At first you might dismiss this.  You might say, "Web 2.0, Social Media - These are all buzzwords that don't have anything to do with my business. I am not going to waste my time on this."  But, then again, the economy is tough and ANYTHING that can help you is worth a look.

These companies may have thought the same thing - until they tried it...

• CoffeeGroundz in Houston Texas almost doubled their clientele with a few simple steps.
• Within 6 months, Ace Hardware saw a 500% increase in ROI through increased sales by connecting dispersed distributors.  Ace got them 'talking' through discussions - something that geographically spread out stores were not able to easily do.  Once they did, sales, cost savings and collaboration rose dramatically.  Plus, new hires get up to speed much more quickly.
• Home Depot uses video to quickly and simply explain how to perform some common DIY projects.
• Each year, RehabCare looks for the best college grads to hire.  To help them, they turned to social recruiting.  Whereas their limited staff of five had only so much outreach, now they are in constant contact with thousands of students each day.

Each of these examples will not directly correlate to your business.  No real example will.  But they can give you some good ideas of how to use Web 2.0 - or Social Meda - to better help you collaborate better within your company, connect with your customers or reach new customers.  Use these and other examples and then brainstorm how you can use it to increase your business and keep a solid foundation through these rough economic times.

Forums?  Discussions?  What is the difference and why would I ever use them?

Answer #1: There isn't a difference.  They are the same.

Answer #2: Oh my goodness.  If you are not using them you really are missing out on a TON of information.

As a personal example, my clothes washer started to leak - no wait - it started to gush out water.  I did a Google search and it took me to a forum which walked me through diagnosing the problem.  Bam.  Found the source of the fountain in one minute.

Then I went back to ask my next question, "How do I fix it?"  Other people had the same question.  Fortunately for me many other people have answered that question.  Each answer had a little different slant (which is a good thing - I'll show you later).  Again, the forum gave me step by step instructions on how to take out the defective part and replace it.  I took it out (with ease) and my wife picked up the new part the next day.  Now, to get it in... Again, with the simple instructions it didn't take me long.  But there was one step that said, "To do this next part, you will need two people."  Well, guess what?  I figured out how to do it by myself.  After I was all done I went back in and told everyone else how to do it without the second person. My wife thought I was a genius and for a small investment I saved TON of money on a Maytag Repair Man.

I didn't have to wait until the morning to get on the phone and call someone.  I didn't have to take a training class in washer repair and learn a whole bunch of information when all I wanted was something very specific.  I didn't have to lose sleep over it at all.  Ahhhhh.  Peace of mind.

I also run other social networks for other organizations.  On a conference call last night I was asked, "What are the benefits of using discussions instead of the phone or email?"

1. Your Own Time:  You don't have to wait on the phone with "Maytag Support."  When YOU have the time, you create a new Discussion, ask your question and walk away.  When someone answers (and they will) you will be notified, or use RSS.

2. Many Different Perspectives: When you ask the question, it doesn't go to just one person.  It goes to potentially thousands of people (and in the case of the Community Portal, it goes to over 1000 members including our Support department).  Anyone can answer it.  And the beauty of this is that everyone has a different perspective.  Sure, there may be one basic answer to a question, but we all have our own view.  My view of it may not match yours - it may be just a bit off.  But someone else may share your view and give you the exact answer you are looking for.  Also, if the answer can be debated, you get a wealth of knowledge in the exchange of ideas.

3. Searchable:  Email and phone conversations are for that one time.  After that you delete the email or hang up the phone.  With Discussions the questions and answers will always be there, waiting for you.  Do a quick search, use TAGS(like topics) or browse by 'Community'.  There are a number of ways to find the information.  But it will always be there for you.

4. 1:Many: You get to benefit from others' curiosity!  They ask the question (the '1') and anyone (the 'many') can see the answer.  It is not so with phone and email.

Try it!

Do you want to know how a piece of the software works?  Ask a question in the GlasPacLX community.  Want to see what others are doing for a particular part of their business?  Ask your question in the Industry community.  The more that ask, the more that answer, the more information you have at your fingertips.  (You must be logged in to ask a question, but not to view any of the Discussions.)

It is yours for the taking!