Although the Facebook Nation and Twitter revolution have garnered the attention of CIOs, many have been reluctant to engage customers through an aggressive social media campaign.

In a techweb.com article, “Global CIO: CIOs Shattering Social Media Taboos, RightNow Says,” customer-experience specialist RightNow contends that pressure from consumers is causing a reversal in attitudes about social media. Concerns over legal and privacy issues have waned as companies look for social capabilities to satisfy and attract customers. Businesses are feeling the pressure to put companies like RightNow to work for them or watch their competition pass them by. The new customer contact center is indeed branching out into social media venues. Business leaders should find out how tools like discussion forums, Q&A resources and Cloud Monitor can help their organization compete. If RightNow’s vision is accurate, and the business value of empowering customers using the social web outweighs the risks, it could be risky not to join the social media invasion.

The SSN Take: Businesses, don’t risk getting left behind.

David Thimme, March 11, 2010

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