We do these panel discussions every month, and I think it was one of our top discussions in recent memory. Of course, I’m biased, but I heard many good comments from those attending.

Brian Myers
Vice-Chairman
MIT Enterprise Forum

A great, current example of what they were talking about is Dell’s recent efforts with IdeaStorm.com (forum where customers vote on ideas), which led to their offering Ubuntu machines. It’s gathered a lot of buzz.

I hope I’ve won your “who responds first” contest. Do I win something cool?

You raise a bunch of interesting points. The one that I find most intriguing is “managing the online conversation.” As you say, brands cannot control the conversation, but they definitely need to participate in it if they ever hope to have influence over how that conversation progresses online. Most importantly, brands need to understand what participating means – it means being real, being authentic, and actually responding to input and criticism. Brands that do this have a better shot of “managing the conversation” than those that don’t. It’s kind of like the old adage “showing up is half the battle.” Brands are starting to show up online…unfortunately, many of them are only showing up willing to go 10% of the way. There are plenty of examples of this happening. Thankfully, there are more and more examples of brands that are doing it right. And for that, we all benefit.

I hope to see you tonight!

Ben