This is the "next big thing" that IT people need to know about, and it's going to be a headache because the potential advantages are as big as the potential pitfalls. I would be really reluctant to see a core part of someone's business relying on Twitter, say, being available. Or building all your procedures around some other service which then runs out of venture funding and closes overnight.

On the other hand, there are some very clever ideas: "Siri last month introduced a service that puts sophisticated artificial intelligence in an easy-to-use form (snip) Example: A salesperson asks her virtual assistant to help pull together the best pitch she can make to a particular customer. The assistant draws information from a variety of sources that the salesperson can use to create a proposal."

A pitch-bot! Excellent!

Link to original article: http://griff.in/04

BTW, this is one of the very few sites that has video on auto-play when you land on it. It is a loathsome practise and you should not copy it.

Fascinating report plotting the market value of the main social networking sites. Facebook comes out tops.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/03

A fascinating, factoid-filled article: "Facebook, which has more than 200 million active members and has become so mainstream it now hosts Pope Benedict and a list of world leaders." Makes the point, however, that sites can fall out of fashion just as quickly as they become fashionable in the first place.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/02

"Wealthier customers are shopping more online for convenience, while cash-strapped buyers are returning to [off-line] discount stores to avoid shipping fees." But goes on to say that online shopping continues to out perform the high street.

What I'm not happy about is this: "The use of tools such as 3D pictures and videos will become more common as online shopping becomes more complex." I'd be very wary about gimmickry coming between a customer and a potential sale, I'm a great believer in keep-it-simple.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/01

Some might dismiss this as a gimmick, but it can't be wrong to make it easy for customers to file a complaint, can it? If they feel the process is actually friendly as well, as opposed to "switchboard hell" that most companies seem to employ to deter contact with actual customers, it has to be worth a look. And in practise, it's surprisingly easy to do.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/00

This is an interesting article if you are seeking to influence your market though reviews and endorsements, some of the points apply across the board whatever your product or service.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/z

An interesting survey of over 300,000 users, but requiring quite a bit of interpretation. For example, that 10% of users account for 90% of tweets I think is simply because many users pipe an rss feed into their twitter account and just pump a constant stream of content from, say, a news organisation. A practise I think adds no value and is to be deprecated. I think the survey might also have usefully filtered out those people who create a twitter account, tweet once, have no idea what to do next, and give up. That gets translated into a statistic that says half the users tweet only once in every 74 days.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/y

We can quibble over the precise numbers ("73% of those questioned," who was questioned?), but I think the article makes a useful point. The Internet is not something anyone in business can afford to ignore, or even to be half-hearted about. Whoever you think your market is, a significant portion of it is likely to be online. The follow-up is what are they doing and how can you engage with them?

Link to original article: http://griff.in/x

There are certainly some interesting suggestions in this article, but I can't say I agree with all of them. I think the main change is one not listed in the piece, and one that no business will welcome - it will force, oblige, coerce, bully, businesses into action if the crowd will it. In other words, Twitter or whatever comes after it, will give voice to the masses and empower them, bringing about a kind of mob rule and woe betides any business they vent their fury on. The savvy business will need to know how to handle such a situation.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/t

It may be called "New Media", but the same old rules apply. The smart way in essence is to survey what your key customers think it important, focus on that, and measure the results.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/s

More fees for consultants, more work for webmasters, and yet another tick box you have to deal with to ensure your business is as visible as it should be online. I suggest you Google your own location and see what comes up on the map, and then Google your competitors.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/r

If you're beating your head against 21st century Luddites, you'll love this.

1. Our competitors don’t have a Facebook page.
2. Our customers don’t care about social media.
3. We need to control our message very closely and if we participate we will lose control.
4. I’m afraid of negative criticism.
5. I don’t think we should be doing anything groundbreaking. Let’s stick to what we know, print advertising and press releases.

The best argument was, however, omitted:

“It won’t generate revenue.”

Link to original article: http://griff.in/q

This is an interesting insight into how some outstanding individuals use Twitter, and how you could use it too if you're seeking people of similar calibre. I just think the $10,000 a month job to blog about wine tasting isn't a real job, it's another clever marketing ploy, like the beach warden's job on the Pacific island that hit the headlines.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/p

This is a great article and a must-read. It doesn't just wax lyrical about using Twitter, it explains why and how. It covers:

Networking.
Market research & lead generation.
Improving your local search rankings.
Customer service & reputation management.
Take orders via twitter.
Fill last-minute inventory.
Engage in community activism.
Twitter as an extension of local search.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/o

This article appeared a few days after Queen Rania's interview (see below). Here, Prince Charles talks about the Internet as possibly the most effective tool in history. If you need material to use within your company to overcome objections from doubters that you should more proactive online, these make powerful arguments.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/n

Okay, so you're not gong to change the world, but this story illustrates what enormous impact social media can have, so are you going to use it to shape your brand image? Or are you going to let others shape it for you?

Link to original article: http://griff.in/m

There's a lot of debate going on at present especially in the newspaper business about Google in particular, and bloggers in general, and whether they are "stealing" content. Newspapers are struggling, ad revenue is down, and they cannot survive as they are. But charging for content when they can't get enough visitors to read it for free seems perverse. There is an old marketing ploy about putting the price of a slow-selling product *up* and transforming it into a premium product that might then sell well. It's just that in this case news is a basic commodity which lots of other sites are also supplying. What makes this move particularly bone-headed is that Google are not the problem, they are driving traffic to the newspaper site.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/l

There's a body of opinion that if you are using a service for free, you can't expect to be treated like a paying customer. That's wrong. There is plenty of debate around about why that's so, but all I wish to say here is that if you have some service you offer for free and you treat those who use it as anything less than valued customers, they never will become paying customers. If it carries your brand name, it should live up to everything that your brand stands for.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/k

A bit of a long-shot, really, this one. At a time when many companies still have no idea who should be in charge of their website (is it marketing or IT?) the idea of appointing someone to be responsible for their Twitter account must seem far-fetched.

"We live in a digital age, and we have to make sure we engage with people," said a Cabinet Office spokeswoman.

A lot of companies, in my experience, have yet to fully grasp that point, which is of course to your advantage if you wish to exploit it. Twitter could be part of your social media mix too.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/j

They make a case for "Customer Confidence," but I think it would vary from company to company. It would start with engaging with your customers, then developing a relationship with them, and ultimately, true, you would build confidence. Their confidence in you means they don't have an imperative to find another supplier, and they're less susceptible to being swayed by your competitor's marketing to switch their allegiance. It also means, if engaged in social media, that you can fix customer relations problems.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/i

The subtitle to this interesting article "Your competitors know that Twitter, Linkedin, and the rest of the social media gang are a communication channel between you and your consumers. Do you?" pulls no punches and they mke a few interesting points.

Here's what I would say: Google your own company and see what comes up, then Google your competitors and see what comes up. Are you happy with what you see?

Link to original article: http://griff.in/h

There are still those who dismiss the potential impact of social media and refuse to consider how to use it for their businesses. It's impact can be very powerful indeed, as this story about a Guatemala lawyer and his YouTube video shows. Facebook is being used to organise widespread protests against his murder. It is very real; the Guatamala government cannot ignore it, and nor can anyone else.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/g

This is something finally coming true for me. Right from the earliest days of the web I was always taken with the idea of employees having their own profile pages, but any notion of that was soon stamped out by control-freakery. Now others are appreciating that "social networks" at work can help employees get to know each other, especially in geographically dispersed organisations, and people are always much more willing to help someone they know. This Business Week article gives a few pointers to keeping the momentum going.

Link to the original article: http://griff.in/f

This article, and particularly the comments that go with it, illustrate what can happen when a company forces employees to agree to their social networking policies. After all, it impinges on what they do their their own free time and can be a red rag to some bulls. You ought to have such policies, of course, but a little child psychology would have worked wonders here, I feel. Just get them to tick they have *read* the policies. They don't have to formally "agree" with everything you tell them to do.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/e

This article is a plug for the book of the same name, but I was grabbed by a factoid it highlighted: "30% of negative buzz comes from people who have never owned or used a product or service." That's a compelling argument why companies cannot afford to ignore social media; it can circulate and amplify negative buzz which you need to identify and deal with as soon as it emerges.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/d

My best comment is simply to quote from the article: "The majority of today's British brands remain badly managed by sales-oriented managers who are ignorant of the principles of branding and too often spread their attention too thinly across multiple brands within their organisation. The McElroy Memo is now a priceless antique in P&G's archive, but for British organisations, the contents spell out a challenge that many have yet to recognise, let alone meet."

Link to original article: http://griff.in/c

How do we treat our customers? Do we even listen to them? Technology can help run a business more efficiently, but it shouldn't come between us and our customers. The best example is the dreaded automated switchboard, but coming a close second must be what happens when you finally get through to a real live person. Are we really just entries in a database? Have you ever pretended to be a customer and tried contacting your own company?

Link to original article: http://griff.in/b

This is a good example of how careful you have to be with some of the data you post to an online profile, not just Facebook. Anyone you have enabled as a friend on Facebook, either casually or seriously, will see when you change your relationship status, and it may cause problems if you go from "In a relationship" to "single" and interested parties have not been informed! And while it may seem appropriate in good times to add a few colleagues and clients you get along well with, it can cause complications later on. I was put on the spot recently with two friends of mine who I knew were in a relationship together when the guy joined a dating group. The whole issue regarding statuses needs careful thought.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/a

With everyone getting in on the social media game, for social purposes as the name implies, a business might be tempted to think it isn't an area they need to be concerned with. Personally, I hate rules for the sake of rules, and we are over-regulated without question. But a little guidance for the benefit of employees warning them of the hidden pitfalls that can harm the company would be very sensible and need not be perceived by them as an intrusion into their private lives.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/9

Everyone's feeling the pressure of the economic squeeze, but not everyone is being smart about it. Even before government bail-out plans, there were cash grants, loans and awards to be had if you only knew the right places to look for them. There are government-funded agencies eager to come around and give you free business advice too, and in some instances, practical help. You can even find ways to legally make free phone calls, and there is one printer we know of who produces a wide range of business stationery from free to practically free, you only pay for the postage.

Most useful for those dependent on technology to run their businesses are high quality software suites that are every bit as good as Microsoft products. "Free" is a substantial saving on the £500 cost of MS Office, for instance. For a net outlay of nothing, you can fully equip every PC in your office with all the software you will ever need. Thus, you can edit your photos, create a professional-looking newsletter, and turn it into a PDF file to more easily send to your clients or place on your web site, all at no cost. And you may even get some training through your local BusinessLink.

So there may have been a time when shopping around was an unproductive use of your time, but not any more.