The Beauty of Faces

The significance of attaching a face to a name cannot be forgotten. We get so involved in our interactions on-line we create relationships that are different from those that are "real." We participate in networks that connect us to people and organisations with shared professions, interests or ideals. We connect with those that have shared backgrounds, experiences, education, or needs. More often now we are so busy that we struggle to find time to keep up, so we focus on our core group. Yet, we must remember the richness in the diversity of our interactions beyond the core and their ability to provide a platform for learning and growing. I am honored to have such a rich diversity in my extended network that continues to fuel my curiosity and growth. Each link began with a face that starts the relationship.

While on my recent trip to New York for meetings of Business and Professional Women International, a face to face network that I am active in (which I will write about next), I connected with several old friends that are friends of mine on a particular on-line network as well. In fact, these were friends that two of the three I had not seen in over 20 years, but had recently reconnected on-line. We had a delightful time catching up on our lives in the "gap period" for ourselves and other shared friends, laughing about our shared memories and talking about our dreams for the future. At the end of our meeting, we realised that they all knew each other, also from many years past through different connections, and two of them were already connected on-line only. Although they all live in the same city, they had never connected. (So of course, being the network obsessed person I was, I had to do so).

In my presentations on best practice for using social media, I often speak of the importance of enhancing an initial face to face contact with on-line interaction to maintain connections. It was reassuring and fun to be reminded of the ability of social media to complement "real" relationships. But this little "experiment" in practice was quite validating for me.

Tools to translate impact

BuzzMetrics from Nielson has the right methodology for analysis of social impact on brands. But of course, for the entrepreneur these tools may be too costly to invest in when thinking about sustainability in the build up phase.

The basic concepts can be done using a combination of free tools (of course this is more work, but since when is starting your own business easier than doing a job for someone else). Setting up Alerts for your company name, your brand and your product name, and even for you, is a good start. There are several places you can do this, but a good start is Nielsen's free tool Blogpulse and Google (you will need a Google account to set this up). This will at least send you summaries of the sites and links to buzz. You should get familiar with using "feeds" from other site and blogs so you can tag ones that are of interest. Check out some of the free white papers and data on nielsen-online as well to establish a good base and learn from existing market research.

For those of you less techy-types, here is an explanation about feeds and how to use them. I am certainly starting to appreciate Commoncraft's ability to break things down into "plain English."

Benefits of OnLine Collaboration

I found myself trying to explain the benefits and process of on-line collaboration versus email to a team of non-tech oriented individuals yesterday. My dear technically challenged friends, I love you so I did a little checking. Here is a great little video that explains it "in plain English."

Enjoy. Let's hope our next on-line brainstorming session can be more productive, as you all know how it works now ;) . Thanks to CPSquare for pointing it out and to CommonCraft show for producing it.

Global Trends for Small Businesses for 2009

This is a great article by Laura Delaney on the top 10 Global Trends for Small Business for 2009. Although it is focused on the US looking outward, most of the rest of 10 apply globally. The .mobi may not be the platform, but I do believe mobile technology will be the connection between the developing and developed markets. I hope that we are not reduced to Twitters, but I have been wrong before.

1. Disruptive innovation will be both the coolest and hottest new growth strategy in 2009 because it will transcend all boundaries and transform businesses.
2. dotMobi will take global root in 2009.
3. Diverse global business partnerships will shine and outperform those businesses that don’t make these critical alliances.
4. Exporting (from the USA) will prevail in the first quarter of ‘09 and might start to strengthen later in the year.
5. Twitter will replace the “call me” statement with “Twitter me” due to technology, convenience and time constraints.
6. Entrepreneurs and small businesses will learn, if they haven’t already, everything there is to know about how to take a business global.
7. Optimism will fuel global small businesses that have the guts to press on, even in the face of insurmountable obstacles.
8. Women entrepreneurs will rule the global marketplace.
Women are already starting businesses at twice the rate of men and their efforts to expand a business internationally will be a force to reckon with in the coming years due to social entrepreneurship, social media and social networking platforms that make it so much easier to do good things collaboratively – which women are naturals at – while growing a business global.
9. Trusted crowds will become profitable clouds.
10. Green and global are a marriage made in heaven because everyone wants to save the world.
Top 10 Global Trends for Small Businesses for 2009 from Laura Delaney of GlobeTrade

Entrepreneurs will lead Economic Recovery

An inspiring report from the Asian Development Bank "Entrepreneurship and e-Business Development for Women" on the impact of women entrepreneurs on the global economy. Watch out here they come.

Return on Investment in Social Media

We all seem to be trying to find the magic answer to the question about the return on investment (ROI) in Social Media. We must view it from both the user and the provider, and yet those lines are becoming more unclear. From the perspective of the user the cost of participation is determined by the value of our time and the return is dependent on our needs as a participant. What is it worth to you to build your network and brand? As entrepreneurs, we are our brand, so what is that worth? As recruiters, employers and potential employees what is the value of building a trusted network of references? As content providers or advertisers how do we measure the impact of recommendations when the end consumer may be simply browsing content but leaving no interactions themselves? These considerations defy the system of how we calculate ROI from revenue models.

The social investment can be greater or smaller at different times in our lives. We therefore struggle to find a tangible value to attach to this interaction. We participate more when we are in "need" of something. That need might be based on a investment and return when calculating ROI. In the current economic situation we see escalating participation in social media as the needs are high. Individuals need to connect to others both familiar for comfort in the known and unfamiliar for the potential for change. Small businesses require maximization of their minimal capital for marketing niche products and services via tools through contextual advertising on social media. Consultants must build their personal brand to compete with the growing pool of resources released by downsizing organizations. Globalization opens the world to new products and services and new markets that previously were not considered. Entrepreneurs in the developing world are now able to compete on a more level playing field and opens opportunities for new partnerships and cooperation.

This is not to say that there is no return on investment capital from social media participation on either the business or individual's perspective. But rather, it is critical to use a more extensive equation to calculate the true return on investment in social media. For the social calculation we need to consider: time invested (hourly rate), value of satisfying the "needs" (comparison of cost for alternate methods for supplying that needs), effectiveness, reach, actual cost of investment, and satisfaction with results. Only then will we have an accurate calculation.

Twittered Out

Given my current research on the efficient use of social media as both a personal and professional tool, I spend far too much time monitoring and using social media tools. I am increasingly bothered by Twitter-like messages. I certainly believe that less is more, but is it really necessary to tell everyone you are waiting in a cue for ice cream? I must admit, I have been known to enter tidbits on my Facebook wall presenting the ”me” beyond my professional self. We are, after all multi-dimensional beings. But without turning all notifications off (which the average social media user never bothers to learn how to do) we are getting flooded with menial messages. Even though they are well meant, they borderline spam (albeit from a pre-approved source).

I am all for aggregating media and making things freely accessible. But we do need ways to simplify the filtering process and monitor our own behavior for efficiency. The Internet has been an endless source of information for the curious. Now we personify that beyond research. We learn more about our friends, our peers and our community. But do we get what we need or want? We need to feel connected. We want to be entertained and informed. Yet, when we lose ourselves in the curiosity factor, do we lose our piece of mind (or five minutes peace) with all the Twitter going on around us? It remains to be seen. But personally, I am learning to find my piece and my peace with more effective use of the Internet so that I can be off-line more.