Why employees are more trusted than the CEO

As companies work to refine internal communications tactics, social media and the power it carries is becoming an increasingly important way to communicate with employees. This week’s article discusses how the voice of the communicator affects the believability of the message. In fact, “a person like myself” was ranked 26% higher than the CEO as a credible source of information (Smith, 2007). Smith provides support for this result including the increased trust we feel for those “like” us. In addition, he ends the article with a checklist to follow to ensure strong internal communications through social media, and he suggests that the authentic voice of the employee created through social media can be used to create social marketing programs for external communications.

Smith, S. (April/May 2007). Why employees are more trusted than the CEO. Strategic
Communication Management (11), 3. 7. Retrieved May 29, 2007 from Business Source
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Sophomoric? that's the idea

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. The article I have selected for this week details how a couple friends created a website called CollegeHumor.com when they were 18. The site is dedicated to sophomoric humor common among college-aged males. The article addresses the concepts related in chapter 4 concerning theories of culture. As the article states, "CollegeHumor is so focused that . . . it may be wholly incomprehensible to the over-40 set" (Fine, 2007, p. 24). The article discusses the unorthodox business practices employed by the leaders of CollegeHumor, and it illustrates how focusing one's communication toward one subculture can result in a successful business venture.

Fine, J. (2007, May 28). Sophomoric? that's the idea. BusinessWeek. 24.