I am dreaming of a White Christmas! Social Traditions #socbiz #ibmsocialbiz #ibmconnect

White Christmas!

White Christmas is the #1 best selling Christmas carol every!  The song and recording of White Christmas by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter's orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers was so popular that it was later reprised in the movie.  I love the lyrics .. "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas; Just like the ones I used to know!"   Traditions -- snow on Christmas!

Per Wikipedia,                                                         tra·di·tion 
                                                                                      /trəˈdiSHən/
                                                                                            Noun

1. The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.
2. A long-established custom or belief that has been passed on in this way.

We have our family traditions at the holidays!    We have a countdown to Christmas, a set of parties, and special foods for our big meal!

In Social, we are starting Social Traditions.  

  • Community Appreciation Day - January 23rd
  • South by Southwest(March), LeWeb(December), and IBM Connect(January)
  • Community awards by company:  Exceptional client experiences, Best Viral Social learning Video
  • Annual Social Star award by NAFE (December)
  • Forrester Groundswell Award (October)

Have you started a "social tradition"?   I'd love to hear from you too!


Social Business Coffee Break! #socbiz #ibmsocialbiz #ibmconnect #socialize12

Happy Monday!  Our Social Business Coffee break is focused on how to use Video to generate social trust!

Again, this quick Coffee Break was crowdsourced by you!!!!

Let me know your thoughts!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiwLMPqJWmA&feature=youtu.be]


Liking isn't leading! Did you see our #IBM Point of View in the WSJ? #socbiz #ibmsocialbiz #

I love this statement "Liking isn't leading" .    What does it mean?   To me, I see leading organizations that are using social business technology to positively disrupt their industries and create competitive advantage.   This companies are now moving from “liking” – simply using social technology for basic communication, to leading – where they are applying social tools and culture to fundamentally change their core business processes, leading to positive disruption within their organizations and their industries.
Today, organizations are recognizing that there are numerous opportunities for them to rethink their core business processes through the application of social. Business is ready for social. They are leveraging social to activate people to create a smarter workforce and delight customers by creating exceptional customer experiences.

Moving from Liking to leading means both activate the workforce: improve productivity and unleash innovation by tapping into the collective intelligence inside and outside their organizations and delight customers:  to increase loyalty, advocacy and revenue by listening, analyzing and acting upon new insights to satisfy individual customers needs.

What do you think?

Sandy

liking to leading


Value for Kenexa Clients and you! Introducing Kenexa! Welcome to IBM! #ibm #kenexa #ibmsocialbiz #socbiz

On Tuesday, IBM issued a press release about how Kenexa will bolster IBM's leadership in helping clients embrace social business, and help customers gain insights -- that they can act on -- from the enormous streams of social data that the new paradigms are producing, daily.

We're so excited to have Kenexa join us -- recruiting and talent management solutions are sure to be a hot topic at Connect2013 in January.

Together, Kenexa and IBM can put relevant data and expertise into the hands of business who need it.  Also known as a "smarter workforce," it means businesses can help employees drive innovation, preempt problems, improve customer service, and increase sales.

Both IBM and Kenexa are already generating real results for customers!

kenexa 2


BIG BIG news in social business today! #ibm #kenexa #ibmsocialbiz #socbiz

IBM completes acquisition of Kenexa!!
Today IBM announced (http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/39501.wss) the closing of its acquisition of Kenexa.  Kenexa is a leading provider of recruiting & talent mgt, and brings IBM a unique combo cloud technology & consulting services that integrates both people and processes.  Kenexa will help IBM clients engage a smarter, more effective workforce!
Did you know that 57% of CEOs in an IBM study said that becoming a social business is a top priority?  73%+ are investing to capture and draw data-based insights.  70% of them cited "human capital" as the single biggest contributor to sustained economic value, and I think the combined strengths of IBM and Kenexa will help IBM clients increase workforce efficiencies.

I'd like to give a big shout out & welcome to the Kenexa team, who just joined IBM -- we're going to do great things together.  At Connect2013 (Connect 2013) you know we'll be talking all about using social technology, analytics, talent management, and human insights to attract and retain the right talent and enable employee skills.

kenexa and IBM


Is there wisdom in the crowd?! Social Business Coffee Break! #ibmsocialbiz #ibm #socbiz

Happy Monday!   This is part of our Social Business Coffee Break series.  This topic is crowdsourced from you!  The topic:   Leveraging Crowds for Innovation!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vz5keUmETs&feature=youtu.be]

 

 

 


Thank God its Friday! Get ready to join me in Orlando for Connect 2013! #ibmpartners #ibm #ibmconnect

con·nect: verb kə-nekt to become joined, as in ideas that connect easily to form a theory. To join two places, making it possible for people and things to move between them.

connect2013_980x185_txtWithButton

I couldn’t be more excited about IBM's premier social business conference, IBM Connect 2013, coming up January 27-31 in Orlando, FL. The event will have a strong focus on the adoption of social. We'll share a multitude of exciting customer success stories that underpin the ROI from social and why you must consider social business a strategic imperative in 2013.

In case you are wondering if this event is the same as Lotusphere, the answer is Yes and No. The new event name reflects an expanded focus on the broader social business story. We will have sessions of interest to your whole team: C-level, IT and LOB. For IT attendees, the Lotusphere event you have known and loved for the past 20 years will be back in the form of the Lotusphere Technical Program, with a rich array of sessions like JumpStarts, Master Classes and more. For C-level and LOB attendees, we have two tracks to choose from. In the ‘Creating a Smarter Workforce’ track, you'll learn how to motivate and empower employees to improve productivity and foster better collaboration. In the ‘Creating Exceptional Customer Experiences’ track, you'll learn how to delight customers any time, any where to build loyalty, advocacy and revenue.

If you are looking forward to IBM Connect 2013 as much as I am, you'll want to take advantage of our discount registration pricing of $2,095 USD before it expires on December 10. If you are a Lotusphere alumni, we are offering an additional $100 discount when you use code ICFHJN.
But you don't have to wait until January to connect with us. Follow IBM on twitter.com/IBMConnect and Like us on Facebook.com/IBMSocialBiz for the latest news on IBM Connect 2013 speakers and more.

One last thing, if you are interested in sponsoring IBM Connect 2013, we are offering redesigned sponsorship packages that provide new options and more networking opportunities. To top it all off, we are offering sponsors more session content within the conference agenda. As a sponsor, you will have several opportunities to network, create new relationships and build a pipeline of leads. Whether on the exhibit floor, in executive meetings or during social events, conference attendees want to talk to you - the expert! They're looking for solutions and services that only our rich community of IBM Business Partners can provide.

Join us as a Sponsor at IBM Connect 2013. It's the perfect place to kick start your year.

See you in Florida!


Social drives a new set of skills - not what you know but can you find the expert who knows? #ibmsocialbiz #socbiz #ibmconnect

Interesting thought that came up today in discussion on Social in Education.

Is Social completely changing the "value" of skills?   For instance, it used to be that the value was on what you knew.  Classes focused on memorizing data, and reading lots of data.

Today, with smart mobile and social sites, it seems to have shifted to can you find the data?  Do you know the right expert to ask?  Do you know the right questions to ask?

Thoughts?  And if you agree, how does this change the way we educate?


First Test Of ‘Interplanetary Internet’  -- Thanks to Ray Hammond! #socbiz #ibmsocialbiz #ls13 #mobile

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have used an experimental version of the interplanetary Internet to control an educational rover from the International Space Station. The experiment used NASA’s Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocol to transmit messages and demonstrate technology that one day may enable Internet-like communications with space vehicles and support habitats or infrastructure on another planet. Space station Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams used a NASA-developed laptop to remotely drive a small LEGO robot at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. The European-led experiment used NASA’s DTN to simulate a scenario in which an astronaut in a vehicle orbiting a planetary body controls a robotic rover on the planet’s surface.

www.rayhammond.com


Small Business adoption of #SocBiz - Advice for Small Businesses and Social! #ibmsocialbiz #ibm #smb

Yesterday we showcased a small business using social in the restaurant business.  This use of social in SMB is growing.

According to Laurie McCabe (http://twitter.com/lauriemccabe,) SMB adoption of social media did indeed jump, from 44% to 53% among small businesses (and from 52% to 63% among medium businesses from 2011 to 2012, based on trending analysis in our SMB Social Business Studies. The divide between social media haves and have-nots is also growing: our research reveals that 65% of SMBs that use social business tools anticipate revenue gains, while only 17% of “non-social” SMBs expect revenues to increase.

Cloud, social and mobile trends continue to reshape how channel partners must deliver value across the board. SMBs are increasingly choosing to purchase directly from software and cloud vendors in most areas. And Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have gained ground as a purchase channel over VARs in several solution areas, including security, BI and collaboration. The need for more specialized business and/or technology expertise has also made some types of channel players more relevant in each specific solution category than others.

Actions for Small  Businesses:

  • Start Social!   Social can make a small company big!  Take for instance, Richard Scott Salon and Day Spa.
    They aggressively market their services and expertise through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Foursquare.  His comprehensive integrated marketing embeds trust with every client.  He has done no print ad for 1.5 years; but has had a tremendous growth in new clients.  He will do a print ad this December with links to social tools and a QR code!
    Listen and form relationships.  Don't market!   Social is about a relationship -- not a sales transactional event.    Do what you do best!  Form relationships.   Share expertise.    I love the Dry Cleaner in NYC who has focused his twitter page on getting out stains and his POV on cleaning!
    Be Focused.     To be successful, you must keep up the content and the conversation.  Make sure you are driving the right level of content on a regular basis!