Sean Wood | Woodblog.org

Henry Jenkins is the director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT.  In this viral-info-snack he discusses the power of media in a 21st century trans-mediated world. A world where converging technologies and cultures give rise to a new media landscape.

About 30 seconds into it, Henry Jenkins says that we are in"an era when spectatorial culture is giving way to participatory culture" . 

People no longer just sit back and accept what the media tells them. They are the media.
The audience is the content - the entertainment is reality.

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Social media is growing up, more businesses are investing in social media and seeing big results. This slideshow from DreamGrow shows a few things to look out for this year in social media marketing. 

Social media has the power to make a real impact in the relationship you have with your customers and you'll probably need to update some of your old business processes to fit into the new world of consumer relations.  Sounds like a lot of work, huh?  It is.  But like anything else in life, if you don't have a real plan.. you're just going to flop around and make an ass of yourself.    Set aside the time to make real decisions about what you want to accomplish.

Rather than focusing on the latest social media shiny object ("smso") - let's focus on creating a social media strategy that helps you achieve real business objectives.  You'll be impressed with the increase of measurable things like ROI, word of mouth, and improved customer support.

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Here's a nice infographic from Elliance that shows how social media works in different departments.  The best social media results come from having a well-planned strategy that meets clearly defined business objectives.

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To Be Successful, Companies Should Focus On Four Key Trends
by Jeremiah Owyang

1) Don’t fondle the hammer. Understand customers, focus on objectives, not develop strategies based on ever-changing tools. Companies really need to understand their customers first, see our recorded webinar to learn more.

2) Live the 80% rule. This is a movement: get your company ready. 80% of success is getting the right organizational model, roles, processes, stakeholders, and teams assembled –only 20% should be focused on technology.

3) Customers don’t care what department you’re in. Customers just want their problem fixed, they don’t care what department you’re in. Yet, now, nearly every department can have a direct relationship with your customers using social tools. As a result, provide customers with a holistic experience Start to investigate how brand monitoring, community tools and CRM systems are merging.

4) Real time is *not* fast enough. Companies cannot scale when it comes to social media, for most companies, you cannot hire enough people to monitor and respond to the conversation, As a result, lean on advocates, by building unpaid armies, and anticipate customer needs through advanced listening techniques.

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