There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that social conversation has changed the way business gets done. People have argued with me about this, but the simple fact of the matter is, the change hasn’t been brought about by the social “industry” so much as by the way people use technology and social platforms. It’s all about people relating to each other as individuals.
In fact, the only way I think of social media as media anymore is in the advertising component. But advertising is advertising. It’s still a one-way message blasted to a broad audience, and always has been. The social change that I’m talking about, where relationships are built and nurtured, is all about conversation. It’s about where communication, collaborative consumption, and overall insight is being built into every facet of business.