
Why true disruption requires putting the last mile, first.
I have a deep aversion to the word disruption. Mostly because in the context of innovation in technology, it’s carelessly used to invoke sensationalism that just ends up blurring the lines between baby and bath water. We saw this movie before with Facebook-esq Social Business where the use of the term ‘disruptive’ in the media […]

The Emerging Networks of Record
The distinction between Geoffrey Moore’s Systems of Record and Systems of Engagement concepts is a hot topic amongst organizational leaders today. A quick primer, courtesy Wikipedia: Whilst a system of record (SOR) is the authoritative data source for a given data element (e.g. CRM, ERP and Supply Chain Management), systems of engagement (SOE) “focus on people, not processes”. Texting, Twitter, […]

Social Media: Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Nora Aufreiter, Julien Boudet and Vivian Weng at McKinsey and Co. have published some excellent research on the current state of consumer email that came my way via my old pal and newly minted colleague, Maggie Fox. Just as Altimeter Research founder Charlene Li’s work on internal social technology usage showed less than what you might [&hellip

On Graph Search: Rejoice, Yelp! #graphsearch
Facebook announced Graph Search yesterday. From Meghan Kelly at VentureBeat: When you start typing your questions, Facebook will suggest search queries and clean up your question. You might ask, “Which of my friends like The White House?” and it will simplify and suggest “My friends who like The White House.” The search could be most useful […]

Should companies drive their traffic to Facebook?
Last week, Constellation Research founder Ray Wang was quoted making an important — and rather provocative — statement about the default stance of external social business. It’s one that goes to the very heart of how we should best organize our businesses to engage with the social world. Specifically he said: It’s … dumb to […]

Community, the Asset
Software used to ship on CDs and came with static how-to manuals. As someone whose led over 50 RFP exercises, the documentation piece was always one that led to some tenuous conversations on how much the vendor was willing to hand hold, once the check was signed. Fast forward to the 21st century where we’re […]

The Company – Customer Pact
Online community platform provider, GetSatisfaction has a lovely campaign that renews their founders original commitment to the service of customers. They launched a new website that declares a pact between customers and companies we choose to do business with. We, customers and companies alike, need to trust the people with whom we do business. Customers […]

Perils of Facebook, part 94
I’m still not signed up to Facebook, and remain as resistant as ever to the proposition. Facebook’s cavalier attitude to privacy keeps me away, and my resolve has been strengthened by the following email received this weekend from a happily married middle aged friend. It’s a salutary and amusing reminder of the many perils of […]

The 8 Flavors of Social
1. Social built on email and message board traffic. Perhaps Notes started this frolic, or was it IRC? Both still soldier on quietly in their corners while forums won the day. Xobni and others want to go back to the future. 2. Social built on documents. Wikis, in other words. Blogs also get a run […]

Social intranets: Enterprises grapple with internal change
Two thirds of organizations today have sprinkled some kind of social media pixie dust on their intranets, yet for most businesses today they are still well behind the state-of-the-art compared to what most users have their personal lives. Yet there i…