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 from a simplified focus on best practices, case studies, and actionable takeaways.
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 them if you’re focused on a spreadsheet. It’s impossible to change if you can’t see what it is they value.
Filmmaker Tiffany Shlain joined me on the set of Revolution to discuss her new film, Connected. Tiffany is a remarkable individual. She is the first to debut two films at the Sundance Film Festival and is also the founder of the prestigious Webby Awards.
In her film Connected, we as the audience, explore how technology is changing our culture. We are pulled into a beautiful spiral to feel what it means to live in an always on society and also how staying connected in the 21st century is shuffling our priorities. The world is indeed becoming a much smaller place. But we have to ask ourselves at what cost?
Five years ago today, Twitter’s @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 Jack’s first Tweet simply stated, “inviting coworkers” – the first tweet on record by @jack actually read, “just setting up my twttr.” That same Tweet was published by allemployees at a time when Twitter was actually known as Twttr.
The future of broadcast is literally at our fingertips…
The living room is the epicenter of family, the hub of the household. Perhaps more so than the dining table, the living room hosts hours upon hours of family attention and interaction every week. Whether we were gripped by the music and voices emitting from radios or entranced by the moving images illuminating our televisions, we celebrated everything from togetherness to relaxation around a common centerpiece.
We live in interesting times and among today’s catalysts spurring excitement and concern are social media…for it, as a movement, is a great equalizer.
Now, here we are, challenged to rethink what we know and think we know in order to compete for relevance now and in the future. As we heard in Part 1 of (R)evolution, we are witnessing the impact of social media on journalism and understanding how news travels differently through social graphs.
Listening is only the beginning. Engagement is the beginning of the end of business as usual. Once we hear, truly hear our customers and the people who influence our decisions, effective engagement is inspired by the empathy that develops simply by being human.
We start to see things through the eyes of our consumers.
We feel their pains, frustrations, and also happiness.
We sense what it takes to encourage positive sentiment.
There’s a saying, “technology changes, people don’t.” Yet, when we consider the impact of technology on our daily lives, some very interesting observations surface…
A pen now feels awkward to hold and as such, our penmanship is deteriorating.
It’s now common to sit at a dinner table with family and friends where some are actively communicating with others, listening to music or gaming via mobile devices.
We are redefining the perception, boundaries and thresholds for privacy as we once knew it.
I recently sat down with Chris Beck, founder of 26dottwo, a digital media agency in the San Francisco Bay Area for a in-depth discussion on the state and future of social media. We examine a broad range of topics that explore the impact of the social economy on business, culture and the democratization of influence.
In this installment, we discuss “people” as the 5th “P” in the marketing mix. While this is a subject that’s been discussed over the years, the 5th P serves as a defined pillar in the newly published Hybrid Theory Manifesto.
On July 22nd 2010, Facebook officially announced that it had surpassed 500 million users around the world. This significant achievement represents a significant milestone for Zuckerberg and Co. as well as for social networking and more importantly for global societies overall.
To celebrate this achievement, Facebook released Facebook Stories, a new service to spotlight user stories from around the world and the impact Facebook has had on their lives.
Brian Solis is principal at Altimeter Group, a research firm focused on disruptive technology. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has studied and influenced the effects of emerging technology on business, marketing, and culture. Solis is also globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. His new book, What's the Future of Business (WTF), explores the landscape of connected consumerism and how business and customer relationships unfold and flourish in four distinct moments of truth. His previous book, The End of Business as Usual, explores the emergence of Generation-C, a new generation of customers and employees and how businesses must adapt to reach them. Prior to End of Business, Solis released Engage, which is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to market, sell and service in the social web.
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