Just finished reading the official Groundwell book poolside in the warm CA sun. I’ve actually read the book, but before it was even close to print, that version was slightly different and incomplete than the one on bookshelves today.
Before I started at Forrester, Charlene suggested I be one on the advance readers, she stopped by, handed me a spiral bound print out, and asked me to read it and provide my input. I read the book during my trip to Hong Kong, and marked the book up, some of my suggestions I hope were helpful, I do know that one of my examples made the book. The example about Scoble’s wiki not working well was my submission.
If you’ve read the book, you’ll realize it’s based on a solid methodology, case examples, and cites data from Technographics, this is a practical version of previous social media books. Which books in particular? Cluetrain, then Naked Conversations are really desktop references and preludes to this book, I recommend all of three of these.
This Thursday, I’ll be speaking at the 10 year anniversary of the Cluetrain event, Doc Searls to give the keynote at SAP in Palo Alto, hope to see you there. I was with Shel and Robert at their book launch party for Naked, and then started to learn under Shel, he taught me a great deal. Now, I’m working with the Groundswell authors, it’s an amazing adventure.
I’m somewhat biased being a Forrester employee and working with the Groundswell colleagues, but I’ll tell you what it’s missing: tactics. This book is a strategic framework, a real methodology that tells you the right way to approach social media. It doesn’t give you specifics on technologies, and how to use them, which of course would make the book have a very limited shelf life, so the tactics will be found on blogs, twitter, podcasts, that you, and you, and you, will write.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Groundswell book, what did you like and dislike? Will you apply the POST methodology at your workplace? What did your boss say?
Related note: If you have one of my latest business cards, turn it over for a mesmerizing effect.
Jeremiah, I think you are underselling the tactical benefits of Groundswell.
The “People” part of the POST methodology is really really useful tactic.
Early in Groundswell, they tell us about an unnamed company that was all exicted about social media technologies but hadn’t bothered with the “people” part yet. It wasn’t my company, but it could have been. We are now paying the price for that oversight – lower-than-expected usage of our social media tools. Someone at a conference I attended recently said the “crickets are chirping” at his new social media site – well, mine too. I think “People” part is what’s missing.
Neither Charlene, Josh nor Jeremiah will say this on their blogs (maybe out of fear of seeming too commercial?), but Forrester does license their social media research tool for you to survey your own specific target markets. It wasn’t terribly expensive for us at all. We’re about ready to put it in the field, so I can’t tell you yet if it works, but does seem to be the smartest approach to the “cricket” problem that I have yet seen.