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Should CIOs be tweeting?
A quick glance at the Twitter landscape shows that CIOs are not necessarily the most retweetable bunch out there. Those who do have Twitter accounts do seem to be well-regarded, however. Does it make sense for CIOs to use Twitter -- and social media in general -- given the private, time-demanding nature of their jobs?
Best Answer
Tools need to be used to achieve particular objectives. The tools thus selected will be the ones relevant to the objective and the person involved. I think Robert has summed this all up very nicely.
I also agree with Robert and will add it depends on the genera of business the CIO is in. In some silos, the CIO needs to be up-front and open (technology companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft etc) but in some I think they should be more behind the scenes (banking, insurance, finance, maybe some healthcare). If the role of the CIO encompasses the role of a CTO, then the CIO should be out a little more. If the role is more traditional (administration, leadership, not so innovative), then maybe a CTO should be brought on board to communicate outward as necessary.
With the entire CIO world struggling (as has been copiously reported in the trade press) to establish its relevance to the automation process and to get a seat at the automation planning table, one has to wonder if members of its ranks should be using a demonstrably consumer-oriented application in any part of their business lives.
Moreover, if what a CIO has to say can be encapsulated in a 140-character "tweet," some might further wonder if he or she has anything relevant to say about the path of automation for the organization in which they labor. Whgether true or not, if perceptions are everything, this one doesn't help the profession.
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It depends on the CIO. If the CIO is "socially engaged" and feels comfortable tweeting, then sure - as long as the content is relevant. On the other hand, if the CIO is not engaged, then the content is usually contrived and really doesn't add anything to the role and/or the company's image.
I'm not sure how you are defining the "private" aspect of the job. A good CIO is one that is engaged with customers, partners, alliances, industry groups, peers, employees, etc. The last thing I would want in a CIO is some techno-nerd sitting behind a desk looking at architecture diagrams, project plans and software licenses all day. CIOs should be front-line and part of the executive team. As such, they need to be business savvy, technically astute and socially engaged.
WRT the time-demanding aspect of the job, you have to use common sense. A CIO tweeting perspectives from an industry conference or trade show can be enlightening. A CIO sending out 200 tweets a day, every day, can be annoying. I'm amazed at the number of meaningless tweets I see from some pretty well-known industry players.
On the downside, Twitter can also be the "devil's playground" so to speak. I've seen many a good business or technical discussion/debate on Twitter between well-recognized members of the "clouderati". And at the same time I've seen some mindless rants, laced with expletives from some of the same members. Not sure that's the image their company likes them to project.