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.

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.

I wanted to share this video with you that features David Kirkpatrick, the author of The Facebook Effect, talking about the impact of social tools and technology on the way consumers and citizens around the world are demanding change. He does a wonderful job of articulating how the internet has heightened awareness around the world of economic inequality, and how social media has given citizens and customers all around the world an unprecedented platform to have those grievances heard. Specifically, David does a very effective job of framing a series of questions that every brand must answer today if they want to survive and succeed in the future. Those questions include:

- What is the purpose, mission, and vision of your company that could make it meaningful to distrusting citizens and customers?

- As citizens and customers around the world vent their grievances over economic inequality and demand greater social responsibility from brands, how do those companies respond using the very same tools?

- Given this inequality, how do companies themselves not only build their bottom lines, but shore up the well being of the society on which their own survival depends?

We find ourselves at a very interesting intersection between economy, which is why David’s film is aptly named “Techonomy.” For social technology is not only empowering citizens and consumers to have their grievances heard, but it also provides brands with an unprecedented opportunity to scale their messaging and play a meaningful role in social transformation. Ultimately, those that adapt and play a role in this shift will not only be the bottom-line success stories of the future, but will be the social architects of change.

It is these very questions that we’ll be addressing and answering specific to your business at the We First Social Branding Seminar being held at the Marina Del Rey Marriott on February 1-2. It’s a two day deep-dive into the specific challenges your brand faces, exploring how it should define its purpose, and tell that story in a community-facing way, that will be meaningful to its customer community and drive social change.

The seminar will be led be myself and Carol Cone (Global Practice Chair of Edelman Business + Social Purpose), and Robert Tercek (former President of Digital Media at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network). What’s more, anyone who attends will receive an extra ticket to invite their favorite non-profit for free.

The We First Social Branding Seminar is an intensive workshop in which you get world-class support to answer the very questions that will determine those brands that succeed and leverage social media to build their business and positive impact. This is the last week to register, so register now at www.WeFirstSeminar.com

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.

We’re super excited to announce that Robert Tercek is a special guest speaker at ther We First Seminar on February 1-2 at the Marina del Rey Marriott in California. Robert is one of the world’s most prolific creator of interactive entertainment and former President of Digital Media for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as previously serving in executive leadership roles at Sony Pictures Entertainment, MTV: Music Television and several startup technology companies.

So I wanted to share this TEDx talk to give you a little insight into some of Robert’s thinking. At the We First Seminar, he’ll be working on your Social Branding Blueprint for 2012 with a specific focus emerging media and technology so you’re well positioned for success this year and beyond. Specifically he’ll address the following questions:

1. Why social media isn’t just a business modification but a total business transformation

2. How to dialogue with your customers using the latest in social technology and media

3. The skill sets you must possess to keep up with your audience and market successfully in the future

So if you’re interested in what comes next there is no better authority than Robert and along with Carol Cone (Global Practice Chair of Edelman Business+Social Purpose), we’ll be working with you for two days on building your Social Branding Blueprint for this year and beyond. But don’t delay, places  are limited and time is almost up to register. Go to www.WefirstSeminar.com and join us to ensure your success in 2012

You can follow Robert on twitter @superplex

When you watch this Google Zeitgeist video for 2011 it’s hard not to be struck by the sheer volume and impact of changes that have taken place this year. Equally hard to ignore is the breath and depth of human suffering playing out across the world. But rather than feeling dishearted, 2011 stands as a testament to what we can achieve through deep empathy and coordinated effort. For there  is no limit to what creativity, collaboration and cooperation can achieve, even in relation to chronic problems such as economic inequality, climate change or the political inertia. And, as such, we each bear a responsibility to help shape the story that will be our shared future.

Corporate America has been under constant attack in 2011 and it stands on the precipice of failure or greatness. Yet financial failure is not what I’m talking about. The corporate leaders and their brands are being called to greatness, to becoming more meaningful than they ever imagined in customers lives, to literally being the architects of a more prosperous and sustainable future.

The alternative is all too familiar: a greater disparity of wealth, chronic unemployment, a disappearing middle class, and growing ranks of the poor, to name a few. And merely shifting focus to faster-growing, emerging markets will only postpone the inevitable collapse of a system propped up by unsustainable practices.

The possibilities for renewal, however, are breathtaking, if 2011 is any guide to what is possible. For corporate America, this requires a fundamental shift in intention, a re-prioritization of values, a fresh recognition that in a global community our own success and well-being turns on the well-being of others.

This is not idealistic, unrealistic or naive. In fact, it’s the most selfish thing you can do. Not just because a sustainable practice of capitalism will ensure your own prosperity, but because the fulfillment that comes through contribution is the wealth that makes life meaningful.

The multiple global crises we face and the groundswell for change around the world is a call to arms to build a world that does a better job of sharing prosperity. Each of us – every consumer, shareholder, employee and CEO has a role to play – and by working together, we can make 2012 a year of greatness for all.

The simplification turns on five simple tabs – Home, Connect, Discover, Me, and Tweet – that each provides a different way for customers to tell companies what they think of a company, its services or products, and its social responsibility. The Home tab features are familiar in that they allow customers to tweet, follow trends, see recommended people, and send direct messages, but the @Connect tab is broken out into Interactions and Mentions. Interactions lets customers watch conversations and retweets, so that if you’re talking about a brand, you’ll be able to connect with others who are doing the same, and then also see who is retweeting those conversations. The Mentions tab highlights mentions of your name in the context of these conversations and the #Discover tab takes it one step further, allowing you to see related stories and trends based on their recent popularity as well as your connections, location, and language. So if you happen to be discussing a brand, either in a positive or negative sense, conversations in and around that topic will readily appear. You can also search for them by using hashtags.

The reach of such conversations is further expanded as tweets are now embeddable, which means that you can take a tweet and embed it as fully functional content on another platform that others can then reply to, retweet, favorite, or follow. Additionally, the new hashtag button tells visitors if a relevant conversation is going on, allowing you to follow that conversation or join in with a simple click. On the brand’s side of the conversation, Twitter has redesigned its platform to ensure that brands don’t lose touch with their customers because they are directed to leave Twitter itself. Instead, Twitter has introduced Brand Pages that allow companies to promote their products and services within Twitter itself. Obviously this gives brands more cause to advertise on Twitter and customers more reason to stay there. These brand pages can be customized by the company in question so they are consistent the brand’s identity, while also giving them some flexibility to shape the visitor’s experience. Included here are three examples that showcase this new flexibility: @CocaCola and @Intel.

The net effect of this most recent Twitter redesign is that it will further enhance brand/customer conversations by making the brand experience more customized and customer feedback more social. Such sophistication is good for brands but it also brings with it heightened responsibility as customers look to the brands they support through their purchases to be more authentic, transparent and socially responsible if they want to be the success stories of 2012.

Do you like the Twitter redesign? How do you think it will change the way brands engage to their customers?

To date, we have relied on governments and philanthropies to attend to these problems. However, it is clear these two pillars of social transformation can no longer meet the scale of our global crises. Government-sponsored social initiatives are increasingly hampered by politics, partisanship, limited financial resources, corruption, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Due to the recession, nonprofits are rapidly losing donors and billions of dollars in funding, causing many of them to cut back severely on their programs, while others simply close shop.

It is time for corporations to accept their social responsibility and become a “third pillar of change” in the world, partnering with governments and philanthropies to meet these challenges. Some might claim that U.S.-based corporations are already doing this, given that they contribute nearly $20 billion to causes through direct charitable contributions and corporate foundation awards. But such numbers are highly misleading because, in reality, most corporations donate only about 1 percent of their total pretax profits to charitable causes and it rarely exceeds 1.5 percent. By comparison, corporations generate trillions of dollars for their shareholders, and top corporate executives receive salaries and bonuses in the tens of millions.

For most of the 20th century, corporations hardly made any effort to demonstrate social responsibility to their communities, the country, or the world at large. In the mid-1980s, under pressure from consumers to become more environmentally responsible (which then morphed into today’s larger concern for social responsibility), many companies began a new tactic called “cause-related marketing” (CRM), whereby they challenged consumers to buy their products in exchange for their making donations to well-known social causes. CRM campaigns have become a huge success, but they are not sufficient if the goal is truly meaningful corporate social responsibility. The shortcomings of CRM campaigns include:

1. The proceeds generated from corporate CRM campaigns are very small compared to the profits they generate for corporations.

2. Top corporate executives remain largely uninvolved in their commitment to serious social transformation.

3. CRM campaigns are often intended to window dress a company’s reputation rather than sincerely help a cause. This is evidenced by the large number of companies that have been caught “green-washing,” “cause-washing,” and “local-washing.”

Taken together, CRM and other forms of corporate charity ultimately reflect an obstinate resistance on the part of corporations to be truly responsible citizens. Adhering staunchly to the economic philosophy of Milton Friedman, Corporate America still tends to insist it has no obligation to anyone but its shareholders. Executives and boards of directors continue to act as if their only responsibilities are to maximize returns for their stockholders.

It is time to put an end to this attitude–and it will be up to consumers to do so. Just as they did with the environmental movement, consumers must begin pressuring corporations to accept a far greater degree of responsibility for the role they play in this interconnected, globalized world of the future. Corporations need to recognize that they have a moral and ethical duty of social responsibility in exchange for their license to operate. The future of their profit must therefore be linked to serving higher purposes in the world. As observed by the noted European philosopher, Slavoj Žižek, we can no longer tolerate the hypocrisy of corporate attempts at social responsibility that try to save and protect with one hand while the other hand destroys.

In order to truly become a third pillar, corporations must adopt four new behaviors:

1. First, as long as investors demand that they maximize profits, corporations must allow society to deduct more of the costs of the negative externalities they create that are never counted in the corporation’s tax burden. These include such ramifications as pollution, traffic, defense expenditures, dysfunctional families, obesity, and crime.

2. Second, they need to acknowledge and act upon their responsibility to help create a healthy society, because capitalism can survive only if there is prosperity for the majority of people, not just among a small group of the wealthy elite.

3. Third, as Bill Gates suggested in his vision of “creative capitalism,” corporations must search for new ways to define profit by doing business even in the world’s poorest nations. Corporate responsibility and profit can no longer be thought of as mutually exclusive.

4. Finally, corporations must wake up to the reality that we now live in a complex, globalized, interconnected world. They cannot continue to cling to anachronistic ideas about capitalist self-interest that are no longer valid in a world of 7 billion people vying for the same resources while sharing our single fragile planet. Global competitors among the emerging nations, the new tools of communication and connection, and the growing power of citizens and consumers seeking a better world for everyone are going to alter the corporate landscape.

Corporations that fail to embrace a new paradigm of social responsibility will be overpowered by those that understand its critical importance in the new world of the 21st century.

If you’re interested in building your bottom line and a better world in 2012, join us at We First Social Branding seminar, where world class experts will you through the stages required to create an actionable Social Branding Blueprint, specific to your business, based on the best practices, case studies and bottom lines benefits of the world’s smartest marketers. What’s more you’ll get an extra ticket to invite your favorite non-profit so you’ll be making a contribution just by attending. Early bird pricing ends this week and places are very limited so register now.

The above essay appears in Fast Company featuring Brian Reich’s new book, Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society. Shift & Reset provides organizations and individuals with essential strategies to take advantage of rapidly changing technologies in order to shape policy, build capacity, develop talent, improve marketing and promotion, fundraising, and develop partnerships for organizational success.

I recently had the chance to explore an interesting perspective on social media – that of Shireen, who as a member of the Brahma Kumaris at Peace Village in the Catskills, who provided invaluable insights into a more spiritual perspective on social technology.

SM:  Hi I’m Simon Mainwaring, and I’m hear at IVOH at Peace Village in Catskills.  I spend a lot of time focused on tools, tactics and technology, but one of the great privileges of being here is that I get to speak with people who have a deeply spiritual and profound outlook on life. So I thought I’d ask one of the members of the Brahma Kumari, Shireen, a little bit about how she sees in the role of social technology in our lives.

SC: Thank you, Simon. It’s my pleasure.

SM:  I think, as we discussed, I came to We First and writing this blog out of finding a greater sense of meaning and purpose in my life, and I know that you went through a similar journey. You started off as a civil engineer?

SC:  I actually came to this country to go to graduate school, and what happened after I finished graduate school, right after I finished my graduate school I found the Brahma Kumaris.  I thought, “Life is going to be hunky dory. Great, I can go sit in my room and meditate.”  But the Brahma Kumari’s are all about going into the world and using your spirituality in the outside world, so no one let me do that. No one let me sit in.

There’s an incident I want to relate to you about what happened one day. I was working as a civil engineer and I was in corporate America at that time. I was a brand new civil engineer and a brand new Brahma Kumari. Both were happening at the same time. We were asked to work on a project in Brazil, or in South America somewhere. It was to do with the Amazon rainforest and it was to do with building roads there and cutting down the forest. I was going through a lot of turmoil. If I should do it, I shouldn’t do it, if I don’t do it I won’t have a job and if I don’t have a job I won’t have my papers to go here.

So I was going through all that and finally I decided I would sit in meditation and think about it. The decision was actually taken out of my hands the next day. Even though I decided not to do it, I didn’t have to say it. So someone else took the job because they wanted it more. I didn’t say “I don’t want to do it,” because someone else said it. But what happened was, when I was looking at the other person who took the job, I couldn’t judge him. I couldn’t say “Oh, but he’s selling his soul. He’s going and cutting rainforests and things like that,” because I saw the story behind why he made that choice. I saw that he had two kids, he had a mortgage, and he really needed this. He needed to do whatever he could to feed his family. So there wasn’t that judgment, but I was really deeply thinking at that point, about what is it that makes people make the choices they make about purpose and all those things in their life.  And I really feel that, yes, I can’t judge people. It’s not my place to judge people, whatever choices they’re making in their life. If they need to be connected all the time, like in social media 24/7, it’s not my place to judge people. It’s good for each of us, individually, to think about: is this coming from a higher purpose?  Especially with my mind. How are my thoughts? Are my thoughts on a higher level, or are they making me into a robot?

SM:  I completely understand.  So when it comes to social media – and I know you’re part of the online presence of Release Your Wings which is a website – do you think these tools like your website or Twitter or Facebook or Google+, do you think they’re a positive or a negative?

SC:  I have a story to share. I always answer my questions with stories. This is a story I read recently. You’ll have to tell me if I’m being a good storyteller because I’m learning storytelling. Anyway, there is this beautiful village, kind of like Peace Village. It’s a little bigger, in a valley. There are many beautiful people in there and they’re really happy and whenever they need something from the outside world they go to the outside world and come back in. But one day, there’s a fire spitting dragon that comes and blocks the entrance of the village to the outside world. Anyone who passes, it spits fire and won’t let that person leave. They don’t know what to do, so the bravest person in the village says “I can slay the dragon.” He goes with two things of fire because he fights with fire. His sword is fire. He goes to the dragon and tries to slay the dragon with fire, and the dragon comes out with four more of these things and the dragon burns the bravest person in the village. Then, after a few weeks, the next person volunteers and says, “I can slay the dragon because I’m a sword fighter.” He goes in with a sword and the dragon pulls out two swords, cuts him into ten pieces and that’s the end of that. Then, the next guy comes along and says, “I can slay the dragon because I have bows and arrows and I don’t have to get close to the dragon.” He takes his quiver full of arrows, goes there, and the dragon has twice the amount of arrows and shoots him down.

They’re kind of isolated now. It’s been a year. The dragon is sitting there, nobody is able to go out. So the village fool says, “I think I know how to slay the dragon.” And everybody says, “But you’re the village fool. How do you know how to slay the dragon? The dragon is really ferocious.” But he says, “No, I can slay the dragon.” Then, everyone lets him because they feel like they’re not really going to miss him if he dies. So he goes by with shaking arms and he takes two apples and he goes close to the dragon and gives the dragon these two apples. The dragon looks at this guy and he takes out four apples. And that’s how he was able to slay the dragon. Because he realized that whatever you feed the dragon, he’s going to feed it back twice as much. I feel like social media or any online presence is like that. Whatever I feed it, it will give more back.

SM:  I think that’s such a powerful story for everyone who’s overwhelmed with social media and our digital lives now. Is there any advice you’d give us in terms of balancing purpose and online engagement and social media? In your experience, how do you make sure you stay true to your purpose while still feeding the dragon this insatiable beast called online living?

SC:  I was appreciating what you’re doing, really, because it takes a great amount of responsibility to have people following you, especially with so many people following you, and so many people that you feel responsible for where you have to do the right thing. I feel that anyone who creates that has that sense of responsibility to their audience or their participants or their community. If feel that sense of responsibility can only be fed, that purpose and without it being a depleting energy is that you find online sources for your spiritual content. If that’s the place you’re going to go for other content, if that’s where you’re going to buy whatever you’re going to buy (nowadays everyone I know shops online) so if you’re going to go buy that, even for spirituality, you have to use that.

SM:  So you need to replenish yourself. Well, I find your insight and perspective absolutely invaluable. How do we find Release Your Wings? And if people wanted to find out more about the Brahma Kumaris, where would they go?

SC:  ReleaseYourWings.org and bkwsu.org

SM:  Thank you so much Shireen, we really appreciate your time.