Yesterday, I had the fascinating experience of participating my first-ever a "Twebinar," created and by CrossTechMedia and Radian6, during which host Chris Brogan "...interview[ed] over 30 top names in social media and Internet marketing and get their best thoughts on how tools like blogs, social networks, wikis, and podcasts are changing the way companies do business."

Chris and Radian6's David Alston did a great job pulling the event together, and Chris was an excellent host, interviewing some thought leaders in the social media space at a prior social media event as well as communicating with the viewers between segments.  

This being my first "Twebinar," I learned that it is a mixture of live video from the moderator (Chris), video clips from contributors (I have listed some below), a running series of tweets (many of which unfortunately dealt with technical issues), and a chat box.   All told, this event had a lot of moving parts.

Bottom line is that I came away knowing more than I did when I logged on, which is always a bonus.  But like any worthwhile endeavor, it took some doing to get me into the meeting.  My impression was that the sponsors were overwhelmed by the responses and got caught off guard (a good and a bad thing).

A Rough Start

To participate in the call, I first had to install WebEx software, which, for those of you without highly restrictive IT departments, is not a big deal.  For those of you who do, like me, it was a real hassle.  Once I had fought my way through the IT bureaucracy, I was pretty dismayed to get a message that read:

"We've moved the show.  Due to overwhelming interest, we've moved to a platform that can handle it."  Grrrrrr. 

But enough kvetching.

I did not get to listen to everyone who participated, but clearly the theme was case studies on how social media had indeed been a "game changing experience" for business.  There were other sub-themes within the conversation as well, and I have noted these below. 

The Gurus Speak

As the theme of the Twebinar was how social media induces "game changing moves," I'll simply relay some of the thinking expressed in it.  And for those of you who participated, please note that I have paraphrased your quotes since I am a lousy typist.

1. Chris Brogan noted that you can buy a book at a brick and mortar Barnes and Noble vs. Amazon.  Amazon.com has "changed the game" by continuing to innovate with:
• side by side book recommendations;
• the "people who bought this also bought that" feature; and
• Wikis that accompany the book reviews on which you can comment, or in the case of something like history books, even suggest s revision.
2. Sally Falkow of Expansion Plus, in a very simple and elegant statement, said that the "why" of social media is already happening.  You are either there or you are not - and your customers are already talking about you.  Amen.
   
   
3. Richard Binhammer at Dell noted that by talking with their customers, Dell has seen a reduction in negative comments by 30 percent!  He noted that political candidates would love to see a number like this (agreed, but it ain't happening).  By listening to customers, "you learn a lot about what makes them happy and what makes them mad.  That will result in better products or services."  Well said.
   
   
4. Paul Gillin of Gillin Communications brought up a great example:  the Transportation Safety Authority blog. TSA launched a blog trying to explain to people why they need that horrendous, annoying plastic bag in airports.  He said that the TSA used the blog to invite criticisms from travelers and TSA employees to "turn the conversation around." Having a conversation with stakeholders can help even government agencies "loosen up" and "create empathy with people who have hated you before."  They most aggravating thing is when organizations do not listen to you.  Listening melts resistance.
    
5. Kami Watson Huyse brought up a great point that, as a consultant, don't try to convince clients to be in social media.  If there is something within their company mission that they need to do like relationship building, then she suggests social media.  If not, fuggetaboutit. She also brought up a wonderful case study of connecting Sea World San Antonio with the VERY vibrant the roller coaster community.  Rather than just pitching roller coaster enthusiasts, she noted that she "started talking to them and giving them the assets that they wanted: statistics, video, photos, whatever they needed to tell the story."  Great point in a time of "blogger spam" debate.
   
   
6. Shel Israel - GNTV - Shel gave a terrific example of how HR Block, realizing that each year, their customers are getting older, understood the need to have younger users.  They are very active now in Twitter, Second Life, blogging, are planning "additional social media programs."

 Twebinar technology glitches?  Yeah.

 Interesting content?  You bet.

 Mark Story is a part-time, adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a full-time communications professional at a government agency in Washington, D.C. Prior to the government, Mark worked for 11 years in some of the largest online public relations shops in the world.  Tweet him at mstory123.