SocialSphere Web 2.0 Products and Strategy

When Apple came clean about Steve Jobs health, the tech community (and Apple shareholders) breathed a sigh of relief. The tech stock had almost broken $200 in December of 2007, but just prior to the announcement, was trading as low as $85. It jumped $10 on the news. There were a lot of reasons for the gradual price drop over the last year--Steve Job's health was just one of many factors that went into the pricing, factors which also included a leveling off of iPod sales and general economic concerns. Despite the short-term gains, as blogger Matthew Ingram writes (links are his), "Apple's wishy-washy approach to this whole issue over the past few months raises more questions about the company's credibility than it answers."

Apple is one of many companies that the tech community--especially the social media community--holds in high esteem. While they do make very cool gadgets, they consistently violate rule after rule when it comes to social media and community engagement. They run the most secretive marketing machine in the industry, by far. The very idea of community engagement runs against the "be cool" theme that permeates the Apple culture; after all, how could the masses know what's best for the elite Apple users? I was actually pleasantly surprised to learn from a quick scan inside the iTunes Store that the company that sued to protect the name "podcast" actually does produce a few podcasts, but it certainly doesn't blog, and transparency is definitely not the mantra you'll hear repeated inside the hallowed halls of One Infinite Loop.

And here's the kicker: Apple is not alone. Many of the companies that we in the social media community idolize blatantly disregard many of the basic standards that we've tried to put in place.

While the end of every year brings hundreds of predictions, some of them prescient, most of them bad, others bordering on criminal like the two-thirds of the economists polled last year who saw no signs of a recession -- one thing you can take to the bank is the continued democratization of the web in 2009.  This is a big deal for just about every government, company and organization I can think of. 

Its one of the most important but least covered mainstream news stories of the year -- how Web 2.0 tools have led the continued transfer (sometimes uneasy) of power from the few to the many.  There are dozens of examples -- some I have seen firsthand like the emerging use of e-government tools (with notable exceptions) in China, the SMS-based protests that nearly took down a government in Korea, and the mobilization of tens of millions of newly engaged citizens organized online for Barack Obama -- and others from a distance like the ass-kicking that the "Motrin Moms" gave J&J and its ad agency via Twitter for its insensitive portrayal of new moms and lack of understanding about one of its core demographic groups. 

A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal partnered with MIT's Sloan School to highlight how some of these Web 2.0 applications can be utilized for business -- including marketing, outsourcing, leadership, innovation and HR. It was just about perfect -- especially for the less than connected CEOs, COOs, and CMOs -- in that it focused on how the technology (matched with the right attitude) was changing the way in which businesses will operate in the future.  While there were a number of handy reading lists and case studies referenced, what was missing were a few practical next steps.  So here they are -- three next steps that every CEO and C-level executive ought to take up, regardless if you are Jeff Immelt or Joe the plumber.  And what better time to start than during the new year holidays?