Time 29:58

In this second part of a conversation with Twitterville author, Shel Israel and I get into the strategy some companies can use to improve their business in social media. The short answer is be generous. We get into the rewards of being generous, some direct and some not. Trust among individuals practicing and advising in social media has to be pretty high these days. With so much generosity on the web (translate free information), the more providers have to trust they are not undercutting themselves.

I find that the generosity model still is working. Perhaps because this method of communicating and relationship building is different for each participant, each company, each employee representing a company, and each person engaging with each other.

I recently had a situation with Comcast during a tech call, the rep noticed that my package of services qualified for a lower rate and offered it up. Nice. Say do you think banks or credit card companies would do such a thing? It pays to be generous especially if you are in a subscriber relationship like cable. When the customer knows the company is looking out for his or her best interest, that’s called trust.

Personal Background

Shel Israel and I met online and we have a common interest as senior fellows at the Society for New Communications Research. We come from different political perspectives and view some aspects of social media differently. As I listened to our conversation while writing this post, it strikes me that the social web facilitated this civil, respectful relationship. The result of which is a discussion of issues I believe listeners will enjoy. Had it not been for the social web this relationship would never have happened. Schmaltzy?, maybe, but it underscores the ecosystem companies are trying to understand and participate. Hey Shel did I use the word Schmaltzy correctly?

Win a Copy of Twitterville

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