BusinessWeek’s Business Exchange – What It Is, And Why I’m Loving It

Look for this box on the BusinessWeek homepage

I’m going to start out here with a plea for forgiveness.

This article isn’t directly about Twitter, or LinkedIn or any of the popular social media/networking sites that stay in the news – please don’t be mad at me.

Hey- I said don’t throw garbage at your screen yet! BusinessWeek’s Business Exchange (BX) indirectly makes use of Twitter and LinkedIn in ways I think you’ll find quite helpful.

So simma down nah.

What It Is

BX is BusinessWeek’s social network/bookmarking hybrid. With the amount of information you can quickly find, it’s unique positioning and its ease of use, I’m really surprised people aren’t talking about it much, much more.

On the other hand, I haven’t been talking about it either for a very specific reason that we’ll get to in a minute.

Of course it’s also because everyone is talking about Facebook and Twitter.

I know I always am.

Anyway… let’s take a look at who will benefit from using BX. Read the rest of this entry »

Mixed messages abound regarding the relevance of Social Media applications for business, and especially the value of using Twitter to promote business endeavors. Media Buyer Planner recently released bleak statistics regarding Twitter’s use in the business space. In fact, the online media site reports that only 8% of businesses see Twitter as a viable option for promoting their business…which means that the remaining 92% of businesses are either stubborn, stupid, or simply have no idea how Twitter could take their business to another level.

The survey, a joint LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll states, in the raw:

The research, which included surveys of both advertisers and the U.S. public at large. It showed that among advertisers:

• 45% think Twitter is in its infancy and its use will grow significantly over the next few years
• 21% believe Twitter will not move into the mainstream and will remain something mostly young people and the media will use
• 17% believe Twitter’s five minutes of fame are already over and it’s time to find the next big thing
• 17% of advertisers say they don’t know enough about Twitter to have an opinion.

Among consumers, the study found a different picture:

• 69% say they do not know enough about Twitter to have an opinion about it
• 12% think it’s in its infancy
• 12% say it is just something that young people and the media use
• 8% say it is already over

Wow. It’s enough to make one wonder whether people even pay attention anymore, let alone read, watch TV, or use the internet. When major news outlets ask for feedback and tips via Twitter, it would seem to me like the micro-blogging site has become a permanent fixture…call me crazy. Maybe these are the descendants of early humans who thought fire would never catch on… Read the rest of this entry »