Unless you are the Lone Ranger, Rambo or Superman, you have to work with others to get the hard things done. And the harder the thing is you need to accomplish, the more important collaboration becomes. Fortunately for today’s executive, there are some great new Web2.0 tools that can help you connect with others.

Popular social networking tools include LinkedIn, Plaxo, Spock, SecondLife and Facebook. The following are some personal thoughts/perspectives based on how I use those tools:

LinkedIn.com is good for keeping up with the careers of friends and associates. It has also been of use in helping me introduce myself to others since I can connect to a new associate via LinkedIn and they can see my extended profile. Conversely it helps me learn a bit more about who I might be meeting with so I frequently check LinkedIn before I meet with someone new. If an executive was only going to pick one online social networking site to use I would recommend this one.

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I just finished reading a fascinating report by David Wyld called The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0. Not only was it academically rigorous, but it was also a fun read. Now that’s a rare achievement. Wyld is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he directs the College of Business’s Strategic e-Commerce/e-Government Initiative. He is also a noted speaker, and will be presenting as part of a government track panel at the upcoming Web 2.0 conference.

According to Wyld, public officials are just beginning to have blogs, despite the fact that blogs have become popular on corporate and individual Web sites. However, a handful of officials do have them, including members of Congress, Congressional committees and caucuses, governors, state legislators, mayors, city managers, police and fire chiefs, and college and university presidents. Wyld’s report includes links to dozens of their sites. And of course, we are seeing blogs used in the 2008 presidential campaigns; Barack Obama’s blog is probably among the best known.

Blogs aren’t just for individual public figures. Some public organizations are beginning to have blogs. Wyld illustrates this using the U.S. military, which is trying to deal with terrorism in the Information Age through the use of STRATCOM. One core function of STRATCOM is to allow blogging and chats between everyone from generals to privates. The system radically cuts through the hierarchy that normally defines military culture by allowing anyone—at any level—to respond directly to others’ questions.

Wyld is an expert on what government officials should and should not do when setting up and running and a blog, and believe me, he’s seen it all. A few of his key recommendations include making a serious time commitment, posting regularly, writing it yourself, and allowing comments. (He also recommends not posting angry messages at 2 a.m., but you’ll have to see the report for his juicy example.)

Allowing comments is the most delicate area. According to Wyld, Mayor Bill Gentes of Round Lake, Illinois, says, “I allow uncensored comments so I get the negatives, positives, and the inane!” But Gentes loves the format and feels it allows for an honest exchange. However, a much more common model in both the public and private sector for comments is to have registration, moderation, comment policies, and CAPTCHA technology. Without these measures, anonymous negative posters can hijack your blog; this very thing happened to one unfortunate school superintendent, as Wyld illustrates in a case study.

I highly recommend his report, and I know he’ll be an informative and engaging speaker. To hear from David Wyld in person, come to the Web 2.0 conference and attend his panel on Current Web 2.0 Initiatives within Government Agencies.

There was an interesting article in this morning’s Internet Travel News about the power of social networking as a marketing tool. It caught my eye, not so much because of what it had to say to travel industry professionals in particular, but because it portended a marketing “tidal wave” for all industries. This was a timely confirmation that the subjects being covered in our November 1 Web 2.0 for Business conference are right on target. It also echoed Brian Lustig’s excellent August 14 post on consumers driving Web 2.0 applications.

This morning’s piece in the Travel News examines research conducted by Cindy Estis Green, managing partner of The Estis Group in Potomac, Maryland. Green just completed a comprehensive report on how social media and social networking represent the future of marketing for the travel industry. She spoke on the topic yesterday at an industry conference at the Washington Convention Center.

Her views extend to every business sector. Green stated, “There is a tsunami coming that few fully anticipate and it will dramatically change the marketing landscape in all industries, not just travel.”

Green continued, “It’s not just about a new set of media, it’s a sea change in consumer behavior. Social media opens the door for this new marketing model and as far as the consumers are concerned, the train has already left the station.”

Here’s an interview with Green, in which she explains how companies are moving toward this online, community-based form of networking:

Social media and networking tools are Web 2.0 applications that allow companies to engage with their customers. As I mentioned, my fellow bloggers have already done a superb job pointing out what some of these tools are and how they’re being applied. However, you might be surprised at just how many options exist:

• Blogs
• Profiles on social networking sites like MySpace, TripAdvisor, A-Space, other industry-specific sites, etc.
• Wikis
• Bookmarks, including Digg, del.icio.us, etc.
• Search-engine optimized press releases and articles
• Widgets
• Podcasts, videos, and photos
• Tweets (like blogs, with instant messaging)
• Voting on content
• RSS feeds
• Mashups
• Brand education tools
• Contests, games, and special events

These cost-effective tools should make marketing departments salivate. They make a high impact on a low budget and are easily accessible to even small businesses. Green points out that their real power comes through when they’re combined as part of a comprehensive plan.

One of the many things this MBA researcher did for her report was to poll travel executives about the expected impact of social media. The results are revealing:

• 65% – Deepen brand relationship with customers
• 55% – More targeted communications to niche markets
• 46% – Better understanding by staff of customer needs
• 42% – More recognizable brand image
• 41% – Improved revenues 

The numbers remind us that marketing using social media can be targeted to meet specific company goals. At the same time, Green says that this new form of customer engagement isn’t about the same old “pushing and pulling” of the old days. Marketers and executives will be challenged to use social media in a way that furthers their agenda, but leaves room for flexible customer involvement.

Green’s full report is called “The Travel Marketer’s Guide to Social Media and Social Networking,” and can be purchased in late September or early October. To buy a copy, contact either the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) or the Travel Industry Association (TIA).

The national intelligence agencies have launched a social networking site, A-Space, modeled after the ultra-popular MySpace, further supplying ammunition to those who claim networking sites hold potential beyond teenage users. The government-only site will allow users who voluntarily sign up to access the vast network of federal intelligence agencies.

This move “will generate better analysis by breaking down firewalls across the traditionally stove-piped intelligence community,” said Thomas Fingar, deputy director of National Intelligence for Analysis in a recent interview with Financial Times.

The A-space network will have the traditional menu of social networking features from common networks to web-based email, but will also have a recommended area of interest, similar to Amazon’s “You May Also Like…” section that recommends products based previous purchases. This will allow users to be connected to relevant material and research they may not have otherwise encountered.

In addition to the social networking applications, the site will also allow the intelligence community to access the national intelligence library.

The Director of National Intelligence is also looking to open up the site to foreign intelligence agencies, most of whom have been reluctant to log on to the networking site, citing the potential leaks among their top concerns.

Looking ahead, the DNI and the Intelligence and National Security Alliance plan to hold a conference in September to solicit feedback from both the private section and academia.

Anyone out there have any insight into A-Space, or share any of the same concerns?