Let’s say you’re the head of a small or medium sized business. You find yourself running faster and faster just to stay in one place let alone grow. But you know if you don’t grow you’ll die. And you know that to grow you have to stay on top of all the new ideas in business, in your industry and in the world in general. Oh, and you have to make payroll next week too. No pressure, right?
One day you have two, ahem, “consultants”, (read, sales people), call on you. You only have time for one. And one wants to talk about how Social Media will help your company to grow, the other wants to talk to you about how Collaboration is going to help your company grow. Which one is going to get your attention and therefore, your time? I’ll bet the vast majority of you picked Social Media. (I’m hoping there is enough who read this to qualify for a vast majority). No contest:
Social Media, new, exciting and hip, versus 
Collaboration, dull, boring, and vague. I know who I’m spending my precious time with; Mr. Social Media.
But I’m going to ask you to think about it for a minute. (Yeah, yeah you run a business, you don’t have time to think. Deal with it.) What comes to mind when I say “Social Media”? I bet you think, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. And then I’m going to ask you what you do when you use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And you’re going to tell me, communicate, share, observe, exchange information, etc. (Am I right so far?)
So now when I ask you what you do when you “Collaborate”, you’re going to tell me communicate, share, observe, exchange information, etc.
Yep, that’s right; the same things Social Media does….
Here’s the difference. Generally, Social Media is aimed externally, outside the walls of your business, (customers, vendors, competitors) and Collaboration is aimed internally, inside the walls of your business, (employees). Why is one more important than the other?
I would argue that Social Media and Collaboration are equally important. Getting new customers, and keeping current clients will increase profits, just as enhancing productivity and improving internal business processes will increase profits.
So the next time someone comes around to talk about Collaboration it will be in your best interests to give him or her some of your valuable time….