Why Social Media Is Vital to Corporate Social Responsibility

Melissa Jun Rowley is a freelance entertainment correspondent for CNN, a writer for Causecast, and producer for "That Morning Show" on E! Entertainment. She is @MelissaRowley on Twitter and blogs at melissajunrowley.com. A cultural and corporate shift is taking place in the world. Corporate Social Responsibility Until recently, corporate social responsibility among businesses has revolved around risk mitigation and self-regulation. Today, CSR functions as more than just a set of guidelines to keep companies out of trouble. Panelists at the Justmeans Social Media for Sustainability conference, which was held in San Francisco last month, offered some insights on how social media can aid companies in being more socially responsible. 1. There was a time when companies issued press releases, and operated under the impression that they controlled the message of their brand. 2. 3. “There was a time when we only focused on reducing own environmental footprint,” said Jacobson.

15 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed It's happened again. Another week, jam-packed with expert insights, has flown by. You've probably caught a few of the week's essential resources, but there's always that chance you missed something that could transform your social media or business strategy. Here at Mashable, we don't like to take those chances, so we've gathered up the week's essential reading and prepared this one-stop-shop for the guides, lists, interviews, and how-tos you may have missed during a hectic week. Get ready to dig into these 15 posts that will render you more knowledgeable and engaged when you come out on the other side. Social Media 5 Stellar Ways to Explore Space Using Social MediaThe far reaches of outer space have never been closer thanks to the wonders of social media. For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook. Mobile Business

6 Ways to Use Ning for Business David Spinks is the Community Manager for Scribnia, where the world's bloggers and columnists are reviewed by their readers. He also blogs at The Spinks Blog about business, careers and professional communities. There is an almost overwhelming number of options on the social web for businesses to create and participate in communities. You hear a lot about Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter communities, and even LinkedIn Groups; but businesses have another option when looking to build a community online that's often overlooked despite having nearly 40 million users: Ning. Ning allows businesses to create their own off-site social network for their brand’s community, and participate in existing conversations with the communities they are looking to engage. Here are 6 ways businesses can put Ning to work. What is Ning? Creating a social network on Ning or participating in networks already popular on the site are great ways for businesses to add value and connect with potential customers. 1. 2. 3.

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 This time last year, I wrote about the 10 ways social media will change 2009, and while all predictions have materialized or are on their way, it has only become clear in recent months how significant of a change we've seen this year. 2009 will go down as the year in which the shroud of uncertainty was lifted off of social media and mainstream adoption began at the speed of light. Barack Obama's campaign proved that social media can mobilize millions into action, and Iran's election protests demonstrated its importance to the freedom of speech. This guest post was written by Ravit Lichtenberg, founder and chief strategist at Ustrategy.com - a boutique consultancy focusing on helping companies succeed. Ravit authors a blog at www.ravitlichtenberg.com. Today, it is impossible to separate social media from the online world. So what will social Web bring next? Social Media Will Become a Single, Cohesive Experience Embedded In Our Activities and Technologies Mobile Will Take Center Stage

Social media trends to watch for 2011 Just like you, I get hordes of messaging on social media. And this is in addition to all the other work you might be doing in the area -- conferences, summits, your own personal social media activities. The list goes on. To give this article more long-term relevancy, I've categorized the trends I will discuss into interconnecting "ubertrends" -- the trends that will directly impact the emergence and growth of supporting micro-trends and how they might relate to your business. Ubertrends: Social monetization and social ubiquityThe escalating, evolving social media landscape is being driven largely by two interconnecting ubertrends: social monetization and social ubiquity. Stay informed. Social monetization While all this socializing is great fun, somewhere economics has to come into play. Micro-trend 1: Social commerceShopping, whether it is for a pair of pants, diapers, or seeds, fertilizer, and a plow on a virtual farm, is inherently social. How big is this market?

List Of Top Social Media Network Sites | Showcases | instantShif Social Media Networking really important for people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail, blogging, instant messaging, photo sharing and gaming services. Social networking has created new paths to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life. This is one of the beat ways we as a society show our growth and our progressiveness. After being researching last few weeks Now we glad to present the List of Top Social Media Network Sites which may help you in sharing information and networking all at the same time.

Social Networking and Product Development 23 Jul, 2009By: Tom Shoemaker Web 2.0 technologies bring advantages, disadvantages, and applicability to the product engineering processes. Are Web 2.0 tools appropriate for use in product-development settings? Raise your hand if you say "Yes." How about "No way"? Lastly, is there anyone who believes "It depends"? The Upside Companies can realize tremendous gains by incorporating social computing technologies — an initiative that product-development software company PTC has termed . A key value of social product development is that it allows engineers, project managers, and other product-development professionals to reach out to a broader network to gain knowledge and form new interest groups or communities. Each of the three communities that participate in social product development can be defined by its activities. A project manager at an industrial original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sets up a web portal to act as a secure project collaboration hub for an outsourced design task.

A New Age for Social Media Marketing | Brian Solis inShare7 In 2010, Social Media will rapidly escalate from novelty or perceived necessity to an integrated and strategic business communications, service, and information community and ecosystem. Our experiences and education will foster growth and propel us through each stage of the Social Media Marketing evolution. As MarketingSherpa observes, “2010 is the year where social media marketers gain the experience required to advance from novice to competent practitioner capable of achieving social marketing objectives and proving ROI.” It’s a powerful prediction and it’s one that I also believe. To document the evolution in maturation of new media marketing, MarketingSherpa published its 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report. This is why I believe that business success stories shared to date were wonderful to read, but they didn’t necessarily serve as a framework for my work. Research – Monitor target audiences about brands and competition I believe to the contrary however.

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