Thank you to all who joined us last night at our Social Media Roundtable where Author Andy Smith of The Dragonfly Effect shared the stories, philosophy and framework on how to use social media to have a positive social impact and help your business at the same time. His talk, his approach and his framework is targeted at businesses, but interestingly it seemed less about creating wealth through social channels than it was about doing the right things to create the richness of experiences. He shared the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine in his discussion and how creating a happy experience versus a sale was what that truly unleashes the power of social channels.
Ultimately, The Dragonfly Effect is about embracing disruptive technology to make a difference in the world, and, by a very cool extension, in one’s own life. Technology, particularly social networks, is simply the connective tissue between people. A corollary to the rule that the Internet provides a disproportionate advantage to emerging companies, Smith discussed that by harnessing the very design of social media, individuals, too, can have a disproportionate effect on the world around them in all his examples.
The Dragonfly with its unique 4 winged physique that allows it to move briskly in any direction is a wonderful metaphor to highlight Smith’s approach to creating truly meaningful social campaigns. Done well with exacting command over each of the four “wings” of the framework - Focus, Get Attention, Engage, Take Action - the “wings” can move an organization's cause in any direction, with the power and dexterity of the dragonfly. We hope everyone enjoyed this refreshing talk. We all came out of the roundtable not only smarter about social media, but also smarter about how to really unleash the power of social media in a way that makes an impact and also makes people happy. A thoughtful and refreshing approach to meaningful use of social media!
