The merits of social media in a corporate context are well-documented, but not everyone is boarding the Twitter bandwagon. Here, Michael Mitchell, general manager of the Investor Relations Society, gives his personal view

IR is all about communications so any new medium should be embraced, or so the new media experts would have us believe. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn... the list of new ‘opportunities’ to promote yourself across the ether grows by the day.

I am so old now that I can remember the first electronic calculator which was a prized instrument that had to be shared around the office. And we all laugh now at the brick-sized mobile phones in old films. So call me a Luddite, but I have to question the benefit of a Chairman telling the world what he had for breakfast. The Prime Minister’s venture onto YouTube to announce his new policy on MP’s expenses backfired spectacularly.

Clearly, the internet and e-mail have been transformational in the way we conduct business and the speed at which information can be disseminated. And there is no doubt that there will still be exciting developments in the way in which we are able to use e-comms. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so the ability to give a potential investor a virtual tour of an overseas facility or to see a CEO talk about his or her company is invaluable. But for a CEO to give a running commentary on his life on Twitter or a blog... I think not.

“I am so old now that I can remember the first electronic calculator which was a prized instrument that had to be shared around the office”

Let’s keep communications in perspective. For one thing how does a senior executive justify the time spent on the keyboard – isn’t he meant to be running a company? It’s also worth remembering that price sensitive information has to be disseminated through authorised channels. If a CEO is blogging on the internet he is probably disclosing price sensitive information whether he realises it or not. And if his pearls of wisdom are so mundane not to be price sensitive, what is the point in him wasting his time on the computer?

I know that the current crisis has led to investors and analysts demanding more information from companies. This is where good investor relations come into play. Investor targeting is a fundamental part of the IRO’s activities and helping management to prioritise their time is essential. It is important to have a clear and consistent message delivered through the appropriate channels. Information overload doesn’t help anyone and technology has not yet succeeded in lengthening the 24-hour day. The scattergun approach to information dissemination can obfuscate rather than clarify.

I feel somewhat justified in my views by a recent survey by Pear Analytics in the US which found that 41% of the Tweets on Twitter were ‘totally pointless babble’ and a further 38% were classified as ‘totally conversational’. I rest my case!

Social networking is a great innovation for keeping in touch with like-minded friends. But it should be regarded as just that – a social, not a business, tool. So let’s have less Facebook and more focus.