Foreword

I’ve been a florist since 1976, when I opened my first retail flower shop in New York City. Today 1-800-FLOWERS. COM is a $700-million-dollar company selling flowers, confections, and gifts in more than 40 countries.

We are not in the technology industry. However, technology has always been a key to our success. Rather than fearing or avoiding new technologies, we have embraced them to continually redefine our industry, establish a competitive advantage, and, most importantly, make it easier for customers to do business with us. This has happened time and again, first with toll-free numbers, then with the Internet, and today with Facebook and mobile applications— what Clara calls the “social Web.”

We were originally called 1-800-FLOWERS because I made a bet in 1986, the year toll-free numbers first became widely available, that customers would appreciate calling in more than having to come in person to place an order. People thought it was nuts then. But what retailer today wouldn’t have an 800-number?

In 1991, we went online. At the time, a mere 4.5 million of Americans (fewer than 5%) were online and people still had to pay by the minute to surf the Web. I had a feeling, though, that this whole Internet thing would be big, and I wanted to make sure we were part of it. We started with online advertising, first on CompuServe and later on AOL. In 1995, when there were 25 million Internet users in America, we launched our first Web site and became 1-800-FLOWERS. COM. People thought it was nuts, again! But what retailer today wouldn’t pay for online advertising and a Web site? In fact, the majority of our business now comes from the Internet.

So, what next? Well, you’d have to be nuts to ignore the 500 million active users on Facebook.

But it’s more than just the numbers. Past technologies helped drive down costs, improve reach, and grow the business, but in the process we lost something very important: customer connection. I have missed the direct customer dialogue I had in our retail flower shops. The digital age has felt largely transactional in comparison.

This is why I feel even more excited about the Facebook Era than I did about toll-free numbers or the Internet. The social Web is about connecting with customers again—hearing their stories, and sharing in their joys and sorrows and the most important moments of their lives. It’s about reopening the dialogue so that businesses can put customers back in the driver’s seat and keep getting better.

I met Clara in Madrid last year after we gave back-to-back keynotes at a major business and technology conference. Her message struck a chord with me. The social Web is not just new technology—it is a cultural movement.

The Facebook Era is a powerful book about technology, culture, and business, written by one of the leading innovators in the field. Clara speaks and writes with passion because her conviction is deeply rooted in actual experience. In 2007, when most businesspeople thought Facebook was a passing college student fad, Clara conceived of and developed Faceconnector, the first business application on Facebook.

This book articulates in clear and simple terms the opportunity for businesses on the social Web. Clara presents a wealth of case studies, research data, best practices, and actionable steps, and writes in a style that everyone from the CEO to the summer intern will find enjoyable, invaluable, and immediately useful.

Whatever business you’re in—whether you’re selling flowers and gift baskets or cars and consulting—embrace the concepts and techniques in The Facebook Era. Use them to connect with your customers, and you will go far.

Jim McCann
Founder, Chairman, and CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS. COM