Marian Spier is vice-president of TEDxAmsterdam. She is among other things responsible for the experience of TED events. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. The x for Independently organized. Every year a big event is organized, with side events such as TEDxAmsterdamYouth, TEDxAmsterdamWomen, TEDxChange and TEDxAmsterdamED (education).

 

To better get to know Marian we have asked her five questions about social business.

 

What do you think are the biggest challenges companies are facing today in the field of social business?

Online reputation management. It is easy to manage when you don’t have a crisis, but I have not seen any company that was able to restore their reputation online during a crisis. Because of social media bad (and good news) spreads fast.

 

Our visitors are professionals and managers with responsibility for social strategy, communication, PR, HR and marketing. What would be the biggest key take away for them after attending your presentation?

That social is not only about data. Social media is mostly about people and connecting.

 

What other presentations at the conference are you looking forward to and why?

Nathalie Nahai – The Web Psychologist. I would love to hear more about online persuasion.

 

What is your biggest social media success and what was your biggest #fail (what did you learn)?

I don’t believe in social media success. As for me it is about people and connecting. I also don’t see mistakes as a failure. Social networks are constantly changing, every time a new network begins we have to learn how to interact with it…

 

Is there anything that you would like to ask our visitors?

What is the biggest challenge YOUR company is facing in social media?

 

We want to thank Marian for her openness. You can leave your remarks and answers to his question in the comment section below.