Iceland's citizen assembly discussing the country's constitutional reform. Image credit: Everyaware

In a truly dramatic demonstration of the power of citizen activism, Iceland drew up its new constitution using crowdsourcing in late 2011. Following Iceland’s complete economic collapse and bankruptcy due to irresponsible banking practices, the nation was eager to use social media to get its citizens involved in writing their own future. The initiative began with a national forum in which 950 people were randomly selected to spend a day discussing a new constitution. A council then began working to draft a document, but not in secrecy behind closed doors. Instead, its meetings are open to the public and streamed live on its Facebook page. The council posts each new draft clause on its website where the public can comment. The council also has a Twitter account and a YouTube page where it exhibits video interviews with its members. The draft constitution was put up for a national referendum, with no changes allowed from the country’s parliament. It is truly a constitution written by the people for the people.

Reading about this process, I could not help but think about how the connectivity unlocked by social media is transforming our world. It is radically altering the major institutions and fundamental paradigms of society. Just a short while ago, it was perceived as a shallow medium through which people could share trivial information. Companies used it as just another one-dimensional vehicle to broadcast self-directed advertising. Then the more savvy corporations recognized the interactive power of social media to engage their customers, and we began to see two-way conversations built around asking the public for their ideas.

Social media proved equally, if not more, disruptive in the political arena. We saw how youthful activists achieved historic change in the Arab Spring revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt, relying on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to spread their message of protest, organize demonstrations, and communicate the reality on the ground with the outside world. Last summer’s rioters in the United Kingdom used smart phones and social media to ignite flash crowds of disenchanted youth and, sadly, opportunistic criminals, as well as to mount peaceful protests and clean up after the rioters. Finally, we see Iceland using social media and crowdsourcing in admirably organized and peaceful ways that radically redefine the meaning of citizen democracy.

It is now undeniable that social media—and the democratizing force it brings with it—will continue to reweave our social and political fabric. Functioning independently of traditional media and the hardened institutions of government and business, we will increasingly see social media bypassing the traditional channel of authority and hierarchy that formerly restricted citizens and customers. The tools of social media are creating new opportunities for social dialogue, and inspiring a reformation in the values of the past. They are also helping to break down the structures and processes of every institution, slowly distributing the powers of governance, justice, representation, innovation, and even production among connected people.

Where will this social media revolution take us? Anything is possible, subject only to the limitations of our imagination. We are currently seeing many interesting new applications of social media and crowdsourcing. For example, there is the growing model of social production that draws on networks of people connected by social media to create new products and services. There is the burgeoning movement of social entrepreneurship whereby people motivated by a common desire to solve a pressing social problem that the corporate world is yet to satisfactorily answer put out an open call for assistance. Anyone with knowledge of the problem and its solution can respond, and in return they receive no compensation other than the personal satisfaction that they helped build a better world.

In the coming years, I am certain we will see social media be used increasingly to redefine the corporate world such as by influencing Boards of Directors, annual shareholder meetings, and the transparency and accountability offered by companies for their products and services. It will likely change how people look for jobs and how they evaluate the companies and CEO’s that they wish to work for. It will, no doubt, infiltrate many more areas of government just as it has in Iceland, impacting how laws are written and voted on in local, state and federal government.

What’s important to keep in mind when we think about the future is that social media enables all parties to have a platform. Given this, we can use this technology poorly to launch a cacophony of voices creating a chaos of competing interests – or we can use it as a tool to unify our voices as thoughtful, compassionate beings seeking to build a better world for all humankind.

Do you believe social media will build a better world? Do you think it has already begun to do so?

Who Cares Wins explains in detail the drivers and best practices of this new dynamic. Jones does a masterful job of explaining in very clear terms, why business success in the future will be driven by the authenticity, transparency, and accountability of brands and their ability to react quickly and consistently with these three qualities. In fact, he makes a compelling case for why the successful brands of the future will be those that are most meaningful in the lives of their media-savvy and socially connected customers.

On the flipside, Jones explains why those brands that ignore the impact of social media and these new customer expectations do so at their peril.  In only the last few months we’ve seen the consumer push-back against Netflix and Qwikster, against the Bank of America Debit Card Fee, on Bank Transfer Day, against the Verizon Online 2$ payment charge, and most recently the backdown of Congress over SOPA in the face of online activism.

So what Jones is talking about in this book is not conjuncture, wishful thinking, or projection, but rather a business reality that is already here. As such, he rightly positions social responsibility as an invaluable opportunity for brands to build their bottom lines while also becoming a force for good in the world. In order for this shift to gain traction and pace, large brands and entrepreneurs need case studies and proof points to justify their shift in priorities and practices. Who Cares Wins provides this in spades, and rightly positions this shift in the marketplace as one of great opportunity, rather than cause for concern. No doubt this is an educated risk that every business leader must take, and that spirit is captured in the title “Who Cares (rather than ‘Dares’) Wins.” But the risk of not engaging with this shift in business practices is far greater. Who Cares Wins is your guidebook on how to negotiate the social business marketplace in a way that builds your business and a better world for all.

To order your copy of Who Cares Wins click here, and you can follow David Jones on Twitter at @davidjoneshavas.

There are so many people I want to thank for their continued support. From insightful thought leaders like Brian Solis, Beth Kanter, Mari Smith, Valeria Maltoni, and so many friends on twitter that kindly shared the information.

I want to to thank the sponsors whose contributions have ensured that this will be a very special event. They include the UN Foundation, CauseCast, Hewlett Packard, SocialVibe Radian6, CSR Wire, and PR Newswire. We’d also like to thank  Success Magazine, GOOD Magazine, Project 7 and Chico Bags who are giving every attendee valuable and meaningful gifts.

I want to thank my We First  team, led by Morgan, that has worked tirelessly for the last four months. Natalie, Devin, Bill, Jason, Catherine, Bryan, Cameron, David and Cole. This would not have been possible without you.

And thanks to everyone in the We First community who has tweeted or retweeted the information, posted it on their Facebook profile, shared it on Google+, or passed it on to colleagues on LinkedIn.

Perhaps the most meaningful way of saying thank you is to let you know that the event is supporting over 40 non-profits that were either brought by other guests for free, or received a very special non-profit rate. This includes meaningful causes as far-ranging as pregnancy clinics, environmental groups, children’s education, and cancer research.

We are so excited about Wednesday and having a great two days at the wonderful Marina Del Rey Marriott hotel in Marina Del Rey that has been a wonderful host throughout the event.

To those of joining us on Wednesday, we’re so excited to spend these two days together building your brands, businesses, and positive social impact. If you couldn’t make it this but but are interested in the next We First Seminar, just visit www.WeFirstSeminar now, enter you name and email, and we’ll make sure you get the information about the next one first.

Image: Absolut/Fader

I had the pleasure of speaking at the San Diego Ad Club last week after Dan Burrier, the Chief Innovation Officer at Ogilvy and my former boss on the Motorola account. Not only is Dan a friend and someone I greatly admire, but he said something that evening that struck me very deeply. He said that branding is now more about the “doing” than the “telling.”

I think Dan is absolutely right. For too long, branding as practiced by advertising agencies has been focused on the Big Idea that, well told, will connect emotionally with a customer and motivate them to buy a product or service. But in this new era of transparency, characterized by Wiki Leaks, the activities of Anonymous, and the revelations about corporate practices that have filled the newspapers over recent months, a brand can no longer afford to simply trade on an idea of what it stands for. Instead, in this era of radical transparency, a brand must be willing to tell the story of what it’s actually doing.

That’s why the purpose of a brand is so critical to its bottom line success in the social business marketplace. That purpose not only informs how leadership steers the company and the satisfaction of its employees, but it also defines what actions the brand takes to improve the lives of its customers. For if a company wants their customers to grow their business by buying its products and services, that company must be meaningful to its customers lives. Such meaningfulness is found in the concrete actions a brand is taking to better the lives of its customers and the world at large in alignment with its core values.

On the one hand this is a burden on companies, in that brands must work out what they stand for, communicating it with employees, and bring it to life through their actions. This is not a simple or quick process. Yet at the same time, once you’ve done it, storytelling becomes much easier. A brand simply needs to share the story of what it’s doing with its employees, products, services, and cause work to improve the well being of others. It will enable the brand to build a community of customers aligned around shared values and connected by social media that will be happy to amplify the brand’s message using their own social media channels.

So instead of fabricating the Big Idea, and living in fear of the rise of transparency, a brand can put its shoulder behind its purpose and simply tell the story of what it’s doing in the marketplace. It’s this connection between the “doing” and “telling” of a brand’s story that defines success in the new social media marketplace. So if brands want to capitalize on social media to build their bottom line, take Dan’s advice by focusing on what your brand is doing in alignment with its purpose and values and simply tell that story.

If you’re interested in your brand storytelling, I invite you to join us at the We First Social Branding Seminar on the 1st and 2nd of February in Los Angeles at the Marina Del Rey Marriott hotel. Every attendee will be walking through a Social Branding Blueprint that takes them from the definition of their brand purpose through to its social media expression, so you walk out with a Blueprint that offers real value to your business that you can act on. Plus, every attendee gets an extra ticket free to invite their favorite non-profit. This is the last week to register, so visit www.WeFirstSeminar.com now.

The idea behind the seminar is to make sure your brand (whether they’re a non-profit, a start up, a social entrepreneur, social enterprise, mid-size company or Fortune 500 brand) doesn’t get left behind in this fast changing marketplace by learning to use social media in a way that truly builds your business. Too often brands are rushing to social technology but overlooking the importance of storytelling. Or they have a solid understanding of their brand and its story, but they don’t deeply understand how to make social media work for them. Both alternatives are incredibly dangerous to your business and future.

Getting this balancing act between storytelling and social technology right is really hard to do. Most brands are so caught up in the day-to-day of running their business, and so overwhelmed by the pace of change in social technology, that they don’t get the luxury of time or resources to focus on it. So the seminar, and the Social Branding Blueprint created specifically for it, were designed to make this possible in a condensed time frame of two days with the support of three world-class experts.

So imagine an 70-page Blueprint that distills the learning of the speakers into actionable choices, that builds in the most effective strategic and tactical options based on the best practices of the smartest marketers in the world, that leads your through the eight critical steps that every brand must walk through to build and maintain a customer community that builds its business with them – that’s what the Social Branding Blueprint does so that you spend the two days working on creating a plan specific to your business rather than just taking notes you put on the shelf that don’t translate to real value to your business.

So the real value of the two-day seminar includes:

1. Two days focused on creating a specific plan for your business rather than a series of talks.

2. That plan is built around the best practices, cases studies and ROI of the smartest marketers in the world so it mitigates the risks you take for your business.

3. An intimate environment limited to 80 people so that we can work directly on your business.

4. World class support including myself, Robert Tercek, (former President of Digital Media at Oprah’s network OWN), and Carol Cone, (Global Practice Chair of Edelman Business + Social Purpose).

5. 1 on 1 time with the experts and additional mentors to ensure you get the personal attention your deserve.

6. Networking with the experts, sponsors (including UN Foundation, HP, Causecast, SocialVibe, Radian6, CSRWire, PRNewswire, Social Media Monthly and GOOD magazine), and fellow attendees from some of the biggest brands in the world, the smartest social enterprises and start-ups, and most progressive non-profits.

7. You get an extra ticket to invite a non profit for free. So you get to make an important contribution just by attending.

8. Taking action by investing time in yourself, your business and building a better world is the thing that will set you apart from your competitors and give your the greatest fulfillment.

We have around ten spots left and obviously registrations have to close this week as it only a week away. We’re super excited to work on your business together so register now.

Last week I had the pleasure of joining other guests on This Week in Social Media with host, Robert Tercek. As always, it was a lively discussion ranging from the rise of Google+, to citizen and consumer activism, to the future of journalism. I hope you enjoy it.

Today’s marketplace is almost defined by a lack, or loss, of trust. This is borne out by research by the world’s largest PR firm, Edelman, whose 2011 Trust Barometer found that trust in US business to do the right thing had fallen eight points in the last year to be only five points above Russia. So nothing could be more important right now than a book that speaks to the architecture of trust with a view to core business benefits that include teamwork, culture change and leadership, all of which drive profits.

Smart Trust, by renowned bestselling New York Times bestselling author, Stephen Covey and Greg Link, is a book that all business leaders need to read. This is apparent from the outset, where the foreword by Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo (Fortune’s most influential female business leader for the last five years running), characterizes this book as a renaissance of trust.

Like all hard-won victories, trust needs to be earned, built, and maintained. Steven and Greg to a masterful job of telling us exactly how to do that step-by-step so that we can integrate it within our organizations and take it to market. Not surprisingly, rather than looking at the issue of trust from the outside in, they challenge each of us to build trust within an organization from the inside out. Specifically, it starts by requiring that each of us choose to believe in trust again and builds through 5 key steps:

1. Choosing to believe in trust
2. Starting with yourself
3. Declaring your intent and assuming the same positive intent in others
4. Doing what you say you’re going to do
5. Leading by extending trust to others

As self-evident as these may sound, anyone who’s worked in a large organization knows that the integration of such human qualities throughout a company’s culture requires a delicate and specific set of skills. Using insights from their work with thousands of employees in companies like AT&T, Frito Lay, La Nova, Zappos and Whole Foods, Steven and Greg walk us through the insights learned from hands-on experience in transforming large scale corporate cultures into bastions of trust.

Ironically, it’s these very human qualities that define the interactions between employees, between employees and leadership, and ultimately the profits of a company. Smart Trust is an indispensable guidebook in how you not only create, disseminate, and inspire trust within an organization, but in so doing, unlock all the brand reputation, customer service, and bottom-line benefits for a company that only trust can create. It’s a must read so order your copy now by clicking here, or visit SmartTrustBook.com.

1. How non-profits use Facebook to build awareness, community and fundraising

2. 2011: Facebook puts all brands on notice

3. Sherry Turkle of MIT: The human cost of social technology

4. Zynga: How the virtual world can save the real world

5. Exactly what role did social media play in the Egyptian revolution?

6. Review: Brian Solis, ‘The End of Business as Usual’

7. Why storytelling and social media need each other to survive

8. How brands rediscover the lost art of conversation

9. Egypt: Social media as a life or death proposition

10. Apple: How brands, customers & society benefit when a company shows what it stands for

Thanks to everyone for sharing your comments and these posts in 2011. We all now 2012 is going to be very interesting with the explosion of social business, mobile, gaming, citizen activism, the U.S. Presidential election and so many other issues that will shape our lives. I’m looking forward to exploring them with you.

And don’t forget. If you’re interested in attending the We First Social Branding Seminar to ensure your brand success in 2012, this is the last day of the New Year’s Special that gives you 50% off. Just click here to register and enter the special code NEWYEAR. You leave the event with a Social Branding Blueprint specific to your business that you can act on plus invite a non-profit for free. So click here now as the offer ends this week!

1. Recognize and respond to the reality that Facebook, Google and Twitter are the NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox of the future.

2. Inspire and demonstrate rigor in the articulation of your brand purpose to create the emotional connection with your customers that will drive their social media engagement.

3. Explore and integrate how to offer your customers greater authenticity, transparency and accountability to increase their loyalty and your profitability.

4. Interrogate and embrace how your brand can become more human interacting with customers in a way that captures their attention, commands their interest and inspires their loyalty.

5. Monitor and maintain the wide breadth of networks, platforms, and channels through which to bring your brand to life using a variety of media including text, video, photos and podcasts.

6. Deeply accept and respond the fact that your customers are increasingly driving your content distribution through their personal social media channels.

7. Identify and respond to the power of F-commerce (Facebook commerce) by expanding your e-commerce presence on the network.

8. Explore and act on what your brand and business will look like if it only lives in a smart phone in your customer’s hand.

9. Play with and apply the gamification of your product and service offerings including rewards and incentives for customer engagement, loyalty and sharing.

10. Internalize the fact that control of your brand must now be shared with your customers and offer them the personal attention, professional respect and authentic interest appropriate to business partners.

These ten resolutions are critical to the mind shift that must occur about how your brand, community and profits are built, maintained and expanded. They need to be adopted company-wide and will necessitate changes in company structure and roles. The upside is that such efforts will pay enormous dividends when the power of storytelling and the scalability of social media combine to generate brand awareness, customer loyalty and offline, online, social and mobile commerce.

For a concrete, actionable Social Branding Blueprint for how to do this for your business, join us at the We First Social Branding Seminar in Los Angeles on February 1-2. You’ll get an extra ticket to invite your favorite non-profit for free and world-class expertise focused on building your success blueprint for 2012. Places are limited and time is running out, so register now to put today’s market forces and social technology to work for you.

So much sobering news around the world, so much painful, heartfelt transformation, so much optimism in the face of challenges by millions of people around the world.

The year also saw the successful launch of the book, We First, for which I’m enormously grateful. The aim of the book was to share ideas that would have a tangible, positive impact on other’s lives. That would not be possible without a successful send off through your support. Here’s a few highlights of the response to the ideas about a re-purposed capitalism:

- New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Amazon bestseller
- Amazon Top Ten Business Books of 2011
- strategy+business Best Marketing Book of 2011
- Nominated for 800 CEO READ Best Book Awards 2011

This truly was a team effort. Here’s are a few important thank you’s.

WE FIRST FAMILY: First off, thank you to my team at We First: Morgan, Ryan, Rick, Devin, Cameron, Natalie, Cole, Sid, Bill, Catherine, Bryan, Laura, and Sarah. Thank you for putting up with the emotional roller-coaster ride and for boot-stapping our way through the year together. I’m so glad you were my fellow passengers!

WE FIRST BOOK TEAM: We couldn’t have made any impact with We First without the incredible support of my agent, William Morris Endeavor, publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, and publicist, Fortier PR.

SPEAKERS: Thanks to the speakers who are going to make the start of 2012 so exciting. Our We First Social Branding Seminar is on February 1st and 2nd, 2012, in Los Angels and is going to be amazing. Carol Cone, Global Vice-Chair of Business + Social Purpose, and Robert Tercek, former President of Digital Meida at OWN, will be joining me in creating your own personal Social Branding Blueprint for 2012. If you can make it, don’t miss out as the work we are putting together for you is fantastic. Just click here to join us as there’s only a limited number of places.

SPONSORS: Thanks to our great sponsors for the Seminar that include Causecast, SocialVibe, HP. Your support is invaluable in making the event special.

UN FOUNDATION: Plus we are super excited to announce that the UN Foundation will also be a Platinum sponsor. As an organization we deeply respect, we are so proud to be working with you.

YOU: When I think of the amazing number of people I have met and chatted with through social media over the last year, I really start to appreciate how it enriches my life and purpose. Thank you so much for all your time, interest, feedback and encouragement. Yes, there’s a lot in our world that needs to change in our world, but things are trending in the right direction and together we can make significant shifts happen.

FAMILY: No one has ridden the 2011 roller-coaster ride with me more closely than my family. To my two kids, thanks for putting up with Daddy’s travel and for filling my life with joy. To my wife, you are a rock for all of us, an incredible mum, and a constant source of love.

As we’re handed the reins of 2012 its up to us to make it meaningful and memorable. This is my prediction of what to expect.

Here’s to bringing our best selves to the personal, professional and social challenges we face and, by seeing ourselves in each other, working together to build a world we can be proud of.

Happy New Year to all from everyone at We First!