Blurring the line between social and business

Date de publication : 28 oct. 2010 09:37:19

by Steve Pirk

I was asked to write about the business/tech side of buzz, and why it is useful for business. Not ever having run a business, I thought that odd, but after some thought, realized that whatever I am making here in Bremerton, I have done it all in buzz.

Being successful in whatever you do requires information, and if there is one thing your typical tech stream in buzz consists of, it is information. Lots of it relevant to you and what you do, mixed in with everything else you do socially on the ‘net.

I started with buzz on a quest for knowledge and for something new to do. I found a ton of friends, many of whom I now exchange information with and work collaboratively to solve problems for ourselves and others. As I think about how buzz has evolved since launch, I realize that a tremendous amount of business transactions have taken place between individuals that I got to know socially long before any talk of business came up. The funny thing is you do not even realize you are doing business, because all you appear to be doing is exchanging information and helping each other... I see new business models evolving, where information becomes just as important as goods or services... There certainly has been a ton of that going on in buzz over the last few months.

Buzz for Google Apps is coming soon. If you think buzz is powerful in an open social environment [all of us participating in this project do], then think about how useful it would be as a social tool that is private to the members of your organization...

Jump into buzz, and start exploring groups. Buzz posts can be public or private. If private, only people invited to the discussion can participate or view the post. You invite participants individually, or you can make a post private to a group. You can select multiple groups and individuals, which gives you incredible control over your audience. Using groups allows you to completely test custom group discussions, prior to using it within your organization. Jump in, and take it for a test drive with co-workers that have Gmail.

I am surprised at how fast a primarily social tool evolved into a complex web of interwoven connections. I was not surprised that almost every one of us got to know each other socially before we realized that our common interests were actually benefiting us business wise. I always like to shake the hand or personally greet those I do business with... Google buzz is the best way I have found to virtually shake hands, and gives you the tools to build things collaboratively with friends all over the world... It really is an amazing tool for business, but it is also a great environment for social interactions on many levels.