Social Business DNA [Infographic]

by Mark Smiciklas · June 1, 201127 comments

Social Organizations are often described (metaphorically) as living entities. This infographic continues along that theme, aiming to visualize the components that make up the cellular structure of a social business.

Looking under the microscope, what behaviors, policies, best practices, cultural initiatives, etc. form the nucleus of the cells of a successful social organization? What would you add to this DNA map? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Social Business DNA

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About Mark Smiciklas

Mark Smiciklas

Mark Smiciklas is a Digital Strategist, author and President of Intersection Consulting; a Vancouver based digital marketing agency that teaches organizations how to leverage the dynamics of the web to achieve business goals. Mark is an established marketing and social media practitioner recognized for his visual thinking and practical strategic approach. You can follow Mark on Twitter at Intersection1 or connect with him on Google+.

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Tagged as: inforgraphics, Information graphics, social business, Social Media, social organization

Comments & Reactions

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Comments on Social Media Explorer are open to anyone. However, I will remove any comment that is disrespectful and not in the spirit of intelligent discourse. You are welcome to leave links to content relevant to the conversation, but I reserve the right to remove it if I don't see the relevancy. Be nice, have fun. Fair?

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  • http://www.webwisedom.com/ Mike Wise

    Spot fricking ON! Great work. Appreciated.

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks Mike!

  • http://bestessayonline.com/ best essays

    Good work! Thanks a lot!

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      You’re welcome – glad you got some value from the image.

  • http://ideagirlmedia.com/ Keri J

    Love the infographic – depicts your direction well.

    What would I add?  Maybe more a shift…

    Above you have them above the double helix – as if they are the reason.  This is great.  But they also make up part of the culture and that could be woven into the DNA.

    I so wanted to bring the gray people figures down into the strands along with the yellow and green to make the effect more 3D.  Perhaps a gray strand. 

    The center, or purpose, of operations is indeed the customer – the people.  Without them, we have nothing.  

    ~Keri

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks for the great suggestions Keri – great stuff to add to v2.0.

      I think I should have been a little more descriptive with respect to the figures that start the flow of the visual. The gray peeps represent employees in a flat organization that connect to customers, influencers, etc. (outer pink/blue ovals).

  • http://twitter.com/mikeschwede Mike Schwede ✔

    Marketing and Customer Care: OK. But where is “(Corporate) Communication”?

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks for the comment Mike – point taken :)

  • http://womeninbusinessradio.com Michele Price

    Trying to put my finger on it, something missing SIGH, not sure though.  I love what you created.  It seems almost too neat.  I have noticed in past couple years that what use to be rather neat has become more chaotic in nature, more bouncy, more fluid-less defined.

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks Michelle. Interesting thoughts about neatness – I will keep that in mind when thinking about future visualizations.

  • Margery

    I mostly agree with the ideas presented, but feel they are redundant in the infographic. For example, why do the “collaborations” need to be stated more than once? I see they are anchored (culture v. leadership lines) differently, but does that add value?

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks for the comment Margery. I went with multiple collaborations to highlight that social business takes place across the organization – each department within a cell group (business unit) works together…not just with “marketing”. I hope that helps clarify my thinking. 

  • http://www.online-business-virtual-assistant.com/ Virtual Business Assistant

     Hi Mark, This is so good and i loved what you have created here. I am going to share this with all of my friends and let them know about Social media DNA.

    • http://twitter.com/intersection1 Mark Smiciklas

      Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the infographic :)

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  • http://www.thefourthrevolution.org Jeremie Averous

    I like very much your idea of the social business DNA. Still what worries me is that it is an external view of the organization, whereas the truly successful social businesses beyond the Fourth Revolution will be open and very connected to the world outside. Your infographics only shows the world inside. I’d rather see it as a living cell (with the DNA at the center, for sure)  that thrives on exchanges with its environment, cell membrane canals wide open…

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