[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-_W9tjO3aA&w=560&h=349]

With a “tell it like it is” attitude, Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy cuts through the debate about social media by asking one simple question: “What’s the ROI of giving a crap?” Meaning, what’s the benefit to you and your business about really caring about your customers? He believes it’s enormous and he’s living evidence to prove it. Before he launched Wine Library TV, Vaynerchuk spent all his time on Summize (now Twitter Search) answering anybody’s questions about wine. Instead of thinking about how you can scale communications, take advantage of all that data out there to talk directly to your audience. Vaynerchuk believes there's a huge loss because of “out of touchness” with the audience. His advice to startups is to not obsess about features and press. Focus on people that are and will be the end users. Even if you haven't launched your product, be part of your niche community, Vaynerchuk says.