Will Social Media lead to Management Topsy Turvy?

Today's question on the ebizQ Web 2.0 forum was about whether "social" would lead to the demise of top-down management.

I'll be honest... I just don't understand the premise for this question, even after reading the blog that it was referring to.

• Did the post office end top-down management?  
• Did telephony end top-down management?  
• Did email end top-down management?  
• Did instant messaging end top-down management?

Then, why would social end it?

Social media is just another channel that facilitates the same communication that had been happening before with the post office, telephones, email, and IM. Now, will management be impacted by social media? Absolutely, just like it was impacted by other previous advancements in communication styles and technologies.

* Originally posted in the ebizQ Web 2.0 forum on July 27, 2011.