Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Out of Africa, Help for Haiti

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

News from Port-au-Prince

It’s been a week since the Port-au-Prince earthquake and images streaming in are helping us to grasp the region’s boundless misery and desperation. Hundreds of thousands have perished, and despite our best efforts, more will die and suffer for myriad reasons including the inability to deliver relief where it’s needed.

Despite the gut-wrenching news, it’s heartening to learn that determined, inventive people are finding ways to alleviate the suffering and, in some cases, save lives.

One of the more interesting stories is about an open-source project called Ushahidi which takes its name from the Swahili word for “testimony”.  The software, developed during the post-election violence in Kenya in 2008, enables text messages to be mapped by time and location.  Anyone with an internet connection, regardless of the device they use to access it, can send a text message, an image or an email. Ushahidi can also store data offline for later synchronization.

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Posted in Emerging Markets, Problem solving, Social Entrepreneur, Social Media, Telecommunications | Comments

Harnessing the Power of the Hive

Friday, December 4th, 2009

It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. -Lev Grossman, Time Magazine

The Urge to Connect

History shows that that when robust tools serve a powerful human drive, revolutionary changes occur. That’s happening now as social media enable people to satisfy their primal urge to connect with each another. Social media are ubiquitous, cheap, and accessible, and their widespread use is having a profound impact on business.

While the technology is grabbing the headlines, the more interesting story is how people around the world are using social media. They’re fulfilling their desire to connect with each other, forming communities in the process. The communities function like virtual beehives — amorphous, dynamic structures where members coalesce to share information.

Smart companies recognize the commercial value of communities. They treat community members more like stakeholders than consumers. Instead of broadcasting their messages at them, they engage followers in dialogue. In time, followers can be converted to evangelists.  In a hyper-connected world, evangelism carries messages fast and far, boosting the value of the brand.

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Posted in Airline, Business Practices, How Cool?, Social Media, What's Next? (WILD CARD) | Comments

Validating Customers through Social Media

Friday, June 26th, 2009

If you use Twitter or any of the other social networking tools, you’re bound to notice how much people crave acceptance and appreciation. Twitter users are delighted when their posts are re-tweeted (re-quoted) or commented on by their followers.

It’s obvious that people like being shown appreciation, but there’s more to being appreciated than meets the eye. Social scientists say we’re hard-wired to respond powerfully to appreciation. In fact, the quest for acceptance and appreciation may be one of our stronger drivers.

When we’re validated by others, we’re inclined to bond with them. I call this the Validation Principle, and it’s one of the keys to building durable customer relationships.

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Posted in Business Practices, Relational competency, Social Media, Validation, empathy | Comments