Groundswell, A Book Review

By On November 30, 2008 · 8 Comments

5 page synopsis of the book, download my summary notes here.

Groundswell is a  how to guide for social media in business. The authors were analysts at Forrester research, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. Forrester reports a lot of the stats out there on social media, so they know the numbers and help big clients on these issues daily – the credibility is there.

My overall impression of Groundswell is very positive. They explore social media solutions for many aspects of business and do it in an easily digestible way. They also include great real world examples to cement the many lessons. Anyone using social media, or planning to, should read this book. I highly recommend it.

I will, however, add a few caveats to my endorsement. I understand that no book can squeeze in all the lessons of social media or please everyone. But here are some things to keep in mind when reading Groundswell:

  • Groundswell is written to corporate America more than smaller businesses and entrepreneurs. It suggests some of the most expensive options out there to build social technology solutions and track your brand online. But there are tons of free, open source solutions that are much more realistic for most of the people that will read the book.
  • The authors break down social technology users into 6 categories, The Social Technographics Ladder: who creates, who reacts, etc. This is a helpful guide, but a creator in one place is a spectator elsewhere and may not be either for your company. Understand your demographics, but at the same time, do not be afraid to follow your instincts. There are content creators in every demographic, after all. Groundswell is great for helping you generate a plan of action. But, I think one of the keys here is creativity and capturing the imagination and ownership of your audience. Experiment, test and do not be afraid to fail.
  • Lastly, Groundswell alludes to this but it deserves more emphasis. Simply get out there a participate in social media. If you want your company to use social technologies to improve your business, you need to be out there experiencing it personally, asking questions, learning lessons, and creating. The experience is nothing without an overall plan, true, but the opposite is just as true. Creating a plan and goals without being involved in social media is also ill advised. This goes for the best and the brightest of everyone in your company.
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  • http://www.customerflypaper.com John Easton

    Jason,

    I found your commentary (with additions) of Groundswell to be thought provoking. To add to your point about the author’s Fortune 500, corporate perspective of social media I believe in their consulting engagements they frequently faced the corporate dilema of social media; push back from old, reluctant senior management and as such they chose to provide a workable response to this challenge.

    I think the door is open for a companion book, Groundswell for the small business. Let me know when your book is ready (smile).

    John Easton

  • admin

    @John Agreed, I am sure the book is quite relevant to most Forrester customers and I do not fault them for that. I don’t think most businesses are at that level. The companion book is a good idea for someone. If I find the time/support to write it, I will keep you posted.

  • http://fayza.me Fayza

    I’m reading it now, and I generally agree with your points. But I do think, while suggesting the more “expensive” options for community building, such as Communispace, they focus adequately on the fact that it really should be as organic as possible – money not required. More or less, they focus on the fact that you have to find some way to listen to your community – how you do it is only limited by you! I suppose I’ll have to follow up with my final thoughts once I’ve finished!

  • admin

    @fayza Please do follow up. Thanks for your thoughts. Fair points.

  • http://www.dan-london.com Dan

    Your idea of creating a PDF of your notes for the book is genius. I’m reading Guy’s new book, Reality Check, and will do the same.

    Great blog as well.

  • http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell Josh Bernoff

    Nice job summarizing the key points.

    I wish I could do a Groundswell for small business — but if I write books for Forrester I need to stick to what their clients (big companies) want, for the most part. Still, I am gathering some insights on that.

    But there will be a follow-on book. Count on it.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/jakrose jakrose

    Glad to hear it Josh. It was a great book, with tons of great examples. I just found myself wondering where all the free tools and cheap options were hiding. But I completely understand that Forrester needs to focus on their clients first.

    Look forward to future writing from you.

  • robbrian

    I generally agree with the author about most of his points. I do however, find the book incredibly boring. As a business double major graduating soon, I am very familiar with social media, and I understand older generations may not be. I just think that the author's method of justifying his point is much like a club to the head, belaboring and drowning the reader in examples. The book could have been much shorter and I would have enjoyed the last few chapters, rather than wishing the book would conclude.