Wikipedia describes social media as “web-based and mobile based technologies which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among organizations, communities, and individuals.” With the increasing need to have everything at ones immediate disposal, social media is beginning to define lives, rather than remaining an aspect of life. It has never been easier to throw a party, conduct business, make money, or even share amusing pictures of your cat. In fact, I would wager that the F5 key gets more actio
n than your significant other.
With the increased popularity of applications such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, it is no surprise that large and small companies alike would want a piece of the pie. Even actors such as Justin Timberlake have taken advantage of the opportunity to own one of these platforms, when he purchased Myspace in 2011. In mid June, Edison Research exposed that 52% of Americans have social networking fever. This has more than doubled the numbers surveyed in 2008. Can you imagine what the numbers will look like next year? With that information in hand, any wise business owner would see the usefulness in utilizing social networking for their own benefit.
On June 10th it was announced that Oracle, a hardware and software company, purchased Involver, a marketing tool used by over 1 million brands and agencies. With the purchase of Involver, Oracle announced, “The combination of Involver with Oracle is expected to create the most advanced and comprehensive cloud-based social platform across marketing, sales and service touchpoint.” Oracle seems to know the score, as this was their third major social media purchase this year; In May they purchase Virtue, and in June, they acquired Collective Intellect.
According to PC Advisor, Oracle was the first company to spot the social media potential; however, they are far from the last. IDC foretold that this is only the beginning, “Successful retailers are integrating their mobile, analytic and social media strategies into one cohesive business approach.” We can expect that those adopting social media platforms will have an increase in productivity and more efficient marketing practices. What other companies are joining Oracle in their race for the top?
On July 9th, Salesforce.com, a leader in cloud computing, announced their intention to acquire GoInstant, a startup company that helps “companies to create unique, personalized customer experiences through real-time collaboration.” Parker Harris, co-founder for salesforce.com believes that the GoInstant technology will help them “grow so that social enterprises everywhere can engage with and delight customers in totally new ways.”
Google is already immersed in social technology, but that does not stop them from stretching their wings and joining CapturetoCloud on its “social workplace” application. The integration with Google Apps will certainly mean big things for this Bay Area Company.
Back in June, Microsoft announced their agreement to purchase Yammer, and integrate it with their Microsoft Office Division. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft believes that “Yammer adds a best-in-class enterprise social networking service to Microsoft’s growing portfolio of complementary cloud services.” This isn’t Microsoft’s first venture into social media, however. Last year they released their social search tool to a select group of college students, and late in May 2012, they released it to the public. Microsoft commented that “So.cl is an experimental research project focused on the future of social experiences and learning, especially among younger people.”
IBM isn’t out of the game yet. In an effort to help enterprises “gain a competitive edge”, IBM purchased Coremetrics, a “state-of-the-art” analytics program that will work with web, mobile, and social channels to provide “intuitive, flexible web analytics dashboards and benchmarks.”
Last year HP gave up on their efforts in the Smartphone business, and instead purchased Autonomy, software used to analyze social media feeds. This year they are concentrating on the strengths of their newly acquired software and offering a new type of customer relationship with HP Social Enterprise Services. Autonomy claims to have the ability “to understand the one billion new messages, ideas, and exchanges that appear each week across social channels”.
With major brands such as Google, Microsoft, HP, and IBM joining the playing field, it won’t be long until smaller companies follow.
Thanks to Social Media for image.
