The Social 6: Stories You Missed Yesterday, 8/21/12 edition
#6: Internet and Attitude, a Powerful Combination
The NY Times Room for Debate typically has some interesting conversations going on, and this piece by Spencer Ackerman of Wired.com isn't any exception. Nice discussion of Russia's Pussy Riot controversy, and how social platforms like YouTube and Twitter played major parts in the story.
#5: Coca-Cola worried about Ottawa Public Health campaign
Jessica Smith writes in the Metro about a compelling story: some Coca Cola managers in Ottawa have written letters to the city's Mayor, expressing their misgivings over Ottawa Public Health's planned social media campaign about sugar-sweetened beverages. Key takeaway from this piece: just because you can raise social media awareness for your business or cause's issues, doesn't mean your opponents can't use "going social' tactics to respond in kind.
#4: A Hidden Evil of Google Plus
Margie Clayman writes a really nice Business 2 Community article talking about how Google Plus' privacy settings have had a negative impact on Google Analytics, and getting to know your customers better. Kind of interesting how Google's social platform, in some ways, hurts site owners when it comes to going social with customers!
#3: PR and Social Media: A Beautiful Relationship
This Business 2 Community piece was shared my good friends at DKNY on Twitter, letting it reach a pretty sizable audience -- many of which found this pretty interesting! Laura Szatkowski writes from the perspective of a young PR person building a career, and noticing how social media can really benefit a PR career. Worth a read for PR mavens in the making, but also for young people in general.
#2: Here’s Why Zuckerberg Needs to Stay as Facebook’s CEO
This piece by yours truly elicited considerable interest, especially considering how many investors and pundits have looked for reasons why Facebook's stock has sunk so low. Zuckerberg is really not the problem, which I outlined in this piece that a number of you found interesting.
#1: For World Humanitarian Day, Beyoncé Helps Makes Social Media History
Did you know World Humanitarian Day was August 19th? I admittedly missed it, and personally, I think it ought to be a bigger deal. MTV News Australia shares news about how Beyoncé collaborated with the United Nations to help raise awareness for World Humanitarian Day, and how social media played a part.
5 Reasons Why Microsoft Acquiring Yammer is Kind of a Big Deal
Business software firm Yammer Inc. (often described as “Facebook for Business”) has agreed to sell itself to Microsoft for a reported $1.2 billion. This is a pretty big deal, and I’m predicting will turn out to be a major coup for Microsoft. Here are some reasons why you should be paying attention to this deal, and Yammer in general:
#1: Yammer really does solve many collaboration issues for enterprises.
At a number of companies I’ve worked at, departments set up rogue Facebook groups and Twitter accounts for collaboration, not sanctioned by the company at large. Yammer lets any company set up official social collaboration channels.
#2: Yammer actually makes it more fun to work.
At iluminage, the beauty startup concept I am currently developing, we use Yammer for sharing industry news, but also to share everything from personal news to awarding praise badges for team members who are making significant contributions. Participating on Yammer feels like fun as opposed to a chore.
#3: Using Yammer can lead to increased team growth.
As I just mentioned, the fun associated with using Yammer makes people more likely to use it, and have it become a modern-age version of the watercooler. “It enables those special connections we had created by bringing people together in the classroom to happen all the time,” says Mike Petersell, Director of Learning and Performance at Pitney Bowes. Bringing productive people together tends to begat greater productivity.
#4: The next generation of enterprise tech is emerging, and Yammer’s a big part of it.
The acquisition gives Microsoft the ability to compete with nimble new cloud-based enterprise software. Some of these include Dropbox, with a private valuation of $4 Billion, and Jive, which has seen its stock jump 50% since its IPO in late 2011. While Yammer can compete quite well with these companies, what’s almost as impressive is Yammer’s ability to act at the platform that other enterprise software can snugly fit into, much like how a Zynga game fits snugly into Facebook.
#5: Yammer hasn’t even scratched the surface of where it can go & what is can be.
Remember before Google went public? It may be hard for some of you to remember, but at one point, Google’s core competency was pure search for web results, and not much else. As time went on and Google’s resources increased, so did its ability to build upon its core competency and create new products. With Microsoft’s resources, Yammer has the opportunity to follow suit, creating more products and increasing the platform’s utility. Two easy examples:
a) Yammer could create private social networks for Microsoft’s (and other large companies) enterprise customers to collaborate and share best practices in a secure environment.
b) Yammer could go after the educational market, rolling out a version of its platform optimized for teacher-student and student-student collaboration. While there are examples of educational institutions using Yammer, including Pepperdine Business School, a push towards dominating the education would seem to be a very viable move for Yammer.
If this was helpful/interesting to you, I’d love if you could share with your networks. And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Related articles
