Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
Written by: Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff
Editorial Reviews:
Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. This groundswell is global, it s unstoppable, it affects every industry and it s utterly foreign to the powerful companies running things now.
When consumers you ve never met are rating your company s products in public forums with which you have no experience or influence, your company is vulnerable. In Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester, Inc. explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.
Using tools and data straight from Forrester, you ll learn how to:
-Evaluate new social technologies as they emerge
-Determine how different groups of consumers are participating in social technology arenas
-Apply a four-step process for formulating your future strategy
-Build social technologies into your business including monitoring your brand value, talking with the groundswell through marketing and PR campaigns, and energizing your best customers to recruit their peers
Timely and insightful, this book is required reading for executives seeking to protect and strengthen their company s public image.
"Groundswell is jammed with big ideas, useful stories, and quotable stats. This is the new industrial revolution. Are you on board?"
-Seth Godin, author, Meatball Sundae
"This book will rock your world, if social technology hasn't rocked it already. It's a tsunami of unstoppable force. Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, Google, and Dell are profiting from the crest of the wave. Are you? Li and Bernoff are the apostles of the tsunami. This book will be your bible."
-Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit
Groundswell provides practical advice on how to stay nimble and flexible in an ever-morphing digital world. Enabling your company to respond to change quickly especially when talking to and supporting your consumers is essential for business success.
-Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines
"The first phase of the Internet was about getting everyone connected. In this next phase, which changes the way we work, live, play, and learn, we re starting to realize the value of those connections as well as the new communications and experiences those interactions lead to the human network. Groundswell effectively documents this shift and underscores the opportunities available to all from this major market transition."
-John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
"Heed the Groundswell! It's critical reading and helped us master the new dynamics of social media."
-Christina Norman, President, MTV
"Groundswell is a comprehensive look at the tidal wave of change engulfing marketers. Nobody should attempt to engage the newly empowered and emboldened consumer without first hearing what Li and Bernoff have to say on the subject."
-Clark Kokich, CEO, Avenue A | Razorfish
"Social technologies and the groundswell impact every business and organization worldwide. Li and Bernoff have written an insightful book that takes a refreshing research-driven approach to helping businesses transform themselves and successfully navigate this new dynamic landscape."
-Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Edelman Digital, and columnist for Advertising Age
If you like "Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book if you don't know what Facebook is.
Comment: This book is great...if you're not from the Facebook generation. The first couple of chapters were almost snoozers for me. The only thing that really saved it was the real-life stories the authors included. The stories managed to hold my interest long enough for me to move on to the next chapters.
What I mainly gathered from this book--and you could gather this on your own if you don't live under a rock--is that media and marketing are moving more and more toward the consumer. That is, if you plan to reach your consumers, you'd better figure out how to operate in the new media world of Facebook, blogs, wikis, etc. And if you don't, your company could feasibly become stale in the next five to ten years.
I suppose what I liked best about the book is that it really acknowledges that power has shifted in the corporate world, and it seems to be shifting toward consumers. TV and radio ads no longer dominate our lives. Rather, Internet forums, blogs, and social networking sites are going to be the new wave of marketing. YouTube has taken the place of TV ads.
Overall, I found the book generally repetitive. I'm on the cusp of Generations X & Y, so I've grown up with computers and more recently, Internet access. None of this was much of a surprise to me, but it might be much more helpful to someone less familiar with today's Web 2.0.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Up-to-date overview of technology for the social web
Comment: This book contains the most complete description I have found of the social web. It is a great book for any manager wanting to understand web 2.0 technology before implementing any of the tools behind it. There is a good discussion of how to go about deciding the type of social interactions you would like to establish, then there are case studies describing how other companies implemented things.
The book presents a methodology for determining the best online tools to use. It is POST - People, Objective, Strategy, and finally Technology. I found this very useful because I think the tendency is to say something like "I need a Wiki" without evaluating why that is the right thing to implement. When specific tools are discussed, the authors provide information so you can research them more thoroughly on your own.
The author's target market is people who are interested in alternatives to traditional advertising for business, and I'm sure it is very useful for this. My personal interest is e-government and e-democracy, and it is good for this as well because of its focus on social technology over marketing.
Great book!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Documents the Changes in Marketing
Comment: Many people in Advertising and Marketing have not yet csught up with what is happening. Like the never-ending theme in military history, they have their guns pointing in the obvious direction of the enemy which is sneaking up on them from behind. This book does a good job of putting into perspective the fact that there is much happening openly on the Internet of which many are too little aware. Companies are still spending too much money on surveys and focus groups, then going on to largely TV and print advertising, not realizing that what happens online is so much more important than it was even two or three years ago. It is not just the obvious - the young, the buyers of technology - but the mainstream which is now online. This is an important book for enyone who wants to reach and communicate with people of all ages and psychographics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The right book at the right time
Comment: First a disclosure: as a former Forrester analyst, I worked with Josh and Charlene for several years.
Now the review. There are lots of books about "social media," "Web 2.0", "consumer-generated media" or whatever you want to call it. Most do a creditable job in explaining what it is, what the technology underneath it is about, how people use it, etc. But most fall short of helping marketers, brands and companies figure out what to do about it.
If you are a business person trying to figure out how to include these tools in your mix, this book is a must-read. In the usual Forrester straight-up style it provides frameworks and ways to think and act strategically in this emerging area. Especially helpful is the explanation of how various capabilities of social media technologies apply to marketing, sales, customer support, customer service, etc.
If your bosses are skeptical or resistant, it provides great case studies of successes comapanies have had. If your boss is one more motivated by fear than succes, it also has disasters that have befallen unwitting companies. Either way, it will help you sell in the idea.
2009 will be a big year for social media. Buy Groundswell now, read it, and get your social media strategy in place.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting, relevant, and specific
Comment: I purchased this book because I'd heard some buzz about it, and was interested in the topic.
I hoped to take from it some ideas on how to more creatively position the company I work for using some Web 2.0 strategies.
What I liked most about the book :
* It was well written and researched.
* The concepts and theories in it do transcend the specific technologies discussed so it will remain relevant.
* The book gives a lot of concrete examples and case studies and does not stick only to theory
* The book discussed both successful and unsuccessful case studies
* The authors don't push "YOU MUST DO THIS" but instead caution readers to dip their toes carefully into social media, decide what aspects are right for their corporate culture, and discuss both pros AND cons to different strategies.
What I didn't like
* The focus on the "Groundswell" theme got to be a bit too much, a little "cutesy" in an otherwise very well written book.
* The chapters were structured in such a way that one did not have to read the whole book, but could focus on certain topics (Good so far). But this meant for those who DO read the whole book, it covers and recovers the same ground often.
* I would have liked to have seen some more focus on small businesses.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. I gave it to our company's owner as backup for implementing some of the strategies discussed.
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.4833
EAN: 9781422125007
ISBN: 1422125009
Label: Harvard Business School Press
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2008-04-21
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Studio: Harvard Business School Press
 | Format: Hardcover List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $19.77 Your Save: $ 10.18 ( 34% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Average Customer Rating:  |
Editorial Reviews:
Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. This groundswell is global, it s unstoppable, it affects every industry and it s utterly foreign to the powerful companies running things now.
When consumers you ve never met are rating your company s products in public forums with which you have no experience or influence, your company is vulnerable. In Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester, Inc. explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.
Using tools and data straight from Forrester, you ll learn how to:
-Evaluate new social technologies as they emerge
-Determine how different groups of consumers are participating in social technology arenas
-Apply a four-step process for formulating your future strategy
-Build social technologies into your business including monitoring your brand value, talking with the groundswell through marketing and PR campaigns, and energizing your best customers to recruit their peers
Timely and insightful, this book is required reading for executives seeking to protect and strengthen their company s public image.
"Groundswell is jammed with big ideas, useful stories, and quotable stats. This is the new industrial revolution. Are you on board?"
-Seth Godin, author, Meatball Sundae
"This book will rock your world, if social technology hasn't rocked it already. It's a tsunami of unstoppable force. Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, Google, and Dell are profiting from the crest of the wave. Are you? Li and Bernoff are the apostles of the tsunami. This book will be your bible."
-Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit
Groundswell provides practical advice on how to stay nimble and flexible in an ever-morphing digital world. Enabling your company to respond to change quickly especially when talking to and supporting your consumers is essential for business success.
-Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines
"The first phase of the Internet was about getting everyone connected. In this next phase, which changes the way we work, live, play, and learn, we re starting to realize the value of those connections as well as the new communications and experiences those interactions lead to the human network. Groundswell effectively documents this shift and underscores the opportunities available to all from this major market transition."
-John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
"Heed the Groundswell! It's critical reading and helped us master the new dynamics of social media."
-Christina Norman, President, MTV
"Groundswell is a comprehensive look at the tidal wave of change engulfing marketers. Nobody should attempt to engage the newly empowered and emboldened consumer without first hearing what Li and Bernoff have to say on the subject."
-Clark Kokich, CEO, Avenue A | Razorfish
"Social technologies and the groundswell impact every business and organization worldwide. Li and Bernoff have written an insightful book that takes a refreshing research-driven approach to helping businesses transform themselves and successfully navigate this new dynamic landscape."
-Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President, Edelman Digital, and columnist for Advertising Age
If you like "Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies, you might also like ...
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book if you don't know what Facebook is.
Comment: This book is great...if you're not from the Facebook generation. The first couple of chapters were almost snoozers for me. The only thing that really saved it was the real-life stories the authors included. The stories managed to hold my interest long enough for me to move on to the next chapters.
What I mainly gathered from this book--and you could gather this on your own if you don't live under a rock--is that media and marketing are moving more and more toward the consumer. That is, if you plan to reach your consumers, you'd better figure out how to operate in the new media world of Facebook, blogs, wikis, etc. And if you don't, your company could feasibly become stale in the next five to ten years.
I suppose what I liked best about the book is that it really acknowledges that power has shifted in the corporate world, and it seems to be shifting toward consumers. TV and radio ads no longer dominate our lives. Rather, Internet forums, blogs, and social networking sites are going to be the new wave of marketing. YouTube has taken the place of TV ads.
Overall, I found the book generally repetitive. I'm on the cusp of Generations X & Y, so I've grown up with computers and more recently, Internet access. None of this was much of a surprise to me, but it might be much more helpful to someone less familiar with today's Web 2.0.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Up-to-date overview of technology for the social web
Comment: This book contains the most complete description I have found of the social web. It is a great book for any manager wanting to understand web 2.0 technology before implementing any of the tools behind it. There is a good discussion of how to go about deciding the type of social interactions you would like to establish, then there are case studies describing how other companies implemented things.
The book presents a methodology for determining the best online tools to use. It is POST - People, Objective, Strategy, and finally Technology. I found this very useful because I think the tendency is to say something like "I need a Wiki" without evaluating why that is the right thing to implement. When specific tools are discussed, the authors provide information so you can research them more thoroughly on your own.
The author's target market is people who are interested in alternatives to traditional advertising for business, and I'm sure it is very useful for this. My personal interest is e-government and e-democracy, and it is good for this as well because of its focus on social technology over marketing.
Great book!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Documents the Changes in Marketing
Comment: Many people in Advertising and Marketing have not yet csught up with what is happening. Like the never-ending theme in military history, they have their guns pointing in the obvious direction of the enemy which is sneaking up on them from behind. This book does a good job of putting into perspective the fact that there is much happening openly on the Internet of which many are too little aware. Companies are still spending too much money on surveys and focus groups, then going on to largely TV and print advertising, not realizing that what happens online is so much more important than it was even two or three years ago. It is not just the obvious - the young, the buyers of technology - but the mainstream which is now online. This is an important book for enyone who wants to reach and communicate with people of all ages and psychographics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The right book at the right time
Comment: First a disclosure: as a former Forrester analyst, I worked with Josh and Charlene for several years.
Now the review. There are lots of books about "social media," "Web 2.0", "consumer-generated media" or whatever you want to call it. Most do a creditable job in explaining what it is, what the technology underneath it is about, how people use it, etc. But most fall short of helping marketers, brands and companies figure out what to do about it.
If you are a business person trying to figure out how to include these tools in your mix, this book is a must-read. In the usual Forrester straight-up style it provides frameworks and ways to think and act strategically in this emerging area. Especially helpful is the explanation of how various capabilities of social media technologies apply to marketing, sales, customer support, customer service, etc.
If your bosses are skeptical or resistant, it provides great case studies of successes comapanies have had. If your boss is one more motivated by fear than succes, it also has disasters that have befallen unwitting companies. Either way, it will help you sell in the idea.
2009 will be a big year for social media. Buy Groundswell now, read it, and get your social media strategy in place.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting, relevant, and specific
Comment: I purchased this book because I'd heard some buzz about it, and was interested in the topic.
I hoped to take from it some ideas on how to more creatively position the company I work for using some Web 2.0 strategies.
What I liked most about the book :
* It was well written and researched.
* The concepts and theories in it do transcend the specific technologies discussed so it will remain relevant.
* The book gives a lot of concrete examples and case studies and does not stick only to theory
* The book discussed both successful and unsuccessful case studies
* The authors don't push "YOU MUST DO THIS" but instead caution readers to dip their toes carefully into social media, decide what aspects are right for their corporate culture, and discuss both pros AND cons to different strategies.
What I didn't like
* The focus on the "Groundswell" theme got to be a bit too much, a little "cutesy" in an otherwise very well written book.
* The chapters were structured in such a way that one did not have to read the whole book, but could focus on certain topics (Good so far). But this meant for those who DO read the whole book, it covers and recovers the same ground often.
* I would have liked to have seen some more focus on small businesses.
Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. I gave it to our company's owner as backup for implementing some of the strategies discussed.
Technical Details
Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 303.4833
EAN: 9781422125007
ISBN: 1422125009
Label: Harvard Business School Press
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2008-04-21
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Studio: Harvard Business School Press
