Erik Qualman quotes:

You're talking about a younger generation, Generation Y, whose interpersonal communication skills are different from Generation X. The younger generation is more comfortable saying something through a digital mechanism than even face to face.

It had not yet been named Silicon Valley, but you had the defense industry, you had Hewlett-Packard. But you also had the counter-culture, the Bay Area. That entire brew came together in Steve Jobs.

Language is always evolving. It's difficult to read Shakespeare now because language has shifted. Similarly, kids these days can get to the point really quick in about 140 characters or less because of these new tools.

One thing we seem to be missing is that just as we no longer search for the news, the news finds us today (e.g. this article found me) we will no longer search for products and services, rather we will look to our social graph to what products and services they like and don't like.

As social media is less about technology and more about relationship building, we are starting to see more women have a heavy influence if not dominant role in the social media space. It's no wonder that Facebook is being run in part by chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

That's the power behind a tool like Facebook Connect. It is making a Web without walls. Facebook allows you to go to other sites to comment, rate, etc., without having to set up a new profile for that site.

Why are we trying to measure social media like a traditional channel anyway? Social media touches every facet of business and is more an extension of good business ethics.

Twenty-five percent of search results for the world's top 20 largest brands are links to user generated content and thirty-four percent of bloggers post opinions about products and brands.

With the growing reliance on social media, we no longer search for news, or the products and services we wish to buy. Instead they are being pushed to us by friends, acquaintances and business colleagues.

Social media has made the web all about me, me, me.

Successful companies in social media function more like entertainment companies, publishers, or party planners than as traditional advertisers.

At a minimum the majority of search dollars will flow to a social media model because people care most about what their peers think and the technology is there for that information to be quickly shared on products and services.

Increasingly, consumers don't search for products and services. Rather, services come to their attention via social media.

Consumers are taking ownership of brands, and their referral power is priceless.

The power of social media is it forces necessary change.

Pushing a company agenda on social media is like throwing water balloons at a porcupine.

We don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we do it.

Social Media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.

Privacy is dead. Reputations are dying.

Folks want to be listened to, they want to be heard.

You can spend your time daydreaming or make use of it in other ways.

Best results are often achieved well before you need a job, by consistently networking so that when you find yourself job-hunting you have a large network to work with.

History repeats itself because nobody listens the first time.

The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years.

Assume whatever you do, both offline and online, will be seen by your mother, dad, boss, coach, boyfriend, teacherâ?¦ the world.

It's about listening first, then selling.

Everybody's got the mindset that everything should be measurable.

The beauty of social media is that it will point out your company's flaws; the key questions is how quickly you address these flaws.

With the advent of radical and accessible technology, each one of us, for the first time in history, is creating an influential mark forever - we are all mini-digital celebrities and heroes to someone.

The easier things are to buy, the more we consume.

Language is always evolving.

To effectively leverage the social graph, every company needs to understand that they need to make their information easily transferable.

Integrity is what you do behind closed doors or when you think nobody is watching. Integrity is the true essence of who you are, your beliefs and your values. Reputation is the public perception of who you are. It is how others view your integrity or strong moral principles.