Social Roots

GORDON THE BUSINESS Social Roots Digital and Social Media Marketing EXPERT PRESS and Advertising Collection DIGITAL LIBRARIES Why Social Innovations are Creating • Victoria L. Crittenden, Editor the Influence Economy WEIR EBOOKS FOR Cindy Gordon • Andrew Weir BUSINESS STUDENTS • John Girard • Curriculum-oriented, born- GIRARD digital books for advanced Social Roots traces the history of a fundamental economic business students, written shift that is underway. The shift is rooted in virtualization, by academic thought a key innovation factor, but when combined with influence leaders who translate real- networks, the significance becomes transformative. The com- Social Roots world business experience bined power of these dimensions is creating a new economic paradigm based on return on collaboration metrics rooted in into course readings and social capital theory. reference materials for Inside is the story of the near magical transformation, writ- Why Social students expecting to tackle ten specifically so we do not forget the significance of this management and leadership decade of leadership in the influence economy. Many of the sto- challenges during their ries in the first part ofSocial Roots are about organizations that Innovations are professional careers. took the opportunity to experiment and experience the power of social networking approaches to conducting business; and POLICIES BUILT social innovators striving to make the world a better place. Their Creating the BY LIBRARIANS contribu tions to creating the influence economy are numerous, • Unlimited simultaneous and their story of how they achieved success creates a tapestry usage of insight. Influence Economy • Unrestricted downloading Dr. Cindy Gordon is the CEO and Founder of SalesChoice Inc., a and printing company specializing in Big Data and Predictive Analytics for CRM • Perpetual access for a solutions. She is also the founder of Helix Commerce International, one-time fee a company specializing in business innovation, collaboration com- • No platform or merce, and social media. She is also the recent recipient of the SOCIAL ROOTS maintenance fees Governor General Award of Canada for Innovation in Social Media. • Free MARC records Andrew Weir is the Director of Customer Experience at • No license to execute SalesChoice Inc., where he oversees product development and The Digital Libraries are a customer engagement practices. He has also been a strategy Cindy Gordon comprehensive, cost-effective consultant for Helix Commerce International. He recently com- way to deliver practical pleted his MA at McMaster’s Institute on Globalization and the Andrew Weir Human Condition, and completed his undergraduate degree at treatments of important the University of Western Ontario. business issues to every John P. Girard John P. Girard, PhD holds the Peyton Anderson Endowed Chair in student and faculty member. Information Technology at Middle Georgia State College’s School of Information Technology. John has written or co-authored many books; and is founder and Chief Knowledge Strategist of Sagology (www.sagology.com), a firm dedicated to connecting people, facili- For further information, a tating collaboration, learning, and knowledge sharing through free trial, or to order, contact: keynotes, workshops, and consulting. [email protected] Digital and Social Media Marketing www.businessexpertpress.com/librarians and Advertising Collection Victoria L. Crittenden, Editor ISBN: 978-1-60649-928-3 Social Roots Social Roots Why Social Innovations are Creating the Inf luence Economy Cindy Gordon, Andrew Weir, and John P. Girard Social Roots: Why Social Innovations are Creating the Influence Economy Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2014. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published in 2014 by Business Expert Press, LLC 222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017 www.businessexpertpress.com ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-928-3 (paperback) ISBN-13: 978-1-60649-929-0 (e-book) Business Expert Press Digital and Social Media Marketing and Advertising Collection Collection ISSN: 2333-8822 (print) Collection ISSN: 2333-8830 (electronic) Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India First edition: 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. Abstract Social Roots traces the history of a fundamental economic shift that is underway. The shift is rooted in virtualization, a key innovation factor, but when combined with influence networks, the significance becomes transformative. The combined power of these dimensions is creating a new economic paradigm based on return on collaboration metrics rooted in social capital theory. The genesis of this rich transformation is driven by collaboration and social media approaches that began in 2003. Over the next decade, more social engagement tools were added to the growing arsenal of collabo- rative platforms, many of which continue to change and evolve today. Independently these companies created new ways to perform individual tasks; collectively they change the way we do business. And all of this rapid innovation has occurred in a decade. For some it is hard to believe how much the world has changed in just 10 years. Social Roots is the story of the near magical transformation, written specifically so we do not forget the significance of this decade of leadership in the influence economy. Many of the stories in the first part of Social Roots are about organizations that took the opportunity to experiment and experience the power of social networking approaches to conducting business; and social innovators striving to make the world a better place. Their contributions to creating the influence economy are numerous, and their story of how they achieved success creates a tapestry of insight. Keywords analysis, history, learning, prospecting, social media Contents Preface ��ix Acknowledgments ��xiii Chapter 1 Our Social Roots .............................................................1 Chapter 2 Facebook .......................................................................13 Chapter 3 Twitter ...........................................................................27 Chapter 4 LinkedIn .......................................................................43 Chapter 5 Myspace ........................................................................53 Chapter 6 WordPress .....................................................................65 Chapter 7 Blogger ..........................................................................73 Chapter 8 YouTube ........................................................................81 Chapter 9 Social Learning ..............................................................91 Chapter 10 Social Prospecting ..........................................................97 Chapter 11 Social Analytics ............................................................109 Chapter 12 What’s Next? ...............................................................121 Notes��131 References ��139 Index ��149 Preface The learning and knowledge that we have is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant� —Plato1 I have been working in the f ields of innovation, collaboration, and social media with international clients in diverse industries, such as communi- cations, high tech, media and publishing, and financial services, for over 20 years. What I have learned from the diverse leadership roles, client projects, and so on is that there are some constant realities in play. First, innovation excellence is driven by the passion of its leaders and their tenacity to achieve a vision that stretches everyone’s imagination. The stories in this book are exemplary innovations that have helped shape our increasingly connected and highly virtualized world. For years, we have been amassing data and information at an astounding rate. Going forward over the next 30 years, we will remain focused on collecting, but value will be concentrated on making meaningful connections. In the last book I wrote with my coauthors, John and JoAnn Girard, Business Goes Virtual, we examined the forces at play in collaboration, social media, and virtual worlds, and examined relevance in relationship to how organizations are using these new social tools for improving their business and personal interactions. Now that a few years have passed, it is increasingly clearer to me that there are more fundamental economic shifts underway and although virtualization is a key innovation factor the new glue growth factor is influence networks. The increasing power they have will further accel- erate world economic governance metrics to shift from narrow return on investment (ROI) metrics to more return on collaboration (ROC) that has roots in social capital theory. Some

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