Is the semiconductor industry ready for social media? Based on MCA’s Social Media Panel discussion on Monday evening, maybe not quite ready, but curious and open to the idea? Definitely.
I participated as a panelist, along with Matt Grimshaw, editorial director of Future Fab Online; Paul Miller, CEO, EE Times Group; Robert Petrosian, CEO, InfoNeedle; Yvette Huygen, director worldwide, PR and corporate affairs, Synopsys. The discussion was moderated by renowned journalist blogger, Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher.
As panelists, we fielded questions about how we used social media ourselves, whether it was a waste of time, how we differentiate between LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and others. Concerns such as controlling corporate messages, IP protection, and the risk of negative publicity were raised, acknowledged, and to some extent put to rest.
As users of social media, we all pretty much agreed that with regards to the semiconductor industry, Facebook is for personal use, LinkedIn is for professional networking, and Twitter is useful if you can streamline who follows you and who you follow into a select group. Tweet deck helps cut down on information overload. I personally tweet when we’ve got a new post or a new event to talk about, or to retweet an interesting piece of information I think 3D InCItes members will find useful.
While Paul, Matt, Tom and I all represent the media itself, Yvette offered insight from the corporate perspective. For Synopsis, she finds social media tools useful in relationships with existing customers – it’s helpful for staying in touch.
Here’s the gist, social networking – both on and offline — has always been a vital part of information sharing in this industry, what with trade shows, user groups, Social media is an extension of that. General consensus among the panelists was that social media should be regarded as yet another vehicle for communication, and rather than a replacement for traditional marketing avenues, it should be considered as part of the total media mix for developing and promoting a company’s brand and message.
Some important take-away from the discussion:
- With social media, it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the quality of conversation you get and share with others; its qualitative rather than quantitative.
- It’s all about the message – social media just provides more tools to deliver it.
- It provides a deeper level of engagement
Here’s what some of the attendee’s had to say.
I’m interested in your thoughts on this topic. What do you think? Is the semiconductor industry ready for social media? Post your comments here. — F.v.T.
