O Companies... Where Art Thou

When will companies step it up and realize that they need to jump on the technological bandwagon and start firing up some blogs.

Blogs are a great way for companies to build up customer support and rapport. If you can shop at a company that fully discloses (or appears to fully disclose) their daily activities, wouldn't you feel more comfortable shopping there? I forgot what company did this, but one company made a blog (believe it or not this was public) where employees could post however they felt about the company, different ideas they had about the inner-workings of the company as well as product ideas. One may think that this is corporate suicide, but the company started to see an increase in sales, increase in productivity and customer service points went up! It turned out, the consumer felt more comfortable knowing that the company was listening to all concerns and felt that the company had nothing to hide - all problems would get fixed.

Even if a company doesn't go to this extreme, it's about time they realize how amazing of a marketing tool this is. Just a simple blog will allow the company to build a stronger following as well. If more people invest time in reading a blog about a company, they will subconsciously, and consciously, develop a stronger bond to that company over that of a blogless competitor.

O Companies... Where Art Thou

The Physics of Social Capital

It was interesting reading about "social capital."

Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"].*

When you look around you, it is fascinating to see that so much of American culture is based around one's social capital. Social capital is essentially one's social circle... and in America, social circles follow the rules of physics... the larger the mass, the greater the attractive power. Too often, people are not judged on the quality of their connections and networks but rather on the quantity. These people ignore the massive benefits that come along with social capital:

benefits flow from the trust, reciprocity, information, and cooperation associated with social networks. Social capital creates value for the people who are connected and - at least sometimes - for bystanders as well.*

I feel that quality social capital is also necessary to establish a proper network in life. Whether it is in business such as discussed with Rob Cross or in personal networks that establish a strong emotional base, quality social capital is at the root of everyday life and an important staple for a stable life.

*http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/primer.htm