshall School of Business.

Some of the findings:

• Only 29 percent of the respondents think blogs are a useful business communication tool for improving image or productivity


•  Only 11 percent rated their organization as “significantly above industry average” in their rate of online media adoption, with 49 percent rating themselves “significantly below”


• 28 percent reported significant “corporate/management resistance to the use of the following new media tools/technologies”


• And here’s the kicker: the most important reasons hindering online technology adoption include:
  
  
  
  • Lack of basic understanding
  
  
  • Corporate liability concerns
  
  
  • Cost/staff issues
  
  
  • Network security