Whoever was the first to say, “The first reaction is usually the right one,” could not have foreseen just how many people can receive a first reaction when employing microblogging and microsharing tools like Twitter or Plurk. These tools are experiencing an explosion of adoption. In addition, enterprise-ready and white label competitors are blossoming to create a surge in the ability for hundreds or thousands to see first reactions from one of your employees within seconds of your latest announcement. THE SURGE IS WORKING.

If this notion scares you, than it is high time your organization begin to consider the evolution happening in the areas of marketing, public relations, market research and customer service. Organizations are discovering the benefits of being open, personal, authentic and transparent. The days of delivering a polished marketing message and expecting customers to flock are becoming numbered. The days of customer service people delivering the company line to create satisfied customers are numbered. The days of public relations departments serving ray-of-sunshine press releases that don't go straight to the circular file are numbered.

As mentioned in a previous post, I attended a strategy meeting at Best Buy last week. In attendance were no less than two high level company officials (one C-Level) and about 30 other corporate folks from various departments including marketing, digital strategy, and dot com.

In the 12 hours leading up to that meeting, attendees were encouraged to “Tweet” (140 character or less messages on Twitter) about the coming meeting and to call for questions from anyone. Working for Best Buy was not required. Those who wanted a message to appear in the room were asked to fit “#bbycds” somewhere in the Tweet. This code, called a hashtag, can be used to search and group Tweets.

During the meeting a Senior VP was presenting strategy from the front of the room using a large screen to show PowerPoint slides. A second screen at the front of the room was showing Spy, a search tool that pulls posts from several social sites, including Twitter, based on user entered keywords or a hashtag. Spy was set to show everything posted on these social sites with the hastag #bbycds. Of the 30+ people in the room, many of them were furiously banging on laptops or smartphones throughout the presentation – including the Best Buy CMO.

If you walked into that room while the meeting was going on and were asked to asses what you saw without any preparation or back story, I suspect most would see a strategy meeting in which it appeared that almost no one was paying attention. Reality was the complete opposite.

It seems to me that the people in that room were utilizing the bandwidth that nature has provided. I think all of us (are aware of the ability and) are pretty good at thinking faster than the person speaking in front of us. The people in the room were watching a PowerPoint, watching the Spy feed, listening to the speaker and sharing their reactions all in real-time. Spy was scrolling all the comments, reports and questions from the people in the room along with the posts from dozens of interested individuals spread across the country.

Utilizing these tools brought more smart people into the room. It brought more passion for the discussion. It elevated the level of engagement. Ideas and questions poured in and real innovation had an opportunity to flourish.

Many companies have a rule (spoken or not) against having a laptop or smartphone open/on during a company meeting. It violates some business etiquette. It is time to rewrite the rules of etiquette. If disconnecting from the old rules adds more smart minds, more passion and elevated engagement, isn't it time?

Maintaining the old business rules will allow you to keep your walls up. The conversation about your business will continue about you without your participation. The ideas and experience of innovators that don't work for you will not be heard. Your business will be stuck with a closed marketing face instead of an open, welcoming, inclusive and sincere face.

Let those first reactions be heard. The crowd is anxious to participate in the next evolution of your business.

Read Laura (@Pistachio) Fitton's take on microsharing in enterprise here.  Read Gary (@garykoelling) Koelling's take on the #bbycds meeting here.