Today, the city of Boston will announce a website that is described by the Boston Globe as a "Facebook-like social networking website." That description fails on so many levels to communicate the value of what the city is doing.

Boston World Partnerships is the non-profit created by Mayor Menino to promote economic development in the city of Boston. The concept is so much more than a website...it's how we use modern communication technology to market our talent and facilitate development. It's part of the answer to the question I was asked by a Selectman in Westwood as how a blog could play a role in a policy debate other than allowing residents to "vent."

Social networking is about using technology-enhanced media to connect people and ideas and start constructive conversations. Of course it's also about connecting with all your friends from college, but in the business and political context, we can use blogs, wikis, twitter, facebook, and even myspace to give more people more opportunity to participate. It's not just about people venting or individual citizens complaining--it is about finding, connecting, and leveraging the human capital of our communities. The Boston World Partnerships site is clearly at the business and professional end of this spectrum:

Mission: Boston World Partnerships informs business leaders worldwide about the competitive advantages that Boston offers, and connects them with the resources they need to locate and grow here. We also work to strengthen the general business climate and to help existing Boston businesses achieve sustainable success.

It is admitedly a long stretch to go from my small town blog and experiments on twitter to something of this magnitude, but the principles are all there. Use social media marketing to market a city. Connect the "movers and shakers"--whether they be individuals, entrepreneurs, non-profits, activists or whatever. There is no need to be held back due to hierarchical planning and bureacracy if we can connect the people who know how to get things done and support their efforts with an infrastructure that takes advantage of the latest technical and media innovations. This is the future--not just future technology, but the future of applying business and marketing principles to public and social policy.