Redefining Leadership in the Emerging Social Business Environment

Posted by Bill on Aug 12, 2010 in MeshBlog | 0 comments

“We are seeing the emergence of a new business paradigm that incorporates the learning from the social web and the new interaction models and expectations of all of the business stakeholders. Social business requires new ways of engaging customers and prospects as well as new methods of operating a business. Part of the urgency to change is driven by people that have learned and gained new expectations based on their personal online life, people that make up a businesses customers and employees,” writes Michael Fauscette, who leads IDC’s Software Business Solutions Group. Fauscette likens the shift from the industrial-age management model to the new social-business environment to the shift from an agrarian economy to the industrial age.

Authenticity

Posted by Bill on Aug 9, 2010 in MeshBlog | 0 comments

“Consumers are more sophisticated now. They want value, and they want to connect with retailers in an honest exchange,” says a writer at the National Retail Federation’s website, Stores.com.

“More than ever, a company’s brand identity and marketing efforts must be authentic.

Whether actions and words line up or not, word of mouth spreads like wildfire through social media channels.

This new dynamic is exciting because connecting to customers in memorable ways opens the door for savvy retailers and brands to innovate. For example, some retailers are urging employees to share their gifts and passions openly to connect with customers’ needs and desire to spend. Many of those retailers take advantage of analyzing customer data generated by social media and traditional sources in a sincere yet bottom-line-driven effort to remain relevant.”

When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Twitter

Posted by Bill on Aug 9, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

“To woo young shoppers and their parents, retailers have stepped up their efforts, rolling out discounts and new exclusive lines and turning to social media to advertise,” the  Los Angeles Times reported a few days ago in a story about retailers trying to make it in this still-tough economy.

Tweeting the Crème Brulee

Posted by Bill on Aug 7, 2010 in MeshBlog | 0 comments

TechCrunch presents six case studies on how various businesses – including a street vendor selling crème brulee on the sidewalks of San Francisco, a luxury hotel operator and a start-up dental practice, are using social media to bring in new business.

Teens Don’t Tweet

Posted by Bill on Feb 17, 2010 in MeshBlog, Social Networking | 1 comment

Teens and young adults are blogging less and using Facebook more, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project:

Two Pew Internet Project surveys of teens and adults reveal a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. In 2006, 28% of teens ages 12-17 and young adults ages 18-29 were bloggers, but by 2009 the numbers had dropped to 14% of teens and 15% of young adults. During the same period, the percentage of online adults over thirty who were bloggers rose from 7% blogging in 2006 to 11% in 2009.Much of the drop in blogging among younger internet users may be attributable to changes in social network use by teens and young adults. Nearly three quarters (73%) of online teens and an equal number (72%) of young adults use social network sites. By contrast, older adults have not kept pace; some 40% of adults 30 and older use the social sites in the fall of 2009.

New survey results also show that among adults 18 and older, Facebook has taken over as the social network of choice; 73% of adult profile owners use Facebook, 48% have a profile on MySpace and 14% use LinkedIn. “Blogging appears to have lost its luster for many young users,” said Amanda Lenhart, lead author of the report. “The fad stage is over for teens and young adults and the move to Facebook — which lacks a specific tool for blogging within the network — may have contributed to the decline of blogging among young adults and teens.”

Other findings include:

Teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers – just 8% of online teens 12-17 say they ever use Twitter, a percentage similar to the number who use virtual worlds. This puts Twitter far down the list of popular online activities for teens and stands in stark contrast to their record of being early adopters of nearly every online activity.

Click here for the rest of the report, including a link to download it as a PDF.