Fortune 100 CEOs are Social Media Laggards

Wow, I had no idea that uberceo was such a global phenomenon in corporate consulting. Perhaps the share holders of the aforementioned should fire their leadership for being "distant, disinterested, and disengaged" (pardon the blatant journalism 101 alliteration). So what do you think...thirty days max before the respective companies fold? All because I don't know if the Wells Fargo CEO had a ham or salami sandwich for lunch. Stop vilifying people because they don't want to share every detail of their lives with a jaded world.

The real question is, do they understand the strategic value of it within the context of the business/market they are in/could be in. They may not have time to use it, but are they encouraging or empowering people to be innovative with the technology? If yes, then good. If not, then bad.

Jason, thanks for your perspective. I was hoping to start a conversation about whether it's necessary for CEOs of large companies to use social media at all. Being adept at social media is no guarantee of corporate performance --just look at Jonathan Schwartz at Sun Microsystems. He's a great blogger but Sun has really suffered. During an economic crisis, I think most shareholders would rather CEOs spend time managing the company rather than tweeting what they had for lunch.

Yet, I think social media can be a powerful communication tool. Jack Welch, a late convert to Twitter, has mastered it in a short time. You can find him at www.twitter.com/jack_welch. I wonder if it's an opportunity that other CEOs are missing. I'd love to hear what other people think.

Hi,greats,ntice of SEO,MAZING

Rachael, nice post. I'm not sure I agree that time is a constraint -- many of us work longer hours than CEOs, and to take 10 seconds to fire off a thought a few times a day is not really a drain on productivity.

I suspect there are several additional reasons for executive reluctance: CEOs tend to be older (late adopters to social media), conservative (slow to try new fads), numbers-oriented (finance types are not as loquacious), averse to risk (God forbid their action messes up the stock), and used to communication filters (dictating missives to the head of PR). None of this sits well with Twitter.

Unfortunately, CEOs are missing a powerful new tool for building brand awareness and reputation. Your man John A. Byrne has made me think more highly of BusinessWeek.com with his Twitter presence and human face on the organization. In the brand ladder in my head, I really know who BW is. CEOs should do the same for their own brands.

I think it comes down to how important is it for the CEO to listen to their customers and employees and what they have to say? Social Media seems to be the place that people communicate and share ideas and attitudes. It seems that CEO's are somehow insulated if they only focus on Shareholders and what Wall Street thinks. Companies are not monolithic structures of glass and steel, but are people. If the CEO cares about people, then he/she should make time for Social Media interaction. At least to be open to the discussions and ideas that posted,"tweeted" and Blogged on a daily basis. What's good for the customers and employees will ultimately be good for the shareholders of any company.

Rachel, I apologize if my initial reaction seemed incendiary but this is a hot topic and one that increasingly seems to cause derision towards those who resist. Mr. Kohnle makes the statement, "If the CEO cares about people, then he/she should make time for Social Media interaction." Wow! Since when is opening a facebook account the litmus test for social empathy?? If we don't "tweet" are we doomed to a lesser life branded as uncaring curmudgeons? I think a corporation or a business having a facebook page is fine if not necessary, but at the end of the day it’s just a more consolidated way for someone to research a vendor or institution. The CEO of the company is a person not a business entity. Participating on twitter should not be akin to paying taxes, voting or jury duty. It is not a part of our responsibility as Americans. It is not a sin to maintain control your personal accessibility. Volunteering, giving to charity, taking care of one’s family, these are the attributes of someone who cares about people. Determining the criteria for allowing someone to join your myspace friend list is a far cry from “caring about people”.

I can't believe that we are even having this discussion about research that's totally rubbish.
Anybody bothering to check the facebook profiles of the so-called mentioned CEOs will have realised that the Vikram's 8 friends consists of the same group of people as Ken Lewis and the rest of the CEOs as well as this Lauder woman. The profile photo is so badly photoshopped. And the ridiculous wall postings between the CEOs and Lauder?
Its so obvious that all these accounts were created by this Lauder woman.
I can't believe people actually call this research!!!

Why Richard Branson is not mentioned here. I think he is everywhere - Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and I believe profiles to be genuine.

it's probably because there old.

I tend to agree with Jason Day's comments. Social media is a tool that you should use if appropriate. There are plenty of industries where the audience is not tech savvy let alone understand what Twitter or Facebook is. Sometimes I think too many of us are stuck in this tech microcosm and we assume everyone else falls into that when the reality is something different. To say that CEOs who don't engage in social media are disinterested or disengaged is an unfair generalization.

Who cares why a CEO/CFO/CTO, etc is not, or is, on twitter, etc.

Any corporate executive has to ask himself if there is a benefit to be gained in social networking other than being viewed as cool (cool is still a valid term - right?).

Looking for investors or partnership opportunities, how many of his 10,000 followers or 5,000 followers are going to step up.

Someone at the helm of a firm, or anyone employed in any posiiton at a firm, needs to spend his time engaging in activities that contribute to professional and personal growth.

While as entertaining as "social networking" is, how many of your 5,000 followers and 10,000 friends are going to help you achieve your goals.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm on Facebook to communicate with family and friends (people I actually know), and LinkedIn to network with other professionals in my industry.

Just a thought.

"So why do so few CEOs engage in social media? While regulations affect how and when CEOs communicate, I suspect the real reason is a lack of time." Lack of time is a major factor in whether or not businesses capitalize on Social Media Optimization and other Online Marketing tactics. Hiring a Social Media Specialist can help CEO's gain a competitive edge and still have the time to focus on running their businesses. http://milestechnologies.com/PublicPages/CS-Social-Media-Optimization.aspx

Shhh. Old fogies use this stuff too. I just hit age 55 this year. Not such a big barrier to usage as you would think.
I'm just another QA software person in transition (What a term!).
Hadn't played with twitter heavily until about a week ago. Learning the ropes quickly.
The biggest hurdle isn't finding the time to keep a single social media method active it's trying to keep up with all of the pertinent ones like Twitter,Linkedin, Praxis, Facebook, MySpace and others.

theres always someone out there away from the computer who needs a simple human greeting a improvised reflection on the positive side of life ,an aknowlagement that they exist to you as a human being.if you evenhave acess to a computer and been to school you have knowledge and friendship to give,so maybe stop putting down the guys that give your community a job and actually talk to the guy in the steet who looks like he could mug you because if he wasnt a struggling illegal immigrent its the last thing he would want to do.so get real get out get a real life and get results like your president does