This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

Harness the Power of Social Networking to Promote Innovation and Drive Growth 

• A treasure trove of strategic and tactical insights for the business leader

• Provides relevant experience from a host of powerful case studies and compelling business scenarios

• Secrets for avoiding costly mistakes that can cripple a social networking initiative

Millions of people use social networking sites, and companies are increasingly turning to social networking to build relationships with customers. But companies routinely miss the best opportunities to create value and promote innovation–by using social networking to build thriving communities of employees, partners, and customers.

Business leaders and strategists can drive immense value from social networking “inside the firewall.” Drawing on her unsurpassed experience deploying innovative social networking systems within IBM^® and for customers, Maria Azua demonstrates how to establish social networking communities, and then leverage those communities to drive extraordinary levels of innovation. Azua offers specific techniques for promoting mass collaboration in the enterprise and strategies to monetize social networking to generate new business opportunities.

Whatever your industry, you’ll learn how to choose and implement the right social networking solutions for your unique challenges...how to avoid false starts and wasted time...and how to evaluate and make the most of today’s most promising social technologies–from wikis and blogs to knowledge clouds.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 12 Ratings

Delightful portrayal of the collaborative advantages of the social age and its interplay in social networking! - 2010-01-23
Reviewer Rating:
Azua's, The Social Factor has proven a delightful interplay of the technological reality that faces us (civilians, business owners, etc.) on a day to day basis. Azua (2009) defines the social factor into three commonly driven forces in the social and professional workplace: the overload of information within technology, the standardization of the technology, and the availability of low-cost technological connections (wiki's, blogs, facebook, etc.).
As a teacher the overload of information is enormous, however the lack of instruction on how to implement such information is where our true duties lie. The information is all out there, so in essence an instructor is fruitless if incapable of disseminating comprehension to the boundless information found on the web. Azua integrates how to accomplish this by incorporating business strategies through the social network and "foster collaboration" along with "integrating an array of social networking tools" (Azua, 2009). Azua goes into great depth as how the adoption of technology is achieved through the standardization of the product. In the case of social networks, the standardization comes into play quickly and inadvertently causes an increase in demand for the product (Azua). Granted the product is provided in exabytes - a billion gigabytes, which as of right now is a small estimate of what is to come (Azua). It seems as if the social networking she discusses is an ever evolving organism, that has yet to adapt to the demands of the environment. As it appears, the true fruitfulness of the network is not so much the depth of it, rather the extent and vastness of its use. To communicate outside of the classroom would have been a far stretch to the imagination a few years ago, but now with the social age coming into blossom, we as educators can educate from anywhere, at anytime, in practically any way! Whether it is an underwater submersible video camera, or a trek through the Amazon providing live feedback for courses, it seems that the future will integrate more and more of the technological advances of social communication. As of right now thanks to the many social networking tools available to us I can educate my students within my classroom, and yet reach out to them with supporting materials via networks like Quia, Google Sites, etc. It is clearly defined through page after page of witty explanations that the social age is now, and not far from over, it is in its full fruit, and with absolute potential of being perhaps one of the strongest driving forces for the success of individuals, businesses, and even governments! The fact remains that the social age is not limited to individual use, rather it is to be integrated within the business realm as a form of collaboration tool that can harness at times some of the best of your employees. Many organizations, and even school systems are now integrating social networking sites into their repertoire as a means of enticing parents to become part of their child's present and future educational aspects. If that is now, there is no true measurement to the possibilities that may arise from these collaborative efforts, in fact in all likelihood they will surmount in a newfound social reach out by the government to its civilians via these very instrumental networks. If you have not yet read Maria Azua's book, The Social Factor, it is the must read book for any self-driven, aspiring and established professional; it will enhance your abilities, confidence, and above all transform you into a social agent for change in our globalized economy!


References

Azua, M. (2009) The social factor: Innovate, ignite, and win through mass collaboration and social networking. Pearson Pic, Boston.

An excellent introduction - 2010-01-15
Reviewer Rating:
The Social Factor is an excellent introduction to social computing for the busy executive. By providing a broad overview of the field and explaining the motivation behind the incubation and development of these technologies, the author has created a must-read book for anyone interested, but still wondering the "whats" and "whys" of social networking and collaboration.

Great overview of social networking in business - 2009-12-31
Reviewer Rating:
The Social Factor provides an excellent overview of how social networking can be used in today's business environments. Particularly interesting is the opening chapter that illustrates the evolution of basic human communication technologies that have led us to online social networking as the next logical step in the process.

The book provides concrete examples demonstrating the business value of blogs, wikis, and individual employee profiles inside the enterprise. Guidance is also provided on using publicly available social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter in a business context.

This book is recommended for business leaders at any level who are evaluating or planning the roll out of social tools inside their organizations.

Learn About the Benefit of Using Social Networking Applications - 2010-01-15
Reviewer Rating:
The Social Factor: Innovate, Ignite, and Win through Mass Collaboration and Social Networking is great at explaining how to use the social networking applications in your business. It uses simple language and examples. It provides an overview of cloud computing, its efficiencies and lower costs it can bring into your business. This book can serve as the guide to bring innovation into your business strategy.

Insightful book for large and small companies - 2009-12-21
Reviewer Rating:
By providing historical perspective, case studies and her own practical experiences, Maria Azua's The Social Factor, is a business book full of insightful approaches to social media for both large and small companies looking to grow.

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