It's Open - Social Media Strategy Consultancy

Stuart Handley, Director of Communications for Dell, will be talking to members of the collaborative Social Media Leadership Forum next Tuesday (April 5) about how Dell uses social media across the organisation, for example to improve customer service, grow the business and drive innovation.

The discussions with Dell will help members of the Social Media Leadership Forum to build up a knowledge base to help them better understand how social media can make a difference to their businesses.

Through the Social Media Leadership Forum we are aiming to create an influential community of ideas. Collaborative – shared – intelligence is more powerful than trying to do everything by yourself.

If you are a forward-looking, leading organisation and would like to join in and help your peers – sharing learnings, business stories and tips – then please get in touch. It is also a great way to put your company in the spotlight.

You can email me at: for more information. Or give me a buzz. Call: , and ask for Justin.

When you’re dealing with a social media virgin, it can be a big task discussing the pros and cons of each option. Which is why I really like this detailed poster covering all the big social media sites and bookmarking tools. At a glance, you can see how the Customer Communication, Brand Exposure, Traffic and SEO compares for each. It’s actually a useful guide to return to every time you embark on a new social media strategy, as well as a way to get started with newbies.

Read it. Print it. It’s one of the most useful infographics I’ve seen in a long time.

Source: Mashable

Image via Wikipedia

As if huge growth (the fastest growing company in history, in fact) and market domination wasn’t enough, Groupon is now looking to launch a brand new app that allows you to find local deals close to you. Sound familiar to the current system? There’s one big difference – the deals are not one-time only. Instead, restaurants, venues and services can choose when they want to offer the deal.

Effectively, this can mean an individual can wander into town, click on the app and see which local restaurants offers the best deal. The app, named Groupon Now, gives you the option of deciding whether you’re hungry or bored, and will then give you your options. Handy for last minute decisions and the cash-light, and beneficial for both parties.

For businesses, this is a great way of filling in those times when business is slow. Offering the deal on a quiet Tuesday rather than a busy Saturday makes more sense than letting the customer choose. It’s similar in that way to basic services now, like the Tastecard that lets you get 50% off or BOGOF at restaurants during the week. This also gets around the issue that a lot of smaller businesses have when a Groupon becomes a hit but they can’t facilitate all the purchases.

The service should put it head and shoulders above the competition, like Living Social and Groupola, who currently lack the technology.

Source: Mashable

People in Japan are collaborating with new online technologies to share and identify radiation levels.

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, has some interesting insights into the future of reputation.

It is not new. But it is still relevant.

Just finished a great book called by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers. It looks at how collaborative consumption is changing the way we live.

If you are interested in the emerging economics and the culture of collaboration you should read this book.

Or alternatively go here to get a flavour of it.

Paul Adams, global brand experience manager for Facebook, has criticsed businesses for focusing too much on the total number of ‘likes’ and followers.

He says in a recent interview: ‘We’re still seeing the fans and followers arms race – businesses trying to gather as many fans as possible. But I think that’s fundamentally wrong. It’s more important to focus on quality, not quantity, of connections.

For example, many brands run competitions on social media platforms. You have to “Like” or “Follow” that business to enter. So the question is whether they are making connections with advocates of their brand, or with people who simply love competitions. If it’s the latter, then they’re filling their social media interactions and data with noise.

As I mentioned earlier, people are often most influenced by their closest friends. So only make connections with true advocates of your brand, and market to the friends of those fans.’

Hear, hear!

Take a look at this.

See how some commentators believe Google is now evolving into a media company.

Interesting piece on new developments at Google.

Schools are developing in response to new technology developments.

Read more here.