Carol Rozwell

Many of my client conversations at the recently concluded Portals, Content and Collaboration Summit centered on social media. Despite many examples of successful deployments, some organizations are still struggling to see how social applies to their business. The questions have a common ring to them – what should I do with social?

A more productive way to think about the disruptive opportunity of social is to explore the places were the network can be brought to bear to improve, enhance and enlighten any business activity. Processes such as customer service, R&D and supply chain can all benefit from the insight and experience of people inside and outside the organization.

The question I suggest leaders of social business initiatives ask themselves is “where can 1000 eyes be brought to bear to make the business activity run better, faster or cheaper?”

Credit: DeMarchi Media

This is the question that will lead to better results than asking whether you need a Facebook page. That decision can come later, after you’ve figured out where the 1000 eyes can best be put to use.

If you would like to discuss this or other topics related to Business Gets Social, join us for the Gartner Twitter Chat. It will take place October 4, at 3 ET on Twitter with Anthony Bradley, Elise Olding and me. Join us on Twitter and follow #GartnerChat, and hosts @BradleyAnthonyJ, @CRozwell, @EliseOlding and @Gartner_inc.

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Category: Change management Collaboration Knowledge management Social media Social networks community social software     Tags: Change management, Collaboration dynamics, communities of practice, community, CoP, Innovation, Knowledge management, learning, Social analytics, Social media, Social networking, Social networks, social software

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