In any sufficiently precise study—and the application of social technology is certainly no exception—the need arises for specific terms that enable concepts to be translated into actions. The definitions of many of the terms that are core to social technology are still evolving; however, within this book the following have been adopted and used consistently. More important than agreement on specific terms—at a general level some of these are nearly interchangeable—is understanding the meaning of the following terms and then applying these meanings as you develop your social technology and business programs. This appendix presents the key definitions used in this book, in the order in which they build on each other.

Appendix Contents

• Social Object
• Social Application
• Social Graph
• Social Network
• Social CRM and Social Customer Experience

Social Object

Definition: A Social Object is some “thing” we share with others as part of our social media experience on the Social Web.

Glenn Assheton-Smith, 2009

What It Means and Why It Matters

A social object is something that is inherently talkworthy, something around which people naturally congregate and converse. Social objects are an essential element in the implementation of social technology: Social objects are the anchor points for these efforts and as such are the magnets that hold a community together.

While it may seem like so much semantics, when viewed in the context of the way in which people are connected or to whom they are connected, the social object provides the underlying rationale or motive for being connected at all. In short, without the social object, there is no social.

Social Application

Social applications are software components that facilitate interaction between members of a social network or community. Social applications are built around social objects—lifestyles, passions, and aspirations, along with myriad talkworthy smaller objects such as short posts (tweets, for example), photos, videos, and more. Social applications are driven by the connections embodied in the individual social graphs of participants, and as such they act as efficient conduits for the spread of information within the network.

What It Means and Why It Matters

The term social application refers to the specific tools or functions available to participants in a social network—that is, the tools and functions that allow those participants to perform specific social tasks such as friending, connecting, sharing, and similar. In this sense, it’s the social application that allows social activity to happen in a distributed (for example, virtual or online) context. In real life, the social application is the living room sofa, where conversation is facilitated, or the postal system, through which party invitations and RSVPs are exchanged. In online communities, this same type of social exchange is facilitated through software.

Social Graph

Definition: The Social Graph is the representation of our relationships. In present day context, these graphs define our personal, family, or business communities on social networking websites.

Jeremiah Owyang, 2007

What It Means and Why It Matters

The term social graph refers to the relationships between members of a social network and the details around the ways in which those members are connected. The social graph of an individual may extend beyond a single network, in which case this individual forms a link between adjacent networks.

The social graph is important in business applications. By understanding the ways in which participants in a social network are connected, you can predict how information will be transmitted through that network, and therefore the social graph forms the basis for optimizing business participation in social networks.

Social Network

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge, or prestige.

Wikipedia

What It Means and Why It Matters

The term social network refers to the collective facility—to Facebook or Orkut or the Intel Developer’s Network and everyone contained within it.

In this sense, the term social network is a noun: It refers to a place (however virtual it may be) where social interactions—aka social networking—occurs.

Social CRM and Social Customer Experience

Consider this excerpt from Paul Greenberg’s definition of social CRM, presented in Chapter 9, “Social CRM and Social Customer Experience”:

Social CRM is the company’s response to the customer’s control of the conversation.

Paul Greenberg, 2009

Paul gets right to the heart of the matter: SCRM, and now SCE, is about how you choose to respond, how you choose to participate, given the customer’s control—whether in whole or in part—of the conversation.

What It Means and Why It Matters

The idea of “your response given the customer’s control” matters because you can’t truly achieve SCE without meaningfully integrating your social technologies with your company’s CRM effort.

This in turn means that SCE is a better conceptual framework for your efforts than social CRM alone. It recognizes that the end of your efforts is not a new platform or system but rather a new kind of customer experience, where customers are truly seen as central to your business.