I don’t think today’s CIO gets very far being classically risk-averse and pushing back all the time on innovations. I can remember back in the 80s, when mainframe IT departments were incredibly resistant to the very notion of PCs, micro-to-mainframe links, etc. That sort of behavior and thinking undermines the sense of IT as business partner.

The genie is out of the bottle in these social media aspects, in burgeoning devices that need support, etc. Lead, follow, or get out of the way, as the saying goes: and IT can often be the people IN the way.

I’ve written in my blog on ““Getting” Twitter, from the technology executive’s perspective” — see http://www.peterkretzman.com/2009/04/07/getting-twitter-from-the-technology-executives-perspective/

I would say that its adoption/use by the CIOs depends largely on 3 factors:

1. The persona of the CIO – Some are more techno-inclined, hence more techno-advanced than others in using new tools. There is no evidence to say that one is more capable than another in terms of making an informed decision when the time comes.

2. The level of maturity of IT in the organization – Depending on whether IT is highly effective (optimized in my terminology) or not, issues of security, privacy and productivity may or may not be easy to tackle.

3. The nature and culture of the business organization – Some are more “social” or “media”-centric than others, hence the different rate of adoption. Likewise, the risk averse mentality is more of a corporate one than a particular CIO trait. A risk-averse CIO won’t last long in a high risk-tolerant company.

Long
http://cioassistant.wordpress.com

A couple of quick responses to each of your points above.

1. Twitter is free today and will likely have a free version forever. Regardless, I know your main point is around the ROI or lack thereof for a tool like Twitter.
Twitter is like any other communication tool (from e-mail to the phone) and our employees must be educated on the proper usage of such tools, balancing that with the appropriate policies to define and monitor utilization.
Twitter provides the best social search available today and the rewards of being on Twitter are there.

2. Lack of time to Tweet. I’ve been on Twitter for a few short months and I shared this viewpoint prior to beginning my exploration of the platform. CIOs must take time to communicate internally and externally and Twitter provides an easy to use technology to communicate, intelligently, on a wide variety of topics.
Twitter enables you to define your experience by the people you follow and how you Tweet. Do not get left behind. As I noted on my blog recently you are missing the boat if you are not on Twitter: http://johnfmoore.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/do-not-miss-the-boat-join-twitter/ , don’t miss the boat.

3. CIOs, by nature, must be risk averse to some extent. CIOs, however, have the opportunity to both drive revenue and cutting edge improvements as well as to protect the infrastructure and focus on operational effeiciencies. You must do both.

John
http://johnfmoore.wordpress.com

Twitter is a way to communicate. Used and managed well, it brings value. Used and managed poorly, it causes problems. In this regard, it is no different than the phone, email, or the web.

I started using twitter because I believe CIOs should explore technology so that they can speak about it with authority. Twitter is different from anything else you’ve used, and it takes time to understand and exploit it. I can tell you that my initial reaction of “what a waste of time” has become one of “what a useful tool.”

Twitter has allowed me to connect with other IT executives and build effective relationships. It brings me real-time news feeds. It lets me know of vendor problems and technology trends. Sometimes, it also makes me smile.

This didn’t happen over night. You must take the time to figure twitter out. It is different from anything you’ve used before, in subtle ways. You can’t sign up and pass judgment in a week. It takes months to learn how to use twitter effectively.

I agree that this can be a lot of time, but I found the investment worthwhile. I also agree that LinkedIn is useful, but it is different from twitter. LinkedIn is more about career management and tracking; twitter is about relationships and information sharing. In the end, I think good executives should be using both.

I write about these kinds of issues in general, and twitter in particular, in my blog at http://www.effectivecio.com. Comments are always welcome!