Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies | 
 enlarge | Authors: Charlene Li, Josh Bernoff
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 318
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 1422125009
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.4833
EAN: 9781422125007
ASIN: 1422125009
Publication Date: April 21, 2008
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Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Groundswell July 21, 2008
Interesting book, I am not yet finished, but well worth the time time to read.
 Helpful July 5, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
It's a good review of buzz/content/wom. A little too "text booky", Jaffy's book is better.
 The Latest and Greatest on the Topic... July 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have to admit, I'm fascinated by the topic of how online communities, both business to business and business to consumer, will change the environment of how businesspeople and consumers interact, market, buy, sell etc. So I've read almost everything recent on the topic and, as those who write about this topic seem to the most seasoned and up to date business writers and/or educators out there, I have yet to be disappointed.
Groundswell is the latest book I've tread, and I have to say it's one of, if not the best on the topic right now. Filled with current statistics on consumer demographic usage of social media, and clearly outlining the "how" in business participation in social media, Groundswell not only builds on the information and thoughts of prior publications, but adds insight never before revealed so clearly or thoroughly.
The authors early in the book map traditional business functions (research, marketing, sales, support, development) into their "groundswell" alternatives (listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing) and map out both the fundamental strategic vision that needs to precede and accompany any corporate social media presence, and combine it with plenty of real life examples of good and bad methods of approach and participation.
If as a business or an individual you are interested in this topic, definitely read this book. I agree with the authors, that "you cannot ignore this trend...The groundswell trend is unstoppable, and your customers are there. You may go a little slower or a little faster, but you have to move forward. There is no going back."
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Social Media for the Enterprise June 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
'Groundswell' can serve as both a great overview and an introduction to the social media trends. Being an early adopter myself, I can't say that this book has changed my view or understanding of the industry, but it is definitely a book I will recommend to any newcomer. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff provide a number of great examples of how companies have leveraged the 'Groundswell' movement to their advantage, but are also clear that these strategies are not for everyone, and require a substantial amount of resources. Their discussion on the ROI of the social media is a great contribution, and a must read for any consultant.
Perhaps not surprisingly (coming from Forrester researchers), the book offers the most to an enterprise reader who is interested in the social media trends, and needs a solid ground to evaluate both the feasibility and the strategy of their campaign.
This book rocks and is a must-read June 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Have you seen Jurassic Park? If so, you might remember Dr. Malcolm's (Jeff Goldblum) diatribe about the dangers of doing something just because you can:
"I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here: it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you want to sell it!"
How does this quote relate in any way to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies? Maybe it's just me, but I see a direct correlation.
Groundswell is about social computing (I, a non-analyst, prefer the term social media) and how it's shaping not only the personal lives of many individuals around the globe, but also the way companies do business. It's not that social media is anything new; I've been an active participant on numerous online forums for over 10 years now. I've made money, formed close friendships, gotten jobs and learned countless things--all through different social media applications.
Lately businesses have begun to tap into the groundswell--"a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other rather than from traditional institutions like corporations"--to enhance customer relations, build brand loyalty and, of course, make money. These days hardly a day goes by where some company or another isn't discussing their web 2.0 strategy and taking the plunge--in most cases, "because everyone else is doing it." Or the opposite--doing nothing for fear of opening up a giant can of worms that, once released, will run rampant and ruin the company's reputation or slash profits.
The thing is, as the book aptly points out--doing it just because others are doing it or because it's possible isn't reason enough to incorporate web 2.0 applications into a business strategy. Just as bringing carnivorous dinosaurs back into existence just because it was possible without thinking about the consequences wasn't the brightest of ideas, jumping on the social media bandwagon just because everyone's doing it isn't reason enough to do it. Obviously the consequences of starting a blog, establishing a presence on Facebook or randomly beginning Tweeting are nowhere near those of setting loose a bunch of killer dinosaurs; however, the underlying concept is the same: maybe you should think about it before you do it.
The beauty of Groundswell is that it lays out in explicit detail the RIGHT way to develop a social media strategy. Forget just randomly tossing around a few ideas in a conference room then rushing back to the computer to start blogging or start a Facebook page; Groundswell provides hard data about the ways people are using social media and shows you how to develop a strategy that taps into your specific customers' behaviors and needs. Bernoff and Li go a step further than telling stories about what other companies have done; they provide a tool businesses can use to assess their own customers' social media behaviors in order to develop a strategy that taps into those individuals' behaviors and needs.
And of course, in addition to the facts and figures and case studies, Li and Bernoff give a very comprehensive overview of the groundswell technologies and how and why to use them.
In short, Groundswell is by far the best and most comprehensive book I've read about social media and I honestly think it's a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in web 2.0. Forget Good to Great or those other yawners that every company has employees read before the annual retreat/brainstorming session; Groundswell is much more interesting, informative and pivotal to the way companies will be doing business from here on out.
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