I can think of no better example than this one from Seth Godin:

“Instead of looking for customers for your products, you seek out products (and services) for the tribe.”

The tribe he is referring to is an interconnected, homogeneous group that a brand or a company can help foster.

By forming a community and then developing products just for them, a brand can ensure a core consumer base, a word of mouth launchpad, and a feedback network to tell you what you did right and what you need to fix.

Rather than fight the tide of social networking, companies should flow with it and see where it takes them. As Godin writes:

“People form tribes with or without us. The challenge is to work for the tribe and make it something even better.”