What a way to start!

I've been thinking for some time that I needed to add to my blog list with something that was socially acceptable... so welcome to Socially Ept, where we'll share a journey towards understanding what the social media dislocation means to business today, and just as importantly what it doesn't mean.

And what a way to start - today I had the chance to spend some time listening to Jeremiah Owyang courtesy of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and Forrester Research. He impressed me early during the "stand-around-and-mingle" phase when he responded to a question about getting the time to blog - "it's sort of time management. I blog first (for 2 hours a day), and then I get around to the other stuff". You know, that's a pretty good world view (and a fine sense of personal branding).

Jeremiah's presentation focused pretty much on the Groundswell phenomenon, although the Q&A started to get more interactive and - go figure - penetrating. With many self-proclaimed experts in the room, Jeremiah was able to make complex issues clear and to provide nuggets of actionable insight. Let's face it - the advent of social media marks the greatest dislocation to marketing since the invention of the printing press. And he basically told them to get over it, move on, adapt.

I agree - the needle has moved and it's no good trying to figure out how to turn this back into something the CMO can control. I like to think about this transformation in terms of operating systems - sure, MS-DOS was a great little number but you won't find it supporting many global enterprises. The operating system for engaging with customers has changed. You either upgrade, or perish.

In tomorrow's post I'll focus a little more on Jeremiah's presentation. So why don't you join in?