how social media and online networks can benefit the mining industry

8/2/2019 How social media and online networks can benefit the mining industry

1/59April 2010

New Technologies

T he world of social media and Facebook might seem farremoved from the work of mining

companies, but online networkingtools are quickly making their way intoboth the work and personal lives ofpeople in all industries. The challengefor mining companies is how to useand apply these tools and networksto improve their businesses, whilethe challenge for individuals is how to

extract personal value and enhancetheir communication skills in anindustry which generally operates inthe more remote and isolated areasof the world.

So what are the major networkingand social sites that are makingtheir mark? How and why shouldmining companies and individuals getinvolved? And what are the benefitsto be gained, in particular in relation

to the next generations enteringthe mining industry who are alreadyproficient in these tools, and regardtechnologies such as email old hat.

There are six major networking sitesor tools that many people would haveheard about in recent years. Followingis a brief description of how each oneworks and in what ways the miningindustry can extract value from them.

Facebook

Much maligned by some businesses,and blocked from access at manyothers, Facebook is by far the largestsocial site on the internet, with over400 million users worldwide, includingover 7 million in Australia.

Users create their own profile, whichcan then only be viewed by otherswho they have accepted as friends.Facebook is predominantly a social

tool, but is excellent for keeping intouch with current and past colleagues.Facebook offers powerful yet easyto use tools for loading and sharingdocuments, photos and video clips.

Members of The AusIMM, forexample, can join the AusIMM groupon Facebook. This allows them toconverse with other members in thegroup, post news or ar ticles of interest,and start discussions to seek expertopinions or knowledge.

Mining companies can also creategroups for their employees to join,and this can provide a new means ofcommunicating with employees as analternative to the endless barrage ofemails.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is similar in some respects toFacebook, in that each user maintainstheir own profile and is able to linkwith individuals and groups of theirchoosing while maintaining privacy oftheir information to those they have

not accepted.

LinkedIn differs, however in that itsfeatures and user interfaces aretargeted much more at professionals

and those looking to network for theircareer or business. The number ofusers in Australia is fast approaching 1million, and LinkedIn is the number onenetworking site that professionals in themining industry should consider joining.It is professionally rather than sociallytargeted, and provides an effectivemeans for sharing and managingcontact details in a more complete andconstantly update way than businesscards could ever achieve.

A persons online profile is essentiallytheir online live resume, detailingprevious roles and achievements, theirspecialities and experience, and whatwork they are currently performing.

The focus of the site is on connectingwith colleagues and associates (andin turn connecting with their contacts),and sharing knowledge through

industry and special interest groups.For example, there is a group underthe AusIMM banner for the sharing ofinformation and news related to themining and metals industries.

How social media and online networks can benefitthe mining industryby Jamie Ross, MAusIMM, AusIMM OH&S Committee Member, Director of www.miningman.com.Connect at www.linkedin.com/ in/ miningman

New Technologies


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LinkedIn provides specific areas forthose seeking business connections,consulting opportunities, andrecommendations on potentialemployees. For better or worse, thesite is a hot bed for recruiters as theyare able to review peoples experienceand resumes online and then contactthem directly.

Tw itter

While gaining a lot of publicity recentlyin the media, Twitter is primarily a toolused by businesses to communicatewith other businesses. A user signsup to Twitter and then selects other

users (friends, companies, moviestars etc) to follow. When one of thepeople they are following sends out amessage or tweet they can receive iton their computer or phone. Tweetsare short messages limited to 140characters in length, so the messageneeds to be direct and concise.

The main advantages for companieson Twitter are the ability to search forwhat other people are saying about

their business, to communicate withtheir followers, and to generallymonitor things that are going on intheir industry. At this stage, Twitterappears to have little benefit forprofessionals or individuals besidesmonitoring news in their industry(unless many of their friends andcolleagues are also on it).

YouTube

YouTube is all about videos. Thereare videos on virtually every topic,from homemade instructional moviesto professional programs. The sheervolume of videos on the site providesa huge resource for anyone doingresearch or wanting to understand aconcept visually. Besides researchinginformation, the most likely use formining companies would be to posttheir promotional or other videos onthe site to improve public image ormarketing effor ts. Some companies

also produce video-diary style videos toinform stakeholders and shareholdersof news and important events withinthe company.

Forums

Forums are an interactive tool thatexist on a wide range of websites, andenable people to discuss with eachother topics relevant to their industryor interest area. One user will start adiscussion on a particular topic, andthen any other users are welcome tosign in and reply or comment on thediscussion. Forums are also usuallysearchable so that it is possible tofind previous conversations on anytopic of interest.

The AusIMM website now has a forumsection, with sub-forums dedicated

to areas such as Health and Safety,Mining, Women in Mining, andSustainabil ity. The main benefit ofbeing involved with forums is theability to share or gather knowledge,either from experts in the field or frompeople who are willing to share theirexperience.

Blogs

Blogs are a form of communication

now becoming very widespread onthe internet. A blog is like an onlinediary or live newsletter. The personor company who writes the blog willupdate it with posts or articles ona periodic basis (from once a dayto once a month). All their previousposts are always displayed, creatinga searchable record of articles onparticular topics. Blogs are becomingan excellent source of free informationon nearly any topic imaginable,including many mining and mineralsrelevant areas.

Some companies are also findinggreat value in having one of thesenior executives blog on aregular basis, either to the publicor to just employees. This methodof communication is much morepersonal than company newsletters,press releases or websites, andallows the senior executives tocommunicate their thoughts directly

to employees, stakeholders, and/ orthe public.

Benets for companiesand individualsThe main benefits that individuals inthe mining and minerals industriesshould be seeking from interactingwith these online media include:

Networking and connecting withothers in their industry, particularlyas more and more people moveto mobile; networks and smartphone technologies;

Collaborating and sharingknowledge;

Accessing leaders in their eld; Accessing free information and

discussions; Getting reviews on products,

vendors or new technologies; Researching markets and business

decisions; and Career information and job

searches.

While it can take some creative useof the online tools, there is value tobe gained by mining companies andrelated businesses by participating.

The value can come from:

Identity and reputation management;

Ability to communicate instantlywith people who have subscribedas being interested in what yourcompany is doing;

Having the same enormousexposure to the community as otherorganisations with online presenceswho might want to communicatenegative comments about thecompany;

Ability for senior executives tocommunicate their thoughts directlyto employees, stakeholders, and/ orthe public;

Abilit y for employees to connect andnetwork internally and externally;and

Networking, advertising andgenerating leads for work orpartnerships.

Mining companies need to be awarethat their staff, stakeholders andcustomers now have unparalleledability to share their thoughts and


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perceptions of their organisation withthe entire world, whether positive orcritical. But in return, companiesare also provided with the ability toimmediately and widely support orrebuke these thoughts to the exactsame audience.

Companies and organisations havea choice to build their reputationsthrough engaging widely in the socialsphere, or allow their reputations tobe formed by the voices of others ifthey neglect to engage.

There is a common reluctance touse online social media tools for

fear of divulging personal informationand therefore risking identity theftor privacy invasion. These concernsare addressed by the site applyingvarious levels of privacy control,such that only those people who areaccepted to a persons network mayview information about that person.It should be recognised that thepotential value in online networkingfar outweighs any potential concernsabout loss of privacy.

Future possibilities

The concepts and tools behindsocial networking also seem likelyto be able to be translated for usein collaboration and sharing withincompanies and projects. The featuresof these sites can be applied toproject teams, relationships withclients in the mining services area,or geographically spread work groups

features such as status updatemessages, photo and video sharing,document sharing, etc.

Do you think your staff would benefitfrom reading your thoughts oncea week on how the company isprogressing (via a blog), or maybeyoud like to ask your team to tweetyou once a day with a status update?Could a project team spread outgeographically use a LinkedIn groupto communicate, create discussions,and share updates?

A wide spread and pro-activecommitment to the application

of social media tools across themining industry will help to alleviatesocial and professional isolationexperienced by many working inremote areas of the world. Itsprevalence as an acceptable meansof inter-personal communication andinformation sharing will appeal tothose younger people seeking topursue a career in the resourcessector.

By ignoring the growing strength ofonline networking sites, whether theyare social or business oriented, miningcompanies and professionals riskmissing huge opportunities to buildtheir knowledge bases, networks,and reputations. By understandingthe ways in which these differentonline tools work, companies andindividuals will be much better placedto extract value from them in newand creative ways.

AusIM M discussionforumsThe AusIMM is pleased to advisemembers that work has beencompleted on its new discussionforums and these are now availablefor all members to access. Theforums can be accessed via thefollowing link: http:/ / www.ausimm.com.au/ forum/ default.aspx, or fromlinks on The AusIMM homepage orthe Members Only page.

Only current members of TheAusIMM will be able to accessand participate in these discussionforums and as a member, youmay be asked for your usernameand password to access them.Ten forums have been createdcovering:

Geoscience; Graduates; Health and Safety; Heritage; Management; Metallurgy; Mining; Students; Sustainability; and Women in Mining.

The forums will allow you to postideas, ask questions, seek adviceor reply to such items. Usershave complete control over howthey stay update with the forums

from nominating alerts for all

entries through to selecting alerts.For particular threads only or notreceiving any alerts. Usage issubject to the Terms of Use andall forums will be moderated withappropriate action taken if theseterms or The AusIMM Code of Ethicsare breached.

The AusIMM invites all members toutilise this feature of The AusIMMwebsite which we believe will

advance the exchange of informationand ideas throughout The AusIMMsAustralasian and global network.

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Minara Resources operates an open-cut mine and

processing facility in inland Western Australia and

services its Toyota 4x4s onsite fortnightly to maintain

safety and performance standards.

THE TOUGHEST PARTS FOR THE

TOUGHEST CONDITIONS

Toyota 4x4s are a leading light vehicle of choice for

mining operators. Thats because theyre built to

handle harsh conditions and replacement parts

are readily available.

The vehicles often work around-the-clock in corrosive

and acidic environments, combating dust, mud and

corrugated roads tough operating conditions which

dramatically increase maintenance requirements.

Many Toyota 4x4s on the eet have clocked up over

450,000km, and with servicing every 5000km, the

onsite workshop turns over thousands of parts a year.

MADE BY TOYOTA, FOR TOYOTA

All Toyota Genuine parts are engineered to Toyotas

high standards and quality, ensuring each part is

a perfect t and integrates seamlessly with other

components of the vehicle.

Toyota Genuine parts are priced competitively com-

pared to aftermarket alternatives and can be easily

sourced from Toyota Dealerships all around Australia.

PEACE OF MIND WITH TOYOTA GENUINE PARTS

Ken says safety is his paramount consideration when

preparing vehicles for situations where they will

interact with heavy earth-moving equipment.

Cutting earthnot corners.In the tough conditions of a mine you need vehicle parts youcan trust, thats why Minara Resources uses Toyota Genuine.

Minara Resources light eet manager Ken Watson

uses Toyota Genuine parts for the peace of mind

they give him. He knows that they will do the job,

t right rst time and provide his drivers with safe,

reliable vehicles.

We prefer to use Genuine parts to service our LandCruisers and HiLux 4x4s because of their proven quality, reliability and availability, he said.

We trialled some aftermarket brake pads and rotors, but they wore out twice as fast as the

genuine versions, so we went back to genuine.

Its been time and experience that makes us trust Genuine.

In such isolated, ultra-harsh environments, safetyand performance are always top of mind, makingparts that are designed specically for and testedon Toyota vehicles the most reliable choice.

how social media and online networks can benefit the mining industry

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