Sometimes the path of least resistance unwinds into a far more complicated and arduous journey than we anticipated. In times of change, taking the path less traveled, although initially daunting, proves easier and far more rewarding in the long run. Such is true for social media. I read a review about Engage once that read, “Brian Solis takes the fun out of social media.” The author’s point was that the book took an academic approach when the industry could benefit…
Customer-centricity Begins with Creating a Culture of Change
Customer-centricity or getting closer to customers is often the focus of many executive meetings I attend these days. The question always arises, “how can we use new media to get closer to customers?” The answer is not, develop a social media strategy to start engaging with customers. The answer is, change. Any organization that focuses on operations, margins, and efficiencies over customer experiences will find itself unfavored by tomorrow’s connected customer. It’s difficult to see the customer or empathize with…
How World Leaders use Social Media: Why the @WhiteHouse doesnāt follow @BarackObama & other idiosyncrasies
Guest post by Matthias LĆ¼fkens, Associate Director of Media, World Economic Forum – Follow him on Twitter Twitter is redefining the way we communicate – and that includes our world leaders: 15 of the G20 governments use it. But the question is who follows who, who doesnāt follow who, and do world leaders even realize the diplomatic significance of their tweets and Twitter friendships? Barack Obama was the first to use the micro-blogging service to communicate with his electorate in…
A Conversation about 2011 – 2012 Trends in Social Media
While attending LeWeb in Paris, I caught up with the 99Faces crew to discuss trends in social media for 2011 and 2012. Among the many topics we touch, we spent a fair amount of time exploring the evolving influence of social media on… – Mainstream lifestyle and culture – The rise of curation – Elevating the importance of transparency and engagement between businesses and customers – Businesses dynamics and the need to open the doors between silos – Politics and…
This just in…News no longer breaks, it Tweets
Following the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death, Twitter once again celebrated its CNN-moment. This isn’t its first however, which actually seems to be news to emerging media pundits. The new reality of a real-time world is that news no longer breaks, it Tweets. We are the architects of a new media alert system, TNN – the Twitter News Network. And, because of us, we have set a foundation for which news media can more effectively track, check, and report…
Social Media ROI: ROI Doesnāt Stand for Return on Ignorance
My good friend Olivier Blanchard recently released his new book, Social Media ROI, Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization. As he was nearing its completion, he asked if I would write the foreword and to be honest, I was flattered. I agreed to do so under one condition, that I get the opportunity to share the foreword with you here. Long story short, here we are. The book is extremely helpful and carries the endorsements of those…
Engage 2.0 is Now Online and in a Bookstore Near You
I’ve some great news to share with you! One year after its official release Engage 2.0 is now available… If you just bought the original Engage, don’t worry, this book doesn’t replace it. Engage 2.0 is a different book with a different purpose. When it came time to release Engage in paperback I was asked if there were any changes I wanted to make before going to press. The answer was an emphatic yes. I took this opportunity not because…
The Dilemma’s Innovator: Innovation and Change as the New Pillars of Business
If necessity is the mother of invention, then perhaps imagination is the source of innovation. In December 2010, I was given the opportunity to write the cover story for Entrepreneur Magazine. The article, “Change: Lessons on What’s Next,” explored the innovation behind three (well four) companies — Foursquare, Square + Twitter, and Zappos. Throughout the years, I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with Dennis Crowley, Jack Dorsey and Tony Hsieh. And over that time, I’ve observed inherent traits that…
Happy 5th Birthday @Twitter: A look at Twitter’s growth by the numbers
Five years ago today, Twitterās @Jack published the very first Tweet, the first of billions of Tweets that would eventually change the way millions of people share, learn, and communicate. While other news media (Twitter included) report that Jackās first Tweet simply stated, āinviting coworkersā ā the first tweet on record by @jack actually read, ājust setting up my twttr.ā That same Tweet was published by all employees at a time when Twitter was actually known as Twttr. In five…
Revolution Season 2: Technorati’s Richard Jalichandra on the State and Future of Social Media
Technorati dates back to 2002, originally launched as a search directory for the blogosphere. By 2008, Technorati was indexing 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. In 2011, Technorati Media has become a full-fledged new media network. Every year, the company releases a State of the Blogosphere report that consistently documents the rise and evolution of the blogosphere. While there’s always debate that Twitter and emerging classes of microblogs threaten the blogosphere, Technorati shows that…
