How can we make this work?

Wow.  Chapter 2 of The Social Organization: How to Use Social Media to Tap the Collective Genius of your Customers and Employees by Anthony J. Bradley and Mark P. McDonald made me want to get involved with companies immediately.  My first instinct after reading the chapter which takes you through the six principles of mass collaboration as well as the fundamental cycle of collaboration was, "I've got to call my dad!"

As a business owner, my father is always looking for new ideas and ways to spread word about what he's doing.  In reading this book, I'm finding that there is so much more they could be doing with social media! I'm hoping he takes my advice and picks up this book so that we can work together to help his company grow!

Here's a diagram of the components of mass collaboration which broadly shows what needs to be used effectively to have successful mass collaboration.  The principles and fundamental cycle go further into detail on each area of the diagram.

The first page of chapter 2 grabbed my attention immediately - "Social media enables mass collaboration, in which a large and diverse group of people who may have no preexisting connections pursues a mutual purpose that creates value." When I relate this to child life and the Child Life Council, I imagine how forming a social organization within the child life and medical community could allow the field to explode! I'm sickened by seeing children that are held back because of a prolonged hospital stay, physically, cognitively, and emotionally! If we could spread the word of child life to more people, more people would be advocates for child life, more parents would be aware, and more hospitals would put efforts into having child life.

The struggle with child life is that it is not a billable service in the hospital.  It is not viewed as a service that is necessary because it does not provide benefits along the lines of saving lives, healing, etc.  But as an advocate for child life, I see it differently.  In the long run, child life has major effects.  Imagine an infant, diseased and hospitalized for months.  That infant may be held occasionally by a parent or nurse,  fed, changed, etc. But child life specialists not only work with the infant, but the family on ensuring that child is getting the developmental attention he or she needs. This includes building the necessary muscles, sensory development, cognitive development, and relational development with that child's family and loved ones.  If this child survives, they have a higher chance of being on track with the developmental norms because of the work of a child life specialist.  That IS important. By forming a social organization within the child life council, child life could expand and benefit greatly.  The way to share this is to get people who have experienced what child life specialists can do, first hand, to get on board.

This leads me into the second difficulty to overcome. Getting parents and patients on board is difficult because approaching a parent after or even while their child is sick in the hospital can be hit or miss.  It would be a decision made over time by the child life specialist to ask the family to get on board as an advocate of child life and be involved enough to make it a successful social organization.

Overall, I think this is very possible.  I believe it is possible for any organization to become a social organization, it just won't happen overnight; the expectation of our society.

Fire up!