Social Media a Fad?

An introduction to Social Media, from Socialnomics (Youtube), released earlier this summer.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

White House goes Open Innovation

The 4th of August, the US White House sent out a memorandum to the top executives of the agencies and departments regarding "Science and Technology Priorities for the FY 2011 Budget". In it, the Administration explains the prioritization regarding their science and technology activities and funding, stressing the importance to increase the productivity of the research institutes and universities, as well as strenghtening science, technology etc. Further reading in the Obama instructions to his staff:

"Agency budget submissions should also explain how the agency plans to take advantage of today's open innovation model—in which the whole chain from research to application does not have to take place within a single lab, agency or firm—and become highly open to ideas from many players, at all stages. Agencies should empower their scientists to have ongoing contact with people who know what's involved in making and using things, from cost and competitive factors to the many practical constraints and opportunities that can arise when turning ideas into reality. Agencies should pursue transformational solutions to the Nation’s practical challenges, and budget submissions should therefore explain how agencies will provide support for long-term, visionary thinkers proposing high-risk, high-payoff research."

Social media pays off

Wetpaint/Altimeter Group has recently published a report on the top 100 global brands and their use of varius types of social media to engage with their customers. In their report, which is possible to download for free, it is said in the preface:

"A surprising conclusion: While much has been written questioning the value of social media, this landmark study has found that the most valuable brands in the world are experiencing a direct correlation between top financial performance and deep social media engagement. The relationship is apparent and significant: socially engaged companies are in fact more financially successful."

The list of top ranked brands (high engagement + many channels) in the study is:

1. Starbucks
2. Dell
3. eBay
4. Google
5. Microsoft
6. Thomson Reuters
7. Nike
8. Amazon
9. SAP AG
10. Intel and Yahoo!

Read more on: http://www.engagementdb.com/Report