Praise for The Facebook Era
“Clara Shih has written a tour de force and one deeply rooted in actual experience. If you want to get past the theory and figure out how to harness the power of social networking in your business, read this book! And prosper.”
—Don Tapscott, best-selling author of thirteen books,
most recently Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World
“With over 150 million active users and growing, Facebook is quickly becoming one of the dominant communication platforms of our time. However, as with any major advance in technology, most businesses are only beginning to leverage the game-changing opportunities that the ‘online social graph’ provides. As one of the leading innovators in this field, Clara personally has a unique perspective on how the benefits of these changes can be realized by companies across a gamut of industries. In The Facebook Era, she does an excellent job of explaining in detail how businesses can use Facebook and related tools to advance marketing, recruiting, business development, and customer service. The Facebook Era is a must-read for any professional who wants to understand how social networking will deeply transform business processes and relationships in the decade ahead!”
—Justin Smith, founder and editor,
Inside Facebook
“Today more than ever you need intimacy with your customers and a competitive edge, [both] of which you will potentially lose if you do not read this book. Your customers, employees, and stockholders are changing how they communicate, educate [and] socialize—are you prepared?”
—David Mather, President,
Hoover’s, Inc.
“Clara leaves absolutely no stone unturned in this exploration of the world’s most explosive social network. Her knowledge of the Web 2.0 industry and social networking combined with her understanding of today’s selling power make for a fantastic book. If you own or are looking to start a business, read The Facebook Era. It will change the way you do business forever!”
—Chris Cranis, national account executive,
BT/Ribbit
“…A powerful book describing the power of networking for individuals and businesses, and how online social media sites are changing the rules.”
—Shalini Govil-Pai, lead product manager,
Google
“Take a big breath—Clara Shih takes the reader on a deep dive into the big blue ocean that is Facebook, from both a consumer and business perspective. Before you come up for air, you’ll be fascinated with all the strange-looking fish she finds in the vast new world of social networking which we are so completely and hopelessly addicted to…and loving every minute of it.”
—Dave McClure, startup advisor and angel investor
“Companies are concerned about social networking—it feels like an area of business they don’t have control over. Clara’s book provides brilliant insight that dissolves that fear and provides business leaders the bottom line value to an era of innovation and collaboration that can only be reached by embracing Web 3.0…Clara’s vision, as the creator of the first business app on Facebook, is transforming CRM and customer service technology space.”
—Dr. Natalie L. Petouhoff, customer service and customer experience analyst,
Forrester Research
“As an entrepreneurship educator, I know that the world of promoting your business has changed dramatically with the advent of Facebook. Clara Shih’s book gives us a crash course on how to extract the value from this important new tool.”
—Tina Seelig, executive director,
Stanford Technology Ventures Program
“The Facebook Era provides practical information and advice on making the most of the social media phenomenon and does so in a highly readable style, with useful industry and organizational context. Whether tasked to integrate social media within their company’s overall marketing, recruiting, or organizational development strategies or simply developing their personal brand, readers will gain valuable perspective on a rapidly evolving field, along with ideas and tips that can be put to work immediately.”
—Steve Sieck, President,
SKS Advisors, Inc.
“Clara Shih takes on one of the more difficult tasks in discussing any new technology or phenomenon: placing it in context and understanding how to engage to realize benefit. All too often the long-term implications are not the first consideration, we become too enamored with the sheer newness or frightened away. Social networking and specifically social CRM places the most critical commodity at the center of the discussion—relationships and trust. A breach in this most tenuous of human states could have significant consequences. As Clara points out, we are yet to know the broader implications, but this book thoroughly discusses what is social networking, its value broadly, and its potential for shaping the new social-centric enterprise. Organizations, heed Clara’s advice; put in the work upfront, plan your strategy, understand your goals, and understand this new medium.”
—Mary Wardley, Program VP,
CRM and Enterprise Applications, IDC
The Facebook Era
Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters or in all capitals.
The author and publisher have taken care in the preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the use of the information or programs contained herein.
The publisher offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales, which may include electronic versions and/or custom covers and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, and branding interests. For more information, please contact:
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shih, Clara Chung-wai.
The Facebook era : tapping online social networks to build better products, reach new audiences, and sell more stuff / Clara C. Shih.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-13-715222-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Business enterprises—Computer networks.
2. Online social networks. 3. Facebook. I. Title.
HD30.37.S49 2009
658.8’72—dc22
2009000872
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permissions, write to:
Pearson Education, Inc
Rights and Contracts Department
501 Boylston Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02116
Fax (617) 671 3447
Bebo and the Bebo logo are trademarks of Bebo, Inc. AOL and the AOL Triangle Logo are registered trademarks of AOL LLC. Used with permission.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-715222-3
ISBN-10: 0-13-715222-1
Text printed in the United States at RR Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Second printing April 2009
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To my parents James and Sophia Shih, my brother Vic, and to finding the American Dream