IERG Boston Chapter Inside Look - the Human Element of Social Media Networking - an International Gateway for Collaborative Business Connections

Boston, MA, November 26, 2009 --(PR.com)-- The fundamentals of traditional business processes and the theoretical applications to conduct business operations have been in effect for the last 100 + years. With the wide spread use of the Internet in the late 1990’s businesses began to explore new ways of conducting and connecting with business opportunities both on a national and international level. Now with greater access to social media networking, the fundamentals of human connections and relationships (the basic elements that are hard wired in all of us) is a vital business strategy for companies to embrace to connect cultures with new business opportunities. To understand the basic principles first hand, the IERG Boston chapter invited four experts to offer their insights into the opportunities with international social media networking at an event held Monday evening, November 23rd, at the Emerging Enterprise Center at Foley Hoag in Waltham, MA.

In her opening statement, Diane Danielson, Founder/Chief Social Media Strategist of Downtown Women’s Club, a professional network and career website for business women, welcomed the panelists and attendees
and thanked the IERG Boston chapter and Foley Hoag for sponsoring the event. Her business story started ten years ago with a small women’s lunch club in Boston that encouraged women to be part of an inclusive support group at all business levels. In time she reached out to social media to connect with women from all backgrounds and to make networking accessible and fun for her members. Through the use of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter she was able to expand from a 20 person group into a global business networking resource for women that now has over 12, 000 members. “Social media was an inexpensive and powerful way for our local business group to reach women globally in real time through a variety of platforms.”

Francois Gossieaux, Co-Founder and Partner of Beeline Labs offered an example of how SAP used social connections to strengthen the success of the company by embracing a collaborative team approach. Francois noted that “SAP started to listen to their employees, find out what the company needed, learn the tribal personas, embrace the commonalities and capitalize on the understanding of the nature of human relations and business”. They all had one thing in common which was to work hard to provide a better life for their children which propelled them further into success. Francois has compiled many more of these case studies into his upcoming book “The Hypersocial Organization” due to be released in August 2010.

David McLaughlin, Executive Director of Boston World Partnerships continued the conversation by highlighting the ability to have access through a platform that previously made it very difficult to connect with business contacts. Through MySpace he was able to connect directly with a musician for an independent film project and received an immediate response without having to go through traditional celebrity gatekeepers. “This is when I knew that social media had real business value and could open doors to many more business opportunities, where before there were limited access routes through traditional methods”.

Kirstin Elaine Myers CEO of Globond International provided insight into her journey along the way of building international business relationships. Globond, founded in 2002, provides a resource where she connects interested, ethical, talented and humble business people with a social media support system. Her company was developed to offer a unique global membership club for tectonic leaders who boldly create business models and social change in today’s profoundly shifting world. She had found a way to connect to professionals across the generation gap as well, including the Gen Xer’s who have profound technical knowledge and the baby boomer generation who were new to this medium. “I was now able to connect on a business level with a multitude of generational influencers that opened a great portal of business connection. These connections helped provide me with market research, new technologies and ways to improve my overall business”.

In summary, each panelist’s unique perspective and insights provided tangible references and tools for business professionals to consider utilizing social media networking as part of their overall business strategy. The predominate theme of the event emphasized the importance of allowing employees to explore the human connection that social media offers in a business setting.

About The IERG:
International Executive Resources Group, Inc. (IERG) is a 501(c) (6) non-profit corporation, founded in 1997 in New York City as a one-of-a-kind volunteer organization of senior business executives from around the world. Its day-to-day operations are led by an ad honorem Steering Committee and Chairman. The group has over 500 members in more than 20 countries. IERG members include CEOs, CFOs, Presidents, Managing Directors and others in senior international roles or with major responsibilities. Their common denominator is significant experience on both the domestic and global marketplaces. The IERG has active chapters in New York, Boston, Florida and China. IERG – the source for global business expertise! To learn more about the IERG or to become a member, please visit www.IERGonline.org or email Boston@IERGonline.org.

###