Just another thought

I`ve started to read Groundswell - until now a very interesting and useful book. For those of you that don´t know what the groundswell is (I didn´t know it) it´s defined as:

"A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations."

But, what I wanted to share with you is a quote from the back of the book. I think it´s very precisely said on the coming challenges (or obstacles) larger corporations will meet concerning social technology.

"The first phase of the Internet was about getting everyone connected. In this next phase, which changes the way we work, live, play, and learn, we´re starting to realize the value of those connections as well as the new communications and experiences those interactions lead to - the human network." - John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco

Most people are on Facebook and Myspace, more and more people are joining Twitter, we experience a growth in number of people blogging. We´re on our way to be connected, and now it´s time for corporations to figure out how to navigate within the field of technology and people. Most CEOs, CMOs etc. know they need to be present, but they don´t quite know why and how to. I think cookipedia is a brilliant example of this. A corporation using the term beta to cover up the missing social strategy. It got me thinking of how forrester classifies the segments they are dealing with in order to approach the groundswell in the right way. Corporations simply need to have a social technology strategy. I think there is an important task waiting for agencies, consulants, corporations to at first getting an understanding of the value of those connections, and the only way to succeed is through co-operation.