Today, IBM is launching PartnerWorld Communities, a new social net for the hardware/software giant's partners to identify skills, resources, and new business opportunities with one another. Partners will be able to develop online communities that make their skills visible to other partners, connect with them on tech innovations, and develop and deliver products through interactive forums before beta testing. IBM is concurrently launching their Business Partner Development Series, an educational tool for partners who need insight on creating dynamic infrastructures, selling to the midmarket, and selling to the CFO...

IBM is becoming a lot more social. The company launched a social network for its software developers in April. And today it’s launching a social network for its various partners to help bring technology to market faster and close sales more efficiently. This pretty much means that Web 2.0 is now becoming part of the fabric of doing business. IBM is essentially integrating social networking and community fabric into its sales process...

Zachary Weiner, the CEO of Chicago boutique ad agency Luxuryreach, has had quite a time in social networking land of late. Recent adventures include employees twittering about how demanding Weiner is, how hung over they feel, and how “totally not into” the client they are. Then there’s the worker and her boyfriend who are lobbing character assassinations, sexual insults, and details of their therapy sessions at each other on Facebook. “I can’t lie, I’d almost like to hear how it ends,” says Weiner. “It’s entertaining.” Entertaining, yes. But for executives worried about their companies’ reputations, oh so terrifying...

While it apparently went over the head of celebrity host Billy Crystal, IBM execs have been extolling the virtues of twittering and tweeting at IMPACT 2009, its annual SOA (solutions-oriented architecture) conference. On day two the company made a couple of announcements about expanding its social media offerings for partners and developers. "We're the first vendor to release social media training and social media tools," said IBM's Sandy Carter, VP, SOA & WebSphere marketing, strategy and channels...

As social media usage continues to skyrocket, companies are trying to get up to speed on not only using these tools, but finding a way to successfully integrate them into their existing business strategies. At the upcoming MarketingProfs B2B Forum, Sandy Carter will help attendees not only learn more about social media, but also how and when these tools should be added to a company’s existing marketing mix. In this interview, Sandy gives us her take on the importance of social media for businesses, and some background on some of the topics she’ll be covering during her session at the B2B Forum in Boston...