( Wrote this bit for my corporate blog.. Its pretty simple and small)
A few years ago while I was still in business school ,I read an interesting snippet in the Times of India of how a businessman in Mumbai fell into a manhole and was rescued by a young woman. The businessman rushed off without as much as a word of thanks ,much to the surprise and indignation of those around. He later returned and profusely thanked his rescuer and explained the reason for his morning rush was that it was the last day to register for the Tata Yellow pages and he did not want to miss it.
Tata Yellow pages sure had its ‘fan list’ then!
Today, Facebook & Twitter is what Yellow Pages was to the numerous small and big business enterprises across the globe.
Social Networking is the new mantra! And there is no two ways about it.
An increasing number of businesses across industries are awakening to this indisputable fact. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that Social Networking as a business tool is past the initial teething problems and is in the growth stage in the Product Life Cycle.
A few interesting statistics to highlight my point:-
• 50 million non-college attendees use Facebook
• The professional social networking site LinkedIn grew 187% over the past year
• 85% of business owners participating in social media for business are doing so by way of blogging online
• 85% of social media users believe companies should interact with their consumers through social media outlets
• Six out of 10 Americans who use social media interact with companies on social media Web sites
Social Networking has made its presence in every facet of today’s organization. From branding & advertising to recruitment to relationship building, organizations actively use social networking as a strategic tool. In fact, I won’t be too surprised if companies soon start ‘tweeting’ their RFP & RFI. What started as a small internally focused initiative has now blown into a world-wide phenomenon that has changed the way we do business.
Like science-fiction writer William Gibson once said ‘The Future is here‘ Indeed the future of business interaction has arrived. And How!
