Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff

From the Publisher

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

The Financial Times

... for Groundswell's intended audience - managers struggling to answer questions such as "should my soap company have a presence on Facebook?" or "why isn't anyone reading our company blog?" - the emphasis on data and analytics is not a bug - it's a feature.

CIO Magazine

...you can't control users looking to utilize Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and social networks... CIOs and other business leaders must embrace these technologies in the enterprise, and enable their employees to share and work collectively with each other to foster new innovations.

What People Are Saying

Christina Norman
"Heed the Groundswell! It's critical reading and helped us master the new dynamics of social media."--(Christina Norman, President, MTV)

John T. Chambers
"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)

Clark Kokich
"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

Seth Godin
"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)

Scott Cook
"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)

Cathie Black
"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)

Product Details

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents