For better or for worse, it has been proven over and over again in the last two years that everything and everyone in the world is connected.
Of course, we are all connected in the online ecosystem, plugged into each other with social networking sites, search engines and blogs. The unprecedented scale at which we freely share information about ourselves has given rise to a new concern – are we are too connected? Do we really want people to know all about everything we’re doing all the time? We are connected economically, as we all learned too well during the economic meltdown. Seemingly unimportant defaulting mortgages in the US began piling up, and all at once, people began to realize the bad debt had crept into the whole system like a cancer - weakening the entire global economy; causing job losses from Detroit to Denmark. The environment connects us all – the volcano in Iceland reminded us of that too – one tiny place disrupted the whole world – stopping people, goods and money from making the journeys we’ve come to rely on for our survival.
Almost everyone now recognizes that the world is now, and forever Connected in an economic, environmental and social ecosystem. Then again, many of the corporations, regulators and businesses of the world, small and large… but mostly large, already knew this. Some of them abused the ecosystem for wealth and gain at the expense of everyone else. These companies and individuals – the Goldman Sachs, the Bernie Madoffs of the world - have been decidedly internally, individually motivated. They used the forces of regulations, legal manipulations and governments to create their profits -while the rest of the world was the unaware participant – duped into helping, and then left to clean up the mess.
To be blunt, this stinks! Nobody likes to be tricked, but the recent chaos has a bright side – people now understand that we have to overcome a crisis. We understand, at our roots, we have to build a solution. We have to reclaim our connected ecosystem and make it our own. We have to use the interconnected nature of the world and turn it into a tool to help all of us, not just a select few. We have shape the connected ecosystem into a Connected Market Space.
A business today, in any sector, exists for the purpose of rapid response – transmitting candid, accurate information to all sides - not just inside the organization. This is more commonly known as the triple bottom line - people, planet, profit, or the "three pillars". The triple bottom line is about being truly, a custodian of this planet - a business seeking to profit, should be finding positive connections and fulfilling a purpose. If you are in any kind of business you will affect other people – so the responsible and smart thing to do is to connect to the world in a positive way.
It’s not hard create a Connected Market Space and use the ecosystem for good. The Connected Market Space is, at its meaning, the connection of any enterprise, to any market, with accurate, open and honest information. How do you know you’re really connected? It’s not just about advertising and using Twitter – it’s about making meaningful connections that make the world a better, more useful place. When is a business using its power for good? A business in the Connected Market Space demonstrates that: Clients and business know more about each other
- Clients and business can trust each other
- Each party has accurate information
- Everyone can carry on a conversation
- Everyone can complete a transaction safely
When you’re connected responsibly, positively and fulfill a purpose, no matter what you do, you’re using the power of the Connected Market Space.
