Can a PR department get through 2011 without working with sales, customer service, investor relations, research, compliance and legal departments on at least a few social media issues?  No. Will those issues be easier to manage if formal networks of coordination are set up now?  Absolutely.

And I’m not talking about the department head to department head network that already exists. But the execution folks that are on the ground, online, and know the cultural mores that present unique problems and opportunities.

So as you assemble your 2011 plan, how about reaching out to those other departments and proposing a little council be set up? As always, ask for volunteers. Only the people who want to try something new will raise their hands, and it’s that little oomph that will stir them to openly share questions and learnings about what they’re seeing in social media land.

Because no one department can master social media on it’s own. And the truly amazing things social media can deliver only happen when everyone’s at the table.