This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

Every decade since the advent of computing there has been a disruptive innovation that fundamentally transforms business: mainframe computing in the 1970s, the PC in the 1980s, and the Internet in the 1990s. Online social networks - such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace - are this decade's revolution, and will forever change the way you market, sell, and innovate.

The Facebook Era is here, and whether you're in sales, marketing, business development, HR, or another role, online social networks will completely transform the way you run your business. More than ever, organizations will function, fail, or prosper based on the relationships and social capital between its customers, partners, vendors, employees, and executives. Leaders who can understand, navigate, and take advantage of this new socially networked world will gain a tremendous competitive advantage. This book explores the phenomenon of enterprise social networking and the steps everyone from the CEO down to the entry-level information worker must take to win in the Facebook Era.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 41 Ratings

Inspiring and Highly Relevant- A Must Read - 2009-10-13
Reviewer Rating:
The Facebook Era is a wonderful book designed to help readers better understand and navigate the changing landscape of communication. Anyone from small business owners to top executives should read this book to understand the importance of Facebook and other forms of social media. Clara's book offers an in-depth look at the scope of the world's growing connectivity in a way that is inspiring and insightful.

A Landmark, Ground-Breaking Book! - 2009-10-14
Reviewer Rating:
Clara Shih has done us all a tremendous favor by writing this landmark, ground-breaking, immensely practical, high-value book! I am going to find ways to use this in my strategy classes, make it compulsory reading, turn it into an assignment and make it a part of overall assessment. I am sharing this with my colleagues. Facebook is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for me. It has enriched my personal and professional life. It definitely has not replaced personal one-on-one relationships and interaction but it has enhanced my connections with people as well as added-value to my work. There's much much more to learn! Excited to see what unfolds ahead!

The Facebook Era Book is for Business - 2009-10-13
Reviewer Rating:
Last week, I brought The Facebook Era book by Clara Shih to the gym. The publisher had sent me the book eons ago but it wasn't until last week that I finally had some time to read it. I finished it up in just a couple hours of reading on machines at the gym.

It is a useful book, to be sure. It is practical and holds your hand and addresses your concerns, as long as you're a business owner who is considering getting into Social Media as a business tool. If you're a fan of [...], you'll appreciate the smarts here since Ms. Shih is a Salesforce alum and the forward is by Marc R. Benioff, Chairman and CEO of [...]

The book does promote [...] little shamelessly but it doesn't hurt the neutrality of the text: you'll get good advice on how to leverage Social Networks, Social Media, Online Community, and Web 2.0 to manage, promote, offer service on behalf of you, your brand, or your company.

What I really liked was Part I, A Brief History of Social Media, which is a brilliant primer for people who didn't actually live through the precursors and foreshadowing of Facebook and Twitter; however, for me, it showed me that Clara Shih understands the continuum of technology, computing, community, platform, and how they evolved over time.

Other topics you might really love to explore, though they're less practical and a little more philosophical, but in a good way, and explore ways to use Social Media to develop strategies for your business for Social Sales, Social Network Marketing, Social Innovation, and Social Recruiting. What's great about this part, Part II, is that these teachings are pretty platform agnostic, giving you skills in tools not limited to just Facebook, the primary focus of this book. What this means is that this book will even be useful to you when Facebook dies and something else rises up in its place.

At the end of the day, most folks who buy the book will skip to Part III: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Using Facebook for Business. Fair enough. It is pretty comprehensive and walks you through more than philosophy, it gets you onto Facebook and marketing, selling, recruiting, prospecting, branding, relating, engaging, and participating if you take some time and follow the steps.

Is this book good? Well, it is if you spend a little time opening your mind and reading through Part I and Part II -- and do it away from a computer. If you get into context, read the case studies, explore some of the examples and best practices, Part III will make more sense and you will do a better job and be more effective.

Did the book bore me? Nope, I liked it, and that makes me happy because I am not being paid to read these things, it is just flattering to receive free review copies -- it makes me feel like I am important and influential!

facebook marketing - 2009-10-12
Reviewer Rating:
"Very smart author with deeper insights about how Facebook and other social media fit in with larger marketing issues."

Tapping the Social Network for Stuff - 2009-10-09
Reviewer Rating:
Clara Shih has compiled an engaging guide to help facilitate the marketing endeavors of people trying to sell more "stuff" in the growing arena of online social networks; particularly Facebook and Twitter. By now, it seems most of the world actively participates in some sort of social network site (don't forget about Myspace and Linkedin), so understanding the best practices for marketing a product or service is vital for any long-term success.

Shih delivers a nice bundle of information to help even the novice gain a better understanding of the social networking landscape; it's getting pretty tricky out there, and all the various applications can be daunting; navigating through the system efficiently is critical for maintaining any successful marketing initiatives.

With a million and a half people actively engaged on Facebook alone at any given moment, we're solidly entrenched in an new era of network marketing; so we'd better understand the game plan. This book greatly helps us maximize our opportunities to reach new audiences and market our goods & services in the most efficient, on-line manner. That's a good value for anyone.

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