I attended an event this week on conversion/optimisation that really got me thinking about this topic. The talk gave examples of subtle changes applied to web pages that seriously affected engagement, click-through rates and, very importantly in many cases, sales. My thoughts have extrapolated this out into the wider world, not just the one on the screen in front of us or in our hands. The power in getting better information on the decision making of others and understanding the behaviour of people – users, clients, customers, whoever – should never be underestimated.

It doesn’t matter what you do for a living or what market you are in. You might also be in no market at all and just want to find ways to improve your everyday existence. To me, the key here is to listen, learn and collect data, then use it to make better decisions. Way back when social media began the focus was very much on listening to what was going on – who’s saying what on the subjects you care about, who needs help, who are the key thinkers and influencers, etc. The biggest players are now spending mountains of money on this and reaping the rewards by jumping into conversations and unleashing their brand power all over the place, but we can all get better at this and use the results to be better at everything we do. Have better conversations, help people out, show we care, we understand and we give a shit. If it only has a little bit of a positive effect on the life you lead, it’s worth it.