In 2005, Steve Jobs gave the commencement address to the graduating students at Stanford. He told them the secret that defined him in every action, every decision, every creation of his tragically unfinished life:“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

By the time United did come back and offer to reimburse David, he asked for United to give the money to charity. United Airlines stock plummeted 10%, costing shareholders $180 million dollars, for a $1,200 claim on a guitar!

a newspaper and news channel will often check their facts and do some investigative study before going public. In the blogosphere, you can’t count on that level of investigation, and thus it can be difficult to understand whether information is valid or just one person’s biased opinion.

The rewards of becoming a Social Business far outweigh the risk, however, but not without careful planning and management.