Companies that open their business databases and stream that data out, can have an army of hundreds of thousands (mostly) unpaid developers creating Facebook apps, iPhone apps and blog widgets to help sell their products and services. API Widget Economy: Social Media Business Ep.003 from Laurel Papworth on Vimeo. Amazon API. MORE >>

Why would companies like Salesforce , Amazon and   Zappos want to “circle” people on Google+? Sure that’s interesting, but Amazon already has more than 16,000 people who have circled its Google+ page. Let’s hope not. What I Saw. Then, I circled the page as myself, using my Gideon Rosenblatt profile on Google+. So, MORE >>

At least for another generation, this isn't a need in business-to-business organizations, who have to, or prefer to, go through a sales representative, and generally will buy enough to warrant the company's face-to-face investment in that customer. Much depends on your business, your size, and your organization's culture. MORE >>

One book at the top of the pile was Rawn Shah’s Social Networking for Business: Choosing the Right Tools and Resources to Fit Your Needs. The 2006 one drew 150,000 business partners. IBM has invested over $100 million to develop new businesses in each of themes that emerged such as improved healthcare and work toward a smarter planet. MORE >>

Whether you are Amazon , using Facebook’s social graph to help you choose products for your friends’ birthdays, or KLM using Facebook and LinkedIn social graphs to help you choose who to sit next to on the plane, there are opportunities across sectors and audience types. Tweet A simple social graph. Benefits for Facebook. MORE >>