Oracle

Before running Oracle Open World, Oracle asked for consumer feedback on their home page.  The request stayed on their web site for two week. Community involvement was important enough to Oracle to interrupt their normal flow.

H&R Block

In response to declining sales, H&R Block created a page on FaceBook to provide tax advice. They don’t say “come and do your taxes with us,” on FaceBook—they only offer advice. Comcast Frank Eliason, Director of Digital Care for Comcast Cable, uses Twitter to look for people talking about Comcast. He then ‘tweets’ them and offers to help.

Starbucks

Starbucks asks for suggestions on how to make the company better.  There’s no black hole in which the suggestions get lost.  The Starbuck’s CEO discusses reader suggestions on the web site. He also takes the time to explain what needs to happen technically before Starbucks can implement the idea.

Wal-Mart

While most people cringe when they hear about Wal-Mart’s many failed attempts to engage their community online (The Hub, Across America, FaceBook), at least one expert gives them kudos for trying when others gave up.  “Check Out” is Wal-Mart’s latest offering and, although it took them a long time to get there, it’s working.

Best Buy

Gary Koelling and Steve Bendt, Senior Managers for Social Technology, are known as the guys who built Blue Shirt Nation. They have launched a product call “Mix” based on the HeadMix solution. This is a Twitter-like clone that allows employees to quickly post questions and get responses from their peers.

These companies have brought down the barriers. The traditional firewall separating customers and companies is falling away. No longer is it an Us vs. Them mentality—it’s a We mentality.

Inspiration: Charlene Li – http://www.altimetergroup.com

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