A trio of Harvard students take a campus publication online and discover a promising business opportunity

http://bit.ly/harvard_women_social

Many web startups are composed of distributed teams. Many more have very loose definitions of “office hours.” Employees might roll in at one in the afternoon; they might stay and work the night away until the wee hours of the morning, too. And a lot of the time, they get to work from home.

Many Gen X and Millennial employees see the ability to work from home as a huge benefit — for some folks we’ve talked to, it counts as much as a pay raise. If you trust that your employees can handle themselves and get their work done on time, consider letting them work from home or adopt more flexible work hours. Your night owls will appreciate the opportunity to work with all pistons firing, and your early birds will love getting home to their loved ones before rush hour traffic starts. And everyone, from CEOs to secretaries, appreciates getting to work in their PJs every now and then.

Read more here on 5 Lessons to Learn from Web Startups (http://bit.ly/steps_for_web_startups).

We begin with respectful gratitude to you, our parents and grandparents, for conceiving and birthing the bodies and world we thrive and live within. We respectfully honor all of the incredible advances in every discipline that have led to better lives for every one of us on this planet. We attribute our own creativity, knowledge and burgeoning wisdom to the truly incredible education system built and paid for by you, our predecessors. We honor the way you have defended us against violence and opened new possibilities for peace heretofore unrealized.

At the same time, we announce to you our wholesale rejection of your conflicts, prejudices and entrenched interests. Our current experience of the negative results to our eco-system, communities and economics from these shadow aspects of your generation’s psyche require us for the sake of our children and your grandchildren to now step forward and alter certain paths elected by you and The Traditionalists since the major world wars in the early 20th century.

Now that a majority of you are reaching retirement age and what the Hindu system calls “the forest-dweller stage”, we as The Central Householders on this planet require a set of fresh perspectives in the major disciplines and verticals, such as politics, economics and environmental policy, so that our planet, communities, food sources and children are protected.

Due to the severity of events in several significant theaters of action, particularily finance, political-process and ecological preservation, we respectfully ask that you join us to hear some fabulous ideas from the forward thinking leaders of our generation. We want you there because you gave us the foundation for this thought and invention to come about. We want to show you, Mom and Pop, Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle and Aunt, Mentor and Teacher, what we have come up with as part of our assignment to make a better world. We hope you’ll come and we think you’ll like what we have in mind.

Our goal is a healthier, wiser and more effective human family, well-equipped to heal, guide and protect our children and your grandchildren into a fabulous and exciting future that will contain astounding technologies, well-woven/integrated communities and children motivated to live and thrive. As we see it, this is truly possible and we have seen a glimpse of it through the rapidly expanding communities of thought, invention and innovation in our online and offline worlds. These worlds are increasingly being woven together globally through the social fabric of the internet, through technologies in multiple verticals and through our innate drive to survive as humans.

We characterize this drive to survive in our generation primarily through meaning. The social fabric of the internet, our primary vehicle for communication, is driven by a search for meaning. In fact, studies show that The Millennials, the latest generation on this planet to hold credit cards and turn in resumes, are characterized as the generation in search of Meaning. These torch-bearers of humanity want work, communities and activities that amount to something more than accumulation of wealth and property. Their definition of wealth is spiritual, emotional and communal.

Understand that we have no choice at this time but to ask you to step down from those aspects of your leadership that involve the wholesale raping of this planet and one another FOR THE EXPRESS INTEREST OF OUR MUTUALLY SHARED CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. Understand also, that for those of you who cannot or choose not to hear us due to greed, entrenched interests and general allegience to an out-dated paradigm of consumeristic accumulation, we may need to remove you by force. We honor your courage and vigor in building the worlds you have built…these edifices are truly monumental. But now, in this time, we require that you re-orient toward the survival of the planet, its species and the beautifully woven cultures of the world.

With Kind Regards and Good Intentions,

GenX, GenY and The Millenials

Every tweet (Twitter) and Facebook (Facebook) status update is a blog post title (Wordpress, Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr), every blog post a chapter in a digital book (iBook) populated by media, including (but not limited to), photos (Flickr), video (YouTube), music (Last.fm), and footnotes (Slideshare), every digital book a community (Ning), every community contains the full range of archetypal characters (The Conversation Prism), and each of those characters introduces your material to their tribes through tweets, blog posts, etc.

And ALL of this is trackable, monitor-able and monetize-able!

Fast forward to this month and we have a fabulous rendition by Gary Hayes of what this book held + a summary by Barry O’Sullivan, SVP at CISCO, of predictions for this year. Mr. O’Sullivan’s 10th point on his list states:

“Customer Collaboration – organizations will continue to evolve the way they interact with their customers, responding to the ground swell of demand for consumer / vendor engagement in public arenas such as social networking sites and specialized forums. We expect to see early majority adoption of social customer care (what we call customer collaboration) solutions among larger organizations.” (Barry O’Sullivan’s full article here).

Mr. Hayes’ excellent video vision reflects Mr. O’Sullivan’s prediction and takes it several steps further, giving us an exciting preview of what is possible now! (Mr. Hayes’ video preview of Augmented Reality commerce here).

1. Take one day to listen to yourself:
– http://amzn.to/Proprioceptive
– http://amzn.to/walking_meditation
– “Silence is a source of great strength.” – Lao Tzu.

2. Take the next day to listen to your customer.

3. Take the 3rd day to map the intersection points of your dreams and your customer’s needs.
– http://bit.ly/Behance_Action
– http://bit.ly/37_signals
– http://bit.ly/Timeboxing

4.Create 20 strategies for you business based on these intersection points. Prioritize these strategies. Remember, strategic thought is the art of shaping realities.
– http://bit.ly/scenario_planning_method
– http://bit.ly/social_footprint_map

5. Identify and clear blockages to effectively actuating these strategies.
– Go for a stroll (this is very powerful and simple. Be sure to breathe while walking).
– Give attention to the thoughts (focus on the blockage itself and go into it.
            ”If you can’t get out of it, Get into it!” ~ from Outward Bound)
– Let go of thinking (vigorous physical exercise helps with this one, including dancing all night!)
– Be in the present moment (What is happening right now? And now? And now?)
– Practice conscious breathing
– Shift to a new scene
– Shift to doing something different
– Free association
– Reverse the thoughts
– Practice mindful non-judgment

6. Execute the strategies 1 by 1, using increased income to facilitate all the extras that come along and to give you white space for zen and more strategizing.

I suggest that social networks ARE this transitional space for humanity. During this time of paradox and liminality, individuals get to explore the connections between themselves and others, between worlds hitherto seen as separate, between one’s deepest beliefs and trending topics. Liminal space has been defined as “…a space in which alternate realities meet, in which the past and future are open to us” by Starhawk, a leading teacher of human circle-gathering. Liminal space implies permeability and a kind of communication/discovery which has, up until now, been known by the very few.

Social networks have changed all of this. In fact, the very fact that boundaries are seemingly more permeable due to swift accessibility in social networks makes discovery of truth both more practical AND more questionable. The kinds of questions emerging out of our burgeoning social networks contain a specificity not seen 20 years ago. An example of this is the explosion of infographics available now to bring previously unseen phenomenon into view (http://bit.ly/infographic_blog_resource).

What is one TO DO amidst this increasing complexity AND swift migration of the human spirit/mind/heart from earth to virtual worlds, virtual economies and, quite honestly, whole new planets (formed and lived within the collective human psyche)?

Brian Solis has produced a fabulous graphic along with JESS3 (http://bit.ly/heart_based_marketing) that suggests the most effective roles humans can play in the social fabric of the internet. He invites us to be Problem Solvers, Producers, Curators and Conversationalists vs. being Marketeers, offering Too Much Information (TMI), being Complainers or Self-Promoters.

In keeping with this are Paulo Freire’s fabulous steps for solving problems and making progress. Find below the steps, along with social tools for aiding you in resolving just about any problem currently facing you in your life. By the way, prior to getting into this, I must add that having courage and belief in yourself is a BIG piece of the puzzle!

STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS through getting acquainted with the participants in the issue/eco-system/sub-culture/conflict. – Do this using social listening and scanning tools (http://bit.ly/audience_counts) AND flesh-matching tools like http://www.meetup.com. Study focus group agencies and their methodologies: http://bit.ly/egg_strategy_blog

STEP 2: PRODUCE THE CODES – (a) Employ a graphic artist who is intuitive to help you create an infographic + a single symbol to hold the essence of that information OR (b) upload CSV files full of data to a tool like Many Eyes or another data visualization tool: http://bit.ly/many_eyes_tool. The infographic functions as a kind of map of a vicinity within a niche sub-culture or slice of the greater social eco-system AND the single symbol is a kind of talisman or avatar that holds the power of that niche and quickly communicates this in the greater social fabric of the internet.

STEP 3: SEE THE SITUATION AS THE PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCE IT – More on this here: http://bit.ly/listening_tips.

STEP 4: JUDGE THE SITUATION – Read Chinese military classics like these: http://bit.ly/chinese_military_classics. Military leaders are some of the best diviners of truth, out of necessity. It has been un-fashionable and politically incorrect for too long in therapeutic settings to make outright judgements but we live in times when good judgement is more important than ever.

STEP 5: TAKE ACTION TO CHANGE THE SITUATION – Pro-active beings are the ones who make the world go round AND have the most fun in life. Here are some fabulous tools from Behance to aid you in getting IT done, whatever IT is: http://www.behance.com/Products.

See below a fabulous infographic on giving:

budget planner

Video Link: CCO vs. CMO – The value of the Chief Customer Officer

“The Realist Optimist is the most 
powerful and effective of the open 
leader archetypes, somebody who 
can see the benefits of being open 
but also understands the barriers.” 

~ Charlene Li, Open Leadership, 
published May 2010.

Focusing on the customer, listening to what he/she wants remains the number one most important first action for any organization desiring a satisfactory engagement. Social networks have initiated the world to completely personalized channels of content production, distribution and consumption. The engaged user can now create his/her own TV channel on YouTube, Google TV and numerous other video channels. The Conversation Prism is an excellent image of the variety of social networking sites available to an individual in his or her establishment of an online tribe.

When we listen to our customer, then we can select brands, products and services geared toward his/her needs. The customer-centric approach in social media specifically requires listening via social network monitoring tools like Radian6, Trackur, Compete, Webtrends and Cymphony.

A Chief Customer Officer will instruct brand manager, product managers and interactive/asset managers on the best use of energy within a given demographic/vertical after having participated in a listening project. Now more than ever, customers are becoming wiser in their choices about products and services sold online, primarily due to the vast amounts of time users spend online AND due to the phenomenon of user-selected/created channels. The mechanics of this has to do with personal choice and responsibility, along with the blossoming of sub-sub-cultures/niches beyond anything seen in previous societal configurations. Social networks allow us to know ourselves better, which in turn gives us more exact and precise opinions on what we want.

Listening is one of the most attractive traits in a fellow human being. Interest is sexy, and shows that you want to see into the other person. Learning another’s likes, favorites and passions transforms the relationship into one of transparency and intimacy. A classic rephrasing of intimacy is In-To-Me-See.

In the world of social media marketing, listening is a critical element to the humanization of a brand, the discovery of key influencers, communities and conversations where your product or service has an audience. There are loads of tools for listening, all with different slants on the art and science of gathering intelligence. But a critical aspect of this equation is the EQ (emotional intelligence) of the analyst looking at the data (even if the tool has already performed some intuitive filtering).

To use a dating metaphor: when your date really listens to you, he/she will be tying his/her chosen topics into what you are saying, weaving the two hearts at the table, on the blanket, or on the beach together. This weaving of hearts is just as important in social media marketing, where community managers and small business owners have the mandate to engage in one-one dialogues with customers or segmented niches. Such dialogues are not simply about opening up and letting things go on a natural course. As Charlene Li says in her latest book, Open Leadership, “Being open requires more —not less—rigor and effort than being in control.” The best relationships are ACTIVE!

Listening IS Invitation

Active listening has long been a practice amongst psychologists and psychotherapists, and is no less important in the realm of social networking. To actively listen one might consider the following important actions (adapted from the Council Circle tradition of co-listening):

1) Maintain eye contact with the person speaking (In cyber-space, this means using the filters in the listening tools in an intuitive manner so as to properly segment your audience based on keywords, keyphrases AND other verticals that are attractive to that niche. sCRM is all about this CONNECTION of information from databases to extract precise lists of keywords relevant AND resonant to your audience).

2) Be relaxed but present. (Check out Jet Blue’s twitter account. Their staff are interacting with customers in an uplifting, humorous manner).

3) Be still.

4) Listen from the heart. (The heart is THE most important muscle in social media marketing!)

5) Allow the story to unfold. (The Nestle Facebook fiasco is a classic example of a Community Manager rushing in prior to thinking the consequences through).

6) Listen carefully and the person speaking will always tell you what they need.

7) It’s not your job to “fix” the person who’s working.

Common mistakes to avoid:

DON’T give advice (unless asked for). (In social networking, Community Managers/Business owners have the mandate to be problem solvers. To truly solve a problem one must listen first. The key distinction between an Advice-Giver and a Problem-Solver is ACTION!)
DON’T “swap stories” to reassure the person who is speaking
DON’T interpret the meaning of his feelings
DON’T interrupt discharge of emotion (laughter, tears, etc.)
DON’T talk very much
DON’T ask questions for your own information
ONLY ask questions to lead the person deeper into feelings & his own re/solutions.

The most common mistake: Trying to show the person speaking what a good, understanding, perceptive, kind, helpful … person, counselor, leader … you are.

Listen, listen, listen! (That’s really what we all need!)

To return to the weaving metaphor, when one weaves strands of past subjects into the current conversation, a common point of reference is established. The social fabric of the internet is one of the most dynamic environments humanity has EVER engaged in…having the tools to listen is critical (science), knowing how to listen is an art that takes practice or comes naturally. Good community managers are EXCELLENT listeners who hear the heart of their audience and give the customer what he/she wants. And that is what makes GREAT customer-centric business, the current HOT method of marketing.

David Deida, the relationship author, writes, “Who we trust in a business situation is based on how open we are. Openness is bodily openness, muscular relaxation, heart openness as opposed to hiding behind some emotional wall, and spiritual openness, which is actually feeling so fully into the moment that there’s no separation between you and the entire moment.” Openess, feeling and intuition are INHERENT traits of the successful social media marketer/networker.

This Zen koan identifies precisely what leaderless organizations, user-generated communities and social networks are fomenting NOW!

Who is turning this wheel, brand OR consumer? I say consumer! http://theconversationprism.com/1900 (click on wheel to enlarge).

When the hubless wheel turns,
Master or no master can stop it.
It turns above heaven and below earth,
South, north, east and west. ~ Getsuan

The socializing of media and tech is a bid by the human heart to transform the cold, hard, and un-feeling processes of “bottom-line, quantitative” thought INTO a tool for saving all that is beautiful about this planet, the human spirit and our beautiful flora/fauna. The season of the heart has arrived AND, because our tech was born from the imagination, it MUST serve that same SOURCE. Here are some steps you can take to HUMANIZE your entrance into the social fabric of the internet:

1. Discover communities closest to your heart through the use of free monitoring tools. To do this make a list of 40 keywords/keyphrases that match your heart/passion/goals. Then go to this page and find the FASTEST climbing Facebook pages associated with those keyphrases: http://bit.ly/facebook_leaderboard. “Like” these.

2. Observe the choices, challenges, impressions, and wants of the people within these Facebook pages AND other networks Most of the monitoring tools available to do this observing are listed at this wiki: http://bit.ly/social_monitoring_master_list.

3. The monitoring tools in the wiki above will acquaint you with where THE conversation about your passion is taking place in forums, blogs, amongst key influencers (tweeters and bloggers), major communities (blogs, forums, web properties) and discussion eco-systems (comments at blogs, news sites, forums). Prioritize your participation based not only on volume of those in the conversation BUT also the quality of those discussing. You may participate in a conversation with 10 world leaders in a vertical/niche and go further than you would have in the mosh-pit of a forum. Then again, that same mosh-pit may be just the place for vitalizing your type of content. This takes wisdom, 24 hours of reflection and then ACTION.

4. Closely tied to this, determine which communities and influencers most closely mirror your passion. Locate your initial foray THERE.

5. Raise up brand ambassadors, community managers and, if you are an enterprise-level business, study the exploding phenomenon of Chief Customer Officers: http://bit.ly/CCO_Harvard_report

6. Your Community Manager, Brand Ambassadors and Chief Customer Officer ought to be a blended individual, having social savvy AND passion/real experience within your vertical/niche/brand.

7. Create a BRAND BOOKLET and BEST PRACTICE MANUAL with and for your social brand leader. They ought to be the kind of person who is excited about creating this with you and have leadership traits related to the creation of this booklet.

8. Perform an analysis of the sub-culture(s) surrounding your brand and be sure to not only speak the language of these cultures but also be an innovator of that language. Your brand is more than an avatar. It is a living, breathing personality and your ambassador(s) should give his/her all for the tribe that feeds the brand.

9. Lex Sisney, the co-founder of Commission Junction, the world’s foundational affiliate software, once said to me, “Find the pain and you’ll find the money!” Knowing where lack exists IS VERY IMPORTANT in defining your offering. And knowing what makes the delivery and receiving of this offering fun is the other piece in this puzzle.

10. The humanization of brands is a massive revolution currently taking place. The CEO OF THE FUTURE is at the forefront with the customer, tweeting, blogging and on the front lines vs. the old model of being invisible and un-touchable. The CEO of the future may be reached by anyone and is listening to his/her customer. Anyone can reach the CEO of the future. The hidden CEO is a relic of the past.

11. Conversations with your audience and customer are just that. A dialogue implies that you’ve listened to what the customer is saying. And they will find that cool.

12. Your ambassadors ought to be given rewards that make sense to the niche and the need of your community and your customer. Sometimes a year’s worth of groceries is more important than a new 120″ HDTV.

13. Be a problem solver vs. just a listener. That’s the essence and one of the good things about America: we are known the world over for doing something about it once we are enrolled.

Love what you do, love your tribe, and orient around heart-centered communication.

The socializing of media and tech is a bid by the human heart to transform the cold, hard, and un-feeling processes of “bottom-line, quantitative” thought INTO a tool for saving all that is beautiful about this planet, the human spirit and our beautiful flora/fauna. The season of the heart has arrived AND, because our tech was born from the imagination, it MUST serve that same SOURCE.

Understanding the mythic fabric of your business, the etymology of your brand name and the spiritual sub-culture of your company offers vision, perspective and a different kind of locomotion than just dollars and cents. BOTH are important, both are vital. Begin by asking yourself about the stories that birthed your enterprise. There are metaphors within these tales, and these metaphors offer instruction.

Conscious Residents of Planet Earth are turning off Top-down News channels and opting for personally chosen channels. The entire population is trending toward a spiritual/interior exodus for personally-crafted planets. The social fabric of the internet is a template for a spiritual, interior phenomenon.

(Held on March 18, 2010 at Limkokwing University in the Mayfair District, London, UK)

Published originally on May 17, 2010 in Marketing Week, Greece’s leading marketing publication. www.marketingweek.gr

On March 18, 2010, I was the sole representative of Greece in the External Customer Facing Social Solutions case study group at the SOMESSO Social Business Summit in London. The summit was a invitation-only event for leaders in social business theory, solutions and practice. I was invited due to the pioneering work I have been involved in within Athens, a true blue-ocean environment for social business integration. At the summit, our joint project in the External Group centered around providing a solution for a large bank. After the session, I had many confirmations of what businesses need as they enter the social fabric of the internet.

OVERARCHING THEMES:

• Businesses need simple, efficient solutions, which tie internal, external and eco-system elements together.

• De-mystification of the social business process and education in the possibilities.

• Our businesses must be customer-centric vs. brand or product-centric.

EXTERNAL FACING SOCIAL SOLUTIONS:

• MARKETING: Creation of simple, effective and proven strategies for social media marketing success. A blended approach with traditional media is advised. Marketing projects must always begin with a Digital Brand Assessment, where intelligence about where the brand is currently functions as a baseline for achieving gains in social equity and understanding of the CLV (customer lifetime value).

Marketing Departments and advertising organizations MUST understand the importance of getting their customers and audiences involved in the co-creation of their offerings.

• PR: Training of existing PR staff in simple monitoring software and remedial techniques for reputation management.

INTERNAL BUSINESS PROCESS SOCIAL SOLUTIONS:

• HR: Training of HR Director on what to look for in an adept Community Manager, Online Brand Ambassador, and Chief Customer Officer. Training of existing staff in social networking best practices while at work and out of the office, instituting company-wide rewards for employees who act as brand ambassadors.

In the social oriented business, the CCO plays a central role in communicating to brand managers what the customer wants.

• sCRM: Training of COO and Executive staff through one-day seminars on how to use their existing databases for quickly building their social equity (eg.- followers and fans in specific social properties + what serves this community).

In the coming 12-24 months, Greece and the Balkans will see a deepening involvement in social business due to an overwhelming migration of audiences from traditional gathering points. Studying best-practices and successful case studies from mature social markets will be an essential action toward creative solutions geared toward Greek and Balkan audiences.