Next Business.

E business is common today and we all subscribe in one way or another. After all who hasn't bought something on the net and who hasn't been touched by an inbox filled with daily deals. Yet in 1997 this concept was but a twinkle in the eyes of IBM and their creative development team as they forged a vision of what could be our future. No one believed it could be, as we struggled with our Commodore 64's and carried around house bricks disguised as phones.

Now the esteemed, well they got the e business thing right, bods at IBM are talking up "social business" and what it means for our future. It's not social media mixed with some sales thrown in, it's not Harvey Norman being social and it's not business done at the pub.

It is in fact all about people doing business in the new digital age, that's been around for a while but has been overwhelmed by chatter, the inane and the Facebooking of daily minutiae. Ethan McCarty, of Digital and Social Strategy at IBM has clear views on what the future looks like for them as a company and also for businesses so far not engaged in social business.

Business is the biggest "thing" going on globally. I say "thing" because it encompasses everything everyone does on a daily basis. Without business, there is no us, no we, no planet. So what happens when that all encompassing "thing" takes hold of the social media side of the equation? McCarty says it will dwarf social media as we know it. Social business is people interacting via their digital experiences in everything business related with people. Even IBM which has more to do with services and brand than consumer products now looks to its "IBMers" experts to do their business digitally and not via legacy sales thinking.

They have figured out their employees need to be turned on all the time, via the digital world, and carry on business conversations that have value and relevance to their organisation and the services they offer. To do this McCarty has indicated that some media like email, may be on the outer as they look to more collaborative platforms to do business. He looks at email as a silo affecting tool and not geographically enabled to carry on multiple conversations about a product. The opportunity to talk with many at the same time, about a product relevant to many, on many levels is the nirvana.

Imagine being at the local electronics store discussing the purchase of a new flat screen TV with the resident expert and having your friends along for support and then going next door and getting the rival electronic expert to join in and then adding the manufacturer along with an external expert and anyone else you trust or want an opinion from. What about that important meeting where you really want all your support staff involved, along with experts you trust, along with the finance department and the boss for the final sign off.

Having everything and everyone at your finger tips and having them involved on a social platform would make decisions quicker, more relevant and cut out the back and forth communication that often sinks decisions over long periods of discussion.

After all business is about people and the more of them you can get involved and engaged, the more likely you are to come to the right outcome.