From The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist asks, “What is social business?” Brian Solis, Principal analyst at Altimeter Group, offers an answer. In an interview with Frieda Klotz, deputy editor at The Economist Intelligence Unit, Brian discusses the transformative nature of social business. Frieda Klotz: How will the role of a social business leader change over the next two years? Brian Solis: Let me start by saying this: the difference between social business and social media is very profound. I say that because…

John Twohig recently wrote about the importance of businesses becoming social. He wondered, “How should the word ‘Social’ be featured in an overall business strategy? Social Business as defined by Brian Solis is a philosophy for the entire business. “Social Business is a philosophy, a way of business where social technologies supported by new approaches facilitate a more open, engaged, collaborative foundation for how we work.” So said Brian Solis in a recent post. Use the word “social” in front…

  ADWEEK’s Michelle Castillo covered the acquisition of Twitch by Amazon. While it may have come out of left field, she wrote, analysts believe that the Amazon-Twitch acquisition deal—worth a princely sum of $970 million—sounds like a perfect match. Michelle and Brian discussed the acquisition. Following is an portion of their conversation. Altimeter analyst Brian Solis pointed out that the move solidifies Amazon’s play to target the coveted youth that find themselves at home watching videos on YouTube and clips…

The Nation recently discussed the importance of customer experience. More than merely reacting to it, the article discusses how to proactively influence it. The inspiration for this topic stems from Brian Solis’ most recent book, What’s the Future (WTF) of Business: Changing the way businesses create experiences. Following is an excerpt. Please read the original article here. Information from your customer journey is a great source of valuable insight about your customers. Define where you can make an impact This…

Using social media to discover leads and broker new business relationships has become an essential part of the sales process. In the second part of Hootsuite’s interview series with Altimeter analyst and best selling author Brian Solis, we gain his insight on how sales professionals need to think about social selling.

By Alix Drabek of BCBusiness A Q&A with the Silicon Valley thought leader “Everybody’s talking about disruption and innovation, but no one’s really disrupting or innovating. Everyone seems to be copying a lot,” says Solis, who opened GROW Conference 2014 with a rising call for real innovation. If you want your startup idea to succeed, put your customer’s expectations before your entrepreneurial ambitions, he argues—or your pitch could fall on deaf ears. BCBusiness spoke to Solis about disruption, customer engagement…

Washio CEO and co-founder Jordan Metzner checks out mapping information with Washio staffers at the company’s Santa Monica, Calif., headquarters.(Photo: Sean Fujiwara) Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY covered the latest service to help you clean up your life…and yes, it’s an app. Washio, the Uber of Laundry, is the latest on demand service to help people get laundry picked up, cleaned and delivered as they wish. Jefferson talked to Brian about his thoughts on the fledgling company…  I don’t know my…