COLIN GILLIGAN

Dull boy today — at Tocquigny http://gowal.la/c/3ALXM

Yumz — at Whole Foods http://gowal.la/c/3A7m6

More Rainey pre-adjustment — at Icenhauer’s http://gowal.la/c/3A9Eh

Off to the Robyn show at the new Moody theatre at ACL live… Excited.

RT @TreeHugger: Porsche Unveils Boxster E, a Fully Electric Sports Car http://bit.ly/dGcYkA

hm where was i all year? y’know as we were all jammin out to arcade fire. so 2007. #grammys #fail

hangin with team @Tocquigny at the #austinaddys go team!

RT @Tocquigny: New post on [17 STORIES]: Social Media Revolution: Lessons from Egypt http://links.tocquigny.com/egypt (by @colin_gilligan)

interesting new research (& a few of my thoughts) on #crowdsourcing #socialmedia & #csr: http://bit.ly/dK88zy

Social media and social responsibility go together like PB&J. Social media’s democratization of information has given stakeholders (or any person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organization’s actions) more visibility into everything a company or organization does. Thus, the demand for more social responsibility is no wonder. Most companies use social media merely to communicate about their socially responsible initiatives. But, a smart few are also utilizing the power of social media’s two-way dialogue and getting stakeholders engaged in crowdsourcing new ideas. New research from Weber Shandwick and KRC Research corroborates the benefits of leveraging social media to crowdsource CSR (or corporate social responsibility) initiatives.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? Big brands like Dell have benefited from crowdsourcing ideas for products (on their IdeaStorm). And, Starbucks has an idea exchange for everything related to their business, where customers submit thoughts on loyalty rewards to recycling. Gathering stakeholder input is critical for organizational success in today’s flat communications environment. The big re-branding snafu from GAP is a good reminder that organizations must include ALL stakeholders in decision-making processes (yes, that includes the rather opinionated masses on social media). The key is not to fear the negative, but embrace it. Social media presents a uniquely new opportunity to open up the dialogue to everyone about everything, especially CSR.