Devil's Advocate Post: Why social media "won't work" in regulated industries

I work in a heavily regulated industry, but that hasn't stopped me from being an active online citizen.  I have profiles on everything from Linked In to Twitter, Flickr to Facebook, Friendfeed to Meetup.  I am enthusiastic about the communications possibilities of the Internet and how easy it is for people to connect. 

Despite my evangelizing on the job, I haven't seen a significant uptake in social media and I find it frustrating.  Blogs, podcasts, wikis...these are all things that are researched, implemented, and suffered, but never embraced.  Social networks?  Most can't even describe what that means without talking about risks.  When I talk to my peers in the industry, I hear either fear about what's happening "out there" or a need to control the message.  Underpinning every conversation is the sentiment that social media isn't right for us.

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't.  I think one of best things to do is to get all the objections out in the open so we can talk about them.  So without further ado, here are 10 objections I've heard to social media in regulated industries:

1. Avoidance of anything that exposes the organization to reputational risk is culturally ingrained.  Therefore, employees won't use the medium to collaborate to solve problems.  There's a fear of exposing either the organization or themselves in a negative way.
   
2. Independent voices haven't been fostered or appreciated within these industries and people haven't been hired for these talents.  There's no one to do the job with finesse.
   
3. There's an emphasis on process instead of innovation.  No one seeks out unique ways to communicate with online constituents.
   
4. Organizations in regulated industries are used to speaking as authorities.  Because social media fosters relationships on an individual level and not an organizational level, the organization's sense of its own authority could be eroded.
5. Unwillingness of the organization to respond to comments or to further discussion/debate.  They don't want their positions debated because the organization perceives itself to be the authority and wants to foster that in all public-facing interactions.
6. In order to participate in a community, you have to be answerable to that community.  Regulated industries have never directly answered communities and are afraid of their legal standing if they do.
7. Social media requires a personal touch and individual voice.  Regulated industries don't like to trust individual employees with their reputation.
8. The industry dismisses social media as something kids do and will therefore not treat it with the respect or the sensitivity it requires. Lack of success will become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
9. Online communities have social mores/norms that must be followed in order to gain the trust of the community.  In an effort to control messaging, organizations will run a high risk of alienating the very people they try to reach.
10. Organizations don't want to appear foolish by using technologies or participating in communities that are less formal.  In the words of one of my co-workers, "we don't want to be like the grandpa that goes clubbing with the kids."  Indeed.