Sky Business Tech Report: Interview on social media, online outsourcing, and how small companies are using technology to leapfrog big business

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I was interviewed this morning on Sky Business Tech Report. Some of the things we discussed in the interview are:

* How social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many others change how companies engage with customers, become more efficient, and being competitive.

* Among the many Australian organizations applying social media, for example Westpac has been implementing blogging and other tools internally to improve effectiveness, and discount airlines and telcos are using Twitter to engage with customers.

* Online outsourcing platforms such as elance.com, Odesk, and freelancer.com are giving the power of outsourcing to small business, enabling them to compete effectively with large companies.

* To begin to use online outsourcing, think about what tasks you want done, get bids, find new suppliers, and see what works best for you.

* It is important to recognize that the world is rapidly changing and that learning new tools and approaches is fundamental to business success moving forward.

* Managers and business owners have many resources to learn how to do these things. SME Technology Summit, other events, this blog and many other online resources are available.

* To get the most talented people to work for you, reward suppliers in ways more than financial, by making it stimulating, engaging, and fun to work and offering to share rewards.