Social technology moving past hype into a business process

Social networking is all the hype.  Count in an hour how many times you see the Facebook logo.   It seems if you aren't there ... you are square!   I have really noticed the uptick in major brands, charities,and mom & pop retail that are figuring out the secret sauce to social marketing.   It is beginning to be a bit overload.   In scanning my wall, I have 12 wall posts from a variety of companies including Sassy Shoe, LiveStrong, National Brittany Rescue, Citibank, LL Bean and more.   Sure, I opted in to all of these.  I chose to engage with these commercial and charitable organizations.  However, it is beginning to drown out my personal conversations with my friends.

There is a revolution coming. Social is about people collaborating on products, solutions, and innovation. If you check the reviews on a product, movie, or person (LinkedIn recommendations) or have written one, you have participated in the social revolution.   However, Social isn't just about the ability to sell additional items it is about the connections and how to leverage them, access information, and move business processes along faster.   Today, companies like Microsoft (client) are using crowdsourcing solutions to obtain feedback on the industries they serve and the products they produce.   Who better to set your roadmap than your customers?   Because, if they want it and you don't have it.. your customers can easily use Bing or Google to find your replacement. 

The new frontier is looking at social technology as a business process.  How can you leverage a comprehensive platform and strategy to target a number of business goals in 2011?   Obviously, there are case studies on improving sales, customer retention, and cross selling opportunities.   But what about non structured learning, shared resources with commenting and ratings on usefulness, global collaboration..  innovation, leveraging subject matter experts, company information, transparency, and more.   If you are an executive tasked with daunting goals for 2011, how might social technology drive results?

What is more valuable ... Time or Heath?

Monday, I was spending a planned day off doing a bunch of to do items like getting the hitch finally installed on the car, dry cleaning, going to the gym to meet with my trainer at 9 AM. You know the stuff you can't normally do during work hours...

As I was sitting in the waiting area of the place that was installing the hitch reading my book, my head started to hurt and then pound. I related it to the machine across the street pounding into the rock wall trying to create more retail worth land into ledge.

By the time I got home, I was so sore and had a throbbing headache. Okay... It was early to be sore from my work out. Then about an hour later the chills and sweats started. By tour time (y'all know what that is... it is July at Brannydoon... There is only one channel.. VS. for the Tour de France... A month of Phil & Paul & Bob),

My fever was so bad. It reminded me of the ones I had as a kid where it got so high I would hallucinate. However, it seem to be better in the morning although the headache was still there. I struggled to work on Tuesday being back at work. My heart though wasn't in it. I was still having fever effects. By the night, I was right back there.

Beyond this, the horse fly bite, I had noticed on my hip over the weekend was throbbing and made it difficult to lie on my right side. For those of you in CT/NY, you probably know what I have. For those of you in NH/MA/GA and beyond, stay tuned.... By Wednesday, Mr. B told me to make an appointment with the doctor. Honestly, I think he thought I was faking it or was deathly afraid I was going to make him sick. I was still point person to take out Miss Fiona. I could barely move. However, I was dragging myself around the yard and up and down the street to make sure the 5 days of no mistakes was continued.

Go to the doctor for a fever? Why? All I am going to be told is to take Advil/Aspirin, fluids, and bed rest. However, I got a better look at the bite on my hip. The redness around it was now about 6 inches in the middle and didn't look normal 5 days after I noticed the bite.

So I picked up the phone and called the doctors office. Thankfully, they could see me almost immediately. (This typically isn't a good sign by the way). I started to think what if this is a tick bite? Could it be Lyme? I went to this trusty computer and typed in "Lyme disease and symptoms" into the Google search box. The Mayo clinic delivered the following link that pretty much confirmed all of my symptoms. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lyme-disease/DS00116/DSECTION=symptoms So did the doctor within taking my temperature and looking at my hip. Antibiotics and a promise that I should start to feel better in 48-72 hours but it would still be rough in between. Wednesday night was probably the worse but I finally started to feel better last night.

It got me to question my belief that 'you can always make more money but you can't create more time.' However, without your health do either money or time make a difference? I swear my head hurt so bad on Wednesday night I thought a guillotine would be a nice device? I know people with severe migraines have had similar thoughts.... What is your take?

Huckabee - I told you

Okay ... Mind you... I told you... Are you sick of me forecasting yet?

I told you back in September, (See Post from September 7th) I had decided to vote for Mike Huckabee. Many of you laughed at me. You told me he didn't have a chance. I said that I looked at his platform and I liked him better than anyone else.... I told you.

Now look at the polls ...

1) 2ND amendment rights
2) FAIR TAX SUPPORTER
3) Long term Gov. ( Kennedy was the last Senator elected and try and find a Senator prior to that who wasn't VP)
3) Understands the Clinton machine and how to defeat it
4) Immigration
5) Faith and Politics
6) Family Values
7 ,... Here is the link http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.Home

There is one or two planks I don't agree with but I am probably not going to agree with any candidate ...even myself 100% of the time on either. They are topics I just don't think have any place in government or politics.

I watched Gov. Huckabee on a MSNBC interview on Thursday night. He quoted the Constitution on States Rights perfectly.. I had the Internet open and Googled it immediately to check his facts and then went on to quote the gospel of St. James. A rather interesting mix for MSNBC viewers, no? The way the flow of the questions occurred did not lead me to think there is anyway he would have been prepped on having to reference either piece. Huckabee simply knows them.

Beyond that, this is a quote that struck me when he was asked about who he would support if he wasn't the nominee....

" Character is what we do when no one else is watching"

I thought this was probably from Lincoln. I was wrong ... It is from a study of the Torah.

It makes sense because the conversation leading up to it was about my Senator Lieberman. The candidate understands what it is to be a man of character and a leader. Look beyond the fact he was a Baptist minister.... Truman sold hats. Reagan was an actor. The constitution guarantees us Freedom OF religion not FROM religion.

Consider Mike... Read about him. There are a number of very good men running for the Republican nomination. I ask you to consider this one....