There is much discussion recently about the “real time” web and how businesses need to change everything they’re doing to retain online relevance in the eyes of prospects, journalists, and customers. News flash – the web always has been “real-time”.

With the emergence of new systems such as Twitter, FriendFeed, and smarter, more capable mobile devices, and the rapid embrace of faster information-sharing through improved standards and integration, today’s form of “real-time” is simply “realer”; it’s a faster, arguably better web because we have increased the capacity to broadcast and we've shortened the time-to-awareness.

On October 24, 1861, the transcontinental telegraph system was completed. It was the beginning of the end of the Pony Express. I suspect the first users of the telegraph system were euphoric; finally – they had real-time communications coast-to-coast. An amazing innovation by itself, but simply an evolution in the long and seemingly endless advance toward real-time communications.

What Is Responsible For This Change?

It doesn’t require a lot of analysis to determine that the improvement in pervasive communications (wireless) and device capabilities are as much the cause for this change, as applications such as Twitter and Facebook. Like many evolutionary trends, no single idea or technology is responsible for the improved experience industry pundits are calling the real-time web.

Like most evolutionary processes, dozens or perhaps hundreds of subtle advances have paved the way for faster web communications. Listing all the little advances that industry experts lump into one proclamation of a new, and revolutionary way of doing business on the web, is a waste of space and energy. If you want the complete list, drop me a note and I’ll document the tip of the iceberg for you. In the meantime (if you have hours with nothing better to do), take a stroll through LatestWebInnovations.com and look under the covers of each product – you’ll find a number of standards, services, and interoperability technologies which collectively can be credited for the new “real-time” web.

There’s no doubt that people want a shortened time-to-awareness; we all seem to be embracing the idea of near-instantaneous or [seemingly] instant awareness of new information. When Ted Turner proposed a “real-time” [all] news channel in 1980, experts gave the idea a slim shot of success. But he understood the human condition far better than anyone else – we want news; we want data; we want it all, and we need it now.

What is the Business Impact of this Change?

At the risk of sounding like I have my head in the sand, nothing. Okay, well… everything. Let me explain.

In the early 1900’s, businesses that didn’t immediately adopt the telephone as a faster, better, real-time communications infrastructure, were less likely to succeed than those which adopted this new technology quickly and with purpose. The telephone was a significant evolutionary step. Twitter; maybe not so much. Sales people that continued to ride by train, were clearly out-gunned by those that took to the air using the first commercial airlines. Facebook; again, not a significant evolutionary step that would allow one company to dominate all others who risked not using it.

More important in the quest to remain competitive; to hold on to (or gain) market share – seemingly insignificant ideas can be employed with purpose to achieve business objectives. So, while new ways to communicate impact everything about a business, the central business objective (i.e., the reason you earn revenue) is unchanged. Instead of asking -

How should we revamp our web strategy to accommodate Twitter?

… you should be asking questions such as -

• With the ability to shorten time-to-awareness, how can we use that as a business advantage?
• How can this improve our internal communications?
• How can this help our support process?
• How will our competitors use this capability?
• Can we leverage this to better understand what our customers want?

Having just completed a comprehensive impact analysis of a client's blogsite which showed nearly 50% growth (fiscal year ending 2009 over 2008), I wanted to touch on a few points related to businesses (and individuals) going ga-ga over "social media".

All media is "social"; the people that come in contact with your content impacts each of them at a social level. They might learn something; they might share it; they might ask you for help, and they might even decide to do business with you. The bottom line - it's just content. This is the driving force of business on the web and at its core - it's simply people talking to each other. If you try to make it more complicated or allow it to define you or your business, you should think twice because you’re about to drive off the road and deep into into Social Media Technogeekery – a very dark place.

Your blogsite is a core marketing asset that serves as central location for developing new conversations that hopefully lead to new business. It should be no more complex than that. Strategically, the [MyST] platform is designed to continually increase the size and dominance of your social media foundation. Our platform also includes business rules and back-office intelligence and automation services that ensure findability in as many places as possible, thus allowing you to focus on the most important aspect of marketing communications, your writing.

Louis Gray recently wrote an excellent piece about the future of your business blog content. In it he says that your blog is what defines your business - "...it is the foundation and center of who you are".

Here are my top 7 tips to businesses that are serious about social media (i.e., "media")...

1. Social media is simply people talking to people.
2. Don't do social media because everyone else is doing it; instead, get involved to communicate your passion for your business.
3. If you're going to say something to your audience, make sure it's a message you truly care about.
4. Using social media (or any wizbang technology) is not a magic bullet, it's a lot of work and requires a passion for communicating.
5. The number of people following your social media is important only to the extent that the most passionate and persuasive thought leaders in your industry are listening.
6. There is no finish line in social media.
7. Just write about your business passion.

Take your time, go slow, and plan your strategy – there’s no rush.