12 Lectures on Social Capital

by Alyson Wyers, TrendHunter

In his social capital speech, Brian Solis explains the role of social media in branding and business. The digital analyst examines how technology and sites like Twitter affect business. Social media interaction including likes and comments result in a social economy, where these elements equate to currency.

Not only has social media revolutionized politics as seen in the Arab Spring, but we are also seeing the natural emergence of a Corporate Spring where employees care about the social economy as well. Beyond a platform to talk to consumers, social media is also an opportunity to create real relationships and establish empathy and buy-in from them.

The social capital speech positions brands as people, with online influence. Social capital is an investment in relationships with an expected return and what people say online contributes to this. Therefore, capitalism is not just measured by monetary profit, but also by the depth of relationships.