Manning: Investing in ICT way for region to go (Trinidad Express)

Investing in Informa-tion and Communications Technology (ICT) is one important way for Caribbean countries struggling to deal with ongoing international financial crisis to succeed in these difficult economic times says Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Groundswell Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

Groundswell Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

…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 –The Financial Times, May 21, 2008

The Forrester analysts have prepared one of the most comprehensive and useful primers on the sudden surge in social media. –Advertising Age, July 3, 2008

Their response, an introduction to the current state of online social networking and what to do about it, is entertaining, well- written and mercifully free from techy details. –The Financial Times, June 4, 2008

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Social Media for businesses - Where to start?
A very practical piece. Lots of of good advice. For companies / persons, who want to build their first “social media strategy”, I suggest to just follow the recommendations in this book. Why re-invent the wheel?

5 Stars Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong with…
Nice.

After 2.0 readings, that pretty well sums up my impressions of Groundswell.

The writing style is nice. The case studies are nice. The comparison the authors make between “groundswell thinking” and (the Japanese martial art) jujitsu is - you guessed it - nice, too.

What else?

The Social Technographics Profile…a tool for classifying customers by the ways in which they use social technologies…is VERY nice. And so is the authors’ four-step approach to building a groundswell strategy. (Called the “POST” approach. One of the book’s central insights is that you should only think about Technologies after you’ve considered your People*, Objectives, and Strategies.)

If your company is new to the world of Web 2.0, or your online efforts `til now have been haphazard, read the book and (I’d be willing to bet) it’ll save you from a “potentially fatal emphasis on wrong things” as advertised. You’ll almost surely end up with a long list of fresh ideas for improving your Web presence and performance, too.

By those measures, Groundswell provides a perfectly nice introduction. That’s why I give it 5.0 stars.

*your customers or employees

4 Stars A Social Media Classic
I originally bought this book based on a You Tube video of the author, Charlene Li, making a presentation under the “Authors @Google” program. I guess the Groundswell sold one more copy of her book…

In many ways, this book reminded me of Jim Collin’s “Good to Great” book. “Groundswell” is very quantitative in nature. There are a TON of in-depth case studies - the book even contains a case index in addition to a subject index.

The book is well structured. It is broken into three main parts and has a logical idea flow of listening, talking, energizing, supporting, and embracing the groundswell. While I liked the structure, it took more time to read than most books due to its academic nature.

Overall, the authors take a practical, high-level approach to social media. They focus on the people, objectives, and strategy BEFORE they focus on any given technology.

This should definitely be a cornerstone text in any library on Social Media!

3 Stars The New Frontier in Internet Marketing - Must Read
Groundswell offers a succinct guide to the new Marketing. After reading this book, with its case studies and detailed statistics, one will be convinced (if they weren’t already) that social networking is the future of marketing, not the latest fad. One of the sections I found the most insightful was the breakdown, by roles, of the various social networkers. A valuable read for anyone involved in any aspect of marketing or follower of cultural trends.

5 Stars Picking up the dance steps
I am going from developing a few web sites to finding out what web sites can do for my business. This is the book for learning the steps so the questions I ask are clearer. Easy to digest…good amount of repetition…I even loaned it to my wife.

Buy/More Info

Investing in women key to economy (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Even before the stock market crashed and job losses and home repossessions wreaked havoc in the lives of millions, Atlanta was all too familiar with the scourge of economic crisis — a burden borne disproportionately by women and children. Indeed, here in Atlanta and around the world, women and children have been experiencing their own economic crisis for decades.

Tom Nelson (2009-04-30 17:19)

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Why did the US grant eminent domain to china?

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5 Ways to Take Control of Your Personal Brand Today

Dan Schawbel is the author of the bestselling book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Kaplan, April 09), and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog. With a bad economy, more pressure at work and overwhelming competition, investing in yourself and your future is crucial. There are a lot of new trends and tricks that you can take advantage of now. Below are five easy and initial steps you can take to start building your brand today. These will help you c

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