Groundswell: Buy It
Ben and Jackie sent me a free copy of Groundswell last week. Ben and Jackie are Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. They are the Grand Swomies behind The SWOM, The Society of Word of Mouth. And I’m a member of The SWOM, defined as one with aspirations of Swominess.
I was one of 5 members, aspirants, at The SWOM to receive a free copy of Groundswell.
I gotta confess right here. I hadn’t planned on buying Groundswell. I’d read about it. I’d read all the gushing praise for it; seen all the hype and buzz going on about it. All of it forming a veritable groundswell, if you will, of conversation about it.
Whatever.
It’s the standard book of the moment, right? You know the kind? A fairly well-written book, better than I could write certainly, that articulates a hot trend that lasts a few fleeting moments, maybe 3-6 months and then disappears. And so does the book and its value.
Academic at best. And after 6 months, I can’t say my life is better for having read it.
And the other thing, (baring my soul, now) is I’ve been blogging daily for 4 years now. I’ve done podcasts and YouTube. I get the part about customers controlling at least half of your brand. Word-of-mouth and great employees were the saving graces of the company where I was CEO. I’ve evangelized ‘em all. I GOT IT. My mission now is to get more companies using their resources, embracing their power, y’know?
And when I looked at the book's cover I thought…And you’re going to tell me…what?
That’s what I thought. (Ok, I tend to be judgmental and I can be quick to judge. And sometimes I’m wrong, sometimes REALLY wrong.)
I was REALLY wrong with Groundswell. Maybe, not 180 degrees wrong. But a good 165 degrees, definitely.
Groundswell…where to begin. It’s well-written. It’s pace is pleasing, satisfying. The authors clearly love their topic. Their writing shares their love of social media, and in a measured, intelligent way. It's captivating, engaging. THough they're doing all the talking, somehow you're part of the conversation, contributing to it in someway as you read their words.
And they weave in data with stories or profiles of company’s experiences with the groundswell.
That I admire. It shows they’re masters of their area. It’s a labor of love, really, that, they can weave back and forth from data to specific stories or anecdotes and weave me into their story.
They’re not looking to grandstand on this thing called social media, citizens media, grassroots media…ride the wave to a couple of speaking gigs and be gone. No, they’re adding usable intelligence and profiles and actionable suggestions. They’re adding value to this conversation about the conversation. And…and…not only that but they use those examples and data to then push the conversation further and eventually ending up with a plan whose basics any company of any size in any industry could implement. OMG. Yes. They not only describe the trend to you, they walk you through all the cool resources you've maybe never heard of, splashcast and buzzillions, but then shows you how you CAN use them to join, foster, ride this groundswell for fun and profit!
Sure, they’re going to reap the rewards from their book and their employers will be very happy, too.
But these rewards will be greater for offering insight and help for those companies still looking to understand what’s changed, what’s not changed (them, probably) and how to listen to their customers and employees and connect with them. And that’s a very, very good thing for them as companies and for their employees, for their customers, too. For all of us.
I hate being proved wrong. On the other hand, I love taking a position and learning what I overlooked and having that ‘aha’ moment when I see things more clearly, more broadly.
That’s what Groundswell did for me. And I’m thinking…it’ll do the same thing for you.
Thanks, to Ben and Jackie for the sending me one of 5 free copies of Groundswell. Thanks to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff for your love of this topic and being so articulate in sharing it with us. Now, go enjoy your just rewards!
(Written in the dark with no internet connection while a morning storm passes…)
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