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November 19, 2009

What are the best (corporate) mobile applications?

by Josh Bernoff

Mobile is a big part of our new book "Harnessing the Groundswell". To that end, I'm looking for your suggestions for the best mobile applications.

It's my contention that consumers are surrounded by more information, with more immediate access to it, than ever before. Mobile Internet access (but also mobile email and SMS text messages) are a big part of that. Mobile applications can get access to location, a camera, your identity, your phone number, and SMS messages, not to mention the plain old wonderful real-time Net. This changes things. As a marketer or other corporate staffer, your best action is to provide mobile customers as much information as possible, as instantly as possible.

So in the comments here, or by email, I'd like to hear your suggestions for mobile apps to go in the book. The best examples for this purpose:

  • Empower consumers with instant access to information.
  • Are of long-term value, not just for a short-term campaign.
  • Can be iPhone apps, but I'm also very interested in Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, and SMS apps.
  • I have a bias toward corporate, government, or non-profit apps, vs. startups.

Think of this as a contest. If your favorite application "wins," it gets profiled in the book. Looking forward to hearing your ideas.

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 11:13 AM in Groundswell, Mobile | | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

October 05, 2009

Dear Groundswell: Is it ok to use mobile devices in a meeting?

by Josh Bernoff

As I continue my Social Netiquette investigations this question comes up over and over again. No less than the New York Times weighed in, but not in any definitive way.

There are countless netiquette sources that say it's rude to take a mobile phone call in a meeting, and you should turn your phone off. But this advice dates to when phones were used to make calls. Now you could be checking email or sports scores, or you could be checking something relevant to the meeting on the Web or taking notes.

I expect this question to generate a lot of divergent opinions, so let me state the obvious -- I know my answer, but I would like to hear yours.

Let's start with four fundamental rules of social netiquette:

  1. The golden rule. If the roles were reversed, would you be happy? If not, don't do it. (Remember this from kindergarten?)
  2. Don't deceive and don't lie. If you get caught, you'll be sorry, since you're destroying trust. This is rarely worth it.
  3. Balance your own needs with those of others. You are important, but not the most important. If your boss needs your help -- or your staff does -- how will you balance those needs with yours?
  4. Your habits are your own problem. If you have a drinking problem, that doesn't mean you can whip out a bottle in the meeting (unless it's on Mad Men). Same with your compulsive need to check email. If you can't stop, get counseling.

Having internalized these, which of course you all agree with, let's look at the problem at hand. Continuous partial attention is a systemic problem that causes us all challenges, but it needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, since I don't believe a single solution works for all meetings.

  • If you are having a one-on-one meeting with anyone, then don't use the mobile device. You need something from each other. So concentrate on each other's needs. Better to get 15 minutes of full attention. Using a mobile phone in such a meeting sends the message "you are not important." (This sounds silly, but I have experienced it, and it sucks.)
  • In any small meeting where you are reasonably expected to participate, it pays to ask permission.
  • For example ("I'm going to look that up on the Web" or "I am checking the agenda" or "I am making a note."). You could also say something at the start of the meeting ("I'll be using this to check the Web sites we're discussing.") If you would feel embarrassed saying "I am going to check my email while you talk" then don't do it. (See Rules 1 to 4.)
  • In a larger meeting, people may not require your full attention. (The sync up meeting with 12 people in the part where they are talking about the stuff that doesn't apply to you.) I don't have a problem with mobile devices used in this way.
  • The person running the meeting has the right to say "please put your mobile devices down, what I have to say now is important." It is useful to follow this with an announcement that is actually important, like "I have just laid off half the staff," or "We are reorganizing and you are about to get a new boss," as opposed to "We are about to get new carpeting."
  • People running meetings have a responsibility to have fewer of them and make them shorter. Count up the hourly compensation of the people in the meeting and the time they are spending. Is it worth that much? Is there another way to accomplish the goal? By Rule 1, if you have fewer meetings, perhaps you can get more attention during those meetings.
  • Don't Twitter during a meeting unless it is a public meeting. Most people have an expectation that the contents of a meeting are confidential. For example, tweets that say "My boss is so boring," "Disney just offered to buy our company for $150 million," and "My company is going to announce a new product next week" will all get you in trouble, even if true.

OK, folks, let fly. I'm interested in where you land on this. And if you say "I do it to, but others should not" then please start your comment with "I am a hypocrite."

[Side note. As I described the state in which you cannot concentrate on one thing since your attention is continuously drawn to other things, my wife Kimberley said "There is a name for that. It is called 'motherhood.' "]

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 11:28 AM in Groundswell, How to be a human, Josh's posts | | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

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October 01, 2009

Announcing our next book "Harnessing the Groundswell"

by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler

Josh and ted

We've begun work on Forrester's next book about how technology changes business. While "groundswell" is in the title, the new book is not quite a sequel. Instead, it focuses on individuals empowered by technology -- both employees and customers -- and how businesses can efficiently turn them into a force for better performance.Here's a short description:

Harnessing the Groundswell: Drive Your Business With Empowered Employees and Customers

Who are these empowered people? They're employees using simple technologies to solve business problems -- but in ways management hasn't sanctioned. They're customers, armed with a sea of ambient information and friend connections, who redefine your brand. Either way, empowered individuals are a problem for locked-down and unprepared managers stuck on control. "Harnessing the Groundswell" explains how to enable, select, scale, and socialize this energy -- that is, how to embrace empowered individuals and use them to drive your business forward.

Harvard Business Press will publish "Harnessing the Groundswell" in summer, 2010. If you don't know Ted Schadler, he's a long-time, accomplished Forrester Research analyst and vice president in our IT business.

As you read the table of contents below, ask yourself: do I know a company that's doing this well (or poorly?). We're looking for case studies, and not just successes. So if you know a company that embraces its technology problem solvers or its fans, let me (Josh) know and we'll follow up. I look forward to your comments.

--

PART 1. Why Empowered People Are Driving Your Management Crazy
Individuals will always get the latest and best technology and services first. Why? Because that's the simplest path to market for device makers, publishers, social entrepreneurs, and other individuals. Because many of these technologies are mobile, they get into the enterprise regardless of corporate policies. This changes the dynamics of technology-led innovation forever.

Chapter 1. The forces that created empowered individuals
Chapter 2. How to act empowered (and how to manage people like that)

PART 2. Harnessing Empowered Employees
Individuals in the workforce bring their personal devices and experiences to work. The result? Innovation erupts in a thousand incremental, and sometimes disruptive, ways. With computing power available so cheaply in the Internet "cloud," employees can often create solutions with a budget they can charge on a credit card. Managers can either erect ever-higher walls in a fruitless effort to contain this disruptive energy or identify and harness the power of these improvements.

Chapter 3. A framework for managing empowered employees
Chapter 4. Empowered innovation [Leadership]
Chapter 5. Selecting and scaling solutions [IT]
Chapter 6. Socializing the enabled employees and solutions [Management/Collaboration]
Chapter 7. Hiring and retaining an empowered workforce [HR]

PART 3. Harnessing Empowered Customers
Your customers are using technology to gather any information they want. They have every Web site in the world to draw on, as well as their peers in social environments from Facebook to Twitter to blogs to customer ratings. And it's all coming to the mobile devices they take with them everywhere. A business that depends on the ignorance of its consumers is doomed. And in this environment, any service flaw is magnified and repeated endlessly. As a marketer, your best alternative is to become one of them – provide them with the very tools, information, and peer support they crave – and generate positive word of mouth through this enablement.

Chapter 8. A framework for managing empowered customers.
Chapter 9. Empowering customer service problem solvers [Customer Service]
Chapter 10. Empowering the mobile customer experience
Chapter 11. Selecting and scaling fans
Chapter 12. Socializing empowered customers: collaborating on innovation (10 pages)

PART 4. Leading the Empowered
Empowered people challenge management. The hierarchical management of large companies gets its power from standardization, rewards, and scale. But leadership in this new era does not mean being out of control. It means creating an environment where everyone knows the end goal and feels empowered to contribute, where attempts are lauded along with successes, and where scaling innovation is the true advantage.

Chapter 13. Leadership among the empowered
Chapter 14: The future

--

I can't wait to read your reaction.

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 10:14 AM in Book, Groundswell | | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

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August 25, 2009

Social technology growth marches on in 2009, led by social network sites

by Josh Bernoff

We just published our third annual Social Technographics Profile in a document called "The Broad Reach of Social Technologies" . The author is Sean Corcoran, with help from out data expert Cynthia Pflaum. The data across North America, Europe, and Asia will be available later today.is now available.

Forrester Social Technographics Ladder 2009 Starting with the book "Groundswell" and continuing now for three years running, we've analyzed consumers' participation in social technologies around the world with a tool called the "Social Technographics Profile." The profile puts online people into overlapping groups based on their participation (at least once a month) in the behaviors shown in the ladder. We've kept the ladder categories consistent to allow us to make comparisons year-to-year, across ages and genders, and across geographies. This provides something that's often sorely lacking in analysis of online social phenomena: perspective.

The headline: in 2009, more than four out of five online Americans are active in either creating, participating in, or reading some form of social content at least once a month. In a bit more detail:

  • In the US, social technology Creators and Collectors grew slowly, and Critics didn't grow at all. Creator activity appeals only to those who like to create or upload content, and regardless of the ease of blogging and YouTube uploading, this doesn't apply to everybody. If you believe in the future that everybody will be creating or organizing content, we disagree -- it's a matter of temperament, not technology. As for Critics, those who react to content, this group hasn't grown at all. Looking deeper into the data, this is a result of a small but actual decrease in the number of people contributing to discussion forums. Why? Probably because much of this activity has been sucked into social network sites like Facebook.
  • At the same time, Joiner activity exploded and Spectators became nearly universal. The explosion in Joiners from 35% to 51% of online Americans reflects the appeal of Facebook, as both press coverage and invitations from friends suck more of us into social networks. Meanwhile, Spectators -- those consuming social content -- reached all the way to 73% of online Americans, which should end any remaining skepticism about whether this social thing is real. Soon, with the level of social content being put out there, it will be virtually impossible for an online consumer not to be a Spectator. Marketers, if you're not doing social technology applications now, you're officially behind. We expect a wave of Web site reorgs and redesigns to include social activity.

Forrester Social Technographics Profile 2009 Looking at the data by age, we now see that participation among those under 35 is nearly universal (less than 10% Inactives) and even among those 55 and over, about two-thirds are participating. The trend is clear, soon, if you're online, you'll almost certainly be consuming social technologies.

We are now releasing international data at the same time as this US data. A few highlights: Europeans continue to adopt these technologies more slowly than in the US, with about 40% Inactives in the countries where we do surveys. The Netherlands and Sweden have the most participation, Italy has the most Creators, and social networks are most popular in the UK. For more details see the summary of Rebecca Jennings' report on social technologies in Europe.

Asian social participation is typically as high as or higher than in the US. For example South Korea, where I'm going next week, has only 9% Inactives and 48% Joiners, as a result of the popular CyWorld social network site.

The international data by country, age, and gender is here. will be available later today. You can even put the data on your own site -- we've made it embeddable. In my travels, I've found that marketers have a variety of attitudes about social technologies, ranging from "it's obvious that they're growing" to "it's a flash in the pan". The point of data like this is to provide a real, solid, objective basis for planning and discussion that goes beyond personal experience. No matter who you market to, and in what country, you need to know what your customers are doing. These surveys can help you take that first step+.

Added: Since the embeddable widget with the new data is now available, I've posted it below:

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 09:00 AM in Data, Groundswell, Josh's posts, Weekly data chart | | Comments (27) | TrackBack (2)

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June 25, 2009

Writing another bible

Robobible by Josh Bernoff

Many have said that Groundswell is a bible for companies using social technology. (Yes, I know there is a book that came out after ours called The Social Media Bible but indulge me for a moment here.) With apologies to my more religious readers (it's a metaphor, people), here are some qualities of the bible that I hope Groundswell shares.

  • It helps a lot of people, so it sells a lot. (We're about 6 billion copies behind the other bible.)
  • It’s full of useful advice (e.g. “Thou shalt not kill.” "Listen first before engaging the groundswell.")
  • People get inspired by it and tell others to read it.
  • It attempts to be the definitive authority on the topic.
  • It uses stories to communicate messages.
  • While it's useful by itself, it also creates an opportunity for people (priests, analysts) to spread and interpret the word further.

If you ever wanted to know what I'm doing next, here it is: I'd like to write another bible. We're looking at possible topics right now inside Forrester. They will be important, groundbreaking ideas for business; they won't necessarily be about social technology (since that bible's already written).

Assume any bible I write has the qualities I describe here. Keeping in mind that any future bible won't be out until spring 2010, what sort of bible would you like to read? Think big.

Photo from Robotlab, 2007, www.robotlab.de/bios/bible.htm , via Gastev

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 01:57 PM in Book, Books, Groundswell, Josh's posts | | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

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June 11, 2009

"Marketing in the Groundswell" -- a new way to reach marketers

Marketing in the groundswell We created a new spinoff of Groundswell just for marketers. This new edition includes only chapters 5 (Listening), 6 (Talking), and 7 (Energizing) from the original version. There is also a new introduction that talks about how valuable the groundswell is for marketing in a recession.

Groundswell continues to sell really well, often within Amazon's top 500 books, but we wanted to create this new version for a few reasons.

First, to make it cheaper and easier for marketers to get the book. The book lists for only $18, and is available on Amazon for just $12.24.

Second, this new edition is allowing us to get into new distribution channels like some airport displays, and to reach more people that way.

If you've already bought Groundswell or want the full version, don't bother with this. You already have this content. (Unless you have a fetish for green and yellow books, of course.)

However, if you know a marketer with a short attention span -- or maybe a department of a few hundred of them -- this is the quick way to get them up to speed.

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 11:48 AM in Book, Books, Groundswell | | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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May 29, 2009

Nominations are now open for the 2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards

For the third year in a row, we will be recognizing the most effective social technology applications at the Forrester Groundswell Awards.

I have to say, these awards are one of my favorite things. First of all, the people submitting entries really care about the work they did and spreading the word about it. Second, the applications we've gotten the last two years were fantastic -- creative, effective, and clever -- and they make it easier for me to tell the story of the power of social applications. And finally, I think it's great that anyone can win -- whether you're Accenture or Starbucks or a tiny credit union in Alberta, Canada.

So, starting now you're free to submit an entry for the Forrester Groundswell Awards. The submission form is here. If you're going to enter, we strongly recommend that you read the Forrester Groundswell Awards Rules before submitting your entry. You can submit each entry only once, and once submitted, you cannot modify it.

We've added a new twist this year, too. We've divided the categories for the prototypical groundswell objectives (listening, talking, energizing, supporting, embracing) into business-to-consumer and business-to-business. And we've added a new business-to-business category, "spreading," to recognize social applications in which you sell ideas or products to employees of a company, then get them to sell others at that company. We've still got the category for pro-social applications ("social impact") and applications within an enterprise ("managing"). That's 13 categories, folks, so while I expect even more entries than the 150 we received last year, there are more ways to win.

A few key facts to remember.

  • Be smart. Read the rules first.
  • The entry deadline is September 2, 2009. But the earlier you submit, the more time people will have to review and vote on your work. (If three months is not enough time to prepare, you'll have to wait for next year.)
  • On your own site or elsewhere on the Web, create a “My Forrester Groundswell awards submission” page or document describing your application. Also include a single screenshot that represents the application.You'll need to put these into the application.
  • Only submit your own work. Agencies and vendors can submit work they do for clients, provided they have obtained permission from the client. (This is your responsibility, please don't embarrass yourself in front of the client by posting without getting permission.)
  •  Anything in these submissions becomes on the record. Submissions go live immediately and are open for ratings and reviews.

If you are a winner in the business-to-consumer, social impact, or managing categories, we'll present the award to you in a new, expanded awards ceremony at the Forrester Consumer Forum 2009 in Chicago on October 27 and 28. We'll be having a nice party for all the attendees of that event, so they can meet and learn from the winners. We'll be awarding the B2B awards separately.

Go ahead. Impress us. Enter your application. We're looking forward to it.

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 12:02 PM in Forrester Groundswell awards, Groundswell | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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May 21, 2009

Let's talk about tampons

by Josh Bernoff

Beinggirl podcast If you've been to any of my Groundswell speeches you've heard my riff that begins "Let's talk about tampons." I love this since it's a phrase that gets everyone's attention -- and since it carries a payload. The payload is that as P&G's feminine care products realized -- and you should too -- you should focus on your customers' problems, not on your products.

When I gave this speech at the IAB Marketplace: Social Media Conference on Monday, Ad Age recorded bits of it and made a nice video podcast out of it.

To hear more about beinggirl.com, have a look.


Posted by Josh Bernoff at 11:02 AM in Groundswell, Josh's posts | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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May 19, 2009

Meet you (and Tweet you) in Madrid and Rome in June

by Josh Bernoff.

Spanish and italian groundswell Thanks to clients, I will be in Europe the week of June 1. I’ve blocked off some time to meet with you, if you’re interested. We’re also celebrating the publication of the Spanish edition of Groundswell (El Mundo Groundswell) and the Italian edition (L’onda Anomala). I’d like to show my publishers the power of the groundswell in Spain and Italy.

I’m looking for people who can organize Groundswell events in the evening on Tuesday 2 June in Madrid and Friday 5 June in Rome. What kind of event? A speech (if you have a good space) or a Tweetup in a restaurant come to mind. I’d just like to spend time with some Spaniards and Italians who are interested in the power of social technologies – and in connecting with one another.

You can reach me with comments on this post, through Twitter (@jbernoff), or by email (jbernoff at forrester dotcom). I look forward to seeing you in Europe!

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 10:08 AM in Groundswell, Josh's posts, Meet Me, Shameless plug | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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May 07, 2009

An author's perspective on the surge in Kindle sales (35% of units)

by Josh Bernoff

Kindle book In the midst of Jeff Bezos' announcement of the new large-format (newspaper-ready) Kindle was an amazing number.

Amazon says that for books available in both formats (275,000 titles including nearly all the bestseller) Kindle units account for 35% of unit sales.

Kindle is good for the books that people like you, the readers of this blog, like. Right now Groundswell is ranked #475 on the Kindle store while the print edition is #612 on Amazon. The bestseller list on Kindle looks a lot like the print bestsellers, but there are anomalies. For example, Jeff Jarvis' "What Would Google Do" is at #896 on Kindle, and #1352 in Amazon print. David Meerman Scott's "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" is #305 on Kindle; the print paperback is #373.

How do Amazon's numbers look to an author? There was a big spike in March when Kindle 2 shipped. Year to date for 2009, we have sold almost as many copies on Kindle as we did in all of 2008 -- sales are accelerating on Kindle when they have slowed in print. But for 2009, Kindle accounts for only 7% of our unit sales at Amazon, a lot less than the 35% they are quoting (see the chart at TechCrunch). Even in the peak month of March, when Kindle 2 shipped, Groundswell on Kindle was only 12% of total Amazon sales. I can only assume things are picking up rapidly in the Kindle store, and that new titles account for a lot of that volume.

Due to the lower list prices I make a lot less money for each Kindle unit sold. But the price-volume equation on Kindle can be far more elastic due to the fact that my publisher doesn't have to pay for printing, shipping, and taking inventory. And people with Kindles buy an awful lot of books -- probably more since they're cheaper. Since we (my Forrester colleagues and I) estimate that there are 800,000 Kindles out there and rapidly growing, I like this market. When my next book comes out, I bet that Kindle will be a big part of igniting the sales.

Posted by Josh Bernoff at 04:39 PM in Books, Groundswell, Josh's posts | | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

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