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We’ve just spent an interesting hour and a bit chatting with Gemma Ball from GDR Creative Intelligence – an organisation that puts research and future trends at the heart of what they do.

Our partner David Ellis joined us and we talked about where social media is heading, its relevance for brands and importantly how to measure the value and return on investment in any engagement.

We discussed how our knowledge of consumer behaviour comes from practical experience – through talking to people in social spaces en masse. This means we can help key sectors to set benchmarks and standards for online social activity – something that is often sorely lacking in this murky “social media” world.

GDR’s Global Innovation Report sat tantalisingly on the table, like forbidden treasure! Their report helps clients to understand trends and showcases best in breed projects from around the world.

It’ll be interesting to see where this conversation takes us. We’re all fired up – watch this space…

In September last year Liberty842 took me board – a fresh-faced graduate from the London College of Communications. Tucked comfortably under Liberty842’s award winning wings I was introduced to the intricate online fabric that binds social and media together.

I recently won a place on Vodaphone’s World of Difference scheme. 11,000 people registered for the scheme and I was one of the lucky 500 awarded a grant to work for the charity of my choice for two months. The short essay that I entered as part of the application process was a passionate strategy that aimed to translate much of the social media training I had gained through working with Liberty842 and channel it into the charity’s own social media platforms and push forth their presence online.

My chosen charity, Carousel, facilitate people with learning disabilities to reach their potential through the arts and media. They also run the award-winning Oska Bright Film Festival, the world’s first film festival that is run by and for people with learning disabilities. The festival has already achieved international status touring Australia, Canada and Czech Republic. I was attracted to Carousels approach to the people that they work with, offering them recognition and support, rather than help. The possibilities that social networking and sharing of content present could make a considerable difference to an organization such as Carousel. I chose Carousel because I believe that sharing with them what I have learnt from Liberty842 would be a valuable experience.

On Monday 28th of February I traveled to Birmingham where all 500 winners of Vodaphone’s World of Difference scheme gathered in the Custard Factory (housed in Birmingham’s Arts and Media Quarter) to be congratulated by its directors and advocates. One of the brightest smiles that day was worn by one of Liberty842’s illustrious clients, fashion guru Gok Wan, an advocate and active promoter of the scheme. Both he and the speakers did a fantastic job of emphasizing the opportunities that all the winners had to make a difference. It felt encouraging to see a face familiar with the very company that had given me the confidence to go forward for the position at Carousel. Just like the medium it represents, Liberty842 appeared to be everywhere.

During the day the winners were lead off in groups, given phones and a crash course in tweeting and blogging about their experiences and achievements during their placements. The important role that social media would play through out the scheme was unveiled – the message was clear, World of Difference winners had the power to spread good will on a national scale, inspire others and encourage social change and mobilization.

The power of social media to drive campaigns faster and further is what seems to fill so many now with confidence and hope. If people want to make a difference they needn’t feel they have to walk alone towards change. The true magic of social media seems to be the feeling of united-ness that sits at the ends of finger tips everywhere. Communities can unite with other communities, charities with other charities, big brands with individuals to exchange messages of aspirations, achievements and criticisms on a level playing field. This was the feeling at the Custard Factory on that day, it buzzed through out the building and ignited the energy amongst Vodaphone’s new team of difference makers. The revolution is here. The revolution will be tweeted.

On Monday 31st of January the Libery842 team attended a seminar held at the RSA. The seminar was set up to discuss new approaches to community regeneration. Attendees came from a variety of professional backgrounds to discuss how we can rebuild social networks, both on and offline. The hope is that by doing so we can reach out to the edges of society and empower the most isolated. It was quite a task to be set at 8.30 on a Monday morning, however, fueled heavily on coffee and croissants, we rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in.

Around the large tables sat a broad spectrum of experiences. Each group was given marker pens, post-it notes and A3 sheets of paper and asked to throw around ideas on developing and rebuilding relationships within a community. We rummaged through our personal toolboxes of experience and attempted to tackle this mammoth task.

Language, we all agreed is key to connecting people and since this was the case we needed to decide on easily accessible vocabulary and terminology. (It was felt that the term ‘mental heath’, for example, was far too broad and could stigmatise people – and that using more specific terms would have more relevance). It was also pointed out that language used needs to adapt to reach each community with their own set of terms and definitions.

One of the project’s aims is “to inform the policies and practices required to power and sustain the Big Society”. However it was thought that the true definition of the Big Society was not clear and therefore it was key to explore exactly what it means and how public services might be affected by any changes (as there are many isolated members of society that depend upon them). The Connected Communities initiative is trying to avoid a top-down approach to the issues they intend to tackle. As the speakers Professor David Morris and Steve Broome explained, The Connected Communities report calls for innovative solutions to local problems and local collaboration to enhance mental well-being for all. They also discussed the role of public services and if those roles can be strengthened, redefined or even reduced if better social networks are put in place.

One attendee suggested that perhaps the caring professions had a lot to “un-learn” when it came to interacting with patients. He put forward the idea that professionalism had taken over and value systems were being imposed upon communities that never really belonged to them in the first place. Public services were seen as somewhat to blame here, at times, treating the people that needed individual support more like boxes that needed to be ticked. The term “un-learning” was adopted quickly by the seminars attendees, becoming it seemed, the first addition to the group’s glossary of shared language.

Over the years, technology has fundamentally changed the way we do business – in the way we connect, communicate and build relationships. We discussed how digital solutions could be applied to help those that are most isolated within society. Although there are still many corners that the World Wide Web does not reach, it was thought that by using technology that people do have (like mobile phones, which have 130% penetration in Western Europe) would be a good place to start.

It seems as though there are still many things we must “un-learn”, many ticked boxes to reassess. However by using language that people understand, and technology that does not require new learning and is already accessible, then perhaps we could start to join those first few disconnected dots.